Official U.S. Playstation Magazine Issue 87 (December 2004)

PlayStation MAGAZINE
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THE FINISH LINE. SO ELUSIVE FOR SOMETHING THAT NEVER MOVES.
Glory is not granted lightly. Test your skills on up to 100 of the UH @ mm DAY <
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 DURS: spectators
that react to your every move. Pass or be passed.
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Visit www.esrb.org S,
for updated rating
information. ۵ ©2004 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All manufacturers, cars, names, brands and associated imagery featured in this game are tradema
POLYPHONY sponsorship or endorsement of
this game by such party orparties. “PlayStation,” the “PS” Family logo and are registered trademarks, and Gi
PlayStation.e
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GRAN TURISMO 4
THE REAL DRIVING SIMULATOR
THE DRIVE OF YOUR LIFE
and/or copyrighted materials of their respective owners. Alll rights reserved. Any depiction or recreation of real world locations, entities, businesses or organizations is not intended to be or imply any
Turismo 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.
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SOFTWARE
©2004 Activision, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark and THUG is a trademark of Activision, Inc. All rights reserved. Tony Hawk is a registered trademark of
Tony Hawk. PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox versions developed by Neversoft Entertainment, Inc. Game Boy Advance version developed by Vicarious Visions.
Blood "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Online play requires internet connection, Network Adaptor
Crude Humor (for PlayStation 2) and Memory Card (8MB) (for PlayStation 2) (each sold separately). The Online icon is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
Language TM, ©, Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo GameCube are trademarks of Nintendo. ©2001 Nintendo. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox logos are either
ive The
SuggestNeah S registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. PC CD-ROM
Violence logo TM & ©2003 IEMA. GameSpy and the "Powered by GameSpy” design are trademarks of GameSpy Industries, Inc. All rights reserved. The ratings icon is a
registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. Screenshots
ESRB CONTENT RATING — WWw.eStb.019} taken from PlayStation © 2 platform.
STARING AT?
It's Team HAWK vs. Team ВАМ
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SOUNDTRACK AVAILABLE ON INTERSCOPE RECORDS
LALLA Blood and Gore
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руху Use of Drugs
© 2004 Rockstar Games, Inc. Rockstar Games, Rockstar North, the F, logo, Grand Theft Auto and the Grand Theft Auto logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are
registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other marks and trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All Rights Reserved. Note: The content of this
videogame is purely fictional, and is not intended to represent any actual person, business or organization. Any similarity between any character, dialogue, event or plot element of this game and any actual person, business or organization is purely
coincidental. The makers and publishers of this videogame do not in any way endorse, condone or encourage this kind of behavior.
WHEN YOUR LIFE CAN BE TAKEN IN.
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GRAND THEFT AUTO
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page
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50 METAL GEAR ACID
30 PSP: COMING TO GRIPS

We've played it—should you?
56 THE INCREDIBLES 2
64 HOLIDAY FUN
Whether you're naughty or nice,
Ф HYPE
there's something here you'll like. 38 TOKYO GAME SHOW
с
"neum
B8 GTA: SAN ANDREAS
It's thebiggest—is itthe best? Find 40 FINAL LAP
out in this exclusive
first review.
120 NEED FOR SPEED 44 ТНЕ МЕУ/ Р52 74 GOLDENEVE: ROGUE AGENT
UNDERGROUND2
Put the pedal to the metal...
48 CALL OF DUTY 80 PRINCE а) PERSIA 2
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LALLA ‎‫ھکھک‬
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‫ہہ“ب ہہرہہبہہہ رکہب‬
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1004
We like games so much that we spend all day
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That review on page 88? Just the tip of the Auto, which would explain why there are
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128
IA REPLAY
134 SOCOM Il: AFTER HOURS
136 BURNOUT 3: TAKEDOWN GAMES COVERED INSIDE

Ace Combat
5:The The Incredibles Okami
Unsung War Jak3 Prince of Persia 2
138 THE SPORTS GUY Blood Will Tell Karaoke Revolution Ratchet & Clank: Up
BloodRayne2 Volume 3 Your Arsenal
6 Burnout 3:Takedown 0 Killzone Rocky: Legends
139 10 MOST BORING GAMES 8 Call of Duty: Finest
Hour King of Fighters: Second Sight
28 Crash
'N' Вит Maximum Impact 34 SOCOM II: U.S. Navy
Devil MayCry3 Kuon SEALs
140 SECOND SIGHT 8 Dukes ofHazzard: Return Leisure Suit Larry: 5 SpongeBob
sions of theGeneralLee Magna Cum Laude SquarePants: The Movie
28 ESPN NBA 215 50 Metal Gear Acid Spyro: A Hero's Тай
142 STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT EyeToy: Anti-Grav Metal Gear Solid 3: 2 Star Wars Battlefront
e ins and outsof Cloud C Fight Club Snake Eater 6 Taiko: Drum Master
Final Fantasy ХІ: Chains 9 Midway Arcade 6 Tony Hawk's
144 READER REVIEWS ofPromathia Treasures 2 Underground 2
6 Geton
da Mic 3 Mortal Kombat: 62 Wanda
C REWIND 02 Ghost in theShell: Stand
Alone Complex
74 GoldenEye:
Rogue Agent
Deception
20 Need fer Speed
Underground 2
2 X-Men: Legends
146 FIVE YEARS AGO... 40 Gran Turismo 4 24 Neo Contra

DVD technology. Yikes. 88 GTA: SanAndreas 4 Nightmare of Druaga Д
[www.lUP.com] 15
GREAT EXPECTATIONS ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA
SAN ANDREAS MEETS AND EXCEED Editor-in-Chief
Managing Editor
Expectations for San Andreas are probably
higher than for any other videogame in history. The
legacy of the sefies is so great that in the past six
Disc Producer Log
months, what little information has been released
on the game has only whetted everyone's interest in
it. The risk, it seemed, would be that whatever
Rockstar did end up releasing could never possibly Copy Chiel Tor
Copy Editors
live up to what gamers wanted from it. The hype
was at risk of overshadowing the game. Sure, it's Senior Manufacturing Director
Senior Production Manager An
supposed to be bigger and better, but is it bigger Production Manager Mon:
and better enough? The answer, as you'll see in our Assistant Production Manager Tersa New
exclusive review on page 88, is an unequivocal Senior Vice President
“yes!” Rockstar has achieved what many would Editorial Director John D
Creative Director Sim
think is impossible. They've produced a game that Business Director 8
far exceeds anything that you're possibly expecting. Consumer GroupCirculation Di acy Schultz
Single Copy SalesDirector Bob Kerks
SeniorNewsstand SalesManager Don Calen
Internet and Partnership Marketing Director Chris Wilkes
THE OPM FAMILY VPand General Manager Tor
Editor-in-ChiefSamK
Group Publisher Le Uric
Associate GroupPublisher St
AdvertisingDirector Marci Ya
BAY AREA
Regional SalesManager Mary
Account Executive Amy Mish
NORTHWEST N A NN. MO,MT, NO, NE, нм, NV,OR.
MISSION DistrictSales RepresentativeAaron Gallio
STATEMENT Account Executive Rita Klin
SOUTHWEST
Regional SalesManager
The Official U.S. PlaySta- EAST ۴
tion Magazineis the only Regional SalesManager
Account Executive RitaK
Sony Computer Entertain- DANA JOE RYBICKI THIERRY GIANCARLO CONSUMER ACCOUNTS WEST
JONGEWAARD discovered that, with all the NGUYEN UARANINI Consumer Accounts Manager Ma
ment America-licensed Account Executive (and
is harboring delusions of reviewing and the traveling might resemble
apeace-lov- had the privilege of going to CONSUMER ACCOUNTS EAST
magazine and is published musical talent after whizzing and the liquor binges—er, ing NorCal nerd,
butKillzone Tokyo, where he bought Regional SalesManager Matthew E.Panke
Account Executive
through Karaoke Revolution late nights of deadlines— and MGS3have revealed him many a Pocari Sweat and CONSUMER DETROIT
by Ziff Davis Media Inc. Regional Sales Manager KenStubble
Volume Запа Taiko: Drum that transpired this month, tobeanaspiring postmodern other magical drinks out of Senior Advertising Coordinator Tiler ‫الامام‬‎
through an exclusive Master with flying colors. he had spontaneously Japan's vending machines. Advertising Coordinator
Sales Assistants gvel, Lyn Fortunato, Jesica Reback
agreement. As such, the She's even recruiting mem- evolved the ability to shape itshideous head, though, as He also prayed to some MARKETING
bers for her new band—all time and space to his every hisutterlackof“skillz” means monkey gods at a nearby Marketing Director
Official U.S. PlayStation Research Director MayТ
taiko drummers and aspir- maniacal whim. Look for that despite hisbestefforts, temple before being merci- Marketing Coordinator Jas
Magazine (OPM) remains ing lounge musicians, send details on his trip to Colonial he hasattained acamo index lessly attacked by a giant
your audition tapes. Williamsburg next month. оға теге 42
percent. dancing cell phone. Chairman&CEO
independent from SCEA President &COO Bar
b ChiefFinancial Of icer Derek lw
andis a critical, Senior Executive Vice President, Publishing Ор
ExecutiveVice President & Editorial Director
autonomous voice that Executive VicePresident, General Counsel & Secretary Gregory B.
SENIOR VICEPRESIDENTS
helps readers get more
out of their PlayStation
system by delivering the ж
most current, comprehen- FE VICE PRESIDENTS.
sive, and candid coverage RYAN UULK ALEJANDRO ZOE FLOWER TODD ZUNIGA
of PlayStation software began the December issue CHAVETTA would like you to know that decided to give his game
as an easygoing, Final Fan- leaves his glamorous life of sheis fabulous. She can reviews that international
and hardware.
tasy-loving, mild-mannered bartending behind in a quest state this with some author- flavor by running off to
art director. Ten pages of to impart great design to the ity thanks to the fact that Europe for a few months. He
San Andreas later, he's a grimy unwashed masses of she is working on numerous keeps finding himself root-
stone-cold killer. There's a gamers out there. The rest of projects in print, on televi ing around game stores,
possibility that the late OPMis thrilled he's here, sion, and online, while also though, in the hopes that
nights, bad food, and latent although they're not sure if writing a work of fiction he'll find that one lonely a & Corporate Sales
psychosis had something to they're more excited about about transforming fairies neglected Madden box
do with it, but we're just his skills as an artist or his that may or may not appear tucked back away behind all national Licensing
going to blame the game. talents with a cocktail shaker. on www.zoeflower.com. the copies of FIFA.
Senior Director, Manufacturing

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16 [OPM December 2004]

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ON THE DUD
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY
It's the time of year for a lot of big games—
Jak 3, Killzone, The Incredibles. Lucky for you,
you can try them out right here, because all of
those games have playable demos on this
month's disc. Have fun.
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
PLAY IT Account Coordinator
Eric Ippolito
Programming and interface artwork by

Plug in your hard drive, kids—on Watch the opening movie for the Lifelike Productions, Inc.
this disc is the only place to get a latest Jak, and then try your hand Lead Programmers
brand-spankin'-new SOCOM II at driving dune buggies after met- William Bohan, Ron Midthun, Avery Lodato
map. To figure out how to smack alheads, exploring the eco mines, 3D Artists Jason Robinson, Philip Williamson, David Hayes
stuff up, check out page 134. and escorting a bomb train. Producer Jessi Harrison
President Katherine Williams
Technical Director Tim Edwards
Take a whirl on the bloodshed |ewm. Wearing underoos does not make Maimoona Block, Kirsten Costello, Tom Gillan, Michelle
merry-go-round—this demo allows you a superhero. Playing this Manahan, Gerald Martin, Jim Williams
you to play as Templar, Luger, or demo won't either, but at least
Rico. To see what we thought, read you'll get to perform superhuman
the review on page ПО. stunts while you sit on your butt.
2 ‎‫ہے‬ Did you buy a copy of our magazine that did not contain a demo
CD? Simply send the receipt in an envelope marked "OPM
ey ж? ii TE Replacement Disc" to the address below with the name and
NOT ENOUGH , Through extensive research, the == & You might think your folks are odd, address of the store plus your phone number and address and
FOR YOU? editors of OPM have determined but you've got nothing on Timmy, we'll send you the disc. Make sure you specify which month the
an also try play that games that include a “Yee- whose parental units definitely corresponding disc belongs to in order to ensure you get the
haw" button get a 23 percent take the cake. See them in action right one.
higher score than those that don't. as you play this demo. If you have amalfunctioning 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 (СЕА) warrants to
s Like purple dinosaurs but tired of We'll bet that 80 percent of the the original purchaser of the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
| Barney? Then give this demo а people who saw King Arthur did it that the demo disc included is free from defects in material and
Ж ۹ whirl to see if Spyro is more your because of Keira Knightley. Sadly, workmanship for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of
| taste. Is he our taste? Read page she's not in this game, but you still purchase. SCEA agrees for a period of ninety (90) days to either
А 125 to find out. might want to check out the demo. 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, unreason-
able use, mistreatment, neglect, or breakage during shipment.
THIS WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES
AND NO OTHER REPRESENTATIONS OR CLAIMS OF ANY
NATURE SHALL BE BINDING ON OR OBLIGATE SCEA. ANY
Ever imagine a parallel videogame If you're ready for an ass-kicking, IMPLIED WARRANTIES APPLICABLE TO THIS SOFTWARE
world where Clank was the ulti- then get a taste of l-on-l combat, PRODUCT, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY
mate robot Bond? Yeah, neither fighting chess, and puzzles galore, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE LIMITED
had Ratchet. all here in this video. 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.
There's an old saying: You can Some states do not allow limitations as to how long an
M never be too rich or too thin or 1A lot goes into making a game implied warranty lasts and/or exclusions or limitations of conse-
have too many superheroes. Watch pretty, especially when it's some- quential damages, so the above limitations and/or exclusions of
the mutants as they save humanity thing as huge as Middle-earth. See liability may
notapply to you. This warranty gives you specific
from the bad guys. how it's done in this video. legal rights, and you may also have other rights that vary from
state to state.

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Select your team of 4 from 15 playable X-Men” Battle Magneto" and his evil army
Or join the action in 4-player co-op mode. through a new, epic action/RPG saga.
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MARVEL, X-MEN, and all Marvel characters and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Marvel Characters, Inc., and are used with permission. ©2004. Ай rights reserved. warn.marvel.com. Published by Activision activision.com
Publishing, Inc. Game code © 2004 Activision, Inc. Activision isa registered trademark of Activision, Inc. All rights reserved. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment
Inc. Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox Logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. TM, @, and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. ©2001
Nintendo. Nokia and N-Gage are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nokia Corporation. The ratings icon is а registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks and trade names are the |
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STRAIGHT FROM THE
OPM MESSAGE BOARD
Our monthly roundup of hot topics, gathered from the ОРМ
message board at opm.IUP.com.
SHOT
RBEST
‫ہا‬
MORE BURNING LOVE‫‏‬
Burnout 315the hot topic right now. "I'm glad I'm not onli‫‏‬
said edgerunner. "If |were, this game would completely con-‫‏‬
sume me. As soon as | come home, it's a quick biteofdinner,‫‏‬
some conversation with the missus, and then plunk in front of‫‏‬
the TV, crashing and racing into the wee hours of the a.m. |‫‏‬
haven't been this taken by a game in...crud, |can't even‫‏‬
remember.”‫‏‬
looz agreed wholeheartedly. “The game is frickin’ über. |
love it, my friends love it, my dad loves it—hell, even my girl-
friend loves it. It'sthe people's game.”
“My statistics show that I've spent 76 hours on the game,”
said ChickenNext. “I've had it for five days.”
“Burnout 3is what a Star Wars pod-racing game
SHOULD be,” chimed in tealsmith.
When | read The Outsider in Issue #85, I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement “What | love about this game is though some of the races
through the entire article. Arcades are a dying breed. When | would go to the mall with my seem really hard, none of them seem impossible,” said
friends, | could always look forward to a new machine to donate my money to (oh, how many BlitzO5. “All the races seem just within your grasp, like you
hundreds of quarters went to alter my beast). But as time passed, fewer and fewer new games can get it if you try harder.”
would show up, and more of the same would be there. | still to this day love going to arcades, “Try playing some GT3 after Burnout 3," said
but | don't look for the newest thing on the floor. My day is perfect if | can find a working air PariahEngel. “It's like Driving Miss Daisy."
hockey table, Gauntlet, or an Addams Family pinball machine. Those games for me are bliss.
Arcades are being passed by, but there are still some out there. GT4 HACKED!
With the news of Gran Turismo 4
dropping its online mode, there was a
sense of indignation in the air. “That's
we just pathetic,” said black_]
waited this long and we can't play it online at release—and it
In your November 2004 magazine, there was seems we have to buy another 074 version in 2005 that is
an interesting article you published, "Dream online enabled!”
Machine.” | enjoyed thinking about the possi- “What the hell?” asked HeartlessCloud07. “They
ь% |
CONTACT OPM bilities of next-generation consoles. However, | should just release the damn thing when they've got every-
Snail Mail hope that Sony would hold off until at least thing done! It’s not like having it come out later is gonna
OPM 2006 so that the initial cost of the PlayStation ۵ decrease sales—this is Gran Turismo we're talking about.”
101 Second Street 3 will be reduced as much as possible. Here’s “The sad thing,” mused irishmalt, "is that it's probably
8th Floor hoping that they don’t get caught up fighting Bruce Harter [“You Love Us,” Issue #85] because they poured so much time into perfecting the new
San Francisco, CA 94105 with Microsoft's release date. Another trou- brings up a good point about the overexposure B-spec mode...and yet, |bet more racers would have preferred
bling issue that you discussed in your article of Final Fantasy games (besides making to have online now and B-spec later.”
E-mail was the fact that the production number of gamers oblivious to the genius of Ogre Battle). Botkiller turned to threats: “Ifit turns out that you have
games for the next-generation consoles would Most of my friends cling to Final Fantasy VII to connect your PSP version of GT4 with your PS2 version of
and check us out at go down significantly. | believe that a good and VIII, while turning а deaf ear to anything GT4to get the online mode, |will hunt down and kill Kutara:
idea would be for developers to pick only one that doesn't feature the series' new breed of Meanwhile, iRSven, trying to bring alittle sanity to the
console to produce games for. This would girlish heroes and soap-opera dialogue. FFVII, discussion, said, “You would beequally, if not more pissed off
Fax make the industry even more competitive than in particular, has been overexposed to the about crappy online play in the shipped version.”
If you need to it already is, something that would be great for point where | could watch Sephiroth kill Aeris
reach us now consumers. | do not know the cost of cross- right in front of my face and feel nothing. Now,
415.5478777 platform gaming distribution; nonetheless, this with FFXII around the corner and Vaan setting
is an interesting idea. So, what do you think? a new standard for emasculation, Square Enix
has turned what was once a captivating and
original series of games into second-rate Life-
time channel fodder. Bring on the hate mail.
Developing for jus
on, we imagine

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SEGA
Segaisregistered in the US.Patent and Trademark Office.Sega and the Sega logo are either registeredtrademarks or trademarksofSega Corporation (c) SEGA CORPORATION, 2004, AllRightsReserved, The “OfficiallyLicensedCollegiate Products”labelisthe exclusive propertyof The CollegiateLicensing Company. The “Collegiate
Licensed Product” labelisthe property oftheIndependent LabelingGroup,Alnames, logos, team icons. and mascotsassociatedwith the NCAAuniversities, and conferencesarethe exclusive property of the respective institutions. NCAA, theNCAAlogo,and NCAABasketball агеtrademarks orregistered trademarks of the National
Collegiate Athietic Association. “PlayStation”andthe "PS" Family logo are
registered trademarksofSony ComputerEntertainmentInc.Online play requiresinternetconnection, Network Adaptor (lor PlayStation 2)andMemory Card (ма) (ог PlayStation2)(each sold separately. The Online icon is a trademark of SonyComputer
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been able to get all the hidden packages or find
I'm going to have to agree and disagree with all the rampages, and it's been really frustrat-
the letter ["PSP-issed"] from Stevan Velazquez ing me. So | was wondering if you could make
in Issue #85. | do not hold quite such a pes- a map that shows you where all that stuff is in
simistic view that the PSP is "surely doomed,” your next issue
but | do feel that Sony is making some mis-
takes with the PSP. The thought of being able
to play some of my beloved PS2 series on the
road (or in class, or in the waiting room at the Sure леге it is:
doctor's office, etc.) is very appealing. How-
ever, this appeal will not survive a price tag of
more than $100. | don't give a flying rat's ass
about the PSP being able to play music and
movies. | already have an МРЗ player, and the
movies will suck up the battery life—not to
mention the fact that you'll have to buy the
movies on UMD discs. Since | would never use
the music or movie players on the PSP, | would
not feel justified in spending a couple hundred
extra dollars on the system just because it has
these features.
Here's where | disagree with Stevan. If the gu
PSP does not survive as long as the Game Boy
has (and that is a pretty large feat to accom-
plish), it will not be because of a lack of inter-
est in handhelds. The reason you do not see
many adults playing the GBA is because many
of the games are geared toward kids (although
there are several excellent exceptions). It is
obvious from the PSP's growing list of games
in progress that this handheld will provide Oh, you wanted something you could actually read?
older gamers with an excellent handheld gam- Check out Issues #66 and #67, where we included
ing experience. these maps and lots of other Vice City goodies.
What happened to
that wonderful plat-
former Tomba? Did
Whoopee Camp go
bankrupt or sell out
or something? |
video and play just loved the antics
room for a game of that pink-haired
jungle-boy.
I've been trying to get 100 percent on Vice City

before San Andreas comes out, but | haven't That's a very good question. |
Tomba!2: The Evil Swine Rt
Ме off, which is
e GREASE LIGHTNING ROLE WITH IT ctful. ls

superior to other people's
=
Q. I was checking the song list of Karaoke Q. What was the first recognizable RPG?
Revolution Vol. 3 and saw the song "You're Bruce Rhodes taste? Should evei
the One That | Want,” and then | remembered via e-mail BLOG OF
кч
how | beat my friends in that song because it THE MONTH
was already in the first KR. Will it be in КАЗ A. Probably Akalabeth, which came out in 1979 | don't understand why
|- again?
Jorge Ivan Sánchez Ayala
for the Apple ||. It was the precursor to the wildly
successful Ultima series.
uld argue about
> via e-mail

BULLY FOR YOU
y posting 'Microsoft
Z fA. Yep, except this time it's been formatted as a

duet, so you can sing it with your favorite good
О. There is a bully at my school who has been
hitting me so hard | have been getting small
4
Linda C.
xш girl gone bad. headaches. | guess this wouldn't be so bad if reaks. It
this wasn't during lunch, and | happen to have yretty useless posting this
=‎‫ما‬ MOGS IN SPACE
o
all my tests after that. Therefore, bully equals n't know what CLUB OF
2 О. I was wondering if you guy's have seen or bad grades. Can ۱ please have some advice? THE MONTH
ә < heard of any information on playing FFXI on a

satellite connection.
Name withheld
via e-mail
-l Charlie Berns
=
x =
ш
vie e-mail A. You've gotta tell your teachers and/or parents
about this. Seriously, it's not normal for some-
0 a
z
А. We don't know of anyone who's done it, but
in theory it should work fine, since the game
one to routinely be hit so hard that they get
headaches. And if it's affecting your grades, it's cor
лага it will be with a
oller
SS q я
supports dial-up and the download speed for
satellite is significantly faster.
even more serious. Don't wait, talk to someone
right away.
4
FPS Addicts

Real World Education
Game Design & Development !

Bachelor of Scien
STOP THE PRESSES”

15 it just me or am | the only one who noticed
the Need for Speed Underground 2 demo hid-
den in the extras section of Burnout 3: Take-
down? Having played it has given me an all-
new appreciation for the NFSU franchise. It's
free-roaming, the graphics are fantastic, and
it's got one thing Burnout 3 is missing: scantily
clad women. For all you Burnout 3 owners who
haven't unlocked this yet, this one is for you.
What the F***? | can't believe that STUPID fish Shane “arson
demo gets an American publisher over the via e-mail
AMAZING CHAINDIVE! Somebody screwed up
and decided to publish the WRONG import. DO
SOMETHING! Your readers DEMAND Chain-
dive! What do you guys have to say about it?
Dan Meloc
via e-mail
ociate ۵٤
Аоф GOING UNDERGROUND or of Science:
THE ONLY MAG WITH PLAYABLE DEMOS

MGS3 MADNESS!
The demo was better than |was expecting itto be. |liked killing the crocs ,dropping the
schooLof
bees on the guards at the bridge, and causing enemy troops to fly offofthe rope bridge
by cutting it up. The controls are a lot more gunfight-friendly, too. Good stuff.
HeartlessCloudO7
via the message board
The demo is beyond fun. |spent like halfanhour justkilling frogs and snakes. And an
hour changing my camo. Too bad you only get one face-paint pattern, though.
SlayersZel
via ther je board
۴۶۰
I
The only thing iffy was the camouflage. You had to go into the Survival menu justto pick
[it] out. There should be a quick selection. It would make iteasier. But |love how the Show Production & Tourind
weapons sound when you fire them. And the reaction of the guards when they get shot. =
just ale
via the message board
800.226.7625
Ifyou think it's hard without the radar, uh, you'd better practice. |can finish the demo in
about 10 minutes now, but |recently got some hands-on time, and ittook me 45 min-
utes
toget through itthat time. The actual game is going to be a lot harder. 3300 University Bouleva
۷۷ inter Park,FL32792
via the messag Fin
We
“2 ~
‫‪18‬نا‬ ‫‪7۳0‬‬
2003's Game of the Year* returns to
by"PS"
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HOW DOES THE PSP LOOK AND FEEL?
POWER @
SELECT START
ANALOG NUB THE SCREEN STE

To be honest, it's a little weird. When we first This is quite possibly the best screen we've seen If you've ever held an older version of the Atari
walked into the PSP area and watched people on any handheld device. Not only is everything Lynx, which you probably haven't, then you have
play games like Coded Arms, Dynasty Warriors, bright and crystal clear, but it doesn't appear to a decent idea of what it’s like to use the PSP.
and Ridge Racer, people were noticeably having suffer from ghosting that usually plagues small Because of the screen, the system is quite long,
trouble steering in a straight line. In fact, it even screens like this when there's a lot of quick action. so you probably couldn't fit it comfortably in your
took some gamers a few moments to stop doing It also seems like developers have no problem pocket. But it's light, the D-pad and the face but-
donuts in Ridge Racer. We had some problems as embracing the 16x9 aspect ratio. Sony should tons are placed well, and the device, overall, looks
well but managed to get a hang of it. It's not as release a heavy-duty carrying case for the PSP incredibly slick. The multimedia buttons at the
good as a traditional analog stick, but for a hand- because you'll want to do everything in your power bottom of the PSP are a little small, but you don't
held, it works fine. to prevent that screen from being damaged. really have to worry about them all that much.
HOLIDAYS
WANT PRESENTS? HERE ARE SUGGESTIONS...

SHOW STOPPER
THE PSP STORMS THE TOKYO GAME SHOW.
CODED ARMS from the rest of the group. When that happens, times already, and the demo features a similar
the high- Konami hasn't released a lot of information on its you just move into position, use one of the weapon track and no other cars. But the fact that it looks
light of this year's first-person shooter, but what we saw at TGS was cards, and start firing away. See more on page 50. nearly identical to, if not better than, Ridge Racer
Tokyo Game Show pretty impressive. The controls are like those V
for the PS2 is a sign of how powerful Sony's
was the PSP. While found in the Turok Nintendo 64 games, so you Pub. Konami Ûr » Konami handheld is. Plus, hearing the old Ridge Racer
we all hand a chance control movement with the PSP's analog nub, and music through PSP headphones makes us all
to check it out in per- strafe as well as look up and down using the face giddy because it reminds us of the PS] launch.
son at E5 2005, TGS buttons. It's a little tricky at first, particularly JNDER 0 3
marked the first time when maneuvering through narrow passageways, Much like Tiger Woods, Need for Speed is pretty Pub. Namco Dey. Namco
that any real games but you get used to it. There isn't much in terms far along, at least in terms of visuals. Most of the
were playable on the of action at this point either but the few firefights special effects from the recent Need for Speed TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR
system. Naturally, we in the demo show that Konami is heading in the Underground games are in the PSP game, and Out of all the PSP games at TGS, Tiger Woods felt
ran over to Sony's right direction. the car model looks great. Still, there isn't much the furthest along. Nearly all of the features from
PSP area to check to demo since there's only one car driving around the PS2 version of Tiger Woods are in the PSP ver-
out some of the more Pul. Konami Dev. Konami a single track, and it takes a little while to adjust sion, including impressive custom character options
important games to driving with the analog nub, but it should be and online play. More importantly, the gameplay is
that are scheduled YNASTY WARRIORS one of the better PSP launch games. nearly identical since the analog nub faithfully repli-
for the PSP launch, It's Dynasty Warriors, but in handy portable form. cates the experience of using a full analog stick to
or close to it. The environments and characters aren't quite as EA Games Jev. Team Fusion swing. Unfortunately, at the current time EA has no
detailed as in PS2, but Dynasty Warriors for the plans to support connectivity features between the
PSP has all the same epic battles that its console PSP and PS2 versions of the game.
counterpart is known for, so there are still plenty We're both disappointed and excited by the PSP
of enemies for you to fight. However, the map game coming from Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the creator Pub. EA Sports Dev. Team Fusion
system is a little weird, so it's difficult to know of Space Channel 5 and Rez. On one hand, it's not
where you're going or what exactly you're sup- really related to Rez at all. On the other hand, it's a VAMPIRE CHRONICLE
posed to be doing. But we're pretty sure that has puzzle game with some awesome music. The THE CHAOS TOWER
to do more with the language barrier than any- mechanics aren't terribly difficult. All you have to Capcom wanted to do something for the 10th
thing else. do is make a rectangle from two different pat- anniversary of the DarkStalkers series, so it
terned blocks that drop from the top of the screen. decided to release a special version on the PSP.
Pub. Koei Dev. Koei When you match the patterns up, they disappear, It's pretty similar to the collection released on
but if you fail, then the blocks start stacking up, Dreamcast in that it essentially contains the fight-
METAL GEAR ACID making the game much more difficult. ing styles and music from previous DarkStalkers.
There was only a single level of MGA playable at There's also a special chaos tower mode that
the show, but it gave a good idea of what to expect Bandai Q Entertainment appears to involve objective-based fighting. Inter-
from the final game. Essentially, in this level, you estingly, the producer of the game says this will
play as Snake in a small base where there are six or be closer to arcade-perfect than any previous con-
seven guards patrolling the center area. It's easy to It's the first PSP game that really makes us say sole port. Online play is also part of the package.
just wait around and let the guards use their turns “Wow!” It's not because of the game itself. After
while waiting for one of them to become isolated all, most of us played Ridge Racer V a bunch of Pub. Capcom Dev. Capcom
[www.IUP.com] 31
MIX AND MATCH
Want to play a fun game?
0:00 See if you can match up the
screens above with the
titles below.
at 2
227
eHense
HHHhi
S800 өс
4 Mr
же
ENABLE
ZZTHE JAPANESE PSP LIST НИН

Г WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
Bomberman (tentative title) Kawa no Nushitsuri (tentative
Visual Novel (tentative title) Devil May Cry (tentative title) Tengai Makyo (tentative title) title) Pachislot
Arika Vampire Chronicle: The Chaos R Pilot ni Narou! (tentative title) EGA
TGM-K (tentative title) Tower Shin Tenmakai (tentative title) EDA WORKS Project S KOF (tentative title)
Technic Cute (tentative title) Viewtiful Joe (tentative title) ۴ Kino no Tabi The Beautiful Puyo Puyo Fever ат
Atari Japan BER FROM Mah-jong Taikai (tentative World SONY COMPUT! Puzzle Bobble Pocket
Untitled Action Adventure Koron title) M NTER Space Invaders Pocket
Untitled Driving F 1ER Sangokushi (tentative title) Angel Collection (tentative Derby Time TAKUYO
Untitled Racing Puzzle Game (tentative title) Shin Sangoku Musou title) Dokodemo Issyo Hoshigari Empusa
ATLUS DORAS (tentative title) Puzzle Game (tentative title) Ghost in the Shell: Stand Plus Plumb 2
EX Game of Life (tentative title) Two Pachislot games Alone Complex
Persona (tentative title) Mah-jong Kakuto Club Mojipittan Gran Turismo 4 Mobile Кагакип (tentative title)
Princess Crown (tentative Need for Speed Underground (tentative title) Namco Colosseum (tentative (tentative title) Tecmo My Generation
title) Rivals Maze-Exploring Type Monster title) Karaoke (tentative title) (tentative title)
Touge MAX (tentative title) Tiger Woods PGA Tour Shooting (tentative title) New Ridge Racer (tentative Minna no Golf Portable TOMS
BANDAI FROM SOFTWARE Metal Gear Acid title) MMORPG (tentative title) Action Game (tentative title)
Dragon Ball Z (tentative title) Armored Core Formula Front Powerful Pro Baseball Taiko no Tatsujin (tentative Novel (tentative title) WORK JAM
Legend of Heroes Gagabu Innovative Adventure Game (tentative title) title) Piposaru Academia—Dossari! Detective Jinguji Saburo
Trilogy (tentative title) Winning Eleven (tentative T.O.E. (tentative title) Saruge Daizenshuu Complete (tentative title)
Lumines (tentative title) King's Field (tentative title) title) Collection
Mobile Suit Gundam (tentative Tenchu (tentative title) Ys—The Ark of Napishtim Makai Wars Popolocrois Monogatari Sengoku CANON
title) GENK (tentative title) ION PR Red Line AMASA
Naruto (tentative title) Shutokou Battle (tentative NICH Higanshi (tentative title) Sarugetchu P! Yamasa Digi Portable
One Piece (tentative title) title) Tokyo University Shogi Intelligent License (tentative Talkman YUKES
Patlabor (tentative title) Portable title) Tenchi по Mon Pro Wrestling
SoukyunoFafner (tentative E Mi € зекикем SPKE
title) Mushi АЈ. Series Go Mobile Train Simulator + RS Revolution
AJ. Series Mah-Jong Densha De Go! Tokyo
Super Robot Wars (tentative Rengoku: The Towerof A.l. Series Shogi Shinkansen Collection Undecided (as in, they aren't
title) Purgatory Harvest Moon (tentative title) telling)

MIDWAY
10 out of 10 — Buy or Die
“A gothic saga
that rivals the best
that Final Fantasy
~ háS to offer."
NV > PSM
A fantasticaljworld filled with

ancient magic, ‘mystical lor
unspeakable curses and ã |
diabolical plot
" Combine split second timing

and Skillful combat strategy to
master the Judgment Ring's
powerful and stackable attacks
90 out of 100
“production values rivaling the mighty
Square Enix.”
“RPG fans will love it.”

—Electronic Gaming Monthly
СОАО
20 astonishing creatures:
M Хе ERE a
DQ " ۱
М,
саг venan om E"
PF =
Ан! 2 > 2
HYPE
THE MONTH AHEAD FOR YOU AND YOUR PLAYSTATION 2
There are a lot of Time to test out that Third Age, Ratchet & Pixar is one movie
games coming out this new PS2. You might try Clank: Up Your closer to being forever
month—what better ATV Offroad Fury 3, Arsenal, Spyro, World free of Disney:
way to prepare for Bard's Tale, Battle Championship Poker, The Incredibles opens
them than to buy a Assault 3, Guilty Gear or WWE SmackDown! in theaters.
new, pretty, small PS2? Isuka, Killzone, King Vs. Raw. Whew.
of Fighters, The Lord
of the Rings, The
NEW GAMES
Get ready for round The world’s premier

two, which includes psycho doll takes his
EyeToy: Anti-Grav, fifth outing as Seed of
Gretzky NHL 2005, Chucky opens.
Jak 3, Karaoke
Revolution Vol. 3,
Rumble Roses, and
The Urbz.
NEW GAMES
And yet another wave Need for Speed One of the forefathers If you don't know who
of games launches this Underground 2, of gaming gets older lives in a pineapple
week, as Call of Duty: Prince of Persia: today: Wish a happy under the sea, perhaps
Finest Hour, Crash 'N* Warrior Within, and 52nd birthday to you should go
Burn, ESPN College GoldenEye: Rogue Shigeru Miyamoto. watch a certain
Hoops 2К5, Metal Agent hit store shelves. movie that opens
Gear Solid 3, NCAA today.
March Madness 2005,
NEW GAMES
Kiss your remote con- Old-school meets new- Become acquainted When you get a chance
trol thank you as you school again tomorrow with the original Prince to put down your con-
celebrate World when Viewtiful Joe 2 of Persia—Alexander troller, eat lots of turkey
Television Day. arrives in stores. opens today. and be thankful for
stuff.
NEW GAMES
Professional smartass Those of you who

and Dana's secret haven't gone into
boyfriend Jon Stewart bankruptcy because of
turns 42. your game-buying fren-
zy earlier in the month
can now buy Ghost
Recon 2.
NEW GAMES

EKPECT THE INCREDIBLE!
“SO EXCITING IT MAKES US ЈИ тт OF WINDOWS

TRYING ТО ЕКЕ OUT SOME LATENT SL
- PREVIEW, GMR JUNE 2004
Use your super strength to survive an Use your super speed to Stretch your powers to
onslaught of enemies as Mr. Incredible run for your life as Dash the limit as Mrs. Incredible
| PlayStation.e ж LIVE IG) OWN THE GAME NOVEMBER 2nd.

