\ PlayStation WILCO | MAGAZINE ИШТ iA. EÛ ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA | 04» o7770992 069681 2 | OPM.1UP.COM Display Until April 11 $8.99 U.S. $11.99 Canada APRIL 2005 issue 91 THE FINISH LINE. SO ELUSIVE FOR SOMETHING THAT NEVER MOVES. Glory is not granted lightly. Test your skills on up to 100 of the p world's most elite tracks. Break in over 500 powerhouse cars spanning a century of automotive history. Face unforgiving LIVE IN YOUR WXRLD. PLAY IN OURS: spectators that reactto your every move. Pass or be passed. RATING PENDING Visit www.esrb.org КУ Л for updated rating A information. GA ©2004 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All manufacturers, cars, names, brands and associated imagery featured in this game are trademar POLYPHONY sponsorship or endorsement of this game by such party or parties. “PlayStation,” the “PS” Family logo and ~ are registered trademarks, and Gr i PlayStation.2 GRAN TURISMO 4 THE REAL DRIVING SIMULATOR THE DRIVE OF Y OUR LIFE. Фог copyrighted materials of their respective owners. All rights reserved. Ап; y depiction or recreation of real world locations, entities, businesses or organizations is not intended to be or imply any iso is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “Live In Your World. Play In Ours.” and “The Drive of Your Life” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. PUSHING THE EDGE IS NEVER FAR ENOUGH igs e "Unprecedented stream of battlefield chaos" "Unabashed balls-to-the-wall action" "The Future of War" nforr "Sheer graphical beauty" "All those weapons mean the "Multiplayer shines in Snowblind" possibilities are up to your imagination" / BLOOD VIOLENCE OWY crar игле. BROADBAND ONLY PlayStation.e 22| Ж AVE www.nrojectsnowblind.com Jenseits von Gut und Böse HESE PIG QUES Tw O;SAVESHUMANITiyy FROM ‘EXTINCTION SHUNNING SBEGIAL EFFECTS, CUSTOMIZABLE TERS, NON-STOP ACTION, AND А MYSTERY THAT'S AS IMAGIGAL AS IT IS IMMERSIVE, COMBINE TO CREATE А ТКОЕ[МАЅТ Ms — А GINEMATIC GAMING EXPERIENCE THAT'S OUT OF THIS WORLD AND HEAD OF ITS TIME. Xenosaga® EPISODE Il Jenseits von Gut und Böse & © 2001 2004 NAMCO LTD., Blood and Gore ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Licensed by Sony Computer Entertainment America for Language play on PlayStation 2 computer entertainment systems with the NTSC U/C A designation only. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks Suggestive Themes | of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the. Violence Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks and trade names are the ir respective owners. Sony Computer Entertainment America takes for this offer. LJ ro SAVE тн: FUTURE ` YOU MUST UNCOVER THE PAST ". Devastate your opponents with innovative Explore lush, expansive environments and Engage your enemies with larger, more Cooperative combat techniques, refined boost enjoy detailed, realistic character designs. powerful mechs, now featuring their own systems and a unique zone attack/zone independent, tactical battle system. break mechanic. namco http://xenosaga2.namco.com Discover the mind-blowing truth about UFOS, Roswell, alien autopsies and more as you blast your way through the US | government's most secret and secure military facility: Area 51. EcL. CORNER a Е. ae Eo < EFE 783 Mutate апд experience amazing alien abilities. online multiplayer combat Battle an enemy unlike anything you've ever faced Blood PC > Or Intense Violence | Ж [3 Ne CD-ROM xeox Strong Language Intensify the action with PlayStation.e —R жемес: «жат». = Е ae = m: жеме, рл да > THE CONSPIRACY IS NU LONGER A THEORY. AW ы 151-САМЕ.СОМ MIDWAY CONTENT 10”ОРМ April 2005 # INPUT 18 INPUT Everyone who has 10 fingers, raise your hand! Now everyone who has 10 fingers, use them to write us at opm@ziffdavis.com! $ HYPE 22 SPORTSCENTER Game companies continue their draft picks. 32 CASTLEVANIA: CURSE OF DARKNESS Dracula rides again, but his victims are new. 34 KILLER 7 We're still not sure what it's about, but we know it makes us feel dirty inside. 38 WAR ALL THE TIME Put on your uniform—Ubisoft is headed to the battlefield with Brothers in Arms, Rainbow Six: Lockdown, and Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. 46 DRIVE ON BY Enthusia is for drivers with patience; Midnight Club 3 is for drivers with rage 54 DEATH, JR. The Grim Reaper's progeny may be the funniest thing to hit your PSP. 64 SPANDEX LOVE All the cool kids have alter egos, just like their buddies Batman, Hulk, and the Fantastic Four 24 ANIMANIA Astro Boy gives your DVD player some lovin’ 26 BY THE NUMBERS The page that counts. MREVIEWS 98 Gran Turismo 4 102 Finny the Fish & the Seven Waters 102 Kessen Ill 102 Musashi Samurai Legend 103 Playboy: The Mansion 105 TimeSplitters: Future Perfect 109 FIFA Street 109 World Tour Soccer 2006 10 Major League Baseball 205 10 MLB 2006 Ш0 MVP Baseball 2005 u2 Project: Snowblind 14 Fight Night Round 2 114 MX vs. ATV Unleashed па Rugby 2005 16 Devil May Cry 3 ug DVDs \AREPLAY 122 PSPREDECESSORS The handhelds that paved the way. 126 MERCENARIES Play as Han Solo. 128 GOOD, BAD, UGLY: FPS GAMES Games you should shoot in virtually, and games you should literally shoot. 129 REVIEWS ARCHIVE Every PS2 game rated. 130 CHAMPIONS: RETURN TO ARMS Get the best weapon in the whole game. 134 BEHIND THE GAME: WIPEOUT The story of one of PlayStation’s seminal games QRENWIND 138 FIVE YEARS AGO... There were a lot of darn good games. GAMES COVERED INSIDE - Р52 116 Arc the Lad: End of Darkness 64 Batman Begins 39 Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 32 Castlevania: Curse of Darkness 130 Champions: Return to Arms 116 Devil May Cry 3 46 Enthusia 68 Fantastic Four 109 FIFA Street 114 Fight Night Round 2 102 Finny the Fish & the Seven Waters 98 Gran Turismo 4 66 The Incredible Hulk: Critical Mass 102 Kessen Ill 34 Killer 7 110 Major League Baseball 205 126 Mercenaries 50 Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition 110 MLB 2006 ws Tm NN тур хў АҺ LY 4 Devil May Cry 3 Wipeout Batman Begins Splinter Cell Enthusia Baseball Roundup 102 46 Musashi Samurai Legend MVP Baseball 2005 MX vs. ATV Unleashed Playboy: The Mansion Project: Snowblind Rainbow Six: Lockdown Rugby 2005 Splinter Cell Chaos Theory TimeSplitters: Future Perfect World Tour Soccer 2006 Advent Shadow Colin McRae Rally 2005 Death, Jr. Frogger Grand Theft Auto Infected Lumines Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Rengoku: The Tower of Purgatory TOCA Race Driver 2 Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade gu a FIFA Street 54. Killer 7 тм »1UP BUZZOMETER Н 10РСОМ Games! We love games! We love games even more than you do! If you don't believe us, stop by the site and check it out! OPM.TUP.COM The OPM magazine only visits your mailbox once a month. We know this makes your mailbox sad. Cheer it up by taking it on a trip to opm.1UP.com, where all of your favorite editors are online every single second. PSP. TUP.COM The launch countdown continues. Stay tuned to 1UP.com for all of your up-to- the-minute PSP info, including launch games, launch movies, and pictures of people standing in lines on March 23. PS2.1UPCOM Stressed out because a game is coming out and you have yet to see ОРМ review? Stress no more—up-to-the-minute reviews are always available here. BOARDS.1UP.COM If you're always losing arguments, then you've been hanging out in the wrong place—here you can always find someone to agree with you, no matter how unpopular your opinion might be. CLUBS.1UP.COM Country clubs have exorbitant membership fees. Some of them can cost more than $200,000 per year, and that doesn't even include your bar tab! However, the clubs on 1УРсот are completely free—well, except for your beverages. FEATURED CLUB KILLFOPSP-CLUB.1UP.COM We don't really endorse the Kill for PSP club, but we do think it's a good idea to be friendly with its members so that you don't end up as one of their targets... www.lUP.com | if WELCOME. MISSION STATEMENT, The Official U.S. PlayStation | Magazine is the only Sony| Computer Entertainment America-licensed magazine and is published by Zif Davis} Media Inc. through an exclu e Official U.S. PlayStation Mag- | azine (OPM remains inde- pendent from SCEA and is a| critical, autonomous voice that helps readers get more out of their PlayStation sys tem by delivering the most current, comprehensive, and candid coverage of PlaySta-| tion software and hardware | | LOGAN PARR wants to know what it means when one of the birds he is pet-sitting for lets out an evil laugh and says, "It won't make any difference.” This has scared him off ever want- ing birds as pets, watch- ing Hitchcock's The Birds...or closing his eyes ever again. has been dreaming nightly about the PSP since she preordered it. She also dreams that she has chil- dren who she forgets and leaves alone for weeks at a time. We don't know exactly what that means, but we wouldn't recom- mend her for baby-sitting. RYAN VULK would like to dedicate his hard work drawing the cover and laying out 84.52779 percent of the issue to this lovely pouch of mayonnaise. His dreams of slathering it all over slices of bread and preserved meats are what kept him going. Huzzah for the greatness of mayo! We love the PSP, and so will you. Even at the higher-than-expected price, you'll be among the first to buy it. The PSP is simply awesome, as is its game roster. When Sony's Kaz Hirai spoke to us for Giancarlo's cover story (the fun starts on page 80), he was guarded in speculating how the PSP would perform sales-wise. He reminded us that the system hasn't even shipped yet, so it's difficult to know exactly how it will do. Well, Kaz, allow us some speculation of our own: The PSP will breeze through the first million units; PSP game quality and Wi-Fi alone will change gaming in ways we haven't even thought of, not to mention its power as a movie and music player. There will be a PSP2 and a PSP3 and so on. Wel- come to the start of the PSP generation. What's that? Oh, right—l'm the new editor-in-chief of OPM, taking the reins from John Davison, who is still with us, but in a bigger position in which he will wield his enormous powers for the betterment of all the great gaming stuff Ziff Davis does. Good for him and good for us. « Tom really did grow ир ina funeral home, as men- tioned in his TimeSplitters: Future Perfect review. And he really did build a TimeSplitters map based on the funeral home's lay- out. Look for maps by "joePM" online and you too can experience part of his childhood. has officially been broken, thanks to his efforts to glean the terrible, won- drous secrets of Killer 7. Now he claims that his stab wound houses the disembodied voice of economist John Nash, and wants you to know that the kids are, indeed, alright. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (ISSN #1094-6683) is published monthly by Ziff Davis Media Inc offices. Single-issue rate: $8.99. Subscription Rates: One Year (12 issues and 12 demo discs) $49.97 U.S., $65.97 all other countries. POSTMASTER: Send address change 55362, Boulder, CO 80322-5362. For Subscription Service Inquiries tries, or visit our subscription website at service.playstationmagazine.com, Back lesu Official U.S, PlayStation Mag: Inc. The editors and publishers are not respor Manager, Olga Gonopolsky, at permissions@ziffdavis.com, For article reprints and e-prints, contact FosteReprints, 865-879-9144. TM & © for all other products a respective trademark and copyright holders. 12”ОРМ April 2005 jstered trademark of Ziff Davis Publishing H call us at 800-627-6458 U.S. and Ca Back issues are $8 each in Mail your requests to: Back Issues, Ziff Davis Media Inc. P.O. Box 53131 goods and services that may interest you. If you do not wish to Inc. All Rights Reserved. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine is a п reproduced, stored in or introduced into а ngs Inc. Without ді system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, p ible for unsolicited materials For permission to re naterials in this magazi are subject to change and the publisher assumes no Publications Mail Agreement No, 40009221, Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to PO Box material from our pul 3, RPO West Beaver Creek, J U.S. Playstation Мадад sponsibility for such changes. The hmond НИ, ON LB «яв. Printed PAR on hearing about all sorts of neat tricks you can do with the PSP. But besides using it to play Lumines and watch Deuce Bigalow, he also wants to read comics on it. No one bothered to tell him that you have to scan the pages and turn them into JPEG files first. z= is now a certified adult, at the no-longer-considered- ripe age of 30. He cele- brated his entry into the world of stress, impending crises, and disdain for "youth" by going all-out at the IHOP in Cheyenne, Wyoming. If you weren't there, well, that was your problem, you square. ANINI is still amazed that the PSP can do so much. He only wishes that it could manufacture a pancake of some sort or perhaps make a grilled cheese sandwich on command. Oh well—maybe the PSP2 will be able to accomplish such feats. is a longtime columnist who prides herself on blowing deadlines. She is no longer allowed in the OPM offices after some “inappropriate” behavior with a God of War window display. She loves Greek mythology and Greek food and food in general. Especially cheese. Mmmmm...cheese. untries. Fax us at 850-683-4096 U.S. and Ca h elsewhere Boulder, CO 80322-2131. Mi ive their mailings, please write to us at: Of g lists: We sometin 15 make lists of ou P.O. Box 55362, Boulder, CO 80322-5362. Copy nadian GST regi in the USA. U.S. PlayStation N nada, or 303-604-0518 t to availability). Prepayment is req Z ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA Editor-in-Chief Tom Byron Managing Editor Dana Jongew: Senior Editor Joe Rybicki Previews Editor Thierry Nguyen News Editor Giancarlo Varanini Art Director Ryan Vulk Assistant Art Director Alejandro Chavetta Disc Producer Logan Parr Editorial Contributors Robert Ashley, Zoe Flower, Greg Ford, Chris Kohler, Copy Editors Greg Ford, Susie Ochs PROG _ NOR Senior Production Manager Anne Marie Miguel Production Manager Monica Brent Assistant Production Manager Teresa Newson UE GROUE о UN President Scott C. 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(Event Marketing Group) Julie Herness (Event Marketing Group) Michael Krieger (Market Experts} Charles Lee (Integrated Media) Rick Lehrbaum (Internet) Jim Louderback (Editor-in-Chief, Internet) Eric Lundquist (Editor-in-Chief, eWEEK) Chris Maginn (Internet) Melinda Maginn Reilly (Inte Angelo Mandarano (Internet) Paul O'Reilly Event Marketing Group) Ellen Pearlman (Editor-in-Chief, CIO Insight) Beth Repeta (Human Resources) Martha Schwartz (Custom/Conference Group] Pam Spector (Business Development & International Licensing) Tom Steinert-Threlkeld (Editor-in-Chief, Baseline] Stephen Sutton (Internet Audience Development) Elda Vale (Research 8 Market Intelligence) Stephen Veith (Publisher, CIO Insight) Monica Vila (Event Marketing Group] Senior Director, Manufacturing Carlos Lugo Director of Corporate Communications Randy Zane nyone on this masthead using firstname_lastname@zitfdavis.com Media & Corporate Sales) iption Service Number 00-627-6458 (U.S. and Canada only) вуматолт То subscribe online. playstationmagazine Action RPG Combat Wireless Multiplayer Gameplay Original Fantasy Adventure Wield your blade and cast powerful spells Connect directly to other PSP handheld Battle powerful creatures and save the city of Aven in this action-packed, hack ‘n’ slash RPG. systems and play with your friends. to unravel the mysteries of an ancient planet. Untold Legends”: Brotherhood of the Blade" is classic RPG action available at launch for the PSP™ handheld entertainment system. Choose from among four unique character classes and journey to the fantasy world of Aven to battle powerful creatures and unravel the mysteries of an ancient planet. Experience on-the-go hack ‘n’ slash combat or join cooperative multiplayer battles via wireless gameplay as you venture through beautiful 3D environments and discover rich treasures in this completely original fantasy adventure. 1 > 1 SONY ONLINE | ec ENTERTAINMENT 2005 Sony Online Entertainment Inc. SOE and the SOE logo are registered trademarks and Untold Legends and Brotherhoo PlayStation” and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The r idemarks All Rights Reserved. PSP is a tradem п. Memory Stick Duo™ m ON THE DUD TRY BEFORE YOU BUY Don't think of this as just another demo disc, think of it as a zany world tour! Where else can you experience the wonders of China, ancient Japan, mythological Japan, and Europe? This is the cheapest honeymoon yet! ALSO CHECK OUT Videos about Full Spec- trum Warrior for PS2, neat downloads for Shrek 2, and a lesson from Lanea Lyden on fighting Mister Black (in Red Dead Revolver. WATCH IT HOOK UP! No, not that kinda hookup, but one where amateur athletes show their stuff 14"OPM April 2005 Never has turning left for a few minutes been harder than in this game. If you're a total car nerd, you probably will go nuts with the demo cars and tracks. TENCHU Girl ninjas (aka kunoichi) аге pretty hot (at least to us troglodytes on staff). You can now enact our, er, your bizarre fetish for women cutting things! If you ever wondered what Braveheart would look like if the whole battlefield was cov- ered with samurai instead of Scots, well, here you go. Те +> Godfather MIDNIGHT CLUB 3 Read about how “real big” the || cars and their rims and their spoilers and their everything j| are. Then sit back and watch the excess in this video. We all love primates here! If you don't like apes, then maybe this video featuring portable apes will convince you that apes are the new monkeys. COLD WIN The closest you'll get to visiting a prison full of cranky Chinese guards, this shooter demo also features the ability to use com- mon baskets as bullet sponges! SHINING TES This is basically a Japanese buddy flick where two misfits end up saving the world. If you don’t have a buddy, your other thumb will have to substitute. This is perhaps the best movie ever made. Now it's more polygonal and bump-mapped! Zounds! How can you refuse such an offer from the trailer?!? ST: SNOWBLIND Think about what might have happened if the Rangers in y] Black Hawk Down had had superpowers. That doesn't hap- pen in this video, but it's close. We won't fault SCEA for making a Spartan look like a Celtic bar- barian—simply because the action in this video reeks of god smacking and man rage. Demo Disc Producers Gary Barth, Manuel Sousa, Jerome Strach, Chris Tan Marketing Team Steve Williams, Jesse Caid Executive Producer Andrew House Format Q&A Sam Bradley, DeMarlo King Account Coordinator Eric Ippolito Programming and interface artwork by Lifelike Productions, Inc. Lead Programmers William Bohan, Ron Midthun, Avery Lodato 3D Artists Jason Robinson, Philip Williamson, David Hayes Producer Jessi Harrison President Katherine Williams Technical Director Tim Edwards Maimoona Block, Kirsten Costello, Tom Gillan, Michelle Manahan, Gerald Martin, Jim Williams 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 OPM Disc Producer, Ziff Davis Media, 101 2nd Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, 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. If you have a malfunctioning or non-working 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 U.S. PlayStation Magazine that the demo disc included is free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase. SCEA agrees for a period of ninety (90) days to either repair or replace, at its option, the SCEA product. You must call 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, unrea- sonable use, mistreatment, neglect, or breakage during ship- ment. THIS WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WAR- RANTIES AND NO OTHER REPRESENTATIONS OR CLAIMS OF ANY NATURE SHALL BE BINDING ON OR OBLIGATE SCEA. ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES APPLICABLE TO THIS SOFTWARE PRODUCT, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE LIMITED TO THE NINETY (90) DAY PERIOD DESCRIBED ABOVE. IN NO EVENT WILL SCEA BE LIABLE FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSE- QUENTIAL 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. MATURE Blood and Gore / Intense Violence Г “ Strong Language POWERED BY REISE АА - ESRB CONTENT RATING mE Spy. MP SEGABSANG ONLY] tisk his manicur the job de Ser messy in this intense action shooter that ce | Break almost anything-and anybody-—to achieve your mi: PlayStation.e SIERRA www.coldwinter.com BEST SH ITH YOUR CONTACT OPM Snail Mail ОРМ reach us пс 18"OPM April 2005 LETTER OF THE MONTH 1 have come to the conclusion that relationships play out a lot like a game of Guilty Gear. See, up until about a week ago or so | was with this one girl, but it had seemed her last challenger got the high score after only a week of gameplay. 1, on the other hand, was trying to get the unlockable by putting some hard work into the game. Well, after hearing [about her last chal- lenger], | kinda pulled a special and the relationship was “DESTROYED.” Besides, things were already rocky. Every time we'd be in a match, she'd build up the tension gauge and then Roman-cancel all of a sudden and want to talk. | mean, the relationship had more drama than story mode. So it looks like I'm done with versus mode for awhile and will stick to arcade and await the next challenger. If all this sounds strange and rather creepy...you are right. Even more so if you've never played the Guilty Gear games. Perhaps | should find something better to do with my time...like search out that new challenger. Maybe she'll be like Justice, but the thing is, fighting Justice is so one-sided that it would kinda be like S&M...and since I’m not Testament, | wouldn't really be into that. No Bridgets or Venoms either. Not into that kinda stuff. Well, that's about it. Oh, but remember...the key to great sex is Punch + Kick + Heavy Slash + Slash, quarter circle forward, quarter circle forward—always guaranteed to finish ‘em off. Hey OPM, | have been deeply touched by your demo of Katamari Damacy—so much so that | play it all night and have the music stuck in my head all day. | even made my own Katamari at work. | work at a Volkswagen dealership, and the brand-new cars come with a vinyl film around them. The amount of film varies from car to car, but if you wrap it into a ball, it's about the size of a cat. It took a while, but the ball | made was about 5 feet tall. Are Americans just not cultured enough to han- dle the box art found in foreign lands? Perhaps politically we don't make the best decisions, but we are good at entertainment (1 know we aren't quite on top of the porn industry—France has that covered—but we're close) and wasting countless hours in front of the television. As an artist myself, | find the “dumbed-down” covers kind of insulting. People are inadvertently drawn to bright, flashy things. Japanese culture proves this, as does the huge need for jewelry on women. It would make more sense to just change the language on the cover and leave the pretty box art. Shame on you, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagli- abue [for signing an exclusivity deal with EA Sports]. | switched from Madden to the 2K GAMERS ARE TALKING ABOUT STRAIGHT FROM THE OPM MESSAGE BOARDS 7 М pf a PSP MADNESS With the news of PSP's launch date and pric- ing hitting the streets just before we went to press, our friends on the OPM message boards had plenty to say about {ће system's pricing and launch lineup. “That's $300 Canadian. To me that seems like too much money,” said FinalFantasy- Ruler88. “You have to consider what you are get- ting with it,” replied bizsumpark182. "It's not as bad as you're making it out to be. And after a couple of months or so, I’m sure-that they will come out with a package with just the system.” “If | were to be getting a PSP, which I’m not,” said c_strife97, “I'd be interested in Lumines and Untold Legends. There's too many console rehashes in the [launch] list.” “What's wrong with a console rehash?” asked DatMonkey. “That's the main reason | want a PSP, so that | can play the PS2 games | dig on the go. | think it would kick ass to be able to play Tony Hawk or Devil May Cry on the train—especially since | haven't touched these games on my PS2 in a LONG time." ж. LONG LIVE PS2 Meanwhile, other folks are trying to live in the moment. “There are all these murmurings about new systems and how awesome they will all be,” mused unusualgroove36, “and | have no doubt that they will be, but I still have so much to play on my PS2, Xbox, and even the GameCube. | mean, come on—|'m still playing Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, and | haven't even played Jak II yet." “I'm not ready yet,” cried only-1-mac. “| feel like | just got my PS2 and I'm still hav- ing a blast with it. ГИ probably wait a year to buy one of [the new systems], because by then the kinks will hopefully be ironed out.” “I'm tired of the PS2 and this generation of consoles," retorted Syphon Filter H11. "I already want better graphics, bigger cities, more cars, bigger adventures, and so on. | want consoles to be able to run thousands of players on one screen without even breaking a sweat. | want 10,000 cars and 500 tracks in a Gran Turismo game, and | want 1,000-plus hours of play time on a Grand Theft Auto. | want MORE, dammit!” "Are we supposed to be done with [PS2]?" asked luccia. “I figure we've got a good year [left] at least. If we're supposed to be done already, I'm in serious trouble with this ever growing pile of games over here. Let's not count our chickens before they're hatched, people." ‘er sor № o PATRIGK STEWART ONLY IN THEATRES - SPRING 2005 SOUNDTRACK AVAILABLE NN ом DOMO RECORDS ww com sony style series іп 2003 and never looked back. | know I’m in the minority, what with all the Madden lovers, but | just liked Sega's game better. | found that Sega did a better job on the running game than EA did in Madden. Plus, you get Chris Berman (although ESPN's commentating crew is һоггі- ble, especially compared to Madden and Michaels). Regardless, there's no way that such a solid game should be forced off the market. Competition makes for better games, and the NFL, of all leagues, should be aware of that. It's clear where EA's priorities lie: Rather than devoting all that cash to product and game development to make a better game for fans, it uses it to squash out the competition. | try to imagine a football game with fake teams and numbers for players' names. Since that will never happen, there will be no other choice but the EA franchise in the future. | am outraged. If this is the future of the videogame industry, there won't be anything left worth spending my money on, and that makes me very sad. This is a sad day for every sports gamer around the world. If EA improved Madden only incre- mentally each year in the face of competition, what will the company do now that it has com- pletely eliminated the competition? Competition breeds innovation, and that's what we have lost with the moves made in January by EA. Mad- denites (of which 1 am one), congratulations: You can finally say that Madden is the only game to have! For the last several years, l've always had a big all-night party at my house for my birthday. And while each year is very entertaining, my friends and | decided to be a little different and actually have a theme. So, inspired by the gamers’ holi- day created by the web comic Ctrl+Alt+Del, we celebrated in the spirit of "Winter-een-mas" by paying homage to videogames and gaming. How, you ask? Well, for starters, we engaged in rounds of flame tag in Time-Splitters 2 and flailed around in front of the television playing AntiGrav. But some of us took it a bit further and decided to express our love for gaming by dressing as characters from some of our favorite games (we had prizes for the best cos- tumes, so that helped, too). Here's a picture of us dressed as characters from SOCOM, Metal Gear Solid 3, Prince of Tennis, Naruto, Final Fan- tasy, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and Vice City. І recently read your Editor Awards article in Issue 489. As | read through it, | agreed with all your choices until | got to the Game of the Year award. My first though was, "Are these guys out of their minds?" Then 1 realized that you were absolutely right. San Andreas is a near- flawless game, with awesome graphics and the whole works. But Burnout 3 greatly surpasses it in one department: It's fun! It's a great arcade racer that breaks away from the annoying real- ism of most recent racers, and it has so much to collect and unlock that it will keep you playing for hours on end. And because of that, to me it is the best game of 2004, and anyone who doesn't own it needs to get it NOW! Since Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 is coming out after Resident Evil 4, | was wondering if it will have the good gameplay like Resident Evil 4 or the same old crap controls and camera angles like the first Resident Evil Outbreak? ASK US ANYTHING AND WE'LL ANSWER 20°0PM April 2005 APPLES AND ORANGES О Гт as psyched as anyone else to get a PSP, but while a lot has been written about the multi- media capabilities of the thing, | was wondering how it was going to work for those of us who use Macs instead of PCs. Will we still be able to put MP3s or mpgs onto our PSPs by linking it with our Macs, or will we be s*** out of luck? Chris Eades vie e-mail A Sony has yet to reveal the U.S. PC-to-PSP interface, but just in case it doesn’t include Mac support, there’s already third-party software out there that backs up your saves, syncs with iPhoto and iTune: video. You ci check it out her om/iPSP. LET FREEDOM RING О | was wondering if there wa Freedom Fighters sequel, be going to bea ause | loved the game and beat it about six times Kelly Frischmann via e-mail А Ап EA spokesman says he hadn't heard any- thing about plans for a sequel. However, IO Interactive, developer of the first game, is cur- rently hiring for several programming, art, and game-design positions, and most posti list multiplayer online experience as a require- ment. Hmm HAPPY EASTER О What's an Easter egg? Alex Rosario via e-mail A An Easter eg n feature or object in a game that has no practical value. For example, in MGSS, if you hit R1 during the intro cinematic, nger will whisper "Snake eater." According ww.urbandictionary.com, its де їп геїег- to hidden items in art and entertainment "originates from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when the hunt but most of the eggs went unfound. They can be seen throughout the film in various locations (such as under Frank N. Furter's throne)." st had ап Easter eg: 4 film that would make me ud азау ne fan; something that would give the non-videogame-playing BLOG OF ave THE MONTH the world the e Joes and Janes of ame type of at we as "What in God's name is [House of the Dead and Alone in the Dark director] Uwe Boll doing? The man is an avid g claims he's about bringing videogar franchises to the big screen. So why is it that thus far, he ctually done more harm than good for videogame fans? Look, l'm not looking for а masterpiece of a film. I'm not looking for a film that's going to be nominated for 15 billion Oscars. l'm not a film even looking оп: driven by unqu star power. | just want à euphoria" game players experience when we play our games. Up to this point, the videogame-based movies out there have only made it embarrassing to be a fan and game player.” Jeffrey C CLUB OF THE MONTH “This is a club for people who always wonder, ‘Am | the only person who reads books on this marve website?’ Well, you аге How Come No One Reads... UT. Blood and Gore Intense Violence Nudity Sexual Themes PEN Strong Language of W. dd атагк OFS Y inputer Entert inment America Inc. ©2005 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. “PlayStation” andthe "PS" fee, маз epigr Entertainment live dn a а. оша тайтак of Sony Computer Entertainment: America Inc: y тю нтте ао НҮ: a EE INSIDE 31 CALENDAR Thirty-one days of PS2 madness at your fingertips 32 CASTLEVANIA: CURSE OF DARKNESS It's back to Dracula's castle, but this time there's a new cast SPANDEX LOVE -= A game that makes even Scooter uncomfortable YOUR FAVORITE SUPERHEROES, NOW 100 PERCENT INTERACTIVE — 38 REGISTER FOR THE DRAFT _ Or just stay home and go to war with Ubisoft 46 ENTHUSIA A racing game for skilled drivers with patience 50 MIDNIGHT CLUB 3: DUB EDITION For those who are not patient, driving of a different sort 54 DEATH JR. Levity comes in the form of an adolescent skeleton ee'OPM April 2005 SPORTSCENTER Lately, the sports-gaming business has been looking more like a boxing Scorecard than a set of business moves. ROUND 1: EA lands a haymaker by signing the National Football League (NFL) to an exclusive five-year deal. ROUND 2: EA drops below the belt, soaking up the last worthwhile football license, signing a pact with the Arena Football League (AFL). ROUND 3: With the competition on the ropes, EA follows up with a near knockout blow, wrapping up the ESPN license for, wow, 15 years. ROUND 4: Take-Two counterpunches its way back into the competition with а serious one-two-three volley, signing a third-party exclusivity deal with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), Major League Baseball Properties (MLBP), and Major League Baseball Advanced Media (МІ.ВАМ) for seven years. While the bell hasn't rung for Round 5 just yet, things are changing on a daily basis, and it's likely that deals are currently in the works for both the NBA and NHL. Here's a blow-by-blow recap.... ЕЖЕ RN SETS ROUND 1 MADDEN: THE ONLY (NFL) GAME IN TOWN 4 While the EA/NFL deal was the gaming equivalent of the shot heard round the world—where were you when the deal went down?—ultimately the highest rated, most respected, and best marketed NFL series won out, with Madden scoring full control of the sport for the next five seasons. Even though this move made EA seem like the ultimate money- powered, bullying villain, it's inarguably good business. EA's hand was even, in a sense, forced by 2K's aggressive pricing strategy to gain market share—i.e., its $20 sports games. Financial analysts insist Sega's pricing was likely only a one-year scheme, mind you, as it is largely considered bad for the industry. "I think what we learned is there's a great demand for a low-priced product out there," says Todd Sitrin, EA Tiburon's VP of marketing. "There were a lot of consumers that had never purchased any football game regardless, [who] all of a sudden came out when there was a low- priced product." Even after dropping the price to rock bottom, NFL 2К5 still only garnered 40 percent of the market share (a significant leap, but not a financial success). Madden was dominant then and will stay that way. ааа ааста вагт] ROUND е THE AFL: WHO FREAKIN’ CARES? 4 When EA signed on with the AFL, it garnered press similar to what you'd expect at a public nose-picking session: The only interested parties were NFL 2K5 fans hoping for a license to keep the franchise on life support. They felt that cutting out the competition in such a predatory manner was one of the most contemptible strokes of EA's money-making masterpiece. According to Sitrin, they had it wrong. "The AFL came to us more than a year ago and started talking to us about doing a game," Sitrin says. "The Arena Football League is an inter- esting situation: They've been around 19 years. But just in the last few years, they've experienced rapid growth in their league because of their deal with NBC [which broadcasts games every week]. They wanted to work with us because of the strength of the EA Sports brand, so we could bring their game to life in a videogame format. It's a deal we discussed for a long, long time. As for the timing, it's complete coincidence that the deal got done when it did." EXEC a ST ROUND 3 ESPN: THE WORLDWIDE LEADER IS SELLING OFF TO HIGHEST BIDDER 4 The deal that ESPN signed with EA was significant for two major reasons: 1) It lasts for 15 years. Fifteen! 2) It strips another piece away from 2K Games’ dwindling uniform, as its three-year agreement with ESPN has almost expired. The deal, an absolute whopper, calls for EA to pay ESPN a minimum of $850 million in cash and advertising commitments, according to an esti- mate in The Wall Street Journal. Like with the AFL deal, EA didn’t do the PLL LED TIL ILLETI ESL LLAT LEELLE EAPC EA DIDN'T DO THE APPROACHING; IT JUST EMPTIED THE COFFERS. р approaching; rather, it just emptied the coffers. "Throughout the years, we have had a number of conversations with EA, which is a big marketing customer of ours," says John Skipper, ESPN's executive vice president for advertising sales, new media, and consumer products. "Our current agreement with Sega runs out at the end of this year, and we were looking to decide what our next agreement would be. Our deal with EA came together fairly quickly." Why did ESPN abandon Take-Two? "We had a very good working rela- tionship with [Take-Two]," Skipper told The Wall Street Journal. "But the power of Electronic Arts' brand was hard to resist. When you think about brands that should be together and work together, | think EA represents in videogames what ESPN represents in broadcasting and media assets." The actual reasons for ESPN to switch teams seem to be threefold. First, ESPN wanted the promise of more money, and Take-Two's budget pricing meant fewer dollars at retail, fewer dollars in the licensor's bank account, and less capital to afford the license. It's ironic, really. 2K Games lowered the price of its franchise to gain market share, which was www.lUP.com | 23 $ HYPE IN WITH ек, OUT WITH SEGA THE END OF AN ERA Ў | > When Take-Two purchased Visual Concepts from Sega for $24 million in January, it sig- naled the end of Sega Sports as we know it and the beginning of Take-Two's sports brand, 2K Games. This move, along with its MLB deal, announced that Take-Two will still challenge EA's sports titles. “We view the acquisition of Visual Con- cepts as a significant positive for Take-Two,” TerraNova Institutional analyst Boris Markovich says. “Visual Concepts has histori- cally excelled by delivering some of the high- est rated sports titles in the industry.” Paul Eibeler, Take-Two's president, followed up, saying, "With the acquisition of Visual Concepts and Kush Games and their sports- game development capabilities, we'll con- tinue to aggressively pursue our strategy to gain market share with our 2K sports titles.” Sega, on the other hand, didn't feel like sports were profitable enough anymore. “The ESPN Videogames line has not been a HISTORY OF SEGA SPORTS ports splashed on the scene back in 1 Sega's sports arm all but shut dov з look back at JOE MONTANA'S NFL FOOTBALL Ап early Sega CD release that featured all 28 NFL teams and live, unintentionally funny clips of Montana. 1994 WORLD SERIES BASEBALL This Genesis game had 28 teams, real players, and a 162-game season—everything but the players’ strike. 1996 NBA ACTION This Saturn title—the developer's first foray into the NBA—featured NBA teams, players, and Marv Albert yapping away. orts Moments. 2000 SEGA SPORTS VIRTUA TENNIS A direct arcade port to Dreamcast, this block- buster featured real players and great tennis; it's still regarded by many gamers as the best tennis game out there. 2002 SEGA SPORTS NFL 2Ka The multiplatform debut for Visual Concepts, which featured online play for the second straight year. 2003 SEGA SPORTS WORLD SERIES BASEBALL 2КЗ The last of the Sega Sports-labeled titles. After this, titles were published under беда key profit driver in the North American mar- ket for Sega,” explains Naoya Tsurumi, CEO of Sega of America. While Sega might pub- lish a tennis or soccer title in the future, its ties to major American sports are severed. 