Zelda 64: First Hands-On Preview Inside
Nintendo®^* PlayStation • Saturn • Super NES • Genesis • Arcade
February,1998
$4.99/$6.50 Canada
70992
Gamer First Aid
stop the Call for
game. help.
Act quickly.
The victim
may faint.
Get to the
nearest
hospital.
In most Eidos-related emergencies, your first response
will be to finish the victim's game, potentially resulting
in the loss of a lot more than a friendship. So before
playing games like Tomb Raider 2 or Deathtrap Dungeon,
study the enclosed first aid instructions. Then mount
them in an easily nccesible location near your
PlayStation" And rest assured that once you've assisted
the injured, you can finish what their lame ass couldn't.
eiDOS
You’ve been warned.
Editorial
By Ken Williams • ken_williams@zd.com
T here is an important trend in gaming that’s gaining in popuiarity. Multiplayer gaming
has clearly become the catalyst for growth in our industry—GoldenEye 007 and sports
titles are among the hottest sellers on the market, and Location-Based Entertainment
faciiities, or LBEs, are popping up everywhere. We have long since zoomed past the
halcyon days of dark, seedy arcade hangouts and lone rebel gaming. Instead, gaming
has become...gosp...socially acceptable.
Things haven’t always been this social. In my early teens, nothing like LBEs or multiplayer
games even existed. Arcades were seedy at best; usually poorly lit, cement-floor caves where
I could escape the pressures of adolescence. The older kids smoked while playing a lone
game of Space Invaders or Asteroids, their quarters lined up along the bottom of the screen.
Arcades were usually crowded, yet there was a distinct lack of conversation. This was a soli¬
tary time; a time to be alone with a single goal—defeat the game—not a social gathering on
par with school sporting events and mixers. It’s no wonder arcades were blamed for the cor¬
ruption of youth. Even at our best, we looked more like entranced zombies than the future
of America.
And then came the home systems—talk about a social placebo! I was one of the shameless
statistics, joining a legion of teens frozen for hours, mesmerized by the dazzling graphics and
engrossing gameplay of the latest Atari game. Social withdrawal? Certainly. But hey, I was
developing hand-eye coordination, rightT'In hindsight, I’m amazed the FDA didn’t move to
classify video games as some sort of narcotic. There was no alternative to reaching that looth
round of Defender. Gaming was like a drug, and I, like many of my peers, was addicted for life.
Sports fans have a name for such an intense focus; I was “In The Zone.” The problem was,
being In The Zone was pretty lonely. Gradually, more games began to allow for more than one
player at a time. It was the start of sornething big. Then the first four-player simultaneous
titles began to filter into arcades and console systems. Anyone remember Warlords on the
Atari 2600 and in the arcades? Now that was a game that required some pals to really enjoy.
There suddenly was a social aspect to playing video games.
Fast forward to my late teens, where arcades had undergone a radical transformation. Clean,
well-lit game rooms started popping up everywhere. It got to the point where a kid only had to
take a short walk to the nearest corner or mall to meet his buddies for a game of four-player
Gauntlet or Cyberball. Martial arts games required a human competitor to have the most fun.
Street Fighter, Double Dragon, Final Fight and Bad Dudes machines were constantly packed
with two friends (or enemies) hacking away at each other. Suddenly, arcade games weren’t so
much of a rebel, loner pastime anymore. Sure, many of us hunkered down at home at night to
enjoy the latest incarnation of Mario, but gaming would never be the same.
Today, home games have once again caught up with arcades in embellishing the human
element of video gaming. Now we’re playing games like GoldenEye 007, Duke Nukem 3D,
Bomberman, Mario Kart 64 and countless sports titles, all of which support—and are
arguably at their best in—Multiplayer Mode. With the exception of a few genres like RPGs,
many games require a friend to realize the full entertainment value. Even here at EGM, we
used to grab our favorite titles and hunker down for some serious gaming binges, alone. Now
we play sports, various fighting games and racing games as a group. We sometimes even visit
the local Dave & Busters for merriment and mayhem.