In theaters November 5th. Save the day.
: www.incrediblesgame.com
САМЕВОУКЕ PIXAR
ANIMATION STUDIOS
p)
Cartoon Violence The Incredibles © Disney/Pixar. © 2004 THO Inc. THO and the THA logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks, logos and
copyrights are property
of their respective owners. ThetermOMNIDROID is used by permission of Lucas film Ltd. "PlayStation" and the "PS Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony
Computer Entertainment Inc. TM, ©, Game BoyAdvance and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2004 Nintendo. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox Live, the 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 Microsoft. www.thq.com
_ YOUR FINEST.
E ІНЕ MOST FRANTIC AND
"ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING 4 REALISTIC COMBAT SEQUENCES 3
CONSOLE SHOOTERS IN YEARS." к EVER PUT INTO А GAME.” 1
—GameSpy —Game Informer Online
AVAILABLE FALL 2004

WWW.CALLOFDUTY.COM
ic single-player
for
Edw or go online
Axis vs Allies team- on.
based mult ipla yer acti
0 the frontlines and experience the cinematic intensity ‘and chaos

itofWorld War ТЕ most rend conflicts including the
FINEST
‫ٹڈ‬ ‫بت‬
>
|
|PlayStation.e|
22004 Activision, Inc. Activisionisa registered trademark andCallofDutyandCallotDuty:FinestHouraretrademarksofActivision, Inc. All ight
(for Playstation2)andMemory Card(8MB)(farPlayStation 2)(each soldseparately), TheOnlineiconisatrademarkofSonyComputer Entet:
Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countriesandareusedunder license from Microsoft. TM, © and the Nintendo GameCube lo
trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. GameSpy and the “Powered by GameSpy" design are trademarks of GameSpy Industries, inc. A!
| trade names are the properties of their respective owners.
ФТ05-0- рама
2‎7‫ ہ‬THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF THE TOKYO САМЕ SHOW
7
NS
SS 1The PSP area was guarded by an enormous
model of Sony's handheld that occasionally
played videos of upcoming games and demon-
strations of the device's ability to inject happiness
into all those who touch it.
wranglers came out to demonstrate how one of
the new bosses in MGS3 attacks Snake.
4 What kind of show would it be without the

booth girls? This particular booth girl had an
6 Just outside the PSP booth, Sony had a display
wall with a few PSPs and packaging for the
games, just to give an idea of what people should
look for when they line up at midnight for the
PSP's release. Particularly noteworthy is the PSP
incredibly fun time standing in front of the remote, which is like the remote for Apple's iPod.
2 Rez creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi was on hand in Impreza rally car while dozens of drooling mem-
the PSP area to help showgoers learn how to play bers of the media snapped pictures. She's carry- 7 We'll be honest: The only part of EA's booth
his new puzzle game, Lumines. Notice the sign in ing an umbrella for defensive purposes. that really managed to attract a large crowd was
the back that says no pictures, to which we said, the Need for Speed Underground 2 section, and
"You're not the boss of us, TGS!" 5 There were plenty of videogame celebrities at for obvious reasons. This particular booth girl
the show, including Sega's own Yu Suzuki, who seemed angry most of the time, like she wanted
3 As always, Konami's booth was pretty packed, was showing off some Shenmue Online. We don't to punch all of us in the breadbasket.
especially when the new trailer for MGS3 was think he could hear the collective "Dear God, what
showing on the big screen or when Hideo Kojima are you doing!?!" coming from the fans of Shen- B It's OK, Crash. That guy on the right there still
took time to speak to fans. Unfortunately, no bee mue and Virtua Fighter. loves you.
SS
Unlike E3, the Tokyo Game
Show is actually open to the
public on two of the three
days. It doesn't really make
our job any easier when
there are literally thousands.
of fanatic videogame fans
running in and out of
booths looking for free
stuff. And the fact that chil.
dren are allowed gives own-
ers of baby strollers an
opportunity to use the
toddler-carrying device as a
vicious weapon. But, at the
same time, it gives perspec
tive on what the general
Japanese public is truly
interested in—even if that
means it's a game based on
some obscure anime. Plus,
ifthe public weren't allowed
into the show, then none of
the cosplayers would be
able to do their thing in the
main area between the two
halls. Anda TGS without
any cosplaying would just
plain suck.
9 Unfortunately, Wanda and the Giants wasn't Berserk, and the PS2 port of Virtua Fighter 2. 14 The king of all TGS booths, Square Enix had
playable at the show, but Sony had a live band absolutely enormous crowds throughout the
play the music to the trailer at different times dur- 12 If you didn’t know already, EA publishes most show, but the coolest place to be seemed to be
ing the show, which was very cool. of the LucasArts’ stuff in Japan, so naturally it'd near the back wall, where a massive video screen
have a bunch of people dressed up in Star Wars was playing a constant loop of trailers for Advent
10 Cosplay. You don’t really need to say much costumes at the show. Jango Fett’s gained a few Children, Dragon Warrior VIII, Kingdom Hearts ІІ,
more than that. On average, the cosplayers that pounds since Episode Il, but we were just glad and FFVII: Dirge of Cerberus.
attend TGS tend to have higher quality costumes none of these guys collapsed because of the heat.
than most of the cosplayers over here—except for 15 Capcom had one of the best booths on the
the guy dressed as Oogie Boogie, who basically 13 These girls in the PSP booth absolutely show floor in terms of the sheer game variety.
wore a burlap sack with a frowny face on it. rocked. If they saw you standing around wonder- Showgoers got some hands-on time with Devil
ing which of the lines you should get in, they'd May Cry 3, Viewtiful Joe 2, The Nightmare Before
11 The Sega Sammy booth was pretty impressive, come up to you and ask if you wanted to use the Christmas, and many others. Plus, Capcom had
mostly because it finally made us realize that the PSP attached to a pack on their belts. Of course, some good stage shows that involved developers
two companies are indeed merging. But there we had to resist the urge to rip it from their coming on stage and talking about their
were a ton of games, including Sega Rally 2005, hands and run. games...in Japanese, of course. <<
[www.lUP.com] 39
Ф HYPE
FINAL LAP
DEVELOPMENT ON GRAN TURISMO 4 HEADS INTO THE HOME STRETCH
TEE = 8 т” ЕО CNN EU >”
while five means that ec. aggressive _ 650 different cars, you can't spend too much time
and will require more ps. There's also an tryingto get the license for one particular car."
4 overtake option when y in position to pass by |
= 3 / another car. It's ап Viva.” dnаке on traditional | PHOTO
“әү? driving and one that Уа i hopes will attract a You may have already heard about Gran Turismo
ml whole new breed of Gran Turismo fans. "Talking 4's photo mode. The concept is fairly basic—snap
THE TRACKS from a user's point of view, or from my point of shots of your favorite car while it's on the track.
The El Сај 2 in Yosemite is just one of the — view since I'm the original user, I've always been “We wanted to include something for players that
many new tracks you'll find in Gran Turismo 4. interested in racing,’ Yamauchi explains. “But was very realistic,” Yamauchi reveal
The reasogfor including a track based in the Cali- after many years of racing, sometimes |just like to include the functions that makeu
fornia natignal park stems from the team's desire to sit back, drink a cup of coffee, and watch mode. But it was difficult to get a gm
to convey d sense of tfavel in Gran Turismo, mak- what's going on without having to do all that rac- quality that you wouldn't be able to tell that it
ing it a truly global automotive experience. "We ing. B-Spec is there for that." came from a game if you picked up the photo and THE PIT CREW
already did 5 indir with the Grand looked at it. We thought that if it looked like it. Each section of the.
Canyon tre а unori Yamauchi, і : came from a game, шісі think, ‘So what?’” Polyphony Digital office
of Polyph ital. і h The mode: two suboptior workson a specific section
same develópmi e i 1 One of them, you takee a
a рет O of the game. A majority of
track." Adi | ack ig a ix Я ~ i inc sing the space belongs to the
| һееп complet ely reb | various 1 car-modeling team and its
Í желекке 81 : " ave massive amounts of data
- You'll.notice it iieaway in : е in a specific ar&a оп one of se racks on various cars. But there's
J ran Turismo 4 was first announced m» picture. You ба even print Т also a section for the
* ; еге would Бе ріепіу of cars to choose tures—Epson will be rele i human-modeling team
oa — ound 500 to be exact. But Polyphony cally built for the game. complete with scale repli-
$ 1 В D e beyond the call of duty and included | casofa pit crew. There's
QE, 5 oximately 650 cars from 80 different manu- CAREER even a large video-editing
urers іп the game. There are plenty of concept j is similar Мо the section so that the team
cars, muscle cars, old classics, street racers, and jous game, but Polyphony can put atrailer or some
some especially unique vehicles, such as Jay — у this mode, you can sort of promotional video
Leno's Tank Car and the Hommel Berlinette RS ГЕН р pourcollection as together within a matter of
Coupe. Not surprisingly, there are also cars that hours. But the biggest
have yet to be (or will soon be) officially unveiled ^^ change your oil. e isi attraction at the Polyphony
by their manufactures, which signals the influence а new calendar system to ће office is the $30,000 Gran
the GT series has over the automotive industry. progress'throughout the ga A Turismo4simulator, com-
Still, if you're a fan of Ferrari, we're afraid you're plete withathree-screen
going to be disappointed again this year. “Every similar to those found in GT: dash and hydraulics that
time | make а new game in the series, | approach important, there's a missio d racing portion make you feel all the little
Ferrari,” says Yamauchi. "If we were trying to that requires you to fulfill sf criteria to win. « bumps and undulations in
make a game with only Ferrari cars, it'd be a dif- ‫گن‬‎ each course.
ferent matter, but when you've got more than

A steal at $1 09 9
“Best Action Game”

Spike TV Video Game Awards
TRUE STREETS OF LA 5
PlayStation2Greatest Hits, Xbox^Platinum Hits,

Nintendo GameCube” Player's Choice editions.
Blood and Gore | | |

Matre <, | PlayStation2 | Ж
Strong Language вох
Violence
activision.com
truecrimela.com
$ HYPE
DATA STREAM
Immersion has won its $82 million patent-
infringement lawsuit against Sony. The lawsuit
alleged that Sony’s DualShock controller violated
two of Immersion's patents for controller feed-
back technology. Interestingly, Microsoft faced a
similar lawsuit from Immersion a while back but
Twentieth Century Fox, the studio behind Star
Wars and many other prominent films (including
Office Space, Predator, There's Something About
Mary, Titanic, and X-Men), has joined the group
of electronic and entertainment studios backing
Sony's Blu-ray disc format but has yet to officially
ба
ба ва
SONY PLANS ТО APPEAL
chose to settle out of court. How this will affect choose Blu-ray as the primary format for future
Sony's controllers remains to be seen. Sony plans films. The Blu-ray technology, which features
THE COURT'S DECISION. ,

to appeal the decision, but if the appeal doesn't greater storage capacity than current DVDs, is
go through, not only will Sony have to fork out facing challenges from the HD-DVD format, but
the $82 million, but it will also have to strike the addition of Fox's support and Sony Pictures"
some kind of licensing agreement with Immersion recent purchase of MGM bodes well for the for-
or come up with its own vibration technology.
few fs
mat powering the PlayStation 3.
Yes, it's true. Oddworld Inhabitants' shooter, fea- Days before the Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix
turing brand-new characters from the Oddworld unveiled another project based on Final Fantasy
universe, is now an Xbox exclusive. The reasons VII. Currently titled Final Fantasy МИ: Dirge of
behind the change stem from the development Cerberus, the game features Vincent Valentine, an
dew ‫ےہ‬‎
team's focus on the Xbox platform in Stranger's optional party member from FFVII in what seems
early stages of development, when the game was to be an action-adventure setting. Dirge of Cer-
supposed to be published by Microsoft. But it berus takes place three years after the events of
appears there's not enough time to let the PS2 FFVII and includes a new group of enemies who
version of the game play catch-up, so the project appear from inside the planet. So far, Square Enix
has been axed entirely. It's too bad, really. We has been pretty tight-lipped about it and has
would've enjoyed shooting bees at various things. shown only a brief trailer of the game in action.
ZOE FLOWER
TUNE IN TOKYO
ence where |was informed through the universal buzz over Wanda, it's not hard to see why | didn’t
language of the pie chart and bar graph that, in get much solid data. (But | did find out where
fact, it is not. Whether | read the charts correctly Tetsuya Mizuguchi does his shoe shopping!)
will never be known, but | can at least say that my Still worried | might have a skewed perspective,
ZOE FLOWER own personal experience supports my conclusions, І checked to see what kinds of games and gadg-
aka “Gamer Girl,” creates however inaccurate they may be. From the five- ets were being developed locally, because unless
TV programs and music story arcades packed with gamers ranging from Japan is like Canada and enjoys giving away its
videos, and looks good businessmen to schoolgirls (and the occasional best resources to the competition without having
doing it. Seethedetails at fashionable businessman in a schoolgirl outfit— any domestic benefits (I guess we Canucks don't
hey, it's Tokyo after all!), to the Final Fantasy bill- really need trees and electricity since we live in
boards plastered in every train station, to the cellu- igloos and communicate through grunts and fire
lar cyborglike schoolgirls who fingered theii chanting), then there shouldn't have been any-
On a recent excursion to Japan where | pre- keypads with the dexterity of Beethoven, it’s obvi- thing cool to look at. But what did | see? This
tended to be a “serious” journalist (much to the ous that games are an integral part of the culture. neat gadget called PSP—have you heard about it?
envy of the actual serious journalists who were
THIS NEAT GADGET CALLED PSP—

spending all their time working), and somewhere
in between navigating subway trains, decrypting
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT IT?

bizarre nonsensical English advertisements (“Smile
15 Best Makeup!"), attempting to sing karaoke,
and drumming with one arm, | garnered a decid-
edly Eastern glimpse at the world of gaming. Once To back up my subjective conclusions, | did Pretty sure it's going to get a few buyers. Metal
| stopped gawking at locals whose T-shirts said attempt to probe the minds of hot Japanese Gear Acid—who wouldn't want a stealth version
things like “For Stamina Daddy,” | was able to soak game designers. But with most of these "conver- of hopscotch? Final Fantasy on a sexy cell phone
up the videogame culture in what is considered the sations" taking place in bars the size of phone that only works in—you guessed it—Japan. I'm
Mecca of gaming goodness by many fans. booths where the only common language pretty sure that's a definitive sign that a few
Before |left North America, there was a great sounded more like a drink menu, and with me as gamers are still hanging іпthere. And | haven't
deal of cynical industry speculation that the Japan- the "journalist" trying harder to get my photo even mentioned the massive centipedelike lineups
ese gaming market was dying. So it was conven- taken with the Ico team than ask hard-hitting hovering around the Tokyo Game Show for a mere
ient that | went directly to a Squenix press confer- questions about emotional themes and the local glimpse at a video for Kingdom Hearts II! <<

SO, BENTLEY, WELL, CLOCKWERK'S PARTS HAVE
WHAT'S THE jOB? BEEN STOLEN AND WE'RE THE PRIME SUSPECTS
ON INSPECTOR FOX'S LIST.
^H, YES. SHE'S

REALLY QUITE LOVELY
WHEN SHE'S ANGRY.
SLY, WE'VE GOT TO

CLEAR OUR NAMES.
AND THE
MURRAY-NATOR'S
GOT YA COVERED!
PlayStation.e ARE YOU iN...

EVERYONE OR OUT?
Cartoon Violence
LIVE IN YOUR WXRLD.
PLAY IN OURS:
% HYPE
PSe GETS
SLIM
SONY SAYS SIZE DOES MATTER y
Following the pattern it established with the PlayStation, Sony
announced on September 20 that it would be releasing a new smaller top-
loading version of the PS2 that will be available in the United States by
November 1. The price for the new model, complete with controller and the
now built-in Network Adaptor, will be $149.99. At its debut, Jack Tretton,
executive vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, stated,
"The introduction of the new PlayStation 2 is part of our long-term vision
for the platform."
So how small is the new model? Well, check out the actual-size image
right here on the page. And the numbers back up what you see: The unit
weighs just under 2 pounds (compared to about 4 pounds for the current
model) and is a mere 1. inches thick, making it less than half as thick as the
original unit. That's roughly the weight of six game boxes and smaller than a
moderate-sized hardback book.
уу
“ТНЕ NEW Р52 IS PART ОҒ
OUR LONG-TERM VISION." ,
While the new smaller PS2 is exciting for all PlayStation fans, it does raise
questions about what the long-term vision for the platform is. The primary
topic of debate is the Hard Disk Drive. It had been speculated that a new
model would have a built-in HDD; not only is that not the case, but the cur-
rent HDD isn't compatible with the smaller PS2, bringing into question
Sony's plan for downloadable content. When asked for comment, Sony said,
"The new PlayStation 2 was designed to be slimmer and more lightweight,
and the current manufacturing, as well as capacity and design of the internal
Hard Disk Drive, would not allow for inclusion in the new hardware model.
The design of the new hardware is NOT a sign of Sony Computer Entertain-
ment's change in philosophy regarding the Hard Disk Drive."
The company went on to state, "The internal Hard Disk Drive will con-
tinue to be sold in North America, and Sony Computer Entertainment Amer-
ica will offer related services and customer support. Consumers who want
and use the Hard Disk Drive are typically the more ‘hardcore’ gamers, and
with more than 27 million PlayStation 2 units already sold in North America,
we feel that a majority of those HDD-interested consumers already have
their PlayStation 2 units. We are also looking into other memory options
that would be compatible with the new PlayStation 2."
If the release of this new PS2 mirrors the release of the redesigned PS],
Sony can expect a brisk surge in sales this holiday season. But don't hold your
breath for a PSI-style portable LCD screen—PSP is just around the corner.
4
SIZE
ACTUAL
A %
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Entertainment
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www.thebardstale.com
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respective owners.
«Right Now, There АМЬ Ооз Game ‫اج‬‎ 7 ота Куа е Boh Тур
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2
ZZ WAR, AND WHAT IT'S GOOD FOR
Though Call of Duty has earned all sorts of This personal touch is one of the primary fea- nology has grown up, so has our ability to show a
accolades on the PC and Finest Hour is looking tures of Finest Hour, which sends players all more realistic world and tell a more interesting
like a sharp adaptation, one can't help but notice around the European theater as they jump story. And part of that involves making the story
that it's yet another World War Il shooter. We between six different characters in France, Russia, about more than just the player."
talked to Activision's Thaine Lyman, the game's and the northern coast of Africa. To get the per- Finest Hour isn't just a character sketch,
executive producer, about Finest Hour's role in the sonal perspective just right, the development though-it's still about the visceral first-person-
genre, and he pointed out that it's not just games team even enlisted the help of WWII veterans, shooter action that's made these period pieces so
that are bringing the Big One back. including Sgt. Johnnie Stevens, who was a mem- popular. "Rumbling through the streets in a heav-
"There's been a lot of WWII in a lot of things," ber of the 76154 Black Panther Tank Battalion and ily armed and armored T-34 or Sherman tank,"
he says. "Movies, books, and TV have all been consulted on the tank missions that compose says Lyman, "taking out German panzers, flak
part of it. It's one of the most compelling and about a third of the game. guns, and stukas is an opportunity for the kind of
pure good-versus-evil stories in human history, But don't think you'll be working alone; one wholesale destructive behavior you just can't
and the largest and arguably most world-chang- scene has more than 200 soldiers onscreen at accomplish on foot. And taking on the Nazis and
ing conflict. The battles were epic in scope, with once, and you'll have teammates who will work helping to defeat Hitler is something any gamer
very lethal technology, but still very personal and more closely with you. “I’m sure there will always can get behind and enjoy.” <<
infantry-dependent versus the greater focus on be a place for the lone wolf who single-handedly
‘joystick warfare’ of today.” saves the world," says Lyman, "but as the tech- Pub. Activision Dev. Spark Release November

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DENNIS HAYSBERT Q&A
MAJOR LEAGUE VOICE

ACTOR DENNIS HAYSBERT IS GETTING HISTORICAL
FOR CALL OF DUTY: FINEST HOUR
l He was the president on 24, Lambert in Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow, and Pedro Cerrano in
the Major League movies. But for actor Dennis Haysbert, his most commanding role is as the пагта-
tor of Call of Duty: Finest Hour.
OPM How much of Call of Duty: Finest Hour did into Germany, but he pushed things a little too
you see before you agreed to do the narration? hard and got a lot of his guys killed.
DENNIS HAYSBERT | didn’t have time to see any OPM How did being the narrator for Call of Duty:
of it, but |knew about the PC version, and knew it Finest Hour differ from being a character in ‫ند‬ ‫ر‬am‫‏‬
‫و‬
was a good game. What actually got me interested
was the historical significance, the World War || part
Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow?
۸0۸
of it. My son is a big history buff, and | am as well. DH There was a very clear difference, though
When we're not playing sports games like Madden both were equally enticing and fun to do. When |
or Tiger Woods, we like to play World War || games. played Lambert in Splinter Cell, he was the guy
who guides the player along. And that was cool.
| OPM Did you learn anything about history from But with Call of Duty, the challenge was to make
the narration? the narration interesting enough [so] that people
would listen to it. But | love doing voiceovers for
DH Oh yeah, there was a lot of detail in there games, no matter what the role. It's just fun. I'm
that | hadn't been privy to. There was one part actually getting ready to do my third one, which is
« M ser
about this British general who drove his troops going to be the 24 game. << Paul Semel
Logitech
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The demo we saw has по
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ters, but it's yet to be
announced whether that's
an intentional design deci-
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HOUSE OF CARDS.
THE DECK IS STACKED AGAINST YOU IN METAL GEAR ACID—LITERALLY
What's the first thing that pops into your help enhance your general attack and stealth transpire a few years after Metal Gear Solid.
mind when you think about the Metal Gear capabilities. But in some sense, Metal Gear's core Snake is on vacation when he's asked by the U.S.
series? Card battling, right? No? Well, whether mechanics, including the freedom to approach government to infiltrate a top-secret island to
you like it or not, Konami's Metal Gear Acid for any situation multiple ways, are still intact. learn about the Pythagoras project and eventually
PSP revolves around turn-based strategy and the “Maybe you're in an area where there are a lot of save 517 hostages, including a potential future
use of cards. So, why the change in traditional cliffs or ledges, so you'll want to select the hang- president of the United States. Of course, Snake
Metal Gear Solid gameplay? “I wanted to do ing card," Hinami explains. "Or you might just will also have some help along the way. “1 worked
something different and new, as did Hideo want to get through the part of the level quickly, on some of the previous MGS games, so | think |
Kojima,” says Masahiro Hinami, manager of the so you just select the run fast card." know what MGS is all about," says Hinami.
Metal Gear Acid development team. "So | came Still, Hinami wants to make sure that people “When we come up with a scenario or gameplay,
up with a game plan, and he approved it." don't come into Acid thinking it's the same ol’ we always consult Mr. Kojima. We communicate
It's certainly different. Before the start of each MGS. "One thing we don't want to do is fool the all the time while getting his advice and approval."
mission, you'll have access to a deck of cards that fans. We're not going to hide the fact that it's a If what we played at TGS was any indication,
contains representations of well-known Metal card-based game," Hinami adds. "If people want Metal Gear Acid will indeed hold true to the series
Gear Solid objects and characters. Over the course to play an action-style Metal Gear game, MGS3 is while presenting it in a unique light. >>
of a mission, you'll be forced to use these cards to coming out pretty soon—they can buy that."
get yourself out of some tight situations or to Metal Gear Acid takes place during events that Konami Konami - Spring 2005

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RATINGPENDING N
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әл miso { уйне trademark information.
$ HYPE
METAL GEAR SOLID 3:

SNAKE EATER
WE'LL TAKE ALL THE SNAKE LOVE YOU CAN GIVE
Raiden is not in Metal Gear Solid 3. At least, North in order to avoid the very first guard you burns, and deep cuts). Much like in the weapon/
he's not in the first four hours. encounter. Try that trick in the real game, and that item menus, the triggers pull down different
Similar to MGS2, MGS3 features a prologue same guard notices you this time. Also, that nice things: L2 pulls down a list of medicine, while R2
segment followed by the real mission. MGS2's long life bar in the demo? It's a whole lot shorter pulls down a list of surgical items. For each
"Tanker" portion is called "Virtuous Mission" here in the real game. While it took most of the OPM wound, Snake needs to use specific supplies in
(there's a joke where Snake thinks he's going on a staff a mere 10 minutes to get through the Virtu- the right order. For example, a gunshot requires
virtual mission, but Maj. Tom corrects him by ous Mission demo, the actual Virtuous Mission the knife to pull the bullet out, a disinfectant to
enunciating the word "virtuous"). The "Plant"
equivalent is known as "Snake Eater,” named as
WE'LL SAY THIS MUCH: OCELOT IS

such because Snake's mission is to go take down
the Cobra Unit (similar to Snake going up against
A TOTAL WUSS IN THE САМЕ. ,

FOXHOUND in the original MGS). Again, like in
MGS@ythere is a plot twist (not much of a twist,
«ћодоћ, if you've watched any of the recent trail-
er$) that occurs at the transition between the two
missions. Unlike MGS2, the transition between takes about 45 minutes on the first try. clean the wound, and a bandage to close it. A
these two distinct sides does not mean a change in The transition between Virtuous Mission and deep cut needs the disinfectant, sutures to seal it,
“pretagonist. You remain as Snake the whole time. Snake Eater introduces a new gameplay mechanic and a bandage. A bone fracture just needs a splint
Wan barring an incredibly odd twist that is further not seen in previous coverage. Everyone knows and a bandage. There're even remedies for stom-
у ё LS than four hours into the game, you not only stay about the camouflage and the animal hunting, but achaches and diarrhea—something that can occur
GOING BANANAS as Snake, but you stay in Russia in 1964—Virtuous no one has really gone in-depth into the medical- due to eating rotten food.
Snake gets to battle apes in Mission'takes place on August 24, 1964, while treatment aspect. Underneath items like Camou- As a final note, without getting too much into
aminigame; Kojima Snake Eater takes place on August 30, 1964. flage and Food in the Start menu is a new entry spoiler territory, we'll say this much: Ocelot is a
included it because he likes ^ неуоиме played the demo disc in our last issue, called Cure. Basically, when Snake suffers any- total wuss in the game, and your first fight with
the Ape Escape games. you've basically played Virtuous Mission—except thing more than a mere flesh wound, his life bar him is very reminiscent of your first encounter
4 you've played а supereasy version of it. The goes from white to red, indicating a need for with him in the original Metal Gear Solid. Look
ч guards are a lot sharper and more attentive in the medical attention. In the Cure menu, Snake's out for our review next month.
real game—for example, you can press yourself up image is covered with X rays indicating different
>
against the tree near the beginning of Dremuchij types of wounds (so far, we've seen gunshots, Konami Konami November
A
А
EXTREME
VILLAINY
We all know Kojima
likes to get ideas
from a variety of
sources, and we think
he spent a lot of time
reading Spider-Man
comic books before
he dreamed up the “Ne
evil guys of MGS3. THE FEAR THE END THE SORROW
We'll leave it up to
Marvel Comics to A weird Cobra This guy reminds us This guy is basically n weirder
decide if he walked member who of that loser Spidey Sniper Wolf, but sub- member that v the infamous Cobra
too close a line. reminds us a lot of villain Mysterio, but stitute a parrot for can't really describe. Unit you fight. The
On a completely Spider-Man himself. with flamethrowers breasts. He's sup- As far as we kno Pain at
random other note, His limbs do all sorts and ajetpack. He's posedly the greatest his presence isn't
all this pretty art you of crazy bending (he one of the later shot in the world, technically he's invul
see has been drawn might be triple- Cobra members you and he's technically firmed. When the nerable, but when he
by Yoji Shinkawa, jointed or some meet. He also tends dead, but as a favor Cobra Unit
who does much of thing), and he has a to use terrible puns for Boss and the for the first tirr
the design work for nasty lizardlike on his name, saying Cobra Unit, he he's not seen wi
the MGS series. To tongue. His boss things like “Experi revived to fight the rest of them—
see more of his art- fight most likely ence the flame of my Snake. His eyes bug he's viewed as an
work, visit his web- involves him maneu- rage," followed by a out so much from ethereal presence
site at www vering around you in spray from his his face, it looks like that haunts Snake
‎۷‫ز‬ ۶ com. the trees. flamethrower. they might fall off. and Big Boss.
MGS
OF
GUYS
BAD
HERE KITTY KITTY
This screen shows the first
MGS3boss fight, which is
against Ocelot. Though
they're enemies, Snake is
such a nice guy that he
gives Ocelot tips on gun
usage and whatnot. And in
case youwere wondering,
yes, Ocelot does indeed
meow like his animal
namesake.
5 Н A G О Н О D | | The Metal Gear is essentially a gigantic ED-

TALK ABOUT YOUR BIG GUNS на | 209 (from RoboCop) that walks around and
fires nukes. The most notable Metal Gears are
Metal Gear Rex (which Otacon designed in
MGS] and made to like a robot), Metal Gear Ray
(a version made by the U.S. Marine Corps in
MGS2), and Arsenal Gear (a giant fortress filled
with MG Rays and a supercomputer that con-
trols the Interweb. Really).
Shagohod, which is basically a nuke-firing
| tank with two front legs, seems to be the
|ancestor of the MG. Similar to MG Rex and Ray,
| the Shagohod requires at least a pilot, and
| probably a gunner to man its antipersonnel and
antiaircraft weaponry. In the Virtuous Mission,
| Sokolov says that phase one of Shagohod is
| complete, and that he must seek asylum in the
United States before being forced to finish
Shagohod for Colonel Volgin.
Supposedly, the word “Shagohod” means
“one that walks by itself,” which reinforces the
bipedal nature of the MG series of nuclear-arms
| systems. Sokolov keeps emphasizing the notion
that Shagohod is a compromise between weak
yet mobile infantry and powerful yet immobile
artillery. Hence, the term “metal gear.”
— 4
[www.UP.com] 53
жәУ
Б
SE
> ‫ےن‬‎
gal.
Ф
‎‫و‬
YOU ARE GODZILLA, TOWERING TITAN OF OUR TIME!

Put the hurt on flying creatures, mega-moristers, armies and aliens, in a war to save humanity.
It's city-trampling action that kicks serious tail.
Rampage as Space Godzilla"; Mothra" Jet Jaguar" and over 15 more famous monsters
; Unlock and unleash hidden monsters
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5 је i DR
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» | nA ЗЫ. lai р
YR. невини emm
á GODZILLA
||50" ANNIVERSARY
Uym 5 ens
-
катМой. GAS 22)пеPo
ON DVD у f >
тш 1
‫سے‬ PEL‫‏‬
à pu S iayta‫ ‏‬m
ion. cz
‫ےس‬‎ E
HYPE
THE INCR
EVERYDAY SUPERHEROES
“ч In 1997, Pixar Studios set animation on its heels with the release of Toy Story, the world's
first full-length computer-animated film. Since then, the studio has gone on to release A Bug's Life,
Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., and Finding Nemo; these five films have grossed more than $2.5 billion
at the box office, making Pixar the most successful movie studio per picture in history.
The company's sixth outing, The Incredibles, opens in November, a week after the PS2 game of
A the same name hits stores. So what's the story line of the film and the game? Mr. Incredible, a
noble superhero known for his mighty feats of strength, has been chased into the witness protec-
tion program due to a rash of lawsuits filed against him by the people he saved in the first place.
Now making his living as an insurance adjuster, Mr. Incredible lives an ordinary life with his family,
which includes wife Elastigirl, daughter Violet, and son Dash, who are also all superheroes. Mr.
Incredible is bored with his life even though his family is satisfied with everyday existence, so
when a chance to save the world appears, he can't resist. However, when it turns out the threat was
a trap engineered by his nemesis, Syndrome, Mr. Incredible's family must swing into action in order
to rescue him.
Development studio Heavy Iron (which is well experienced in handling games for licensed proper-
ties, most recently turning out the last two SpongeBob games) was hand-picked to helm the game.
"We developed an advanced prototype of the game, offering a peek at what the final product would
look and play like,” says Lyle Hall, executive producer at Heavy Iron. "That awesome prototype
cemented their decision."
ж
"THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR ^
THE TEAM WAS TIME."
“With such rich fiction to work from, the challenge of creating several hours of gameplay from Ё #
қ the film was ап enjoyable опе,” says Hall. "Disney/Pixar basically let us run with any ideas we had,
and before implementing them into the game, we would present these ideas to both groups to
make sure we were staying within the universe created for The Incredibles. While we did create a lot
of additional content, the majority of it was so closely based on what the film offers that the transi-
tions from gameplay to film clips really worked beautifully."
So what was the biggest challenge for the team? "It was time," says Hall. "When we started
work on the game, very little of the film had been fully rendered in 3D graphics, so a lot of what we
were reviewing were 2D black-and-white animatic drawings. This meant we had to use the film
script, Pixar's color keys, and a great deal of back and forth discussing how to make sure we were
always on track with the film."
“Movie licenses are definitely getting more and more sophisticated,” Hall continues. "For The
Î Incredibles, the content really dictated the vision for the game design. Not all licenses make for
| great games, but it's hard to beat superheroes and superpowers realized in a Pixar film.”
Want to check out some of those superpowers for yourself? Then turn the page and check out
our extensive walkthrough for this month's demo.
Pub. THQ Dev. Heavy Iron Release October 28

DIBLES
77 MR. INCREDIBLE |
[www.lUP.com] 57
U1
PLAY IT NOW
GET A TASTE OF SUPERHERODOM
This month's disc offers you a chance to check out the superheroic action for yourself. We've
included a timed demo, but if you follow our walkthrough, you should be able to complete the level
before you're out of time.
You'll be playing as Mr. Incredible in the Robot Arena level. You'll start іп a clearing in the jungle—
move forward until you see a futuristic metal building. A group of guards will attack you, so take
them out using your superhuman strength. While using Square knocks guards over, Triangle is your
Incredi-Attack and is more likely to deliver a deadly blow, keeping you from having to hit the same
guards several times.
After all of the guards have been eliminated, punch out the gate generators to deactivate the laser
field; at this point, a cut-scene kicks in and Mr. Incredible will leap into a velocipod. While in the
velocipod, shoot out all three of the towers. Don’t worry about hitting a specific spot, just keep firing
KEEP FIRING AWAY TILL THE TOPS

OF THE TOWERS ARE ON FIRE.
away till the tops of the towers are on fire. After you blow up the towers, you'll trigger a cut-scene
that shows you being thrown from the velocipod to the ground. Take out the guards on the ground
and head for the entrance to the lower level. You'll make your way through a series of guards and
security doors and lasers—knock out the guards, lift up the doors by pushing Circle repeatedly, and
dodge the lasers.
At the end of the series, you'll find yourself in what appears to be a dead end, but you can jump
up and grab a bar by hitting X. Through a combination of sliding and jumping, make your way up to
the next floor, a balcony area that connects the three towers. Circle the balcony (killing guards as you
go) until you reach a ramp that leads outside to a clearing.
After taking out the stationary guns in the clearing, head through the opening, where a robot tank
awaits. You can't attack the tank directly—if you try, a shock wave will knock you back and damage THINKING AHEAD
your health. Instead, dodge the laser and shock wave attacks and wait for the tank to spit out bombs
at you. If you successfully avoid being hit by a bomb, you'll be able to hit Circle to pick it up; hit Circle
again to throw the bomb back at the robot. Three bombs should do the trick, and the final explosion
signals the end of the level.
CONCEPT SKETCHES
Brainstorming by the Heavy Iron team took a vari-

ety of forms. Lyle Hall, executive producer for
Heavy Iron says, “Disney/Pixar were able to give
direct feedback to ensure that what we were cre-
ating always maintained a consistency with the
look and feel of the film." The two drawings to
the right show storyboards for an action sequence
through a jungle environment; a vine-swinging
sequence is illustrated at the far right.
4

VILLAINS
This flaming dude to the right is Syndrome, Mr.