1999 SEGA SPORTS NFL 2K ЕЕ ая This Dreamcast launch title, developed by Visual Concepts, was the first football game to run at 60 frames per second. and were labeled with ESPN. 2004 ESPN COLLEGE HOOPS 2К5 The last ESPN-licensed game Бу Sega's sports division. effective, but then when its game peaked in popularity and was in a posi- tion to make money, ESPN walked because 2K couldn't afford the license. Second, money talks: EA dropped a massive bag full of money to lure ESPN to its side. And third, EA has the NFL. Skipper tells OPM, “The EA/NFL five-year deal did not impact what ESPN decided to do. We would have done the deal whether or not the NFL deal had transpired.” However, at the same time, he also admitted to the New York Post, "We're happy to be in part- nership with the company that has the NFL rights." The ESPN integration, set to premiere in EA Sports' 2006 titles, won't be used in the same way the 2K franchises used it. "EA Sports will be the leading brand on all of our existing sports franchises," says EA spokesperson Trudy Muller, who says none of the current titles will change, either. So what will you see in terms of content from ESPN? The integration will consist of announcers, stats, design, graphics, branding, and goods from ESPN telecasts and archives. "The agreement also allows EA and ESPN to develop new games based on ESPN sports and programming," says Muller. "We're not announcing specific titles now, but properties like poker and the X Games could be considered." There's also speculation that the license would allow for less-expected ESPN ventures turned games—that means that not only might you see a World Series of Poker game, but it's possible you could also see a game based on the poker-themed show Tilt. A company can do a lot in 15 years, but with the rapidly changing gaming landscape—15 years from now would conceivably see us in PS5 territory—why was such a lengthy deal agreed upon? “This is a long-term commitment by both EA and ESPN to really inte- grate each other's content for a sports fan’s dream come true," Muller says. “By having a longer deal, we can integrate ESPN content and pro- gramming deeper into our games both this generation and for hardware generation cycles to come. It allows us to work creatively without worry- ing about the deal needing to be renegotiated in a year or two.” Take-Two says it still believes it can publish compelling sports games without ESPN, adding, “We wish ESPN the best of luck in their future relationship.” 24”0PM April 2005 Analysts argue this is a killer blow by EA. William Lennan, a WR Ham- brecht analyst, told The New York Times, "It's a slap. It's a slam dunk. Pick your sports metaphor. This makes it tougher for people already facing an uphill battle to compete." But from a gamer's perspective, the ESPN license never matured into anything significant for 2K Games' franchises; it served as an under- utilized coat of paint in almost every game. The announcing teams should be counted as 2K's biggest loss, but the NFL franchise didn't use ESPN announcers, and NBA 2K5's announcing was reprehensibly bad. Only the NHL 2K franchise stands to significantly lose from the deal, because its announcing was so solid. ласы BEE а етгі уду ROUND 4: MLB: TAKE-TWO TAKES A SWING АТ EA 4 Take-Two stepped up to the plate next and responded to EA's NFL, AFL, and ESPN deals by paying bushels of money for acronyms to call its own, wrapping up the MLBPA, MLBP, and MLBAM licenses. To break it down, MLBPA covers players and their likenesses, MLBP (“Р” stands for “prop- erties”) covers pro and minor-league clubs and ballparks, and MLBAM (“АМ” stands for "advanced media") covers MLB.com online content. There are a couple curiosities with this deal, however, both of which make Take-Two out to be this off-season’s New York Mets, who overpaid to lure ace free agents Pedro Martinez from the Red Sox and Carlos Beltran from the Astros. The first curiosity is that Take-Two paid a whopping amount for third- party exclusivity. Industry execs suggest the company paid $250 million to $300 million for these rights, although Take-Two says that those reported estimates are grossly overstated. Jeff Brown, EA's VP of corpo- rate communications, told GameSpot.com, “As far as we're concerned, this looks like stupid money. They are paying an exclusive price for a nonexclusive agreement.” While this brand of exclusivity has the definite whiff of a revenge deal aimed at hurting EA's bottom line, Take-Two feels like third-party exclusiv- NO LICENSE? NO PROBLEM There are a handful of sports games surviving оп the market that haven't signed gazillion- dollar exclusivity deals. Here are a few and how they match up with the competition Hot Shots Golf Fore! This arcadey golfer doesn’t feature real play- ers or real courses...just wacky cartoon charac- ters with more personal- ity than Vijay Singh. 000 The competition: Tiger Woods 2005 өөөөє Blitz: Playmakers The unlicensed Playmak- ers is sure to make an impact by going beyond the field of play. Drug addictions, fast women, faster cars. It's like the real-life NFL without the league restrictions. Rating N/A The competition: NFL Street 2 € World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 International WES features licenses from various leagues, but not the big daddy: the English Premiership. Still, it's considered one of the premier-playing games in all of sports. The competition: FIFA 2005 € www.namco.com |namco i Blood Intense Violence Sexual Themes Strong Language 4 HYPE EA TALKS BACK WHEN THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE r We condemned EA's partnership with the NFL last month because we feel exclusivity is bad for competition and for games. EA Tiburon's VP of marketing, Todd Sitrin, fires back, defending EA's integrity in this sit-down. OPM Based on Sega Sports' $20 price point and consumer reaction, did EA think NFL exclusivity was a must? Todd Sitrin The reality is that the NFL and the NFLPA decided to pursue it. In the end we felt it was the best thing for the relationship with the NFL and the best thing for us. OPM Each Madden released in the past cou- ple of years has topped the previous game. So where's the motivation on EA's side to say, “OK, it'll take five extra guys and $200,000 to implement this groundbreaking feature. Let's do it"? TS Sega and Microsoft and Midway, those weren't our only competitors. We're compet- ing with the Gran Turismos, the Grand Theft Autos. It's important for us to [offer] a better experience than any of those games. And frankly, we don't think the sports competition is going away. We already know that Midway is marketing an unlicensed football product [Blitz: Playmakers]. In the end, we're in compe tition with TV, with the Internet, with movies. We have to win those consumers back by hav- ing a quality, innovative product that pushes things further than they've ever been. OPM A five-year deal is realistically a lifetime deal, isn't it? The resources won't be there for another company to build players, stadium models, etc., because of the costs. "WE'RE IN COMPETITION WITH TU, WITH MOVIES.” TS | don't think so. The contract is a five-year deal. The type of technology that everyone's using can move from one type of product to another. If we don't live up to our expectations of the deal, the NFL and NFLPA have the option to go to someone else. There are a lot of pow- erful companies that have the resources to get back into the licensed products at that time. It's up to us to produce a high-quality game, other- wise when that time comes, maybe people will be searching for a new situation. x ity makes sense. “We believe that competition and choice, especially with sports games, is of paramount importance for consumers,” says James Ankner, director of corporate communications at Take-Two. “We believe this arrange- ment—allowing consumer choice while protecting our ability to make games—is a very smart business decision. Also, we value our relationship with our first-party partners so much that the MLB, MLBPA, and Take-Two didn't think it was appropriate to prevent our first-party partners from making games on their own platforms.” The second curiosity is Take-Two's devotion to a sport that ranks fourth in sales behind football, basketball, and extreme sports. In fact, the entire baseball-game market in 2004 clocked in about 2.5 million units sold, while Madden sold more than 3.2 million copies on PS2 alone. “For Take-Two, this is an investment to participate in a segment that has been growing and has significantly more room to grow,” says Ankner. "According to NPD Funworld, retail sales of interactive baseball titles grew 17 percent from 2003 to 2004, and over 50 percent from 2001 to 2004.” To take advantage of this growth, Take-Two plans to publish manage- rial and arcade-style games to complement its simulation release. “The baseball videogame market has been underdeveloped, and 2K Sports has the product plan and talent to change that in next-generation videogame hardware,” says John Olshan, the MLBPA' category director for interactive games. "For the first time, we will be positioned to take advantage of the entire baseball, hot-stove, and holiday seasons with an outstanding partner who is committed to giving baseball videogames the product development, marketing, and distribution required to bring sales in line with the immense popularity of Major League Baseball." As for the competition, what's next for EA's MVP Baseball series? EA released this statement: "We will launch MVP Baseball 2005 this spring— it's the highest rated and best selling baseball title in the market. We will continue to fight for market share this season. We are exploring our options longer term." Some have suggested that EA's MVP team could make a console base- ball game and then distribute it through Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo in a co-branding situation. But that's a no-go. "These exclusives specify that 26” OPM April 2005 all other third-party publishers and developers are precluded from pub- lishing officially licensed MLB simulation-, arcade-, and manager-style games, either directly or in affiliation with a hardware manufacturer, during the length of the exclusives," Ankner says. But still, that's quite a price to stay friendly with competitors, even if you are using their hardware. Considering the price of the deal, there's no chance that Take-Two will be selling its baseball title for $20; exclusivity of any kind needs to be paid for. EA made around $60 million from its base- ball games last year, and that money is now up for grabs—Take-Two will be the primary beneficiary, though Sony and Nintendo will also share in the market. ERAN SONAL DN IIE LET ETP TOE | ANALYSTS ARGUE THE ESPN DEAL IS A KILLER BLOW BY EA. a 222222 221 ROUND 5: NBA, NCAA, AND THE NHL: THE BIDDING WAR HAS BEGUN 4 IN So now that baseball and football have been divvied up, what's next? Reportedly, Take-Two is already talking with the NBA, NHL, and NCAA about potential licensing deals. You can bet EA won't be sitting there twiddling their thumbs, however. Rumors persist from insider sources that the NBA is willing to go exclusive, but with parameters—it'll dole out exclusivity for different types of games, meaning EA could sign on for the arcade piece of the NBA's licensing puzzle (for its NBA Street series), while Take-Two could ink a deal to control NBA's simulation game (with its NBA 2K series). Both EA and Take-Two are relatively mum on the topic, only saying that they are in discussions with the NBA and NHL. Let the fisticuffs resume. << Todd Zuniga wy f ЫСТЫ! * . "nh è tass 4 эм, p Ss з № b NOW PLAYTIME IS ANYTIME, AND EA IS EVERYWHERE WITH THE PSP HANDHELD. Play 18 holes on your way to work. Win a pennant in a pizza place. Rise up at Rucker while you're оп an airplane. Unleash the power of the PSP™ handheld entertainment system with six specially designed titles from EA. Whenever, wherever, and however you want to compete, EA is there. 2 3 Ё 8 3 Get your quick fix with Mini Games Üwn your opponent in Rock out with top name artists Blast it and pass it on in games and new STREET events Need For Speed™ while you rock opponents. like Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Longest like Style Standoff in Underground Rivals by going Exclusive music videos from Drive Shootout in 4-player NFL STREET 2: Unleashed. head to head on Wi-Fi. EA™ POCKET TRAX. turn Party Play modes. MARCH 2К5 2 YOUR PLAYSTATION 2 Î You know what month 7X Regardless of your opinion on Ronald Reagan, you must applaud his naming of March 6, 1984, as “Frozen Food Day" Go eat that Hungry Man meal that's been in your freezer since '85! this is? National Peanut Month! Try a peanut butter and | bacon sandwich! And if you're allergic to Mr. Peanut, you can, er, mash some peas together instead. Do you think you can do a good job of cre- ating and managing a conference solely ded- icated to the develop- ment of games? Too late! GDC is already up and running from today until the 10th. Giancarlo loooooves 7 to scatter Baked Lays potato chips inside his sandwiches. Join him in some official potato chip fun on Potato Э Chip Day! It's the spring equinox! So not only is Easter Sunday nearby, but it's time to either plant, or harvest your precious seeds! Er, don't read too much into that last phrase. Apparently, in Ye Olden Days, the Easter Bunny was a bird that got transformed into an egg-laying rabbit. There is no empirical evidence of whether it laid chocolate eggs, though. It's time to celebrate Something on a Stick Day! Our favorite stick items include: balls, meats, cheeses, sev- ered heads of enemies (and friends), and other sticks. ITUES Get ready for spring training. No, not with steroids—MVP Base- ball 2005, MLB 2006, and ESPN MLB 2K5 are all in stores. Have bucketloads of undeserved money burning a hole in your pocket? Cold Fear, TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, and EA Sports Rugby 2005 are ready and waiting! Fear Factor, Musashi Samurai Legend, and Rainbow Six: Lock- down are all yearning for your legal tender. Don't let them down! While waiting for the PSP to launch, sate your gaming needs with some delicious God of War, Dragon Ball Z: Sagas, Shining Tears, and World Tour Soccer, all out today. Did you know that Australians have plas- tic money? Alas, we have to use paltry paper money to buy games like Splinter Cell Chaos Theory and Lego Star Wars today. For those whose Dante of preference does not have the last name Bichette, Devil May Cry 3 is also available for your gaming pleasure. Drink your green- colored beverages and annoy the living crap out of people who forgot to put on green apparel! We prefer getting a pint with our mates. | Pick up your PSP! Watch Tobey Maguire beat up Alfred "Throw me the idol and ГИ throw you the whip" Molina on the bus! Give life to Lumines! Love your PSP! It is your new leader! Today is a reminder of something that is very important for you to understand: Nothing lasts forever. If you're into motorized groin-smashing acci- dents, then you can smash away without regard to physical pain or insurance premiums by buying MX vs. ATV Unleashed today! Hostage—Bruce Willis is another coplike dude who befriends a boy! This adaptation of Robert Crais' solid crime novel was done by the guy who directed Splinter Cell's cut-scenes. Yay? Pay homage to Mister RCA for taking a chance on manufactur- ing a "color picture tube" for the "televi- sion" back in 1954. Without his forward thinking, imagine what games would look like! www.1UP.com “НУРЕ CASTLEVANI CURSE OF Di DR LA RIDES AGAIN Innocence took the Castlevania series in, well...you aren't alone. Lament of Innocence shifted the series into 3D, and in doing so jettisoned a lot of the traits that people had come to associate with the series—the adven- turing elements had practically disappeared, and players had to learn how to cope with a fixed camera. It also shifted the series to a nonlinear format, structuring the game around a hub. Curse of Darkness does away with all of that—including the Bel- monts—except for the 3D. Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi confesses, “In reality, | just wanted to remake Dracula's Curse, but everybody yelled at me, saying ‘more adventuring elements!’” This entry in the series introduces a new protagonist, Hector, who was once a follower of Dracula before growing disillusioned and leaving for a life of seclusion. This seclusion is tragically interrupted three years in when Isaac, a former friend, shows up. Isaac believes Hector has T 757 x сакал DET: CEU EE quum z js R (557 1990 1995 CASTLEVANIA: THE SERIES ЧЕ ама CASTLEVANIA И: DRACULA'S CURSE CASTLEVANIA: DRACULA X The Castlevania franchise has been around a MESicommodorsesdemigararcade NES SNES, ЖА long time. In fact, if it were a person, it would be 1988 1991 1997 < legally old enough to vote this year. Allow us to CASTLEVANIA Il: SIMON'S QUEST CASTLEVANIA Il: BELMONT'S REVENGE CASTLEVANIA: SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT present the timeline of Castlevania games, NES Game Boy PlayStation 4 American style. 1988 1991 1998 HAUNTED CASTLE SUPER CASTLEVANIA IV CASTLEVANIA LEGENDS: \ Arcade SNES Game Boy 1989 1994 1999 CASTLEVANIA: THE ADVENTURE CASTLEVANIA: BLOODLINES CASTLEVANIA Game Boy Genesis Nintendo 64 382” OPM April 2005 Snread somehow caused Dracula's death, and he implicates Hector's girlfriend in a crime, which ultimately results in her death. All of this is simply a very convoluted way of getting Hector to follow Isaac back to Dracula's castle, where the game commences. Why no Belmonts? Igarashi feels that introducing a new hero will strengthen the adventuring elements. So, what can you expect once you get to Dracula’s castle? For one thing, you'll be able to see the ceiling. Igarashi has done away with Lament of Innocence's fixed camera. “Now we have to make ceilings for all these places we never had to think about before,” he jokes. The game is also a lot bigger—though the number of stages has yet to be nounced, the size of each stage equals the entire Forgotten Gardens section from Lament of Innocence. Combat seems to be one of the few things that is relatively unchanged from the last game, still being set up as a branching sys- tem. Igarashi promises a number of new weapons and items, but one of the key additions is a skill called devil forging, which will allow Hec- tor to summon what Igarashi calls “innocent devils” to assist him in his progress through the castle. These devils will be available to aid Hector in combat or to get him past certain obstacles; the type of task you need assistance with will determine the sort of devil that is sum- moned. While we only saw a crow апа a soldier-type devil, there are more than 30 devils in the game, though you won't be able to have any more than one devil assisting you at a time. While Igarashi has a favorite devil, he refuses to identify it, saying only, "Sorry, can't say, but he's the bad one!" Will Curse of Darkness assuage the disappointment that many Castlevania fans felt after Lament of Innocence? It's still too early for us to tell, but we'll keep you updated as the game gets closer to release. < Pub. Konami Dev. Konami Release Fall м 1999 2002 CASTLEVANIA: LEGACY OF DARKNESS: KONAMI COLLECTOR'S SERIES: Nintendo 64 CASTLEVANIA & CONTRA PC 2001 CASTLEVANIA CHRONICLES: 2003 PiayStation CASTLEVANIA: ARIA OF SORROW Game Boy Advance 2001 CASTLEVANIA: CIRCLE OF THE MOON Game Boy Advance 2063 PlayStation 2 2002 CASTLEVANIA: HARMONY OF DISSONANCE Game Boy Advance 2004 CASTLEVANIA Mobile phone 2004 CLASSIC NES SERIES: CASTLEVANIA Game Boy Advance CASTLEVANIA; LAMENT OF INNOCENCE PRETTY AS А PICTURE Ayami Kojima, who designed characters for Lament of Innocence, Aria of Sorrow, Harmony of Dissonance, and Sym- phony of the Night, is back. She designed all the main characters for the new game, plus three innocent devils. Her first character design was for Koei's Soldnerschild. www.lUP.com | 33 X 34 OPM April 2005 | KILLER 7 7 DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITIES, WRESTLERS, AFROS...JUST ANOTHER TYPICAL DAY r “Killer 7 is a postmodern action-adventure, ” says producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi. It's evocative of David Lynch, and Kobayashi counts hard- boiled crime fiction, Mexican wrestlers, and numerous manga as its inspiration. How do we begin? “Killer 7” refers to the seven additional personali- ties of legendary assassin Harman Smith. As far as we know, these aren't mere personalities, but actual people you can switch between on the fly. The plot involves a man who can turn people into “Heaven Smiles,” which are living biological bombs. There's a mission to eliminate the leader of "The Afros," who happens to be a jive-talking African-American with, well, a huge Afro and a propensity for bombing things. There's a woman who will let you save the game only if she's dressed as a maid— sometimes she's dressed in street clothing and will act out her amorous desires upon comatose men instead of letting you save. To pass the "Presidential Psychological Loyalty Test," you need to answer questions like "What is the color of the man's Afro in the 'We Love Freedom" poster?" So yeah, Killer 7 is most definitely an odd game. There's been lots of coverage on how bizarre the game's concept and look аге. And even though we've seen the game in action, we'd still һауе a difficult time explaining how it works. But we'll take a stab: It's a third- person action-adventure—a la Resident Evil games before RE4—that has first-person shooting segments interspersed throughout. Typically, you have one of the Killer 7 walking around (which you accomplish by hold- ing down a button to move forward and using the analog stick to select different pathways as choices come up). Whenever you hear a laugh, you switch to first-person view to see the Heaven Smile(s), and then shoot it (be sure to aim at the glowing weak spots—reminiscent of those on an enemy from RE4, which Kobayashi also produced). After killing it, you gain blood, which you can use to heal yourself, perform special attacks, upgrade your stats, or add abilities. When you're not shooting, you're completing such tasks as taking tests, fixing backed-up toilets, or finding soul bullets. Throughout all of this, you can switch personalities on the fly, which you need to do because each one has distinct advantages and skill sets. The "main" character is wheelchair-bound Harman Smith; you play as him only in certain areas, and he has a powerful sniper rifle. There's Dan Smith, a fairly well-balanced gangster with a decent charge shot. Kaede Smith, the only playable female personality (the aforementioned maid, Samantha, is only in cut-scenes), has a long-range pistol and the ability to cut her wrists to solve puzzles. Con Smith is a little blind fellow who is %- Roger Ebert says, *Imagine a film in which Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton meet Quentin Tarantino and Bugs Bunny.” S senis weak but shoots and reloads the fastest; despite his blindness he can sense secrets that everyone else will completely miss. The laid-back Coy- © ote Smith is a former thief, so he can pick locks, and he’s the only per. sonality that can jump. The brooding Kevin Smith is a knife-wielding maniac who can turn invisible if you're feeling stealthy, and the even СТЕРИЕП culo u more psychotic Mask De Smith is a Mexican wrestler who uses his strength and dual grenade-launchers to get through puzzles. Finally, Gar- cian Smith is "the clean-up man," and is the only Smith that can resur- rect other Smiths; if you die as any other character, Garcian can retrieve 1 У. the corpse (represented as а bag of meat) and revive it there. If he dies, ER you might want to reload your save. — Even after all this, the game's surface has barely been scratched. 5 T Gameplay aspects might seem elementary at first, but it’s the content 4 that makes Killer 7 so distinctive. Kobayashi jokes, "Director Goichi Suda is definitely crazy, but 1 wouldn't say he's mentally disturbed." We have absolutely no idea how John O. Gamer will react to this, or whether Suda is certifiably crazy or not; we know for sure that Killer 7 is a game to watch out for. «€ = + А NEW FILM FROM THE DIRECTOR OF "SHAOLIN SOCCER? Е EU OPENS IN NY & LA 5 MARCH 18, 2005! „2 м OPENS EVERYWHERE . APRIL 1, 2005! RU. . T "X ы SONY PICTURES CLASSICS" 02005 SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT INC. Pub. Capcom Dev. Grasshopper Release Q2 2005 ? E ARC THE LAD, ANIME-STYLE THE LAD: OF DARKNESS Remember Beyond the Beyond? Be glad you don't. The months between the PlayStation's U.S. debut and the release of Final Fantasy Vil were filled with a series of mediocre RPGs punctuated by some games that were, at best, “solid.” Although the original Arc the Lad hit Japan in 1995 along with the PS1, it took its sweet time getting to the States, arriving a whopping six years later as part of 2001's Arc the Lad Collection. The series has never been a Final Fantasy, but historically, it’s been just good enough to sate RPGers looking for some nourishment. Arc the Lad's roots are in solid turn-based RPG action, so it's a bit of a surprise to see this new installment play as a real-time action-RPG. Rather than putting you in a straightforward linear quest, End of Darkness has you, as Edda, accepting missions from a central hub. Some are as ele- mentary as “get rid of the hay,” others involve finding beasts or items, and still others have you performing the occasional escort mission or two. These, in turn, end up advancing the story line, as opposed to games in which you just run around from point A to B and hit things. As Edda cavorts around the world and does the normal RPG thing of righting wrongs and forging everlasting friendships, he adds party mem- bers who help him out during his questing. Due to the real-time, actiony combat system, the Al ends up taking control of your extra party mem- bers. But if you're feeling sociable and have friends on the Interweb, you can hook up online and do either 4-on-4 team sorties or cooperative questing together. Whether you play with friends or use Al characters, you'll be able to choose your squad from among tons of characters. End of Darkness is akin to a reunion episode; 24 characters culled from previous games become playable, from Kharg (hero of Twilight of the Spirits) to the original Arc himself. Finally, if these changes and additions aren't intriguing enough, the bizarre denizens of End of Darkness' universe—which include hat-wearing alligators, armadillos with clawed gloves, and tiny folk who look like Easter eggs with arms and faces—make this installment worth watching. << Pub. Namco Dev. Cattle Call Release May З6”ОРМ April 2005 LIVE BY THE SWORD ADVANCED MISSION SYSTEM Explore and conquer over 50 areas, including thrill-filled, non-linear side quests. PE Ж COOPERATE OR DECIMATE Help your friends—or challenge them in the Arena. Plays, atio Up to 4-player action online or off with Multitap. B Playstation. THAMPIONE RETURNTO ARMS IMPORT YOUR CHAMPION OR CUSTOMIZE A NEW ONE Choose from 7 races and 7 classes, with updated weapons, armor, spells, skills and levels, Pick your side, choose your deadliest arms, then А Н A m D | С) N LN 2 slay your way to victory in Champions: Return to Arms | RE | | | | —the powerful sequel to the must-have action-RPG RETURN TO ARMS ~ | of 2004, Champions of Norrath: Rediscover all the "w.ch: " " | action-packed, hack ^n' slash fun with up to 100 hours A ee | of gameplay per character, unlimited battles, deadly missions, horrific creatures and stunning environments. ооа and Gore Violence ESRB CONTENT RATING _ www.esrt.org Game experience may change during online play. Ф ё) developed b ca arae. snoWwbl ! nd... 4 SONY ONLINE BROADBAND ONLY. ENTERTAINMENT © 2004 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Champions: Return to Arms and Champions of Norrath are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. SOE and the SOE logo are registered trademarks of Sony Online Entertainment Inc. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer. Entertainment Inc. The Online icon is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Online play requires internet connection, Network Adaptor (for PlayStation 2) and Memory Card (8MB)(for PlayStation 2)(each sold separately). The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved. HAT H ЕОР While you can always depend on Team Rainbow to travel the world fighting terror and injustice, you can now add "they also shoot people on the Interweb" to the list of Rainbow's great deeds. Yes, you might scoff at Rainbow Six: Lockdown for featuring standard multiplayer deathmatch modes, in which Team Rainbow and nefarious mercenaries shoot at each other, but the game also introduces a new "rivalry" mode. Think of rivalry as an objective-based variant on domina- tion: Each map has a few distinct objectives, and Rainbow and the merce- naries compete to complete those objectives. Each one usually requires a team to capture and then secure some object. So, when the mercenaries are trying to set off a bomb, Rainbow would be trying to defuse it. Gadgetwise, each team has unique tools that complement the equip- ment carried by the opposition. For example, Team Rainbow can use a motion tracker to look inside a room and see if anyone's moving in it before opening the door. Meanwhile, the mercenary team members can hook up their PDAs to security cameras wired throughout a given level and scope out what Rainbow is up to. If the mercenaries want to give 38'OPM April 2005 themselves more time to prepare traps (using lethal claymores, as opposed to Rainbow's nonlethal flash mines), they can use the L&H Door Fuser to fuse the hinges together and force Rainbow to use their precious little flashbangs or door hammers. These varying gadgets help make the rivalry mode a little more interesting—the mercenaries might try fusing all the doors to their objective closed, while Rainbow could do quick scans of rooms, see which ones hold baddies and which don't, and use their weapons appropriately. Gunwise, Rainbow Six will feature more authentic military hardware, with Team Rainbow using standard counterterrorism firearms (like trusty MP5s) and the mercenaries using more experimental and deadlier guns (like the South African MAG-7, which combines a shotgun's might with a submachine gun's frame). With so many guns and gadgets to play with, Rainbow Six: Lockdown is still most likely the closest you're going to get to being a jet-setting counterterrorist operative. << Ubisoft Dev. Red Storm R Q1 2005 RAINBOW SIX? In military jargon, "six" could refer to a group's leader, which is recurring Tom Clancy character John Clark іп this case. Не’ an ех-СІА badass, and has been played by Willem Dafoe in Clear and Present Danger and Liev Schreiber in The Sum of All Fears. BROTHERS ІМ ARMS: ROAD TO HILL 30 AND A LONG AND WINDING ROAD IT IS Just like in the single-player game, Brothers in Arms' multiplayer matches put every player in command of four other soldiers. To reemphasize, play- ers don't just play as a single soldier; each person commands four sol- diers. This means that while four-player support doesn't sound like much, these matches actually feature 20 soldiers running around, with only four of them being real folks, adding a whole new layer of strategy. In a typical match, the Axis teams defend two artillery platforms, while the Allies are out to destroy them. Two-on-two matches in other games on such a map are express tickets to snoresville, but now, two-on-two feels like a full-scale battle. Each player can choose between either a fire YOU'RE NOT THE team (specializing in laying down covering fire) or an assault team (spe- BOSS OF ME! cializing in direct attacks). With the help of voice chat, you and your = buddy can actually pull off coordinated attacks. A standard tactic would Here’s some behind-the be for the fire team to sit behind cover and hit the enemy with suppres- scenes intrigue: Randy sive fire while the assault team goes for a vulnerable flank. Pitchford, head of Gear Now, say the Allies botch this attack, get eliminated in one round, and box, was on the Allied make the Axis players more confident. The next round, one Allied player team the first time they has his team try the same tactic, but while both Axis teams foolishly go lost. He then switched after the first Allied player, the second player can take a completely differ- over to the Axis team, ent path to the objective and destroy it while the Axis teams are dis- and lost again, twice. It tracted. Then while the Axis teams attempt to deal with the second Allied looks like the “let the player, the first one swoops in for the second artillery gun. In the final boss win" memo didn't round, the Axis players might watch the two side routes the Allies used in make its way around the previous rounds. Only they are surprised when both Allied teams do Gearbox's inboxes. an aggressive and combined straight run through the center of the map and hit both guns hard from the middle while the Axis teams scramble to meet the sudden attack. This is just a basic play-by-play of a three-round match, but the voice chat and decent Al teammates create a slick fusion of tactics and action that makes B/A more interesting than yet another random Nazi shooter. << Pub. Ubisoft Dev. Gearbox/Ubisoft Shanghai Rele 01 2005 www.lUP.com | 39 MATURE Blood and Gore Violence CONTENT RATED BY ESRB Game experience may change during online play. =” Ж Live xeox 2 FREEE 4 PlayStation.2 RADICAL “Online play по available on al platforms. INTERNET CONNECTION required tor online play. PlayStation@2 online play requires Internet Connection, Network Adaptor (lor PlayStation 2) and Memory Card (8MB) (for PlayStation 2) (each sold separately). Check platform box for online play. 2005 Free Radical Design Ltd. "TimeSplitrs." "TimeSpliters Futur Free Radical Radical Design Ltd. ll rights reserved. EA GAMES, the EA GAMES logo and “Challenge Everything” are t rks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The Onli is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox Live. logo, and the Xbox Logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsot. ™, ©, and Nintendo GameCube are trademarks of Nintendo, © 2001 Nintendo. All ‘other trademarks are the property of their respecti EA GAMES" is an Electronic Arts" brand. GEO TEXTURING REFRACTION XTU While Splinter Cell Chaos Theory offers another host of neat tweaks and additions to the series’ stealth gameplay, what might turn out to be the most interesting aspect of the game is the new technology it's bringing to the PS2. Somehow, those Canadian developers up in Montreal have managed to overcome technical hurdles and make the PS2 version nigh indistinguishable from the Xbox and PC versions. At the moment, the hot tech is normal mapping, which is a super- advanced technique of putting high-resolution textures onto fewer poly- gons. Developers love to normal map the heck out of everything nowa- days...except the PS2 hardware isn't quite capable of normal mapping, which is why you don't see games such as Doom 3 and The Chronicles of Riddick on the system at the moment. Yet Ubisoft Montreal has managed to produce a similar type of tech- nology called "geotexturing." In our extremely layman minds, we understand that geotexturing entails sending geometry data through the texture pipeline. So on top of the normal geometry data (the actual lay- out of any given level), the textures themselves can feature geometry using this technique, meaning that walls can have protruding stones, SPLINTER CELL CHAOS THEORY wooden beams can break up a smooth wall, and when you see a pipe running along the ceiling, that pipe might technically be a texture. It's really too quirky to explain adequately, but just look at the end result to see it in action. Additionally, the development team has somehow managed to create refraction technology that is actually better on the PS2 than on the other systems. So much so that on the PS2, there is an exclusive water stealth kill (in which Sam snatches someone and suffocates him underwater), which was created just so the player has something cool to do with the nice-looking water. The rest of the game feels pretty good, with the goofily named closer-than-ever system (a new method of pulling off lethal stealth moves) and the dual multiplayer shot of versus mode (from Pandora Tomorrow) and the new cooperative mode. But you can thank those Canadians and their fancy geotexturing for making the whole package look as nice as it does here. << е March Pub. Ubisoft Dev. Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft Annecy ^ маму COOKS IN CLANCY'S KITCHEN Pandora Tomorrow's ver- sus mode came from Ubisoft Annecy (near the French Alps), and it's also doing Chaos Theory's versus mode. Ubisoft Montreal is focused on the single-player and cooperative modes. Ubisoft Shanghai isn’t porting the PS2 version, unlike other SC titles. DID YOU KNOW? Tom Clancy, the author of the books that both the Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six franchises are based on, was actu: ally deemed ineligible for military service because of his poor eyesight Before he became a writer, he was an insur ance salesman. www.lUP.com 41 % HYPE 7 TOP BRAINIACS TALK PS3 BEYOND _ ui———————————————Á—————— M Ó The key to creating the PS3 is no bigger than a thumbtack. We're talking about its heart and soul, the Cell processor. Sony, Toshiba, and IBM have been working together to create this CPU since 2000. The goal is to "create a multimedia-friendly CPU ready for broadband-rich media applications." Translation: They want the foundation for the ultimate gaming machine. Sony's next-gen console will be unveiled in Japan at the end of March, but Stateside, our heads are spinning after a recent technology briefing where we got numbers—lots and lots of numbers. In fact, when IBM's Dr. Jim Kahle started talking about what makes this new processor so great, all we heard were ones and zeroes. The whole framework behind Cell is shared computing between multi- ple CPUs. Eight synergistic processing units with a Power-based core can exceed 4GHz clock speeds. What does that all mean? Theoretically, this tiny solution could be 10 times more powerful than current top-of-the-line processors. However, Masakazu Suzuoki of Sony СЕ! warns, “It is not fair to compare [the current processors] with the Cell. What we can say is that in some applications, namely digital media and entertainment, [the Cell] works much better.” All Kahle could add was, "Stay tuned.” A big concern for the PS3 could be heat and power. While Cell is capa- ble of well over 4GHz clock speeds, the amount of heat that power would generate (not taking into account the heat produced by any other compo- nents) will require a lot to keep it cool. Although Cell has advanced, built- in thermal sensors, this bad boy still needs breathing room. What does this mean for you? Your PS3 could be could be slightly bigger and bulkier than your PS2. Spokespeople on hand couldn't actually confirm what the clock speed of the chip inside the PS3 will be, but the potential is astro- nomical compared to what you're seeing today. CELL ARCHITECTURE BY THE NUMBERS +8 synergistic processing nits (SPU) working B of on-chip memory KB L2 cache'and 8 x 256KB) =. LLI <. о ШЕГЕ LL. LL m N Ф < а. 172) 5 [7] с. ш > > © т 3 ш 4=2”ОРМ April 2005 For most of us, the thought of February con- jures images of Cupid and valentines and flow- ers. But for a lucky few, the annual DICE Sum- mit in Las Vegas is a highlight of the month. (Sponsored by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, DICE is where industry luminaries meet to discuss new ways to “design, innovate, communicate, and entertain.") | admit that in the past | haven't paid much attention; the gath- ering often only makes the press because of some journalist's drunken indiscretion. (No, this is not a witty self-reference! My halo remains intact, even if it's a little crooked.) So it was with trepidation, and the lure of the token goody bag, that | made my pilgrimage this year— despite the list of speakers that included such non-game-related people as fashion designer Mark Ecko. What could he possibly say to a bunch of nerds? (Besides talk about his new graffiti epic for PS2 coming this year.) Well, what a wake-up call | had—along with the rest of the videogame industry, staring with ZOE FLOWER, aka “Gamer Girl,” creates TV programs and music videos and looks good doing it. See the details jaws agape at the passionate, eloquent, back- handedly complimentary call to arms that Mr. Fashion himself floored us with. | felt the room tense at such brazen statements as “Your tech- nology means f*** all. Consumers don't give a s*** about you. They just care about the end product.” It was a slap in the face for me; it got me riled, but also got me thinking about the most entertainment when we get home. But despite Ecko’s tell-it-how-it-is rant and my own experience as the end consumer, | still can't help but feel there has to be a way to celebrate the creative minds that drive the content we crave. And maybe the average person doesn't get chills over a normal-mapping demo or line up for Kojima's autograph—but that has to “ғ” % WHY CAN'T WE EMBRACE OUR CULTURE AS ART? truth to that bold quote. After all, how many of us would change our purchase decisions if we knew a game developer had suffered a stroke during the final stages of creative genius? Is there such a thing as a sympathy buy? Even if | do want to buy 10 copies of God of War after reading the tribulations that David Jaffe details regularly in his blog, | can’t imagine that this is the norm. Most of us are lost in a sea of boxes that scream out to us like puppies without homes. And we just want to pick the one that's going to show us the most love and give us the count for something! Why can't we embrace our culture as art? Why are we seeking valida- tion with constant comparisons to the film industry? Why are we struggling with an iden- tity crisis when even a rich fashion designer wants to make games?! Apparently | should go ahead and sign myself up for my very own rant at next year's DICE summit. But until then I'll be considering what it means to be a consumer of games ver- sus someone who is simply passionate about them. And so should you. << FUTURE PERFECT SOMETIMES THE BEST FRIEND YOU’VE GOT IS үйіп.) me ^. у BATTLE FROM 1924 TO 2401. JUMP THROUGH ANNIHILATE ROBOTIC, RESURRECTED OR SYNCUP ONLINE FOR INTENSE 16-PLAYER TIME TO SAVE YOUR PAST OR FUTURE SELF LIVING ENEMIES WITH A WICKED ARSENAL. TEAM COMBAT & DEATH MATCHES. à MATURE 17+ Blood and Gore px ) Intense Violence > i | = ше Strong Language x ИЕН ртг v te ae logovare regi: га ;of «EC:-"PlayStatiori" and the "PS" Family logo: are registered, trade = play requires internet connection, Network о (for PlayStation. 2) and Memory Card. (8MB) (fi Plays 12) (Each: sold Sê rrátélyjs The. Online; a tradémark of Sony Computer Entertainment America. Inc. 4: Real soldiers. Authentic battlefie combat. Ihe lives of your теп areiny ) - Command 3-man AI squads in a battle of wits and skill in split-screen/or online multiplayer. ЕЛ | ubicom: ; ENTHUSIA AT LAST! A RACING GAME FOR STATISTICIANS! 4 In Enthusia, it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you drive your саг. This may not sound like such a departure from the racing-sim formula, but believe us, it is. Just about every move is analyzed, rated, and rewarded. You may think you're used to this sort of thing from playing various Gran Turismos; if so, you're in for a rude awakening. The Enthusia life (read: career) mode centers around Enthu points (we wish we were making that up) that can be considered roughly analogous to hit points in an RPG. As you race, points are deducted for going off course, hitting walls, or crashing into opponents. Finish a race with some Enthu points left and you'll recover a small portion of your total; lose all your points and you'll have to sit out the next race. You can recover larger chunks by resting or switching cars, but either choice takes you out of the race pool for an in-game week and can allow your overall Enthusia life ranking to drop. Sound complex? We're just getting started; Enthusia loves numbers with an almost obsessive-compulsive fervor. Consider: After each race, 46'OPM April 2005 skill points are doled out. You start with a certain number of base points, which are dictated by your car choice: Traction control, for example, will lower your base points, as will using an automatic transmission instead of a manual one. Added to your base points are points awarded for dis- tance driven, your finishing position, and the time of your fastest lap. Subtract any Enthu points you've lost by driving recklessly, and you'll end up with a skill point total, which is then added to both your car level and your driver level. As you build up points in your driver level, you'll find yourself leveling up. Higher levels increase your total Enthu points and the rate at which you recover them. As you add points to your car level, you will similarly level up periodically. This is the only way to improve your car. As you step up toward level 10, your car's weight, tires, and power will improve in predetermined increments. When your car hits level 10, each category will be maxed out at level 3; from this point on, you'll no longer earn car level points, but you'll get a 25-point bonus on your driver level. TENTHS LEVEL УР! JOIN RACE $а!ес! ond join o FR Next on the postrace debriefing agenda come the ranking points. These start with a base amount that's derived from the class you're com- peting in. This is multiplied by your car's projected odds of winning the race—calculated before you jump into a race, so you can avoid anything too far out of your league—and then multiplied again by how you placed: 1 for first place, .8 for second place, .6 for third place, and so on. (Interest- ingly, this means that if you get into a race with odds that are stacked heavily against you, even placing third or fourth can be quite profitable— especially if you're able to do it without losing Enthu points.) The result- ing number is then added to your total ranking points, which have an effect on your overall ranking. The higher your ranking, the more races you can compete in and the better the cars you can win in the postrace rival-car raffle. If all this sounds fairly bizarre and almost indescribably boring, then you're getting the general idea. Remember, though, that all this point- mongering comes after the race—and the racing is pretty darn impres- GARAG E DAYS Here’s a partial list of the cars slated to appear in Enthusia. Keep in mind that most of these are Japanese models; the designations may cha Alfa Romeo ASL Aston Martin Aston Martin Audi Audi Audi BMW Caterham Chevrolet Chevrolet Citroén Ford Ford Ford Honda Lancia Land Rover Lotus Lotus Mazda Mazda Mazda Mazda Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Nissan Nissan Nissan Nissan Nissan Nissan Peugeot Renault Ruf Ruf Shelby Smart Subaru Subaru Suzuki Toyota Toyota Toyota Toyota Toyota Volkswagen Volkswagen з'о5`066 sive. Even at the game's incomplete stage of development the cars look and handle very much like the real thing, and the game is—or at least tries to be—as obsessive about physics as it is about statistics. A heads- up display intuitively communicates information about weight transfer, lateral force vectors, and tire traction, for example, while an unusual graphical effect simulates head-bounce and motion blur. There are some oddities in this preview build—drifting through some of the rally courses is all but impossible, for example—but it's all quite innovative. The question at this point is, Is it innovative enough? Hundreds of licensed cars to collect, dozens of real-world tracks to drive on, no damage modeling or online mode—sound like any racing game you know? Enthu- sia is obviously attempting to distinguish itself from Gran Turismo through its ultracomplex numbers game, but it will be interesting to see whether the market can support two painstakingly realistic driving sims. «€ Pub. Konami Dev. Konami Release March specific model names or nge before the U.S. release. 147 GTA Garaiya DBS Vantage V12 Vanquish R8 Team Goh 2003 R8 Team Goh 2004 TT Coupe 2.3 Quattro S-Line 24 3.0i Super 7 Superlight В500 1971 Corvette Stingray Coupe 2002 Corvette Z51 Xsara 1966 Mustang GT 2005 GT Focus Rally Car NSX Type R Stratos Range Rover Europe Special Elise 1118 7878 Roadster Н5-І RX-7 Spirit R RX-8 Type 5 Savanna RX-7 Infinity CLK-DTM G500L SLR Cooper 5 Lancer Evolution VIII GSR Pajero Evolution Pajero Short 180SX Type X Fairlady Z Version 5 Pickup Rally R390 GT1 Skyline GT-R V-spec И Nur Xanavi Nismo GT-R 206 Rally Car 2000 Alpine A110 1600SC CTR RGT Cobra 427 S/C FourTwo Cabrio Impreza WRX STi Impreza WRX STi Version VI Cappuccino Celica GT-4 WRC GT-One Land Cruiser 100 MR-SV Edition Sprinter Trueno 3-door GT APEX Golf R32 Touareg V8 PLAY IT! Test out Enthusia on the disc, though you won't get to try Enthusia life mode. Also, note that the physics diagram has been changed from the demo version's to some- thing more intuitive. 9g www.lUP.com | 42 RATING PENDING ада Visit www.esrb.org for updated rating information. |ды PlayStation. Reveal the unholy origins of the Mishima curse in the bonus action game, Tekken: Devil Within. Ыы ë N A completely rebuilt graphics engine delivers the most exquisite visuals yet to PlayStation®2. How is Tekken* celebrating ten years of genre domination? With better graphics, more playable characters, all-new customization modes and over-the-top combos that will bring even the strongest fighters to their knees. Plus, a bonus action game, Tekken: Devil Within, reveals the secrets of Jin’s past. Settle your differences on the PlayStation*2 computer entertainment system. DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES? Eam fight money and customize your favorite classic characters Д with hundreds of caps, shades, costumes and other items. / tekken5.namco.com d trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other MIDNIGHT CLUB 3: О JUB OAD RAGE PAR EDITION Admit it. Sometimes when you're stuck in heavy traffic on the freeway, you'd like nothing better than to be able to plow through all of the other cars to get to your destination. Of course, you can do that if you want, but then there's that whole thing about laws and murder you'd have to worry about. Fortunately, Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition lets you fulfill your road rage fantasies through a series of new gameplay features that give the game a distinctly different feel, depending on the one you're using. One of these new gameplay mechanics is appropriately called aggro, which you can only use when you're behind the wheel of some of the bigger racing beasts in the game, such as an SUV or a truck. There's a good reason for this—the only way you can charge the aggro meter is by smashing into cars or any of the objects on the side of the road. Once you've collided with enough objects, you can use aggro to plow into even more cars, but this time, the unfortunate fools on the business end of your H2 will go flying through the air. Unfortunately, aggro doesn't last that long, but you'll undoubtedly get a kick out of seeing a car flip SO” OPM April 2005 through the air when you switch to the reverse-view camera. The roar mechanic produces a somewhat similar effect in that it obliterates objects in your path. As you might suspect, roar can only be produced by muscle cars and choppers ('cause, you know, their engines roar). You charge roar by drifting in the middle of traffic or around a turn, and when you use it, it produces a massive shock wave that pushes cars out of the way. But you have to be a little bit careful. If you use roar when traffic or your opponents are far away, it won't really be all that effective, but if the vehicles are close to you, it will have a strong impact that will almost completely toss cars to the side. The last of the three special driving features, zone, is probably the most useful. Much like the turbo meter in the Burnout games, the zone meter is filled by passing close to cars or by narrowly avoiding oncom- ing traffic. Zone is less destructive than the other new gameplay mechanics since it essentially puts you into a bullet-time mode where you can adjust your car's route at normal speed while everything moves EE N 00.100 ШО MULTIPLAYER MAYHEM Midnight Club 3s multi- player mode will feature а number of different types, including ars, in which you have to drop off fla your base before your nent does. These also include vari- ups that can assist you in your quest to be the best driver. Engage your passion - Realize your dream. Add а new dimension to your life. >> Earn о B.A. in Game Design Your education can take you from game research and planning to content development, character development and storytelling — all the way through level design, modeling, programming and project management. After exploring game essentials like С++®, Java™, 3ds max? and Al (artificial intelligence), you could be prepared to make your quest-driven concept a game reality. And you can have a reel to prove it. 1-888-596-7777 www .CollinsCollege.edu in slow motion. This is really helpful if you've misjudged a turn or you're about to collide with a wall or traffic, which can be a pretty common occurrence if you're zipping around in one of Midnight Club 3s many tuner cars or sport bikes. Of course, the career mode and races in Midnight Club 3 are still about skill and learning how to deal with a car's advantages and disad- vantages. Sure, a Saleen S7 can beat just about anything off the line in the game, but you really have to be careful with how you manage its speed, because one little slipup can result in your car getting thrown off course. Conversely, an enormous Escalade doesn't have the speed, but it can take a pounding, making it useful for dense traffic situations. Either way, you'll develop a taste for certain cars in Midnight Club 3, whether it's because of the way they drive or how good they look when you mod them out in the game's ridiculously deep garage customization mode. << Collins College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Financial Aid is available for those who qualify. Career services assistance. Collins College West is a satellite campus of Collins College. Not all programs available at all locations. Pub. Rockstar Dev. Rockstar San Diego Release April www.stolen-game.com тош EN COMING 500М... (ЕЕ A 4 PlayStation.e "t ILL GAMING’S COMIC REDEMPTION MAY COME IN THE FORM OF DEATH. 54°0PM April 2005 DEATH. JR. DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY Genuinely good comedy is tough to сб by in games. Oh, there have been many attempts, with decidedly miXegkresults (the PS2's The Guy Game, Escape from Monkey Island and A"Bard's Tale to name а few), but to our knowledge, there's never been a гип& hit in the comedy cate- gory. Besides, given the overabundance of sh@@ting, maiming, prostitu- tion, and various dark, edgy, save-the-world plot s, there's ample evi- dence to suggest videogaming has no sense of ог at all. It is then with а bit of irony that gaming's comidedemption comes in the form of death. More specifically, Death, Jr, a thifd- person action-plat- former for the PSP that actually may be funny, and Wê do mean of the ha-ha sort. Death, Jr., or DJ to his friends, is the teenage son he Grim Reaper. Like his dad, DJ carries a scythe wherever he goes, аід with an arsenal of guns and explosives. Kids these days! Predictably, the son of the guy that shows up when you're about to die isn't necessarily the most popular kid in school. DJ's fri$nds include the similarly marginalized: Pandora, who suffers from obs@ssive-compulsive disorder, manifested by a bizarre need to open anything, no matter what's inside; the conjoined-at-the-head twins, Smith and Wéston, who are noted for their nerdy smarts; Stigmartha, who bleeds fromthe hands when she’s stressed out; and the armless and legless foreign exchange student, The Seep, who lives in a vat and spews vulgarities. (We've always wanted a friend whose name begins with “The.” —Ed.) As the story goes, the kids are on a school field trip to the Museum of Supernatural History, where they come across a box, a box which Pan- dora is obsessively compelled to open. The opened box unleashes the ancient demon Moloch along with his scourge of evil minions. Now DJ must save his friends, save the world—and all before his dad finds out. DJ's scythe acts as both a weapon and a puzzle-solving device. All the platformer basics are here—DJ runs, jumps, and attacks enemies directly or with his store of range weapons. The scythe comes in handy to open doors or slide on zip lines or swing on poles. Outside-the-scythe weapons include a lightning gun, dual pistols, a flamethrower, and exploding C4 hamsters. Yes, hamsters. The Death, Jr. fun takes place in and around the museum, which is the hub for Moloch and his gang of demons to come and go in this world as they please. The 15 levels are colorful, quirky, and surreal (Meatworld, for instance, is an amusement park that celebrates meat of every kind), and are well populated with a mix of jumping and move-the-box-type puzzles and inventive and—despite the goofy premise—convincing combat. Word is that publisher Konami plans to expand the Death, Jr. world to other media. Deals have already been struck with Image Comics and toy- maker Gentle Giant Toys, with even a feature film in development. Death, Jr. might be the game that proves humor can be found in the “undiscovered country.” We hope so. With the serious state of gaming, we could use a few laughs just about now. << Pub. Konami Digital Entertainment Dey. Backbone Entertainment se Spring www.1UP.com 55 ФНУРЕ MAJESCO MANIA r Thanks to the key acquisition of Psychonauts, Majesco is quietly becom- ing a bigger player just by supplying a few unique games. Here's a look at its initial PSP lineup, which is markedly different from other publishers'. ADVENT SHADOW N With Advent Shadow, the PSP gets the somewhat bizarre opportunity to portray a subplot of an epic game that's not even on the PS2. Advent Rising (which will be out this spring on Xbox and PC) is the first part of the proposed Advent Trilogy, a rollicking sci-fi adventure chronicling the messianic journey of Gideon Wyeth. At some point, Gideon crosses paths with Marin Steel, a typical female game character who is nice on the eyes and can do her fair share of shooting and jump- ing. It's her side of the story that is the focus of Advent Shadow. At the moment, Majesco is quite mum about what goes on in Advent Shadow. The company will only admit that it's a parallel story to Advent Rising and that it's a more focused and portable version of the action- adventure gameplay you'd get in Advent Rising. We're not sure if the superhuman powers that make Advent Rising so intriguing are retained in Advent Shadow, but Majesco promises to fill it with the following slick phrase: "high-speed chases, aerial dogfights, tank battles, melee combat, and acrobatic gameplay set in massive, destructible environments." Sounds good to us. It sounds like it has a shot at being a good third-person action-adven- ture, even though it's a companion to a game only on Xbox and PC. Pub. Majesco Dev.Full Fat Release Q12005 INFECTED 4 Oh look, zombies. You've got people who, after being infected by some nefariously crafted virus, get all decayed-looking and bloodthirsty. And you have to stop them. Yawn. OK, to be fair, the game actually sounds quite solid, thanks to having Planet Moon Studios as its developer. Its work on games like Giants: Citi- zen Kabuto and the original MDK proves that it has a good foundation when working on third-person shooters. What makes Infected more intriguing is its "virus infection" mechanic. When you're playing Wi-Fi multiplayer, if your opponent manages to "infect" your system, his char- acter will insert himself into your game; next time you boot up a single- player game, you might find your opponent as one of the zombies. So if you absolutely suck at multiplayer and play a bunch of people, all of their characters might be multiplying around in your game—you supposedly get rid of other player infections through special disinfecting missions. It's kind of a unique (if somewhat gross) method of marking your dominance and territory in a multiplayer match. Pub. Majesco Dev. Planet Moon Studios Release Q12005 55"OPM April 2005 All her li и has wat тесі over her. те dar f Kri from spreading retu own menacing weapons and dea nique collaborative a fellow warri с ог, making out, plan breathtaking 3-D environments. This time, ly way to preserve your future is t sto MATURE 17+ Blood and Gore Violence PlayStation.@ LIVE IN YOUR WXRLD. PLAY IN OURS? www.us.pla UNTOLD LEGENDS: BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE HAPPIEST BLADE OF THEM ALL While someone playing a PS2 game will often allot gaming time in hours, PSP players are more likely to spend minutes. As a result, we're seeing a lot of differences in how PSP developers are approaching fundamental mechanics, even for games that on the surface look very similar to their PS2 counterparts. In a PS2 game, it's not unusual to start a side quest and then discover NOT TO BE that maybe you need to spend more time leveling up before you go back CONFUSED WITH and give it another go. However, developers are wise to the fact that wast- ang Brothe [ ing precious minutes (and battery life) is going to grow old quickly for Blad gamers on the go. Untold Legends does have a main campaign that pro- ceeds in a linear fashion, but there are also 20 side quests whose difficulty scales to whatever level your character happens to be. You're also not dependent on portals or gate scrolls to go back and stock up on supplies— just go to the menu and warp back to the market at any point. Multiplayer is also very adjustable. No distinction is made between sin- gle-player games and multiplayer ones; instead, players can join and leave whenever, with up to four players allowed at a time. The difficulty of the game is set according to the host's level, so it's helpful to play with people of similar experience. Though the number of monsters stays the same regardless of how many players are in the game, their difficulty level shifts to provide the appropriate challenge. A lot of gaming conventions are being tinkered with to save players" time. But who likes to waste time running around, regardless of whether you're working with limited time and battery life or sitting at home on your couch with a few hours to kill? How do backtracking and searching for save points make a game better, no matter the format? It will be interesting to see if the PSP's influence on game structure ends up changing how devel- opers design for its housebound counterparts. < Pub. Sony Online Entertainment Dev. Sony Online Entertainment Release March 58"OPM April 2005 PSP: MORE GOOD STUFF аа DEN СНЕС ЦЕНЕ TEES LUMINES 4 The Japanese launch title Lumines (developed by Rez's Tetsuya Mizuguchi) swept through the OPM offices as a stealth favorite—the easy- to-learn, difficult-to-master puzzle gameplay combined with a fabulous trance soundtrack proved to be addictive beyond belief. (We have even witnessed certain unnamed editors stealing unmanned PSPs from other editors' offices just to get in a few minutes with the game.) In addition to single-player game that will suck your life away, it's got a great multi- player mode in which two players face off in an attempt to control the board. Good combos increase your playing area while decreasing your opponent's; a winner is declared once someone is shoved off the board. For a while, however, it seemed unlikely that the game would make an appearance in the United States; the game sold only 20,000 copies at launch. Thankfully, Ubisoft announced that it would be picking up the publishing rights here in the States, so we urge you: Support a talented game developer and go buy this game. Now. RENGOKU: THE TOWER OF PURGATORY к This Japanese PSP title will also Бе winging its way across the ocean and landing on American soil. Rengoku is an action-RPG that places you in the guise of an android who must make his way through a futuristic land- scape and up the tower of the game's title to confront the requisite myste- rious enemy. As you go, you'll be able to upgrade your skills and gain new weapons and technologies, which you'll then put to the test as you slug it out against the foes you encounter—it seems rather like a dungeon crawler that's set in a sci-fi world. There's also a multiplayer mode with up to four players in which you play king of the mountain on top of the Tower of Purgatory. We must confess that this game doesn't really do much to excite us, but it may fill the control-a-giant-metal-object void for those who aren't car fanatics. Pub. Konami Dev. Hudson Soft Release Spring GRAND THEFT AUTO Pull out your miniature baseball bats and crowbars: Rockstar has announced that its signature franchise will indeed be making an appear- ance on PSP. And that's about all we know about the game as of press time. However, we're fairly certain that for fans of the series, the fact of its exis- tence is all they need to know to be sold. N Pub. Rockstar Dev. Rockstar North Release Spring FROGGER Give me an “F”! Gimme ап “А”! Gimme an “O”! Gimme a...OK, that's about all the enthusiasm we can muster up for Konami's announcement that the little green guy will be making an appearance on PSP this fall. While it has yet to show gameplay footage for PSP, we're going to go out on a limb and predict that it will involve frogs hopping their way to safety. N Pub. Konami Dev. Konami CE Hawaii Release Fall MIDNIGHT CLUB 3: DUB EDITION Now you'll be able to take your rims on the road with you. Want to know more about it? Well then, check out the preview for the PS2 version on page 50—Rockstar says that the PSP version will be a pretty straightfor- ward port of its big brother. Just promise us you won't play aggro mode while simultaneously driving your car down the freeway. e Pub. Rockstar Dev. Rockstar San Diego Release Spring www.1UP.com | 59 Guarantee your metal Limited Collector's Edition, with an extra DVD packed with cool content. Visit splintercell.com for more details. MATURE 17+ Blood Strong Language с | а ] ) ) Play It On Violence PlayStation.2 + car ara. Ын IT] сот" BROADBAND ONLY ше сот рәләдѕ!бәл әле обој зоэшею ay) pue yojawey ‘рэллэзэн sul 10) (gIN9) рлго Аюшеи| pue (2 чоце Ав 20J) 10}depy YIOMJON ‘Ui inba4 Кеа aujjuo ‘ощ 3uauiureuo)u3 зәјпашоо Auog Jo зулешеред рәләў$!бәл әле обо| Аүше-] „5, 13U10 20/рир "67 Əy} U! мәшшемәз YOSIN Jo ѕрешәред әле обо Yosiqn eu; pue ‘WODAN YOSIN ‘иоэ| JaIP|OS ayy ‘OYL ѕоецо әд UNAS “цә2 зәуицйс YSI Weg ‘реллэзен su % , Ж Tom Clancy's г. ' CHAOS THEORY "V'S yojoureo jo ѕџешәред IV YOIEWLD 5002 © uoIsJ& әндой "ош еоџәшүу уиәшшенәиз хәпашод Kuog Jo энешәред e ѕ uoo! әшио әш, (Жіәуеледәв ро uoea) (z uoneisfeld ou pue ,uoneisfe[d, ‘зэщипоэ lv Зиәшшерәдиз yostqn 5002 © COMING MARGH 2005. SPLINTERCELL.COM THEORY CHAOS Soundtrack composed by Amon Tobin = ] a While the PSP launch in Japan was largely considered a huge success, it hasn't been without some problems. Early on, complaints ranged from dead pixels and defective analog nubs to the system randomly ejecting the UMD during gameplay. However, the biggest issue was the defective Square button, which would often be unresponsive or simply wouldn't work at all. This issue reportedly caused almost 5,000 people to send their PSPs back to Sony. Japanese publication Nikkei Business is reporting that approximately 6 percent of the 800,000 PSP units sold in Japan (as of press time) have been returned due to defects. So why all the issues with the Square button? Because it is placed right next to the screen, the mechanics that it controls are actually situated бани Й Ld Spike TV respects gamers... little. It respects us because it knows we exist in vast, Fremen- like numbers and that we can screw the network if we hate what it does with our beloved games. While we represent a huge honey pot of view- ers, Spike TV is understandably nervous when going out on a limb for an untested and misun- derstood audience. The 2004 Spike TV Video Game Awards did a respectable job of relating gamers’ actual pref- erences to a mass TV audience. Sure, it was awkward and cheesy, but no more so than any other awards show. And by developing two weekly series aimed at gamers, Spike TV demonstrates that it is the first major network (sorry, G4) to take us seriously. Its gaming- oriented programs include V-Spot—a standard previews show with passable but qualified com- mentary—and the reality/fantasy series The Ulti- mate Gamer. This latter one is cool, but it's just Pimp My Ride with videogames. Obviously, Spike TV knows we're here and кее O ema - IRON CHEF AMERICA AND THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY s) 62"0PM April 2005 slightly to the right of the button rather than directly underneath it. Ken Kutaragi, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment, said in an inter- view with Nikkei Business that it was necessary for the Square button to sit so closely to the screen so that the designers of the unit didn't have to sacrifice any screen size to compensate for button placement. Doing so would either make the unit larger or make the screen smaller, two things Kutaragi wanted to avoid in the final design of the system. It's currently not known if Sony has taken steps to correct some of these issues in the hardware before its North American release, so you may want to think about buying one of those extended warranties when you go to pick up your own PSP on March 24. < OBIN WILSON is lead singer for the Gin Blossoms and and enjoys physics and cooking shows. Find him on 1UP at theoutsider.1UP.com. wants us watching, but it still doesn’t fully trust us. | believe | am qualified to make this assess- ment because | recently had the opportunity to pitch a TV show concept to some Spike TV executives. It was (and still is) my concept for a show that gamers will actually care about. The meeting went well, the execs were cool, and they admitted that they have been looking for mate Gamer are decent enough, but they're rel- atively easy to produce and represent the mini- mal risk level that networks are willing to take for us. My concept, while admittedly expensive, would still cost a hell of a lot less than /ron Chef America. But as | said, all these things are rela- tive, and it's reasonable to imagine that there are at least as many Americans interested in SPIKE TU KNOWS WE RE HERE. BUT IT STILL DOESN'T FULLY TRUST US. ways to bring videogames to television. But | was informed that my idea, though promising, was ultimately too expensive to produce. Too expensive? Well, | can accept that. These things, like everything else, are relative. But then | stumbled across the Food Network's The Making of the Iron Chef America, and І couldn't help but marvel at the investment made in its production. Clearly, the Food Network cares way, way more about chefs than Spike TV cares about gamers. Shows like V-Spot and The Ulti- cooking as there аге interested in videogames. Maybe my idea is too expensive, and maybe it wouldn't work for other reasons, but then again, maybe Spike TV just didn’t like it. We are to Spike TV what chefs are to the Food Network: We're not the network's only tar- gets, but it sure as hell wants to hit us all. It knows there are 80 million of us, and execs are racking their brains trying to figure us out. What they haven't fully grasped is that they can have us—if they just give us what we really want. «€ я THEY MAY HAVE АМ ARMY, THEY MA YIRAW EAN ARSENAL E @ FROM THE PRODUCER OF THE RENOWNED CASTLEVANIA SERIES. ө SHAPE-SHIFTING PLASMA BLADE OFFERS A MYRIAD OF DIFFERENT ATTACKS, INCLUDING SLICING, GRABBING AND SMASHING ENEMIES. @ ACQUIRE SPECIAL SKILLS FOR EVEN MORE DEVASTATING ASSAULTS. * MULTIPLE GAME MODES, INCLUDING STORY, SPLATTER, AND MOVIE. MATURE 17+ ® Blood and Gore Intense Violence KONAMI www.konami.com/gs PlayStation.2 Nano Breaker™ is a trademark of Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. Inc. © 2005 Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. Konami ® is a registered trademark of KONAMI CORPORATION. PlayStation’ and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. SPANDEX SPLENDOR T An easy, and perhaps cynical, way to describe Batman Begins is "Splinter Cell with tight leather"; that is, some people from the original Splinter Cell team are on the project, and it's now a stealth-action game. And once you see the game in action, that's neither an inaccurate nor inappropriate assessment. Producer Reid Schneider elaborates on the choice of making ВВ а stealth game: "We didn't want to just drop Batman into another brawler; we wanted to have a game that really redefined the essence of Batman, since the movie is itself a redefinition of Batman." To that end, the game emphasizes two things: Batman is "the world's greatest detective," and Batman is a scary fellow. In any given level, Batman needs to figure out the best way to com- plete his objective. Helping him along in this task are an extensive inven- tory and a skill set that is very reminiscent of Sam Fisher's. Batman can saunter, climb, rappel, and crawl with maximum stealth; his famous utility belt sports gadgets like optical cables, batarangs, and a high-frequency bat signaler (think dog whistle, except for bats). One of his best weapons, however, is invisible: He can use fear to cripple his enemies. The levels themselves are lifted straight from the movie (and embel- lished a bit) and are actually designed more vertically than most stealth games'—which means Batman can use his skills, tools, and height to 64 OPM April 2005 BATMAN BEGINS position himself for easy eavesdropping or reconnaissance. Within these levels are goons and the occasional thug. While Batman can see their life bars, awareness cones, and positions on his radar, he can also see their heartbeats—which indicate how scared they are (hard- core gamers can turn these HUD options off). Batman can increase their fear and tension by doing things like calling in bats, destroying things from afar (thank you, destructible environments!), or triggering events, such as freeing crazed inmates in Arkham Asylum. As Batman's foes' fear increases, their ability to put up a fight is hampered, and Batman can swing in and pull off an insane mix of ninjitsu and street brawling to put them down. Or you can forgo the detective work of figuring out how to scare baddies and just go straight for some kick-punch action. Besides sneaking and punching, Batman gets to haul around Gotham in his Batmobile. Alas, the team is being really sneaky and will only con- firm that the Batmobile exists, is playable, and gets itself involved і some vehicular mayhem. If the Batmobile sequences look as promising as the stealth-action parts, then Batman Begins might become a prized item in the Batcave, right in between the gigantic penny and the mechanical dinosaur. << Pub. EA Games Dev. Eurocom Release June FRIEND PRICES CLE Bry USE DRUGS TO GAIN AN POWERFUL ARREST COMBOS & INTENSE KEEP THE HEAT OFF BY VOICEOVER TALENT INCLUDING EXTRA EDGE CURBSIDE INTERROGATIONS MAINTAINING YOUR BADGE RATING BILL BELLAMY & MICHAEL MADSEN www.NarcGame.com As an elite NARC officer, temptation is around every corner. Drugs, cash, & guns are at your fingertips and all you have to do is decide; walk the line or cross it. Use any means necessary to get deep undercover and stop the distribution of a deadly new designer drug. Just remember - no matter what kind of cop you choose to be, there's one thing you can never kill: temptation, Blood and Gore Intense Violence == ion. | | JDMIDWAY Use of Drugs actam THE HULK COMES WITH A HITCH The Incredible Hulk's character design is based on the works of comic-book artist Bryan Hitch, who has already reached legendary status with Marvel's The Ultimates and X-Men and DC's JLA and The Authority. THE INCREDIBLE HULK ` HULK SMASH...AGAIN In the summer of 2003, Universal Studios and director Ang Lee delivered a superhero-sized letdown to millions of Hulk fans with a bizarre off- Broadway take on the great green one. Sure there was good smashing, but it was wrapped around a psychological study in anger. Boring! Vivendi Universal Games, of course, had the game license, with Radi- cal Games (the surprising Simpsons Hit & Run and the upcoming Scar- face) tapped to develop. While certainly no masterpiece, the game that Radical delivered was a fun, competent action-adventure that combined stealth (the Bruce Banner parts) with mayhem (the Hulk parts). Fast forward two years. Radical (still with publisher VUG) is back with another Hulk game, but things are very different now. There’s no new movie upon which to base a game and—let's be clear—Radical is not making a sequel. This new effort is based on the Incredible Hulk comic books, and gone is the linear and limited play of the first game. The Hulk game Radical is developing now appears to be the Hulk game we've been waiting for. In the massive free-roaming environments of The Incredible Hulk: Critical Mass (working title), our purple-pantsed hero can go just about anywhere and smash just about anything he wants—cars, roadblocks, helicopters, tanks, and even people (well, bad people). He can also destroy entire buildings right to the ground. This new, improved Hulk is more smash-ready than ever, with up to 150 chargeable moves and combos. He can also use any object as a weapon—for example, he can rip a car in half and make metal fists out of it, or use it as a boomerang. He can turn a bus into a giant shield. He’s sort of a renaissance Hulk. The game's "go anywhere” claim is an understatement. The Hulk not only moves around the city- and desert-scapes via his signature jump- that-looks-like-flying bit, but also runs up the sides of buildings. It's a 66"0PM April 2005 \ (9 № А ^ — 4 ^ «< EXCLUSIVE CHARACTER REVEAL: MERCY Abigail Mercy Wright, aka Mercy, is one of the super-baddies you'll bat- tle in The Incredible Hulk. Her gamma-induced telekinesis lets her manipulate objects that weigh up to two tons. She can also control minds, take on opponents’ like- nesses and abilities, and fly. Mmmmercy! RITIC pretty amazing sight to behold. Critical Mass isn’t all just smash-and-games, and the team behind it packs its own formidable punch. The story was penned by award-winning Marvel Comics and Hulk scribe Paul Jenkins. Character and environment art is based on the work of Bryan Hitch, whose presence in the develop- ment is sparking speculation that some of the story line weaves into The Ultimates comic series, for which he is best known. The plot plays out in eight chapters that include over 30 missions and some 50 sub-missions. Story details are sketchy: Something more dan- gerous than the Hulk is threatening to emerge from Banner, and the plot revolves around having to stop this. This could be in reference to the Devil Hulk, the demonish monster that has so far existed only in Banner's troubled