There’s only one thing missing in this pleasant evolution; multiplayer RPGs. With advanced
Internet capabilities linking computers worldwide, PCs have had a head start. Breakthrough
titles like Diablo, Meridian 59 and recently Ultima Online create virtual communities complete
with unique, diverse roles for gamers. Whereas before you were forced to be the lone hero,
now you can join a party of real friends, slay a dragon and battle the forces of evil as a
team, sharing the glory and bonding of victory, and the humiliation and finger-pointing of
defeat. Home consoles are the final frontier for multiplayer RPGs. Final Fantasy VIII Online?
We can’t wait!
There’s no question, the latest trend in gaming requires a little help from your friends...
Number 11.21
February 1998
I Jonathan Lane
Editorial Director
Joe Funk • joejunkgizd.coi
Ken Williams • ken_williams® 2 d.com
Features Editor
Crispin Boyer • crispin_boyer@>zd.com
Associate Editors
Dean Hager • dean_hager@ 2 d.e 0 m
Dan Hsu • dan_hsuiizd.com
Kraig Kujawa * kraig_kujawa@zd.com
John Ricciardi • john_ricciardi@zd.com
Shawn Smith • shawn_smith@zd.com
Sushi-X • sushi_x@zd.com
Junior Astronaut
Michael Stassus • m_stassus@zd.com
Senior Art Dlre^or
Cyril Wochok • cyril_wochok@zd.com
Associate Art Directors
Andrew Burwell, Jason Hinman, Scott Parus
Third-Party Liaison
John Stockhausen • john stockhausen@zd.com
News Editor (International & Domestic)
Chris Johnston • chrisjohnston@zd.com
West (toast Editor
Kelly Rickards • kelly rickards@zd.com
TMcks Editor
Terry Minnich • tricks@zd.com
Arcade Editor
Chief Correspondent
Ed Semrad • ed_semrad@ 2 d.e 0 m
Forelqn Correspondents
Stuart Levy, David Rider
M. Damen, Dan Peluso
Paul Ojeda
Production Assistant
Chris Melody
Network Manager
Analyst
Mark LeFebvre • mark lefebvre@zd.cor
Don Galen
Circulation Coordinator
Ann-Marie Mrozynski
Subscription Service Humber: 303-665-8930 _
Business Manager
Cathy Bendoff
Advertising Inquires Contact:
Ziff-Davis Inc., 19Z0 Highland Ave., Lombard, IL 60148
Telephone: 630-916-7Z22 FAX: 630-916-9254
Assoc. Publisher Sales & Marketing
Account Executive
Suzanne Farrell
District Ad Sales Manager, Midwest & East Coast
Anthony George
West Coast District Ad Sales Manager, Northwest
John Yoffie, 135 Main Street, 14th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105
Telephone: 415-357-5322 FAX: 415-357-5201 E-mail: jon yoffie@zd.com
West Coast District Ad Sales Manager, Southwest
Karen Landon, 135 Main Street, 14th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105
Telephone: 415-357-5460 FAX: 415-357-5201
E-mail: karen landon@zd.com _
Send Advertising Materials Tk
EG^^
5 discs deep.
A universe wide.
Say goodbye.