Incredible's arch-nemesis and your main oppo-
nent throughout the game. Before meeting up
with him, however, you'll be fending off a lot of
his minions. The henchmen (pictured below on
the left) come armed with electric clubs and
defend themselves with fortified shields. Some of
the bots (below on the right) you'll encounter are
helibots and bladebots.
4
SYNDROME
THE FIRST FAMILY OF SUPER
Mr. Incredible
His primary skill is his
ity is her hal

s, you'll E
sto grat
planonmuch sr
Dash
As you probably guessed
Blood and Gore
Intense Violence
Language
Sexual Themes
PlayStation.e
ONLY ON PLAYSTATION 2
"Intelligence has
confirmed a sudden
increase in CHATTER..."
"МС55 has officially bloWn our socks off. It kickeD our asses."
-PSM
"We'd eat a SNAKE to get our ПА Мв on this опе!"
-EGM
"Hideo Kojima is truly a MASTER of his craft."
-PLAY
"MGS3 looks astounding, from its inspirAtion
» toits stoRy to its gameplay." -GameSpy.com
METALNNAKEGEAEATER
RSOLIDS а
T A С TICAL Е S Ро N A 6 E A € T ! 0 Мм
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METAL GEAR, METAL GEAR $0002 SNA

um EATER tadama, Ei‫تیس‬‎ 2 милы р АРАМ, вс 22 20014 ‫ا‬‎ COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT JAPAN. ‫اہ‬‎ ые қ
trademark of KONAN MI CORPORATION 7
/ zu(29mil|logo are of Son er Enti The ratings icon is a trademark
ofthe Entertainment Software Association: i
NICO REVEALED
x Mit I
Ico, an adventure game released in 2001, was the story of a boy with horns, Earth, there are plenty of unliving ones: the giants. One by one, the boy and
a girl with a strange power, and the evil queen who kept them captive. These his horse must take down these huge creatures of stone and flesh if they
simple story elements, together with brilliant graphics and natural platform- hope to save the girl. Each colossus is too big to fit on a single screen, and
ing gameplay, had a near-magical effect on players' hearts. Three years later, finding a way to kill these gargantuan beasts is like tackling an enemy, envi-
the first details of the not-quite-a-sequel have surfaced: The new game is ronment, and puzzle all in one. Scenes show the boy scrambling up one by
called Wanda to Kyozo, or Wanda and the Giants. using its fur as handholds, running up the just-swung sword-arm of another,
As the game begins, a young boy is carrying a girl on his horse. The girl is and jumping from the back of his horse to the wing of a third. These crea-
not merely unconscious; she has lost her soul. The boy arrives at a shrine tures aren't going down without a fight, and each shakes violently to try to
and places the girl's body on an altar. A door opens and an unseen voice tells free itself of the boy. Some even transform as the boy traverses their bodies.
the boy that only by defeating all the monsters in the land beyond will the The supersaturated lighting, soft motion blur, and evocative animation
girl open her eyes once more. Resolute, the boy takes his sword in hand, immediately identify this game as a Team Ico project—as do the airy archi-
mounts his horse, and rides through the gate. tecture, stony glyphs, and surreal creatures of Ancient Earth. Though
Wanda's setting is a far cry from Ico's labyrinthine castle passages. Wanda's narrative and setting are unrelated to Ico, the game is clearly a spir-
Ancient Earth, the world beyond the door, is a beautiful and empty world of itual successor; its working title, Nico, was a Japanese pun meaning “Ico 2.”
prairies, deserts, and wastelands. Fumito Ueda, the man behind Ico, traveled And if the developers themselves look forward to this game as Ico's follow-
to the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, and other parts of the American West to up, then players should feel free to do the same. 2005 has never seemed so
find inspiration. High-contrast clouds swirling in a huge sky combine with an far away. << Andrew Vestal
unfathomable distance to give Wanda's world an incredible sense of scope.
Though the boy and his horse are the only living creatures in Ancient Pub. None confirmed Dev. Sony CEI Release 2005

POWERED BY THE DEW |
‚ AQUOS
Make friends. Play online games:

Download Mountain Dew DC XFIRE
at mountaindew.com / gaming 2
® MOUNTAIN DEW IS А REGIST
е 22
ТНЕ BEST GAMES
(
OF 2004
GIFTS YOU SHOULD ASK FOR THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
Ld
More than 200 PS2 games were

released in 2004, so we're fairly certain you
missed some of them along the way. Hope-
fully, our buyers' guide will jog your memory
and remind you of some of the great stuff you
might not have seen. It's also a handy thing to
leave lying around for a loved one to see as we
approach the holidays. Perhaps you should
consider circling a few of the games featured
and then leaving the magazine on a coffee
table, opened to the appropriate page.

Much darker than the previous two Hitman | Love it or hate it, the artistic vision behind
games, Contracts provides a clever twist on the Metal Gear Solidispossibly the most consistent |
"bald dude sneaking around killing people" idea in any videogame franchise, and Snake Eater is
by presenting the entire story as a series of a head trip back in time to the origins of the
flashbacks endured by the game's hero, Agent | story. With spectacular visuals, a revealing
47, as he is lying on the floor, dying from a gun- | story, tons of crazy bosses, and plenty of fea-
shot wound. It's a gruesome game, but it's ulti tures to please MGS fans, this is one of the true
mately a rewarding twist on the action genre. blockbusters of the year.
DID YOU KNOW? The game's developer, lo DO YOU REMEMBER Hideo Kojima said he'd
Interactive, also made the excellent team-based never do another Metal Gear after Sons of Lib-
shooter Freedom Force for EA. erty. Since then, he’s made two more.
4
GRAND THEFT AU
SAN ANDREAS
|This is potentially the biggest and most significant game in the history of
| gaming since, well, ever really. Chances are, 90 percent of the people who
are crazy for it will camp out in front of retail outlets on October 26
just to
buy or steal it, so if you're thinking of it as gift fodder, check to see that
your intended recipient doesn't already have it
DID YOU KNOW? Rockstar expects San Andreas to sell more than 10 mil
lion copies, which would send its sales over prequel Vice City's to make it
| the biggest-selling game of all time The PS2 has been sadly lacking in the futuristic Psychic powers certainly seem like they'd be |
| 4 first-person-shooter department, but Killzone perfect for a videogame, right? In a terrific
more than makes up for this. Imagine the drama | return to form, Midway proved that there's
of Medal of Honor, only with scary futuristic nothing quite as satisfying as picking up huge |
warriors with glowing orange eyes. Oh, and pieces of scenery with the power of your mind
you're a ragtag band of soldiers instead of a |and then hurling them at bad guys. Ever won
whole army. It's not just a solo experience, | der why developers talk about physics engines
either; if you're jonesing for some online blast- a lot? Psi-Ops provides the answer.
ing, there's plenty to keep you occupied. ۵ SEQUEL NEXT YEAR? Although not con-
REMEMBER: Killzone is not the PS2's answer firmed yet, we have it on good authority that
to Halo 2. the second game is already on track for 2005.
4
DEF JAM | It may not be the scariest PS2 game ever, but
it's definitely the creepiest Silent Hill so far. In a
The opening scene of this game left the entire
| staff of OPM dumbfounded at its sheer beauty;
FIGHT FOR NY major departure for the series, you start the we all crowded around a 20-inch screen to
2004 was a light year for brawlers, but Fight took the tone established in game in a first-person view, locked in a tiny watch it over and over. What's even better is
Vendetta and riffed on it like crazy to produce one of the most comprehen- | apartment that becomes your safe house as you that the gameplay that follows holds its own,
sive and versatile fighters around. It almost certainly changed the progress through a series of disturbing alternate offering hours of swashbuckling fun for action
wrestling genre forever, and it proved that games and hip-hop are perfect worlds. Ever have nightmares about unkillable fans everywhere. Don't bother with the special
partners. Plus, who doesn't love kicking the tar out of Snoop Dogg? We ghosts climbing into your bed? Now you will. $150 sword controller, though—it sucks.
certainly all do. | LIKE THE MUS 7 A soundtrack CD was avail- IN & NUTSHEL Nine years after being
DID YOU KNOW? Def Jam Vendetta was technically the sequel to EA's able to people who preordered the game. defeated by Jubei Yagyu, Nobunaga Oda comes
last WCW game. Same team, same engine, much cooler idea. Expect to see it released separately soon. | back to life as the Demon Lord. Fighting ensues.
4 4
WM уу“ 2
[www.IUP.com] 65
¢ HYPE
2222222222222222222222
Ah /4
F= іш 1/2
It's like the last game, only there's more of it.
It's even more of an homage to the culture of |
street racing, and it brings the whole experience |
E to you ма a gigantic open environment that's |
EL dimmi filled with people who want to race you, cool |
events, parts, and more than 30 cars for you to
customize. It feels faster, it sounds better, and it
looks absolutely incredible.
Need for Speed Under-
ground was the biggest-selling game of 2003
after Madden NFL 2004.
It nearly didn’t make it this year, but on Decem-

ber 14, you'll be able to drive the geekiest car
d game ever made, albeit in a somewhat reduced
form since Sony surprised us all by taking the
| online modes out. This is the ultimate simula-
| tion game on PS2, and all car lovers are going |
to want to play it. It's a gimme of a gift for any- |
one who drives a WRX or an Evo.
There was going to be
BURNOLIT 3: six-player online support. Apparently, this will
TAKEDOWN l| now be included іп a separate game іп 2005.
Takedown is arguably one of the best games

ever made. Don't believe us? Just try saying the
words “burnout” and “three” to anyone who NASCAR 2005
has ever played it and prepare yourself to be LOGITECH CHASE FOR THE CUP
soaked by the tidal wave of enthusiasm that DRIUING FORCE One of the best sports racing games ever,
ensues. Perfect whether you have three min- PRO NASCAR 2005 does an amazing job of turning
utes of play time or three hours, this combina- It may be expensive, a simulation of a sport into a great videogame
tion of eyeball-searing speed and huge explo- but anyone who experience. Unlike previous games, it's a simula-
sions is unlike anything you've ever tried. Don't takes driving games tion of a racing career, not just a NASCAR |
think of it as a racing game, just think of it as seriously will want it. career, so it packs in tons of modes, not just |
raw, untainted fun pressed onto a disc and cov- The wheel feels ones that have you hurtling around ovals. |
ered in sugary gameplay goodness. superb, the pedals As well as the Busch, Crafts-
Acclaim sells Burnout to have weight to them, man, and Featherlite Modified series, you also
EA. Acclaim goes bankrupt; EA’s Burnout 3 and if set up right, it get to race muscle cars, prototypes, and sports
goes straight to No. 1 on the sales chart. feels pretty close to cars like the C6 Corvette and the new Viper.
the real thing.
۲1110
ШЕШІ BRAND-NEW
PS2
= How much tinier
4 ес ‫مت‬‎ ‫اسکا‬ 01 = МА
1 could the new PS2
FINAL FANTASY XI STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT SPLINTER CELL be? None. None
PANDORA TOMORROW more tiny. It's skinny
Don’t balk at the $99 price tag—this game You've probably seen the "play the classic Star The single-player game is just as good as the and tiny, and assum-
packs more value than most. OPM's resident Wars battles any way you want" tag on the TV. award-winning original's (you know, the one ing you don't want
addict, Melkor, has already logged more than ads and wondered if it's just marketing jive. It's that made some of you less excited about Metal to play Final Fantasy
700 hours in the world of Vana'diel, where he's not. The game unashamedly lifts ideas from | Gear Solid 3 than you would have been), but XI, it's the perfect
been beating up beasties and taming chocobos other great combat games like Battlefield 1942 the real heat here comes from the online play. gift for any gamer,
like they're going out of fashion. That's like an on the PC and SOCOM and then tickles your Although limited to only four players per match, | from first-timers to
entire month without sleeping or even going to Star Wars bone by letting you fly snowspeeders the team-based spies versus mercenaries setup | hardcore players
the bathroom. How many other games can you or drive AT-ATs or even shoot at Ewoks. is arguably the best online experience on PS2. who need another
say that about? None. Jump into a snowspeeder, | Sam Fisher is going to start | console for the
The Chains of Promathia have a buddy climb in the back, and then take turning up in other Tom Clancy games, like | bathroom/closet/
expansion pack makes the game even bigger. 4 down AT-ATs on Hoth, just like Luke in Empire. | Ghost Recon 2. | basement/garage/
Ў|
garden.
pr LS
[SINGING AND DANCING PL
5
Karaoke's more fun with the aid of other vic- Sales of DDR games have soared lately thanks |
tims—er, singers, and Volume 3 makes the to continued media coverage touting the
most of the shared embarrassment with a | weight-loss benefits of Konami's best-known
bunch of songs that can be sung as duets. With | franchise, and the most recent release in the
a trend toward "805 hits, it may not be the best series offers EyeToy support, so you can watch
option for younger singers, but anyone old the pounds melt away. What better way to
enough to have a few drinks and make an ass combat holiday goodies than with America's
of himself should get a hefty nostalgia kick. best new exercise program?
BUY THIS TOD Logitech's USB microphone is “Oly MUCH MUSIC? There are more than 65
just $19.99 and will make you feel like a real songs featured, as well as the music video for
rock star. Or something. Kim Wilde's "Kids in America" for some reason.
A
The biggest innova-

tion in game con-
‫ ہے‬m‫‏‬
Retaliate
trollers since, well,
ever has some new
ways to play. Both
EyeToy: Anti-Grav
(which lets race along
hoverboard tracks)
and Sega Superstars
(which features Eye-
Toy versions of clas-
Sic Sega games such
as Sonic, Crazy Taxi,
Virtua Fighter, Mon-
While Square toils away at FFXII, you can sate Like shoving people into things? You'll dig this The distinct absence of a traditional Final Fan- keyBall, and Samba
yourself with some Star Ocean. Besides having strategy-RPG in which your units are the very tasy should be reason enough for RPG fans to de Amigo) will be
a crazy-fast battle system and a weird and epic rocks and trees and other miscellaneous objects give Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne a try. SMTN out this season.
story, it takes a whopping 50-plus hours or so in the world—with the difference being that you is especially appropriate for those RPG fans
to get through, so you're getting the proverbial shove spirits into these objects. The best SRPG who read a lot of Milton, manga, and the Good
bang for your buck here. Besides, it has a space since Final Fantasy Tactics, Phantom Brave is a | Book itself. Besides, it sure looks pretty,
encyclopedia that tells you about planets and | must for Napoleon-wannabes who read Harry whether you're using an ugly demon from hell,
energy weapons and space penguins, so it's |Potter and watch anime. a beautiful angel in bondage gear, or a bizarre
also edutaining! HELL You play a 13-year-old girl elephantlike thing with a snake for a tail. Oh,
2< This one is with an ability to communicate with phantoms, did we mention it’s a bit bizarre? |
set 400 years after that. which she does to resolve disputes worldwide. | | 507 TT TRUE THAT T DANTETE VIT? Yes.
GT4 promises 500 cars, and R-Type Final does | A must-have for all 2D-fighter fans. Not only If your giftee still wears long underwear, |
something similar by offering up 101 space- does this package all versions of Street Fighter watches movies featuring brightly colored do-
ships. Want to fly an old-school spaceship Il with Street Fighter Ill: 3rd Strike, but you can gooders, and proclaims things instead of speak-
| through side-scrolling levels? Go ahead. Want pit characters from the different games against ing, then this is the game for him. VJ is an |
to pilot a flying tank or perhaps a robotic duck? each other. What could make an SF fan happier homage to superhero movies and side-scrolling
Those are available as well. Besides, it has the than watching SF2 Ryu face off against Cham- mayhem; besides looking pretty slick, VJ is
most perverse last level we've seen in a while, pionship Edition Ryu? Nothing that’s based in injected with pure action-filled gameplay that
and it's cheap! Do you really need more reasons reality, that’s for sure. hasn't been seen since 1991 or thereabouts.
than perversion, spaceships, and thriftiness? | NOK? Since the original SF release JERO FA Viewtiful Joe was granted super-
THE FINAL 2-ТУРЕ> Yes, but in 1988, there have been 25 games with the hero powers by his idol, Captain Blue, who gave
then, the last one was supposed to be, too. words "street" and "fighter" in the title. him the powerful V-Watch.
4 4
MA [www.UP.com] 67
V HYPE
Capcom’s sequel to Ghosts to Glory is the best Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus earned
possible kind of follow-up; it recognizes every- numerous accolades across the gaming indus-
|thing great about the original and most of the try, and the sequel goes the original one better,
| problems. The endurance-style gameplay turning Murray and Bentley into playable
| remains, as does the beautiful character design, characters, introducing a whole new cast of
but the new game is nowhere near as brutal or sinister and silly villains, and doubling the
difficult. Old-schoolers who remember the good length of the game. Ignore the myriad crappy
old days of Ghosts 1 n "Goblins will love it. platform games crowding store shelves—this
LINS? It was Capcom's awe- one’s a winner.
TRANSFORMERS some 1985 side-scroller Maximo is like a spiri-
tual follow-up, if not a true sequel.
DIO KNOW? The story line of Sly 2 was
inspired by the movie Ocean's Eleven.
The game that made Transformers cool again, thanks in part to the awe-
some noise it makes when you have the robots do their funky transform-
ing thing. An awesome 3D blaster with beautiful graphics, Transformers is
an excellent mix of driving, collecting, and blowing up giant planet-sized |
robots intent on consuming the universe.
DOES IT HAVE OPTIMUS PRIME IN IT? Of course it does, he’s on the
cover. It also features Hot Shot, Red Alert, Megatron, Starscream,
Cyclonus, and Tidal Wave, to name but six.
| Looking for a little more story and a little less This sequel packs in more weapons, more
frustration? Jak 3 will fit the bill just fine. Don't gadgets, more upgrades, and more slapstick
expect your standard platformer, though: Jak 3 humor—not to mention more gorgeous graph-
is as much about driving, flying, racing, and | ics and clever level design. But the biggest deal
shooting as it is about running and jumping. with the third Ratchet game is that you can
Sharp writing and top-notch animation deliver a | now play against your friends (or, you know,
story that wraps up the loose ends of the previ- | enemies) online, with three 4-on-4 competi-
ous two games, and you finally learn what all | tions in 10 huge arenas. It's a first for platform
that Precursor hubbub was about. d it's a total blast.
ГЕ) YOU KNOW? Amy Hennig, who was in charge ЧИМЕ. а Watch out for
of the Soul Reaver games, headed up Jak 3. OPM matches and come kick our asses.
PRINCE OF PERSIA: If you've always wante cavort with Mya and | There's no better skateboarding game than
WARRIOR WITHIN Heidi Klum, the chance is finally yours—and for

only $50! The best PS2 Bond game yet puts
| THUG. It's provides an excellent balance of pure
skating skill, story, and off-the-wall objectives
Here's the skinny, courtesy of the development team at Ubisoft: “Hunted you in the starring role of the coolest guy ever to mix things up. THUG2 is newer, but it skews
by Dahaka, an immortal incarnation of Fate seeking divine retribution, the by dropping you in the middle of every type of |a lot more toward the off-the-wall objectives,
Prince embarks upon a path of both carnage and mystery to defy his pre- action you could ask for, plus a few kinds you without so much of the story and skating. If
ordained death. His journey leads to the infernal core of a cursed island couldn't think to ask for. Plus, the celebrity you're a huge fan of Jackass, you'll love it, but if
stronghold harboring mankind's greatest fears.” Translation? Prince kicks voice acting doesn't disappoint, which is more not, you're better off going with the first THUG.
ass. Lots. And if it’s at all possible, it looks even better than last time. | than can be said for many games (cough HANDS-ON APPROACH: Топу Hawk is
MEAT. A new fighting engine called “Free-Form” B DRIV3R ош involved so closely with his games that he actu-
lets you string moves together using weapons and the environment. KNOW? Heidi Klum is freaking hot. ally gave the E3 demo presentations for THUG.

[THESPORTS STUFF 7,” Жж
Madden is the most successful sports franchise Madden might be the king, but Sega is in the With the bastardization of this year's real-life
in videogame history, taking up three of the top running with its football franchise. The second hockey season, this is really your only hope for
10 spots on the best-seller list. Professional | iteration refines the gameplay mechanics of the icy-good high-sticking fun. Not only does it
football players use it to predict the outcome of | first (its online play actually beats Madden's to beat the action of NHL 2005 hands down in
the Super Bowl, and the average OPM score for | pieces), and you'll get to see all your maneuvers important areas like shooting, passing, goal-
the eight Madden games on PlayStation is | prettied up in that ESPN packaging. Best of all, tending, checking, announcing, and the beloved
4.625 out of 5. We're not sure why you're read- it's $20, making it the perfect stocking stuffer franchise mode—it does it for an impressive
ing this blurb to decide whether to buy it. for the armchair quarterback in your life. $30 less.
TRY TO FINO The platinum edition, which fea- ` Chris Berman and new Yep, an all-new party mode
tures tons of extras and remakes of old editions | sideline reporter Suzy Kolber headline an features dozens of multiplayer minigames and
of the game. Try eBay if you're desperate. | updated, feature-packed ESPN presentation. challenges.
| 4
Wondering what to get the golfer who has Any other year, the soccer entry in a guide like Right now, fans of 29 baseball teams are reliv-
everything? Tiger 2005 has every feature you'd this would probably have included the latest ing every make-or-break play of the last season,
want in a golf game, plus quite a few you'd Winning Eleven game from Konami. But this trying to figure out some way that their beloved |
never have thought of otherwise. In fact, it's got year, EA Sports has finally managed to produce boys of summer could have been the champs.
everything related to golf except minigolf—you | something that beats its Japanese rival. FIFA Help the fan in your life put his mind at ease by
have to go to Hot Shots Golf Fore! for that. | 2005 may well be the best soccer game ever—it | | giving him this season's best baseball game—
Pl JURSELF IN T has a sublime control scheme, gorgeous visu- now his team can finally win the World Series. |
/ Tiger has EA's new Game Face tech als, and more teams than you could imagine. ID YOU K 7 MVP 2004 cover boy Albert
included, which lets you tweak a zillion different The "first touch" system Pujols set National League rookie records for
settings to make a near-perfect copy of your lets you trap and control the ball and then use base hits, total bases, and RBIs to win 2001's
face and body. its momentum to strut your funky stuff. | Rookie of the Year award. 4
This is the finest
wireless controller
money can buy. If
you thought the last
Logitech cordless pad
was good (albeit
crazy expensive),
then the new one's
a no-brainer. It's
smaller, has tighter
analog sticks, is
cheaper, and lasts
forever on two AA
and the town ts aflame, and it's ours for the batteries.
and you get the fame, We tortured some
Battle for Bikini Bottom was good, but this is The Bard's Tale has the best bits of hack-n- Everyone should love Katamari Damacy. You
even better. We know there are still some of you slash RPGs, without the inventory management | roll a ball of junk around using both analog |
who feel uncomfortable admitting your love for and other RPG clichés to get in the way of run- | sticks, collecting other bits of junk until you've |
a kids' show—but now's the time to liberate ning around and killing things. A truly post- |made a ball of predetermined dimensions. It’s
yourself. SpongeBob is cool. The movie's com- modern experience, the game pokes fun at the | | proof positive that simple is effective, and we
ing in November, and the game is a platformer usual RPG conventions through a hilarious |defy you not to spend the entire game with a
that's more than worthy of sitting alongside the script and excellent voice work. Old-school huge grin on your face. Plus, it’s only $20,
likes of Jak and Ratchet. Plus, it's actually gamers will love it for its homage to the 1985 |which leaves you with little excuse not to buy it.
funn too. original; new-schoolers will love it for its humor. JAVE A STORY? When the King
OW? The lovely Scarlett Johans- NOW? A version of the original of All Cosmos destroys all the stars in the sky,
sonn has a starring role in the movie and game. game was released for the NES in 1990. he orders you to roll up junk to make new stars.
nd а [www.lUP.com] 69
$ HYPE
WSS HE LIST
MECHANICAL FRIEND BITTER TRUTH
ROBOSAPIEN Finally, a civics book that tells it like it is.

Liberally laced with the sarcasm and wit that's a
hallmark of The Daily Show, this mock textbook
OK, so it's not quite the T-2000, but this $99 bot is a surprisingly entertaining little toy. It (authored by Jon Stewart and co.) skewers
walks, talks, responds to sound and touch, and whispers “Rosebud...” when you turn it off. Designed everyone and everything that has anything to
by Dr. Mark Tilden (who has designed robots for the U.S. military) and produced by a company with do with our political process; included are biting
the unfortunate name of Wow Wee, it’s enough to make us dream of the inevitable day when we will chapters on the history and future of democra-
all kneel in silent adoration before our robotic overlords. cy, America’s forefathers, political parties, cam-
paigns and elections, and the media. But don’t
take our word for it—Thomas Jefferson wrote
the introduction.
PINEAPPLE DWELLER
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS:
THE MOVIE
Anyone who has ever been sucked into one of
Nickelodeon's myriad SpongeBob SquarePants
marathons is eagerly awaiting November 13,
when the world will finally have the opportunity
to see SpongeBob on the big screen, resplen-
dent in all his magnificent absorbency. And that
absorbency could come in incredibly handy
when you consider that a number of editors in
our office are so excited by this film that they
might wet themselves.
SHINY OBJECT
SAMSUNG MM-A700
It may not look like much on the surface, but
this new flip phone is loaded under the hood. A
gorgeous 176x220-pixel screen is just the start;
the swivel lens also records video with sound
(at 24 frames per second) for 15 seconds at a
pop, and it shoots photos at a resolution of
1152x864. The best part, though: It does sur-
prisingly high-quality streaming video off of
Sprint's "Sprint TV” service. It's pricey ($400),
but you can expect plenty of deals and rebates
to bring the price down shortly.
FREAKY MUSICIAN
А PERFECT CIRCLE'S EMOTIUE
Maynard James Keenan is a scary dude. He was
already kind of wacko when he was in Tool, and
APC is a bit weirder and more subdued, since
it's the "more maternal side of Tool,” as he
describes it. EMotive is "a collection of songs
about war, peace, love, and greed," and it comes
out on Election Day. Besides new tunes, there
are also weird covers of songs like Marvin Gaye's |
“What's Going On" and Devo's "Freedom of
Choice.” Keenan's rendition of John Lennon's |
"Imagine" is worth the purchase alone.
PLAYTIME FUN
TRANSFORMERS ALTERNATORS
Hasbro has combined cool old-school
Generation 1 Transformers with officially
licensed cars. So now you get a cool robot that
also transforms into a really slick replica of an
actual car. There are a few decent ones out
already (Smokescreen as a Subaru Impreza rally
car, Hound as a Jeep Wrangler), but we particu-
larly like the upcoming Meister (Jazz to us
Americans) as an RX-8 and Grimlock, the T-Rex
> Dinobot who can be transformed into a 2005
"en Ford Mustang.

At TGS, OPM sat down with the lead Also, when people think of Dante's image, they Any plans to let Dante use a guitar as a
designer of Devil May Cry 3 to get his thoughts think of DMC2, so we have the challenge of taking weapon? Guitars are already cool, but they're even
on how the series has changed with each release. this preconceived idea of what Dante is visually, cooler as weapons.
making him younger, and making people believe
Do you think Devil May Cry 2 received so that this younger Dante is still the Dante that Yeah, he does. If you look through some of the
much criticism just because expectations were everyone knows. | personally believe that people videos frame by frame, you can probably spot it.
so high? played the original Devil May Cry so long ago that
the image of Dante in that game isn't as strong as With all of the online games you've done
Probably the biggest thing the one in Devil May Cry 2. (Resident Evil Outbreak, Resident Evil Outbreak
that hindered sales was the concept and design
direction. The concept for Devil May Cry 2 was
very different, and the biggest change in sales we
noticed was in North America. In Japan, the sales
numbers were only different by about 100,000,
so nothing huge. We ended up losing some hard-
core gamers but gained casual and female
gamers. In America, the easier-to-grasp or easier-
to-understand controls rubbed the American
gamers the wrong way. Another thing is that the
team that did the original DMC is very different
from the one that did DMC2. If you have the origi
nal team do a sequel, you add a few things and
tweak a few features—not that difficult. But when
you have a whole new team that doesn’t have
"THIS YOUNGER DANTE IS STILL

that much experience or hasn't made that many
games before—you're going to slip along the way.
We've noticed early on in Devil May Cry 3
that Dante's personality really shines through. Is
THE DANTE EVERYONE KNOWS." ,
this in response to DMC2, when Dante wasn't all What would you tell fans of the original File 2, and Monster Hunter), do you have any
that dynamic? game who didn't like DMC2to get them to play plans to do an MMO?
Devil May Cry 3?
Basically, Devil May Cry 3 is а prequel to Making an MMORPG isn't that difficult -you're
DMC2, so Dante's younger and cockier. So we're at | think the new demo of the game speaks pretty much free in what you want to make. The
a point with the story where we have to make him volumes on how different it is from the last action is pretty straightforward, but they are costly
?TSUYOSHI
TANAKA
speak more because the natural progression of the one. A picture is worth a thousand words, so to make. They're just a big gamble. It'll pay off
FIVE
QUESTIONS
WITH
story line means that he gets more and more I don't think | need to say much more. | just well if it's a hit, but if it doesn't, it hurts you. If the
jaded as he gets older, so he speaks a lot less. The want people to understand that it is going in the company allows us, | would like to create one, but
concept in DMC2 was to make Dante talk less. right direction. we'll have to wait to see what the future holds.
NN THE OUTSIDER
JULY 2007: THE GREATEST ARCADE, PART 2
want to do is to unlock one those limited-edition stupid turn without hitting any of the kids in the
weapons in God of War: Vampires of Vietnam. park, then | can finally buy another flatscreen for
See, only by completing the arcade-exclusive lev- the trunk.
els of the game can | unlock and retain on my A few weeks ago (here in the future), | took
ROBIN WILSON memory stick a really kick-ass sword that slows my first son, the quintuplets, and my wife's clone
islead singer for the Gin down time or something. But it shouldn't be a to GameWorks to celebrate the end of the war in
Blossoms, who spend a lot problem because l'm so good and my flight Iraq, and boy oh boy did we have a great time!
of
time in airports
andcasi- doesn't leave for two hours. After winning the We all strapped in to that giant PS3 multiplayer
nos. Find him on UP at scepter thing, | visit the arcade-exclusive arena in the center of the place. Remember when
weapons shop to buy the special armor lotion it used to be a stupid shooter where you flew
І am once again stuck at the Minneapolis-St. THEY'VE JUST INSTALLED THE

PLAYSTATION 3 ARCADE EDITION.
Paul International Airport (here in the future). |
think I'll head over to the greatest airport arcade
on planet Earth, Aurora Borealis over in Con-
course A. I'm psyched when | get there because that you can only get here at the arcade (here in around in a chair and shot at balloons with a
they have just installed the PlayStation 3 Arcade the future). | shine up my suit with the special lightgun? That thing sucked. Thank the Force
Edition. This thing rocks! It looks a lot like the goop, save the game to my memory stick, and they replaced it with the PS3 arena when Sony
PS3 demo units at the mall, but it’s modified with head to the PS3 Main menu. forced them to.
built-in broadband access, a memory stick port, Hmm, what next? | know: I'll load up my And now (here in the future) my friends and
and a hard drive loaded up with all the most pop- garage from Grand Theft Auto: Atlantis Reborn family and all our clones and robots can bring our
ular PS3 games, including Enter the Matrix 6, and take my yacht out for a little cruise. Or memory sticks to the arcade and play our favorite
Clank 3: Return to the Valley of Ratchet, and, of maybe I'll sign on to the Interweb and play Mid- games to unlock arcade-exclusive weapons and
course, Metal Gear Solid 5: Snake Goes to Space. night Club 6: The Midwest Edition. I've almost cars and play arcade-exclusive levels online. It's a
Gosh, they all sound fun, but what | really unlocked Milwaukee, and if | can just make that beautiful world we live in. <<

play
2005 ADVENTURES
Live the Adventure!
Available This Holiday Season!
F хеох | | ۱ E
ж LIVE | PlayStation.?
хеох eame => у
®
©2004 Activision, Inc. and its affiliates. Big Game Hunter and Big Game Hunter 2005 Adventures are trademarks, and Activision is a registered trademark, of Activision, Inc. and Blood
its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cabela's and the Cabela's logo are registered trademarks of Cabela's Incorporated. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment
Software Association. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. “PlayStation” and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Violence
Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox Live, the Live Logos and the Xbox Logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States
and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. TM, ®, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube are trademarks ot Nintendo. 2004 Nintendo.
GOLDEN
ROGUE AGENT
у
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S NY ‫چ‬‎*
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ga! i ч|
‎ ‫ وی‬m!г
74 [OPM December 2004] S 29
Senior producer ChrisPlummer expands: "Bond vil-
ў have the billion-dollar mansions, private armies, a
‎‫ اس پر وو‬dna eht tsom citoxe .ygolonhcet | ,naem eseht
Png | want to be that guy! Who wouldn't?"
and his team at EA played up the “be the bad guy” aspect
mean? It means wreaking havoc, using deadly
taking no prisoners. Those of you squeamish about being evil
t of the time, you're facing Ог. No's forces, пој
кесі about haw evil you can be to MI6 agents іп the
es, "They're good for taking hostage.”
basic design aims for, is a very straightforward
assault rifles at once, one pistol and one rifle, one shot-
ade, and so forth. Some weapons are two-handed, which
nd trigger is a secondary feature on the gun. Or you can
and then use him as a human shield—strictly against
ons but tally"OK for rogue agents. And as mentioned earlier,
leathtraps aplenty—they're just massive sets that unleash a faceful-
eath with the flick of a switch. Be careful, though—enemies are perfectly
lling to flip the switch themselves as well. ۰
One of RA's main features is the E. . АЛ. system. At first, it sounds. x
like a goofy way to describe standard АЈ, but E. isan acronym forthe ıı
Basic АЛ. engine that drives the enemiés. The is for "emotiónal." Ene-
mies have specific emotions as а result of their-environment-and.status. IF
E 1
you're applying pressure, the enemies feel defensive and seek cover. If you're Pretty much. The campaign features a jet-setting story that gives you a grand
hiding, they get a little more aggressive and actively pursue you. If they have tour of the Bond underworld and its denizens. It starts with your participation
a high composure, they work as a team, but if you lower their composure in a mission based on the end of the Goldfinger film and is followed by your
(say, by killing their leader), they start to “lose their cool” and act irrationally. dismissal from МІБ. In the process, Dr. No removes one of your eyes, which is
The "V" is for “visceral.” Basically, the АЛ. will always try to create crazy, the motivation Goldfinger uses to recruit you to the Bond underworld.
over-the-top situations that look scripted. Big explosions, guys falling off of After joining Goldfinger's faction, you're shown the OMEN, a slick super-
high elevations, even the way enemies jump and dive for cover or shoot weapon that Goldfinger is working on—only he gets attacked by Dr. No; your
blindly—these are all visceral events that are A.|.-driven instead of scripted. second mission is spent defending Goldfinger's secret lab from Dr. No's
^|" is for “intelligent,” and that governs basic smarts like using cover, trig-
gering deathtraps, and switching to melee attacks. You can actually learn
TIRED OF DIGITAL DRONES? THEN

how to use the environment by watching the АЈ. use it against the player.
Finally, the “1” means “learning,” the most ambitious part of the А.І.
TAKE ON OTHER RA PLAYERS.

design. The enemies notice things—if a box is destroyed, they'll stop trying
to use it for cover. If something falls, they'll use the resultant wreckage as
cover. If you hide behind something, the АЛ. will notice and alert the rest of
its fireteam. Taken together, RA is trying to deliver the thrill and cinematic invading force. It's here that you're introduced to your new eye and its abili-
feeling of scripted events via robust A.l., and it's done a fair job so far. ties and partner up with Pussy Galore, who titles you "GoldenEye."
When you're tired of taking on digital drones, you can take on other RA You are then sent to Hong Kong to assassinate Dr. No, only to be
players. One interesting multiplayer feature is the presence of "duel" maps. ambushed and forced to escape alongside Galore, which then leads to you
Plummer points out that most games are geared for a whole lotta players, and Galore guarding Goldfinger's casino—right when Dr. No and Xenia
but none are designed for one-on-one matches. For the duel-specific maps, Onatopp attack it. After fighting back the tide of Dr. No agents, you and
the team took the last locations of Bond movies (like the Golden Gate Bridge Oddjob are tasked with detonating a bomb at the Hoover Dam, where
in A View to a Kill and Scaramanga's fun house in The Man With the Golden Onatopp is operating from. Then you are sent to Dr. No's headquarters, and
RRR
Gun) and turned them into maps. Besides those special duel maps, expect our tour of GoldenEye's world comes to an end.
your traditional two-to-four-player splitscreen and online action.
But what about the story? Is this a Bond game even without Bond? EA Games EALA November
Here'sanexample of a
nasty deathtrap being used.
It's called the Sub-Zero А4
Device, and it's in the secret
lab at Auric Enterprises.
Baddies
can use it too.
Anexampleofthe
EVIL. //
AlandyourMRIvisionat f
work. He knows you're hid-
ing, and you can see him try
to figure out how to maneu- №
ver and tag you. SN

EXTRA TALENT
| EA has quite
acollection of
gaming outsiders working
BU on RA. Academy
Í Award-winning production
> d designer Sir Ken Adam gave.
info about the sets for OM
places liket Goldfinger’s Fort Wow
Knox and thevolcanolairin Yer
You Only Live Twice, and he ||
designed the Midas Casino,
which you'relooking at.Paul $
| Oakenfold is doing the $54
entire soundtrack, and
Christopher Lee and Judi
Dench are lending their
voices and facestoScara- 4%
" manga and M, respectively.
Matrixcostume designer
Kym Barrett and Final Fan-
tasy: The Spirits Within Ec.
modeler Rene Morel helped
m
shapethenewlookforthe 35
game's Bond vilains. —
MRI VISION EM HACK MAGNETIC POLARITY SHIELD > FIELD