subconscious. Of the six bosses Hulk will encounter, Doc Sam- son, General "Thunderbolt" Ross in a Hulkbuster, the Abomination and Mercy (see sidebar) have been revealed. Voice work in The Incredible Hulk is backed with some star power: Ron Perlman (best known for his starring role in last year's Hellboy and doing the voice of Lord Hood in Halo 2) is playing the Abomination. Bruce Ban- ner is voiced by Neil McDonough, currently the star of NBC's Medical Investigation; interestingly, he was also the voice of Banner in the short- lived animated series The Incredible Hulk (1997-98). The game's sound- track is being composed by Bill Brown, whose library of gaming work includes Quake Il and Ill, Ghost Recon, C&C: Generals, and Rainbow Six 3. Eric Holmes, lead designer for The Incredible Hulk, has a stated goal of making the greatest superhero game ever made. Thanks, Eric, but we'll just settle for the best Hulk game ever made. Radical Games Dev. Vivendi Universal Games Release Fall www.1UP.com | 67 HYPE ii ё Lh hh hhh hhh BEST MOMENT The ҒҒ5 greatest moment isn’t when Reed il bluffs Galactus with the Ultimate Nullifier. No, it's | when Dr. Doom enters a prison triumphantly laughing, realizes that the FF already escaped, and goes “Huh?” іп the y crap bootleg movie. saree FANTASTIC FOUR 7 MARVEL'S FIRST FAMILY GOES DIGITAL With its upcoming Fantastic Four game, Activision gets to have its prover- bial cake and eat it, too. The cake part: Activision has secured the rights to create a game based on the FF feature film that's being released this sum- mer by 20th Century Fox. The eat-it-too part: It also has the rights to cre- ate games based on the legendary FF comic books from Marvel. Fuse the two together and Activision may have the superpower potential to make a movie-based game that can go far beyond just the movie (a limitation, for instance, that EA has yet to overcome with its LOTR license). On the surface, the FF game, currently under development by 7 Stu- dios, bears all the trappings of a typical movie game. The characters are drawn directly from the film's main stars—loan Gruffudd (pronounced YO-an GRIFF-ith—it's Welsh) as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Jessica Alba as Sue Storm/Invisible Girl, Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm/The Thing, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, and Julian McMahon as Victor Von Doom—and the story line follows the movie's basic plot. Dig deeper and you'll find a slick third-person, team-based action- adventure that includes such nonmovie bad guys as FF staples Moleman and Diablo, with even more surprises inspired by the Ultimate Fantastic Four series, Marvel's popular reimagining of its classic superheroes. Zak Penn, the writer for X2: X-Men United, is writing the game's extended story. Fantastic Four lets you play as any one or all of the FF team, with the 68”ОРМ April 2005 ability to switch from character to character on the fly as needed. More intriguing is the combo structure that allows two heroes to execute a joint attack, like Sue force-grabbing a baddie and then having Ben pound the bejeepers out of him. Some missions may call for only one hero, and you can imagine the possibilities here: Reed using his stretch power to solve a puzzle, Sue using her invisibility for stealth purposes, Ben going all super- strength crazy on evil minions, and Johnny using his flame powers. Hero powers can be acquired or upgraded throughout the game as heroes accumulate points during missions. For instance, Johnny may learn how to create a small fire barrier, but with enough points he can upgrade that ability to a towering flame. There are some 40 such upgrades for each hero. Multiplayer modes include two-player co-op and four-player head to head in multiple arena battles. It's good to see Activision taking the Fantastic Four license seriously and not tying it into the movie so tightly that a bad box office could undermine what might have been a good game, which is what happened to the Hulk game a couple of years ago. And since the FF movie is written by screenwriter Michael France, who also wrote the Hulk screenplay (and the Punisher screenplay, too)...oh, wait just a minute.... Pub. Activision Dev. 7 Studios Rel Summer mF U ILI SPECTRUMm ЧҮҮ АЕ ЛГӨ ДҮ 221 TAKE COMMAND BASED ON A TRAINING AID DEVELOPED FOR THE U.S ARMY* — EXPERIENCE THE INTENSITY OF URBAN WARFARE AS YOU LEAD TWO INFANTRY SQUADS THROUGH THE HOSTILE STREETS OF ZEKISTAN. CONTROL UP TO EIGHT SOLDIERS IN REAL-TIME AS YOU OUTTHINK, OUTMANEUVER AND OUTGUN ENEMIES THROUGH OVER = J - -< - 13 LEVELS OF INTENSE ACTION. COMMAND TWO FIRE TEAMS IN UTILIZE REAL-WORLD MILITARY TEAM UP WITH A FRIEND STRATEGIC SQUAD-BASED COMBAT COMBAT TACTICS & WEAPONS. ONLINE FOR 2 PLAYER CO-OP WWW.FULLSPECTRUMWARRIOR.COM URE 17+ Strong Language - > POWERED BY Violence 5 ‘CONTENT RATED BY ESRB www.pandemicstudios.com FEMI, www.thq.com PlayStation.e {2 2004 Sony Computor Entertainment inc. АП Manufacturers Cars, Names, brands and associated imagery featured In this game are trademarks tive owners, АЙ rights rosorved. Any depiction locations, entes, businesses or organizations ia not intended to be or imply and sponsorship, 'endorsoment of tnis game by such party ог partes. “Playstation,” the Family logo and are registered trademarks, and Gran Tocem is a ta ‘of Sony Computer Entertainmont Jac. (© 2005 Hollywood Entertainment Corp. Sa TURISMO? GRAN TURISMO 4 THE REAL DRIVING SIMULATOR The wait is over. Why pay cash? Trade in! Trade up! Take the bus. > LARGEST SELECTION OF NEW, USED AND CLASSIC GAMES AND CONSOLES > BEST DEAL ON TRADES IT'S A GUARANTEE > TRY BEFORE YOU BUY ONLY GAME CRAZY LETS YOU PLAY BEFORE YOU PAY Hit camaman for a store near you. MORE THAN A PRETTY FACE 7e"OPM April 2005 HALL OF FAMER 4 The father of the modern sports game and one of the driving forces behind EA's early success, Trip Hawkins has been inducted into the Acad- emy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. Hawkins is responsible for creating the first licensed sports game, featuring basketball leg- ends Dr. J and Larry Bird. He later acquired the services of John Madden for the company's football games. While at EA, Hawkins continued to push the idea of licensed games before leav- ing the company to found 3DO, where he helped launch the 3DO system. The 3DO never saw widespread success, which forced the co: pany to focus on solely on software publishin, Hawkins joins Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto and Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi as members of the Hall of Fame. FREAKIN’ SWEE Take-Two Interactive is developing games based on The Family Guy license. The game is cur- rently a third-person action-adventure that lets you take on the role of several characters from the show, including Brian the dog and Stewie. The game is scheduled for release in 2006. Sony doesn't just sell consumer electronics. Sony sells a lifestyle: sleek, sexy, slightly upscale. The simple curves and flat surfaces of the trademark “Sony style” unite Sony's various hardware divisions with a single look. Recently, Sony President Ken Kutaragi trumpeted the merits of the PSP's design, claiming he believed Sony has “made the most beautiful thing in the world." That seems a bit much—but there's no denying that the PSP's smooth exterior is the ultimate expression of Sony's design aesthetic. The interior of the PSP, however, represents a clean break with years of Sony's technological initiatives. Until recently, Sony's music and media divisions held the most sway within the company. Sony’s electronics were built to enforce strong content control, and Sony's exec- utives, controlling everything, felt content. Yet consumers balked at these draconian measures, and Sony's MP3-incompatible music devices floundered in the marketplace for years. The PSP, in sharp contrast, has been INCREDIBLY AWESOME 4 Don't think just because The Incredibles movie has come and gone that there won't be any more games based on the family of super- heroes. THO has announced plans to release yet another game that won't be entirely based on the film, like the first game was, but will feature many of its characters. Heavy Iron Studios will take on the responsibility of developing the game for the PlayStation 2, while Pacific Coast Power & Light will take on the duties of bringing The Incredibles to the PSP. Both versions of the game are scheduled for release this fall. teaches English in the land of our friends to the East, and he knows a good bargain when he sees one designed to support open hardware and soft- ware standards. The PSP connects to a PC or Macintosh with a standard USB cable, not а proprietary Sony one. Save data and media are saved to a Memory Stick Duo—a Sony format, true, but one used in multiple devices and pro- duced by a wide number of third-party manu- facturers. Sony executives no doubt hope users watch movies on Sony's UMD discs and listen to music in Sony's ATRAC format. But with the PSP, users have a choice: They can convert their own movies and music to MPEG-4 and MP3, then play them back freely from a memory stick. The PSP also displays digital JPEG photos. NOT SO GOLDEN 4 In an effort to ensure greater quality in its games, EA laid off around 60 people in its EALA studios. Originally, it was thought that the GoldenEye: Rogue Agent and Medal of Honor: Dogs of War teams were hit hardest, but the layoffs actually didn't target any specific section of the company, despite the former game's lackluster reception. According to studio Gen- eral Manager Neil Young, the layoffs were meant to rebalance the studio and to make sure that it was ready to ramp up development for the next generation of consoles. ing, free MPEG-4 conversion utilities offer better video quality and compression rates than Sony's own pay-to-download tool. One of the strongest advocates for the PSP's support of open standards is Ken Kutaragi him- self. Kutaragi openly admits that Sony's prior refusal to support open standards “diluted inno- vation” but promises that future products will reflect how Sony is “growing up.” It would seem that the PSP's still growing; a recently leaked incomplete firmware upgrade revealed that Sony hopes to eventually add e-mail, word processing, Web browsing, scheduling, voice communication, voice-to-text conversion, and AN OLD ADAGE COMES TO MIND: TRUE BEAUTY LIES WITHIN. By supporting these open industry standards, Sony has (perhaps inadvertently) created a new console space: legal, enthusiast-created middle- ware. Though the PSP has been out for only two months, a large number of helpful tools have already been created. A Macintosh utility called iPSP fully integrates the PSP with iPhoto and iTunes. A similar Windows utility automati- cally resizes JPEG directories and archives to PSP resolution, turning the PSP into the perfect device for viewing photo albums or gray-market manga scans on the go. And with a bit of tweak- music downloads via its SonicStage service. As long as these new capabilities are added in the same spirit as the current ones, it seems likely that a bevy of free third-party middleware will sprout up to enhance them, too. When Kutaragi called the PSP the “the most beautiful thing in the world,” he was referring to its sleek, glossy good looks. But this isn’t just skin-deep. Once you start digging into the guts of the PSP and see how it supports widespread, open industry standards, an old adage comes to mind: True beauty lies within. ГЕЗІТІ tc < ш > z ш 2 ш I Е 2 о = x $ 5 с Е z o eo a ui ul x tc ш = o а. ш Ф с б Е 2 8 e 8 = АМІМЕМ! ?4'OPM April 2005 ASTRO тас If the PlayStation 2 game didn't serve up enough Astro Boy for you, Columbia will pro- vide a hefty second helping this spring. On March 29, the entire new-school Astro series hits DVD in a five-disc special edition contain- ing all the episodes never aired on American television. Only 21 episodes of the 2003 vin- tage Astro revival made it onto the tube over here in the States. Hardcore Astro fans will be thrilled to learn that the DVD box set nearly doubles that tally and includes the entire 50- episode run for a cool retail price of (coinciden- tally) only $50. CRI THEM, GINREI RO After finishing off the DVD release of the Giant Robo OVA series (since any discerning fan has already picked that one up by now—the last volume hits March 29), watch out for a side story follow-up coming out in April. On April 12, Media Blasters brings out a single disc with the Ginrei Special OVAs, a comedic tan- gent produced to kill time while the original Robo series was in production. If it's not the funniest robot action released in the last 15 years or so, it's at least a top-five contender—a nice break from Robo's hardcore mecha blood and thunder. ОТАК! JIDE Del Rey's quiet but high-quality line of manga releases gets an excellent addition on April 26 with the first volume of Genshiken, Kio Shimoku's exploration of life and love among Japanese anime and game fans. A more low- key approach than Gainax's famous Otaku no Video (which came out in the States in 2003), Genshiken follows a college club devoted to the study of "modern visual culture" (i.e., the strange geekish confluence of games, comics, cartoons, and more) and their continuing quest to achieve ever more rarefied heights of fan- nish obsession. It's funny because it's very true to the fan experience and includes references to real games like Puyo Pop and Guilty Gear, so grab the comic and look forward to check- ing out the spin-off TV series that is scheduled to air in the coming year. O 2k5 Oh АС After finishing up its first six-disc run, Kaleido Star comes back for a second 26-episode series from ADV Films later this spring. Volume one of the New Wings series, which features more of the adventures of aspiring fantasy circus star Sora and her fellow Kaleido Stage performing artists, should already be available (having hit shelves March 1). It's another striking creation from the mind of Junichi Sato, who also is the director of the excellent Princess Tutu, which is available as well and worth a look. POWER MEE From the new school to the old—continuing its irregular series of DVD releases, AnimEigo recently projected an April launch for the first of six DVDs bringing out the Urusei Yatsura OVA series. Each volume will have a pair of classic electric-alien-versus-the-world stories (except for the first, which is a single 60- minute feature), but those who are already hooked on Rumiko Takahashi's much-beloved sci-fi gagfest can purchase the lot in one col- lector's box. Check out animeic for more MATURE 17+ Blood and Gore Intense Violence Strong Language ESRB CONTENT RATING — www.esrb.org тйл. cU www.residentevil.com ES PlayStation.? CAPCOM CO.. LTD. 2004, CCAPCOM U.S А. INC. 2004 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. RESIDENT EVIL, CAPCOM and the CAPCOM LOGO ate r inline icon is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of he Entertainment Sof Online play requires internet connection, Network Adaptor (for PlaySt emarks of CAPCOM CO., LTD. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The lion. BradyGames® is a registered trademark of Pearson Education, Inc. All ather trademarks are owned by their respective owners. ) and Memory Card (8МВ) (for PlayStation 2) (each sold separately). % НҮРЕ BY THE NUMBERS EZE electronics boutique’ SALES, RENTALS, TRENDS, AND ODDITIES—THE STATS THAT SHAPE YOUR VIDEOGAME WORLD _ 2 1Р5 10 MOST WANTED PS2 GAMES < JAPAN'S TOP 10 PS2 GAMES 4 % FF VII: Advent Children Square Enix Gran Turismo 4 Sony CEI 1 2 СТА: San Andreas Rockstar 2 Another Century's Episode Banpresto 2 3 Gran Turismo 4 Sony CEA 3 Radiata Stories Square Enix 2 4 Devil May Cry 3 Capcom 4 Dragon Quest VIII Square Enix Y 5 NFS Underground 2 EA Games 5 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Konami 1 6 МВА Street V3 ЕА Sports Big 6 Itadaki Street Special Square Enix 2 7 Final Fantasy XII Square Enix 7 Fu'un Bakumatsuden Genki 1 rather than loyalty, | which 8 Playboy: The Mansion Arush Ent. 8 Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner 2 Atlus 2 makes LucasArts very 9 Tekken 5 Namco 9 Үовһйвипе Eiyuden From Software 2 ‘op happy. [- 10 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Konami 10 Death by Degrees Namco А Еи 6] сте ТОР eo SALES usd 10 RENTALS, ALL SYSTEMS usd 10 SALES, ALL SYSTEMS GTA: San Andreas (PS2) ae Resident Evil 4 (GC) qum 5 Punisher (PS2) THO 3 Mercenaries (XB) LucasArts 1 Mercenaries (LucasArts) 3 Mercenaries (PS2) LucasArts 3 Mercenaries (PS2) LucasArts 2 Suikoden IV (Konami) 4. NFL Street 2 (PS2) EA Sports Big 4 Legends of Zelda: ТМС (GBA) Nintendo 3 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar) 5 Punisher (XB) THO 5 World of WarCraft (PC) Vivendi Universal 4 Punisher (THO) еее 6 Мегсепагіев (ХВ) LucasArts 6 Super Mario Brothers 64 (DS) Nintendo 5 Need for Speed Underground 2 (EA Games) 7 NFS Underground 2 (PS2) EA 7 Punisher (XB) THO 6 Madden NFL 2005 (EA Sports) 8 Halo 2 (XB) Microsoft 8 Suikoden IV (PS2) Konami 7 МВА Live 2005 (EA Sports) 9 Call of Duty: Finest Hour (PS2) Activision 9 GTA:San Andreas (PS2) Rockstar 8 NFL Street 2 (EA Sports Big) 0 The Getaway: Black Monday (PS2) Sony CEA 10 Punisher (PS2) THO 9 The Getaway: Black Monday (Sony CEA) ee 10 Playboy: The Mansion (Arush Entertainment) oo 11 World Championship Poker (Crave) е 12 Fullmetal Alchemist (Square Enix) 13 ESPN МВА 2К5 (ESPN Videogames) 14 Call of Duty: Finest Hour (Activision) 15 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Konami) 16 Winning Eleven 8 International (Konami) 17 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 (Atari) 18 Katamari Damacy (Namco) 19 ESPN NFL 2K5 (ESPN Videogames) 20 DDR Extreme (Konami) „ДО с. да S к... = Grand Theft Auto: The Getaway: Dragon Ball Z: San Andreas Black Monday Finest Hour Budokai 3 E EB Games, January 2005. Numbers reflect the sales at EB and its affiliated outlets and don't include other retail out- lets. That's probably why you'll never see Deer Hunter crack the top 10. Japan's top 10 and the top 10 rentals come from other sources. Game descriptions written by the OPM staff. It's All in Hand sources: Guinness World Records, Dana's head TREND SPOTTER ROYALTY The record set by Anthony Kelly for number of arrows caught by hand in two minutes. | The most points it is | | possible to earn ina | and of cribbage. , 1.000 The number of signs known by Koko, the gorilla most proficient in sign language in the world. Ah 76”ОРМ April 2005 COMING APRIL 12 TO XBOX® AND PLAYSTATIONee COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM COMING SOON TO PSP" HANDHELD ENTERTAINMENT, SYSTEM CHOOSE YOUR PATH TO VICTORY THROUGH THE RACE AND CRUISE WITH THE HOTTEST REAL LIFE CUSTOMIZE YOUR RIDE AND TAKE IT ONLINE ТО LIVING, OPEN CITY STREETS OF ATLANTA, SUV'S, TUNERS, MUSCLE CARS, CHOPPERS, STREET CHALLENGE UP TO 7 OPPONENTS IN A RANGE OF SAN DIEGO, AND DETROIT. BIKES, CONCEPT CARS AND LUXURY RIDES. NEW AND CLASSIC ONLINE MODES. RATING PENDING ЕЕЕ Visit www.esrb.org for updated rating © Ж (Ғе ONLLINE. information. BROADBAND ONLY. xBox ® 2 2005 Rockstar Games, Inc. Rockstar Games, the р, logo, Midnight Club and the Midnight Club logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. DUB® and the Dub Edition" logos are trademarks of Dub Publishing, Inc. PSP is а trademark of Sony Computer entertainment Inc. Memory Stick Duo™ may be required (sold separately). "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Online play requires internet connection, Network Adaptor (for PlayStationit2) and Memory Card (8MB) (for PlayStation®2) (each old separately). The Online icon is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox Live, the Live logo and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the US and/or in other countries and under license from Microsoft. The atings icon is a trademark of the Electronic Software Association. All automobile, motorcycle, customization and other parts manufacturers, and other names, brands and associated imagery featured in this game are trademarks and/or copyrighted materials of their respective owners. All rights reserved PRODUCTS RANGE FROM Blood RATING PENDING то MATURE | CONTENT RATED BY E SREB Language Suggestive Themes Violence It's “dead boy walking” as you join the grim reaper's son and his bizarre band of friends on a mission against the ultimate evil. биг hero may be three feet tall, but he’s pulling out the big guns—and, of course, his trusty scythe—for each and every action-packed level. Help DJ save his bony behind from dad's eternal fury (and, oh yeah, save the world, too). It's an all-new "Gear" for your all-new gear. One of gaming's greatest heroes, Solid Snake, returns in a tactical adventure designed from the ground up to take full advantage of the | 7; » PSP system's capabilities. With over 200 /. strategic moves, two playable characters and a wireless play option, Metal Gear Acid № is the ultimate stealth trip. н КОМАМІ Еа www.konami.com/gs $ FEATURE ВО”ОРМ April 2005 www.lUPcom | 81 % FEATURE ве OPM Jti. 2005 2 LAN Г 2 / THE FFF е RSS ISTE / ТАКІ It's not easy Let me take one step back from there. We looked at what we've accomplished since the launch of the original PlayStation and the PlayStation 2, and we've obviously built a huge bond with consumers over the past 10 years. We felt that the timing was right, from both the relationship we have with the consumers and also from a technological standpoint, to bring [out] a handheld device that would revolutionize the way people enjoy entertainment on the go just as müch as we revolution- ized a lot of things when the original PlayStation came out in 1994 in Japan. Talks started, and Kutaragi-san started thinking about this before the E3 of 2003 when he was up onstage talking about his vision for the PSP. It’s been about a year and a half or two years in the making, but again, the timing was right based on our relationship with consumers and [from] a technological standpoint. What we didn't want to do was try to muscle into:the handheld gaming market. That's а market that's already been established, and we've never been about muscling into new markets. We want to create a new market for the consumer and for the industry as a whole. H It's no secret that the handheld gaming market has been around for a really long time, and Nintendo's had a lot of devices that cater to that par- ticular market—specifically the games market. They've had add-ons in the past that you can connect to your Game Boy Color or Game Boy Advance, such as cameras and printers, but at the core, they're still just handheld gaming devices. What we wanted to create was a device that would certainly play games—that's our core focus—but we're not satis- fied with just that. We want to create a completely different market or expand the portable entertainment market by using games as a catalyst. That's why we wanted to make sure the screen had a high resolution that would make it a compelling entertainment option. It will make you want to watch a movie on it or do a slide show of your photos. It's a com- pelling music-playing device as well. We're making sure the PSP isn't stuck being a competitor to Nintendo or anybody else. Just as we had a wide demographic for the PlayStation апа Р52, the PSP is going to appeal to a wide demographic across a variety of different ages and [attract] a high female-and-male ratio as well. If you look at the form-factor, | have no problem taking out my PSP if I'm flying to San Francisco, New York, or Tokyo and want to watch a movie. There are some devices out there that l'd be a little embarrassed to pull out, espe- cially now that | have so much gray hair. We designed the PSP so that it would be a fashion statement. We want to appeal to a wide demographic апа пої just the teenager demographic. In an indirect way. The iPod is a handheld entertainment device. The DS is a handheld entertainment device. There are a lot of different MP3 players out there and portable DVD players out there as well. So from that perspective, anything that gives users the option of being entertained on the go falls in that category, so books and laptops are also in that cate- gory. If you're asking me what is a direct competitor to the PSP, it's every- thing that can entertain when you're on the go. OPM What about the price? How much discussion went into hitting the right price point? KH | looked at the North American market and wanted to bring what | thought was the most compelling value proposition to the North Ameri- can consumers. | came to the conclusion that since it’s a handheld device, you probably want a case to carry it around in, you probably want a memory stick to save your game data, and you're most likely going to buy accessories anyway. So for the North American market, | wanted it to be a one-stop solution right out of the box. You get everything you need, plus a demo disc and a movie—one of the most popular movies of 2004—right out of the box. We wanted to make it compelling, and I think the $249 price tag does just that. OPM The general sentiment is that the PSP is a stopgap to the transition from the PS2 to the PS3, but it seems like you're going for a totally differ- ent audience here. KH | don’t know that it's a different audience, but | think it's opening a market that overlaps different audiences that enjoyed the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, and we want to expand on that. When we embark on а platform launch that involves not only SCEA but also Sony corporately and all of the publishing and developing community, we don't do it as а stopgap to anything. This is a serious endeavor with a serious vision of wanting to expand entertainment in the portable space. OPM What's been the reaction from movie and music studios? KH They've been very enthusiastic and positive. We want a lot of the stu- dios to bring out their hit titles on UMD for retail release. Look for releases coming from us or other motion picture studios, or perhaps even jointly. We want to get all of our ducks in a row before we start announc- ing retail merchandising and all those kind of things. OPM Is there a role for Sony Connect? КН | think there is a role in as far as it's Sony's download service. They have a proprietary encoder called ATRAC, which the PSP supports, so consumers will be able to use the Sonic Stage software to download the files right onto their PSP. The software supports MP3 as well. Obviously, | would like to make sure that if consumers are looking for a music down- load service that they view Sony Connect as one of their primary options. OPM Are there plans to expand the PSP's features to include e-mail, Web browsing, and other options that are normally found in PDAs? KH | got this question a lot with the PS2 as well. At the end of the day, it's really up to the software creators. If they think that Web browsing is something that’s going to be compelling as part of a game or what have you, then I’m sure someone will bring it out. I'm not exactly sure that you'd want to browse the Web or do anything that you could do with a laptop, and maybe I'm wrong. But the possibilities are pretty much end- less. If you need a soft keyboard or a keyboard that plugs into the USB, then you can do that as well. ОРМ 15 there any concern that the PSP could potentially cannibalize sup- port for the PS2 and the PS3 since development budgets are getting to be so high and it's cheaper to develop for the PSP? KH I'm not exactly sure about next-generation home consoles. Cer- tainly, each of the publishing companies has different strategies for how they want to maximize their bottom line. What | can say is that what we're trying to do is provide the largest installed base of any platform зо we can give publishers the option to focus their product strategies more on the PSP than on the PS2 or vice versa. So far, in my conversa- tions with the publishing community and looking at the support we have for the PSP, there's a testament to the enthusiasm for the platform, but it doesn't mean they're going to scale back PS2 development. | think we're growing the development base as opposed to dealing with some- thing where if you do two for PSP, you're taking away one from PS2. | don’t see that happening. OPM So, in theory, the PSP could be a primary Sony platform? KH It will become a primary Sony platform for portable entertainment. We obviously have a 10-year heritage now in home consoles as well, so | don't see the PSP becoming primary and | don't see the PS2 being pri- mary. Now we have two platforms, one for the home and the other portable, so | think they'll be complementary. CONNECTIUITY CORNER While the idea of con- nectivity certainly isn't a new one, it seems to take оп а whole new dimension with the PSP. Since the hardware is so powerful, developers could potentially create some awesome new fea- tures with it and breathe some life back into the PS2 hardware. ОРМ Is the PSP on a separate track from the PS2? Meaning, will we see a PSP 2 alongside new versions of home hardware? KH It's on a separate track in that what we want to accomplish is some- what different for inside the home as compared to what we want to do outside the home. They're both in the same vision of [us] wanting to pro- vide compelling entertainment platforms to consumers with games at the core. So you'll see something like SOCOM for PS2 and SOCOM for PSP— the games would be complementary to each other, so you clear a level on the PSP, bring it back, and hook it up to your PS2. If you're talking about the evolution of the hardware, we haven't even launched in North Amer- ica, so it would be kind of hard to talk about PSP 2. But again, we're try- ing to establish the de facto handheld format in the UMD, so there are certainly different possibilities. It will start out with the PSP, but who knows what the format will evolve into. ИИ "AE DIDN'T WANT TO MUSCLE IN ON THE HANDHELD GAMING MARKET.” , OPM Will the rental business have any impact on the PSP? KH | think that just as much as the PlayStation 2, with its DVD functional- ity, increased the install base of DVD players and DVD playback in Amer- ica and especially in Japan, the rental chains will see that the [UMD] install base has ramped up quickly. And so long as the rights holders see that as an opportunity for additional revenue, | don't see why UMD discs o featuring motion pictures wouldn't be placed at Blockbuster or other rental chains. If the business is there, I’m sure people will get into it. OPM What would surprise you six months from now in terms of con- sumer reaction? KH Right now, I'm focused on trying to get it out in North America, and my expectation is that, just like it has in Japan, it will be a huge hit, start- ing with the core gaming audience. It will expand quickly with the support from the motion picture studios and the music companies as well. | really can't foresee any surprises except, of course, to say this is the first time this kind of device has been introduced to the North American market and | have a lot of high hopes for it. OPM Can you comment at all on the potential for homebrew projects? Will you let it happen, or will you crack down on it? KH It’s hard to tell at this point in time. What we want to establish first is a solid market, and if we look at the market three years from now, we may look at that. But right now we're trying to establish a market through software that's available and copyright-protected materials that can be о downloaded onto the memory stick. If you're talking about homebrew іп terms of games, | wouldn't rule it out completely in the future. www.lUP.com | 83 Hunt and be hunted by aggressive AI that homes in on the slightest sound. Now dual gameplay: Play as the load operative or cover from above as the elusive sniper. a cheery online battle with © a few of your closest pals. You hunt down а few terrorists, blow off some heads with your Employ night vision and niotlon=senaing goggles to detest the threat - before it detects you. sniper rifle, and use night vision to gtalk each other in the dark. In the world of Rainbow Six, only one rule of friendship applies: watch your back if you want to get out alive. Shallongo frlondn to operative-va.-morconary firofights in tho PlayStation@2 Rivalry modo. 7 AE | o0 EM ЕП PlayStation е | » | ubi. com” MATURE 17+ Blood Language Violence Y GATHERING... А Tom Clancy 8 “RANDON i HH CIT, ION RS THE Ut В6”ОРМ April 2005 Even with all of the power the PSP has, none of it would matter without the support of developers. Thankfully, all of the major players have jumped on board and are producing, in some cases, multiple games for the PSP due out this year. We spoke with several prominent development houses to get their thoughts on the PSP's design and how the portable system will affect handheld gaming as we know it. It was love at first sight for many. "The first time | saw a picture of [the PSP] was when Kutaragi-san showed some concept drawings, and it was like, ‘Sweet! Just build that and it'll be a winner," says Warren Wall, vice president and executive producer at EA Canada. “Then | saw the real device at ЕЗ last year, and the screen stole the show: bright, crisp, and big enough to draw you right in to the experience. Holding one in your hands the very first time, you just know they hit the design right on the nose— there isn't a nicer package of technology anywhere on the market today." Indeed, the first time most people laid eyes on the sleek design of Sony's new handheld system, the screen immediately grabbed their attention. “1 couldn't believe the clarity of the screen," says PJ Snavely, producer at 989 Sports. "The display was unlike anything I'd seen from something that wasn't a plasma TV or computer monitor." Hideo Ter- amoto, associate producer of Namco's Ridge Racer on PSP, agrees. "The first unit we saw was a prototype. The large liquid crystal display showing a movie trailer totally blew our minds. At that moment, | realized that no visual compromise would be allowed in developing Ridge Racer." For some, the PSP's design meant much more. It was almost a sign that it was time for the handheld-gaming industry to grow up. "I thought it looked very modern, stylish, and sophisticated—much more so than any handheld entertainment system that had come before it," says Shawn Torin Rettig, associate producer on Ape Escape. "It looked mature, like it should be taken seriously, and [like] something far beyond a device that only kids and gamers would use." But as the saying goes, it's what's inside that counts. The PSP's techni- cal capabilities were already impressive when the device was first announced, but there was still some concern from developers that the first incarnation of the specifications just wouldn't be enough for them to do the types of games they had in mind. "From reading the specifications originally, we thought there might be some challenges for game develop- ment,” says 9895 Snavely. EA Canada’s Wall explains further: “In terms of raw power, it was more than enough to match current consoles but seemed oddly underequipped in RAM memory—it was announced as 8MB in early spec releases. That was clearly going to be the limiting fac- tor, so we pushed Sony to reconsider. Our hope was for at least 16MB, but then they went and surprised us again with 32MB." Still, the PSP hardware is the most powerful ever designed for a hand- held unit, and that was enough. “Му initial reaction was pleasant surprise," says Colin Berry, designer on Wipeout Pure at Sony Studio Liverpool. “Аз a designer, one of my concerns was how many buttons the PSP would have, rather than how many polygons it could throw around. Fortunately, it has not disappointed in either respect. The analog stick was perhaps the only element that took a little time to get used to controlwise. As for the technical specifications, they are closer to PlayStation 2 than PlayStation, which is fantastic." Indeed, it’s somewhat of a shock that we are already seeing games that surpass the visual quality offered by the PS1 and in some cases match the quality of early PS2 games. It's about time handheld gaming moved to the forefront with its console brethren instead of staying behind in the shadows where it has remained since its inception. “The typical game- play style should not always be where users sit in front of a TV for hours and just keep moving their fingers to move a game controller. | think many users prefer to play high-quality-graphics games more easily, any- time, and anywhere for a short time. | believe this easy play style is better suited for our modern life cycle,” says Katsumi Yokota, concept planner and art director behind the hypnotic puzzle game Lumines. "| consider it a ‘healthy computer game.'" With that in mind, developers have to start thinking differently about their portable games since they have the ability to essentially port console projects. Surprisingly, most of them are embracing the idea that handheld games absolutely require certain features to truly make them worthwhile on-the-go experiences, but the first thing to do is identify those features. "Developers definitely have to be aware of what kind of platform they are developing for. | know that there are gamers who would play a 60-plus- hour RPG on a handheld, but most people wouldn't. They also don't want to have to read a lot of text or spend too much time getting in and out of the game," says Ape Escape's Rettig. "The most successful games will be those that are easy to understand and play, and fast to get in and out of. A detailed flight simulator or a text-intensive and highly involved RPG or adventure game would probably not be ideal for a handheld. However, puzzle games, action games, racing games, and sports games are obvi- ously better suited to a fast and fun portable gaming experience." The next step for developers is to focus on the PSP's features and find out how the game can be manipulated to take advantage of them. "There have been different requirements for arcade and console games in the history of the Ridge Racer franchise," says Namco's Teramoto. "For our game, we naturally tried to come up with a game suited for a portable unit. We implemented many handheld-specific features, such as a more advanced autosave; 'custom tour,' where a series of races will be created automatically based on a specified period of time; and an audio/video player, where users can enjoy music from the game." Electronic Arts took a similar approach with its games. Says Wall: "We've started with games that are already successful on other platforms, so our ideas are about making games playable on the smaller screen while adding extra value. | don't think it's possible to be successful on a handheld platform without putting a lot of thought behind specifics for the hardware. Designs need to consider detail visibility, object lighting, visual cues, and control differ- ences. When we started work on Need for Speed Underground Rivals, we had to carefully consider what worked and what didn't work on the small screen. The differences are subtle, but it would be immediately clear why we made the changes once they were pointed out. Almost any genre and any idea can work on the PSP if you carefully consider these issues." This formula of targeting specific parts of the hardware has also helped Wipeout Pure earn a distinct position in the launch lineup. "We had always thought Wipeout would make a fantastic handheld game, so when the PSP came along and we had the chance to make a handheld version, | was delighted," says Sony Studio Liverpool's Berry. "We did not just jump into it blindly, though; initially, we had to work out in what ways the game needed adapting to make the move from console to handheld. Once we had identified