going to be away a long time
Presenting Masters of Teras Kasi, an all-out fighting frenzy featuring 9 Star Wars
characters and introducing a new villain masterfully trained in the ancient martial
art of teras kasi. Battle through 9 action-packed arenas. Engage in weapon-to-
weapon or hand-to-hand combat. Wield lightsabers, blasters, flame throwers and
battle axes to engage in the ultimate conflict. Heck, even the
Empire never struck back this hard, www.lucasarts.com
Contents
Electronic Gaming Monthly, February 1998, Issue 103
Game Directory
48 180-Degree Snowboarding
53 AeroGauge
105 Bomberman 64
62 Breath of Fire III
114 Broken Sword
Chameleon Twist
Colony Wars
FIFA: RTWC 98
Fifth Element
Fighter’s Destiny
Fighting Force
F-Zero X
Lode Runner
. Mythologies:
118.130
Moto Racer
^OQ n - Legend of Zelda: TOoT
64 - R-Types, PS
67 - Tekken 3, PS
70 - Bushido Blade 2, PS
70- Riven, PS
72 - Alien Resurrection, P
72 - C, PS
72 - Fifth Element, PS
76 - Last Blade, Arcade
76-Rival Schools: UBF, A
Turn to the Tricks
section to look at the
princess in her new ou
84 ~ Where. Oh Where. Has My Little Arcade Gone?
We trace the evolution of arcades, from the
Nickel-in-the-Slot joints of the old days to
today’s mammoth entertainment centers.
96 -10 Games You Should Not Play Alone
There are good games, and then there are
those that are oh-so-much better when
you’re pulverizing your friends.
Departments
4 - Editorial
Gaming: it ain’t what it was 10 years ago.
12 ~ Letters
Angry fathers and gay men don’t mix.
20 “ News
Someone’s making a new system...and it’s not Nintendo,
Sony or Sega.
32 - Gaming Gossip
PlayStation 64 development kits are shipping
37- Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, N64
46 - F-Zero X, N64
48-NBA Basketball, N64
49 - Mario Artist Series, N64
52 - Super Mario RPG 2, N64
53-Mother3, N64
54 - Fighter’s Destiny, N64
58 - Burning Rangers, SAT
62 - Breath of Fire III, PS
104 “ Review Crew
Is this the last big wave of Saturn games we’ll see?
126 “ Jump Start
Get off on the right wheel with Diddy Kong Racing strategies.
128 “ Tricks of the Trade
Wanna see Princess Leia in her slave outfit?
132 - Get Some!
Check out the new Street Fighter V anime
and a $5,000 dinosaur.
u’tf la aw
Winter Heat ts no wmtei wonderland, ettder. You'll be sucking down the ibuprofen as you face
Winter Heat’s tl nutbustmg Olympic events, Including Ski Jumping, Speed Skating, Dwnhill
apd Slalom, lip to 4 players can go for the gold at once for more dope Pn how to got these
■gamos, contact us at 1-888*SEGA-SAtES or www.sega.cotn. Tbo/doctor will see you nOW.'‘
1
letters
Compiled by: Dan “Shoe” Hsu
Growing Up
a been observing the trend of nostalgia that has been
sweeping the past few issues of your magazine, and I’ve given
it some thought. It would appear the top loo list, readers’
responses and even Ed Semrad’s most recent column have
demonstrated what fierce loyalty so many people possess
toward the games of yesterday (and how many others don’t). It
seems to me that video games, like other branches of the enter¬
tainment industry (movies, television, etc.) are subject to this
form of appreciation mainly because of the many unique (and
not-so-unique) viewpoints of younger and older gamers.
Semrad stated in his column how unimpressed his son was with
the games that Semrad himself appreciated. His son di(
grow up with those games. Similarly, I didn’t grow up watching
black-and-white serials at my local movie theater.
Those who don’t grow up with certain things usually don’t
appreciate them the same way. in fact. I’m imagining today’s
youth growing up and becoming nostalgic about today’s games
in an era that makes GoldenEye look like Pac-Man and hearing
their kids say, “Yeah, I’m bored with that. Look at how much
more fun today’s games are. The graphics are better too.”
I could be completely wrong, of course. But the point I’m
ing to make is that video games, like everything else, are sub¬
ject to individual interpretation and appreciation (except for
dogs like Shaq-Fu), and while the era many games arrived in is
now gone, lots of people still like them because their original
charm isn’t gone. It all depends on who you are as a gamer as
far as many of the aspects of game quality go.