Your first upgrade is basic X-ray vision. With the ЕМІ... You can hack items from а distance with this upgrade. Think ofthis astemporary invulnerability. This Your last power, it basically lets you shove enemies
АЈ. opponents intelligently using cover, this is useful for Мо more having to actually sit down with your handy drains battery power really fast, butthen again, it around. Bet you didn't think of using your refrigerator
when you're hiding and you want to seewhere the bad- |Tandy and plug it into the wall. You might scoff at being | basically deflects all bullets away from you. Think of magnets as people tossers, eh? This ability is great for
dies are hiding as well. It'salsouseful if you walkintoa able to flip deathtrap switches from afar, but you can how Magneto canjust frown, and no bullet gets near dearing a path or disorienting troops around you. Think
room and don't know where anything is. This doesn't also hack weapons. If you hack an enemy's weapon, he —|him asa result. People can still hit you in melee, of it as aJames Bond version of those telekinetic powers
drain eye power (which recharges over time) too fast, so |suddenly becomes a lot less accurate with it and may not |though, sodon't get toococky. This is great for dart- that keep showing up in other games. Don't ask us to
it's useable for pretty much any occasion. even be able to shoot it at all. ing between cover spots. explain how an eye can push people around though.
GOOD BAD GUYS, BAD BAD GUYS
GOLDFINGER—
The very first Bond villain, Like Dr. No, һе debuts in a A slick assassin with a one- She also debuted іп 9645 She was in GoldenEye, and He's that guy with the facial Goldfinger's bodyguard—
he was the big bad guy Bond movie that uses his bullet gun in 1974's The Goldfinger, and as in that some of ushave a soft spot scar and the Nehru suit. and the source
ofanAustin
working for SPECTRE in name as the title. Goldfin- Man With the Golden Gun, movie, she's Goldfinger's for her. Maybe because her who's always looking devi- Powers joke involving a
the 1962 Bond flick imagi- ger has invented the Scaramanga is allied with personal pilot. She's your method of killing involves ous and petting his white bodyguard named “Ran-
natively titled Dr. No. He's OMEN, a new one-shot-kill Goldfinger and is the mentor and companion sex, and the gorgeous cat. Otherwise known as dom Task.” Oddjob views
the guy who shoots out one superdelicious weapon, designer of GoldenEye’s, er, and will tag along with Famke Janssen helped ease Blofeld, he's the head of GoldenEye as a threat and
of your eyes, so you have a and wants GoldenEye to golden eye. His famous you on your missions to the pain of death. In the SPECTRE. Hey, didn't Dr. doesn't like being ordered
pretty good reason to want protect it and assassinate golden gun is also included give you advice, kudos, game, she's a top lieu- No work for SPECTRE to help him attack the
to take him down. Dr. No. inthe game. and whatnot. tenantofDr. No's, alas. too? Hmmmmm.... Hoover Dam.
[www.lUP.com] 77
NO RABIES, JUST FLOWERS AND RAINBOWS
You might've heard of Atsushi Inaba: He's 15 it more difficult to come up with gameplay of other characters and there are a lot of action
the mind behind Okami, a game that features a mechanics for an animal as opposed to a human? events, but it's not a hardcore action game. It's
mystical wolf attempting to restore life to the more like an action game at a slower pace
world. It’s a significant departure from the violence When a human gets killed in a movi you
of Steel Battalion or the action of Viewtiful Joe, might say, "Oh well." But if a dog gets peo There's a lot of interaction with humans.
two games Inaba also created. So what's the deal? ple say, "Oh my God, the dog is hurt Peopl just What role do they play in Okami?
think dogs are cute with the different actions they
What made you design a game like Okami? do, like paw shaking or wagging their tails. So for The main character, whose name is Amaterasu,
us, we tried to create an animal that feels like an is seen as a normal wolf by the townspeople. They
Up until now, there have been animal and not some 2D stick creature running all have their own lifestyle and patterns, but some
50 many repeats and rehashes that every time we around. We wanted to create something that has times they'll have problems or need something.
make a game, it needs to be unique and original. | the warmth and feeling that an animal gener Amaterasu can find out what they need, and by
don’t want to make a game that's like a game I've
made before if | can help it. Right now, you see a
lot of superviolent and painful types of games out
there, so we wanted to take it in a different direc-
tion with a happy, energetic, colorful, refreshing
theme. | guess if you were going to classify it, it's
sort of a hippie, love, and peace type game ates—the reason we love them so much. And on helping them, Amaterasu makes them happy, and d А
top of all that, we were able to put in [action that that happiness brings color and more life to the ATSUSHI INABA
Why choose a wolf as the main character? Capcom games are known for] world. The more life that's brought to the world, doesn't think it's funny that.
the stronger Amaterasu gets. he wants to use gamesto
The whole theme [is] of nature and having a What type of game is Okami? ‫اک‬‎ it an RPG, bring the world peace, love,
beautiful, lush world, so we decided it had to be an action game, or a little of both? 15 there one giant world іп Okami, or is it and understanding.
an animal. In Japan, we don't have wolves, so split up into sections? Does the circle on the top
they have a mysterious aura about them. In addi- There are action, adventure, and RPG elements, of the [game's screenshots] indicate anything?
tion, it's one of the few animals that travels and but if | had to choose a genre, I'd say you would
hunts in packs. We were thinking that you would have to focus on the main character because that's It's generally split into stages. As for the circle,
be able to befriend other wolves and work what the game's all about—it's what moves the | wouldn't worry about it because it's probably
together, but that's not in the game anymore. story along. The main character interacts with a lot not going to be in the final game.
JAPAN TOWN
GIVE US SOME FRESH GAMES, PLEASE
the gap between those games and the dozens of 2s, gamers were loath to buy them again.
standard-issue board games, puzzle games, and It's true that many PSP franchises are new
ports is immense. As one Ziff Davis editor iterations, not just ports—and the system’s porta-
quipped, "The PSP lineup reeks of launch," and bility also sets these titles apart from their bigger
ANDREW VESTAL the multiple mah-jongg titles and slot machine brothers. But PSP games are competing with PS2
teaches English in the land sims on display did little to dissuade this feeling. titles in the fields of graphics, music, and features.
of our friends to the East, Good, bad, or shogi, most of the games share It's only natural that they compete for gamers’
and he's looking for more one common trait: sameness. The PSP is quite lit- mindshare, too. And if games for the two systems
than a rehash of the same erally a “portable PlayStation,” and Sony has are priced similarly—not impossible, with a cur-
old thing. lined up the same developers, the same publish- rent MSRP of $39.99 for first-party Sony PSP
ers, and the same hit franchises. The philosophy titles—these sorts of head-to-head comparisons
is simple: Give gamers their favorite PlayStation 2 are even more likely.
Tokyo Game Show 2004, the PlayStation games, and they will come. People drop $200 or more on a new system
Portable's grand public debut, has come and Unfortunately, another company has already because they want to play new games they can’t
gone, and extensive hands-on time with the sys-
MOST OF THE PSP GAMES SHARE

tem and its games has put months of speculation
to rest. Well, not really. Showgoer reaction to the
ONE COMMON TRAIT: SAMENESS.

PSP was less awe and more "ah." Reaction,
though positive, was eerily subdued.
There's no denying the extreme sexiness of the
hardware. Trial units at the show were tethered to tried this strategy with disastrous results. When play anywhere else. With key details concerning
scantily clad event companions ("booth babes"), Xbox launched in Japan, Microsoft famously the system's price and launch still notably absent
but the PSP managed to make even professional “encouraged” publishers (no doubt via fat sacks post-TGS, the universal reaction to PSP is “I'll
Japanese models look homely. The screen is gor- of cash money) to port their top franchises to its definitely get one...eventually!" Sony's marketing
geous, the curves are sleek, and the plastic is machine. Enhanced versions of Metal Gear Solid muscle and determination make the PSP's even-
shiny enough to double as a makeup mirror. 2, Silent Hill 2, and Onimusha all debuted on the tual success as close to a sure thing as this indus-
The software, however, is far less inspiring. Xbox with a mighty thud, selling a fraction of try has. But without more original software to fire
Top-class new titles, like Metal Gear Ac!d, what their PlayStation 2 versions sold. Having the imaginations of early adopters, "eventually"
Lumines, and Coded Arms, seem quite good. But already played these games on their PlayStation may be а while off yet. <<
А
prockBuSTEs
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PlayStation.? а
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Rent as many games as you want. Play them as long as you want. Return them whenever you want
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pass. So come on in, get your Blockbuster Game Pass, and choose from our huge selection of games
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster Inc. ©2004 Blockbuster Inc.
HYPE
Y W
У. 5 У
i eX [7
SEVEN THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT...
PRINCE OF PERSIA:
WARRIOR WITHIN
It's brimming over with boss battles. Whereas Mithra’s Vengeance, which seems part Shaolin We're serious about the button-mashing
the first game hardly had any, now each level and part electric boogaloo. thing. Combat gets very tough very quickly this
seems to have at least one. We've encountered Let's repeat that: Button mashing gets you time, and the only way you'll be able to survive
the huge berzerker dude we've shown before, a only so far. It appears that you can collect the against these bigger groups of enemies will be by
guy who appears to be made of birds, and a giant Sands of Time from enemies only when you've learning room-clearing combos.
balrog-looking beastie with tentacles that shoot taken them out with an advanced combo that Combat is much more varied this time. Boss
out of his chest, plus we've had several run-ins actually removes parts of their bodies—if you battles will require specific techniques to beat
with a woman who could easily be the long-lost don't learn the combos, you won't be able to them, and you'll even have periodic “tug of war”
sister of Soul Calibur's Іму-еуеп down to the rewind yourself out of deadly situations. segments in which you'll need to pound the
extremely revealing outfit. The Prince can travel much further in time. Attack button furiously to overpower your enemy.
Button mashing gets you only so far. By just This appears to be accomplished through the use The game is extraordinarily bloody. You will
jamming on the Attack button, you'll stumble of magical insignias engraved in the floor. One see slow-motion decapitations. You will see ene-
across a few choice decapitations, but it's not segment has the Prince wandering in a completely mies sliced in half from the top down and side to
until you get deep into the combo list that you'll ruined fortress, but then he comes across a magi- side. You will see disembowelments that shower
see some of the fancier, five-button attacks. Our cal insignia and finds himself transported back in great sprays of blood. You'll see it all—and if what
1
favorite is a rising-spin-kick combo, called time to when the fortress was still whole. we've seen is any guide, you'll beg for more.
80 [ОРМ December 2004]

"We're impressed... the game plays as good as it looks." – PSM
"Looks amazing... plays fantastic." — Play Magazine | “Face it. You've always wanted this." — Тир.сот
"t
FSE!
They're on top of you. You're on top of them. Does it really

matter? All female wrestlers. 10,000 polygons per character.
And hardcore wrestling gameplay. It’s Rumble Roses and
it's definitely a win-win situation.
ОЕ ҰЗ PlayStation.2
www.konami.com/usa
‘©2004 Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. KONAMI isa registered trademark ofKONAMI CORPORATION. Rumble Roses isa trademark ofKonami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, inc.
“PlayStation” and the"PS" Family logo areregistered trademarks ofSony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings iconisa trademark oftheEntertainment Software Association.
SO MANY FROGS!
Get ready to triple-fist all the Gundam you can For another look at the bloody upheavals that More and more American publishers are gambling
consume over the last few months of 2004. On gave birth to Rurouni Kenshin and plenty of other on massive manga series—the latest is Naoki Ura-
November 9, Bandai releases the entire catalog of ]8th-century samurai stories, check out the ADV sawa's Monster, coming this December from Viz.
Universal Century movies as a single $70 pack- Films release of Peacemaker—volume one of the The gripping, labyrinthine story of a Japanese
age—that's about 10 hours of Gundam in one box, 26-episode TV series hits October 12. Subtitled brain surgeon caught up in post-Cold War
enough for you to catch up on the history of the Another Story of Shinsengumi, the series chroni- intrigue and serial murder in Germany, Monster
series. Mobile Suit Gundam F91, which chronicles a cles a 15-year-old trainee swordsman's youth as a runs a hefty 18 volumes in its Japanese edition. A
war that takes place decades after the original questionably willing defender of order in the faithful animated adaptation is currently running
series, arrives November 23. Finally, on November tumultuous period preceding the Meiji Restora- on Japanese TV, so perhaps we'll see that
30, the big one hits: the limited-edition box of Zeta tion, which took place in the 1860s. released in America soon as well.
Gundam, which packs all 50-odd episodes of the
series into one hefty package. Zeta may be scarce
after the initial run sells out, so grab one while you The latest film from Spirited Away director Hayao One of the year's best sleeper titles is available
can to enjoy Mobile Suit action in its purest form. Miyazaki made quite the splash at the Venice Film from Tokyopop in the form of Keroro Gunsou, or
Festival. Howl's Moving Castle, the story of a Sergeant Frog, Mine Yoshizaki's tale of amphibian
young girl exploring a mysterious wizard's alien invaders forced to survive domestic life in
It's not on its way to North America yet, but a fortress, drew a massive standing ovation and the modern-day Tokyo. The eponymous Sergeant is
new Viewtiful Joe animated series should be on Golden Osella award for best cinematography (an one of the most charming character designs of
Japanese airwaves as you read this, having hit TV odd bit of recognition for an animated film, but no the modern age (that's him at the top of this
Tokyo on October 12. The show—chronicling the matter). Some observers even predicted it would page, and he appears to have brought along a few
VIEW AND PLAY adventures of the superdeformed sentai hero walk away with the Golden Lion, given to the best of his friends), and he's backed up by a brilliant
In addition to watching against the evil forces that threaten the alternate film of the festival, but Howl's creators should no supporting cast of bewildered humans and bor-
Viewtiful Joe, you can play world of Movie Land—is set for an unusually long doubt be content with the buzz they netted in derline-insane subordinates. Four volumes are
the second game, coming run of 52 episodes, but the cult popularity of the advance of its spring release in American the- available now, with a fifth due in November, and
out on November 23. videogame in this country means we'll probably aters. Fans can also look forward to snagging the hilarious TV adaptation (currently up to 20-
see it here one of these days. Expect to see news more of Miyazaki's films on DVD once Howl's odd episodes in Japan) is a prime candidate for an
about the show in the next month or so. Moving Castle hits the silver screen Stateside. American release. <<Dave Smith

ati
Dew Deapiy Сомво SYSTEM d LE amp Вап. Сомват
| 2^ " BLOODRAYNE2.REDEE
MAKING IT ONE OFT
MATURE 17+ coco BL OO Di
Blood and Gore
Intense Violence M 4 ! | 1
Sexual Themes 1 54 | p | `
Strong Language и PlayStation.? | | a
Copyright ©2004 Majesco Sales Inc. All Rights Reserved. The BloodRayne logo, characters and artwork are trademarks of Majesco Sales Inc. Developed by Terminal Reality. Microsoft, Xbox and the, Xbox logo are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association.
$ HYPE
BY THE NUMBERS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
EEGAMES
electronics boutique’
Dragon Ball GT TREND SPOTTER

You may love the story, you may hate the battle system, but one thing is Final Fantasy VII You might think your boss is pretty messed up,
for absolute certain: Star Ocean: Till the End of Time has plenty of charac- Final Fantasy Chronicles but we promise you, your boss isn’t anywhere
ters with funny-colored hair. And there's nothing wrong with that. Final Fantasy Anthology nearly as messed up as any one of these guys
Final Fantasy Origins is. Seriously.
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy IX
Namco Museum Volume 3
Final Fantasy Tactics
‫ہن‬‎
‫ھم‬‎
ul
‫ہی‬‎
‫رس‬
O
O
U Chrono Cross
Metal Gear Solid 5: Snake Eater
Till the End of Time proves once again that it's hip to be Squenix.
Title (Publisher) Guilty Gear Isuka Neo Contra
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (Square Enix) .. 1 Tales of Symphonia
Star Wars Battlefront (LucasArts) 2 Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends
NBA Live 2005 (EA Sports) 3 Resident Evil Outbreak File #2
Madden NFL 2005 (EA Sports) 4 FFXI: Chains of Promathia
Tiger Woods PGA 2005 (EA Sports) 5 Kengo 3
Street Fighter Anniversary Collection (Сарсо: 6 Fullmetal Alchemist 2
NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup (EA Sports) 2 Winning Eleven 8
ESPN NFL 2K5 (ESPN VG) в Sakura Taisen V Episode O
Def Jam Fight for NY (EA Games) 9 Pachislot Hokuto no Ken
Burnout 3: Takedown (EA Games) 0 Blood Will Tell
BRUOm ESPN NHL 2K5 (ESPN VG)
‫ہل‬‎
O
uEO
ShellShock: Nam '67 (Eidos)
Sly 2: Band of Thieves (Sony CEA)
SRS: Street Racing Syndicate (Namco)
X-Men Legends (Activision)
Final Fantasy ХІ: Chains of Promathia (Square Enix)
17 |Silent Hill 4: The Room (Konami)
Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires (Koei)
Phantom Brave (NIS America)
DDR Extreme (Konami) ‫کہ‬‎
оө+
1 Star Wars Battlefront (PS2)

г Star Wars Battlefront (XB)
3 Def Jam Fight for NY (PS2)
4 Madden NFL 2005 (PS2) A
5 NBA Live 2005 (PS2)
5 Fable (XB) =
2. SRS: Street Racing Syndicate (PS2)
8 ShellShock: Nam '67 (PS2)
9 Def Jam Fight for NY (XB)
10 Vietcong: Purple Haze (PS2)
1 Fable (XB) icrosoft

2 Pokémon FireRed (GBA) Nintendo
3 Pokémon LeafGreen (GBA) Nintend
4 Star Wars Battlefront (XB)
13 5 Star Ocean 3 (PS2)
6 The Sims 2 (PC)
Source: EB Games, September 2004. Numbers reflect the sales at EB and its affiliated outlets and 7 Star Wars Battlefront (PS2)
don't include other retail outlets. That's probably why you'll never see Deer Hunter crack the top 10. 8 Burnout 3: Takedown (XB)
Japan's top 10 and the top 10 rentals come from other sources. Game descriptions written bythe OPM | g@ NBA Live 2005 (PS2)
staff. Living It Up sources: AllMusic.com, IMDB, MapQuest. 10 Madden NFL 2005 (PS2)

ВАТЕ
MOBILE
ЕЛІ/Д Гү,
Gundam goes 3D! The hit Battle Assault

series comes to the PlayStation®2.
5 playable modes: Mission, Versus, Tag Team, Survival,
and Time Trial featuring 2 vs. 2 cooperative play.
33 playable mobile suits to choose from, including 4

unlockable mobile suits from Gundam Wing
and G Gundam!
Special 1st person shooter attack, the DUAL
HYPER ATTACK!
Real-time upgrade of mobile suites during combat.
Interactive 3D environments.
Coming This.
November „
Language
Violence
GUNDAM SEED ©2002-2004 SOTSU A NCY * SUNRISE * MBS. GUN