those areas, we looked at ways the game could benefit from being on the PSP—for example, the use of Wi-Fi. The obvi- ous benefit of Wi-Fi is wireless multiplayer gaming, but we tried to look beyond—to maximize the functionality—so we made a decision very early on to include downloadable content of some sort. This aspect grew and grew and is something we are very proud of. As far as we are aware, Wipeout Pure will be the first PSP title to support downloadable content, ж LA LLL , , Ll lA «PP PE B g SM "SUCCESSFUL GAMES WILL BE FAST TO GET IN AND OUT OF.” and we have not just tagged it on in a small way. The amount of down- loadable content is huge, and we feel we are setting a benchmark for future games that go down the path of downloadable content." Obviously, developers can take a slightly different approach with com- pletely original games, but the same general thought process is still there. "Since | recognized the PSP as ‘visual Walkman’ hardware, | wanted to create a puzzle game using music," says Lumines' Yokota. "Starting from this initial thought, | came up with the puzzle-game idea of combining horizontal moves like [those of] a sequencer and vertical moves [depend- ent on] gravity. Together with the PSP's wide screen, we successfully cre- ated a very unique ‘long sideways puzzle game’ that can only be realized on the PSP. Everything evolved around the PSP hardware.” Even with all the praise for the hardware, some things could’ve been changed or added to make the PSP an even better machine. “Durability and reliance are the things any portable console must keep at a high level. For PSP, | was very surprised at how small and light it was consider- www.1UP.com | 87 Ф FEATURE ing its high specs," says Yokota. "But because of that, it looked very deli- cate at the same time. Also, I’m worried about the fact that PSP's memory stick can only take a small amount of memory. | think it could be a bottle- neck for users to use this hardware freely, creatively, and efficiently. If we can use a large-volume internal hard drive or rewritable UMD or if a large-volume memory stick becomes much cheaper, PSP could become as popular as the iPod.” The desire for a hard drive isn't uncommon among developers. "There are a few features | would add, though the size of the machine would increase a hell of a lot," says Wipeout's Berry. "I'd have liked it to have a microphone built in and also a small hard drive—4GB would suffice." Some desired changes аге а little less obvious than others. “Тһе UMD data transfer rate is slower than we would like,” says EA Canada’s Wall. “They gave us all this memory to work with, but it takes at least twice the time to fill with data off the disk compared to DVD. We've spent an inordi- nate amount of time tweaking and tuning to get load times to an accept- able level. It's going to present limitations in future designs for more massive open-world concepts. l'd also like to see a second analog nub to facilitate control in some of our sports and FPS games." Karthik Bala, CEO of Vicarious Visions (the team behind Spider-Man 2 for PSP), seconds the idea of more control. "A second analog nub could enable 3D games to have independent camera controls, for example. A faster CPU would have also been nice, but this can be a challenging thing to do for a handheld, as the battery life is precious." Despite these minor quibbles, it's pretty hard to deny Sony got it right. The design is sleek and the hardware is powerful. Whether it will truly usher in a completely new era of gaming depends on consumer reaction, but developers are optimistic. "Nintendo started the change when they made the SP version of the GBA. For the first time it didn't feel like а kids’ toy, and it was much more acceptable for adults to whip one out in public and play a game," says EA's Wall. "Now when | pull out my PSP—I imported a Japanese one—in public, it attracts awe and admiration from kids and adults alike. Then they see the visuals and can't believe this qual- ity could come in such a small package. Without a doubt, this is going to ж” C LEVEL ML POWERPLAY es 3 " Different games require dif- TIME ferent amounts of power M5: from your PSP's battery. SEGRE Something simple, like ЕТТІГЕ Lumines, Won t drain your battery quite as fast as a HI-SCGRE game like Ridge Racer БЕ е because it isn't pushing the сесетег PSP hgrüware. Good thing лаве Luminesis one of the best ) A change the perception of what handheld games are all about.” Not everyone shares the same view. “With current specs, I’m not sure if PSP could change people's view of portable gaming,” says Yokota. “However, if it becomes able to connect to the Internet or download | games as | mentioned earlier, people might see it as not just а game con- sole but a portable unit that handles any kind of information. There is no other portable unit with a large and beautiful liquid crystal panel—PSP could become an all-purpose portable console." ~ If the PSP doesn't cause Sony's intended shock wave, there's still senti- ment that it will attract a new audience to handheld gaming. "I think it will certainly make handheld gaming look more attractive simply from the е ЛИЛИИ ЛКС ККИ ee FOR THE FIRST TIME, [A HANDHELD] = DIDN'T FEEL LIKE A KIDS’ TOY.” look of the games," says Sony Studio Liverpool's Berry. "People who have previously dismissed handheld gaming will take an interest once they are exposed to the PSP. Whether or not it will change people's views wholesale, | don't know. I've always thought it odd that some people сап be into games yet not have an interest in handhelds; perhaps the PSP will be the machine that convinces more people to try handheld gaming and makes them realize it can be easily as enjoyable as console gaming. "| think handhelds have suffered in some ways," Berry continues, "as the games have never looked as good as the console games of the time irrespective of how they play. People generally form their first impression from visuals, and maybe some gamers have turned a blind eye to hand- helds because of this. Having said that, the success in the past of the Game Boy has shown there is a large market for handheld gaming; | think the PSP shows that handheld games can now compete with console ^ games in terms of looks and overall quality. So, perhaps the PSP will break down a few barriers for people who have dismissed it in the past." 88"OPM April 2005 “WITH TOP-NOTCH VISUALS, A PROMISING SCORE, А UNIQUE STORYLINE AND COMPLEX PLAY SYSTEM, DIGITAL DEVIL SAGA: AVATAR TUNER IS DEFINITELY THE RPG TO SINK YOUR TEETH INTO..." — RPGFAN.COM ZARRE STORY, AND TRANSFORMING ABILITIES SHOULD MAKE THIS AN RPG TO REMEMBER." — PSM TRANSFORM INTO A DEMON TO DEVOUR YOUR 4, ENEMIES AND GAIN POWERFUL ABILITIES! FROM THE MAKERS OF SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI™: NOCTURNE® BREATHTAKING СЕ! EFFECTS BRING THE WORLD OF THE JUNKYARD TO LIFE! COLLECTOR'S Авт Вох гов DIGITAL DEVIL SAGA AND DIGITAL DEVIL SAGA 2 (0052 COMING SUMMER 2005-мот INCLUDED) FULL COLOR 40-PAGE MANUAL EXPERIENCE A FULLY VOICED SCI-FI FANTASY STORY WITH over 50 Hours OF GAMEPLAY! OFFICIAL SOUNDTRACK CD FEATURING 30+ TRACKS FROM THE GAME! WWW.DIGITALDEVILSAG/ Blood and Gore Intense Violence Language Sexual Themes ENG wus PlayStation.e Ы fh mera © 2004, 2005 ATLUS SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI, SMT and DIGITAL DEVIL SAGA are trademarks of Atlus USA. NOCTURNE® is a trademark of Terminal Reality, Inc. and is used with permission. DANTE from Devil May Cry 2 : © CAPCOM CO., LTD. 2003. ‘PlayStation’ and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The rating icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All rights reserved. % FEATURE жыл) XO Po DIOE "que HOME M Km This is probably the trickiest feature to use on the PSP, but it's well worth. it if you want a decent catalog of movies to watch while traveling. This also may be the only way you'll get to watch some of your favorite films since it may take a while for movie studios to release them on UMD. 4 5 МЕ You absolutely need a higher-capacity memory card. The default 32MB stick is great for game saves but pretty worthless аз far as other multimedia options go. The 512MB stick should work great for shorter movies {you might be able to squeeze in two), one long movie, or a series of TV @Jsodes—whatever you want. If you want to get serious, go for the 1GB memory stick, which easily lets you store about three full- length movies. Unfortunately, high-volume sticks are quite pricey (even the SanDisk-branded versions, though they're much cheaper than Sony's memory sticks), so you'll have to invest a good chunk of change. WO Ripping and encoding movies gets a bit tricky if you're not already familiar with the process, so we'll just give you the basics. First, grab a DVD or video that you want to transfer to your PSP. If you're going with a DVD, then you'll need DVD ripping software that will allow you to extract the movie file. Once it's extracted, you have to use encoding soft- ware that will make the movie viewable on the PSP since it supports only a specific video format. There are a few different options available for encoding software. If you're using Mac OS X, then you can use iPSP, which offers a number of different encoding options (for example, there's ап option to make the file smaller at the cost of losing image and sound SELECT STA quality). For the PC, there аге а few alternatives. You can use Sony's own encoding software, which actually hasn't gone into full release at the time of this writing, or you can use other software that will convert the files into an MP4 format. Check out the links in the sidebar to find out where you can get this software. Ф Now you have to transfer the converted MP4 movie file over to your t PSP. All you have to do is plug your PSP into your computer via а USB (be sure to select the USB connect option on the PSP) and you should be good to go. When you click on the PSP icon on your computer, you'll notice that there's a file directory structure. Unfortunately, putting movies on the PSP isn't as simple as tossing them into a directory called “томе.” You have to create a new directory called MP ROOT, which should be sitting outside the main PSP folder. Once you've done that, you should rename your movies to MV40000 and change the "0000" to num- ber different movies. So, your first movie would be MV40001.MP4, and so on. Then transfer the MP4 file over to the PSP and you should be ready to watch some movies on the go. PUT PICTURES ON YOUR MEMORY STICK - 4 This is pretty easy to do and there are instructions on how to put pictures on your PSP in the manual itself. However, it's worth pointing out that if you're using iPSP for OS X or if similar software gets released on the PC, your PSP can automatically syne with some picture programs. So, it's easy to just select whatever pictures you want to transfer over and be done with it. Again, you're going to have to buy a large memory stick if 90”ОРМ April 2005 — STAR you want to be able to look at lots of images along with everything else. The idea is to not think of pictures in the typical sense, but to think of anything that can be transferred into a JPG or any other compatible format to your PSP. Theoretically, you could scan any reading material (books, comic books, magazines) into a compatible format and have it available to read on the PSP. Unfortunately, right now, it takes а few seconds for the PSP to render an image, so if it's an image that requires a lot of scrolling, you'll notice it’s a bit blurry at first. This seems more like an issue with the PSP than the speed of the memory stick, so it may be possible for Sony to remedy the problem with a firmware update in the future. PUT MUSIC ON YOUR MEMORY STICK The same things that apply to pictures pretty much apply to music. All you have to do is set your PSP to USB connect mode and transfer either MP3 or ATRAC music files into the music directory folder on the PSP. Again, this whole process will be a whole lot easier if you are using some kind of software that handles the busywork for you, but even if you don't, it still isn't too difficult. Unfortunately, the PSP isn't a full-featured music player, but it gets the job done. There аге а few general settings to adjust bass and treble, depending on the type of song you're listening to, but you can't adjust individual sound levels. As far as playlists go, the PSP does support m3u playlists as well as different directories, so you can still load up specific music and have it ready to go when you're out and about. The audio quality of the PSP is pretty good, but we also highly recommend that you invest in a good pair of earphones to get the most out of it. USEFUL SOFTWARE If you're using OS X, then iPSP is the only applica- tion you need. It syncs with almost all preexist- ing Mac applications, such as iTunes and iPhoto, plus it makes encoding movies a snap. Check it out at kaisak om. If you're on a PC and looking for software to help convert your movie files into PSP-com- patible MPEG-4 files, then look no further than Its a little difficult to use at the moment, but it should work well until Sony releases its official encoding software. NOT A LOT OF CHOICES The memory stick duo and memory stick pro duo, which are compati- ble with the PSP, come in flavors ranging from 32MB to 1GB. The pro duo is a little bit faster than the duo. While this difference is negligible while playing games, you may notice a slight differ- ence when loading up movies, music, or images. Unfortunately, only Sony and SanDisk offer mem- ory sticks at the moment. The Sony versions are generally much more expensive, but they're a bit easier to find. We advise shopping around on the Internet to find good deals—frooale is a great place to start—but make sure you don't accidentally pick up a regular pro memory stick. It's longer than the duo or pro duo, so it won't fit in the PSP. -------- ЛИН ИИИИСТЕНЛІТТЕТІЕГІТІ THE LAUNCH - Ape Escape: On the Loose Need for Speed Underground Rivals ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails NFL Street 2 Unleashed Darkstalkers Chronicle: Rengoku: The Tower of Purgatory | The Chaos Tower Ridge Racer | Dynasty Warriors Smartbomb FIFA 2005 Spider-Man 2 Gretzky NHL Tiger Woods PGA Tour Lumines Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix Metal Gear Acid Twisted Metal: Head-On MLB Untold Legends: MVP Baseball Brotherhood of the Blade NBA Wipeout Pure МВА Street Showdown World Tour Soccer www.1UP.com | 91 ON А HELLEOUND VESSEL, ы UNLEASH A TORRENT OF WEAPONS CREATE FATAL TRAPS AND USE SHOTGUNS, FLAME THROWERS, OR ANY OBJECT YOU CAN FIND TO SURVIVE 4 A [4 KEEP YOUR BEARINGS BATTLE AGAINST INCREASINGLY MUTATED ENEMIES IN TREACHEROUS, UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENTS я BRAVE DANGEROUS WATERS 24 ROCKED BY HUGE BREAKERS, YOU MUST >» STEADY YOUR NERVES - AND AIM - TO EVADE A WATERY GRAVE -| MATURE 17+ Blood and Gore Intense Violence Cans Wit Emek A1 TSP mE TOS т! EVERYONE IS DEAD WEIGHT. E : zv INTHE VIOLENT STORMS OF THE FERING STRAIT, DISTRESS CALLS ; С SEE ARE А DIME A DOZEN. BUT WHEN COAST GUARD VETERAN ТОМ HANSEN pes. 5 BOARDS A SEEMINGLY ABANDONED WHALER, NOTHING CAN PREPARE $54 ~~ HIM FOR THE HORRORS LURKING BENEATH ITS BLOODSTAINED DECKS. =: НЕ. МА5 THE LAST TO RESPOND то THE багш WILL HE ВЕ THE FIRST “TO SURVIVE? .^ چ‎ "da е г 4 ы cy еа “а 3 1 ye NATA NARI 2005. "The most exciting baseball game of the year." ........ All-new Major League Baseball 2K5 with On Command" baserunning lets you take total control of the basepaths like never before. Steal, hit and run, leg out an extra base — and hit the dirt like a pro with your choice of slides. Add K Zone" pitching and Maximum Fielding" y and Major League Baseball 2K5 is the most authentic MLB" experience anywhere. PlayStation.e nans | [ЁЗ БЕЙ ЕЛ — SPORTS © 2005 Take-Two Interactive Software and its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Major League Baseball 2К5, 2K Sports, the 2K Sports logo, and Take-Two Interactive Software are all trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights aro used with permission of Major Loaguo Baseball Properties, Inc. Visit the official website at MLB.com ©MLBPA Licensee, Major League Baseball Players Association. Visit tho Players Choice on the web at www. MLBPtayers.com © MLBP 2005 / MLBPA 2005. ESPN is a trademark of ESPN, Inc. ESPN Branded Elements © 2005 ESPN, Inc. "PlayStation" and are Entertainment Inc. Online play requires internet connection, Network Adaptor (for PlayStation 2) and Memory Card (ВМВ) (for PlayStation 2) (each sold separately). The Online icon is a. Live, Xbox Live logos and Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or in other countries and are used under license fr ©2005 ESPN, Inc. Baseburner gives you unprecedented control of your runners on base. K Zone pitching gives you better command of your entire repertoire of pitches. Stunning graphics and authentic major league ballparks. E asusa и POWERED ВУ www.2Ksports.com JUST LOG ОМТО: HTTP://GAMERSVOICE:1UP.COM اال‎ Click on the survey name: 2005 GAMER'S VOICE PANEL SURVEY and type in this UNIQUE ІП CODE: opmgamer Complete all the questions in this initial survey. ” Fo во melt „д тете өт A REVIEWS 098> INSIDE OFFICIAL US. PLAYSTATION MAGAZINE 102 Finny the Fish & the Seven Waters 102 Kessen III 102 Musashi Samurai Legend 103 Playboy: The Mansion IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT GAME OF THE MONTH 106 TimeSplitters: Future Perfect 109 FIFA Street 109 World Tour Soccer 2006 110 Major League Baseball 2K5 110 MLB 2006 110 MVP Baseball 2005 112 Project: Snowblind RATING KEY 114 Fight Night Round 2 Octagons. Stomps. Ocs. Blargs. Call our rating symbols what you will—just know that 114 MX vs. ATV Unleashed any game that receives five of ‘em is something truly special that deserves a spot іп 114 Rugby 2005 your collection. On the other hand, a 2.5 is merely mediocre. And a 0.5? Well...at least 116 Devil May Cry 3 they're fun to rip apart. өөөө uu www.1UP.com ШЫ REVIEWS GRAN TURISMO 4 HOW MUCH MORE REAL CAN IT GET? OFFICIAL US. PLAYSTATION MAGAZINE GAME OF THE MONTH One of the truly defining moments of GT4 comes in the new mission modes, which open up once you've proven yourself sufficiently skilled at driving. Thirty-four specific tasks are presented to you, beginning with 10 very simple tests of overtaking skill, 10 three-lap challenges, four “slip- stream battles” that have you testing the very effectively simulated laws of physics on a fast oval, and finally the ultimate test of skill, the “one-lap magic” races. The last, and arguably most difficult, 10 challenges of the game take historical vehicles from single manufacturers and pit them against each other on famous racetracks. The last of these spreads five Mercedes-Benz supercars against each other in the ultimate locale, the Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany. The lineup sees a 1954 Gullwing 300SL lead the pack against a ‘98 SLK 230, a '91 190E Evolution II, and an AMG SL65. Oh, and don't forget your car—that snarling silver dream machine, the McLaren SLR. How could any of the other cars possibly pose a threat to your 617-hp super Benz, a vehicle that can erupt from 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds? The 300SL has a 123-second head start on you, that's how. And you have to get ahead of it within just one lap. The SLR 61452 етер 12 2 9870PM April 2005 can just about crack the double ton when the hammer's down; the 300SL can barely muster 145 and struggles to hit 60 in less than double digits. With just over two minutes on you, he'll be tough to catch, especially with the other three guys leaving the start line at 30-second intervals and getting in your way en route. After sitting on the line waiting for what seems like an eternity, you finally get the green light and nail the SLR. As the car makes its peak 575 Ib-ft of torque at 3,250 rpm, the back wheels dig into the tarmac and hur- tle the car forward with a ferociousness that's just shocking. As you wig- gle your way through the Hatzenbach and Hocheichen turns, you get a feel for the car's power and learn the limits of its cornering ability. As you ease your way onto the Quiddelbacher-Hohe straight, your first brief but delectable taste of the car's power is given. Five or six seconds of brutal acceleration see the horizon coming toward you much faster than is strictly comfortable, and before you know it you're making a smooth right-hander that tests the limits of your nerves. Easing off the throttle, you feather the brake and feel the car tug gently to the left as the tires конду 702 @ 500,000 ET] Ave 125 енна, Spoon Fit Place Car '03 lose some traction and start to squeal. At the apex of the turn, you floor it again, and the full brunt of those 617 ponies surges you forward. The Nürburgring is 13 miles of fairly treacherous track that most race drivers claim to be the most demanding circuit in the world. These days, any car manufacturer worth its salt tests its new cars there, and real brutes like the SLR are capable of getting around the track in around eight minutes flat, which means keeping an average speed of about 95 mph, even though there аге 73 bends to negotiate. My first try while chasin: the 300SL was a fairly dismal 12 minutes, and according to the game clock I'd only narrowed the distance between the SL and the SLR by 40 seconds or so. That said, the last minute provided the kind of thrill you get from a game like Burnout 3, only it was dished up in a much more believable way. As you round the Galgenkopf bend on the eastern side of the track, you find yourself hurtling toward the Dottinger-Hohe straight, which is the longest uninterrupted strip of the entire circuit. You come out of the bend pretty slowly. You can probably come out faster than | did, but taking a right-hander that tight at anything more than 50 or 60 takes a particular brand of lunatic, especially when driving a $452,000 ride. As you straighten out, you realize where you are and know you can really see what this thing can do. This is a car that can do 90 in second, remember, so flooring the thing evokes a verbal response that's sort of...holyf***ings***thisissof***ingquick. | defy you to try it and not make some kind of exclamation out loud. In a straight line the SLR feels as though it has warp engines, and the feeling of real power is unlike any- thing l've seen in a racing game before. Burnout 3 and Need for Speed do a good job of scaring you with speed, but GT4 is the only car sim that's done a convincing job of putting you behind a 5.4 liter V8. Any of you who have been eagerly consuming every scrap of informa- tion about this game for the past two or three years would be forgiven for getting a little tired of all the talk of hyperrealistic physics engines and the attention to minute details that Yamauchi and his team have been affording this game. After that first lap around the Nürburgring in the SLR, | knew what the big deal was. With a joypad it felt pretty damn www.lUP.com | 99 З} REVIEWS 1 2 3 4 HARD RX-7 Spirit R Type A '02 ИП IS B-SPEC BORING? 4 There have been lots of previews of GT4 since E3 last May, and there's been lots of talk of Yamauchi's weird B-spec mode. If this mode left you scratching your head a bit, as it did me, I’m here to finally explain what the big deal is. For those of you whose initial reaction to the concept was "That sounds incredibly boring," you might be surprised to know that, taken the right way, it's actually quite satisfying. When Yamauchi described the mode to us a few months ago, he likened it to watching a race on TV, stating, "Sometimes you just want to drink coffee and watch." If you're an F1 fan, few things could have been more boring than last year's season, so fiddling with a few controls and obsessing over split times while watching a videogame play itself is actually signif- icantly more interesting than what you may be saving on your TiVo. If you really get into the thing, you can actually spend a fairly relaxing hour keeping an eye on tire wear and fuel levels while putting your feet up and seeing what happens. The key to enjoying this is to understand the spirit with which it was produced. It's not a hardcore management sim; it's just a fancy replay with some funky Al that you can tweak. So to answer that question in the headline...no, not really. To make things more fun, you can play races in B-spec mode that you're not allowed to enter if you don't have the appropriate license yet, so it doubles as a neat little preview feature, too. Race Monitor Car Skyline GT-R V-spec И Nir B 9/15 Laps Best / Sector / Map 1:24.436 Pos. Time 78 Р 1:25.956 0 Skyline GT-R V-spec ll Міг Д 1:25.384 1:25.441 1:23.498 1:26.677 20.141 TVR Tuscan Speed 6 X 1:26.012 TVR Tuscan Speed 6 1:26.521 1 LAP 1:26.178 B Jaguar XKR-R 1:27.012 2LAP 1:27.006 NXT лм (жік RIDE realistic, but with a Logitech wheel and pedal set, it was almost disturbingly so. crushing a bunch of ‘80s rust heaps, | sold it and used the winnings to beef up the Skyline with a turbo, an expensive air filter, the best exhaust There's a lot to say about GT4, most of which you're probably aware of already. Yes, it has the photo mode, which is gloriously distracting and incredibly easy to use. Yes, it has the B-spec mode that you don't really have to play (see sidebar), and yes, it has a ridiculous number of cars in it, many of which you won't care about. Yes, it's gorgeous to look at, and it has a great soundtrack, but the real honest-to-God beauty of this thing is in the moments of intense satisfaction that it provides. Early in your career you'll be working through the beginner races in some kind of used heap that you've picked up for the pittance you begin the game with. For me it was a midnight-blue 1989 Skyline that | bought for a few grand. After winning some cash in the loser dome races, | was getting to a point where the competition was just too hard. The Skyline was killing in the jalopy races, but as soon as | took it to a series with a more significant purse, | was getting walked all over by RX-8s and M coupes. Winning series bags you cars, so after winning a VW Lupo for April 2005 system money could buy, and some weight-reducing goodies. Prior to these mods I'd been racing in Seattle and getting my ass handed to me by a Chrysler Crossfire (of all things) that wouldn't let me finish better than fourth, no matter how well | drove. After the mods | crushed the obnoxious little poseur, and his buddy in an $2000, and their pal in the flame-red RX-8. The feeling of satisfaction was inspiring and pushed me to channel my newfound arrogance into the harder license tests. The license tests are back. As with GT3, there are five different licenses to play through, and yes, the B-license stuff is as dull as ever. Each license presents 16 challenges, and at the beginning these are as tough as “drive in a straight line,” which is to say, not. Don't be disheartened though, it's all worth it in the end. To play the bulk of the game you'll need to beat four of the five license tests and land yourself an Interna- tional A license, and in gameplay terms, it's going to take a good four or five hours of time just to get there. The ultimate test of skill, of course, is REMY the super license, and you'll need this if you want to open up the really crazy stuff in the game, like F1 races. Competent racing gamers will need at least a few hours to crack the super license. Although not especially crazy in terms of its tasks, the real challenge comes in how particular you need to be on the very lengthy challenges. You'll start by racing a 1966 Alfa Romeo through the narrow streets of Italy, you'll tackle an ice rally with a very strict time limit in a tricked-out Hyundai, and ultimately face the final test, which is a lap of the Nürburgring in a Mercedes 190E Evolu- tion Il. Get sloppy on just one turn in any of the challenges, and you'll find yourself burning an hour or more on a single test because of restarts. After sinking nearly 20 hours into СТА, I’m still nowhere near seeing everything it has to offer. | have an impressive garage packed with some glorious examples of automotive history, but | still don't have everything | want. | have my eye on an Aston Martin DB9, and | really want the Cadillac Cien concept, because I’ve always wanted a car that looks like а stealth bomber. | will no doubt be playing this thing for months—at the very least—and every time | shave a few seconds off my time at WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE? Not much, and the stuff that's annoying shouldn't be. You can't, for exam ple the sound settings in-game. So if you're sick of Van Halen while hurtling around Seattle, there's noti you can do about it until you're done. You can make playlists, which is a nice touch, but some times | just want to turn the damn music off and listen to a rip-snorting V10 try to tear its way out of my engine bay. Nürburgring, ІЛІ feel an even greater sense of satisfaction that will ultimately make my drive to work in the morning seem even more boring than before. « John Davison 3Y If you had your doubts, worry not. GT4 is the best driving Sim ever, bar none. ». Sony CEA Dev. Polyphony Digital INC www.1UP.com | 101 %1 REVIEWS 7 АМ АНМҮ ОҒ ОМЕ I'm guessing the average carjacking, quarterback- tackling PS2 player doesn't have much interest in Japanese history, which drives Kessen ll/'s story, or the action/strategy hybrid that plays out in its levels. But why conjecture? I've brought in two gamers to talk it over, one a crabby, overopinion- ated hardcore guy, the other a more socially adjusted, Joe PlayStation casual player: [Flipping through menus] How should we deploy? Our troops are on horse- back, so maybe someone with foot soldiers. Is this the game? | hate this stuff, menus in menus in menus. Oh look, here's an autodeploy option for whiny babies like you. You play. Whoa! You control the whole army at once. Check this out. [Charges up to a unit of enemy troops and whacks them with spear hits] There's like 500 guys on the screen. Awesome! Don't just mindlessly charge in. Here, let me try. [After wiping out the enemy units] The so-called strategy element severely lacks. And terrain doesn't make enough of a difference. But the fighting rules. It feels huge. | don't know. It's hard to tell who's who when more than a couple of units join the fray. The manual camera constantly begs for your atten- tion, never where you want it to be. Probably great fun for Dynasty Warriors fans. If this was gangs of roller-skating '70s pimps knifing each other on the streets of New York instead of these longwinded kung fu dudes, it would completely rule. x VERDICT Nicely combines action and strategy elements, but both could use a little more depth. Pub. Koei Dev. Koei ESRB T MSRP $49.99 RATING 7 А SAMURAI FOR BABIES At first, Musashi's (the titular blue-haired samu- rai kid) quest to rescue a bevy of maidens and retrieve five elemental swords seems like another run, jump, and hit-things affair, but it goes a bit deeper than that. The two main addi- tions—the "duplicating" of enemy attacks and the carrying mechanic—add a fair amount of intrigue to what would otherwise be a mediocre action-RPG. Musashi can "focus" on an enemy and, with proper timing, learn a new technique based off said enemy's attack. Besides learning new attacks, Musashi also physically lugs people around; the very maidens he rescues become both cargo and weapon as Musashi heaves them to and fro and can actually club enemies with them. As he picks up damsels and learns enemy moves, he also does a fair bit of shop- ping and talking inside a giant skywhale, squeezes in some rescues that don't require carrying the rescuee, and participates in arena combat for some trading cards. All this makes for a generally amicable adventure that’s hindered by crap cinematogra- phy and a painful level grind. Musashi exhibits a flaw that seems to be literally transferred over from Kingdom Hearts: a nigh-useless camera. Despite Musashi's quirky look and interesting mechanics, the elementary mistakes made with the camera and the poor pacing ultimately make the game feel more like its 1998 predecessor than a modern sequel. BRAVE MUSASHI! Decent action, nifty move- learning and carrying mechanics COWARDLY MUSASH! Annoying camera, level grind, and a tendency to backtrack a lot Pub. Square Enix Dev. Square Enix ESRB E MSRP $49.99 RATING 102”ОРМ April 2005 KAPPA TRIVIA Tetsuya Nomura, designer for the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franchises, contributed character designs to this new Musashi. Which is why everyone in the game has a crazy haircut and brandishes an overabun- dance of belt buckles. 2 FINNY THE FISH & THE SEVEN WATERS TOO SMALL, THROW IT BACK It's not easy being a fish. First off, | like sushi as much as the next guy, but | don’t think | could eat it all day—not to mention the pos- sibility of one day becoming it. So it's clear that Finny the Fish’s life was hard enough before he became the Chosen One charged with saving the Seven Waters from an unknown predator. The concept of an action- adventure game set entirely under the sea is unique, but Finny the Fish & the Seven Waters has a shelf life shorter than an unrefrigerated albacore's. For the most part, Finny controls well. Hold the X button to make him swim; tap it rapidly to go faster. He can also jump out of the water, flopping over gates or up shallow waterfalls. The Circle button makes him attack with his tail fin, and the Square but- ton is used to chow down on prey—over 100 different realistic aquatic denizens (some of whom will eat Finny unless he powers up). Finny must constantly eat to keep his stomach full; if it becomes empty, he starts losing energy. Constantly having to eat can be annoying and distracting when you're just trying to solve the game's puzzles and complete the level. Even worse for poor Finny is that some food isn't food at all—some items are fishing lures, and if you swallow one, you'll have to fight to get free. If Finny can break the fishing line with a well-placed tail snap, then he'll get the lure for his collection. If not, he'll get caught and released (but he'll lose energy). However, Finny goes right off the deep end with its length—the entire game can be completed in one six-hour sitting. The puzzles агеп'ї exactly head-scratchers, and the levels, though occasionally difficult to navigate, are shockingly brief. Not counting cinematic cut-scenes, restarts, or pausing, my in-game clock read 2:30 upon comple- tion of the bizarre non sequitur of a final boss fight. Finny's not a bad rental, but it's so shallow you'll be left flopping around, gasping for air. << Chris Kohler SPLASH A unique premise and inventive gameplay ALL WET Zero challenge, extremely short Pub. Natsume Dev. Sony CE ESRB E MSRP $29.99 RATING Ne ae) Real World Education Compliment Game Design & Development Bachelor of Science Ma f^ Wardrobe r In a recent interview with OPM, Brenda The game is also very poorly constructed. Х 7 Brathwaite, a senior designer on Playboy: It's incredibly ugly (not a good selling point Аззос!