related characters, names, logos, distin likenesses, drawingsand otherimagescontained i
logoareregistered trademarks of Sony imputer Entertainment Inc. The ratingsicon is a registere 'ark of the Entertainment Digital Software Association. CARTOON NETWORK.
OWN THE SKIES FOR A DAY!
Seow
~~~
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: Language
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The Unsung War & © 2004 NAMCO LTD.,ALLRIGHTS RESERVED. "PlayStation" andthe"PS" Familylogo are te of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.Theratings iconisa registered trademark ofthe Entertainment Software Association. Alltrademarks
andcopyrights
Пе manufacturers, aircraft, models, trade names, brands andvisual images depicted inthisgamearetheproperty) ‘Owners, andusedwithsuchpermissions /Copyright andotherrights owned byВАЕ SYSTEMS PLCanditspartners andarenottobereproduced without the
Gonsent of ВАЕ SYSTEMS PLC./Produced under license from Boeing Management Company /MIRAGE and RAFALE ûjê û ‘trademarks of DASSAULT AVIATION /Produced in cooperation with Japan Air Self-Defense Force/Lockheed Martin Trademarks used under licenseto.
ed under a license from Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation. к
к
SREVIEWS UII Ж ж”
2 tic E N INSIDE
GTA: SA bi=
THE MOST ANTICIPATED GAME EVER IS HERE
E
108 Fight C
s
= |
RATING KE' 106
Octagons. E Ocs. Blargs. Call our rating symbols what you will—just know that any 102 С
game that receives five of 'em is something truly special that deserves a spot in your collection.
On the other hand, a 2.5 is merely mediocre. And a 0.5? Well...at least they're fun to rip apart.
7 [00000 сыпы
RR 3
== ЭН (BT
Ш REVIEWS
IS IT REALLY THE BEST GAME EVER MADE?

As | start writing this review, | have played San Andreas for 35 hours 1 have not beaten San Andreas yet. This is something you need to know
and nine minutes, and | have completed only 49.43 percent of the entire before | proceed. You could beat a majority of the games reviewed this
game. In that time, | have passed 76 missions, traveled 1,762,380 feet by month two or three times over in 35 hours and nine minutes. San Andreas is
car, walked 316,900 feet, popped a 612-foot wheelie, and gone up on two very different, though. It is a very big game. The term "big" really doesn't do
wheels in a car for 58 feet. ۱۷۰ shot a basketball and scored from 114 feet. it justice. It's huge, massive, colossal, stupendous, and somewhat humbling
I've bench-pressed 320 pounds and curled a ПО-роипа dumbbell. I’ve in its enormity. No matter what expectations you've developed based on the
sprayed nine out of a possible 100 graffiti tags. | haven’t found any oysters information that has dribbled out over the course of the past six months,
or horseshoes. My sworn enemy is the Ballas gang. ۱۷۰ taken over three ter- you are wrong. If you're expecting Vice City, only set in the ‘90s and with
ritories and lost one, and 158 enemy gang members have died over the some RPG bits, you are wrong. If you believe they can't possibly push it as
course of the turf war. I've attained 198 wanted stars and evaded 124, and much as they have before, that it can't really be that good, you are wrong.
I've been busted just three times. Since | started, 262 road vehicles have San Andreas is shocking, not necessarily because of its typically contentious
been destroyed, as have two boats and 125 different planes and helicopters. subject matter (though there's plenty in it to rub those of a conservative dis-
I've started 1,044 fires and shot out 136 tires. I’ve spent $160,000 on prop- position the wrong way), but because of the sheer scale of the experience.
erty, $32,411 on gambling, $11,400 on weapons, $1,675 on clothes, $1,505 There are so many facets to this experience, | can't possibly describe
on tattoos, $1,300 on haircuts, and just $2 on food. I’ve jumped out of a them all here, but | will attempt to outline what makes San Andreas such а
plane twice, and l've dated two different women, with limited success. significant game. Based on my current progress, you can extrapolate that it's
Ш REVIEWS
=== iiroven oin e ‫ےک‬‎
SWEET JOHNSON, VOICED BY FAIZON
rd HE]
RYDER, VOICED BY MC EIHT
CESAR VIALPANDO, VOICED BY CLIFTON

COLLINS JR
CARL JOHNSON, VOICED BY YOUNG MAYLAY KENDL JOHNSON, VOICED BY YO-YO

The hero of the story. After his little brother
Brian died as a result of gang violence, CJ left
his life with the Orange Grove Families gang
behind and headed to Liberty City to try to
nis guilt. Five years late
gang kills his mother, CJ retur
to help his other brother, Sweet
horrible murder. ZERO, VOICED BY DAVID CROSS
Where have І heard that voice before? Umm,
nowhere—this is Young Maylay's first role. He
has a CD coming out next year.
going to take me about 72 hours to score 100 percent. This would, of There are five major regions in the game, the three cities and two wilder-
course, be true if the game were a completely linear enterprise. It's not. ness areas. Each has its own identity, vibe, and ambient beauty. Los Santos
Much like GTA3 and Vice City, you can "beat" the game by completing only is a gritty urban metropolis; San Fierro is a hilly replica of San Francisco,
the core missions that progress the story. There are people at Rockstar I’ve complete with frequent fog; and Las Venturas is a flat, neon-soaked sprawl.
spoken to who have finished the main story but have completed only about
60 percent of the entire game. By just plodding through the story, though,
you're going to miss a lot. Conservatively, | would guess that there's defi- "
nitely more than 100 hours of gameplay here. The notion ofa “digital sn IT'S GOING ТО TAKE ME ABOUT 72
box” was bandied around quite liberally in the past in association with this 0 0 0 0 C
franchise, but never has it been so apt. The game world is so packed with H URS T SC RE 10 PER ENT.
surprises that the enjoyment ofjust existing within it is its own reward. =
Aside from its size, the other immediately apparent thing about the game Тһе wilderness between Los Santos and San Fierro is lush and green and
is that it looks infinitely superior to Vice City. Environments are rich with filled with swaying grasses, farmland, and forests. The land between San
detail and packed with effects, whether beautiful sunrises bleaching out your Fierro and Las Venturas, on the other hand, is a barren wasteland. As you
view or huge storms breaking with rain as thunder crashes overhead. move through the game, not only is the change in scenery indicative of your
ж.
90 (ОРМ December 2004]
AND THERE'S
WU ZI MU, VOICED BY JAMES YAEGASHI MORE, AND MORE,
AND MORE...
This is just a taste of the
cast of the game. We
haven't included the
numerous girls that CJ is
OG LOC, VOICED BY JONATHAN ANDERSON able to date, nor some of
MADD DOGG, VOICED BY ICE-T the peripheral gang mem-
RAN FA LI, AKA FARLIE, VOICED BY bers. There are also a num-
HUNTER PLATIN ber of surprise characters
that turn up throughout the
game that will make fans of
the GTA series smile.
OFFICER TENPENNY, VOICED BY SAMUEL L. THE TRUTH, VOICED BY PETER FONDA

JACKSON MIKE TORENO, VOICED BY JAMES WOODS
TORENO IS A SHADY GUY WITH

LOTS OF SECRETS AND NO FRIENDS.
MACCER, VOICED BY SHAUN RYDER
JIZZY B, VOICED BY CHARLIE MURPHY

OFFICER PULASKI, VOICED BY CHRIS PENN
KEN ROSENBERG, VOICED BY WILLIAM

FICHTNER
T-BONE MENDEZ, VOICED BY KID FROST
OFFICER HERNANDEZ, VOICED BY

ARMANDO RIESCO
progress, but it also compounds your sense of achievement and provides a L1 to open fire. It's fast and effective, and it rarely devolves to the frustrating
sense of relief as you complete one area and discover another. depths that you're no doubt very familiar with if you played Vice City.
The first eight or nine hours of the game take place in Los Santos and are Also, by the end of your second hour, you will have started to put your
very gang focused. You're quickly drawn into the gangbanger lifestyle, and mark on your own personal CJ. You'll have been introduced to the barber-
there's an almost squalid feel to it. It's a reactionary experience, and you soon shop, the clothes stores, the tattoo shop, and the gym, as well as the restau-
start to develop feelings for the gang members you're working with. There rants in your neighborhood. That's enough to be either fat or skinny, well
are characters you like and others you don't, and the action unfolds in the dressed or a slob. You can even sport a huge moustache, if you're so
tried and trusted GTA fashion. Multiple threads open up that pull you through inclined. You'll also start to notice that you're forming quite a bond with the
the linear story, but they are presented in such a way that the illusion of free- game's hero. Examine this emotion further and you'll touch on one of the
dom is always very convincing. The first couple of hours introduce you to the least quantifiable, but arguably most significant, aspects of San Andreas: CJ
most obvious gameplay features, as well as some key players. himself. Without wishing to get all beard-strokey and film studenty, | think it
Very early on, you'll notice that the combat system has been improved. If has to be said that CJ is possibly one of the most well-developed and believ-
you've played Manhunt, you'll know pretty much what to expect. Shooting is able videogame characters ever made. He's not a caricature, he's not a
done with the aid of a lock-on system, as is hand-to-hand combat, and the superhero, he's not a lone warrior out for justice: He's just a guy. Sure, he's a
lock-on is, for the most part, fairly reliable. Tap RI to get a lock and then hit criminal, and he has a propensity for being particularly unpleasant, but very
[www.IUP.com] 91
2‫ ر‬REVIEWS‫‏‬
Gong members in your

cor will open fi
Gon 6 па
Smells Like Teen Spirit cide in 1994 d (like the s and their par Blowing Smoke Yada Yada Yada
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Jam, and Soundgarden. attacks away ile MonicaLe exactly naster of his o
However, Kurt Cobain’s sui- from established authori from the We her domain, Quite a le contin
96
on
quickly, you start to notice that you really like him. There's not the detach- Field-style button tapping, and several different kinds of racing. All of them
ment that you have with Sam Fisher or Solid Snake or Ratchet. With CJ, you are done in moderation, and none of them are so pronounced that you'll
like him because you very quickly start to feel like you know him. Part of this become frustrated. If you're lousy at rhythm games, you have to endure
is because of Young Maylay's fantastic performance as CJ, but it's mostly something of that style only twice in Los Santos. For me, bizarrely, the big
because his reactions are credible. When he's making smart-ass remarks, hang-up was the racing. For someone obsessed with racing games, the fact
they're casual and not forced. When he's dealing with a crazy character, his that | struggled so badly with one of the major Midnight Club-esque races in
discomfort is tangible, and when you factor all of this in with your ownership the game utterly bewildered me. This was worsened by a returning GTA
of every facet of his development, you really start to notice a bond forming. frustration—the repetition involved if you keep messing up a mission. The
By the time you leave Los Santos at around the nine-hour point, a lot of race in question was against a Mexican gang using lowriders (not the best-
things have happened. The gang activities have escalated to a point where handling cars in the game), and the process involved tracking down a
they're becoming almost oppressive, you will have witnessed a number of lowrider, heading to Cesar's (CJ's sister's boyfriend's place), following him to
set pieces that are truly spectacular, and you will have touched on quite a the race location, and then entering the race and having to win. The race
few of San Andreas' gameplay styles. Running, driving, shooting, drive-bys, itself weaved through a considerably large part of the city, and if |made a
sneaking, and variations thereof will have been supplemented with some mistake, | had to go all the way back to the beginning of that process. By my
on-rails shooter sections, object collection, DDR-style dancing, Track & third attempt, it was starting to piss me off.
213 Our favorite piece of San

Andreas trivia is Axl's pres-
ence in the game. He is the
voice of K-DST DJ Tommy
Learn to parachute at the
flight school(it's like playing
Pilotwings) and then grab a
parachute pack and have
One ofthe most fleshed-out
characters you'll ever see ina
videogame. Sure, he’s a
badass—but he's likeable,
Bet you didn’t expect DDR-
style rhythm gameplay, huh?
There are different types of
dance gameplay, including car
Physical activity affects CJ's
stamina, and if you head to
the gym, you can lift weights
to get so buff that you'll want
of gan 0101000 "The Nightmare" Smith and
plays classic rock while bitch-
some fun. Take a plane up
over a city, land on top of a
and more important, you can
shape his development by
bouncing (timed analog stick to run around with no shirt on. 2&
twitches) and pure DDR-style Workout gameplay is old- 5
26 things you probably didn't know about the ing about his days as a rock skyscraper, leap off the edge modifying his appearance, button pressing. Ifthis scares school Track & Field-style ЕІ3
game until now star and lamenting the state of it, and parachute downto his behavior, his actions, and you abit, you only haveto do button tapping, and it affects
of modern rock bands. the street. his abilities. it twice. both strength and stamina.

It itseemed like they
were coming 49
a,|
from dii > ue. p
y^
Ж v
=
Wo matter how cool it looks, never stop shooting. || Ж фас
Three dimensions. Two playable heroes. One classic |

franchise returns. Neo Contra. The more things change, |
|
|
| the more they stay insane.
MATURE 17+
|| "— ДЕ PlayStation.2 KONAMI

www.konami.com/usa
ESRB CONTENT RATING
suy ‎‫ بای‬KONAI ‎‫سرد‬ami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. “KONAMI”isa registered trademai са ‫او‬‎ ‫" وضع‬Neo Contra" isa trademark ot ona CORPORATION.
and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computerv Entertalnment inc.
The trademiarkofthe
Entertain
inment Softwar
FUNK HOUSE CLASSIC ROCK DUB/REGGAE COUNTRY
DJ Funktipus, voiced by DJ Hans Oberlander, voiced DJ Tommy "The Night- DJs Sly and Robbie, voiced DJ Mary-Beth Maybell,
George Clinton by Lloyd Floyd mare" Smith, voiced by W. respectively by Marshall voiced by Riette Burdick
Cameo, “Candy 28th StreetCrew, Needa Axl Rose (Guns N' Roses) Peters and Johnny Lawton Asleep at the Wheel, “The Letter
Dazz Band, “Let It Whip Rhythm’ а, "А Horse With No Augustus Pablo, “King Tubby
Fatback, "Yum Yum 808 State, Pacific Meets Rockers Upton
The Gap Band, “You Dropped a A Guy Called Ge ald, "Voodoo BillyIdol,"White Wedd 9 Barrington Levy, “Here
Bomb
on Me’ Ray’ Smokin Black Harmony, “Don’t Let It Go
George Clinton, "Loopzilla CeCe Rogers, “Someday learwater Revival, to Your Head’ sert RoseBand, One
The Isley Brothers, "Between Cultural Vibe, “Ma Foom Bey River Black Uhuru, “Great Train Rob- Step Forward
the Sheets Fallout, “The Morning After David Bowie, “SomebodyUp bery e, "Мата С
Johnny Harris, "Odyssey"
Kool&the Gang, "Hollywood
Frankie Knuckles, Your L
Joe Smooth, рPromise
p There Likes Ме
Eddie Money, Two Tickets to.
Blood Sisters, "Ring My Bell
Buju Banton, "BattyRider
Babi w Up
Eddie Rabbit,
Swingin Jomanda, "Make My Body Rock = Paradise' Dennis Brown, “Revolution Night
Lakeside, "Fantastic Voyage Marshall Jefferson, “Move Your Foghat, "Slow Ride
/ Dillinger, "Cocaine in M: Hank Williams, “Hey, Good
Maze, "Twilight Body Grand Funk Railroad, "Some 1 Roy, "Sidewalk Killer
MFSB, "Love Is the Message Maurice, “This lsAcid Kind ofWonderful' Max Romeo& the Upsetter Jer y Ree sMo
Ohio Players, “Funky Worm Mr. Fine ‘Can You Feel It Heart, "Barracuda = ‘Chase the Devil’ Juice Newton, "Queen ofHe
Ohio Players, "Love Roller Nightwrit Let the Music Humble Pie, "Get Downto It' The Maytals, “Pressure Drop’ Merle Haggard, “AlwaysW.
I (Use You! The Pliers, “Bam Bam’
| Rick James, "ColdBlooded Raze, “Break 4Love Woman Reggie Stepper, Drum Pan Mickey Gilley, "Maketh
Ronnie Hudson, “West Coast Robert Owens, "I'll Be Your Kiss, "Strutter Sound Go Away
Poplock” Friend’ Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Free Bird Shabba Ranks, Wicked Inna Pasty Cline, "Three Cigarettes in
Roy Ayers, “Running Away” The Todd Terry Project Turks the Ashtray
Zapp, "ICan Make You Dance "Weekend' imning Down a Stat
Roses,” “New York Cit
Toto, "Hold the Line Willie Williams, 'Armagideon Whitey Shafer, “All ve
The Who, е Front Time in Texa
Willie Nelson, "Crazy
CSR103.2 Radio Los Santos
2
RARE GROOVE CONTEMPORARY CONTEMPORARY MODERN ROCK CLASSIC HIP-HOP
DJ Johnny “The Love SOUL RADIO HIP-HOP DJ Sage, voiced by Jodie DJ Forth Right MC, voiced
Giant” Parkinson, voiced by DJ Philip "PM" Michaels, DJ Julio
Gashimself Shawback by Chuck D (Public Enemy)
8
Ricky Harris voiced by Michael Bivins 2Pac, "IDon't Give a F Alice in Chains, "Them Big Daddy Kane Warm It Up,
» "Rock Creek Park’ (New Edition/Bell Biv Above t Murder Rap’ Danzig, "Mothe Kane
, “Nautilus DeVoe) Compton's Mo: Wanted, Depeche Mode, "Personal arkie The V.
Bobby Byrd, “Hot Pants' Aaron Hall, "Don't Be Afraid Іше "Hood Took Me Under Jesu: Nubian, Brand Nubian
Bobby Byrd, “IKnow YouCot Bell Biv DeVoe, Cypress Hill, “How |Could Just Faith No More, "Midlife Crisi:
Soul Bobby Brown, Don'tBeCruel’ Killa Man Guns N' Roses, "Welcome to the.
Booker T., “Green Onions Boyz ИMen, “Motownphilly Da Lench Mob, Guerillas intha Jungle BYS.
The Chakachas, "Jungle Fever En Vogue, “MyLovin’ (Never Mist Helmet, "Unsung
Charles Wright, "Express. Gonna Get It)’ The DOC, "It’s Funky Enough’ Jane's Addiction, "Been Caught Me & the
Yourself Guy, “Groove Me Stealing Public Enemy, “Rebel Without a
Gloria Jones, “Tainted Love Johnny Gil Rub You the Right L7, “Pretend We're Dead’ Pause
Harlem Underground Band, Way Living Colour, “Cultof
‘Smokin’ Cheeba Cheeba’ Ralph Tresvant, sitivity
"Ser Personality
James Brown, "Funky President’ Samuelle So You Like What zy Osbo Hellraiser Slick Rick, “Children’s Story
James Brown, “ThePayback YouSee Primal Scream, "Movin' on Up’ SpoonieGee, “The Godfather
The JB's, “Grunt” SoulIISoul, “KeeponMovir Ice Cube, Check Yo Self (The Rage Against the Machine Ultramagnetic MC's, “Critical
Lyn Collins, "RockMeAgain and SWN, "I'mSo IntoYou Message | Killing in the Name
What's a car without tunes? Nothing, as Again" Today, "1Got the Feeling ke Cube, “ItWas a Good
Day Soundgarden, “RustyCage
the gang at Rockstar well knows, which is why Lyn Collins, "Think (About It)" Wreck-N-Effect, “Ne Kid Frost, "LaRaza’ The Stone Roses, "Fools Cold
the music in Vice City set a new standard (and Maceo &the Macks, "Cr Swing NWA, “Alwayz Into Somethin Stone Temple Pilots, "Plush'
new sales records) for the previously lowly gam-
Tracks (We Better Go Back)’ NWA, Express Yourself TALK RADIO
Maceo &theMacks, “Soul Too Short, The Ghetto Host Maurice, voiced by
ing soundtrack. San Andreas continues the t Power 74 Andy Di.
tion; here's a complete list of every radig Sir Joe Quarterman, “(1Got)So Talk Show, “Gardening with
every DJ, and every song. Much Trouble inMyMind!
War, “Low Rider”
Once you leave Los Santos, you're actually quite glad to be away from all Cross, and his excruciatingly difficult side missions (remember the RC mis-
the gang-related crap that's going on. Being dumped out in the middle of sions in Vice City? They're back, and they'll kick your ass). You'll also meet
nowhere in a small town in the countryside has a dramatic effect on the way the Chinese triad boss Woozie (my favorite character in the game) and Jizzy,
you feel about the game, and the sense of being in the open air is actually the proprietor of the strip club The Pleasure Domes. Your time in San Fierro
quite refreshing. The missions in the wilderness have a very different vibe,
and the characters you come across are far less intense (for the most part)
than the bangers in Los Santos. Missions in the countryside vary from
small-town bank jobs to torching an entire field of weed, and these are inter- THERE'S A STRONG THREAD OF
spersed with a lot of off-roading over beautifully rendered landscapes. |
spent about six hours working through the missions out there, and just as
the game clock ticked over 15 hours, | was approaching San Fierro and
HUMOR RUNNING THROUGHOUT.
another major shift in terms of atmosphere. feels more civilized than the time you spent in Los Santos, probably because
There's a strong thread of humor running throughout the game, but you you've broken away from the gang scene to a certain extent and become
really start to notice it once you're traversing the hills of San Fierro. It's here much more of a player in the broader scheme of things. You now own prop-
that you encounter your geeky sidekick, Zero, voiced to perfection by David erty, and as you accumulate funds, you can buy a number of different places
OWN THE CD BOX

An eight-disc box setof
music will be released on
Nov. 23, as well as a double
CD of select tunes.

Finish the flight school in
Bone County, and all kinds of
= new gameplay opportunities
open up:
Your introductiontoseaman-
ship willcome in theSan
Fierro bay.
Buying property in each city

provides you with a safe house
where you can save your game
and change into any of the Pretty much every major
clothes you've bought. casino in Vegas is parodied in
some form in Las Venturas,
; whether it's Caligula's Palace
дік sanie (Caesars)orPiratesin Меп
you'llneedif you want to Yêu tafîkill hours and hours Рат! (Treasure Island).
progress through the Sari just cruising the casinos in Las
At the dojo in San Fierro, Fierro missions. Venturas
and gambling away
you'll learn new movesfroma Жі your cash.
martial arts master.
Trains move through the

whole state, and you can
hijack them to unlock atrain-
driving minigame. Your first burglary will be in
Los Santos, with you stealing
5 weapons from a dealer's home
whilehesleeps. Putting
onthe
You'll perform
a number of mask allowsyou to sneak
different jobs in Red County, ДЕЛЕ anda gauge indicates
most of which willnotquitego Кен lou yourare
according to plan. Hitting a
You'll drive all kinds of gas station somehow results
different vehicles out in in you stealing a tanker truck:
Flint County
There are some spectaculat
set-piece missions, especially
as you head toward the end of
уомг теча LasSantes:
же m
жо ‫ےس‬‎ TakeoverterritoryinLos San-
The off-road gameplay is С tosbydeclaring war on a
easily as satisfying as any gang's territory and wiping
game that's totally devoted out as many gang members
to the subject. as you can find.
The Truth is a keen farmer, but

when the feds get interested To ingratiate yourself with the
in what he's growing, he asks Mexican gangs, you'll need to
you to help him torch it. beatthem in the lowrider
races, as well as kit out your
cat with hydraulics and
bounce your way into their
ftt
hearts (and wallets).
Radio ‎‫[ ارتا‬5]
[www.lUP.com] 95
Ш REVIEWS
If you have previously

completed a journey
in a mission that you
failed you may press
to activate a "Trip
DELIVERY 00:33|
froma show that purported Déjà Vu All Over Again Me, Baby Baseball and Apple Pie
tobe about nothing. In 1991, Bush was president, Hard to believe: At the begin- In the summer of 1998, base-
the economy was in bad ning of 1998, the nation had ball regained its crown as the
Keep Your Pants On shape, and we hadjust fin- not yet been subjected to a king of sports (which it lost
1990s fashion LAPD chase0) ished fighting a war in the single song from Britney during the MLBstrikeof
rehash the "70s. the murder Persian Gulf. At least 2004 Spears, J-Lo, or NSync. Sadly, 1994) as Mark McGwire and
trendsettingra Chicks With Sticks has yet to be witness to a by the time 2000 dawned, Sammy Sosa took turns
designer b red, and It ^ Color Me Badd resurrection. our innocence had been lost. swinging for magical 62.
around the city that provide you with easily accessible safe houses, as well you read that right. Rampages come in two forms, in vehicles or on foot.
as new business opportunities. Your legitimacy is compounded as you start On-foot rampages allow both players to run on the same screen at the same
to feel like you're taking a side in a much broader story. time (it’s not splitscreen), with separate health, armor, and weapons. Vehicle
From the beginning of the game, you're surrounded by "bad guys." At rampages drop players into a vehicle, one person driving and the other
first, they're clearly the opposing gang members and the vindictive cop Ten-
penny, voiced superbly by Samuel Jackson, but as you work through the San
Fierro missions, the game's not so much about CJ taking on the whole
7 ‎‫کک کک‬ ‫ککےت‬
world, and you start to develop more of a sense of purpose. Gameplay styles
continue to develop, and you get to play around in some cooler, faster cars
I STUMBLED UPON MY FIRST TWO-
and some awesome bikes. You also spend a lot more time around trains and
planes (you can even jack a train, which leads to a train-driving minigame
PLAYER RAMPAGE.
that will no doubt be very popular when San Andreas is inevitably released in shooting, with the objective of destroying a set number of targets in a lim-
Japan). It also becomes necessary to train CJ in the water, and you'll spend a ited time. It's simple and effective, and it's an especially nice reward if you're
fair amount of time swimming, as well as tooling around on boats. It was playing the game with an audience.
also in San Fierro that | stumbled upon my first two-player rampage. Yes, The core San Fierro missions are all a lot of fun, and the eight hours |
Helicopters, planes, and RC In the casinos of Las Ven- There are three basic rating Remember the car-smuggling As in Samuel (Pulp Fiction, You'll be stealing all kindsof There are four different
planes are all part of the turas, you can play video levels with weapons: poor, business in Grand Theft Auto the Star Wars prequels, and a stuff throughout the game, schools in San Andreas: driv-
action thistime, and flying poker (some of them are gangster, and hitman. The Zon PSI? No? Go back and zillion other movies), who but new to the series is the ing, boating, motorcycling,
allows you to travel great dis- $1,000ahand), craps, black- more you use a weapon, the pick up a copy from the used voices sinister cop-gone-bad burglary scenario. The first andflying. Working through
tances in a short space of jack, roulette, or wheel of for- better you get with it, and at bin in EB Games—you'll prob- Officer Tenpenny, one of the time you break into a house, them has multiple benefits.
time. For really quick travel, tune, or try your hand at the the top level, you can move ably find it for $5. You can key bad guys in the game. you learn the new stealth First, you get used to the con-
you can also buy a ticket for a slots. Remember, what hap- around and shoot with pin- relive the smuggling experi- He's not a nice guy, and he moves in the game, which are trols. Second, you get to try
relatively small price and take pens in Las Venturas stays in point accuracy by simply lock- ence by purchasingacar deal- spends most of the game useful in a wide variety of dif- cool vehicles. Third, you get
a commercial flight. Las Venturas. ing on with RI. ership in San Fierro. messing with you. ferent missions. benefits, like a pilot's license.

* Complete walkthrough for all 11 levels
* Detailed multiplayer maps with all weapon and item locations
* Comprehensive weapons chart with statistics on all 27 weapons
* Tactics to increase your combat, hit percentage and strafing abilities
* In-depth analysis on all four playable characters
Check out Www.primagames.com for our new Equides

zr REVIEWS
Buy
Bock
E
9-0
Apporel
Barbers Red Tint
Hairstyle
Cosar
Bad Things Come in Threes fleeing from aggressive mem- King of the Hillall made their as two boys execu utal
Within the span of two bers of the paparazzi. debut in this decade. nd claimed 15 victims
months in 1997, Gianni Ver- at Columbine High School in premiered onFoxin 1993
sace was murdered by a Extremely Animated suburban Di Unfortunately, George Lucas kicked off its fir
deranged serial killer, Mother It was a good time to be a would let these same geeks videogame dominan
Teresa died from cardiac cartoon character: Ren & Real World the U.S. release of
arrest, and Princess Di was Stimpy, Beavis and by the biggest tragedy of idaddy of
reality tel- The Truth Is Out There nal PlayStation on September
killed in a car accident while Butthead, South Park, and them all in the spring of 1999, ATV's The Real Sci-fi fanshad new targets of 9,1995.
spent in that city seemed to fly by much faster than those spent in Los San- starting to wonder what else the game could possibly dish up. Surely, by this
tos. When you reach the Badlands, you're again faced with a change in point, anything it's going to do, it's already done, right? Wrong.
vibe...now you're out in the desert: It's very dusty and dirty, there's a lot of When you arrive in Las Venturas, the first thing you do is walk into a
off-roading, and eventually a lot of flying, which | found particularly difficult. casino, where you're faced with a variety of different minigames, from
rr
| think this has to do with the sudden change in gameplay style. After you've
been cruising around in off-road vehicles and running around shooting at
GAMEPLAY SURPRISES START TO
stuff, the controls of a WWII fighter plane or an attack chopper seem spec-
tacularly sensitive, and you'll find yourself lurching around all over the place
EMERGE OUT IN THE DESERT.

and failing miserably to meet any of the flying objectives until you become
more subtle with the analog sticks.
Progress through the desert is extremely focused and driven exclusively
by tasks set for you by Mike Toreno, played with typical ferociousness by roulette to slot machines. If you're prone to video poker addiction, you'll lose
James Woods. Some of the big gameplay surprises start to emerge out in a lot of money very quickly at this point in the game, but it's a nice break
the desert, and by the 25-hour point, when you leave these dusty environs before the story suddenly turns into Ocean's Eleven.
to meet up with Woozie, who has now moved to Las Venturas, you're really 1 really love the way the game develops through Las Venturas. Your sense
Find a mod shop and you can Hooking up with the ladiesis Once one of the most power- ^ Grabacamerainthegameand You'll be shocked by how Avital part of San Andreas, Like any good RPG, San
trick out your ride with new an important part of the ful gangs in Los Santos, the you can snap pictures and save much better things lookin San your respect level is affected Andreas tracks everything—
bumpers, rims, exhausts, game, and your sexiness will Orange Grove Families is the them to your memory card. Andreasthan they doin Vice Бу your money, haircut, from the distance you've
skirts, a cool paint job, and dictate how successful you gang CJ rolls with. Its typical Some missions require you to City. Gorgeous lighting clothes, physique, and per- walked or ridden on a bicycle
even a nitrous system. It's like are. The dates themselves are dress code is green. Based pri- snap shots as the objective effects, lots of ambient ani- sonal history. Who you've tothe number of crimes
playing Midnight Club! Just often very amusing, with marily in Ganton, the gang's (like the heist in Las Venturas). mations (like swaying grass, robbed, killed, or teamed up you've committed or people
remember to save your car in romanticallylitscenes of you influence has slowly eroded Alternatively, hand the camera birds), and neat effects like with affects the way others in you've shot.The more CJdoes
your garage when you're done wooing the ladies while over the years as a result of to your homies and they'll motion blur all contribute to а the world see you, and they'll something, like run or swim,
so you don't lose it. cheesy music plays. increasing violence. snap pictures of you. high-quality look. react very differently. the better he becomes at it.

ay Station
ІЗ L U.S,
MAGAZINE
d
RARE
EXCLUSIUE
BRAND NEW LEVEL!

AFTER HOURS
id E
JAK 3 RATCHET 3
* PLUS! THE INCREDIBLES e KING ARTHUR e
UNDER THE SKIN e FAIRLY ODDPARENTS e
SUIKODEN IV & MORE!
KILLZONE
JAK 3
THE INCREDIBLES
FAIRLY ODDPARENTS
SPYRO: A HERO'S TAIL
SUIKODEN IV
KING ARTHUR
UNDER THE SKIN
DUKES OF HAZZARD
RETURN OF THE
GENERAL LEE
MORTAL KOMBAT
DECEPTION
SD GUNDAM FORCE
RATCHET & CLANK
UP YOUR ARSENAL
SOCOM Il: U.S. NAVY SEALS

LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE THIRD AGE
SOCOM II - NEW МАР

М Why is the game so damn big? had to be “cool.” Characters in games are often so OPM What do you mean?
robotic, and we didn’t want that. If you think back
R Because we're insane! Making to when the PS2 was announced and you had SH Movies have changed since we were kids, and
San Andreas was really about expanding on the Kutaragi standing up there talking about the the problem is the actors. Remember how it
things we love. The notion of immersion and hav- Emotion Engine, well...| think this is what he was always used to be about the heroes themselves?
ing that world be seamlessly connected was getting at. We want people to feel something They were heroes that you believed in completely,
incredibly important to us. To be honest, making when it comes to CJ. If you look back, in GTA3 and you went to see the movies because of them.
the game larger was about making it more excit- you had the main guy who never really had a Now it's all about the actors, and | think that's а
ing and intriguing. name. | know that some people refer to him as dangerous path to tread. | want fantasy—l don't
Fido or Claude, but he was never officially given a want the actor and all the baggage that they bring
OPM Why the jump to three cities? Why not just name because we wanted it to be you. Then in along. We know so much about that baggage now
paa larger version of what you'd done before? Vice City we had Tommy, and he was much more because of magazines like Us Weekly that we
evolved. He spoke, of course, and as a result, | can't separate the actor from the character any-
SH We love L.A. and the whole gangbanging vibe think he was a more rounded character. This time, more. l'm not saying that we don't want to use
and the street culture. That time in L.A. is so our goal was to give the player a real connection big names at all. | mean, Ray Liotta was perfect
important, and we knew a long time ago that the and give them a sense of ownership over the for us in Vice City, but this time, when it came to
franchise needed to end up there. We'd done the
East Coast іп СТАЗ, and then "805 Miami with
Vice City, so going to L.A. in the early ‘90s just
seemed like an obvious place. We've looked at “IF WE DIDN'T HAVE TO TOP IT,
WHAT WOULD BE THE POINT?"
going back in time with it and playing with the
"305, ‘40s, and '50s, but it just doesn't feel like
GTA. That's not to say that we won't explore that
in future, but for now, this is it. L.A. at this time
influenced current pop culture in a big way. hero. All of us, believe it or not, were really CJ, it absolutely had to be someone that was
inspired by things like Pokémon and Tamagotchi. completely unknown, someone that didn't bring
OPM So why the other two cities? They're so simple and so far removed from the any of that baggage along with them.
kinds of games we make, but the connection you
To be honest, we were drawn to doing a city make with those silly plastic eggs is indescribable. OPM So, what's next? How can you top this?
based on San Francisco because of the hills and all We wanted to bring that connection into a more
of the beautiful scenery with the bridges and the relevant setting. SH Well, if we didn't have to top it, what would be
Victorian architecture. Once we'd decided to do the point? The beauty of working in videogames
that, it became clear that if you're doing L.A. and OPM How much of CJ is Young Maylay putting is that you're not held back by a fixed medium. If
San Francisco, you can’t not do Vegas. Again, himself into the role? you look at TV, or movies, or music, it's com-
ROCKSTAR'S there's a very different look and feel, and you pletely static, but with games we get to see the
PRESIDENT have the whole Mafia vibe, and the gambling and SH He added so much to what we were doing. medium evolve. Every five years the nice people at
SAM HOUSER the bright lights. Once we put together the three He understood that CJ had to be relatable, and Sony give us new toys to play with, and we get to
DISCUSSES WHY cities, things started to naturally evolve, and we he really gave the character some presence. reinvent the wheel again. With that in mind,
SIZE IS SO thought about what would go on between these This is something that's really important for us though, we don't want to abuse the franchise,
IMPORTANT cities, and we realized that we needed to do the and speaks to a much broader point. If you look and we only want to make stuff when there's a
wilderness with the farms and the desert, etc. back, we were among the first to really push reason for it. This is the trilogy for now (GTA3,
this notion of using celebrity voices in games. Vice City, and San Andreas), and we're not in a
M Aside from the scale of the game, the other GTA3 took it to a good place, and then obvi- rush to do the next one. We're looking at the next
big innovation is the depth of CJ's character. Why ously we expanded on it quite dramatically in generation of hardware for sure, and if you think
something.so ambitious? Why make GTA RPG? Vice City. For San Andreas, we knew that we about the enormous difference between PS] and
had to do it differently. We don't want the PS2 and then do the calculations on how much
SH How the player connects with a game charac- things with actors in videogames to end up in more we'll be able to do if the leap is to the same
ter is so important. For want of a better word, CJ the same place as movies. degree to PS3, well...it's very exciting.
of purpose is focused even further than it was in San Fierro, your relation PlayStation.
ships with the other major characters are firmly stablished, and there are
sore nice little surprises for fans of the series.
And that's where I'm going to end this. There are literally hundreds of
things about the game that l've not touched on, but pretty much all of them
are as rewarding as the things | have discussed. All that remains is to tackle
the question we posed at the beginning of thi view: Is it really the best
jame ever made? Quite possibly, yes. Some of you may not like it. Some of
you might be quite cynical about the hype surrounding the game. I'm sure
some of you will think that lm being sensational and overstating its quality, VERDICCT The game promises just about everything and somehow manages to deliver even
simply because we have the exclusive and we're obliged to do so. This is not more than you expected.
the case. Before |played it, | was thinkin that perhaps this story would be
more interesting if we were able to say Grand Theft Auto loses its cool, San
Andreas is actually crap,” but the truth is it's spectacular—it ts the bar so
high that it leaves a lot of games in the dust. С avis
TRIATHLON UNPRECEDENTED VIDEOGAMES WAYPOINTS X Radio YES ZERO

The game has running, swim- No other game has ever You'll find four different con- One of the user-friendliest Xis the alternative rock sta- You'll probably want to invest Voiced by David Cross
ming, and biking gameplay. offered this much variety or a sole/arcade games: Let's Get additions to the game, the tion in San Andreas. Its in the official strategy guide (Arrested Development), Zero
mechanics, so what better game environment that pro- Ready to Bumble, an '80s- waypoint system allows you to playlist includes songs by from Brady. This game is so is quite spectacularly geeky
way to take advantage of vides so much freedom. Sure, style gravity game; They mark a tag on the enormous, Stone Temple Pilots, Faith No big and there's so much hid- and quotes sci-fi and fantasy
them than to include а full-on it's possible to beat the story Crawled From Uranus, a sprawling game map. You'll More, Helmet, Depeche den stuff, there's a good movies while providing the
triathlon for you to enter? in about 50 or 60 hours, but Gyruss-style tube shooter; find it useful to place these Mode, Danzig, and, of course, chance you'll want help. We tech support CJ requires. He's
You'll need to hit the gym and to get 100 percent, you're space shooter Duality; and reference points on special Guns N' Roses’ “Welcome to guarantee thatyou are not also the keeper of the RC vehi
crank up those stamina stats going to need to invest more side-scroller Go Go Space locations and road junctions the Jungle,” which you no prepared for the enormity of cles, which are extremely diffi-
if you want to win. than 100 hours. Monkey. We love monkeys. on really long trips. doubt heard in the trailer. the experience. cult to control.
© 2004 Hollywood
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Jj REVIEWS
FINAL FANTASY ХІ: CHAINS OF PROMATHIA

PREPARE TO HAVE EVEN LESS OF A LIFE
Just when you thought you'd found a way out, Square Enix's online
palace of crack gets a new wing. Chains of Promathia is an expansion pack
for the popular MMO Final Fantasy XI that offers tons of new things to see
and do, but relative newcomers to the game may want to hold off...for now.
The world of Vana'diel is once again in trouble: A mysterious “Emptiness”
threatens to engulf the world if you (and countless others) don't stop it.
With the help of a mysterious boy, memories of the past, and an armada of
airships, you'll combat Emptiness, evil scientists, and even Bahamut...online!
And it's as cool as it sounds. Chains of Promathia has more of a story
focus than previous entries in the FFXI saga, making the quest feel more
epic and less level-grindy. Many new dungeons are level capped, allowing
players of all levels to join forces. While good in theory, player habits keep it
from being reality: Lower-level players will likely be frustrated by the diffi-
culty of the starting missions, while higher-level players will be angered by
their propensity for disaster. That said, the new missions are a lot of fun
when they go well, and the new areas they unlock are worth the effort.
The expansion adds 40 beautiful new areas to explore, all teeming with
new monsters to battle. This is a Square Enix game, so it's going to be stun-
ning, but Chains of Promathia really pushes the limits of the engine and art
team, offering ever more breathtaking vistas to see and explore and some of
the best real-time cinematics the company has ever produced.
With new story content, areas, and items, Chains of Promathia has some-
thing for every kind of MMO player. This addition to Vana'diel may not be a
must-have item for everyone right now, but in due time, all players will want
to pick this one up.
CRACK A deeper story, gorgeous new locations, tons of new items

CRACKED Level-capped dungeons may frustrate very high- ог low-level players
Pub, SquareEnix Dev.Square Enix ESRB T MSRP $29.99
RATING
GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX

MAJOR LETDOWN
Ghost in the Shell, the manga and anime franchise that serves as the
inspiration for Stand Alone Complex, loves to dabble in philosophy. Cyborg
protagonist Major Kusanagi spends as much time questioning her own
humanity as she does kicking butt, wondering "Who am I? What am I?"
In that sense, Complex does a pretty good job of capturing the Ghost
experience. Like its main character, the game seems to suffer from a severe
case of identity crisis. It plays like Syphon Filter, but it controls like Halo.
Apparently, it never occurred to anyone at Cavia that using a first-person-
shooter setup to control a game seen in the third person is a little like put-
ting Resident Evil-style controls in a Mario game: technically possible but
deeply stupid. The loose, close-in camera certainly doesn't help matters any,
especially in heavy shootouts. You didn’t want to hit anything, did you?
Stand Alone Complex sports a potpourri of other problems as well: plat-
forming sections made ridiculously difficult by the stiff jumping controls,
brain-dead enemy A.l., no midmission saves, drearily generic techno music,
unambitious level structure and goals...it's like a litany of design decisions
specifically intended to be hostile to players. Oddly, the worst of it is
crammed into the beginning; the game gradually improves as it goes, but
the average person will be driven away long before they reach that point.
Even dedicated Ghost fans will be put off by the sloppiness: The tin-eared
pronunciations for familiar names grate, and the graphics’ odd attempts at
realism do horrible things to character designs. Plus, the story consists
mainly of rapid-fire radio transmissions that substitute jargon for depth.
The Ghost series has the potential for great games—we know, we played
one years ago. But Stand Alone Complex is cyber hackwork.
WHO AM I? Just another unsatisfying anime-licensed action game

WHAT AM I? Occasional quality buried in disastrous controls, tedious objectives, and dull visuals
Pub. Bandai Dev. Сама ESRB M MSRP $39.99

RATING

PAESETS МОЈА MONTHLY GAME FEED
PLUG INTO THIS

"ELT Е |
BREAK ПИТ GOETHE ORDINARY

effects are
stunning—some of
the best in any PS2 game.
Let's get this out of the way right now: Jak 3 is nowhere near as game. The reveal of the precursors, in any event, is priceless.
tough as Jak Il is. Those of you who pride yourselves on your old-school The voice acting—most especially Max Casella as Daxter—is as excellent
hardcore platforming skills may find this disappointing, but it's great news as ever, as is the Hollywood-caliber animation. Both of these help carry
for the rest of us. "Hard" does not necessarily equal "good," and most of us some scenes that might not have worked otherwise due to the somewhat
don't like feeling as though a game is trying to give us an aneurysm. uneven writing. There are a few groanworthy moments anyway, but this is a
The best part about this is that without the constant fighting with the platforming дате, you know; I'm grateful to get any story at all. You should
game and the constant fear of running into another mission that will make be aware, though, that much of the story is written under the assumption
you want to hurl your controller through your TV screen, you're free to sit that you're familiar with the story from the last game. It would have been
back and enjoy the game. And there's plenty to enjoy. nice to have a quick refresher course.
Perhaps the real gem this time around is the story. Not every loose end is Of course, there’s a great deal of game around all that story, with the big
tied up, but this is (ostensibly) the final game in the Jak saga, and there is innovation being the Smuggler’s Run-style desert driving missions. With the
quite a satisfying amount of resolution here. There are even a few surprises, occasional exception resulting from the too-sensitive handling, these are
though at least one of the big twists is telegraphed pretty heavily early in the almost all awesome—so much so that it’s a real disappointment when Jak
Ж
FIVE THINGS JAK 3
DOES BETTER
THAN RATCHET &
CLANK: UP YOUR
ARSENAL
The hoverboard controls

haven't gotten any more
precise since Jak Il,
ON INSOMNIAC
Naughty Dog and Insomniac work fairly closely
together, so we wondered what h studio
thought of the other's work. Here's Naughty
Dog's side of the story
OPM What have you seen of Up Your Arsenal
that made you think, "Damn, | wish we'd done
that"?
EVAN WELLS, DIRECTOR The fact that they
were able to include a multiplayer online mode
to the game in addition to the single-player
adventure is an amazing achievement.
OPM What have you seen that made you think,

"Tee hee, we did that better"?
EW The one thing that Naughty Dog and

Insomniac have never been able to see eye to
eye on is our senses of humor. We love all of the
action, [but when] a cut-scene comes up and
the punch line is delivered, all of the Naughty
Dogs' eyes start to roll. It seems as though the
jokes in our respective games go right over each
other's heads.
OPM Does it ever bother you that the Jak

series and the Ratchet series have to compete
with one another on store shelves?
gets sent back to Haven City. (Don't worry, though; he gets back to tht AMY HENNIG, GAME DIRECTOR SometimesI
wastelands shortly.) Overall, the gameplay is as varied as ever, mixing driv- wish their release dates were farther apart, so we
ing, shooting, hoverboarding, and flying in with straight-up platforming in a weren't seen by consumers or the gaming press
most satisfying fashion. as "competing" titles. Our games are actually
With all these different styles of gameplay, though, it's not surprising that very different, and each has its own fan base.
the controls aren't exactly perfect. The runny-jumpy mechanic is as solid as
ever, but the shooting and especially the hoverboarding can get a little PROS Interesting story (especially for a platform EW | think it would benefit the industry—and
wonky from time to time. That's unfortunate, because the very last thing | game) and loads of variety the consumer as well—if major releases were
want to do in a platformer is fight with the controls (followed closely by CONS Some messy controls; some spotty writing more evenly distributed throughout the year
fighting with the camera, which happens mercifully rarely here). rather than being bunched up in the last two
All gripes aside, this is a very, very good game. If you get just one plat- Pub, Sony CEA Dev. Naughty Dog ES! RBT M! months. The idea that videogames are toys that
former this holiday season...get Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal. But if parents buy their kids for Christmas is an out-
you get two platformers, make sure one of them is Jak3. < Joe R
RATING
dated concept that needs to change to keep up
with the maturing gamer.
[www.lUP.com] 105
‫ را‬REVIEWS‫‏‬
TAIKO: DRUM THIRD VERSE, BETTER THAN THE FIRST
MASTER If you're reading this review to find out if you enough for you, however, you also have the option
BANG ON THE DRUM ALL DAY should buy this game, then stop now. If you liked to play sing-off mode, in which players switch off
the first two versions, then you'll enjoy Volume 3. phrases in a song to see who can get the highest
There's something therapeutic about hit- And if you didn't, it's unlikely that anything about score, or knockout mode, which pits performers
ting sticks on things, which is probably why the Volume 3 will change your mind. against each other at the same time until one gets
aggro guy in most bands is someone other than As before, you perform your way through a far enough ahead to eliminate the other.
the drummer. Luckily for those of us who are single-player campaign to unlock new characters, It's a welcome addition for a game that's best
not fortunate enough to be the percussionist in outfits, and songs, or get a quick hit through in social settings. Factor in the extensive song
a musical ensemble, Namco has imported Taiko, TAIKO GLOSSARY quick play mode. Technically, nothing is different library with a good variety of difficulty levels, and
which allows you to relieve pent-up frustrations The term for taiko drum- either—the game judges you solely on hitting the armchair American Idols everywhere are sure to
and have fun all in one handy package. sticks is bachi, a typical right pitch, so you can still cheat your way be satisfied.
It's the same basic concept as most rhythm taiko drum is called a through songs if you don't feel like reading the
games: Pick one of 33 songs, which range from nagado-daiko, and an notes and the words at the same time. IN TUNE Fun duets modes, extensive catalog of new songs
pop standards (“Material Girl”) to dorky ensemble of taiko drums The significant change to Volume 3 is the addi- OFF KEY Some tweaking of the voice analyzer would have
(Dragon Ball Z: Budokai theme song). Each is referred to as a tion of duets, which gives you the chance to sing been nice
song is available at the levels of Easy, Normal, kumi-daiko. with friends. The regular duets mode lets two
and Hard, with star ratings to indicate the diffi- singers meld their vocal stylings on karaoke duet Pub. Konami Dev. Konami ESRB EMSRP $39.99
culty within that level. While Easy and Medium standards like "Love Shack," adding the points
RATING
are usually passable on the first shot, Hard is into a composite score. If that's not competitive
indeed difficult—count on multiple efforts before
you're able to master even the simple Hard
songs. There are also minigames available—you
can compete in a watermelon-seed spitting con-
‚Кїз ‎‫ریو‬
КД
62795525446.
к
Of ©0000
test, detonate bombs, or stack up dogs. Partici-

pants will find them amusing, but they'll drive
anyone within earshot of the game up the wall
from the constant drumroll they require.
The $60 price tag includes one drum; while
you can use a DualShock as well, it kind of
defeats the whole purpose of the game, and it's
sure to cause arguments between the two play- GET OUT THE WAY
ers. Since the game is best as a multiplayer out-
ing, it'd be wise to plan on dropping another
$40 for an additional drum controller. Which is Karaoke is fine and good for fans of kitschy rect yourself appropriately. But GODM offers very
the big downfall—most people who have $100 pop songs, but the burgeoning hip-hop genre is little feedback; you literally can't tell what you're
to spend on videogames probably aren't going ignored. Get on Da Mic attempts to fill this gap by doing wrong. Performing classics like “Baby Got
to opt for a simple rhythm game. presenting a hip-hop-themed music game com- Back" and “Rapper's Delight,” both songs that
Nevertheless, it's still very fun, and the plete with beats and bling. I'm fairly comfortable with, resulted in wildly vary-
graphics are incredibly endearing. Every editor GODM does a fair bit of good stuff...around ing results with no indication of why.
who initially scoffed has been sucked in, and I’ve the main game. Career mode has you rapping in a The various hip-hop accoutrements that
had more than one knock at my door from peo- У humble place before moving on to bigger and bet- GODM outfits its players with do little to alleviate
ple who want to know if | need help playing it ter venues; as you move up, you get actual money the fact that the core element, actual rapping, is
for review. « Dana Jongewaard to start outfitting yourself with the latest bling. weak.
The track list ranges from Snoop Dogg's seminal
PROS Simple fun that will appeal to all ages, entertaining "Gin & Juice" to modern beats like "Jesus Walks" WEST SIDE Good song list, EyeToy support, career mode
graphics by Kanye West, but there's also freestyle mode, filled with customizable options
CONS The game plus an extra controller is pricey for the which lets you create your own lyrics to a synthe- EAST SIDE Rap gameplay is worse than Vanilla Ice
amount of play sized beat based on an existing song.
Mastering songs, however, is a big challenge as Pub. Eidos Interactive Dev. Artificial Mind and Movement/Highway 1
Pub. Namco Dev. Namco ESRB EMSRP $59.99 the main segment seems broken. Karaoke Revolu- ESRB T MSRP $49.99 ($59.99 with mic)
tion provides a great feedback mechanism—you
RATING can instantly see how you're performing and cor-
RATING

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THE REAL DRIVING SIMULATOR
RATING PENDING‫‏‬
SONY
We take games seriously " %

ly REVIEWS
4”w
5
۰ -
4” Ж
RETURN OF THE GENERAL LEE FIGHT CLUB

ALL-SINGING, ALL-DANCING
GRAP OF THÉ WORLD
Everyone that walked by while | was play- like Driver may find the General Lee takes some
ing this expressed discernable and vocal glee. If getting used to. In fact, all of the cars in the game Fight Club assaulted viewers in 1999
you're of the right age, this is the perfect celebra- feel like they're cruising around on overinflated with pitch-black humor; now, five years later, the
tion of one of the best-loved pieces of early-'BOs bouncy wheels. At first it's exceptionally frustrat- license pops out a tepid button-mashing fighting
American pop culture. It's not a fantastic game by ing, as is the inexplicable tendency for the game to game. Did someone's contract expire, or did it
any stretch of the imagination, but if you remem- Switch camera views when you hit a wall, but you really take this long to come up with the idea?
ber any aspect of the show, it's in the game— soon learn to compensate. The ultimate result is While not the worst fighter out there, Fight
there's even a "Yeehaw" button. an easygoing experience that hardcore gamers will НМММММ... Club feels stiff, its character movements inele-
Gameplay is an adequate knockoff of the origi- undoubtedly hate. It's a great game for the over- gant, its combat repetitious and stuttering.
nal Driver, only set in the undulating dirt landscape 30 crowd, though, which is something we don't Blocking and reversal moves are hard to time,
of Hazzard County, which is a giant free-roaming get to say often. so fights revolve around cheap shots, quick
environment. The voice work by the original cast combos, and lucky haymakers. Shirtless Dude
members, including the soothing southern drawl YEEHAW Faithful to the show, great voice work, you can kicks Wifebeater Dude in head. Wifebeater Dude
of the balladeer, is exceptional. Tasks include sound the horn, value price falls down. Wifebeater Dude lands sneaky
object collection, races, car chases, Driver-style AWW SHUCKS Bouncy handling, glitchy camera uppercut in midrecovery, knocking Shirtless
tails, and stunts, and vehicles include multiple vari- Dude down, etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseam.
ants of the General Lee, cop cars, pickups, and Pub. Ubisoft Dev. Rathag ESRBE MSRP $29.99 The absence of Ed Norton's and Brad Pitt's
even Daisy's Roadrunner. Those of you expecting likenesses makes the generic characters look like
RATING
the tight controls and believable physics of a game a pack of half-naked Ken dolls, excepting the one
with man boobs. While the game features none
of the movie's actors, you can fight as modern
rock's greatest douche bag, Fred Durst. | don't
really understand the Fight Club/Limp Bizkit con-
nection, but the band's mutilation of "Behind

Blue Eyes" does make me want to punch a
stranger in the face. And despite a good number
of characters sporting names like "Mechanic"
and numerous varieties of helmet hair, there are
basically only three fighters: martial artist
(kicky), brawler (punchy), and grappler (wrestly).
GET OUT OF THE WAY The “story mode" uses sound-over-stills
scenes (like Reading Rainbow) that tell an
"amazing" story: Some guy wants to kill him-
The contemporary history of boxing This is the analog age of boxing, though. self after his wife runs off with another woman,
games may be divided into two eras: digital and Rocky's preprogrammed punch placement and y: but he finds solace in beating people up. And
analog. Call them B.F.N. (Before Fight Night) and combination systems can't help but seem slow he's looking for Tyler Durden. Why? Never
A.F.N. (After Fight Night). Ubisoft's original and artificial. Landing a substantial combo feels mind, just shut up and fight! F-bombs are
Rocky was a brilliant game in the digital era, but more like a matter of luck than breaking down an dropped liberally to distract you from the poor
the sequel can't quite cut it in the analog age. opponent's defense and predicting his moves. voice acting and community-college art.
Viewed on its own, this is a hell of an improve- If you liked the original Rocky, by all means get x% Splattered in blood and salted with naughty
ment on the strengths of the original game. The the sequel. If you liked Fight Night more, though, words, Fight Club tries hard to be “edgy,” that
inclusion of three extra career modes (for Apollo stick with what you've got—it's still the undis- BRAINS AND BRAWN mysterious marketing force that turns 18-to-25-
Creed, Clubber Lang, and lvan Drago) is especially puted champ. year-olds into walking, talking ATMs. Unfortu-
cool since there's no such thing as too much Mr. T nately, trying hard isn't cool. << Robert Ashley
or Dolph Lundgren. The training minigames are RIGHT HOOK Good-looking models, engaging training
another strong point. Along with some familiar minigames, more Mr. T, lots more мап Drago PROS Shirtless man-on-man action
twitch games, there are other challenges that LOW BLOW Less-responsive controls, clumsy “canned” feel CONS Bob's boy boobs flop around with disturbing realism,
genuinely teach you how to use combos and to combinations, insanely powerful superpunches most everything else
move around the ring. The graphics have been
kicked up a notch, too, with better-looking back- Pub. Ubisoft Dev. Venom Games ESRBT MSRP $39.99 Pub. VU Games Dev. Genuine Games ESRBM MSRP $49.99
grounds and appropriately nasty retexturing and
model deformation for facial damage.
RATING

Cut off behind enemy lines with no way
to contact help, four young, barely
trained soldiers realize their only
hope for survival is to head into
the heart of darkness. With few
rations and dwindling ammunition,
the only thing separating them
from freedom is 100 miles
of ruthless terrain,
crawling with unseen
enemies and filled with
hidden booby traps.
Welcome to Vietnam.
Get behind the wheel of Jeeps, tanks, 14 enormous missions in jungles, Use experience points after missions to
helicopters, and river boats. villages, temples, and underground tunnels. develop characters in 9 categories.
o GAMES SOFTWARE
Blood and Gore Trademark and © 2004 SCi Games Limited, published by Take-Two Interactive Software and its subsidiaries. Global Star Software, the Global Star Software logo, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and the Take-Two Company logo are
Intense Violence trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Global Star Software, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Pivotal Games and the Pivotal Games Logo are trademarks of Pivotal Games Limited
Strong Language
Suggestive Themes PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other
Use of Drugs countries and are use r license from Microsoft. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Ў REVIEWS
SOLDIER
RECRUITMENT
KILLZO
To address the biggest concern that you, as a shooter fan, are most on visuals, it mishandles movement. This is a game that looks better in
likely to have, no, Killzone doesn't kill Halo 2. Even though most of the press screenshots than it does in motion; simply put, the PS2 can't handle what
(ourselves included, to a degree) have heralded it as a Halo killer, a more rea- Killzone is throwing at it. The first few missions play smoothly, but later
sonable—and realistic—assessment is that Killzone may not kill Master Chief, ones start demonstrating the PS2's limitations. The missions look beautiful,
but it's a fine shooter that deserves your attention nonetheless. but they're accompanied by herky-jerky animation, an occasionally stuttering
A more apt description of Killzone is "a grittier Medal of Honor...FROM framerate, and pop-up that sometimes magically constructs an entire build-
THE FUTURE.” It's a linear FPS that consists mostly of shooting up baddies ing right in front of you.
intercepted by scripted moments of mayhem. Killzone feels like a game ver- Killzone attempts to be an amalgamation of the 20th century's major
sion of Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, Hamburger Hill, the second wars, and to further this portrayal, the gameplay isn't traditional run-and-
half of Full Metal Jacket, and many other war movies, all on a single disc. gun: It requires honest-to-God tactics, in fact. Simply running amok with a
The overall production values are some of the best we've seen on the gun will quickly end you—you must use cover, take advantage of suppressing
PS2. Killzone's art is visceral and gritty. Every mission (there are Tl, each fire, flank enemies, and use elevation. You have to consider what type of gun
composed of five or six areas) looks suitably aged with dust and debris, and to use—you should know when to use a rapid-firing but inaccurate gun
there are many types of landscapes, including wrecked-out urban combat instead of a slower but more accurate one. The reloading animations look
arenas, foggy swamplands, and majestic mountains. While Killzone delivers fantastic and add another tactical element, as they take longer than you're
2
10 [OPM December 20041
used to, forcing you to find protection while you reload. There are plenty of
rocks, trees, walls, corners, and broken bits of buildings lying about—you
have to use these cover points effectively. However, the lack of a lean func-
tion is puzzling, since so much of the game focuses on cover. Also, while the
АЛ. tends to exhibit traditional FPS idiocy, there are moments when the hel-
ghast act like real soldiers: They use cover, suppressing fire, grenades, and
teamwork against you. One particularly harrowing example of this took place
when | had to take down a heavily armored soldier who was firing from an
elevated ridge; the back-and-forth between us as we fired at each other was Slick, tactical approach to FPS design, harsh and gritty visual
one of the tenser moments l've ever had in a shooter. aesthetic, solid multiplayer, and the weapons (except the odd sniper rifle) are awesome
Alas, as mentioned earlier, all the tactical gameplay is hampered by the Engine pushes the PS2 too hard, occasional А.І. quirks, some weak levels
nigh-wretched performance at times. 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, Killzone is no Halo killer, but it's easily the game that Medal of
Honor: Rising Sun should have been. << Thi
[www.lUP.com] ТП
Sh REVIEWS
ACE
COMBAT 5
THE UNSUNG WAR
Ace Combat 5 is a war game with heart.
Centered around a young pilot with a penchant
for photography and his very personal experi-
ence with a long-running war between rival
nations, the game presents war from the per-
spective of a fleshed-out character—a rarity in
any game of combat. It’s got a whole cast of
(admittedly shallow) characters who chatter at
you throughout missions...and your character
even talks back with simple yes/no answers you
select on the fly with the D-pad.
The trouble is, all this story is presented with
some of the most god-awful writing and voice
With such a large variety of work l've heard. It's very hard to take a story
X-Men, there're lots of seriously when the characters sound like they're
choices in creating a four- in a competition to see who can present the
man party. One good party most excruciating parody of an actual human's
is Storm, Cyclops, Wolver- speech patterns. Nevertheless, it does provide
ine, and Iceman. Wolverine an additional factor to keep you interested in the
is a great brawler, Iceman progression of the game.
has a slick freeze attack,
Cyclops has a powerful
range attack, and Storm's
lightning owns.
Despite the revitalization of the X-Men via who recognize the Ultimate universe costume
the movies and excellent comics, their gaming design overlaid on the Universe 616 characters It’s too bad the voices and writing are so ter-
résumé is a sad one: a random Genesis game, and more casual fans who just know Wolverine as rible, because there are some interesting
several appearances in the Marvel vs. Capcom the hairy dude with claws. Nerdcore X-geeks will themes here. Perhaps most fascinating is that
franchise, and a Wolverine-centric actioner. recognize all the references crammed into the at least one mission is a retelling of a mission
Recently, however, someone had the bright idea story, while newbies are told enough expository from Ace Combat 04—only from the other side.
of marrying the multicharacter action-RPG for- info so as to not get lost. When you're wondering if the plane you just
mula with the X-Men mythos, and X-Men Leg- As an X-Men fiend, | loved the game, but | still shot down is actually you from the last
ends is the result. recognize its flaws. The load times are a pain— game...well, that adds a very interesting
XML plays like Diablo/Gauntlet with tights. whether it's opening your character sheet (some- dynamic to the combat. It’s a shame the awful
Choosing from a team of up to 15 X-Men, you thing done frequently) or entering a new area, voiceover practically kills the message.
guide four cel-shaded mutants through various you'll find yourself sitting and waiting. Money But, really, how much can one complain
missions that tell an interesting story, which can feels tacked on (I never bought anything, rather Inanod to flight geeks about story in a flight-combat game? And this
easily take between 20 and 30 hours to complete. only spent it to revive characters), the enemies everywhere, Namco is offer- is Ace Combat, the defining series in the genre.
Instead of *7 swords of woeful bashery and mag- get a bit repetitive, some of the characters (like ing a limited-edition bundle The controls are as tight, the missions as var-
ick spells of zipzap, you use mutant abilities such Gambit and Jubilee) feel redundant, and the com- in the States: For $129.99, ied, and the plane selection as extensive as ever.
as Berserker Rage, Phoenix Force, Optic Blast, bat can get chaotic at times. you get the game, a Wardog You won't find anything revolutionary here, but
and so forth. Additionally, there's also the four- On its own merits, XML is a solid action-RPG, Squadron jacket patch, and the reality is, if you like your air combat, you're
player co-op mode (in which anyone can easily but as an X-Men game, it's a superb representa- this kick-ass flight stick and not going to find much better (or, well, much
drop in and out of with a plug of the controller) tion of the mythos. << Thierry Nguyen throttle set from Hori. It else) on PS2. <
and various Danger Room scenarios. The action is may look a bit exorbitant,
fast paced, and using multiple X-Men (you switch Fast action, four-player mode, lengthy but after a surprisingly S Look, it's Ace Combat—of course it has great controls,
between characters via the D-pad and hit L2 to story, and it's the freakin’ X-Men short adjustment period, | cool near-future technology, and loads of unlockable planes
have the A.|.-controlled other three help you out) Load times are heinous, quirky camera at discovered that it dramati- ES Good lord, will someone please smack the voice
is a breeze. In between missions, you get to wan- times, occasional reuse of levels, chaotic combat cally improved my flying actors? Please?
der the X-Mansion, where you can view unlocked skills. And it's USB, so it
content, learn backstory, orjust geek out in gen- Activision Raven should work with PCs, too. Namco Dev. Project Aces
eral. The X-Mansion and the story demonstrate
that this game is for both those hardcore fans

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> I guess I won't goafter all
The Dark Ruins.
The Underground Cave
LLL,
OLD SCHOOL, AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY
LURCHING TOWA
Ену
Anyone who's ever complained that they don't pen to die toward the end of a dungeon. For those
Kuon is the kind of game you play not for make games like they used to may find Night- of you who weren't playing games (or not even
fun, but rather to satisfy a grim sense of deter- mare of Druaga to be their cup of tea. But anyone born) back in 1992, know that there are no do
mination and prove you can. Had it been an old- who has enjoyed any of the technical, aesthetic, overs—if you die, you lose all of your equipment
fashioned nonviolent adventure, it could have and gameplay improvements of the past decade and half your money. And there's no way to undo
been great. Instead, the game is burdened with will probably want to pass this one up. it without starting the whole damn game over.
a lousy combat system and cheap sudden-death Based on Tower of Druaga, Namco's arcade In what may be the most damning indictment,
events, making it little more than just another game from 1986, NOD again features Prince Gil- Namco doesn't have the game anywhere on either
mediocre survival-horror game. gamesh in his quest to save Lady Ki from evil. its corporate or PR websites. Old-school fans
It's too bad, really. Kuon is at its best when The first thing anyone who pops this in will notice might appreciate NOD for the nostalgia factor;
it's about exploring creepy passageways and are the antiquated graphics. And there's a reason even so, $40 is a lot to spend for a wander down
piecing together clues and riddles—the enig- for that: The game is built off the same engine memory lane.
matic story can be confusing due to poor trans- that PSI game Chocobo's Dungeon uses.
lation, but it's fascinating to the bittersweet The 1999 graphics, however, seem cutting FARE SAVER Trips to the past can be fun, but eBay and your
conclusion. Unfortunately, unraveling the mys- edge once you start to monkey around with the local arcade both offer cheaper alternatives.
tery is much less fun when you're fending off 1992-era gameplay. Relive those halcyon days of
the undead with weak, spindly priestesses who grid-based movement and indulge in that time- Pub, Namco Dev. Chun Soft ESRBE MSRP $39.99
move more slowly than the zombies they battle. honored tradition of having to recover all the
RATING
Every minute of Kuon is like a homecoming ground you've already played through if you hap-
dance for genre clichés. The walls and floors
appear to have been decorated by Jackson Pol-
lock during a trip to the blood bank, fighting
enemies is frustrating and cumbersome, save
devices are strictly rationed, and the plot bor-

rows liberally from more pioneering works like
Silent Hill and, of course, The Ring.
Even on the easiest setting, death is frequent
and arbitrary, made all the worse by strange
and punishing design decisions. For instance,
the game dedicates an entire button to run-
ning—but spanks you for using it by inflicting a BLOOD'S A NARC! GET HIM!
disorienting (and frequently fatal) status condi-
tion called vertigo on you whenever you do run.
The only way to avoid keeling over dead is to For a game with such an utterly bizarre prem- The mechanics aren't much different from
never to press the Run button, ever. ise, Blood Will Tell's odd title only seems fitting. Devil May Cry’s—you can upgrade skills, find new
Dedicated survival-horror fans might have The whole idea behind Blood Will Tell is that weapons, and backtrack to recover all of Hyakki's
the patience to track down Kuon's better points. you're a warrior named Hyakkimaru who had 48 organs. Dororo also becomes playable during the
The moments of inspiration are there to be organs stolen from him by fiends because of an game's puzzle sections. There's lots of variety and
found, but they're much less common than the evil pact his father made. However, the man who it's balanced well, so you don't grow tired of any
moments of wanting to throw your controller in found Hyakkimaru when he was a child was able single section too quickly, and boss battles are
disgust. «€ Jeremy Parish to build replacements for these missing organs, pretty entertaining since most require some strat-
turning him into a robotic samurai equipped with egy beyond just hacking at them with your arm
BRAAAINS Challenging puzzles and engaging exploration a rocket-launcher knee and twin swords for arms. blades. It's surprisingly solid.
Though absurd, the story is one of Blood Will
ut poor combat and other stale survival-horror Tell's best features. As you go from town to town PROS Great story, interesting characters, variation in game-
conventions annoy slaying demons, Hyakkimaru and his thief side- play mechanics keeps the game fresh
CREEPY Characters animate well, but their mouths remain kick Dororo are so dynamic that you want to keep CONS Graphics are pretty bland, some of the jumping puzzles
unsettlingly motionless when they speak. playing just to find out what happens next. Of are incredibly annoying
course, there's extra motivation in finding out
Pub. Agetec Dev. From Software ESRB M MSRP $49.99 what new body part Hyakki will receive next, since Pub. Sega Dev. Red Entertainment ESRBMMSRP $3999
each new organ grants him better statistics, and
RATING RATING
in some cases, new abilities.
па [OPM December 2004]

explore the
exciting world of
Inuyasha in
this RPG. Play as
one of two original
characters never
seen before and
encounter all your
favorites from the
hit TV show.
Can you uncover
the mystery of the
Cursed Mask?
~ |
‎‫لا‬ ‫وضع‬
“While supplips Jost | h^:
Come join our world!

преда мени ATE сит
Fantasy Violence
Language
Suggestive Themes ENTERTAINMENT
sociation.
‫ رن‬REVIEWS‫‏‬
“ш X
7; wooog сом PIS
BIG BAD ENDING

f ed THUG, you
поп thenostalgi
TONY HAWK'S
UNDERGROUND 2
WORLDWIDE JACKASSERY
When you first start THUG2's story mode, you may find it surprising pant Jackass-ery, tossed in a classic mode that is set up exactly like the ear-
that the game bears more of a resemblance to an episode of Jackass than to lier games. You get your S-K-A-T-E, your C-O-M-B-O, your score goals, your
any of the early Tony Hawk games. This may bother you. Maybe it's the fact trick goals, your secret tapes—everything. It's like a completely separate
that so much of the story mode consists of objectives that don't rely on game included just for THPS old schoolers. And when you play in classic
skating skills. Goals like finding new characters hidden in the level generally mode, without the distractions of the oddball goals, you can really appreciate
involve more walking around and climbing stuff than they do skating; throw- the fantastic—often brilliant—level design. You can recapture that thrill of
ing tomatoes (or Mardi Gras beads, or shrimp) at unsuspecting pedestrians finding the perfect line, of beating the sick score, of nabbing that last hidden
is actually a great deal easier if you're not on your board. tape; you can feel the pride of knowing that your progress through the game
There are plenty of goals that require pulling off specific tricks, hitting is a result of your skating skills, not your scavenger-hunt skills.
specific gaps or transfers, or skating a specific line...but the ratio of these to Add to this the return of the great extras of THUG—the online play; the
the less skill-related goals is pretty near 50/50. This wouldn't be a big deal if create-a-skater (with EyeToy support); the ability to build your own tricks, chal-
it weren't for the fact that the game engine is designed for skating. So run- lenges, and parks—and you've got a game that should please both old-school
ning, jumping, climbing, and throwing aren't handled with the kind of асси- fans and newcomers. And that's quite an accomplishment.
racy you'd expect from a game that was designed for running, jumping,
climbing, and throwing. The result is that half the game feels like it was cob- PROS There'sawhole damn lot of game here, no matter what your tastes
bled together out of pieces that don't quite fit. You end up fighting with the CONS The nonskating goals in the story mode can get annoying
controls for a good portion of the game, and for a series that made its name BEST WEIRD CHARACTER Australian Aborigine riding a go-kart
through incredibly slick, intuitive controls, this is a problem.
Right now you're probably puzzled why | gripe about this so much and Pub. Activision Dev. Neversoft ESRBT MSRP $49.99
still give the game great marks. Well, check this out: Neversoft, no doubt
anticipating that longtime fans of the series might be put off by all this ram-
RATING

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www.pelicanperformance.com
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Ш REVIEWS
VLE
LEISURE SUIT LARRY:
MAGNA CUM LAUDE LIGHTS, CAMERA, INTERACTION
‎‫ کا‬FOR THE MAMMARIES
Leisure Suit Larry games have always Gamers love control. We love nudging the ter when you reach out to them. Harmonix
been about wrapping a basic graphic adventure analog stick and clicking buttons to see what hap- designed lots of interesting patterns to follow,
with tons of innuendo, goofy jokes, and teasing pens onscreen. And AntiGrav lets you feel the from choppy clusters to long flowing lines.
glimpses of digital divas. The original games connection between the real world and a pro- Cameras as controllers have the same restric-
were made in a time when sexploitation flicks grammed one by using your real limbs. The Eye- tions they face in photography: You need proper
were the main source of titillation. Now you can Toy camera tracks the position of your head and lighting. | can’t play during certain times of the day
get away with just about anything short of hands and translates your movements into char- (like when my uncovered window lets midday sun
pornography in a modern-day teen sex comedy, acter action. And it works amazingly well. in). Still, the game does a remarkable job of creat-
and, well, that's basically what Leisure Suit Though the game looks like another board ing a motion-capture studio. Folks who complain
Larry: Magna Cum Laude is—a typical teen sex racer with a futuristic theme (and demographically about the lack of real gameplay innovation should
romp with flashes of comic brilliance and liberal DANCE, MONKEY targeted extreme attitude), flying and rail-riding vote with their wallets.
heaps of polygonal mammaries. BOY, DANCE! sections punctuate the ramps, big-air cliff drops,
MCL blasts a shotgun volley of jokes and and fancied-up stunts. The different elements PROS Sometimes you look like disco-dancing John Travolta
sequiturs that hits on every aspect of pop cul- meld together into one big playground. You can CONS Sometimes you look like that weird kid who always
ture. Besides the usual ribald jokes about failed jump off a ramp and pull some tricks, hit a flying pretends to be an airplane
attempts at sexual congress, there are genuine portal, and then guide yourself down onto a rail.
zingers about things such as the death of 2D The rail sections sound boring on paper, but Pub. Sony CEA Dev. Harmonix ESRB E MSRP $4999
side-scrolling games and meta commentary they might be the best part. You fly down twist-
about the ESRB, literary criticism, and D&D. ing roller-coaster rails lined with targets that shat-
RATING
If only the game itself could live up to the
comedy. MCL eschews the point-and-click and
substitutes minigames in its place—the problem
is, these minigames are numerous, repetitive,
=;
і
and boring. They're all variations on the drink-

ing-game quarters, being chased, Space Chan-
nel 5-esque rhythm games, timing-based but-
ton presses, and amateur photography. Load
times are lengthy and frequent, leaving the
punch lines the only things that motivate you to
keep going. Recognition, however, should be
given to whomever designed the conversation THE KING HAS LEFT THE BUILDING
system. You guide a smiling spermatozoon
through an obstacle course, and the icons you
collide into determine the flow of conversation. It was only a matter of time before SNK fighting here and there, particularly in the mission
Honestly, the game is pretty slick at smoothly DID YOU KNOW? made the jump to 3D with its King of Fighters mode. There are several levels in this mode, each
changing the conversation as you go. series. Sadly, most 2D fighters don't translate with its own unique set of fights that have spe-
As a game, MCL is weak, but its amusing well in 3D—a perfect example is the Street Fighter cific objectives you need to complete, and the
content is enough to raise it up a notch; even if EX series, which had most of the traditional whole thing is more entertaining than the main
you're embarrassed by the clichéd humor found moves and Street Fighter gameplay intact but story mode. In some missions, you have only half
in any movie starring Jason Biggs, there are still lacked the speed and precision of its 2D counter- your health, while in others your button-mashing
some gems of ha-ha within the game. Ironically, part. Not surprisingly, Maximum Impact shares is severely restricted by making some moves not
MCL turns out to be a better boobtastic party these characteristics. register with maniacal button-pressing. The game
game than The Guy Game. << Thierry Nguyen These aren't necessarily bad traits. In fact, can be fun at times, but serious fighting-game
there's still some technique involved in stringing fans needn't bother.
NATURAL It's funny, and if you're into that kind of thing, together special moves, much as you would in the
there are lots of digital areolae 2D King of Fighters game, but a little button- PROS Cool to seeKOF characters in 3D, simple fighting
SILICONE The actual game portion gets way repetitive and mashing goes a long way. Novices can string techniques
annoying combinations together within moments of picking CONS Not much depth to the game
up the controller, regardless of their familiarity
Pub. VU Games Dev. High Voltage ESRB M MSRP $49.99 with the series, but there's not much depth for Pub. SNK Playmore Dev. SNK Playmore ESRB T MSRP $4999
RATING fighting game fans to plumb.
Maximum Impact does try to change up the
RATING

PlayStation.
%%2%
SPECIAL EDITION
MIDWAY ARCADE
TREASURES 2
et
The hanging согрзе flops about
and gets in the Wway.if you fight
right nexttohim. Looking at the list of titles included in
Midway's second collection of arcade games is
not only like peering through a window in time
to the glory days of arcades, but it's also like
looking at an enormous blueprint for Midway's
future game lineups. Arch Rivals is an obvious
precursor to the NBA Jam series. Cyber Ball is
an early entry into arcade football that opened
the door for NFL Blitz. Pit Fighter helped usher
in digitized characters for games like Mortal
Kombat, which in turn paved the way for adult-
oriented violence.
That being said, some of the games in this
collection have aged better than others. Mortal
Kombat |and Il (which are the main attractions)
Those spikes make a real mess 00
and Total Carnage (which is basically just
ifyou push your opponent back
into them. next ^ пехт Smash TV) still hold up pretty well. NARC,
а Ve=В GEN
he
Rampage: World Tour, Gauntlet ІІ, and a few

others are still entertaining on a nostalgic level,
especially in two-player mode, but the rest of
the collection doesn't really cut it anymore. How
did they even cut it back when they were
Going toe-to-toe with any of the other major the price of the game on its own. It's incredibly released? Actually, Hard Drivin’ is reminiscent
fighters out there, Deception would probably lose. simple, and while not desperately original or any- of that flight simulator in the movie Project X
But what Mortal Kombat does bring to the table thing, it's spectacularly addictive, especially when because it looked cool at the time but looks
is an enormous amount of game. played against another player. Similarly, | got a absolutely horrible by today’s standards. Come
The basic kombat mode takes the three-stance huge kick out of the Battle Chess-like chess kom- to think of it, that’s kind of fitting because only
system from Deadly Alliance and riffs on it in a bat. The simplified rules and the inclusion of a chimp that has taken several doses of high-
Dead or Alive kinda way with breakable scenery fighting single rounds to win squares achieve an level radiation could derive any sort of pleasure
and huge areas filled with environmental hazards. excellent balance that is far more rewarding than ONLINE KOMBAT from it.
It has everything you would expect if you've been you would expect. Finally, there's the mini-RPG- But there's a certain charm in experiencing
following the series, and if you're a hardcore fan, like konquest game, which is essentially a glorified games like Xenophobe, Championship Sprint,
there's plenty of appallingly written, sub-fan-fic training mode for every character in the game. It's Xybots, and Wizards of Wor, regardless of how
story line. On a fundamental gameplay level, it’s not particularly satisfying, but it's a good place to bad they look—after all, they represent what
prone to button-mashing. If you want proof, Dana accumulate koins, which you'll need if you want to videogames used to be before the arrival of
walked in while | was fighting the final boss and open goofy developer photos hidden in the krypt. polygon-pushing hardware and other newfan-
failing miserably to make an impact. She picked Ultimately, your opinion of Deception will be gled technology we're now used to. Plus, they're
up the pad, mashed the buttons like crazy, and affected by your approach. Compare it to Soul all quite fun on a very basic level, and combined
beat the guy after two rounds. It was both thor- Calibur 2, and it will seem an inferior fighter. Con- with some of the more high-profile games
oughly emasculating and indicative of the game's sider the whole experience, though, and it offers included, they make this aа worthwhile collection
biggest flaw. There's a fairly deep combo system an awful lot of MK-themed entertainment that for just about anybody.« E
buried in there somewhere, but you need an inhu- will provide hours of gameplay. « Joh
man sense of timing and the manual dexterity of PROS The collection is worth it just for the two Mortal
a double-jointed octopus to really nail it. L Puzzle and chess modes are great fun, the first online Kombat games
The kombat mode isn’t really the meat of the fighteronPS2 CONS Some games haven't aged well but are still fun
game, though, and you'll soon learn that Decep- Button-mashing gameplay spoils it .. Someone to makeаgame based on ProjectX
tion is more of a collection of ideas that pay hom-
age to the overall culture of Mortal Kombat. For a
puzzle-game sucker like myself, the Puzzle
Fighter-like puzzle kombat mode is almost worth
[www.lUP.com] 9
NEED FOR SPEED
UNDERGROUND 2
The significance of the Need for Speed franchise was well and the game was going to be done on a much grander scale than its predeces-
truly established by Underground last year. It was the No. 2 game behind sor. Executive Producer Chuck Osieja tells us, “The vision from the start has
Madden by the end of the year, and that was with only a month's worth of been to take Underground 2 to a whole new level in terms of the experience
sales. Believe it or not, according to Electronic Arts, the game went on to sell and how the player interacts with the world.” So did he successfully execute
75 million copies worldwide, putting it very high on the list of best-selling this vision? Most definitely, yes.
games of all time. Kazunori Yamauchi and his team at Polyphony Digital As has been widely reported, the game is no longer a linear affair in which
have probably been watching the progress of Underground 2 very closely you plod through an endless series of challenges; you are now thrust into
indeed, since it’s no longer “the sequel to that game with all the import the vibrant city of Bayview, which is made up of five interconnected neigh-
tuner cars” but instead a barometer of car (and to a large extent pop) cul- borhoods. More than 125 miles of road weave together to form a thoroughly
ture, and potentially the most important racing game on PS2 right now. believable game world that varies from the twisty suburban hills of Jackson
Gran Turismo 4 will have a big fight on its hands come December because Heights to the dense grid of the city core. The whole place is absolutely gor-
the rules have changed, and EA is pretty much dictating what the gaming geous, too. Although a fantasy city, the influence of Las Vegas, San Fran-
community should expect from a big-budget racer: cisco, Chicago, L.A., and Tokyo is incredibly apparent, and the architecture
When we put Underground 2 on our June cover this year, it was clear that and layout changes dramatically as you drive around from the gated homes
2