аїе ої Science & The Mansion, commented, "If you're going | for a game about hot chicks), and even very Bachelor of Science to animate breasts, animate them properly. basic maneuvering mechanics malfunction The breasts in the original Dark Alliance regularly. | got trapped at the bottom of a drove me nuts." The good news: Brenda stairway for five minutes, unable to either m and her team did indeed succeed in the climb the stairs or leave the alcove. If you D” 4 в quest for jiggly mammaries. The bad news: hang around the borders of an area of the They were so preoccupied with breast mansion, you'll often accidentally end up school of movement that they forgot to make a game moving to another part of the building. Mov- 3 Е to go with it. ing things in design/build mode is awk- | DET wc As Hugh Hefner, you're charged with ward—you can't place objects in certain ЫШ Opus nimaton developing the Playboy publishing empire. places in a room for inexplicable reasons. THE HEF Digital Media mH For each issue you publish, you need to Also, objects often interfere with photo 4 E Š д STRESS TEST track down articles, interviews, essays, and, | shoots—my camera will penetrate walls, but — S. ——— of course, the eye candy of pictorials, center- if there's a mirror hanging on the wall that's folds, and the cover. All the while, you're ostensibly behind me, it will block my shot. also accomplishing other goals, which usu- And that's the real crime of this game: I’m 3 t ally tie back into the magazine (get a famous playing as the ultimate playboy of the uni- Саша рва от & Developmen movie star to pose on the cover, help a guy verse, and | have time to notice annoying Recording Arts | | get out of jail so he can help you connect details because | am so bored. Some Play- So how long will with people to use in the magazine, etc.). boy lifestyle... «© Dana Jongewaard continue to get it on if X. Show Production & Tourin: w The problem is that 90 percent of these you don't interrupt? For 800.226.7625 Entertainment Business goals are accomplished through conversa- tions with other people. Conversations always Magazine-building concept is an follow the exact same trees, and it's always interesting one for a game... possible to schmooze up people regardless of ...too bad they forgot the game their mood. There's no challenge, and there's no variety. It's less like playing a game than it Arush Ent. Cyberlore M $49.99 4 is like working on a factory line, repeating an өө Winter Park, FL 32792 identical process over and over. Financial aid available to those who qualify 2 Job placement assistance ڪڪ‎ no OY À Accredited College, ACCSCT evı ppare g that gets him down is you ru the company into b 3300 University Boulevar 100 busy with the la to keep making money. [ДЗ 4 WARRIORS Available Now New Musou Mode with a unique story for every character! More powerful attacks! Enhanced tactical gameplay! PlayStation.e "m Visit www.esrb.org for updated rating i i | Dynasty Warriors and the KOEI logo are registered trademarks or trademarks nj information. Produced by П0001ву] and the PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment I arorce Association. ‘Dolby’, Pro Logic" and the double-D symbol arê trademarks of Dolby Mj REVIEWS 1 - أ‎ Aa. al FUTURE CORTEZ, V For some reason completely unfathomable to me, the TimeSplitters series always seems to get a bad rap from anyone who hasn't actually played it. It's as though the jaded FPS elitists take one look at the somewhat car- toony graphics and instantly turn their noses up, sniffing and muttering about how it can't possibly be a "serious" first-person shooter. Well, l've got a message for you, fellas: | don't care if it's "serious." TimeSplitters has never failed to be a complete blast to play, and Future Perfect upholds that tradition by improving upon the series' lofty stan- dards in nearly every way. The most fundamental change is the introduction of an honest-to- goodness story. Yes, instead of an artificially strung-together sequence of generally unconnected missions, there is now a common thread that runs through the entire game. Moreover, you actually play as just one charac- ter throughout—a fact that will shock fans of the previous games. This is a welcome change, addressing what was the series' biggest weakness. Now, don't get me wrong—this isn't Oscar-caliber scriptwriting 106"OPM April 2005 ин 56 or anything. The basic plot is, in fact, fairly simple. But it provides motiva- tion for your actions as time-jumper Cortez, and more importantly, pro- vides a justification for some hysterical cinematics. It's not so much the writing that makes these cut-scenes so funny as it is the comic timing— not to mention recurring gags like Cortez's "Time to split!" catchphrase (which other characters in the game correctly recognize as almost unspeakably cheesy). The real innovation, though, is a devious exploitation of the time-travel theme, in which Cortez repeatedly travels back just a few moments in time to help himself get through some tough spots. This is handled very skillfully in the game; you'll do things like drive a tank and then go back in time to man the guns on the same tank, or guard your own back as you hack a computer via a simple tile-puzzle interface. Hearing this, you might think there's a chance these segments could feel tedious and forced, as though the designers attempted to draw out the playtime by forcing you to replay segments, but it's not that way at all. Each instance is comfort- MULTIPLAYER CAVEAT 4 r I wish that | could enthusiastically endorse Future Perfect's online play. Unfortunately, my experience with the review code was inconclusive. While the game ran beautifully while | played against other Ziffers here in the office, a game set up by EA was one of the worst-performing online games I've experienced. Players were popping in and out of view, “ghost” players were running into walls all over the maps, and players were getting booted with disturbing frequency. Now, EA assures me that this was a result of an unusually poor shared connection—the only connection that was not protected by EA's internal firewall (which prevented us from joining any games hosted on its network). On top of this, online optimization tends to be one of the final polishing steps before sending a game off to be pressed. But there's really no way to tell at this point whether the game will have similar problems once it's released at retail. As a result, | am not factor- ing this experience into the score. The game definitely can run great online, and the offline is fantastic no matter what. But if shoddy online play is a deal-breaker for you, you may want to hold off on a purchase. Check back in next month’s Replay for an update. FUTURE PERFECT ably brief, so you're in and out before you have a chance to get bored unchanged. As І see it, this allowed the designers to concentrate on with it; but more importantly, in the vast majority of circumstances you're coming up with interesting levels, lots more minigame-style challenges performing different tasks each time. So it's not a cruel trick, but a really (most memorable: monkey curling), and unusual multiplayer modes for entertaining gimmick. It works. splitscreen and online play. (Check out the sidebars for more specifics As for the basic gameplay, well, that remains virtually unchanged— about online.) There's only one area in which | was really hoping for a which is a very good thing, if you ask me. The game is still blazingly fast, bigger change: mapmaker. with a sizable selection of interesting weapons for each time period, some Now, if you've messed around with mapmaker in the past, you know of the sharpest graphics you'll see on any system, and plenty of com- that you can do a lot with it. In fact, a dedicated person would be able to pletely unrealistic settings to play around in. The addition of a limited create an entire story level if he really wanted to sit down and hack it out. selection of vehicles adds a little variety, but the only major alteration (Incidentally, this depth is going to make things really interesting once the here is that the designers finally got rid of the aiming quirk that caused game comes out and everyone starts trading maps online; remember to your gun to "lead" before the screen moved, a change that is most make judicious use of the map rating option so the rest of us will know noticeable—and most welcome—when sniping. (Incidentally, you can what to look for and what to stay away from!) | just wish there were some revert to the old style of aiming in the Options screen, if you're a glutton way to customize the look of the levels a bit more. | remember some of for punishment.) the map pieces from the first game—like that awesome cathedral—and it | have no problem with the fundamental gameplay remaining makes me wish it were possible to craft more organic creations. Oh well, www.lUP.com | 107 REVIEWS ONLINE ACTION r Future Perfect has an extensive collection of interesting game types for multiplayer fun. You've got your standard deathmatch (team and every- man-for-himself flavors), capture the bag (read: flag), and zones (think Star Wars Battlefront), but there are also a bunch of completely new modes. Check 'em out. Shrink: Your size is related to your ranking in the game. The player in first place is normal sized; the player in last is very, very tiny (and thus harder to hit). Gladiator: Only the “gladiator” can score, and you have to kill the gladiator to become the gladiator. Vampire: Your health depletes over time; killing other players restores it. Thief: You aren't awarded points instantly for a kill; instead, the newly deceased drops a coin that other players can pick up if you don’t get there quickly enough. Virus: One player is on fire, and he has to touch other players to set them on fire, too. The winner is the last player left uncharred. Bagtag: The player who manages to hang on to the bag for the longest total time is the winner. Assault: One team defends a base while the other team attacks; the attacking team must fulfill specific objectives to win. Elimination: Each player gets a predetermined number of lives—last man standing wins. In addition to all this, while you're online (waiting for a friend to show up, for example), you can participate in single-player challenges, and the results are posted on leaderboards so you can compare your performance to others around the world. It's a neat little extra that car- ries over into the single-player game. And finally, while online you can access a repository of user-created maps. You can download maps, rate maps you've played, recommend a map to anyone on your friends list, send feedback to the creator of the map, or find more maps by the same author—and, of course, put your own maps up as well. But don't think you'll need to go through this process anytime you want to play on a friend's map—if you want to join а дате that you don’t have the map for, the game will download it automatically as you join the lobby. All in all, the online options are really extensive and well put together. == maybe on PS3.... At least the developers did add some more decorative details so that | can finally fashion a scale model of the funeral home where | grew up. Yes, l'm aware this is a really minor complaint. No, | don't have any- thing more major to gripe about. Look: In one of our multiplayer matches, EGM's Greg Ford commented that "Future Perfect is to shooters what Burnout 3 is to racing games." That's exactly right, and | couldn't have expressed it any better. Future Perfect is the kind of game that places pure entertainment above stodgy realism and loads up the experience with tons of extras, minigames, and well-paced rewards. The result is a game Lightning-fast gameplay, innovative time-travel that's not necessarily impossible to put down (because it's divided into gimmick, loads of extras make for some serious replay value easily digestible segments, you see)—but is impossible to stop picking Online play may be very hit-or-miss, up. Just one more challenge! Just one more arcade level! Just one more story mode is a bit short, mapmaker could still use some detail online match! So say what you will about TimeSplitters being too arcadey or too car- EA Games Free Radical T $49.99 toony or not serious enough—I'll just be over here having а hell of a time. Last | checked, that's what games were for. «€ Joe Rybicki 108"OPM April 2005 SAVIOLA ROBBIE KEANE FIFA STREET r І keep telling myself, "This is just the starting point. This is just the starting point. This is just the starting point." But even if this game is the first of many, FIFA Street's debut is still a rushed and bungled bust. As much as | want to cut it some slack, | can't—$50 is а lot of coin for a vir- tually unfinished title. Streetifying the sports genre isn't easy busi- ness—developers have no model to work from like they do with simulation sports. That's why it's impressive that NBA Street and NFL Street have nailed both the theme and the gameplay. But while FIFA Street has the former under wraps, the latter—the troubled gameplay—has a long way to go. The heel flips, crossovers, and other nifty maneuvers make this one worth a try, but the moves are a mild selling point, and there really aren't enough of them. The soccer basics come off as a secondary consideration. Passing the ball is awkward. Players come to an unnatural stop to receive the ball, betraying Newton's rule of inertia. This stop-and-start movement is clumsy and kills the game's flow. Shooting is dreadful. The animations take a drearily long time to load up, meaning your player won't snap off a quick shot—even if he's in the goalmouth and merely needs to tap the ball to bury it. And players have to fully control the ball before firing off a shot or a pass—there's no way to snap off a one-timer to expose a downed keeper. On the upside, the gamebreakers work well; the environments truly capture their interna- tional settings, from scenic Marseille to a dusty square in Rio de Janeiro to West 4th in NYC; and the soundtrack is my favorite in games (out- side the GTA universe). But an oversimplified career mode, lack of game modes, shoddy drib- bling physics (the ball seems magnetically tied to a dribbler's feet), and complete lack of responsiveness mean you should wait for the sequel to get your kicks. < Todd Zuniga The Marseille play- ground that's featured in FIFA Streetis where French national Zinedine S Spot-on environments, fantastic sound- Zidane playe a track, nice tricks CONS Unresponsive controls, shooting and passing are rough, feels rushed youth. Unfortunately, Zidane (considered one of the best players ever to walk on the field) isn't in the game—he retired from international play last December. Pub. EA Sports Big EA Canada ESRB Е 4; Lost somewhere between Winning Eleven 85 spectacular gameplay and FIFA 2005's visual flair, you'll find World Tour Soccer 2006, a soccer game without a definitive identity. The lone progressive feature is all about identity—not the game’s own (sadly), but yours. The EyeToy camera puts your unflattering visage onto a player and into the game. While this doesn’t sound ground- breaking, it is: Instead of a snapshot that gets grossly slapped onto a player model (THUG, anyone?), this is the real deal. The process takes a few minutes, but you'll look as good as the game’s brightest stars (in part because Henry and Rooney and Figo don't look all that bright). While there's some level of cool with the EyeToy, there's a higher level of "who cares?" Putting your face into a game is old news, and it doesn't make up for the jerky, uneventful gameplay that'll make you wish you'd bought Winning Eleven 8. Players seem to move in tandem with oddly similar jogs, and very little in the game drives you to the different season or career modes. That's if you make it through the challeng- ing, miniscule typeface on the menus—not an easy task. WTS makes very little attempt to be spe- cial or to stand out from its competitors, and the result, instead of a solid, grounded oper- ation, is a game that comes off as ordinary. Scoring opportunities are too easy and mean too little, and the “wow” moments— scoring a goal, beating a defender—serve up more yawns than adrenaline. EyeToy feature is tremendous, loads of teams, including Premiership clubs S Milquetoast graphics, yawning game- play, jerky camera, horrific replays / Kick this one to the curb $39.99 Sony CEA Dev. Sony CEA ESRB E www.1UP.com | 109 2j REVIEWS hori on WIRED nya, MLB 2006 NAT 0 «=» нүм 0 A ROUNDUP OF THE PS2'S BASEBALL-SIM TRIO Last year, gamers were overwhelmed by baseball sims, with four options available on the PS2. This year, that number drops to three, as Acclaim's All-Star Baseball series has been sent packing to the great ballpark in the Sky along with its publisher. That leaves EA Sports' MVP Baseball 2005, Take-Two's Major League Baseball 2K5, and Sony's MLB 2006 to slug it out for baseball-sim supremacy. Lucky for us, all three are serious contenders. PITCHING Whereas MVP cleaned up in this category last year thanks to its quick and simple pitch meter, things are much tighter this year. MLB goes the flattery route by utilizing a meter similar to MVPs, although it feels more cumbersome and has an added step—you pick your pitch and then chuck the ball; MVPs meter incorporates this into one step. 2K5 opts to go in a different direction, offering an effective system called KZone, in which you pick a pitch and location and then try to stop two markers on your target—one that slides across a horizontal line and another that travels up or down a vertical line. And while KZone is involved and rewarding, MVP's meter still wins out. WINNER HITTING А Hitting isn't a problem in апу of these games, although there are some key differences. MLB has finally implemented check swings, as well as drag bunts and a pitch-guessing system. Choose the right pitch type, and a target lets you know where it's going (guess fastball on 3-0 counts and let it fly if you're right). Hitting in 2K5 is smooth, helped by a great crack of the bat and the chance for the batter to gain a boost by guessing the pitch location. MVP wins this category by the slimmest of margins, though, with an intuitive swing system and a new feature called the hitter's eye, which flashes the color of a corresponding pitch type as it leaves the pitcher's hand. WINNER 110"OPM April 2005 THE STARTING LINEUP MUP BASEBALL 2005, MLB 2006. FIELDING Pi Like it did last year, 2K5 features great fielding thanks to its speed boosts and slick handling system. It may be a little too slick, though—infielders and even the pitcher tend to get to more balls than you'd think possible. It's still good, but you may have to tweak things to your liking with game- play sliders. MLB and MVP both do a solid job here, with preloaded throws, respon- sive controls, and generally intelligent decisions by the АІ. WINNER BASERUNNING 4 Baserunning is often a tough area for many baseball games, but this trio handles it pretty well. 2K5's is certainly passable, but it proves to be a little too complex for the speed at which the action happens, and you'll likely lose many a baserunner because of it. This is somewhat redeemed by two clever additions: 1) You can give your baserunner a boost by banging on his corresponding button, and 2) there’s a cool baserunner mode in which you can control a runner and take leads and steal while the computer controls the batter. MLB has a simple and intuitive system, with its only fault being its lack of controllable slides. MVP comes in a close second here with a system similar to MLB's that isn't quite as responsive. WINNER GRAPHICS/PRESENTATION а While MLB has tons of great animations and smooth graphics, its overall lackluster presentation just can't compare to the slick offerings provided by the other two players. MVP is solid on both counts, but in this cate- gory, 2K5 easily takes the cake. Its ESPN broadcast implementation is better than ever—commentators Jon Miller and Joe Morgan are great, killing dead time by answering fan-mail questions, and all the replays are of high quality. WINNER | MUP BASEBALL 2005 19000 Round 1 2150 — YOU'D BETTER STEAL THIS. TAKE-TWO... r With Take-Two recently securing rights from the MLB Players Associa- tion for exclusive use of all players’ likenesses, the PS2 baseball land- scape could change greatly next year. If there indeed is only one game RANDOMIZE BLOCKS (although first-party developers, like Sony, can still release games, so MLB will likely be back), the following are the features we'd like to see: * The hitting, pitching, and fielding systems from MVP. ®» MLB's baserunning, or better yet, the supersimple yet effective setup from cult favorite А.В./. Baseball on the NES * 2K5's sublime presentation (though that may prove tricky without the ESPN license) * MLB's create-a-player and career mode * The All-Star Baseball series' what-if scenarios that let you re-create situations from the previous season (who knows, maybe Houston could have made it to its first World Series ever last year with a few lucky bounces) * MVPs minigames...as well as a few new ones that make fielding fun * The ability to jack bullpen carts and beat up mascots...just because VA AÓ€ P EY o MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 2K5 FRANCHISE/OTHER MODES All three games offer some decent unique modes, and they all feature the now-requisite minor league presence as well (MVP even adds some sin- gle-A teams). In addition to an insanely deep franchise mode that lets you tweak almost every conceivable detail, MLB has an interesting career mode that lets you create a player (you can use the EyeToy to put in your own mug) to take through spring training and hopefully a successful major league career. 2K5 complements its hefty franchise mode with a GM mode that gives you goals and requires you to make a profit and con- trol spending. MVP has the most far-reaching modes, though, with its dynasty mode (basically a supercharged franchise mode, which, oddly, still forces you to go through full 162-game schedules) and the new owner mode, which lets you build a stadium and then gives you 30 years to become a success. Unfortunately, the latter is hampered by a slow start, as you're almost immediately in the red—still, it's rewarding for patient gamers. Draw GIMMICKS Both MVP and 2K5 have a plethora of extras that will keep you playing, while MLB is a little more vanilla in this area—it does have some unlock- able players and stadiums and a cool fast-forward feature that lets you skip past innings, though. 2K5's slam mode lets you capitalize on an opposing pitcher's mistake by zooming in on his hand and slowing things down, at which point you can charge up your swing and then let it fly. It also has plenty of cheats, uniforms, teams, and games—such as air hockey and darts—that you can unlock in your skybox with points you earn playing the game, but most of the stuff has been done before. MVP loads up on the unlockables and even has a grainy, old-timey "Cooperstown effect" when you play in classic stadiums. Most substan- tial are its hitting and pitching minigames, which prove to be quite addic- tive since they help you hone skills and earn points to unlock the goods. MVP Baseball 2005 OVERALL This is a solid year for baseball sims—no title has any glaring weak- nesses. And though you really can't go wrong with any of them, MVP once again offers the best all-around package. << Greg Ford MLB 2006 Builds on a good engine from last year to produce a solid sim with few gameplay flaws, but it lacks the gimmicks, presentation, and general fireworks the other games have to bring it to the next level. SCEA 989 Sports Е $39.99 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 2К5 A fantastic presentation and good extras anchor a highly enjoy- able game—only its baserunning and fielding are a step behind its competitors. Take-Two Interactive 2K Games MUP BASEBALL 2005 All-around solid play, responsive controls, and great bonus features separate this game from the pack, with only a few flaws keeping it from being a perfect hardball sim. EA Sports EA Canada E $49.99 www.1UP.com | Ш ЗЫ, REVIEWS ONLINE NIRVANA 4 r Project: Snowblind's online features read like an FPS forum wish list. Game modes include deathmatch, team deathmatch, assault, tacti- cal assault, quick demolition, capture the flag, fast flag capture, and hunter—a Predator-like mode in which one cloaked player preys on the hapless grunts. Though the level lineup isn’t huge, the levels themselves are enor- mous, and most have a vehicle or two that can be piloted by the player (most memo- rable: the Ogre, a 10-foot-tall mech). Some of the games are fairly complex and can last half an hour or more. Combine this with an only slightly reduced arsenal as compared to the single-player mode, and you end up with an online mode that's going to be as tough on newcomers as Pandora Tomorrow's. As a result, it's likely to become the arena where the truly hardcore come to test their mettle. PROJECT: SNOWBLIND Project: Snowblind seems tailor-made for first-person-shooter veterans looking for something a little different and a little more complex than your everyday console FPS. There’s plenty to get the attention of new- comers, sure, but it's the hardcore FPS fans that are most likely to appre- ciate Snowblind's intricacies. For example, your arsenal of weapons, gadgets, and powers is truly mind-boggling. And a good percentage of these—the spider-bot grenade, the riot wall, and the flechette gun, for example—are far outside the FPS norm, which is doubly impressive. As a result, if you so desire, you can play the game with a great deal of methodical strategy. If you're willing to constantly switch up your weapons, gadgets, and powers, you can take each level step by careful step and really dominate. It's too bad the game doesn't really reward you for doing so, however; there's enough health and ammo lying around to let you generally get through a level easily if you just charge ahead, guns blazing. Of course, in doing so you wouldn't be able to properly admire the beautiful environments, loaded with fancy graphical effects and lots of lit- tle details. The levels are also surprisingly complex; you'll find multiple paths to just about any destination, not to mention loads of little out-of- the-way nooks and crannies that hold especially useful equipment. All this detail seems to have come at a fairly heavy price, though: You'l find yourself passing through the same areas on several different mis- sions. To be fair, you'll notice some pretty major changes each time through—generally the result of grumpy enemies with heavy firepower— but that doesn't really lessen the sense of déjà vu. When the game looks 12”ОРМ April 2005 this good, | want to see more of it, not the same bits over and over. It also must be said that Snowblind's character models are some of the worst l've seen since the PS1's heyday. You'll wander through these gor- geous levels, agog at the soft lighting and dramatic cinematography—and then wince painfully as a cut-scene pops up and subjects you to charac- ters who look like an EyeToy face-mapping experiment gone horribly, hor- ribly wrong. All in all, though, it's not that big a deal, as the story is just an excuse to deploy you with all these nifty gadgets. What I’m saying is, you certainly won't miss much if you take advantage of the cut-scenes to hit the restroom or refill your soda. If Snowblind had a more compelling story or rewarded you for explor- ing its complexities, it could have been an instant classic. Ultimately, though, it's yet another solid shooter in a season of solid shooters. FPS addicts looking for a new twist will be able to uncover lots of innovations here (especially online, see sidebar), but newcomers to the genre won't find as much to get excited about. «€ Joe Rybicki PROS Lots of innovative weapons and gadgets, beautiful environments, unusually deep online mode CONS Forgettable story, reused levels, may be too complex for newbies Pub. Eidos Dev. Crystal Dynamics ESRB Т MSRP $49.99 “ONE CANNOT HIDE ^ FROMA THE HIDDEN -Japanese proverb “(TENCHU) FATAL SHADOWS REDEFINES THE STEALTH GENRE.” GameDaily PlayStation 2 2 Strike in silence. See and never be seen. The art of the ninja. An art ы zm mastered by two assassins, Rin and Ayame. Deadly swordplay. Ferocious "n oe hand-to-hand combat. And simultaneous multi-kill death moves. All executed FN | without a sound. TENCHU: Fatal Shadows?” It's like nothing you've ever seen. [Ин THE SHADOWS ВЕСКОМ atseca.com/tencnu FATAL SHADOWS ал86 | о MATURE 17+ Blood Violence ESRB CONTENT RATING — www.esrb.org SEGA is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. SEGA, the SEGA logo and Fatal Shadows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation. © 2004 - 2005 FromSoftware, INC. Tenchu is either a registered trademark or trademark of FromSoftware, INC. %1 REVIEWS MY HEART'S DEVOTION 7 OH, SWEET SCIENCE! Ever wonder how you'd handle yourself in a fight? Despite the inner hippie in all of us preaching peace and keeping our heads cool, let's face it: Some people need a good punch. Until recently, the fluid movements and power dynamics of boxing have been repre- sented in videogames by pressing buttons. The inadequacy of such a setup was exposed by last year's Fight Night 2004. After a brief rest during which EA tried to control the swelling (of profits, you see), it comes back out swinging in Round 2, where the total punch control is refined to be even more responsive to your natural fight-or- flight instincts. Another new addition is the powerful haymaker punch, which really cap- tures the intensity of the sport. One could argue the haymakers are a little too effective. Not only are they incredibly pow- erful, but it takes a while for the Al to catch on that hey, maybe he should try blocking them. Aside from this, Round 2 is hampered only by minor issues: a repetitive ring announcer, an even more repetitive soundtrack, and a pecu- liarly repetitive save system (after each fight, the game will independently save your game file and then your profile). It's safe to say that Fight Night Round 2 is the best boxing game to come along in the past 15 years, and only slightly riskier to say that it's the best of all time. 4 PROS Stunning textures, character models, and particle effects (i.e., blood flying everywhere)... you almost kinda feel bad for the guy CONS No way to practice the training programs, even though only one is really useful Pub. EA Sports Dev. EA Sports ESRB T MSRP $49.99 RATING 22227 ` THE ONLY GAME ІМ TOWN 4 Rugby is the bastard child of sporting events in America, which is too bad: It's like football, but since it's played without helmets or pads, it's more badass than the gridiron could ever hope to be. EA Canada brings this sport Stateside once more with Rugby 2005, which features the big teams from around the world along with tournament modes such as Tri-Nations and Super 12. The game also features the EA Sports tradition of being able to create your own player; you can manage the aesthetics of your alter ego as well as attributes like speed, agility, and field abilities. For newcomers, the handy Rugby 101 train- ing videos offer a detailed overview of the basics. There are also training exercises with detailed voiceovers and onscreen cues to guide you through the process of scoring a try, com- pleting a tackle, and passing or punting the ball. Finally, a practice mode provides time to prac- tice what you have learned before entering one of the tournaments and going for gold. While the game boasts responsive controls and enhanced graphics over last year's entry, pulling off some of the tackles and passes seems more difficult it should. It would have been a welcome addition to be able to bring the camera in closer to the action. Overall, Rugby 2005 gives you an adequate adrenaline rush and provides a realistic experi- ence (minus the bruises and broken bones, of course), but it lacks the polish of other EA Sports titles. р VERDICT Fans hungry for scrum action might want to try it, but others should take a pass. Pub. EA Sports Dev. EA Canada ESRB E MSRP $39.99 RATING 14”ОРМ April 2005 Іп 2001, Round 2 cover boy Bernard Hopkins: was in New York to pro- mote his upcoming bout with Félix Trinidad when he took Trinidad's minia- ture Puerto Rican flag and threw itto the ground, Sadly, this did not make it as an in- game taunt, HEAD US. GROUND According to the Con- sumer Product 5 Commis 1982 and 2001 mor 4,500 Americans killed while riding an ATV. The CPSC also less than 10 ре ATV riders undergo safety ti son? Don't be dumb on ining. The | your ATV. 72222272 MX US. ATV UNLEASHED I WANT TO RIDE MY BICYCLE While we were all busy taking up arms in the bloody Coke vs. Pepsi, Freddy vs. Jason, and DLR vs. Sammy wars, another bitter rivalry was apparently brewing right under our noses. If you had to choose one—and only one—method of racing other people on a dirt surface, what would you choose? The answer to that question can be found in MX vs. ATV Unleashed, another excellent racing title from Rainbow Studios (formerly of the ATV Offroad Fury franchise). A more accurate title might be MX vs. ATV vs. Dune Buggy vs. Helicopter vs. Pretty Much Any Other Vehicle You Can Race. The championship mode features the titular matchup of motocross bikes and four-wheelers, but several of the game's extra modes feature other vehicles as well, lest you think that dirt bikes and ATVs offer a limiting race experience. Rainbow's ехрегіепсесіп the genre is evi- dent іп the дате” polished graphics, smooth framerate, and floaty-but-fun con- trols. The vehicles are fairly well balanced, with bikes being able to grab more air while the ATVs have easier landings. In fact, that’s the biggest issue with Unleashed: It's often difficult to judge where your bike wheels are lined up, which leads to a multitude of crashes. Fortunately, the game doesn't pun- ish you too harshly, and it's easy to make up lost time. (As with Rainbow's previous rac- ers, it's easy for your computer opponents to make up lost time too, due to the aggres- sive "rubberband" assistance.) As for which mode of transportation is better, that battle will likely rage on for years to come. Or at least until they make MX vs. ATV vs. Horse. < Andrew Pfister A GOOD Even though it's limited to off-roading, there's still a lot to do EVIL A soundtrack featuring Nickelback, Linkin Park, and Unwritten Law Pub. THQ Dev. Rainbow Studios ESRB E MSRP $39.99 RATING ©6000 igita october 14-16, 2005 jacob javits center, nyc www.digitallife.com Get in on the hottest ticket of 2005. Secure your spot at DigitalLife 2005 in New York — the 3-day consumer event bringing together the latest in digital technology for home, work and play. Promote new product launches, build brand loyalty, and let 35,000 consumers test drive your products just in time to boost holiday sales... For sponsorship opportunities and information on how to participate call 866-761-7303 or visit www.digitallife.com СД **#@lackeery CREATIVE intel. KONICA MINOLTA 8 ағ oavıs мол EHH} САМИИС Mj REVIEWS WELCOME | y It's nearly impossible to overstate how close Devil May Cry 2 came to completely destroying the Devil May Cry franchise. The wisecracking Dante from the original game was replaced with a mute in a red trench coat while the lavish gothic environments were decimated in favor of your run-of-the-mill towns, cities, and skyscrapers—albeit skyscrapers that had demons running around inside of them. Even the action was seriously lacking the elements present in the first game, which proved that all the hectic craziness of a 2D action game could make the jump to a polygonal world. Indeed, Devil May Cry 25 very existence didn't bode well for the future of the franchise, since the effort put forth in that game was so lacking that it seemed Capcom just didn't particularly care for Dante and company any more. Which is why it's a bit of a shock, and a welcome surprise, that Devil May Cry 3 is good—really good. It rights just about every single one of Devil May Cry 2's wrongs and successfully redeems the series. And it all starts with Dante. His personality really shines through in Devil May Cry 3, and it's not just because you have this character saying "dude" or any variety of brazen comments, but rather it's because of who he's saying them to and the circumstances involved. How often do you see a character nonchalantly address the Lord of Darkness? In any ШБ”ОРМ April 2005 case, nearly every cut-scene in the game does an excellent job of har- nessing this juxtaposition, resulting in some genuinely entertaining and amusing moments. The cut-scenes are an important part of what makes Devil May Cry 3 so good. They do a great job of giving the characters some depth, thanks to some surprisingly good voice acting and the most over-the-top action sequences you have ever seen. Actually, some of the action sequences are so damn good that action-film directors will probably smack them- selves on the forehead and ask, "Why didn't | think of that?" after wit- nessing some of the surreal stuff that Dante and the supporting cast do in this game. Oftentimes, you may find yourself going back to the game repeatedly just to check them out. Don't mistake this as some trick for hiding lackluster gameplay. These cut-scenes are more like icing on an action-packed cake with various lay- ers of deliciousness created by Dante's different fighting techniques. There are six techniques to choose from (some are unlocked as you progress through the game), and each focuses on a single aspect of Dante's abilities. For example, if you use the sword master style, you can unlock new sword attacks and combinations, some of which prove to be quite useful later in the game. Conversely, you can choose a technique SMART SAVE Devil May Cry 3 ji system is pretty clever While it doesn’t let you save апуу t does let you save а! at any point in the so if you die, you re the same number of rec orbs that you had you died. You can use this to your advar by collecting а red orbs as ро before à toi difficult section, savin: and then c red orbs that or-ups. DEVIL MAY CRY 3: The only really annoying thing about Devil May Cry Zinvolves the puz zles. While most of them aren't all that difficult some require you to do a little backtracking, and sometimes it's not too clear where you're sup posed to go unl you've checked out cer tain places on your jour ney. Actually, if you're not careful, you may find yourself all the way back at the very start of the game, which isn't all that fun, but it is a testament to cohesive level design. DANTE'S AWAKENING like trickster, which doesn't really affect any weapons but enables Dante Devil May Cry 3 is a lot like Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden in that sense. Capcom to master new evasive moves. There's a distinct difference between each took the formula that worked so well for the original Devil May Cry and style, so much so that you play the game differently to take advantage of added depth with new techniques that work incredibly well given the way the one you have equipped in a particular situation. Plus, some of them enemies act in the game. This—plus the excellent cut-scenes, amazing are just plain fun to use, especially if you're trying to create some spectac- backgrounds, and great character models—proves Devil May Cry 3 is а ular combinations that involve all kinds of aerial and ground maneuvers. worthy successor to Dante's original adventure. Even better, it shows how The only downside is that you can only level up some techniques by great this series is when Capcom puts effort into it. © Giancarlo Varanini using them throughout the entire game, which is certainly doable in the- огу but can be difficult to accomplish in reality. Speaking of difficulty, the various demons and creatures from the depths of hell put up quite a fight in Devil May Cry 3. This stems from a variety of factors, not the least of which is the intelligence level of some enemies. Since some of them are actually capable of blocking Dante's Nearly every aspect of the game is fantastic. Great character attacks, manic slashing and shooting simply doesn’t work all the time. designs, awesome-looking levels, responsive controls, and some You have to be a bit more crafty and observant of the ways enemies excellent action move around if you don’t want Dante to die within seconds of meeting Some of the backtracking can be tiresome these foes. Still, Dante will die quite a bit, but it's never really frustrating, because during each fight, whether it's against a boss or in a particularly Сарсот Сарсот M $49.99 tricky spot in a level, you discover a new weakness and adapt your strat- egy and fighting style accordingly. Ў REVIEWS (Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter) by John Scalzi The Incredibles was not only the best science-fiction film of 2004, it's also probably the best superhero film ever (and if not, it and the first two Superman films are locked in an interesting three-way death grip). It reaches such an exalted position by doing two things well: First, it's about something. Second, it has a lot of fun being about something. Lots of films aim for the first of these, but very few manage the second, particu- larly in the realm of superhero films. And what is the film about? It's about the cathartic release that comes when you actually get to be yourself and not some closeted, defeated ver- sion thereof. Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) starts the movie in blissful superhero mode but is quickly jammed into a "normal" life when lawsuits from his superhero adventures pile up (as, of course, they would in the real world). This leads to furtive adventures on the side and finally a secret hero life he hides from his also-super wife and kids, and naturally that will have repercussions for all of them, particularly the kids, who have been told to keep a lid on their superpowers. Anyone who has had to live some or part of their life tamped down is going to identify—and since that's most people, you can see why this film was such a big hit. The great thing about Тһе Incredibles is that it doesn't bash you in the head with its theme—you get what's being said, but you're mostly just getting a heck of a superhero story. Writer and director Brad Bird doesn't belabor the point; as with other Pixar films, the filmmakers trust their audience. That's incredible enough as it is. And it is much appreciated. H8"OPM April 2005 ALFIE (Jude Law, Marisa Tomei) Alfie (Jude Law) cuts a swath through New York's female population with a wink and a smile, mostly because he looks like Jude Law and has a British accent. The central conceit of this film worked the first time, in 1966 (with Michael Caine as Alfie), when a guy could be a cad and it was considered charming. Here in the 21st century, it just means you're a dick—in real life, a male ho like Alfie would be weighted with cement and dropped off the Staten Island ferry. Even if he looks like Jude Law. RATING | ! "TESI (Bambi, Thumper) Did you know that the deer population in the States is larger than it was when the Pilgrims arrived? Part of the reason: This movie, in which the offing of Bambi's mother was so traumatic to wee little baby boomers that as grown-ups they can't bring themselves to kill a deer, even when the damn things are fling- ing themselves at cars. This film is a bit guile- lessly sweet for today's taste, but it's still fine animation, and yes, you'll choke up when Bambi's mom eats a bullet. RATING r 7 7 , Я LI FAT ALBERT (Kenan Thompson, Kyla Pratt) This is a moderately cute kids’ film featuring characters that I’m not sure anyone under the age of 20 is even aware of. For those of us who are old enough to remember the original run, there's also something profoundly dis- turbing about having these oddly dressed characters cross over to the real world (as they do—right out of the TV!) and still look like they do in the cartoon. Some people should remain 2D, and Fat Albert and his pals are among them. RATING [ ! у 001| EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING (Stellan Skarsgárd, Izabella Scorupco) For my money, The Exorcist is the best horror film ever made, but it's not nearly as terrifying as the mess subsequent filmmakers have made out of the sequels. This new one is no less of a mess, probably because the entire film was reshot with a new director (Renny Harlin) after the original director (Paul Schrader) produced something with less gore and more suspense than the backer wanted. Having seen this version, | have to say that the scrapped version couldn't be any less painful. RATING | 9669 A CLOSER (Julia Roberts, Clive Owen) If you've been looking for a film in which really attractive people do really unpleasant things to each other emotionally, boy howdy, has your ship come in. Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Natalie Portman, and Jude Law play four people who mix and match among each other and generally try to see just how badly they can treat the others before the film stock runs out. Excellently acted and gripping in its way, but man, it makes you glad your own relationship is just pleasantly puttering along. RATING 1 ; $ Я DUD RELEASES March 1 Î ence—the answer is yes. Johnny Depp's J.M. FINDING “NEVERLAND (Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet) Finding Neverland is something of an intellec- tual dare: Is it possible to make a film about an effeminate male playwright who is obsessed with a family of young boys and not have it tip | into unseemly "Jesus juice" territory? Happily for everyone involved—including the audi- Barrie (who wrote Peter Pan) is guileless and sweet and pretty much asexual—his attraction to a family of boys (and their mother, played by Kate Winslet) isn't driven by unseemly adult needs but rather by a desire to get the most out of their childhood. Even so, these attentions and their motivations don't go uncommented on. But in the end, thanks to Depp's gentle performance, this is one Never- land you'd be happy to have your kids visit, and you'll be glad you tagged along as well. Ё BRIDGET JONES: EDGE OF REASON (Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant) Like the first film of the series, this movie is predicated on the notion that there's a hetero- sexual man on the planet who wouldn't drag himself over glass shards to date Renée Zell- weger, even if she weighs 20 pounds more than usual (i.e., weighs as much as she's actu- ally supposed to). Sorry, no go. But as with the first go around, this is light and breezy fun, and it's fun to watch Hugh Grant and Colin Firth fight over cute little Renée all over again. Date film? Oh yeah. RATING | у у 001| MM SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOUIE (Tom Kenny, David Hasselhoff) There's a controversy regarding SpongeBob, whom some believe to be a front for pushing the Secret Gay Agenda on kids—one day they're watching a yellow sponge frolic in sea flowers, the next they're asking for Tom of Finland action figures. Aside from the ridicu- lousness of assuming SpongeBob is gay—if anyone's gay on that show, it's Squidward— l'd rather serve up the Secret Gay Agenda to my kid in the form of this silly, zippy film than the Overt Stupid Agenda those guys have got. RATING 1 ١ "m www.lUP.com | ШӘ NEEP UP WITH THE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY SCENE. Dont miss this opportunity to get your FREE TRIAL to Sync Magazine. №5 not about the gadget. Its what you do with it. Sync shows you the ultimate digital products out there, new ways to live with them and how to get the most out of them. SIGN UP NOW TO TRY THE PREMIERE ISSUE FREE. GO TO: r 72222722 AREPLAY 44 1229 INSIDE 126 128 129 TAKE A TRIP INTO THE PAST TO VISIT THE PSP'S PREDECESSORS 130 132 134 PARTNERSHIP WITH PRIMA In this issue, Prima’s strategy gurus Prima Games, leading publisher of share their expertise with part one of 136 gaming guides, provides ОРМ with an extensive Mercenaries strategy. top-of-the-line strategies every month. Trust us, these guys know their stuff. MERCENARIES Become a bounty hunter with these useful maps GOOD/BAD/UGLY The first-person shooter genre's greatest hits and misses REVIEW ARCHIVE Every PS2 game we've ever reviewed, plus bonus tricks! CHAMPIONS: RETURN TO ARMS How to get the best weapon in the game READER REVIEWS You say good, we say bad, let's call the whole thing off BEHIND THE GAME: WIPEOUT It's returning on PSP, so see where this classic came from THE SPORTS GUY Sports game of the year—already? 4 www.1UP.com 1121 И REPLAY - THE LINEAGE OF SONY'S PORTABLE JUGGERNAUT The Plays Sony inch might be the most importa done. Although tl w handheld’ rcifully ; the hype that surrounded the PS2's debut, tl e just as gh. Currently, Nii ce and DS control almost 100 p nt thing p ats ever devis mally If the people command a degree of user loyalty nor- products bout making the PSP a hit. surely studied their history. and failur s over the pe anyone aspiring to throw tl you’ itching your PSP pr ating the future of porte ming, join us for th апа what we can learn from it. ELECTRONICS HANDHELD GAMES 1976 4 MATTEL portable electronic gaming to the world. Many models are still being sold through places like RadioShack. PSPrecedent: Though simple, Mattel's portable sports and action games were essential firsts in the medium. Sure, they were basically nothing more than blink- MILTON BRADLEY MICROVISION 1979 _ 4 What is it? The world's first cartridge-based handheld system. Although most of its titles were primitive sports or board games, it offered a few surprising stand-outs, including one of the earliest known licensed games: Star Trek Phaser Strike. PSPrecedent: Utterly primitive by current standards—the Microvision had a black- and-white screen spanning a meager 16x16 pixels—the Microvision was neverthe- less a vital step toward today's portable systems, thanks to its major innovation, interchangeable cartridges. Unlike Mattel's handhelds, each of which had a single game hardwired into its circuits, Microvision games could be purchased separately from the game unit. 122”0PM April 2005 What is it? A series of basic LED (and later LCD) toys that introduced the concept of | ing LEDs on а screen painted to look like a basketball court or cityscape or baseball | diamond, but they proved that handheld videogames аге perfect diversions when [| you're on the go and launched an entire format as a result. || || | || азер — ж Se аваа | PSE SSIS NERA €—— zi resam - ——————— NINTENDO GAME & WATCH DATE: 1980 4 What is it? A series of nearly 60 different self-contained game systems created by Gumpei Yokoi. 1UP.com listed Game & Watch as one of the most influential games ever made (see essential50.1up.com). PSPrecedent: Like the PSP, Game & Watch was a multipurpose handheld system, though obviously less sophisticated: Each title contained both a game and a simple alarm clock. The G&W series also introduced the cross-shaped D-pad—a fixture of all modern systems (including the PSP) in some form or another. Its clever use of preprinted LCD screens allowed for much more detailed and entertaining game- play than the Microvision and was widely copied. —————————Á € топит 5 — E ——— X — 5 || || CGE/MILTON BRADLEY VECTREX | EBUT DATE: 1982 4| What is it? A self-contained tabletop game system featuring sophisticated vector | graphics. | PSPrecedent: The Vectrex strains the definition of "portable," given that it weighs || | several pounds and has to be played with the unit sitting on a table. Nevertheless, it's worthy of a mention for being the first 3D-capable portable console; its vector- based monitor allowed for the creation of wire-frame polygonal visuals. DOES ACE HORSES —————————————— TS SEI STRAINERS NEE ITE TRIE STEELS TESTE €— JVÓ—Ó———— ————— MÀ: газа A NINTENDO GAME BOY FAMILY Е ATE:1989 What is it? The most successful videogame system in history, and the console that made handheld gaming more than a mere novelty. It came in four major variants: the chunky original style, the slim Game Boy Pocket (1996), the Japan-only Game Boy Light (1997), and the NES-like Game Boy Color (1998). ә «бә ә PSPrecedent: There's an urban legend that goes like this: When Nintendo intro- ® ® duced the Game Boy, Sony's president chastised his engineers for failing to have come up with the idea first. In a sense, the PSP represents 15 years of waiting for the opportune time to pounce on Nintendo's throat. There's no doubt Sony would love to duplicate Game Boy's success—since 1989, the system and its progeny have sold close to 200 million hardware units. —————— (E SEIS TELESIS LOE ICOM ELSES SITE p E E кы ——— A RESIS € (a SRN RES IDET ————————— E: ATARI LYNX ATE: 1989 4 What is it? A portable system released shortly after the Game Boy. Though far more powerful than Nintendo's system, it was doomed by its high price and power consumption and ап initially unimpressive software lineup. PSPrecedent: Despite its failings, Lynx was the world's first color portable, with an absolutely beautiful backlit screen that made the murky Game Boy LCD look pitiful in comparison. Its design was actually quite similar to the PSP's, with a wide case that showed the system's excellent visuals to great effect. The Lynx ultimately lost the handheld wars, though many fans feel that if it had been released before the Game Boy (the hardware was completed in 1987), it would have had a chance. ———————————— ____________________ ———1 www.1UP.com | 123 ҮЙ REPLAY i SE DELL ы ыы POD ARIS PISS SRSA SES ERM P SEGA GAME GEAR 1991 af What is it? Sega's original entry into the handheld arena (the second, Nomad, was | simply a portable Genesis). Although it sold better than Lynx, thanks to its name, it | was nevertheless crushed by Game Boy and slowly faded into obsolescence | PSPrecedent: Like the Lynx, Game Gear's impressive hardware did a serious num- | ber on its battery life—an issue rumored to plague the PSP as well. More posi- tively, the Game Gear set a precedent for PSP's movie playback capabilities. It rep- resented the first convergence of portable gaming and portable video, thanks to a || popular TV tuner add-on device that effectively converted the system into a tiny | color television. | | î SSS SERE SSIS QUI SESE нен SSNS ABEL a RSTO ASSN STE GR RIS PSPREVENTION Not every handheld over the years has beena winner. Sony would do well to learn from these flops—specifically, what noto do тк KID NINTENDO UIRTUAL BOY | пате 1995 А | What is it? One of the worst gaming systems ever. A cross between a Game Boy and a virtual-reality sim, Virtual Boy was huge, overpriced, underpowered, and 3 unwanted. Worse yet, it was neither portable nor playable. 7 PSPrevention: Тһе PSP has already managed to avoid repeating every опе of Vir- енене tual Boy's failings. If anything, Virtual Boy proves that Nintendo's portable domi- б d nance isn't iron clad—and that no matter how successful you are, it never pays to ; be overconfident. BANDAI WONDERSWAN FAMILY 1998 What is it? A low-cost alternative to Game Boy created by the father of handheld gaming, Gumpei Yokoi. PSPrevention: The WonderSwan wasn't a bad idea, but it suffered from falling a little too far behind the technology curve. More problematic was the software lineup, which consisted mostly of bad ports and terrible anime-licensed dreck. Bandai's system ended up as yet another also-ran in the struggle to top Game Boy. The PSP has impressive power, but it will need a first-rate software lineup to dethrone Nintendo. ——ÁÀ "REIR NOKIA N-GAGE r » BUT DATE: 2003 M What is it? Nokia's bid at building a handheld system into a cell phone, universally deemed a failure thanks to its cumbersome design and weak software library. PSPrevention: The PSP has practically won this already, thanks to the fact that you don’t have to hold it like a taco. The biggest problem that faced the N-Gage was the fact that Nokia couldn't decide whether it was a phone or a console, meaning it didn't work well as either. The PSP is a risky attempt at creating a multipurpose device...but as long as Sony remembers that PSP is first and foremost about the games, it will avoid the N-Gage's terrible fate. — [———— ED aS BRIS NOE RSL ONEONTA —— ae D CAE 194"OPM April 2005 €————— SNK NEOGEO POCKET FAMILY || EBUT DATE: 1898 Г 4! What is it? А short-lived but critically acclaimed portable system intended as а | portable counterpart to SNK's venerable NeoGeo hardware. More powerful than | Game Boy Color, the NGPC played host to а library of clever arcade ports. || PSPrecedent: The NGPC was the first handheld to make use of console connectiv- | ity, allowing players to transmit data to certain Dreamcast games. But the real strength of the NGPC was its library, which showed a profound understanding of [| the differences between consoles and portables. Games like Match of the Millen- | nium and Metal Slug: 2nd Mission captured the feel of the NeoGeo games that [| inspired them, but were carefully redesigned to work within the limits of the portable format—a lesson everyone could do well to imitate. SASHA SRE LORIE a SLA ES NINTENDO GAME BOY ADVANCE FAMILY EBUT DATE: 2001 What was it? Nintendo's true successor to the Game Boy lineup and currently a seemingly infinite source of money for the company. This is the system the PSP has to beat—and despite the power of Sony's new system, the GBA has both a huge installed base and 16 years of mindshare working in its favor. PSPrecedent: The Game Boy Advance demonstrates just how much is at stake in the handheld market. As GameCube sales have deteriorated to a distant third place in the home console market, the GBA has single-handedly kept Nintendo in the black, and done so almost entirely on the strength of great software like Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. The GBA is definitely the PSP's biggest threat, but it also gives Sony something to aim for. eSB RAGES ISAS SRST LE ASSESSES ne eee NINTENDO DS 2004 What is it? The so-called third pillar of Nintendo’s hardware lineup, “DS” is short for “dual screens”: a reference to the two-screened, clamshell design of the sys- tem. More interesting, however, is the fact that the lower screen is touch sensitive, giving the DS a unique user interface that Nintendo claims will create new ways of thinking about game design. Though it has the ability to create 3D graphics, they're N64-caliber at best...a far cry from the PSP's amazing visuals. PSPrecedent: The DS is still young and unproven, and it occupies a strange place | in the market. Is it a direct competitor to the PSP? Its creator claims it's not; the я guiding principle behind the DS, according to Nintendo, is to foster innovative new design concepts in videogame development. It's a risky gamble and has already inspired a flood of Virtual Boy comparisons, but at the same time, the DS does possess a definite appeal for casual gamers—the exact people Sony will need to woo with the PSP. « Jeremy Parish | — ——Á——Ó—————— /€————————————MÁÀ ass ] www.lUP.com | 125 IA REPLAY Changsong Treat КЕЙП CHANGE OUTFIT Do you want to change your outfit? @ ves н — ГЕНІ ШШШ TO | n Looking to amass а vast fortune in cash, alter- : | nate characters, and other Mercenaries goodies? 4 | We've got the goods on collectable bounties and [мел сал die Eod dorada y a a САМЕН iss Al other unlockables—complete with maps show- You unlock an alternate outfit for your character after completing the ace of ing where to find the important objects. Check diamonds contract for the Allied Nations. Visit the MASH in the northwest back next month for even more! province and look for an aqua-colored circle near a tent. Stand within the cir- cle and press the Action button to change your character's clothing. - BOUNTY HUNTING FOR FUN AND PROFIT 126”ОРМ April 2005 в C M. NkéFortress ma BLUEPRINT Blueprints are a common type of bounty item. Collecting them earns you some cash and improves the South Korean Union's mood toward you. Here's what you get for collecting blueprints: BLUEPRINTS COLLECTED REWARD 1 All C4 crate supply drop 5 Sniper rifle supply drop 10 Stinger supply drop 15 Antitank rocket supply drop 20 Cheat: Play as Mafia heavy soldier 30 Cheat: Play as NK elite soldier 40 Prototype rifle supply drop 50 Cheat: Play as NK number card (Spades) 60 Cash: $100,000 20 Cash: $100,000 80 Cash: $250,000 90 Cash: $250,000 100 Cash: $500,000 10 Cheat: Play as Han Solo You unlock playground of destruction mode when you complete the game. After verifying General Song—the ace of spades—save your game when prompted. Load this saved game and you will start from the very beginning again, but this time, you've got all of the cash you earned and all of the support items you unlocked on your first playthrough at your disposal. Playground of destruction, indeed! CHEAT GUN You unlock the cheat gun after verifying every card in the game. To earn the cheat gun, you must verify not only each of the face cards and aces, but all of the number cards in the deck of 52 as well. We won't spoil the surprise by telling you what it does, but rest assured that the cheat gun is by far the ultimate weapon in the game! www.1UP.com | 122 WA REPLAY L2 22 2 2 ‘GOOD 7 BAD 7 UGLY: FIRST-PERSON SHOOTERS 7 HOLSTER UP, KIDS Ў | [4 HALF-LIF 2 HALF-LIFE This game became the genre-definer for FPS games when it came out on the PC in 1998. It came to the PS2 three years later, and despite dated graphics and an occasionally buggy framerate, it still made jaws drop and 4 JAMES BOND 007: NIGHT FRE ПВО This action-packed gem dodges the "It's no GoldenEye” bullet with a Bond-authentic story line, terrific level design, and a nice variety of multi- player options. Throw in playable vehicles (including a sub) and Pierce Brosnan's likeness, and you have an instant Bond classic. score [@@@@@] 4 KILLZONE а ЗЕРЕН ООН Somehow, Medal of Honor 57 got caught т some crazy wormhole that sent it back through the infinite reaches of time and space and into the year 2004. Killzone is the legitimate heir to the Medal of Honor franchise. Sure, it needs a fair bit of polish, but its grittiness and solid gameplay help it stand its ground. That, and it has the best gun-reloading anima- tions in the history of, uh, gun-reloading animation. score [6000 8] 4 FUGITIVE HUNTER A game that lets you fight the notorious Osama bin Laden might have conceivably worked. But it totally doesn't, thanks to bin Laden's use of extremely crappy kung fu moves straight out of a 1992 fighting game. It's pretty sad that the sole highlight of a game that lets you fight bin Laden is а гар video that features the lyrics, “Osama bin Laden / Where you been hidin' / Lookin’ for you / On the PS...2." Score [660056] A JUDGE DREDD: DREDD VS. DEATH ПО The great thing about Dredd vs. Death is that there are no great things about it. If it were made in 1998, it probably would’ve been much more impressive and made more of a splash with its painfully basic mechanics. SCORE [90009] 4 TUROK: EVOLUTION fe all know that dinosaurs (or dinosaur people in this case) had tiny peanut-sized brains, which probably wouldn't make them good enemies in a first-person shooter, but Acclaim didn't care. As a result, Turok: Evolu- tion is often a depiction of lizard tomfoolery instead of heavy-duty action. score [66 $6 6] 4 UNREAL TOURNAMENT о This port of the PC blockbuster is the exact polar opposite of Quake IlI: Revolution: It is slower and uglier and features CPU-controlled bots with severely limited intelligence. The worst part is the subpar framerate—the kiss of death for FPSes. score [6046.0 2! 4 GOLDENEYE: ROGUE AGENT ммм мы A perfect MI6 blueprint for wasted potential. There's a lot to like in the concept—groovy villainy, spy shenanigans, апа wacky powers. What results from the EA wonderlab is a middling-at-best shooter that looks and plays like it came out right after the 1995 movie it shares its name with. A little more time in O's lab could have made all the difference. score [600 5] 4 MEDAL OF HONOR: FRONTLINE l Though the series fell flat afterward, Frontline set the standard for mas- sively cinematic World War ІІ shooters (which has practically become a genre all its own). The invasion of Normandy is still one of the most memorable opening scenes in gaming. score [60000] A MACE GRIFFIN: BOUNTY HUNTER НИН It is a great idea on paper: an FPS in which the main character can hop into a spaceship, whereupon the game turns into a space-dogfighting flight sim. Unfortunately, neither half of the equation got the development time it deserved. score [60006] 4 QUAKE I: REVOLUTION ООО Though it could be argued that the Quake formula had already started to smell a bit stale by the time Revolution came out, the clever bots, speedy play, and graphically impressive settings made for an ideal quick FPS fix. Too bad PS2 wasn't online yet. score 1 2 2 10] 4 RED FACT ON ООО Red Faction proved that good PS2 shooters are perfectly capable of exist- ing—it also lets you blow stuff up! Lots! Not just bad dudes, but whole walls and stuff. Sure, the Geo-Mod system is imperfect, but you have to give credit to Red Faction for jump-starting that whole destructible-envi- ronment craze. score [6 ] P MEDAL OF HONOR: RISING | The Medal of Honor franchise practically defined the craft of Nazi shoot- ing. Yet Rising Sun is so especially mediocre that it managed to not only cripple MOH's massive winning streak, but also prematurely kill the in- development sequel—meaning it has a cliffhanger ending that will never be resolved. Bravo! score [6 9l 4 STAR TREK VOYAGER: ELITE FORCE | It has an intriguing story, nice weapon effects, and all the voices from the show. So what went wrong? A lazy port of the acclaimed PC hit, the PS2 version seems as lost as Voyager itself. Muddy graphics make some lev- els playable only to the most determined. score [60€ ©0] 4 TIMESPLITTERS МО Beautiful, funny, and astonishingly fast paced, TimeSplitters blasted onto the FPS scene in the PS2's infancy. So far the only game to top it for sheer speed has been its fantastic sequel, which ups the ante in terms of story, minigames, and multiplayer madness. SCORE [60000] 4 TOM CLANCY'S GHOST RECON | Taken on its own, Ghost Recon isn't a bad game. But compare it to its counterparts on PC and Xbox, and it takes a nosedive. For some reason, the PS2 version lets you control only two squads, down from the three of ions. Oh, and then there's the lack of any online play.... 2! 4 128”ОРМ April 2005 PUBLISHER PS2 TRICKS AND mes REVIEW ARCHIVE | көнгіш Game names іп ars indicate a Greatest Hits | | title. Names in yellow indicate a score of 5 out of 5. # indicates the game supports online play. Want to play as your favorite rapper but don't have the heart to [fight them in story mode in order to unlock them? Use the follow- ing codes to score yourself some reward points to unlock your favorites without violating your fan club membership. [To do this code, enter the password in the Cheat menu: 100 reward points Konami € Majesco Acclaim 100 reward points Capcom 100 reward points Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter Capcom Britney's Dance Beat THO [The Bouncer Е PUBLISHER SCO! -hack//INFECTION Bandai -hack//MUTATION Bandai ® hack//OUTBREAK Bandai € hack//QUARANTINE Bandai € 18 Wheeler American Pro Trucker Acclaim ® ۰ С e Midway Destruction Derby Arenas Gathering Deus Ex: The Conspiracy Eidos Devil May Cry Capcom 777... Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds Sierra/Fox FORGOTTEN GEM he Forsaken City Bam Draken: The Ancients’ Acclaim Gates was generally Burnout 2: Point of Impact Acclaim overlooked and under- Burnout 3: Takedown EA Games rated when it came out Butt-Ugly Martians: Zoom or Doom! Crave over three years ago. If Activision the idea of an action- RPG with flying segments appeals to you (and no, it bears absolutely no rela- tionship to Drakengard), pick it up cheap. Square EA Digimon Rumble Arena 2 Bandai Digital Hitz Factory XS Games Dino Stalker Capcom Disaster Report Agetec Disgaea: Hour of Darkness Atlus Disney Golf EA Games Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure Activision Disney's PK: Out of the Shadows Ubisoft Disney's Treasure Planet Sony CEA А Dog's Life Hip Interactive. Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers Ubisoft Downforce Titus Downhill Domination Sony CEA Dr. Muto Midway Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Atari Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 Atari [4х4 EVO GOD Games 2002 FIFA World Cup EA Sports Асе Combat 5: The Unsung War Namco Activision Anthology Aero Elite: Combat Academy Sega [The Adventures of Cookie & Cream Agetec Aggressive Inline Acclaim Airblade Namco Airforce Delta Strike Konami Cabela's Big Game Hunter Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2005 Adv. Cabela's Dangerous Hunts Cabela's Deer Hunt 2004 Season Cabela's Deer Hunt 2005 Season Activision Call of Duty: Finest Hour Activision eee Need a little help in your campaign? Use this code to unlock all Activision Activision Activision Activision the levels at the start of the game. You are now free to skip to Alias Acclaim апу level you'd like. |Alien Hominid 0-3 Entertainment |Aliens Versus Predator: Extinction ЕА Games All-Star Baseball 2002 Acclaim All-Star Baseball 2003 Acclaim All-Star Baseball 2004 Acclaim All-Star Baseball 2005 Acclaim Alter Echo THO American Idol Codemasters Amplitude Sony CEA Antz Extreme Racing Empire Аре Escape 2 Ubisoft Ape Escape: Primed & Pumped Ubisoft [Aqua Aqua 300 [Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits Sony CEA Arctic Thunder Midway ALL LEVELS At the Level Select screen, hold Up on controller two, then press Start, Select, Select, Square on controller one. Capcom Fighting Evolution Capcom Capcom vs. SNK 2 Capcom Dragon Rage 300 Carmen Sandiego: The Secret of the Stolen Drums Ват |ОгаКап: The Ancients’ Gates Sony CEA CART Fury Midway € Square Enix USA Casper: Spirit Dimensions TDK Mediactive Atari Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Konami i Bam The Cat in the Hat Vivendi Universal ӨӨ Driving Emotion Type-S Square EA Catwoman EA Games € EA Games Champions of Norrath: Realms of EverQuest Sony Online Bam Champions: Return to Arms Sony Online Atlus Chaos Legion Capcom Atari Area 51 Midway Chessmaster Ubisoft Armored Core 2 Agetec |Choplifter: Crisis Shield Xicat Armored Core 2: Another Age Agetec |ChoroQ Atlus Armored Core 3 Agetec City Crisis Take-Two Armored Core: Nexus Agetec Clock Tower 3 Capcom Агту Men: Air Attack 3D0 Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers Acclaim өөө Оготе Racers [The Dukes of Hazzard: Return of the General Lee Ubisoft Dynasty Tactics Koei Dynasty Tactics 2 Koei Dynasty Warriors 2 Koei Dynasty Warriors 3 Koei Dynasty Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends Koei Dynasty Warriors 4 Koei VAL LAN hhh AZ P DID YOU KNOW? Army Men: Green Rogue 300 Codemasters Army Men RTS Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2 Asterix & Obelix Kick Buttix [ATV Offroad Fury 7 ATV Offroad Fury 2 ATV Offroad Fury 3 АТУ Quad Power Racing 2 Auto Modellista Backyard Baseball Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home Eidos ee« [Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood Eidos Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance Interplay Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance Il Interplay Barbarian Titus [The Bard's Tale Vivendi Universal Bass Strike Virtual Fishing Tournament THO Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Ubisoft Batman: Vengeance Ubisoft Battle Assault 3 Bandai Colin McRae Rally 3 Commandos 2: Men of Courage Eidos |Conflict: Desert Storm Conflict: Desert Storm II Gotham Games Conflict: Vietnam Global Star Conflict Zone Ubisoft Contra: Shattered Soldier Konami Corvette Global Star Cool Boarders 2001 Gotham Games 94 Crimson Tears Capcom Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Ubisoft ee Culdcept SNK Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse Metro3D Dark Cloud Sony CEA Dark Cloud 2 Sony CEA Acclaim The soundtrack to Sega's awesomely fun Crazy Taxi (published for PS2 by Acclaim) was provided entirely by punk rock superstars Bad Religion and the Offspring. If you like ridiculously unrealis- tic driving games, Crazy Taxiis one of the best examples of such. Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future Acclaim Echo Night: Beyond Agetec Egg Mania: Eggstreme Madness Kemco eJay Clubworld Crave Endgame Empire Enter the Matrix Ephemeral Fantasia Konami Escape From Monkey Island LucasArts ESPN College Hoops ESPN Videogames ESPN College Hoops 2K5 ESPN Videogames ESPN International Track & Field Konami ESPN International Winter Sports 2002 Konami ESPN Major League Baseball ESPN Videogames ESPN MLS Extra Time Konami ESPN National Hockey Night Konami ESPN NBA 2Night Konami ESPN NBA 2Night 2002 Konami ESPN NBA 2K5 ESPN Videogames 9%: ESPN МВА Basketball ESPN Videogames ® ESPN NFL Football ESPN Videogames € * Ф. Ф. * Ф. e ٠ ©. Ф. ө е. ° ° ° ° ° С ө! Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends Koei ө ө! ө! ө! ٠ * ө! ө! * е ө * ө! Ф. Ф. Ф. 6 Ф. б Konami ESPN NFL 2K5 ESPN Videogames eeee Konami Money and fame often come before glory in the NFL, so why Konami should you be treated any differently? Enter the following codes Battle Engine Aquila Atari Battlestar Galactica Vivendi Universal Beyond Good & Evil Ubisoft Big Mutha Truckers Empire Bionicle: The Game EA Games Black & Bruised Majesco Blade Il Activision Blood Omen 2 Eidos to grant yourself a million crib points and unlock all crib items. You can even enter a code to get all the milestones without ever stepping onto the field. Enter these case-sensitive codes as your VIP name to activate: Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore Tecmo Dead to Rights Death by Degrees Def Jam Vendetta Def Jam Fight for NY EA Sports Big EA Games www.lUP.com | 129 JA REPLAY гии. ‘CHAMPIONS: RETURN TO ARMS 7 HOW TO GET THE BEST WEAPON IN THE GAME r Р If you've been to the Plane of Valor, you might recall seeing a sword embedded in a stone. And if you tried to pull it free, you would have seen a window saying that only a true champion could remove the sword. Want to be a true champion and get the best weapon in the game? Here's how. First of all, you need to get the championship medallions in the medal rounds; each champi- onship medallion unlocks a bonus level. In addi- tion, the Pit of IIl Omen and Faydark have built- in bonus levels. In each of these bonus levels is а bloodstone. If you collect all the bloodstones, you will unlock a second bonus level in the Plane of Nightmares. Fight your way through that second bonus level, and you will be PLANE OF WAR MEDAL ROUND Blood Bath CHAMPIONSHIP MEDALLION Use fewer than four potions to defeat all „= four horsemen If you want to tackle this one right away, then your best bet for limiting health potions is to get to a corner to avoid being trampled by the speed- ing horsemen; otherwise, they will knock you down every time. Alternately, just wait until you're further in the game and have leveled up—by then you're powerful enough to easily take out the horses and semen with ranged attacks before they can reach you. PLANE ОҒ INNOVATION ПО д. MEDAL ROUND Tick Tock, Tick Tock м CHAMPIONSHIP MEDALLION Take out all eight clockworks before they Pa reach the endpoints declared a true champion. After that, all you This round is pretty simple, although again, it helps if you have a range ques & have to do is run back to the Plane of Valor and attack. The clockworks move slowly, and it's not hard to take them down; claim your rightful prize. just use the minimap to keep an eye on where they are. The bonus level for this round is just a way to make a little cash by betting on fights, so 6. 4 you won't get a bloodstone here. PETE 4 PLANE OF WATER ЖШН А ЕЕЕ MEDAL ROUND Depth Scurry CHAMPIONSHIP MEDALLION Get all 10 pearls BOR Depth Scurry is purely a trial-and-error process—no little tricks here, 2 which is a shame, since it takes a long time to learn the map well enough у SN Sy to get all 10 pearls. Memorize where the air bubbles are, and just expect D е * 2 that you will die many, many times. If you wait till you reach a higher them and not waste precious air on fighting. NE 72046 4 CHAMPIONSHIP MEDALLION Free all 20 souls x Soul Break will also take a few deaths. To take out pesky enemies, line up $ ë back to the trap. Typically, you can outrun big monsters, but beware the % little guys: They are fast, hard to see, and сап wear you down quickly if La mies from a corner of cells, then you can also use that area as a recuper- ating spot—hide behind one of the doors in an empty cell until your CHAMPIONSHIP MEDALLION Squish 156 frogs E Unlike the ghosts in Pac-Man (which Frogville was styled after), these Же as possible, but when you come up оп a kobold, use R1 to block and then press L1 to retreat. You can't kill them, but you can get them to back away they hop out of the direct line of stomping, so you may need to veer right and left to get them all. 4 level, then the skeletons attacking you barely hurt, so you can run right by MEDAL ROUND Soul Break the exploding barrels like you are planting mines, then lead your prey you don't stand and fight them. If you can completely clear all the ene- health has fully recovered. | M ҚЫРАУ 727: 4 MEDAL ROUND Frogville kobold are impossible to outrun; use the minimap to avoid them as best long enough to escape. Also be sure to step on every frog—sometimes m April 2005 PUBLISHER 1 million crib points Every crib item Every milestone complete A \ #ESPN NHL Hockey ESPN Videogames #ESPN NHL 2K5 ESPN Videogames 6 ESPN Winter X Games Snowboarding Konami bu , 4 SPN Winter X Games Snowboarding 2002 Konami — "Ач hs |Е$РМ X Games Skateboarding Konami i Agetec PLANE OF VALOR | : Eidos Warlord's Endless Honor Capcom АМЕ 3HIP MEDALLION Defeat at least eight warlords 1 1 Agetec Potions don't count here, so stock up before you come in. And don't ^ EverQuest Online Adventures Sony Online worry about making it more than eight rounds—beating more warlords x f EverQuest Online Adventures: Frontiers Ѕопу Online than that doesn't count, so you can let yourself die once you've killed off Er uy : A Fist ick THQ eight. As far as battle tips, well, these guys are pretty easy. Don't waste ў 4 x Ubisoft өө time fighting the small guys, because they are continually replaced; k > oS Я Evolution Skateboarding Konami instead, target your fire at the main boss while evading the henchmen. Evolution Snowboarding Konami € Once the big guy dies, the little ones disappear as well. Extermination Sony CEA Extreme-G Ill Acclaim EyeToy: AntiGrav Sony CEA eee PLANE OF FIRE Sony CEA Gnome Escort АМІРІОМЕ ME N Keep five gnomes alive F1 2002 TS to keep all the gnomes within your sight at all times. The easiest way 1 1 to corral them is by continually running from the back of the group to the F1 Championship Ubisoft front of the group, taking out any enemies you see on either end. You IF1 Championship Season 2000 EA Sports can let up to three gnomes die, so don't worry if a few stragglers don't Fairly OddParents: Shadow Showdown THO make it. Fallout: Brotherhood of Stee! Interplay Sony CEA Tecmo PLANE OF STONE Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly Tecmo D Kobold а errari F355 Challenge Sega C VIPIONSHIP М JON Keep all three carts intact for eight rounds FIFA 2001 Major League Soccer EA Sports Stay near the bottom of the ger area and continuously hold down EA Sports the Fire button to keep your character in that one spot. Then just rotate your character in the direction you need to aim. If more than two kobolds reach a cart, it gets blown up, so aim for the crowds. Fight Club Vivendi Ui / Fight Night 2004 EA Sports PLANE OF NIGHTMARES | Death 5 Countdown | 5 Kill at least 75 monsters # Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia Square Enix USA This is a timed found =u have four minutes to charge forward |Finding Nemo and destroy as many monsters as possible. Aim for quick, effective а ireblade Midway killing—don't waste time trying to run away or play cat and mouse. - isherman's Challenge Konami It helps here to have plenty of potions handy. ord Racing 2 Gotham Games orever Kingdom. Agetec orgotten Realms: Demon Stone Atari ormula One 2001 Sony CEA Midway PIT OF ILL OMEN | BONUS AREA Gothic Castle EA Sports Big (е Defend all eight gnomes from sea monsters in the "EM / Midway Gnome Village = Ѕопу СЕА First off: Save at а checkpoint before you enter the Gnome Village portion yes t г rogger: The Great Quest Konami of the level—if you fail to complete it on the first try, you won't be able to c ? rogger's Adventure: The Rescue Konami try it again unless you either exit the level and start it all over or load a uw У ront Mission 4 Square Enix previous save. The monsters tend to attack from alternating directions, so Y т 'ugitive Hunter Encore keep jumping back and forth. Make sure you keep the sea monsters' 'ullmetal Alchemist Square Enix attention on you and not the gnomes by hitting them a few times before я |Fur Fighters: Viggo's Revenge Acclaim dealing with any other monsters. Your reward is a visit to the Gothic 2 d uturama Vivendi Universal Castle, where a bloodstone awaits. Future Tactics: The Uprising Crave [Ou a ee Koei Conspiracy FAYDARK НЕЕ EES m 1 alactic Wrestling Featuring Uhimate Muscle Bandai BONUS Unexplored Tomb t Б ians: Sammy ‚НО SS Find the archaeologist shovel у c "ЭШ Тесто To find the archaeologist shovel, go to Kelethin—take the elevator there Г \ 09s jallop Racer 2003: A New Breed Tecmo after killing off all the elves in the forest of Faydark. Afterward, go back to y » j ы” ЖЕ А allop Racer 2004 Tecmo the forest and use the shovel to access the blocked tomb. If you have not N Ast - auntlet: Dark Legacy Midway gone far enough through the game to find the Words of Spiritual Е $ NS he Getaway Sony CEA Harmony, you may have to adventure a little further and then return to А ў у he Getaway: Black Monday Sony CEA Faydark to open up the second portion of the Unexplored Tomb. In this А NES 8 ў Eidos second portion, the blood: по www.lUP.com ` 131 MA REPLAY READER REVIEWS THE FIRST WAVE OF SHOOTERS KILLZONE WHAT YOU SAID “Many games these days are really pushing consoles to the limit. It's no surprise that Killzone falls into the crowd of hyped titles boasting graphical enhancements and juiced-up sounds. Throughout the game, trees pop up and fellow soldiers morph like clay. Speaking of soldiers, your comrades aren't exactly the brightest crayons in the box. Most of the time, Scooby-Doo and the gang sit there inhaling bullets like there's no tomorrow while you charge forward and take out the semi-intelligent Helghast sol- diers. If that doesn’t happen, they get stuck on a tree that hasn’t even sprouted its first leaf, let alone appeared at all. But aside from its many bugs, Killzone does have its strong points. The sound and visuals shine, taking me back to Medal of Honor: Frontline. With all the bullets whizzing by and grenades exploding, it has to be one of the best- sounding games in the PS2 library. “When it comes down to it, Killzone can be hit or miss. Give it a chance and you may find it enjoyable (to an extent).” 