Everything you remember from last year's THE NEW MODES Underground Racing League
game is still in Underground 2, but the circuit, SuperX is a short technical race that takes pla ir with 150! ship
drag, drift, and sprint races from the original are on courses that are very similar to the drift tracks titions
now joined by four new events, which makes your in the original game.
driving career much more varied. The interesting
thing is that you don't have to master all eight of Downhill Drift is exactly what you think it
them if some don't suit your style of driving cross between a drift and a sprint. only, duh,
Whereas Underground demanded that you com- moving downhill. It’s also noteworthy that the
plete every race in the game to win, Underground “normal” drift mode now has you racing
2 lets you pick and choose and dictates specifics three other cars, rather than sliding around the
only in sponsorship challenges. course by your lonesome.
and tree-lined streets of the burbs to the neon-lit crisscross of the city. First of all, this is very much a follow-up to the first Underground, and
Like many of its contemporaries, Underground 2 sets all of its challenges despite the Brooke Burke-narrated story that has you flying to Bayview to
from within the game world. The streets are, in effect, the game menus, and make a new life for yourself, all of the backstory is just a convenient excuse
the environment throws up new challenges for you as your career develops. for stripping you of everything you own andjustifying why you start the
The fancy term for the game's structure is “emergent gameplay,” which is
THE STREETS ARE, IN EFFECT,

just a clever way of saying that the game evolves at the same pace you do.
At the start of Underground 2, you are an insignificant pimple on the adoles-
THE GAME MENUS.

cent face of the tuner-racing scene, just as you were in the first game. You
have only enough cash for a seriously unimpressive ride (I started out in а
stock banana-yellow Focus), and you have to go out into the world and
establish yourself as a hotshot who can go on to keep a garage full of hot game with such a piece of crap for a car. Early races are extremely difficult to
wheels, ranging from new Mustangs and GTOs to H2s and Navigators. win, and for the first hour, you're locked in a cycle of entering races where
The whole emergent thing is actually a bit of a setback at the very begin- you're outgunned, outsmarted, outmaneuvered, and out of luck. Losing, as
ning, and | would have to say that it’s possibly the game’s only drawback. we all know, sucks, but you're going to have to get used to it if you want to
У REVIEWS
MAKE IT 7
UGLY ‫وس‬‎ ‫ہہو‬
ing a broad spectrum of
yles. Unlike
Burnout 3,which suffe
Customization, as you would expect, is a some riticism for featuring
big: part of Underground 2, and the game has nothing but bouncy Amer
considerably more options than the first Under- can punk, Unde
ground. There are 50 upgradeable components has everything
in nine different categories that allow you to Dogg(с on exclusive mi
tune just about every aspect of your car, and of the Doors’ "Rid
these changes have discernable effects on the
way the car rides and even sounds. Add a turbo,
and you can hear it whistle and pop as the pres: andQ of the Stone
sure changes; tweak the suspension settings, lling in the gaps. All of
and you can feel the way the handling changes this canbe pumped through
on different types of courses another one of the game's
Visual customization is a big part of the new features, the custom
game, too, and this feature has been expanded audio setups tflat can be
‫| سے‬ Т;‫‏‬
considerably to include many more parts, as stuffed in it
well as hydraulics that let you bounce the car up Willyour car. Th
and down at a standstill, desperately impractical
> ИП‫‏‬
scissor doors, and split hoods. The more stuff your car's rating up.
you have bolted, stuck to, or sprayed on your
car, the higher your visual rating. Don’t get
fooled into trying to be tasteful here. The rating
goes up based on the amount of crap you have
3S
slapped on your car, so don't be shy. Spinners,
hydraulics, vinyl slapped on every surface, spon-
sorship decals, and obnoxious swaths of carbon
fiber are the way to go. The game isn't judging
you on your whimsical or delicate taste; it's
rewarding your cash-fueled pimpage, so make
your sled ugly.
progress. Eventually, you'll latch on to one of two possible methods of pro- absence of a damage model in the game. Win a few races, and Brooke will
gression; if you're a namby-pamby wuss of a gamer, you'll hit the Options start pointing you toward specific events and rewards, which will help you
screen and flip the difficulty from the default of Medium to Easy. Alterna- feel like you're actually making some progress.
tively, you'll adopt the preferable route, which is to start driving really, really Once you're over this initial emergent hump, things start to develop in a
more satisfying fashion and the signs of progress will become increasingly
THE PREFERABLE ROUTE IS TO

evident. First, you'll start making some tweaks to your car, which will allow
you to take your crappy Focus (or Corolla or Miata or whatever you choose)
up against those Supras and 350Zs without getting your ass handed to you
DRIVE REALLY, REALLY DIRTY. in a sling. Things get even more interesting as you win a few races and
sponsors start coming out of the woodwork. These guys bone up cash,
dirty. Although smarter than the АЛ. in Underground, your opponents aren't goodies, and free cars in return for you meeting specific goals. This is where
exactly smart. Aggressive, yes, but not smart. Whack them in the rear quar- the stricter gameplay structure comes from, and from your first sponsorship
ter as they're going around a bend, and they'll fail miserably to correct, and on, your progress is based almost entirely on what they want you to do.
you'll be able to zip past them without consequence, thanks to the complete "Win this, win that, get yourself on this magazine cover and this DVD cover,"
H
Some of you complained that Under: your career progresses, you attract attention in gameplay features as they, er, emerge. You'll also
ground's feeble attempt at a story was, well, fee- Bayview, not all of which involves publishers notice that there are a lot more people just sort
ble. There was something about a girl, and there wanting to slap photos of your ride on the covers of hanging around in Underground 2 than there
was a guy that...er...oh hell, | don't remember of their magazines (another new gameplay are in the first game. It's all got гт
She seemed all happy at the end, though, and mechanic, incidentally—this time, you get to pose Fast and the Furious vibe to it now, and you
then there was that whole extra race thing at the your car for the photo, presumably a slight flip- don't feel like you're turning up in a random loca-
end, but really, you don't play a game like this for ping of the bird to Gran Turismo 4's much-lauded tion and racing against a couple of guys in Sky
its story. photo mode). lines. There's a feeling of each race being an
There seems to be some acknowledgement of The majority of the narration is performed by event, and the crowd of people who dance
this fact in Underground 2, although the game Brooke Burke, who plays your manager, Rachel, around the car congratulating your performance
PERSONALITY does flirt with a little drama from time to time. As and she introduces you to each of the emergent reflects your respect level within the world.
they demand. You will appreciate this set of goals enormously because the As a final thought, | have to mention the sound effects, which are without
one problem with games that offer glorious freedom is all that damn annoy- any shadow of a doubt the most amazing l've ever heard in a videogame.
ing glorious freedom. The rasp of the engine is so unbelievably believable that you can actually feel
As with the first game, the presentation is spectacular. The graphics are the reverberation of the exhaust as the power surges through it. It will
stunning, and despite the game's senior art director Habib Zargarpour change your expectations of what a game can sound like, much as your
telling us "We can still push the PS2 further," | find that pretty hard to entire experience with Underground 2 will change your expectations of what
believe. Underground 2 isn't as blazingly fast as Burnout 3, but it still feels a racing game can be like. <<
much faster than its other contemporaries, and it's packed with blurry,
wobbly, glary, sexy effects that make it even more convincing than the orig- Beautiful graphics, startling sound, a gigantic game world to spend hours and hours in
inal game was. Although still a nighttime game, the shiny, wet "just done The first hour or so of gameplay will kick your ass
raining" look is gone—except, of course, when it really has just finished
raining, something that happens with startling regularity. The misty drizzle EA Games EA Canada T 2 $49.99
you're frequently confronted with has the dubious honor of being one of
the few rain effects in a game that actually feels wet.
Ў REVIEWS
NEO
CONTRA
Top-down action and Contra generally don't
go well together—anyone else remember the
disaster that was Contra: Legacy of War back on
PSI? Thankfully, the connections between that
mess of a game and Neo Contra end there
because Neo Contra is actually good. Unfortu-
nately, it's also really short. Essentially, you
start off with four levels that you can complete
in any order. Once you're done with those, you
can move on to the last levels, but the trick is
that you have to perform incredibly well in each
level to reach the true end of the game. If you
don't, then you'll be treated to an alternate end-
In her quest to kill Kagan, her vampire father (who destroyed ing that's both anticlimactic and unpleasant. On
her entire family just so that she'd have only him to turn to), top of all that, you have to start all the way back
Rayne's ultrabloody rampage can't help but inspire memories at the beginning.
of Kill Bill Vol. 1. In addition to helpless goons spurting blood Normally, this sort of recipe for a game
where an arm used to be, you'll see things like semidecapita- would be incredibly challenging, but if you're
tions, Bride-to-O-Ren style. oblivious to the rating and just plow through
the game, you're rewarded with another
weapon set that's much stronger than the
BLOODRAYNE е
default ones available at the beginning of the
game. Consequently, it's also a bit easier to go
Now that we've seen Rayne singing for drain their life source (and add to yours). And now back through the rest of the game and get a
Evanescence on MTV2 and showing off her digital more than a Scorpion-like "get over here" device, high rating because you probably will have
naughty bits in Playboy, it's easy to forget that, Rayne's glorious wrist harpoon can throw ene- memorized the levels and enemy attack pat-
oh yeah, she's also a videogame character. And mies in any direction, often to destroy objects in terns by then.
out of nowhere, BloodRayne 2 ranks among "killing puzzles" (ending others' lives via the likes Neo Contra's still a challenging game, espe-
PS2's best hack-n-slash titles. of a wood chipper and a printing press are the cially since you die after taking one bullet and
To anyone familiar with the original Blood- norm in this very violent game). There's also the need to obliterate everything in sight to get the
Rayne—which was a fine game on its own—clas- simple fun of whipping someone off a ledge, then best rating possible. Also, the levels are all really
Sifying this sequel as "hack-n-slash" may seem a watching the camera follow as he deflects off a good and fit the Contra universe to a tee. What
bit odd. Last time was much more of a run-n- beam, through some glass, and onto the floor other game has two soldiers riding a torpedo
gun affair, with Rayne's patented arm blades with a big splat. It never grows old. while chasing after a boss that happens to be a
coming into play only every now and then. How- Certain areas might grow old, though, since dog wearing a kaiser helmet? Still, the develop-
ever, the close-quarters combat sucked—some- sporadic moments of great difficulty do occur. ment team should've built more levels instead
thing Terminal Reality realized and has remedied However, frustration gives way to a sense of of relying on the rating gimmick to extend Neo
to the point that it's the main gameplay compo- accomplishment once you pass such instances, Contra's longevity. Without question, it's worth
nent this time around. At the same time, the and the story really does motivate you to keep on a rental since it takes only a few hours or so to
developer created a plot as interesting as any playing. Its resolved yet open ending also su complete; you'd be hard pressed to find any rea-
Blade movie (vampire politics and all), while giv- gests а BloodRayne 3. Bring it on. << C. son to go and buy it.
ing its own dhampir both an impressive visual
overhaul and a downright likable personality (“I Solid hack-n-slash combat, great graphics and sense Great levels and enemy design, can be very challenging
have bowel in my hair,” Rayne complains after of style, fun character and story, nice level design attimes
going inside a giant beast to kill it). Some very hard parts, occasional flaws in anima- Way too short
BloodRayne 25 stylish, exhilarating combat tion, annoying enemy chatter (Y That baby head coming out of the monster
comes full of options. You can hack and kick away
with lots of intuitive combos up close, blast away Activision Raven $4999 Konami Konami M $39.99
with your blood-fueled biogun from afar, slice foes
in two as you grind down a rail, or bite them to
SPYRO: A HERO'S TAIL
THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL CONTINUES
When Ted Price, who helmed all three Ratchet & Clank games, was
talking with us last March, another one of his creations, Spyro, came up.
Price didn't mince any words, saying, “Spyro has become an abused
stepchild. While Digital Eclipse did a great job on the CBA titles, Spyro: Enter
the Dragonfly on PS2 and GameCube was an absolute travesty. When it was
released, | was polite about it when people asked, having not played the
game. But then | played it.”
А Hero's Tail isn't going to change Ted's mind. It's an uninspired, ипіппо
vative platform game with incredibly annoying flaws. Combat is brainless—l
died more times from wandering into mud puddles (which are apparently
deadly and kill you instantly) than | did from enemy attacks. This means that
the bulk of the game is spent hunting for dinosaur eggs and light gems.
Several of these can be reached only by a drawn-out series of jumps, the
tricky one of which is the last, so when you miss it, you have to start the
whole lengthy process over—again and again and again.
You're not allowed to use certain skills until you meet the right dragon elder
to teach them to you. This is fine for more complex moves, but it's irritating to
come across a place that requires a double-jump and be told that you don't
know how to do it yet. When you're required to use cannons to break open
doors and treasure chests, the shooting mechanism is incredibly unwieldy and
imprecise. And the game doesn't save your option preferences if you leave the
MORE TED PRICE game and come back, so you constantly have to go back in and change them.
ON SPYRO | spent most of my playtime trying to think of a reason why this would be
“It seemstome at this a good use of anyone's $50. | found no reasons for anyone, and definitely
point that consumers are none for Mr. Price.
going to think twice before
they buy another Spyro VERDICT With so many other good platformers
out at the same time, there is noreason
game.... What's worse for to purchase this outdated, lazy game.
usat Insomniac is that a lot
of people assume we Pub.
VUGames Dev. Eurocom ESRBE MSRP $4899
made Enter the
RATING
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: THE MOVIE

FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE FUN
My unbridled enthusiasm for the previous SpongeBob game, Battle

for Bikini Bottom, was met with some derision from certain quarters of the
hardcore gaming community. These same people have presumably seen the
show and dismissed it as childish. Of course it is: That’s the whole point.
The new game is based on the upcoming movie, which will no doubt estab-
lish Nick's biggest star as a multimedia pop-culture phenomenon.
As with Bikini, the underlying guts of this new game aren't going to win
any awards for being particularly innovative, but the skin that it’s wrapped in
might. Gameplay is dominated by object collection and several variations on
the bop ‘em mechanic that dates back to prehistoric times, but these are fur-
ther enhanced by the new platform-game thing du jour, vehicles. SpongeBob
and Patrick hurtle around roller-coaster-like levels in a variety of vehicles that
range from old claw-foot bathtubs to the Patty Wagon, a novelty vehicle of
surprising speed and maneuverability.
Levels are all imaginative and colorful, and the story of retrieving Nep-
tune’s crown to vindicate Mr. Krabs, who has been wrongfully imprisoned for
stealing it, is conveyed through voice work and cut-scenes that perfectly
evoke the surreal nature of the TV show.
As with the movie, the surrealism of the experience increases exponen-
tially as you progress, with some of the later levels mining a rich seam of
humor that kids really won't understand. The beauty of SpongeBob is that
there's as much in it for an adult as there is for a 5-year-old, and this game
captures that essence perfectly. It may not be on the same scale as some of
the other platformers reviewed this month, but for me it was an immensely
enjoyable game.
VERDICT A game that's an excellent movie tie-in with great graphics and a funny script, but most
of all...it's just fun.
Yes, it's a guitar. Shaped
like a peanut. SpongeBob Pub. THQ Dev. HeavyironESRBE MSRP $49.99
rocks out.
RATING
[www.]UP.com] 125
REVIEWS
RATCHET
UP YOUR
FIVE THINGS
RATCHET & CLANK:
UP YOUR ARSENAL
DOES BETTER
THAN JAK 3
medy. While Jak 3 goes
ks, Up Your
5 a little
more nat-
da bit more su
jame never gives you

son to put it do:
3 Replay value. There are
plenty js todo after
doesn't havi much of it,

plike vehicle you
Looking for a game where you can fire offa
drive around Tyhrannosis
bomb that explodes into a bunch of smaller
bombs that bounce aroundonthe ground in should be the ten
until they converge onyour enemy ina for all cross-country driv
stormofshrapnel? You've found it! ing games.
I've never enjoyed a platform game more than I've enjoyed Ratchet mies into exploding ducks, an army of cowardly robots, and a supervillain
& Clank: Up Your Arsenal. You may have your fond memories of Mario or prone to fits that cause him to broadcast bad soap operas from his mouth.
Crash or Sonic; hell, |do, too. But for sheer solid, endless entertainment This oddball comedy may not appeal to anyone who finds must-see TV to
value, I've never played anything better. be the height of wit, but damn did it strike me as funny.
After two fantastic predecessors, it basically goes without saying that a This is almost just icing, though, given the excellence of the game itself.
Ratchet game is going to be loaded with wacky weapons, beautiful levels, and The thing about Ratchet is that, contrary to old-school platform conven-
pantloads of stuff to collect. This time around, though, there's just some- tions, it doesn't try to anger you into a commitment by throwing near-
thing, | dunno, special going on. It's like a perfect storm of lighthearted plat- impossible tasks at you. Instead, you're constantly rewarded with new and
forming, frenzied combat, obsessive collecting, and laugh-out-loud comedy. upgraded weapons and gadgets, new levels to explore, and new bits of
Unlike Jak 3, Up Your Arsenal doesn’t have that much in the way of a comedic gold. (This continuous-reward system is sort of like Burnout 35,
story. Oh, it's got a plot that'll keep your interest, but you won't find much now that | think about it.) The result is that you don't need to be a platform-
to get you emotionally invested. Well, except when the emotion is amuse- ing savant to get hooked; it happens early and often.
ment—the humor here is definitely offbeat, often bordering on the surreal. Of course, this may make ultrahardcore players turn up their noses in dis-
4
Consider: a superhero who thinks he’s a monkey, a weapon that turns ene- gust; that'd be a shame because there are plenty of extras to be had for the

The firstcheat you'll unlock with your skill
pointsistheadorable BigHead Heroes.
INSOMNIACON
NAUGHTY DOG
CRAZY EIGHT-WAY
Up Your Ar
1 с and Naughty Dog work fairly closely

егей what each studio
r's work. Here's Insomniac's
introduced 3D. That's

ati 35, but it is 1 What have you seen of Jak 3 that made
you think, "Damn, | wish we'd done that"?
BRIAN HASTINGS, VICE PRESIDENT OF

GAMEPLAY The one thing that always makes
me ooh and ahh is the large-scale animated
breakable stuff. | think they have some precom-
puted physics modeling that they do in Maya to
make things like really big buildings blow up.
Anyway, however they do it, that stuff kicks ass.
OPM What have you seen that made you think,

"Tee hee, we did that better"?
BH I think we handle enemy combat better,

partly because of the ability to strafe and simply
being able to aim your gun up and down, but
also because we've been doing it for a bit longer
and have more practice in creating balanced
setups and strategic uses for the weapons. |
think perhaps we are a bit better at making a
skilled, dedicated player: Skill points (awarded for performing random tasks game challenging without making it frustrating.
like, say, blowing up 40 underwater crates) unlock cheats, titanium bolts Maybe I’m just getting old, but | admit to having
(there are a couple hidden on just about every level) unlock additional а lot of controller-throwing moments in Jak Il.
playable characters, and a bunch of trophies (hidden and goal based) are
there for bragging rights. And that's not even mentioning the unlockable and OPM Does it ever bother you that the Ratchet
upgradeable weapons, armor, and ship modifications. Yeah, there's a lot to series and the Jak series have to compete with
keep you busy once you've played through the game the first time (a task PROS Laugh-out-loud humor, compulsive upgrading, one another on store shelves?
that'll take maybe 15 hours or so). Of course, it is possible to collect every loads of extras
for any skill level
last item in the game, but even then you're not done—there's a fully fleshed- CONS You can beat the game in a day and a half—but BH It's an extremely tough and competitive
out online mode, too, which (if not exactly a hardcore shooter) offers some you'll miss a hell of a lot market. The two series get compared and con-
fast-paced competitive wackiness. trasted constantly, and, even more strangely,
So, let's sum up: friendly enough for the first-time platform player, deep the hardcore fans of the two series often attack
enough for platform veterans, and funny as hell. No, | can't really think of each other like rival factions. | think it's best for
anything to complain about. It's a brilliant game. << Ryt both teams if we start to diverge creatively in
the future.
4
[www.lUP.com] 127
Xj REVIEWS
НЕЕ
CRASH N'
BURN
WHAT WE EXPECT SALES OF
pris GAME TO DO
If Crash weren't just $20, this review
would be built around the concept of “Why on
earth would you buy this when you could buy
Burnout 3?" I've sort of promised myself |
won't do that, though. Given its comparatively
cheap price, | guess you can commend Crash for
roviding a certain degree of value. It has a lot
in common with Midway's Rush games from
five years ago—the same semirealistic tracks
based on real locations, the same frenetic
arcade-style gameplay, and unlicensed cars that
ONLINE HOOPS sport the same toylike look. What it adds to the
If you want to go online mix is the inclusion of 16 cars in every race, a
with ESPN NBA 2К5, you'll feature strangely uncommon in racing games,
find plenty of modes to along with a variety of gameplay modes both
choose from, including full online and off.
leagues, regular challenge Game modes are all pretty much variations
games, and the awesome on a theme. You drive fast and try to ram peo-
24/7 mode, which is essen- ple off the track. There's a normal race mode, a
tially a basketball RPG that
allows you to play around
the world in a variety of
match types.
mode in which half the pack goes one way

around the track while the other goes the oppo-
ESPN NBA ек5

site way with the hope that hilarity will ensue, a
bomb tag mode, a last-man-standing destruc-
tion-derby-type thing, and a mode that's sort of
a bomb tag thing through which everyone tries
THE STEVIE FRANCHISE TO NBA LIVE’S T-MAC to crash into you. The 16-player online modes
are team-based variations on the single-player
themes, but like similar modes in games like
It's not a complete fall from grace for ESPN miss your hands. Unless you've put your guy in Destruction Derby Arenas, they're not enough
NBA 2К5, but there's definitely some slippage perfect position, expect to give up more offensive to set Crash apart from the pack.
happening. NBA Live 2005 has not only caught up rebounds than a team of 9-year-olds. Track design is unimaginative, the cars look
with my old favorite game of hoops, but also drib- There is good here, though, and plenty of it. like they're made of plastic, it's not fast, and the
bled on past it. The variety of shots trumps Live's, and the fran- gameplay structure feels clumsy and unfinished.
ESPN's problems take you out of the game chise mode lets you chat one-on-one with your The handling's not bad, and having things burst
and remind you that you're not an NBA high flyer, star players. And the price is so, so right. into flames on the track is actually quite a neat
but rather a guy sitting on a couch playing his If you like slower-paced, realistic hoops for less touch, but it's just not very interesting. Ulti-
PS2. For one, offensive players’ high-tops are than half the price, ESPN will keep you happy. If mately, | have to come back to my original
laced with concrete—there's a lot of standing you want amped-up gameplay with polish, NBA thought: "Why would you buy this when you
around unless you call a play. And when players Live 2005's got what you need. could buy Burnout 3?" Sad for Climax and
do finally move, you realize the passing system is Eidos, but true. << John Davison
а mess, as too often your pass won't go to the PROS Great price, 24/7 mode feels liketwogames in one
player you want it to (unless you go to the trouble CONS Poor passing, rebounding, and lazy players VERDICT It would have been great if it had come out four
of icon passing, which takes time and can cost VERDICT The spread is small, but Live wins over ESPNby years ago when the PS2 was launched, but now there are so
buckets). Another passing issue is that all the a bucket many better alternatives.
passes are line drives that are easy to pick off.
Rebounding is another headache. Grab a pillow Pub. SegaDev. Visual Concepts ESRBE MSRP $19.99 Pub. Eidos Dev. Climax ESRBT MSRP $1999
for repeated punching because you'll need it.
You'll hop up for a board, and it will just plain RATING RATING

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Ў REVIEWS
SPIDER-MAN 2
CTOBEY MAGUIRE ‚ KIRSTEN DUNST)
Now comes the pain: In Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker loses his job, his spend two hours with his head up his overly introspective ass. And that's
girl, his confidence, and his Spidey powers. He's just a mess (or a college fine; the fact that both films are as good as they are even without great vil-
student, which here, as in the real world, amounts to much the same thing). lains is a testament to their writing, directing, and acting. But | can't help
Depending on who you are, you can take all this as a pop-culture examina- wondering how much better they would have been with memorable villains.
tion on what it means to take responsibility for your own identity, or you can It's why, as good as the Spider-Man films are, in my opinion they're not
take it to mean that the filmmakers simply went out of their way to make great. Peter Parker's personal journey is incomplete without a great antago-
sure the sequel had enough of its own story so that it wouldn’t suck in rela- nist to test his powers and his belief in himself. Spider-Man showed that
tion to the first film. Either way, it succeeds, although | suppose it would be with great power comes great responsibility; Spider-Man 2 shows that great
churlish to note that the “loss of powers leads to acceptance of identity” responsibility requires great faith in oneself. Hopefully, Spider-Man 3 will
thing is just totally ripped off from Superman 2. So forget | mentioned it. show that great faith needs a great antagonist to test it. Until then, this
What the Spider-Man films lack are decent villains. People seem to think series is incomplete: So near greatness, but missing that final piece.
that Doc Ock (Alfred Molina) is a superior villain to the first film's Green
Goblin, but to me it's six of one and a half-dozen of the other. Both villains
2
seem tacked to the script simply to make sure that Peter Parker doesn't

ELF
(Will Ferrell, James Caan)
Will Ferrell probably wouldn't have guessed that
his most popular film role would be the one
that has him galumphing around in an elf cos-
tume, but when it comes to cracking $12 million
per film, you take what you can get. And, any-
а ‎‫ا‬8: Ж way, why not Elf? It may be fairly ludicrous, but

it's pretty darn funny, and if anyone could make
AROUND THE WORLD ІМ 80 DAYS you believe a naive adult human has been
(Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan) raised by Santa's elves and then released into
This movie made half the domestic box office the "real" world to find his biological father in
| of the other film named Around the World in New York City, it's going to be Ferrell, who
80 Days, which came out in 1956, when the plays the part without the slightest trace of
average ticket price was 50 stinkin’ cents. The irony (which, let's be honest, is how it needs to
really sad thing is that this version doesn’t be done). Also, of course, he's absolutely right:
| entirely stink: Jackie Chan does his thing, there The department store Santa sits on a throne of
| are a couple of laughs, and everybody walks lies. Comedy and truth, all in one curly-shoed
| away reasonably amused. But let’s just admit package—plus Bob Newhart, who plays Ferrell's
that the market for Victorian-era family-friendly adopted elf father in his typical, amusingly
comedies is never coming back and some peo- understated but nice fashion. Old comedy
ple were foolish for believing it might. stylings, meet the new comedy stylings.
RATING Г!!,71 RATING ۱ ۱۱۱у 1
є X
THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK HP & THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN SHREK 2

(Vin Diesel, Judi Dench) (Daniel Radcliffe, Gary Oldman) (Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy)
You don't know how much it hurts me to call This is the Harry Potter film that finally gives | was less impressed than most people with the
this a piece of crap, since | dig both Vin Diesel the series critical credibility, which is, | think, a original Shrek when it came out, but endless
and the Riddick character. But it's top-heavy little harsh on the first two films. At the same repeat viewings (thanks to a then 3-year-old in
with ridiculous plot elements (writer/director time, this is best film in the series: Harry and DUD RELEASES the house) finally sold me its take on fairy tales.
David Twohy was apparently working on the his pals are finally beyond the tween years, and November2, 2004 Now Shrek 2 comes along, and guess what? l'm
principle he'll probably never get this much this film packs in genuine menace with the again less impressed with the flick than most.
money to make a film again, so why not go spooky dementors and the fabulous Gary Old- It's cute and all, and | get a kick out of Shrek
overboard?), and Riddick has been transformed man as Sirius Black, the title prisoner who may dealing with his rude and obnoxious father-in-
from a resourceful antihero into a standard or may not have it in for Harry. Alfonso Curaón law, but, eh. | wasn't grabbed. | suspect another
beefy hero jerk, which Diesel plays by growling lives up to his reputation by making the series 48,000 viewings with my now 5-year-old will
and flexing rather than acting. darker but dropping in loads of humor as well. fix that, but for now, l'm just not there yet.
RATING 1x!)!1 RATING 1 !1 RATING 1 1‫ہ‬‎
00
November 16, 2004
s B = e ‫جت‬‎
THE TERMINAL THE STEPFORD WIVES
(Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones) (Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi (Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick)
Hanks is a traveler from an anonymous eastern Yimou Zhang's reputation as a director was A high-powered TV executive (Kidman) moves
European country who gets indefinitely stranded | made over a decade ago with Raise the Red to the suburbs, where the women are all a lit-
at an airport, and because he's Tom Hanks, he Lantern, but Hero is likely to be the film that tle...off. (If you haven't seen the original film,
makes it look like being stuck at an airport might gets him remembered around the world. This is which made the term "Stepford wife" a house-
actually be fun (it's not). By all rights, at this a lush, achingly lovely, and color-mad film in hold epithet, | won't spoil it.) There's basically
point in time, we all should be well and truly sick which the story of an assassin (Jet Li) con- one reason to see The Stepford Wives, which is
of Hanks, whose everyman shtick is so obvious | fronting an emperor is just the setup for some to get your fill of the hilariously bitchy jokes that
that he can and probably does do it in his sleep. | amazing story and action set-pieces that take screenwriter Paul Rudnick has stuffed into the
But getting tired of Hanks is like kicking a | the magical realism of Crouching Tiger, Hidden film. For my money, Rudnick is one of the funni-
puppy: You can do it, but it doesn’t say good | Dragon's action and bump it up a notch (or est screenwriters working today, and if he’s not
things about you. He's good. The film's good. two). If you miss this one, kick yourself. so good with a plot, well, no one’s perfect.
RATING Гуууы1 RATING 1.ууу71 RATING ۱۱۱x!]
[www.lUP.com] 131
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STAR WARS
NAVIGATE CLOUD CITY IN BATTLEFRONT
-: ev
issue, Prima's strategy gurus share their You rate ames

Prima Games, leading publisher of gam- expertise on Burnout 3: Takedown, Sec-
ing guides, provides OPM with top-of- ond Sight, and Star Wars Battlefront.
the-line strategies every month. In this Trust us, these guys know their stuff.
IA REPLAY
FUNK SEOUL BROTHERS

|
Hey, subscriber. x
|
Yeah, we're talking to ^ | [i li =
you. You have this all- t ٦
m:
new SOCOM II map in ТТ
your hands, and it's still
a couple weeks before 21 mw ‫ع‬0 dH | ш‫[ ‏‬m :
this issue goes on sale THE CYBER CAFÉ into the café itself. THE FIRE ESCAPE THE OFFICE LEDGES AND‫‏‬ THE SUBWAY
on the newsstands. One of the most versa- Inside, you'll find a This one is nearly as BUILDINGS ROOFTOPS‫‏‬ SYSTEM
What are you going to tile locations on the patio that offers views useful as the cyber Climb onto the planters There are several other Three different
do with this head start map, and it's just steps to the north and east café, but it takes a bit right next to the door- ^ areas іп the map that entrances make the
you have on all the other away from the terror- and breakable windows more work to get to. ways of these two don’t really offer much subway tunnels seem
SOCOM II players? ists' start point. Climb that offer a fine line of Climb the ladder in this identical buildings and of a vantage point for like a labyrinth, but
You're damned right, up the crates to get to sight to the two-story narrow alley and enter you'll be able to use sniping, but they're they're simpler than
you're gonna practice. the lower rooftop. From parking garage across through the window. the awnings to get to areas that may not they look. Check out
And we're here to help. here you can access a the street. Follow the stairs and the ledges that run look accessible at first the easy-to-follow
Here's our list of some higher snipe point by you'll come out on a across three sides of glance, so they work map above!
of our favorite hide- jumping on the ventila- patio with a fine view each building. There's well as surprise tactics
and-go-boom sites in tion ducts, or go of the central street. not a lot of cover here, to mix up your game.
After Hours. through the window but it never hurts to
have the high ground.

PUBLISHER "PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE]
PS2 TRICKS AND Bujingai: Th en City Bam Drakan: The Ancients’
REVIEW
Game names in
ARCHIVE
bars indicate a Greatest Hits title. |
Burnout
Burnout 2: Point of Impact
Acclaim
Acclaim
Drakengard
DRIV3R
7
Atari 83
۶ Burnout 3: Takedown EA Games With all weapons and invincibility, youcanjust walk through the streets
Names in yellow indicate a score of 5 out of 5. Butt-Ugly Martians: Zoom or Doom! lof DRIV3R doing as you please. Just try not to look suspicious as cops
^ indicates the game supports online play. Cabela's Big Game Hunter Activisi pass by
Cabe Dangerous Hunts Activision All Weapons PressRI,L2, Square, Circle, RI, R2, L2
Cabela's Deer Hunt 2004Season Acti Invincibility Press Square, Square,Ll,RI, L2, R2, R2 [NOTE: Does
hack//INFECTION Bandai Cabela's Deer Hunt 2005 Season Acti not work in story mode!)
hack//MUTATION Bandai
hack//QUTBREAK Bandai eee
hack//QUARANTINE Bandai CART Fury
18 Wheeler American Pro Trucker 1: Spirit Dimensions

4x4 EVO GOD Games Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
2002 FIFA World Cup. EA Sports The Cat in the Hat
Асе Combat 04:Shattered Skies Namco Catwoman EA Game
Activision Anthology A Champions of Norrath: RealmsofEverQuest Sony Online @@@@4
Aero Elite:Combat Academy Want to start Champions of Norrath at level 20? We've got the code
The Adventures ofCookie
&Cream Agete that will give you just that.
Aggressive Inline Accla Start a new character. As soon as you have control of him or her, press Dynasty War
Airblade Namco LI, R2, Triangle, and R3 atthe same time. Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtre:
Airforce Delta Strike Konami eee Chaos Legion ynasty Warriors4:Emp
Alias Acclaim ФФ4 Chessmaster
Aliens Versus Predator: Extinct EA Game Choplifter: Crisis Shield Echo Night: Beyond
All-Star Baseball 2002 Acclaim ChoroQ Egg Mania: E
All-StarB. 2003 Acclaim City Crisis eJay Clubworle
All-Star Baseball 2004 Acclaim k Tower 3 Capcom Endgame
All-Star Baseball 2005 Combat te: WWII Paratroopers Acclaim Enter the Matrix
Alter Echo Colin McRae Rally3 Codemasters Ephemeral Fantasia Ko
American Idol Codemasters @ Commandos 2:Men of Courage Eidos ee 62 Escape from Monkey Island LucasArts
Amplitude Sony CEA
Antz Extreme Racing Empire Conflict: Desert Storm Il CothamGames ӨӨӨ 74
Ape Escape2 Ubisoft lict: Vietnam. Global Star ee«
Aqua Aqua 300 inflict Zone ٠
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits Sony CEA Contra: Shatt Soldier
Arctic Thunder Midway € Corvette
Armored Core 2 Agetec ӨӨӨ 01 Boarders 2001 е 46
Armored Core2:Another Age Agetec ۹ Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex —Universal @@@¢ 5]
Armored Core 5 Agetec Crash NitroKa Vivendi Universal @@@@ ESPN NBA Basketball ESPN Videogames
Armored Core: Nexus Agetec Crash Twinsanity ESPN NFL Fo tba E deogames
Army Men: Air Attack 300 razy Taxi ESPN NFL 215 ESPN Videogames 84
Army Men: Green Rogue 300 Crimson Sea 2 Like a true overrated rookie, you can pimp out your crib in allthe riches
Army Men RTS Crimson Tears the league has to offer before even stepping on the field. All you have to
Army Меп: Sarge’s Heroes2 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon do is enter the following VIP profile names tounlock allcrib items,
Asterix & Obelix Kick Buttix Culdcept grant yourself a million cribcredits, or even fill yourtrophy room with
Astro Boy Dark Angel:Vampire Apocaly Metro3D € allofthe game's accolades.
Athens 2004 SonyCEA @@4 85 Dark Cloud опу CEA 46) 1,000,000 crib credits
АТУ Offroad Fur Sony CEA 42) Dark Cloud 2 Sony CEA € 66 Аі crib items unlocked
rk nit 0% Completed every milestone (full trophy room)
АТУ Quad Power Racing 2 Acclaim Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 Acclai 50]
Auto Modellista Capcom FLASHDANCE DDR Extreme ami ®
Backyard Baseball Atar DDRMAX Konam
Backyard Wrestling: Don’t
TryThis atHome Eidos @@@ 75 DDRMAX 2 Konam
Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore *
Baldur's Gate:Dark Alliance | Dead to Rights. Namco eee _ 65|
Barbarian Def nd EA Sports B • e 67
The Bard's Tale Vivendi Universal Def Jam Fight for NY •
Bass Strike Virtual Fishing Tournament THQ Defender dway €
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Ubisoft Destruction Derby Arenas Gathering LI
Batman: Vengeance Ubisoft Deus Ex: The Conspiracy Eidos LI ееее‹
Battle Engine Aquila Atari
Battlestar Galactica Vivendi Universal Devil May Cry2 Capcom eee
Beyond Good&Evil Ubisoft DigitalHitzFactory XS Games
Big Mutha Truckers Empire Dino Stalke
Bionicle: The Game EA Games r Report
Black & Bruised Majesco Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Blade I Activision Disney Golf
Blood Omen 2 Eidos Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure
BloodRayne Majesco Disney's PK: Out of the Shadows
Bloody Roar 3 Activision Disney's Treasure Planet
Bloody Roar 4 Konami А Dog's Life
Blowout Majesco Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers
BMX XXX Acclaim Downforce
Bombastic Capcom Downhill Domination
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter Capcom Dr. Muto
Britney's Dance Beat THQ Dragon Ball Z:Budokai
The Bouncer SquareEA Dragon BallZ:Budokai 2
Buffy the Vampire Slayer:Chaos Bleeds | Sierra/Fox Dragon Rag
[www.IUP.com] 135
И REPLAY
ALL CRASH HEADLINES

Crash headlines are awarded in crash mode, but only ifyou reach a certain level of destruction in the given area, which means you'll
really have to put thought into your pileup masterpiece. Provided is a list of all 10 crash headlines, along with the amounts you'll
need to unlock them. Reach the requirement on any of the available tracks in the necessary area to receive the crash headline.
BURNOUT
ALL TAKEDOWN TROPHIES
Trophies can beearned in any race event and are available from the second you start up anew
game. The first handful of trophies is pretty easy toacquire. Asyou progress, however, the
BURNOUT 3’S SOUNDTRACK HAS STYLE
trophy requirements become alittle more difficult to fulfill. Once you earn all fivetrophies in
one series, you'll unlockaspecial screen for each category. Listed aretherequirements for
the trophies in each category.
smart and zany aprés-Pixies melodicism is

tY 0 FRANZ FERDINAND going to work for you. The bad news, such as it
апд Five will get you 10 that if you is, is that a little of this superclever stuff goes a
Fer asked any member of Franz Fer- long way. Listening to this album is like trying
= dinand to name his favorite his- to play Ping-Pong with two balls: Sure, it's fun
torical era, he'd espouse the glories of Ger- and crazy at first, but then it starts to become
many's Weimar Republic, that strange actual work. For at least the first few spins,
post-WWI, pre-Nazi interregnum of absolute pace yourself and do half the album at a time.
weirdness, where sexual perversity ruled in Just because something's good doesn't mean
cabarets and a wheelbarrow of marks would it's easy.
buy you a loaf of bread. Franz Ferdinand's
album is drenched with just that sort of lan-
quid, dissolute (and fake) worldliness, the
sound of art students listening to too much KISS & TELL
Kurt Weill and Low-era Bowie. It's the music of In a perfect world; every girl
/ people having fun today because they know group that gets together to, you
tomorrow's just going to end badly, and that's know, like totally rock would be
a self-fulfilling prophecy if there ever was one. | required to listen to Kiss & Tell and then be
like it. |worry about what it means if|like it informed: “If you're not going to at least try to
too much. reach this level of cool, you should probably just
go home. Right now.” It's not that Sahara Hot-
nights is brilliant, but this all-girl rock quartet
gets all the key ingredients mixed together in
ТАМ THE MOVIE the right proportion: just enough rock, just
Sometimes |let my ears wander enough melody, and just enough attitude. It's
around while l'm doing other bubblegum rock that's a shade less parking-lot
things and rely on them to let skanky than the Donnas, which is a good place
me know when something of interest pops up. for an all-girl band to be. So, all you aspiring
, Inthe case of | Am the Movie, my ears pinged gals: Listen and learn. Aspiring guys: You could
me for my attention on one track: “The Future do worse, too.
Freaks Me Out,” which has a cheery, wibbly
Cars-like synth line and goofy lyrics that
describe the confusion one has when one
finally realizes one doesn't care about what's UNDER THE TRAY
going on in the common culture. Right on! Oth- So there you are, caught
erwise, this album of standard, sorta punky between your punk-pop friends
rock slid right on by. Which isn't bad, because and your techno-pop friends.
my ears also let me know when they're irri- And your punk-pop friends say, “We wanna
tated, and that didn't happen here, either. Ver- hear punk-pop!" And then your techno-pop
dict from the ears: They wouldn't mind another friends say, "That's lame! We wanna hear
listen, but they won't go out of their way for techno-pop!" And then your punk-pop friends