52222) Steve Burns via e-mail WHAT WE SAID "If Killzone's performance were as good as its looks, it easily could levy a serious blow against the Halo 2 juggernaut. As it is, Kill- ne is no Halo killer, but it's easily the game that Medal of Honor: Rising Sun ould have been.” [eoe GOLDENEYE: ROGUE AGENT WHAT YOU SAID “Wow. Just...wow. Anyone who loved the first GoldenEye (which was everyone) most likely jumped at this one. Unknown to them, it was waiting to give them the biggest, most uncomfortable kick to the junk anyone has ever received. If you are expecting similar gameplay, you might be interested; otherwise, your stiff-as-a-board, flat character and his supermagic eyeball will just drive you away. Sure, it's cool to see through walls and stuff, but we want to play a Bond game, one packed with action and a compelling story! This sad excuse of a sequel has action, but it lacks a good story or anything else that was remotely cool in the original GoldenEye. Stay away.” te Mitche via WHAT WE SAID "Slick powers, moderately competent A.l., and amusing deathtraps can't save Rogue Agent from being bland, linear, and repeti- tive—it tends to give too much of the cre and not enough of the awesome." [eee 4 132 OPM April 2005 PUBLISHER SCORE К [Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 4 Ghost Recon 2 Ubisoft Giants: Citizen Kabuto Interplay Gitaroo-Man Koei Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance Gladius LucasArts Goblin Commander: Unleash the Horde Jaleco GoDai: Elemental Force 300 Godzilla: Save the Earth Atari # GoldenEye: Rogue Agent EA Games Before there were bullets, people shot each other with paint- balls. It's an almost-historical fact. The following codes allow Bandai Acclaim you to turn back the clock with paintball mode and unlock all the [multiplayer skins. Now you and your friends can reenact your favorite historical battles. ..sort of. Enter these codes in the Extras menu: PAINTBALL MODE Right, Left, Right, Left, Down, Down, Up, Up UNLOCK ALL MULTIPLAYER SKINS Down, Left, Up, Left, Right, Down, Left, Up Gradius IIl and IV Gradius V Gran Turismo 3: A-spec Konami Konami Sony CEA Grand Prix Challenge Grand Theft Auto Ill Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Rockstar Grandia ІІ Ubisoft Grandia Xtreme Enix Rockstar Rockstar Gravity Games Bike: Street, Vert, Dirt [The Great Escape # Gretzky NHL 2005 f Growlanser Generations GTC Africa Guilty Gear Isuka Midway Gotham Games Sony CEA Working Designs Majesco Sammy Majesco/Sammy Sammy Sega Mastiff Working Designs Gathering Sierra EA Games Gungrave: Overdose IGunGriffon Blaze The Guy Game Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ҒА Games Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ҒА Games Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ҒА Games Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland Natsume Haunted Mansion TOK Haven: Call of the King Midway Headhunter Acclaim Headhunter: Redemption Sega Herdy Gerdy Eidos Heroes of Might and Magic 300 Hidden Invasion Conspiracy High Heat MLB 2002 300 High Heat MLB 2003 300 Ih Heat MLB 2004 300 Hitman: Contracts [Hitman 2: Silent Assassin [The Hobbit Vivendi Universal Hot Shots Golf 3 Sony CEA #Hot Shots Golf Fore! Sony CEA # Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Challenge THO Hot Wheels: Velocity X THO Vivendi Universal Hunter: The Reckoning-Wayward Interplay Hypersonic Xtreme Majesco l-Ninja Namco Ico Sony CEA [The Incredibles тна Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Тоть LucasArts Indy Car Series Intellivision Lives! Crave Inuyasha: The Secret of the Cursed Mask Bandai Island Extreme Stunts EA Games [The Italian Job Jade Cocoon 2 Codemasters Eidos €eee« 63) ج COLOR US BAD When we reviewed the wonderfully unique Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color—a nifty mon- ster-creating/raising/ fighting game that ren- dered doodles in 3D—we created 3D caricatures of our whole staff from the awesome tools within the game. James Cameron's Dark Angel Sierra Jeopardy! Atari Jeremy McGrath Supercross World Acclaim Jet X20 Sony CEA Jimmy Neutron: Attack of the Twonkies THO Jonny Moseley Mad Trix 300 Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death [The Jungle Book: Rhythm n' Groove Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis К-1 World Grand Prix Karaoke Revolution Evolved Games Ubisoft Universal Int. Konami Konami Karaoke Revolution Volume 2 Konami Karaoke Revolution Volume 3 Konami Katamari Damacy Namco Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer Activision Kengo: Master of Bushido Crave EA Games Koei Kessen Sony CEA Sony CEA Konami King of Fighters 2000/2001 SNK Playmore King of Fighters 2002/2003 SNK Playmore King of Fighters: Maximum Impact SNK Playmore [The King of Route 66 Sega King's Field: The Ancient City Agetec Kingdom Hearts Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil Knockout Kings 2001 EA Sports Knockout Kings 2002 EA Sports Kuon Agetec Kya: Dark Lineage Atari Mastiff Infogrames La Pucelle: Tactics Le Mans 24 Hours Legacy of Kain: Defiance Eidos Legaia 2: Duel Saga Fresh Games [The Legend of Alon D'ar Ubisoft Legends of Wrestling Acclaim Legends of Wrestling И Legion: The Legend of Excalibur Midway Lego Racers 2 Lego Media Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude Vivendi Universal Acclaim Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Activision Lethal Skies Sammy Lethal Skies II Sammy Looney Tunes: Back in Action EA Games [The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Black Label The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King EA Games Тһе Lord of the Rings: The Third Age ҒА Games The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers EA Games @ Jaleco ө Lupin the 3rd: Treasure of the Sorcerer King Bandai © Vivendi Universal € Lowrider Масе Griffin Bounty Hunter Май Maestro! Madden NFL 2001 Madden NFL 2002 # Madden NFL 2003 # Madden NFL 2004 # Madden NFL 2005 All of you Giants and Packers fans out there will love the follow- ing cheats for Madden NFL 2005. Enter these codes to play as ithe 86 Giants and '66 Packers. The Chiefs are also in need of a cheat—use the provided code to add some spirit with a Chiefs cheerleader. To enter these case-sensitive codes, go to My Madden, select Madden Cards, then select Madden Codes. CHIEFS CHEERLEADER T46M6T IGIANTS PUMP UP CROWD L1329J PACKERS PUMP UP CROWD K26Y4V | 86 GIANTS TEAM K44F2Y |66 PACKERS TEAM 649P7W PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color Malice Manhunt [The Mark of Kri Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 Max Payne Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Maximo: Ghosts to Glory Maximo vs. Army of Zin IMcFarlane’s Evil Prophecy МОК? Armageddon Medal of Honor: Frontline Rockstar 0000 Rockstar ® Capcom 9004 Capcom Konami Interplay EA Games EA Games Capcom 4 Medal of Honor: Rising Sun Mega Man Anniversary Collection Mega Man X: Command Mission Mega Man X7 Mega Man X8 Меп in Black Il: Alien Escape Capcom Capcom Capcom Infogrames Mercenaries LucasArts Blowing up things is the right of any mercenary, but limited [ammo and health is the leading cause of premature demolition dysfunction. Not to worry, however; with the following codes, you'll be up all night long with the ammunition and health you need to keep the explosions coming. If you are into a little role- playing, there are codes for playing as Han Solo or Indiana Jones, as well as a code for filling your pockets with cash. Enter these codes іп the PDA factions mode: EARN $1,000,000 Right, Down, Left, Up, Up, Left, Down, Right PLAY AS HAN SOLO Left, Left, Right, Right, Up, Down, Up, Up (Моге: Must have 110 blueprint bounties first] INFINITE AMMO Right, Left, Right, Right, Left, Right, Left, Left INFINITE HEALTH Up, Down, Up, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right PLAY AS INDIANA JONES Left, Left, Right, Right, Up, Up, Down, Down [Note: Must have 20 national treasure bounties first] Metal Arms: Glitch in the System Vivendi Universal eee Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance Metal Gear Soli While they won't help you through the game, the following secrets for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater allow you to play around with the intro effects. Press the different buttons to con- : Snake Eater trol colors, symbols, and even get the singer to whisper "Snake eater.” Have some fun with the intro movie by pressing the fol- lowing buttons for different effects. R3 Changes the symbols. ROTATE THE LEFT ANALOG STICK Credits will make waves as they move across the screen. АМҮ D-PAD BUTTON Circles come up onscreen. R1 Singer whispers “Snake eater.” ROTATE THE RIGHT ANALOG STICK Different symbols appear onscreen Metropolismania Natsume Midnight Club 7 Midnight Club И Midway Arcade Treasures Midway Arcade Treasures 2 Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing Minority Report Mission: Impossible-Operation Surma Mister Mosquito MLB 2004 MLB 2005 MLB SlugFest 20-03 MLB SlugFest 20-04 MLB SlugFest: Loaded Midway Mobile Light Force 2 XS Games Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space Bandai Mobile Suit Gundam: Bandai Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo — Bandai Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front Bandai Mojo! Crave Monopoly Party Infogrames Rockstar Rockstar Midway Midway Codemasters Activision Atari Eidos/Fresh Sony CEA Sony CEA Midway Midway ederation vs. Zeon GAME PUBLISHER Ubisoft Capcom Monster 4x4: Masters of Metal Monster Hunter Monster Rancher 3 Tecmo Tecmo Sony CEA Monster Rancher 4 [Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance Mortal Kombat: Deception Midway Namco Namco Namco Infogrames MTV Music Generator 2 Codemasters IMTV Music Generator 3: Tt MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch MTX: Mototrax The Mummy Returns Music Maker MVP Baseball 2003 MVP Baseball 2004 МХ 2002 Featuring Ricky Carmichael MX Rider. " МХ Superfly Featuring Ricky Carmichael My Street Myst III: Exile Mystic Heroes |MX Unleashed Namco Museum is Is the Remix Codemasters Gotham Games Activision Universal Magix EA Sports EA Sports THQ Infogrames THO Sony CEA Ubisoft Koei Konami EA Sports EA Sports Infogrames EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports Infogrames Koei NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup INASCAR Heat INASCAR Thunder 2002 INASCAR Thunder 2003 NASCAR Thunder 2004 INASCAR: Dirt to Daytona Naval Ops: Warship Gunner NBA 2К2 NBA 2K3 Sega Sports Sega Sports Midway Sports Midway Acclaim EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports INBA Live 2001 INBA Live 2002 NBA Live 2003 NBA Live 2004 EA Sports NBA Live 2005 EA Sports Want to out-jump the best that the NBA has to offer? Unlimited air is just a code entry away. While you're at it, enter codes to unlock 50,000 dynasty points and all classic hardwood jerseys. Enter the following codes at the "МВА Live Codes" menu: 50,000 dynasty points Unlimited air All classic hardwood jerseys INBA ShootOut 2001 NBA ShootOut 2003 NBA ShootOut 2004 NBA Starting Five BA Street Sony CEA ee« Sony CEA Sony CEA Konami ee« EA Sports Big NBA Street Vol. 2 EA Sports Big NBA Street V3 EA Sports Big €eee« 90 [There are many unlockables in NBA Street V3, including the Beastie Boys team. The following explains how to unlock some lof the game's top players. All items and players must be earned lor bought with Street points. ITHE BEASTIE BOYS (TEAM) Win the 5 Boroughs tournament ог spend 500 Street points. BIGGIE LITTLES Win either the Biggie Littles Is Back or Doing Big Things tournament or spend 1,000 Street points. DIME Win either the Can You Spare a Dime or Dropped by Dime tournament or spend 1,500 Street points. IBONAFIDE Win either the Certified Bonafide or Undisputed tour- nament or spend 3,000 Street points. STRETCH Win either the Respect Your Elders or Still Reigning tournament or spend 4,000 Street points. NCAA College Basketball 2K3 Sega Sports 77277... NOLFCOPTER Its a shame that the PS2 port of Мо One Lives For- ever was so lackluster. The game was almost universally acclaimed on PC and won a number of awards for FPS innova- tion the year it came out. Atleast the humor car- ried over fairly well to. consoles. ی PRINCELY RUMORS The word on the street right now is that the next Prince of Persia game will return to the more lighthearted tone of The Sands of Time. We cer- tainly hope so; the forced “mature” theme of War- rior Within was without question the game's biggest flaw. PUBLISHER NCAA College Football 2K3 NCAA Final Four 2001 NCAA Final Four 2002 NCAA Final Four 2003 NCAA Final Four 2004 NCAA Football 2002 NCAA Football 2003 NCAA Football 2004 NCAA Football 2005 NCAA GameBreaker 2001 INCAA GameBreaker 2003 NCAA GameBreaker 2004 INCAA March Madness 2002 NCAA March Madness 2003 NCAA March Madness 2004 NCAA March Madness 2005 Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 £ Need for Speed Underground Need for Speed Underground 2 Sega Sports Sony CEA Sony CEA Sony CEA Sony CEA EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports Sony CEA Sony CEA Sony CEA EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports EA Games EA Games EA Games Konami Sega Sports Sega Sports Midway Midway Midway Sports Sony CEA Sony CEA Sony CEA Sony CEA Acclaim NFL Blitz Pro NFL GameDay 2001 NFL GameDay 2002 NFL GameDay 2003 NFL GameDay 2004 NFL Quarterback Club 2001 |/ NFL Street NFL Street 2 EA Sports Big Bringing the game to the streets can only mean that NFL rules по longer apply. Enter the following cheats to change the way the game plays by eliminating first downs and fumbles. There are also Reebok and Xzibit teams for your playing pleasure, as well las a custom EA Field. All codes are case sensitive and must be entered in the Cheat menu. NoChains GlueHands Reebok EAField TeamXzibit INO FIRST DOWNS EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports Sega Sports Sony CEA Sony CEA Midway Midway Midway THO Namco NHL 2004 NHL 2005 NHL 2K3 NHL FaceOff 2001 NHL FaceOff 2003 NHL Hitz 20-02 NHL Hitz 20-03 NHL Hitz Pro Nick Toons: Movin’ Nightmare of Druaga Ninja Assault Мо One Lives Forever Sierra Okage: Shadow King Sony CEA Oni Rockstar Namco Onimusha: Warlords Capcom {Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny Capcom Onimusha 3: Demon Siege Orphen: Scion of Sorcery Outlaw Golf 2 Pac-Man Fever | Pac-Man World 2 PaRappa the Rapper 2 Paris-Dakar Rally Phantom Brave Pinball Hall of Fame Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat Pitfall: The Lost Expedition Тһе Polar Express Pool Paradise Capcom Activision Global Star Namco Namco Sony CEA Acclaim NIS America Crave EA Games Activision тна Ignition Portal Runner 300 www.1UP.com | 133 ҮЙ REPLAY 222224 BEHIND THE GAME: WIPEOUT INE@-NacioNal 7 THE MAKING OF AN EARLY PS1 CLASSIC—ONE THAT’S READY TO RETURN ON PSP ГИ кізе т Sg. r Few titles in the history of videogames have matched the cultural signifi- cance of Psygnosis' Wipeout. Fans refer to the game with a reverence normally reserved for more traditional remnants of videogame lore—the Marios, Zeldas, and Zorks of the world. Culturally, technically, and artisti- cally, Wipeout set the tone for an entire generation of games and market- ing plans. It unexpectedly became the tragically hip poster child not only for the original PlayStation, but also for a cultural movement that has since garnered many names: the E generation, rave culture, et cetera, et cetera. 115 sensibilities have spilled over into nearly everything with а “cyber,” “techno,” or “future” in its title since 1999. And to this day it remains videogames’ cultural ambassador No. 1. Based loosely on a concept by Jim Bowers (then a designer at Psygno- sis), the game's original form was а title called Matrix Marauders, аз Wipeout Lead Designer Nick Burcombe recalls. "On paper, [Jim's game] was a complex design whereby futuristic craft flew around a grid blasting each other—hit points and strategy were the order of the day. The game was written by a third party, and it was eventually forced out the door and was a huge letdown. But the ship designs were great—they were a shape and design principle that was later to resurface in the guise of a Wipeout ship. | was in the throes of finishing Mario Kart at that time and had found it to be possibly the greatest game I'd ever played." One thing led to another—and then, as is often the case, they led to the bar. Burcombe explains: "Jimmy [and 1] sat in the Shrewsbury Arms pub one night discussing the idea, and in the best tradition of drinking too much and talking too fast, the name Wipeout came out. It was punchy and kind of surfy/floaty, and we thought it was cool as hell. The conversa- 134"OPM April 2005 tion turned to the music, and Jim and | were enjoying the Prodigy at the time. We joked about getting the Prodigy to do an up-to-date remix of the Surfaris' classic surf ditty ‘Wipe Out.’ We simply pictured Liam Howlett (lead singer of the Prodigy) being right in your face screaming, ‘Hehehe- heheheee, wipe oooout!’ and then it kicking off at 140 [beats per minute] with some awesome hardcore. It was such an ace moment—it stuck. And when Jim got into the office and declared that [the game] was now called Wipeout, nobody argued. Some people thought it was odd and [that it] said nothing about the game—but then after living with it for about a minute and a half, they got it. It just worked.” VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUES 4 Of Wipeout's many advances, one that stood out for many was the incor- poration of progressive graphic-design outfit The Designers Republic into the project. "The plan was to get them in to do a treatment on the logo and packaging," explains Wipeout Art Director Lee Carus, recalling the genesis of the relationship. "But on one of those dark late nights when I was creating the intro sequence, | noticed a fax from TDR lying on some- one's desk. | thought to myself, ‘That fax header is cool.’ [So] | scanned in the header, tidied it up a bit, and mapped it over the texture on the side of one of the Wipeout ships. | thought it worked really well—so did [the mar- keting department] and so did TDR. Their involvement escalated from that point, and they ended up creating logos and artwork for in-game pur- poses. If you load up the intro sequence of the finished game, you can 215512021 MUSIC HAS THE RIGHT TO CHILDREN Zuricom AZNZIOOMZNES Biir-NziNzI Z4NZINC2M2Z2NES see the fax header on the ship in all its glory.” Unlike so many of today’s games, in which in-game advertising pulls gamers out of their experience through the sudden shock of everyday marketing (“Нопеу, there’s a Mountain Dew ad in my Dungeons & Drag- ons!"), even TDR's billboards actually served a sense of purpose. The innovative designs implied and helped contribute to the game's futuristic milieu, actually adding to the game's immersive setting rather than taking away from it. TDR's lan Anderson has fond memories of the project, describing the working relationship as “very positive, trusting, and there- fore creative and mutually beneficial. The only direction Nick Burcombe really gave us on the in-game design was to keep it TDR, or be more TDR. Nick had a clear vision for what he wanted and was confident enough in his own skills and talent to know that TDR could realize the graphic ele- ment of his vision better than he could himself. It was refreshing to have ideas rather than egos flying around.” Wipeout Brand Manager Susan Campbell echoes these sentiments, adding that the connection between TDR and Psygnosis was “natural and symbiotic, very much a partnership. They recognized how unique the game was and the significance it could have on the industry.” TREND SETTERS And significance it had. Psygnosis had essentially struck cultural gold: TDR's style fit the game perfectly and helped propel its acceptance beyond the hardcore gamer to include design-savvy trendsetters, partic- З AURICOM FASHION FORWARD The designs of Wipeouts race-team logos are stark, surreal expres- sions of The Designers Republic's aesthetic. This style absolutely perme- ated the game, and you'll be able to see ап updated version in Wipeout Pure. о.о о б 2 omni | ularly in the United Kingdom. Wipeout became a staple at dance clubs around Europe— particularly in "chill-out" or "comedown" rooms—also due in large part to the game's soundtrack (see sidebar). And yet the notion of design in games still hasn't caught on the way some might have expected. ^| still don't think there is enough style in many games out there. Some developers have tried to take a stylistic approach and haven't been bold enough to create a truly unique stylistic vision," says Carus. "If you're going to do it, commit yourself to it. Go out into the world beyond games and get a feel for what's cool—or rather what's going to be cool— out there, and find the right people to do it. l've been in too many situa- tions where key aspects of the stylistic vision of a game һауе been handed off to an artist on the team because he/she knows a good website for free fonts and isn’t really that busy right now!” Anderson agrees but is anxious to get involved again: “We'd love to work with people on projects on the same scale as Wipeout. We've been in discussions with various game companies in recent months, actively seeking out the right kinds of projects to get involved in. There's been a major shift in the nature of the industry since Wipeout. Now the majors аге more corporate, and I’m not sure they're looking for an ideas com- pany such as TDR to come in and get so involved in a project, although there seem to be a lot of developers looking for ways to create a ‘punk/indie’ subgenre for creative gaming as an antidote to movie tie-ins, et cetera. | really hope we can find partners in the near future who are looking to inject something more cultural and artistic into games—l'm sure there are people out there..." 5 www.1UP.com | 185 IA REPLAY TODD ZUNIGA літ at thesportsguyGriffdavis. com. positive points: V3 is the best-looking game on the PS2. The courts are perfectly lit, perfectly per- fect, and the intro video is enough to make me believe I could get my name magically scribbled in midair. The audio is unrivaled. A few negative points: If these courts are authentic, why does the three-point line at The Cage go all the way around? It should stop at the elbows. If the game is so dunk skewed, why isn't there a dedicated Dunk button to save me from 2-foot jump shots? | hate that | end up making a dunker out of my baller against my will just so | can compete in the esting thing occurred to me: What if EA had lost out on the NFL license? Imagine a world without Madden. Now that would've been odd. Definitely pigskin for thought. But enough contract talk! It's now time for me to declare Winning Eleven 8 as the Sports Game of the Year in 2005. | realize two things as | write this: 1) Madden's not out yet, and 2) this year's Madden is going to be the best Madden ever made, in part to hush the naysayers (aka me) anxious about the EA/NFL deal. But much in the way Tony Hawk's franchise made me buy a pair of Globe skate shoes and bust my hip on a half- dunk contests. Finally, where's the one-on-one? LB ше on ende WHAT A BABY INDUSTRY THIS IS, incen mons sore gaming iens. ҒОР ME ТО HAVE SUCH A REACTION. , general) has publicly made a show of the fact тері that it's all about the green. This із no secret, of pipe, the Winning Eleven franchise is so good course—it's America. But now this industry's that it has me caring about seemingly fictional biggest cash cow has brought its financial aspira- теп named Obafemi Martins, Eidur Gudjohnsen, tions to the forefront. | miss my sweet naivety! and Didier Drogba. If you like FIFA Soccer 2005 Consider my reaction to last month's news. (God save you), dump it at the nearest EB and that EA and the NFL had signed an exclusivity snare WES. If you don't absolutely love it, then deal. | was, in my own words, “shocked.” What a it's likely you have scurvy. baby industry this is, especially in terms of | left OPM years ago to work on NBA Street sports, for me to have such a reaction. After the V3. | left that project after seven months, before it shock passed (and my last column indicting the was anywhere near its finished state, but since | deal was well on its way to print), a more inter- was on the project and can't review it, first a few g, megadeals are being signed left and right, and the Mets are overpaying for everyone! These last few months have been like a gaming off-season equipped with its very own hot stove. It wasn't long ago—was it?—when | got to prattle on endlessly in this sizable box GTA: San Andreas has every genre under the sun, but V3 doesn't even fully trump its main competition, Midway's Ballers? Until then, V3's still in this stratosphere. But criticisms aside, imagine some young buck getting to virtually ball at a spot-on replica of his home court. I'm getting the chills! Next month, if EA or Take-Two doesn't sign me to a seven-year contract, it's all baseball (finally!) and PSP (yes!). I'll do my best to keep the Wall Street talk to a minimum. € > att z О > = < г ix с | ш = ш ш с О | ғ 2 2 [^] Ф < 4:4 © PUBLISHER Mud Duck Power Rangers: Dino Thunder тна [The Powerpuff Girls: Relish Rampage Bam Pride FC тна Primal Sony CEA Power Drome Prince of Persia: Warrior Within Ubisoft Pro Race Driver Codemasters Project Eden Eidos Ргугт Chapter One: The Dark Unicorn ТОК Mediactive Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspira Midway PT.O. IV Koei Punisher THO |Q-Ball Billiards Master Take-Two Quake III: Revolution EA Games IR: Racing Evolution Namco R-Type Final Eidos/Fresh Games Rally Fusion: Race Activision Rapala Pro Fishing Activision Champions Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Ubisoft Rayman Arena Ubisoft IRC Revenge Pro Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2 Real Pool Red Card Soccer 20-03 Red Dead Revolver Red Faction Acclaim Midway Infogrames Midway Rockstar THQ Natsume Bam 136 OPM April 2005 GAME | Resident Evil Code: Veronica X Resident Evil: Dead Aim Resident Evil Outbreak Return to Castle Wolfenstein; OR Rez Ribbit King Ridge Racer V # Risk: Global Domination RLH: Run Like Hell Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown Robotech: Invasion Rocky Rocky Legends Robot Alchemic Drive Robotech: Battlecry Rogue Ops Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII Rumble Racing Rumble Roses Rune: Viking Warlord Rygar: The Legendary Adventure Salt Lake 2002 Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku Samurai Warriors PUBLISHER Capcom Activision Sega Bandai Nameo Bam Konami Sony CEA Atari Interplay Midway Conspiracy Capcom Global Star Ubisoft Kemco Koei Koei Agetec LucasArts EA Sports EA Sports EA Games Konami Take-Two Tecmo Eidos Sega Koei/EA PUBLISHER Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends Koei Saturday Night Speedway Atari Savage Skies Bam Scaler Global Star Scooby-Doo! Mystery Mayhem THO ‘Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian Universal |50 Gundam Force: Showdown! Bandai Second Sight Codemasters Secret Weapons Over Normandy LucasArts Conspiracy Sega Bass Fishing Duel Sega [Seek and Destroy [Sega Classics Collection Sega Sega Sports а Sports [Sega Soccer Slam [Sega Sports Tennis Sega Superstars Sega Global Star Sammy Midway Midway Konami 4 Serious Sam: Next Encounter [Seven Samurai 20XX [Shadow Hearts [Shadow Hearts: Covenant [Shadow of Destiny Shadow of Rome Capcom Shadow Man: 2econd Coming Acclaim [Shaman King: Power of Spirit Konami [Shark Tale [Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder Activision : Nam '67 Eidos 300 [Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne Atlus [Shining Tears Sega Activision Shinobi Sega Acclaim EA Sports Big Activision Showdown: Legends of Wrestling ЕЕ ТОК Mediactive 64 Siren Sony CEA 8 1 Silent Hill 2 Konami « 50 «n Konami Shrek Super Party Konami 85 Agetec 70 Konami 39 Konami 49 Konami 62 Silpheed: The Lost Planet Working Designs 40 [The Simpsons: Hit & Run Vivendi Universal. 72 [The Simpsons Skateboarding EA Games 64 [The Sims a 65 The Sims: Bustin' Out es 76 Hip Interactive. 88 Atlus 58 Activision 40 EA Sports Big Silent Line: Armored Core Silent Scope Silent Scope 2 Silent Scope 3 Sly 2: Band of Thieves [Smash Cars [Smash Court Tennis: Pro Tournament Sony CEA Metro3D Namco Smash Court Tennis: Pro Tournament2 Матсо 82 Smuggler's Run 2: Hostile Territory Rockstar «5 Но-В ee Soccer Mania ЕАЛедо ӨӨӨ 59 #SOCOM Il: U.S. Navy SEALs Sony CEA Soldier of Fortune Majesco Sega Sega Namco Eidos Sega Infogrames Namco Soccer America: International Cup [Sonic Heroes Sonic Mega Collection Soul Calibur II Soul Reaver 2 Space Channel 5 Special Edition Space Race Spawn Armageddon Acclaim THO 75 ‘Spider-Man Activision 57 Spider-Man 2 84 ISplashdown Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild [SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom SpongeBob SquarePants: The Movie тна [Spy Fiction Sammy ee SpyHunter 2 Midway 76 Spyro: А Hero's Tail Vivendi Universal SRS: Street Racing Syndicate Namco 64 SSX Tricky EA Sports Big 52 Star Ocean: Till the End of Time Square Enix 84 Star Trek: Shattered Universe TDK ee Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force Majesco 53 Star Wars Battlefront LucasArts 86 ОРМ leads to codes. Codes lead to cheating. Cheating leads 10 ithe dark side. Do not use this code to unlock all planets. Activision Infogrames THO 72 THO Go to the Planet Selection screen and enter Square, Circle, Square, Circle. Star Wars: The Clone Wars LucasArts Star Wars Super Bombad Racing Star Wars Jedi Starfighter LucasArts Star Wars Racer Revenge LucasArts « 55 Starsky & Hutch Gotham Games ee 14 Stitch: Experiment 626 Sony CEA 59 Street Fighter Anniversary Collection Capcom 84 Street Fighter EX 3 Capcom 39 Stretch Panic Conspiracy 47 Strike Force Bowling Crave 82 LucasArts 7727... LOST IN TIME Swing Away Golf was one of the first games released on PS2. It was more or less a direct knockoff of Hot Shots Golf. А couple years later, developer T&E Soft managed to redeem itself with the much more entertain- ing Disney Golf. LLL kh hhh WATERWORLD The first Splashdown struck critics down in unadulterated shock with its unmatched water effects. Interestingly, its sequel, Rides Gone Wild, eschewed that hyperre- alistic approach in favor of a much more car- toony—and much more fun—style. PUBLISHER Si Infogrames/Atar Metro3D. Midway Stuntman Sub Rebellion [The Suffering Suikoden III Suikoden IV summer Heat Beach Volleyball Summoner Konami Konami Acclaim THO THQ Ubisoft Acclaim Ubisoft XS Games ®6 Activision €e« Atari < Rockstar Sierra EA Games Sony CEA Namco THO тна Ubisoft Infogrames 9: Konami @@¢ 75 Summoner 2 Sunny Garcia Surfing [Super Bust-A-Move Super Bust-A-Move 2 Super Trucks Racing Supercar Street Challenge Superman: Shadow of Apokolips Surfing H30 SWAT: Global Strike Team Swing Away Golf Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain Taiko: Drum Master Tak and the Power of Juju [Так 2: The Staff of Dreams Tarzan: Untamed Taz: Wanted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 86 Tekken 4 Namco $904 61 Tekken Tag Tournament Namco « 39 89 Technic Beat Mastiff Sega Activision Atari [Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Atari Terminator 3: The Redemption Atari 86 [Test Drive Off-Road: Wide Open Infogrames өөө 48 [Test Drive: Eve of Destruction Atari 85 Tetris Worlds THO ee 57 [Theme Park Roller Coaster EA Games 41 The Thing Universal 62 [Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix Eidos 52 [Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001 EA Sports 4 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002 EA Sports 55 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 EA Sports 63 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 EA Sports n Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 EA Sports 86 [Time Crisis 2 Namco 49 Namco Ф 74 [Time Crisis: Crisis Zone Namco өөө, 86 TimeSplitters Eidos € 39 TimeSplitters 2 i 63 ТОСА Race Driver 2 86 Crave өө 76 [Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero 45 Тот Clancy's Ghost Recon Konami Tenchu: Fatal Shadows Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven The Terminator: Dawn of Fate Time Crisis 3 [Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3 65 78 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3 80 [Тот Clancy's Splinter Cell 8 “об 87 57 41 50 66 81 57 62 Activision Xicat Kemco Titus Empire Atari Infogrames Tony Hawk's Underground 2 [Top Angler Тор Gear Dare Devil [Top Gun: Combat Zones [Total Immersion Racing [Transformers Transworld Surf Tribes: Aerial Assault Sierra [Triple Play 2002 EA Sports 55 Triple Play Baseball EA Sports 45 Trivial Pursuit: Unhinged 81 True Crime: Streets of LA. ооо о ө ө ө ө ө Tsugunai: Atonement Turok: Evolution Twisted Metal: Black Twisted Metal: Black Online [Ty the Tasmanian Tiger PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE| EA Games Hy the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue EA Games UEFA Euro 2004 UFC Throwdown UFC Sudden Impact Under the Skin Unison [Unlimited Saga Unreal Tournament [The Urbz: Sims in the City |V-Rally 3 Vampire Night EA Sports Crave Crave Capcom Tecmo Square Enix Infogrames EA Games Infogrames Namco Vivendi Universal Victorious Boxers Vietcong: Purple Haze Viewtiful Joe Viewtiful Joe 2 Virtua Fighter 4 Virtua Quest Virtual on Marz Wakeboarding Unleashed Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo War Jetz War of the Monsters Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior Warriors of Might & Magic Wave Rally Way of the Samurai Way of the Samurai 2 Wheel of Fortune Acclaim Empire Global Star Activision Bam 300 Sony CEA THO 300 Eidos Bam Capcom Atari Eidos Vivendi Universal wild Wild Racing Winback Wipeout Fusion Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land Woody Woodpecker: Buzz Buzzard Park World Championship Poker World Championship Poo! 2004 World Destruction League: Thunder Tanks World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars World Series Baseball 2K3 World Soccer: Winning Eleven 6 Int! World Soccer: Winning Eleven 7 Int'l World Soccer: Winning Eleven 8 Int'l World Tour Soccer 2002 World Tour Soccer 2003 World Tour Soccer 2004 Wrath Unleashed WRC: World Rally Championship Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions WTA Tour Tennis WWE Crush Hour Konami Sony CEA Interplay Koei Bam Atlus DreamCatcher Crave Jaleco 300 Infogrames Sega Sports Konami Konami Konami Sony CEA Sony CEA Sony CEA LucasArts Bam Activision Konami THO | WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain WWE SmackDown! Just Bring It WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw X Squad [The X-Files: Resist or Serve X-Men Legends X-Men: Next Dimension X2: Wolverine's Revenge Xenosaga: Episode 1—DWZM Xenosaga: Episode II—JVGUB ХОВА: Extreme-G Racing Association xt Yanya Caballista: City Skater Ys VI: The Art of Napishtim Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monster Coliseum Үш Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament Zapper ZOE: Zone of the Enders Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner EA Games Vivendi Universal Activision Activision Activision Namco Namco Acclaim Ubisoft Koei Konami Konami Konami Atari Infogrames Konami Konami www.1UP.com 132 REWIND FIVE YEARS AGO IN OPM PlayStation THIS MONTH IN HISTORY Meanwhile, in the world beyond games: Microsoft was convicted of violating antitrust laws, Ben & Jerry's sold out to the company that makes Q-tips, the dot-com stock bubble burst in spectacular fash- ion, and satellite photos of Area 51 were posted on the Internet for the first time. Where were you? р наала ыала енен ETS MAKE IT SO With the PS2 just weeks away and the PS1 really hitting its stride, there was lots of interesting coverage in April of 2000. Our cover story was Star Trek: Invasion, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. Iceberg? Spaceberg? Ehhh, whatever. 4 April's cover story was one of the more mem- orable of OPM's run, not because of its con- tent, but because of the research that went into it: We got to visit the set of Star Trek: Voy- ager to see firsthand how seriously the Star Trek universe is treated. After walking the decks of the Voyager and climbing around in the Jefferies tubes, we even got to chat with Michael “Worf” Dorn—who was as reticent as his Klingon character. In April of 2000, Square had just announced the next three games in the Final Fantasy series. /X surprised us with its return to the old-school FF vibe, but X and XI really stole the show. At the time, FFX was supposed to interface with Square's PlayOnline service to provide online strategies—which never came to pass as a result of the delayed launch of the PS2's online service. FFXI, on the other hand, turned out even better than we were expecting. This was a damn impressive month for reviews. We had five games tied for top of the heap: Fear Effect, WWF SmackDown!, Front Mission 3, Colony Wars: Red Sun, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure all earned four-and-a-half discs each, with three more games earning four discs. Continuing the surprisingly solid theme of this issue, there were very few games that really stunk up the joint in our April reviews lineup. The worst of the bunch was BattleTanx: Global Assault, with a not completely horrible one- and-a-half discs. It was another strong month for demos, with our first glimpse of Spider-Man, an extensive playable of Colony Wars: Red Sun, the surpris- ingly cool Eagle One: Harrier Attack, and Hot Shots Golf 2. Lots of good playtime was had by all. Gran Turismo 2 successfully defended its posi- tion at the top of the charts in April 2000, with the original Gran Turismo sneaking up to No. 3 due to gamers’ renewed interest in the fran- chise. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater inched up another slot to No. 2, and Spyro the Dragon continued to dominate its sequel, climbing up yet another spot to No. 4. Rounding out the top five was Dukes of Hazzard. Wait, what? Er...the less said about that, the better. ADVERTISER INDEX Academy of Art University www.academyart.edu 115 Atari, Inc. www.atari.com 147 Best Buy Co., Inc. www.bestbuy.com 51 Buongiorno Vitaminic www.dirtyhippo.com 75 Capcom USA, Inc. www.capcom.com Collins College/Career Education Corp. www.collinscollege.edu 143 Eidos Interactive, Inc. 107, 148 www.eidos.com 10-11 Electronic Arts www.ea.com 17, 18-19, 20 Electronic Entertainment Expo www.E3expo.com 131 Full Sail Real World Education www.fullsail.com. 137 Future Tec, Inc. www.sunnylogo.com 45 Hollywood Entertainment www.gamecrazy.com 110-111 Gillette Company www.gillette.com 31 Hip Interactive Corp. www.hipinteractive.com 71 Ignition USA www.ignitionusa.com 95 Koei Corporation www.koei.com 78-79 Konami Digital Entertainment www.konami.com 33, 87, 90-91 LucasArts Entertainment www.lucasarts.com 67 Majesco Games, Inc. www.majescogames.com 41 Microsoft www.microsoft.com 36-37 Midway Games, Inc. www.midway.com 14-15, 57 Namco Hometek www.namco.com 2-3, 24-25, 55 Office of National Drug Control Policy www.whatsyourantidrug.com 73 Sega of America www.espnvideogames.com 26-27 www.sega.com 68-69 SCEA www.scea.com 4-5, 39, 129 Sony Online Entertainment www.sonyonline.com 43 Sony Pictures Classics www.sonyclassics.com 17 Sony Pictures Entertainment www.sonypictures.com 23 Square Enix, Inc. www.square-enix-usa.com 119, 121, 123 Take 2 Interactive www.take2games.com 35, 81 MonsterMob Group PLC www.mob.tv 65 THO, Inc. www.thq.com 53, 89 Ubisoft Entertainment www.ubisoft.com 8-9, 46-47, 60-61, 100-101 Unilever www.unilever.com 63 U.S. Navy Recruiting Command www.navy.com 83 meaner gra 4 138” OPM April 2005 COMPANY CÀR 12 к. THERE'S NO BETTER PLACE ТО EXPERIENCE > » THE LATEST PC, ONLINE AND VIDEO GAME PRODUCTS b ” Conference: May 17-19 A Exposition: May 18-20 9 Los Angeles Convention Center ЕЗ is a trade event - only qualified industry professionals may attend. No one under 18 will be admitted, including infants. This policy is strictly enforced, Visit www.e3expo.com for registration guidelines. 4. Be the ‘Ultimate Temm. Slayer un | Multiple g ighting stj hoose From 4 “...]гот the moment the game begins, the badass meter is Likely to flat-out shatter” -PSM "Sif GUNSLINGER STYLE Blow away enemies from all angles sh ай Е” Suggestive Themes Violence ESRB CONTENT RATING wwwestb.org Еу ы and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Son Gf puter Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. Ri otr trademarkglare owned by their respective owners. | E : $ $ 2 a 3 И Made with love by