one, either. say, "Punk-pop's not lame, you're lame!" And
then they all get into a slap fight or something.
Well, then you go all U.N. on everyone and put
on Under the Tray, which has cheeky punk-pop
GOOD NEWS FOR PEOPLE and cheeky techno-pop on it because Reggie
WHO LOVE BAD NEWS just can't decide which to be. And then every-
The good news is that Good one's happy until they get into a fight about
News lives up to the critical whether to go to Taco Bell or a family restau-
Jy hype—if you have a triple-digit IQ and occa- rant. Hint: All your friends are lame. pene them
; sionally like to employ it when you listen to and take your CD with you. €
music, then Modest Mouse's aggressively es
[www.lUP.com] 137
И REPLAY
DISPATCHES FROM ACROSS THE POND

Thierry Henry with Italy's Francisco Totti and ref- Caps Lock get stuck, guy?
eree Pierluigi Collina! As an American who bought Question: “EA has made many quality sports
GameDay '98 because Terrell Davis was on the games, like Madden and Live, and some niche
cover, | can’t wrap my head around this one. sports games, like Rugby. But why not a tennis
Another oddity is the string of soccer games game? PS2 gamers need something to rival Top
released by Codemasters. Imagine, instead of Spin for Xbox. Does EA have plans for tennis?”
buying ESPN Baseball 2K5, there was New York Short answer: No.
Yankees Baseball 2K5, or instead of the latest Longer answer: EA's guy says, "We're always
Madden, the shelves held both Oakland Raiders evaluating new sports to add to the EA Sports
and St. Louis Rams Football 2005. Here they've family, and tennis is on the list, but there is noth-
got just that. You can snatch up a copy of Man- ing to announce at this time.” Which is shorthand
chester United Football 2005 or Arsenal or Celtic for: A tennis game isn't going to sell a million
Last month, in the name of videogame or Real Madrid. The game bears the name of the copies out of the gate. Best to get an Xbox.
research, | left my beloved sports-obsessed team, not the league. Insanity, from my league- On to November's can't-miss contests: Base-
American nation and landed squarely in the conti- centric American perspective. ball's over, the NHL is on ice. But the sports wheel
nent boasting football—not soccer—the Tour de
France, a snoozefest called cricket, and a graceful
free-for-all referred to as rugby. To be clear, l'm
not waxing about live-action events | glimpsed on
BBCSport, but rather about the games clogging
the shelves at London's Oxford Street GAME
store (known as EB in the States). For the incapable, there are plenty of soccer keeps turnin’. The NBA tips off with the Kings at
Instead of shelves lined with Madden upon management games where you never play the the Mavericks on opening night (November 2),
Madden, there wasn’t one copy of American foot- game. Why bother, when you can micromanage a and the Nets minus K-Mart face off against the
ball in the place! Here they act like FIFA 2005 is team of 20 players, keeping track of their skills, Nuggets plus K-Mart on November 23. The NFL
the next coming of David Beckham (though hard- their biorhythms, and what they had for break- features the Seahawks at the Rams (Madden says
core Brits play Pro Soccer Evolution 4—which was fast. Think Madden's franchise mode without all St. Louis wins 29-24) on November 14, along
released in Japan as Winning Eleven 8 and will be the Madden to support it. No thanks. OK, enough with the Vikings at Lambeau battling the Packers
released in the United States as Winning Eleven 8 footy chat—though I'd like to say I've bought my (the Pack slips, losing 27-21), and the Redskins
International—confused?). The cover athletes are first import game (PSE4) and I'm loving it. play the Eagles on November 21 (‘Skins by 10, 26-
a bigger gas. FIFA features Patrick Viera, Fer- Now we move on to the part of the show 16). On the college gridiron, the Georgia Bulldogs,
nando Morientes, and Andrei Shevchenko, while where | pluck a note from the Sports Guy in-box; my pick to win the national championship, visit
Р5Е4 features perennial Footballer of the Year this опе is from [email protected]—your the Auburn Tigers on November 13.
PUBLISHER
EA Sports
ter: Quidditch World Cup Games
ter and the Sorcerer's Stone EA Games
ıd the Chamber of 5
^ Fight Night Sports Ghosthunter Namco e“ 84
Fighter Ma Agetec When you are killing ghosts, it's helpful to avoid becoming one. The fol-
lowing is a code that will keep you alive while ghost busting
Without pausing the game, hold Right on the D-pad while pressing ‫ات‬‎ Call of the King Midway
for five seconds; then press triangle. Headhunter Acclaim
Finding Nemo THQ dhunter: Redemption Sega
Fireblade Midway Gerdy Eidos
Konami of Might and Magic 300
Gotham Game spiracy
Agete 300
Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone Atari
Formula One 2001 Sony CEA
Midway tracts
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
The Hobbit
Midway Hot Shots Golf 3
ny CEA # Hot Shots Golf Fore! Sony CEA
Frogger: The Great Quest Konami |
We have the perfect remedy for those nasty control problems in your
Frogger's Adventure: The Rescue Konami [golf game: cheat! The pinhole club emphasizes great control for those
Front Mission 4 Square Enix |who have problems getting on the green. The following code will place
Fugitive Hunter Encore the club in the shop, making it available for purchase.
Fur Fighte Viggo's Revenge Acclaim Enter the password “DGHFRP” to unlock the pinhole club in the shop.
Futurama Vivendi Universal Hot Wheels: Velocity X THQ 6
Future Tactics: The Crave The Hulk ndi Universal
Gl Јо Koei
GadgetRa Conspiracy
Galactic по Featuring Ultimate Muscle Bandai
Galerians: Ash Sammy
Gallop Racer Tecmo

PUBLISHER.
Indy Car Series
Intellivision Lives!
Island Extreme Stunts
The Italian Job Eido: | <l d |=
Jade Cocoon 2 Ubisoft THROW AWAY THE AMBIEN—WE'VE GOT
NONADDICTIVE SLEEP AIDS FOR YOU
Sony CEA 4
James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire EA Games Been plagued by insomnia lately? Well, prepare to catch
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing EA Games a little shut-eye by playing any of the following games, which are
You can obtain these cheats by earning platinum awards. some of the most boring titles ever to come out for PS2.
CHEAT CODE
Allweapons 60۰٥
Cloak 3,۵۰0
Double ammo 0,0,8,0,6
Double damage 0,6,6,0,0
Easier movement in vehicles
800
68,0
0,6,8%,0,8
Improved battery
Platinum gun
Slow-motion driving
Unlimited ammo ( о,%0
Unlimited battery ,О,0,0,8
James Bond 007:NightFire
James Cameron's Dark Angel Sierra
Jeopardy! Atari
Jeremy McGrath Supercross World Acclaim
Jet X20 Sony CEA
Jonny Moseley Mad Trix 300
Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death Evolved Games
The Jungle Book: Rhythm n' Groove Ubisoft
Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis Universal Int
КА World Grand Prix Konami €
plution Konami
оке Revolution Volume 2 Konami
iriDamacy Namco
5 Pro Surfer Activision The skeleton from Strike Force Bowling
isso
annoyed by his forced participation in the
of Bushido Crav game that even he’s rolling
hiseyes. And take
EA Game: it fromus, that's hard to do with no ey lids.
Koei 4
Namco
The King of Fighters 2000/2001 A game revolving around a singing competition This game's combat system—mashing Square
The KingofRoute 66 г that you can beat on mute is not exactly gripping repeatedly—is so boring and unimaginative that
King's Field: The Ancient City Agete fare. Particularly snoozeworthy is the jukebox Scooter defeated three straight boss battles while
Kingdom Hearts Square EA mode, which lets you watch various generic com- not even looking at the TV screen. Need we say
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil Namco puter-generated characters sing pop standards. any more?
Knockout Kings 2001 EA Sports 4 Break out the party hats.
nockout Kings 200; -огсе sowing
Kya: Dark Lineage Virtual Fishing Tournamen Bowling is a sport for which the adjective “unex-
La Pucelle: Tactics Nothing like a realistic fishing game to put the citing” is usually a charitable descriptor. This
Le Mans 24 Hours Infograme bore in boredom. This THQ offering takes a sport game attempts to spice things up by letting you
Legacy of Kain: Defiance Eidos with few action-packed moments and spaces bowl with wacky characters (like skeletons) in
Legaia2:Duel Saga Fresh Games them even further apart than a real fishing trip. wacky settings (like the moon). It doesn't work.
The Legend of Alon D'ar Ubisoft would. And you don't even get the six-pack of
LegendsofWrestling Acclaim beer that you would have in real life.
LegendsofWrestlingII Acclaim How does one revive a lagging franchise? Not by
Legion: The Legend of Excalibur Midway Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter giving the latest iteration controls that are incredi-
Lego Racers 2 Lego Media When angry man Henry Rollins (who voices Mace) bly inferior to those in previous versions, stretch-
Lethal SI Sammy sounds like he's about to doze off, it's not a good ing the story out beyond all interest, and including
Lethal Skies || Sammy sign. Neither are the rooms after rooms after levels that drag on forever. This game made us all
Looney Tunes: Back in Action EA Games rooms that all look identical. want to see Lara go away forever.
The Lordofthe Rings: The Fellowshipofthe Ring Black Label
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ЕА Games MTV's Celebrity Deathmat
We've got a great premise for a fascinating game: With all the excellent racing titles available, why
Lowride Jaleco Round after round of claymation B-list celebs face would you choose a game that offers you nothing
Lupin the 3rd: TreasureoftheSorcerer King | Bandai off, utilizing generic fighting skills while commen- you can't find elsewhere done better? Yeah, we
Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter Vivendi Universal tators make lame jokes. No? Doesn't grab you? couldn't think of any reason either.
Mad Maestro! Eidos/Fresh Then join the rest of the millions who weren't
Madden NFL 2001 EASports 4 interested either.
Madden NFL 2002 EA
Sports As we said in our review, this is "an RPG that's
too simple for strategy fans and too complex for
What's worse than horrible fighting sequences? fighting fans.” Couple that spellbinding concept
# Madden NFL 2005 EA Sports €eee« 85 Horrible fighting sequences interspersed with with a clichéd premise, uninteresting gameplay,
In addition to getting Madden cards through in-game packs, you can long periods of adventuring around and lengthy and interminable load times, and you've got your-
find these throughout the game by completing certain requirements. To sleep-inducing puzzles. Now we know why the self a barrel of laughs. Well, that plus the
get your hands on some of the coveted cheat cards, obtain gold in the adventure game is dead. unleashed wrath of the player.
[www.lUP.com] 139
Have trouble with your real-life telekinesis? move to the trench ahead. РЕ вооУУУ УУЛ
Well, we can't really help you with that. You'll * Stay close to the wall below the guard. * Move to the fence and fire at snipers from cover.
have to look for tips on bending spoons with your * Scale the next wall and take cover. * Follow the squad through the valley.
mind elsewhere. We can, however, help you with * Move past the guard when his back is turned. * After the explosion, move through the cave with
the next best thing and get you through the first * Stay crouched as you move past the guard hut. Tex and Franklin.
five levels of Second Sight with the following * Talk to JC. * Kill the two guards.
quick-step level walkthrough. * Follow JC's instructions to learn the basics * Move up to the two wooden barrels at the mouth.
of aiming. of the cave and provide cover for the squad.
ISOLATION ЩИ * Score 250 points to pass firing range challenge. * Follow Wilde when she takes off down the road.
* Use telekinesis on the switch next to the cell door. * Return to the obstacle course. * Enter the compound.
* Go through the next two doors, then use your * Make your way back through the obstacle course, * Go down the hallway and up the ladder.
newfound healing ability to heal yourself completely. shooting all the soldiers you encounter. * Climb the stairs, then climb the ladder near the
* |n the next corridor, take your first turn to avoid * Once you've finished, return to the firing range. storage room.
the guards. * Talk to Franklin to begin sniper training. @ * Pull the lever to open the door.
* Get the key card from the counter in the doctors" * Score 250 points in the sniping challenge to win. * Return to ground level and go through the door.
station. * Follow Wilde.
* Return to the main corridor and fight the guards. EXPERIMENTATION (ЕНІ ЕД”77777 * Kill the three soldiers in the next room.
* Use the key card to open the nearby door. * Use the computer at the guard's desk to unlock * Continue following Wilde until you come to the
* Move through the next room and the adjacent the door and turn off the security cameras. next guarded room.
hallway. * Go through the hallway into the lobby. * Kill all five soldiers, including the three on the sec-
* Use the computer in the next room. * After the police arrive, jump over the railings in ond floor.
* Open the map and select the elevator to learn the the center of the room. * Climb the ladder; follow Wilde to the control room.
access code. * Move left and crawl into the vent behind the card- * Use the computer. Wilde gives you the password
* Return to the elevator; use the code to enter it. board boxes. after an unsuccessful attempt to access it.
* Go forward through the door. * Read the document about Grienko in the com-
PREPARATION ЕЕ. * Use telekinesis on the fuse box to distract the puter's waste basket.
* After speaking with Starke, run down the corridor guard. * Go back to the ladder, killing the four guards on
and meet Cortelli. * While he's distracted, go through the second door the way.
* Follow Cortelli to the obstacle course. on the left. * Keep following Wilde and kill all guards in the
* Climb over the barricades after Cortelli Shows you * Move through this room into the next hallway. Go room at the end.
what to do. through the door in the top-left of the hall.
* Crouch and then crawl through tunnel behind * Sneak behind the scientist and go through the ESCAPE ШАВИИ
Cortelli. door. * Use charm to get past the guards and enter the
* Walk down the ramp and climb the ladder on your * Use telekinesis on the camera to distract the elevator outside the records room.
left. guard. * Activate projection and turn off the three cameras
* Hang from the ledge and shimmy left across the * Move into the right-hand glass room. in the area.
water. * After you've unlocked charm, charm your way * Once again, use projection to deactivate the second
* Pull yourself up when you reach the other side, past the guard and enter the animal research lab. security field, then use charm and run through it.
then climb down the ladder. * Activate charm to pass the gorillas and go up the * Take out the guard in the next room.
* Follow Tex's instructions to learn how to use ramp. * Get in the elevator and use projection to activate it.
cover. * Enter the research room and grab the records * After unlocking psi blast, finish off the guards, get
* Move to the second block for the second stealth room key. their guns, and fight to the top of the ramps.
exercise. Stay on the opposite side of the block * Use charm to pass the guard again. * Enter the guard station at the top and use the
SIGHT
SECOND
from Tex. * Continue past the next guard and into the door on button to open the gate.
не
Al
* When he reaches the block itself, crouch and your right. * Fight through to the next elevator and use
make a break for the entrance. * Use the key toopen the locked door at the end of telekinesis to activate the switch nearby.
* Go right and then left to exit the tunnels. the hallway. * Fight your way to the next ramp and move up.
* When you exit the tunnels, stay crouched and * Use the computer on the far side of the room to Continue up to the final squad of four guards.
avoid the first guard. As soon as he turns his back, access your records. * Get in the car to escape.
STEP-BY-STEP
LEVELS
FIVE
FIRST
THE
TO
GUIDE
PUBLISHER ٤ PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE) GAME
following challenges. Music Maker Magix Oni
BROKEN TACKLE BOOST MVP Baseball 2003 EA Sports Onimusha: Warlords
Ground attack minicamp drillcard $195,"Human Plow’ MVP Baseball 2004 EA Sports (Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destin
UNLIMITED FIELD-GOAL RANGE MX 2002 Fe ing Ricky Carmichael THQ (Onimusha 3: Demon Siege
Clutch kicking minicamp drillcard #197, "Da Boot" MX Rider Infogrames Howdy, partner! Battle asa cowboy warrior or dressed as аpanda. We
PASS BLOCKING BOOST MX Superfly Featuring Ricky Carmichael THQ miss you, Ling-Ling!
Pocket presence minicamp drill card #208, “Pocket Protection" My Street Sony CEA SAMANOSUKE'S SPECIAL WESTERN OUTFIT
LINE PENETRATION BOOST Myst Ill: Exile Ubisoft When playing as Samanosuke (versus Jacques), complete the game
Trench fight minicamp drillcard #209, "Penetration" Mystic Heroes withahigher ending score for Samanosuke or finishthe game with
ОВ ACCURACY WILL BE 100 PERCENT MX Unleashed Q Jacques’ Western outfit.
Precision passing minicamp drillcard #210, “QB on Target [Namco
Namco Museum @@@4 53) SSAMANOSUKE'S PANDA SUIT
Mafia Gathering NASCAR 2001 4 Complete the Oni Training minigame, or have an Onimusha Blade War
Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color Agete 4 NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup EA Sports riors save on your memory card. For added fun, press the L2 button to
Malice Mud Duck NASCAR Heat Infograme flip the head on and off with different expressions each time,
Manhunt Rockstar NASCAR Thunder 2002 EA Sport JACQUES’ SPECIAL WESTERN OUTFIT
The Mark of Kri Sony CEA NASCAR Thunder 2003 EA Sports When playing as Jacques (versus Samanosuke), complete the game
Marvel vs. Capcom 2 арсот PICK ANOTHER 4 NASCAR Thunder 2004 EA Sports with a higher ending score for Jacques or finish the game with
Mat Hoffman's Pro E Activisior LETTER! NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona Infograme Samanosuke's special outfit.
Naval Ops: Warship Gunner Koei MICHELLE'S WET BATHROOM LOOK
2: The Fall of Mi МВА 2K2 Sega Sports ‘Complete thegame with an S rankingonNormalorhigher difficulty.
Maximo: GhoststoGlor NBA 2K3 Sega Sports THE ADVENTURES OF HEIHACHI
Maximo vs. Army of Zin NBA Ballers Midway Sport Completethegame, andthis newmode will open up, enabling you to
McFarlane's Evil Prophecy Konam NBA Hoopz Midway playasHeihachi.
MDK2 Armageddor Interplay 3A Jam 2004 Acclaim Orphen: Scion of Sorcery Activision Ф
Medal of Honor: Frontline EA Games NBA Live 2001 EA Sport N
Medal
ofHonor: Rising Sun EA Game NBA Live 2002 EA Sport Pac-Man World 2 Namco
Mega Man Anniversary Collection Capcom NBA Live 2003 EA Sport: PaRappa the Rapper Sony CEA
Through the miracle of technology, eight games from one of the great NBA Live 2004 EA Sport Paris-Dakar Rally Acclaim
est franchises in videogame history have been put on one simple disc NBA Live 2005 EA Sports Phantom Brave NIS America
for our playing pleasure. And in case you forgot your passwords, we NBA ShootOut 2001 Sony CEA Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat ҒА Games
thought we'd help ya out. NBA ShootOut 2003 Sony CEA Pitfall: The Lost Expedition Activision
Mega Man 2: Allweapons, items, and four energy tanks NBA ShootOut 2004 Sony СЕА eee Pool Paradise ignition
A5, B2, ВА,CI, C3, C5, 04, 05, E2 NBA Starting Five Konami 14 Portal Runner 300
Mega Man4:Allweapons
anditems NBA Street EA Sports Power Drome Mud Duck
Al, A4, BS, E2, Fl, F3 NBA Street Vol. 2 EA Sports Big The Powerpuff Girls: Relish Rampage
Mega Man 6: All weapons and items NCAA College Basketball 2K3 Pride FC
B6, 04, F2, F4, F6 NCAA College Football 203 Primal Sony CEA
Mega Man X: Command Mission Capcom @ NCAA Final Four 2001 Sony СЕА € Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Ubisoft
Mega Man X7 Capcom ®8 NCAA Final Four 200 Sony CEA Pro Race Driver Codemasters
Men in Black Il: Alien Escape Infogrames @@4 NCAA Final Four 2003 Sony CEA Project Eden Eidos
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System ndi Universal NCAA Final Four 2004 Sony CEA Chapter One: The Dark Unicorn TDK Mediactive
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Konami 9: NCAA Football 2002 EA Sports Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy Midway «82
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance Konami 9: NCAA Football 2003 EA Sports The onlything better than using your psi powers
toliftand fling objects.
Metropolismania Natsume 9 NCAA Football 2004 EA Sports across a room is doing so while dressed like a clown. As a bonus, there's
Midnight Club Rockstar © NCAA Football 2005 EA Sports also a codeforstarting the game withall psi powers. Highlight "Extra
f Midnight ClubII Rockstar NCAA GameBreaker 2001 Sony CEA Content" in the Main menu and press RI to enter codes.
Midway Arcade Treasures Midway NCAA GameBreaker 2003 Sony CEA Clown General
Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing Codemasters NCAA GameBreaker 2004 Sony CEA Start with all psi powers
Minority Report Activision NCAA March Madness 2002 EA Sports Koei
Mission: Impossible-Operation Surma Atari NCAA March Madness 2003 EA Sports Q-Ball Billiards Master Take-Two
Mister Mosquito Eidos/Fresh NCAA March Madness 2004 Quake IIl Revolution EA Games
MLB 2004 Sony CEA Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 R: Racing Evolution Namco
MLB 2005 Sony CEA Need for Speed Underground EA Games R-Type Final Eidos/Fresh Game
MLB SlugFest 20-03 Midway FL 2К2 Sports Rally Fusion: Race of Champions Activision
MLB SlugFest 20-04 Midway NFL 2K3 Sega Sports Rapala Pro Fishing Activision
MLB SlugFest: Loaded Midway NFL Blitz 20-02 Midway Ratchet & Clank Sony CEA
Mobile Light Force 2 XS Games NFL Blitz 20-03 Midway Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando Sony CEA
Mobile Suit Gundam: EncountersinSpace Bandai NFL Blitz Pro Midway Sports Rayman 2: Revolution Ubisoft
Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon Bandai NFL GameDay 2001 Sony CEA Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Ubisoft
Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo Bandai NFL GameDay 2002 Sony CEA Rayman Arena Ubisoft
Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front Bandai NFL GameDay 2003 Sony CEA RC Revenge Pro
Mojo! Crave NFL GameDay 2004 Sony CEA Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2 Midway
Monopoly Party Infogrames NFL Quarterback Club 2001 Acclaim Real Pool Infogrames
Monster 4x4: MastersofMetal Ubisoft NFL Street EA Sports Big Red Card Soccer 20-03 Midway
Monster Hunter Capcom NHL 2001 EA Sports Red Dead Revolver Rockstar
Monster Rancher 3 Tecmo NHL 2002 EA Sports LEVEL REWARDS
Monster Rancher 4 Tecmo NHL 2003 EA Sports Chasing varmints across dusty locales has its benefits. Here's what
Monsters, Inc Sony CEA NHL 2004 EA Sports fancy shootin'll git yer. The first column of rewards is for a Good rating,
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance Midway NHL 2005 EA Sports andthe second columnis for an Excellent rating,
MotoGP Namco NHL 2K3 Sega Sports [С] = Character, [L] = Level, [U] = Upgrade, [W] = Weapon
MotoGP2 Namco @@@@4 NHL FaceOff 2001 Sony CEA LEVEL GOOD REWARD EXCELLENT REWARD
MotoGP3 Namco ۹ NHL FaceOff 2003 Sony CEA Bull's Eye [0] old pistol [L] Broken Creek
Motor Mayhem Infogrames NHL Hitz 20-02 Midway Bounty Hunter [С] “Bloody” Tom [С] “Big Oaf” Whitney
MTV Music Generator 2 Codemasters NHL Hitz 20-03 Midway Ugly Streetfight |[C] "Ugly" Chris [L] Freak Show
MTV Music Generator 3: This Is the Remix Codemasters NHL Hitz Pro Midway [U]owl rifle [C] Rico Pedrosa
MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch Gotham Games Ninja Assault Маг Dead-Eye max-up IC] "Pig" Josh
MTX: Mototrax Activision No One Lives Forever Freak Show Health max-up [U] breech loader
The Mummy Returns Universal Okage: Shadow King Rogue Valley [C] Cooper IC] Bad Bessie
[www.IUP.com] 141
IA REPLAY
NCE Lp, 44
lepublic Clone Army ce/Republic

Clone Army
{р DROIDS
ЕЙ Use marksmen to cover the southern walk-
way. Drop prone and zoom in on the narrow corri-
dor to pick off incoming attackers approaching ЕН If defending alone, hide in this small nook to
from the Imperial-held walkway command post to the northwest. From here you can stay out of ЕЕЕ Because the command post can be captured
the east. sight and still spot any attackers approaching the from below the platform, consider placing a
command post. If a thermal detonator finds its mine or two around this ammo droid to surprise
ЕН Because of high traffic іп the other passage, way into your hiding spot, move fast. sneak attackers.
use the walkway to the north to snipe enemies in
the courtyard. The gunners in the turrets make ЕЗ Take the high ground along this ramp to the ЕЗІ The color and lighting of the central platform
easy targets. south. Not only is this a great spot for covering makes mines hard to see. Place one on the plat-
the command post, but it’s useful for stifling form next to the steps leading up to the com-
ЕЕ Instead of placing mines in front of the east- attackers moving on the upper western walkway. mand post.
ern entrance, stick them to the nearby slanted
walls. This makes them invisible to attackers ЕД This passage presents a serious threat if the |11| The western passage can be covered
attempting to infiltrate the command post from enemy takes control of the chamber. Stick mines from this elevated platform accessed from the
the east. Do the same on the northern entrance to to the outside of the entrance to catch attackers chamber's western steps. This is useful for
further lock down the position. by surprise. ambushing Rebels attempting attacks from the
rear flank. Fire down on them as they rush across
The Rebel-controlled rear flank is located in Ж The chamber passage can also be covered the narrow catwalk or toss thermal detonators
this open area in the northwest corner of the map. from the ramp to the south. A vanguard or shock- into the western passage. It's possible tojump
trooper firing missiles down into this narrow pas- down onto the catwalk below, but you'll suffer
sage can wipe out any attack force. Use the some light damage—unless you're playing as a
ammo droid in the round upper-level room to the dark trooper or jet trooper.
south to replenish your missiles.

The corridor leading to the rear flank is a
hotly contested piece of territory. Advances and
retreats are common, especially at the start of the
This large window to the south of the com- battle. Explosive munitions such as thermal deto- This position can be captured from the
mand post is a prime sniping position. Pay partic- nators and missiles are particularly deadly in courtyard floor, just beneath the command post.
ular attention to the northern side of the court- these close-quarter battles that offer little room This spot provides a bit more cover from sniper
yard, picking off Rebels moving from the rear for evasive maneuvers. So exercise extreme cau- fire coming from the rear flank or walkway com-
entrance and chamber command posts. tion when using these weapons. mand posts.
Defend this western ramp with a mix of | A scout should always support ап 24 Keep moving while constructing the turrets
units. The Imperial pilot's mortar launcher is great advance along this corridor. They're capable of surrounding the courtyard. Enemy snipers are
for lobbing grenades down on the Rebels. Keep picking off enemy defenders at great distances, probably watching these spots, waiting for a sta-
pounding the area on the north side of the court- including opposing Rebel marksmen covering the tionary target. Strafing left and right can prevent
yard. This is a high-traffic area—Rebels from the passage from the rear flank command post. you from becoming an easy kill.
rear entrance and chamber are most likely to enter
the battlefield's center. The courtyard sits at the center of the map, EJEA The southern turret is great for sup-
making it a key location to capture but a difficult pressing attacks from the rear entrance and
one to hold. chamber. Zoom in to pick off enemies inside the
chamber's southern entrance on the opposite
side of the courtyard.
[www.lUP.com] 143
IA REPLAY PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE] С PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE]
IL] Ghost Town IC] Mr. Black Shadow Hearts: Covenant Midway €
ІШ The Ranch IC] Holstein Hal Shadow of Destiny Konami •
[C] Dan IC] Sam Shadow Man: 2econd Coming Acclaim •
[L] The Bridge Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder Activision ә
READER REVIEWS
Health max-up
Sunset Canyon [U] twin revolvers Dead-Eye max-up ShellShock: Nam '67 Eidos •
Bear Mountain [C] Shadow Wolf Dead-Eye max-up Shifters 300 •
FOOTBALL AND VEHICULAR MAYHEM [L] The Mine [C] “Smiley” Fawler Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne Atlus Ф
2... .............................. [C] Buffalo [C] Gabriel Navarro Shinobi •
Health max-up IC] Colonel Daren Showdown: Legends of Wrestling •
Devils &Angels [Ш The Ranch IC] General Diego Shox EA Sports Big •
Battle Finale __ Dead-Eyemax-up 1С] Mr. Kelley Shrek 2 Activision •
The Siege [L]MansionGrounds [С] Jason Cornet Shrek Super Party ТОК Mediactive •
Fall Кот Grace [W] scorpion revolver |С) Governor Griffon Siren Sony CEA •
Red Faction Anyone can be the enemy—even your best friend.
Red Faction || TIME ATTACK MODE Get the first ending, then when you select a
Reel Fishing Ill. stage, press the O button.
Reign of Fire Bam ۲ BRAIN CELL GAME Collect archive item 08—then you will be ableto
Resident EvilCode:VeronicaX Capcom play from the Main menu.
Resident Evil: Dead Aim Capcom
Resident Evil Outbreak Capcom Silent Hill 3 Konami
Return to Castle Wolfenstein: OR Activision Silent Hill 4:The Room Konami
Rez Sega Silent Line: Armored Core Agetec
Ribbit King Bandai Silent Scope Konami
Ridge Racer V Namco Silent Scope 2 Konami
ESPN NFL 2К5 Riding Spirits Bam ilent Scope 3 Konami
WHAT YOU SAID: “I am a football fan! Thi: Ring of Red Konami Silpheed: The Lost Planet Working Designs
that | am a frustrated athlete-wannabe whose athletic ability (what Rise to Honor Sony CEA The Simpsons: Hit & Run Vivendi Universal
little there ever was of it) is fading fast. How big of a fan of football Risk: Global Domination Atari The Simpsons: Road Rage EA Games Ф E]
am I? This past summer | participated in a men's fantasy football RLH: Run Like Hell Interplay The Simpsons Skateboarding EA Games 64
camp in Latrobe, PA (the preseason home of the Pittsburgh Steel- Road Kill Midway The Sin
ers, for those uninitiated in the Brotherhood of the Pigskin). Two Road Trip. Conspiracy The Sims: Bustin’ Out
hundred middle-aged men running the drills that professional play- Robin Hood: Defender ofthe Crown Capcom Sky Gunner
ers run is not a pretty sight—take my word for it. Regardless of how Robotech: Invasion Global Star Sky Odyssey Activision
uncoordinated | am (e.g., Louis Lipps beaned me in the face with a Rocky Ubisoft Sled Storm EA Sports Big @ @4 55
pass during a sideline receiving drill), the bottom line is that it was a Robot Alchemic Drive Enix SlyCooper andtheThievius Raccoonus Sony CEA ФӨ Ө 62
fun experience. For that same reason, (the reason being "it's fun, Robotech: Battlecry TDK Sly 2: BandofThieves Sony СЕА @@@@@ 86
for those not paying close attention to my rant), |am now a con- Rogue Op: Kemco Smash Cars Metro3D eee 7
verted ESPN NFL 2K5 fan and player. After years of playing Ma Romance of the Three Kingdoms VI Koei Smash Court Tennis: Pro Tournament
den, the game has become TOO MUCH of a sim. It is too much like Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII Koei Smash Court Tennis: Pro Tournament 2
trying to be a real player in the NFL...it's HARD. ESPN NFL 2К5 is RPG Maker 2 Agetec
easy to pick up and play. The graphics and animations are tight. The LucasArts Smuggler's Run 2: Hostile Territory
control is superb. The game modes (franchise, online, etc.) are deep. EA Sports Soccer America: International Cup
The VIP system is a great innovation, although | find it hard to be- EA Sports Soccer Mania
lieve that Carmen Electra is really that good of a player. Finally, the EA Games # SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs
ESPN touches and the $20 price tag make this the must-have foot- Take-Two SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs
ball game this year. Move over Madden, ESPN NFL 2K5 is bringin' da Rygar: The Legendary Adventure Tecmo Soldier of Fortune Majesco
fun, and that truly makes it the best football game on the market." Salt Lake 2002 Eidos Sonic Heroes Sega
Your score: 6696 Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku Sega Soul Calibur Il Namco
—Stlrfni972 ‘Samurai Warriors KoeV/EA Soul Reaver 2 Eidos
UNLOCKABLE CHARACTERS Space Channel 5 Special Edition Sega
WHAT WE SAID: “While there aren't as many huge additions this Katana-wielding warriors from the feudal past have been in vogue since Space Race Infogrames
year as last year, the level of refinement applied to nearly every facet SNK's seminal Samurai Shodown series on the Neo-Geo. But did you Spawn Armageddon Namco
of the game makes it worth buying.” know how many additional weapon masters the game contains? Speed Kings Acclaim ®
Our score: ФФФФФ COMPLETE... ~. TO UNLOCK ‘Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy THQ
Kenshin story Keiji Maeda Spider-Man
BURNOUT 3: TAKEDOWN Noh, Oichi, Magoichi stories Nobunaga Oda Spider-Man 2 Activision
WHAT YOU SAID: “The person who reviewed Burnout 3 was Okuni story Goemon Ishikawa Get hero points and upgrades theeasywayinSpider-Man2.Leave the
almost perfect with his score except for the fact that he obviously Keiji story Okuni actual fighting of crime to the NYPD. Note: For this code to work, you
played the game for only about an hour and played only the first Shingen, Hanzo stories Kunoichi must not have any Spider-Man 2 saves on your memory card.
few levels. If he had tried to actually play and beat it, his score Any story Magoichi Saika Start a new game and enter the name “HCRAYERT.” Thiswillgive you
would have been different. For one thing, the АЛ. is horrible. There Yukimura story Shingen Takeda 200,000 hero points, swing and web zip upgrades, and the big game
are basically two types of races: the one where they all group Any two stories Masamune Date hunter, alien buster, and shock absorber awards.
together and try to take you out and the one where first place is 20 Ranmaru story Noh Splashdown Infogrames Феее
seconds ahead of everyone else. And sometimes they will mix Mitsuhide story Ranmaru Mari ides Gone Wild
together, so at the start you get taken out by all five cars, then you Saturday Night Speedway Atari 99€ — 8
come alive and somehow the first-place car has jumped half a Savage Skies Bam eee 56
minute ahead of you. This and other things, like the rewards (wow, | Scooby-Doo! Mystery Mayhem THQeee 5
got a postcard for beating that really hard level that almost made ‘Scooby-Doo! Night
of100 Frights THQ eee 58|
me break my controller in frustration!), take the game down from The Scorpion King: Rise ofthe Akkadian Universal 2 Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly
being great." Second Sight Codemasters SRS: Street Racing Syndicate
Secret Weapons Over Normandy LucasArts 55۷
imes Ash Seek and Destroy Conspiracy SSX Tricky
Sega Bass Fishing Duel Sega 55Х3 EA Sports Big
WHAT WE SAID: "As you work your way through the game, being Sega Soccer Slam Sega Sports Star Ocean: Till the End of Time Square Enix
bounced from event to event so you never get tired of any one type Sega Sports Tennis Sega Sports Star Trek: Shattered Universe TDK
of event, you are constantly hitting milestones and earning new Serious Sam: Next Encounter Global Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force Majesco
vehicles." Seven Samurai 20XX Sammy Star Wars Battlefront LucasArts
Shadow Hearts Midway Star Wars Bounty Hunter LucasArts
144 [OPM December 20041

2
PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE PUBLISHER.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars LucasArts Triple Play Baseball EA Sports
Star Wars Super Bombad Racing LucasArts ee ^Trivial Pursuit: Unhinged Atar
Star Wars Jedi Starfighter LucasArt: True Crime: Streets of L.A. Activision
LucasArt Тѕидипаї: Atonement Atlus
LucasArts Turok: Evol Acclaim
State of Emergency * Twisted Metal: Black Online ony CEA
Stitch: Experiment 626 Sony CEA Ty the Tasmanian Tiger EA Game
Street Fighter Anniversary Collection Capcom UEFA Euro 2004 £A м эше Pa ras
Street Fights EX3 Capcom — 39 НИUFC Throwdown Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation
Street Hoops Activision [ UFC Sudden Impact В кеу;
Stretch Panic Under the Skin apom 8 t ‫تہ‬‎
Strike Force Bowling
Stuntman Infogrames/Atari Saga Square Enix — — асына
Sub Rebellion Metro 3D eal T Infogrames . 38 East 28th Stre , New York, N
The Suffering Midway 22‫مگ‬‎
Suikoden Ill Konami 53 Vampire Night
‘Summer Heat Beach Volleyball Acclaim 72 Van Helsing
Summoner Мехх
Summoner 2 Q 2 BlVictorious Boxers
Sunny Garcia Surfing Ubisoft Viewtiful Joe
Super Bust-A-Move Acclaim The only wayto unlock hidden characters in Viewtiful Joeisbyplaying
Super Bust-A-Move 2 Ubisoft the game. You thought you were going to get to cheat, didn't you?
Super Trucks Racing XS Games Unlock Dante Beat the game on any difficulty
Supercar Street Challenge Activision Unlock Sylvia Beat the game
onAdult difficulty
Superman: Shadow of Apokolips
Surfing H30
SWAT: Global Strike Team 5 Virtual on Marz
Swing Away Golf 38 Ml Wakeboarding Unleashed
# Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain Е Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo
Tak and the Power of Juju War Jetz
Tarzan: Untamed
Taz: Wanted. Infogrames * Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Konami WarriorsofMight & Magic
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 Konami 36 B Wave Rally
Tekken 4 Namco Way
oftheSamurai
Tekken Tag Tournament Namco 1 Way of the Samurai 2 Capcom
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven Activision Wheel of Fortune Atari
The Terminator: Dawn of Fate Atari 4 Whiplash Eido:
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Atari Whirl Tour idi Universal
Te nator 3: The Redemption Atari Whiteout Konami
Test Drive Infogrames Wild Arms 5 Sony CEA
Test Drive Off-Road: Wide Open Infogrames Wild Wild Racing Interplay
Test Drive: Eve of Destruction Winback Koei
Tetris Worlds THQ 5 Wipeout Fusion Bam
Theme Park Roller Coaster EA Games 4) Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land Atlus
The Thing 2 Wody Woodpecker: Buzz Buz ard Park DreamCatcher
Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix 2 * World Championship Pool 2004 Jaleco 7
Tiger Woods РСА Tour 2001 4 World Destruction League: Thunder Tanks 300
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002 5 World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars Infogrames
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 EA Sports World Series Baseball 2K3 Sega Sports
# Tiger Woods PCA Tour 2005 EA Sports =

Time Crisis 2 Namco 9 World Tour Soccer 2002 »
Time Crisis 3 Namco World Tour Soccer 2003 SonyCEA
Time Crisis: Crisis Zone Namco 3 * World Tour Soccer 2004 Sony CEA =
Wrath Unleashed Lu =
TOCA Race Driver 2 Codemasters Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3 Crave WTA Tour Tennis o 5 ж = ۲
Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero Crave ® WWE Crush Hour »
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Ubisoft 65 WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Р
# Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm Ubisoft ٤ WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth 6 »
# Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3 Ubisoft WWE SmackDown! Just Bring
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Ubisoft X Squad EA Games
The X-Files: Resist or Serve Vivendi Universal = on ee ٦ Mats |
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness 2 X-Men: Next Dimension Activision \
X2: Wolverine's Revenge Activision
Xenosaga: Episode 1--Пег Wille Zur Macht Namco
XGRA: Extreme-G Racing Association Acclaim
Top Angler Xicat хи Ubisoft
Top Gear Dare Devil Кетсо gib Yanya Caballsta: City Skater Koei
TopGun: Combat Zones Titus eee Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses Konami
Total Immersion Racing Empire @ | Zapper infogrames
Transformers Atari СЕ 2.0.Е: Zone ofthe Enders Konami
Transworld Surf Infogrames Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner Konami
# Tribes: Aerial Assault Sierra
Triple Play 2002 EA Sports
?
[www.lUP.com] 145
ADVERTISER INDEX
Activision 6-7, 19, 36-37, 41, 51,
www.activision.com 73, demo
America Online
www.aol.com onsert
Atari
www.atari.com 54-55
Bandai America Inc.
www.bandai.com
Blockbuster Inc.
www.blockbuster.com
Capcom USA Inc.
www.capcom.com
Eidos Interactive Inc.
| www.eidos.com
Electronic Arts
www.ea.com
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, FIFA 2000, and Spyro | Electronics Boutique/EB Catalog
2: Ripto's Rage (from Ratchet & Clank developers
Insomniac, which you probably knew already),
www.ebgames.com
with four-and-a-half discs apiece. And the excel- Electro Source
lent port of Quake |! and the very first Medal of [email protected]
Honor followed closely with four discs each. Full Sail Real World
www. fullsail.com 25
Hollywood Entertainment
You'd never know it from the latest games in the
series, but the first Rainbow Six on PSI was com-
| www.gamecrazy.com 100-101
Konami Digital Entertainment
plete and utter ass. It managed to distill all of the
less-desirable elements of its PC big brother into www.konami.com 60-61, 81, 93, 13
an ugly, steaming pile with a framerate that’s | Majesco Sales Inc.
slower than your grandmother. It got a single disc. www.majescosales.com 83
Midway Games Inc.
www.midway.com
We have no idea why we didn’t play this up more, Namco Hometek
but we had a one-track, three-car Gran Turismo 2
www.namco.com
demo оп the December disc...which we didn't
In an enormous 20-page feature, we examined in Nestle Food Company
every aspect of the just-unveiled PlayStation 2. Of www.butterfinger.com
course, we looked at all the games that had been Pepsi-Cola Company
announced so far, but we also talked at length www.mountaindew.com
about the technology under the hood, the poten- Prima Games (Division of Random House)
tial for connectivity, and the importance of its primagames.com
DVD-playing capabilities. It may be hard to believe Sega of America
now, but in December of 1999 it was still impor-
www.sega.com 23
tant to point out things like "instant rewind and
fast forward,” "extra audio and subtitle tracks,” SNK NeoGeo USA Corp.
and "video quality superior to that of VHS.” www.snkneogeousa.com 45
SCEA
www.scea.com 2-3, 43
In an even bigger sign of the times, an ad from PC even mention on the cover. What were we think Take-Two Interactive
videocard manufacturer 3dfx taunted, "There are ing? Anyway, there was a lot more beyond GT2, www.take2games.com 10-1, 109
two kinds of gamers in this world. The ones who including Thrasher: Skate and Destroy, Test Drive
THQ Inc.
still play on consoles. And the ones who've actu- Off-Road 3, and three of the season's four foot-
ally seen breasts." Those poor schmucks couldn't ball games.
www.thg.com 35
possibly have predicted how broad the console Ubisoft Entertainment
market would become in five years. We'd call www.ubisoft.com 26-27, 28-29
them up and laugh at them if they hadn't gone Huh, big surprise: Final Fantasy МИ debuted at Vivendi Universal Games
out of business a year after this ad ran. the top of the charts, followed by the latest Mad- www.vugames.com 4-5, 46-47
den and Gran Turismo (obviously enjoying a bump Working Designs
in the charts prior to the release of the sequel).
www.workingdesigns.com 147
Top reviews honors in December were shared by The more things change....
4
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LTD. 2004, ССАРСОМ U.S.A., INC. 2004 ALL RIGHTS А RVED. CAPCOM and the CAPCOM LOGO are registeredt с: STR RIS ‫و‬‎ ‫ سس دیش‬о И CAPCOM USA. INC. which may be regis
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PlayStation MAGAZINE

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50 METAL GEAR ACID

30 PSP: COMING TO GRIPS

136 BURNOUT 3: TAKEDOWN GAMES COVERED INSIDE

146 FIVE YEARS AGO... 40 Gran Turismo 4 24 Neo Contra

Senior Director, Manufacturing

16 [OPM December 2004]

+ SINGLE AND. MULTI-PLAYER MODES

+ 15,000» WAYS ТО PERSONALIZE

+ IN-GAME APPEARANCES BY TV HOST SWAY

Eidos logos are registered trademarks of the Eidos Group of Companies.

Demo Disc Producers

Programming and interface artwork by

18 [OPM December 2004]

Log on to ugo.com/xmenlegends and enter for a chance

>THE BEST GAME COVERAGE | MORE CONTENT

Enter 1UP's Mobile

»INTERACT WITH OTHER GAMERS YOUR PAGE

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22 [OPM December 2004]

I've been trying to get 100 percent on Vice City

e GREASE LIGHTNING ROLE WITH IT ctful. ls

> via e-mail

Z fA. Yep, except this time it's been formatted as a

ә < heard of any information on playing FFXI on a

24 [OPM December 2004]

Game Design & Development !

STOP THE PRESSES”

Аоф GOING UNDERGROUND or of Science:

THE ONLY MAG WITH PLAYABLE DEMOS

of Develop unique combat styles with

Endure hours of b.attle and mystery

through the Persian underworld

= 2 E‫ = = = ‏‬Ра‫ ‏‬E‫‏‬5 2‫ج‬

countless weapons, А objects; and cbe: enemy crosses your ра

ANALOG NUB THE SCREEN STE

30 [OPM December 2004]

ZZTHE JAPANESE PSP LIST НИН

32 [OPM December 2004]

10 out of 10 — Buy or Die

A fantasticaljworld filled with

" Combine split second timing

“RPG fans will love it.”

THE MONTH AHEAD FOR YOU AND YOUR PLAYSTATION 2