But that’s just my opinion.
Ivan Henley—Broken Arrow, OK
Whenever we bring up an old game in fond memory, we’re
always wondering, “Do we still like this game because we liked
it so much when we were younger? Or is it a genuinely good
game, even by today’s standards?’’ More than one fantasy was
destroyed when we brought out the classics in making the Top
100. We found out some of these "awesome oldies” aren’t so
awesome anymore.
it’s not always nostalgia, however, that makes a classic good
in our minds. Games like Ms. Pac-Man are still fun because they
were made with one thing in mind: great gameplay.
Thanks for your tetter.
EGM Letters gives you the chance to
praise, gripe, ask, speculate or simply
reflect. 5GM will discuss some of today's 1
8930 or by going to: htt(?://subscribe.egn
respond to any letter^ We reserve the right to edit;
1920 Highland Avenue, i
Lombard, IL6014S
e-mail: EGM_Mail@zd.
Dukespeak
Did you know that most of Duke Nukem’s quotes are from the Evil
Dead movies? “Come get some,” “Hail to the king, baby,” are all such
quotes. Also, the “kicking @$$ and chewing bubble gum” thing is from
the movie They Live. Just wanted to let you know if you didn’t already
and give you a few more reasons why Duke rocks!
vmiletic@facstaff.w'
George Presard, 3D Realms’ product manager on
the original Duke Nukem (for the PC), told us that the
Duke team wanted the game to be a pop-culture refer¬
ence fest. So, they threw in a few memorable quotes
from some of the team’s favorite cult movies, the Evil
Dead series and They Live. Good thing the developers
aren’t fans of Coo/As/ce.
On Ms Side
I want to let you know that 1 totally agree that Resident Evil is over¬
rated. In fact, I think Resident Evil is probably the most overrated game
in history! I bought the game because of the hype surrounding it, but
when I played it, I was very disappointed. First off, I was forced to hear
the horrible voice acting! Then there was the storage system, which
made me want to puke. Overall, the game was OK, but it shouldn’t have
gotten that much praise. By the way, that picture of Cloud’s ass cracked
le up!
Tom Vitale—Staten Island, NY
Heh...heh...heh...he said ass cracked. Well, we’re glad someone w
OK with us not including Resident Evil in the top 100.
Political Turmoil
Your response to issue #ioo’s
“Letter of the Month” dismayed
me. In that particular issue, you
blame House and Senate conserv¬
ative Republicans for the ongoing
political nagging over video games
(you replied, “Then the conserva¬
tive senator/parent wouldn’t have
anything to worry [or complain]
about...” in that issue’s letters col¬
umn). You have put the blame on
the wrong political wing, gentle¬
men. Video gaming’s most vocal
Washington, D.C. opponents are
Democrats, and more specifically
liberal Democrats. The whole “let’s
have the government rate video
games” ordeal and its subsequent
“Violence in video games” hear¬
ings were proposed by Senator
Lieberman, an outspoken and
extremely left-wing Democrat.
. So why does EGM keep blaming
conservatives for video games’
never-ending political turmoil?
Perhaps the evidently-too-young
sub-college-age editors are failing
their poli-sci classes, unaware
of the differences between right-
and left-wing politics? Why, it was
uber-Republican himself Ronald
Reagan who once said something
to the effect of “If parents would I
watch their kids more closely and
Video Game TV Show
Looking For Staff
Do you play video games and
work in TV production? Ziff-
Davis Television wants you!
ZDTV is looking for segment
producers, production associ¬
ates and interns for its daily
gaming show. Only those with a
passion for video games need
apply. Staffing up in the first
quarter of 1998, ZDTV’s gaming
show will feature competitions,
along with the latest previews,
reviews, tips, tricks and news in
the world of video gaming.
Covering the entire spectrum
from consoles to PCs, arcade to
online, ZDTV is looking for team
players capable of all aspects of
production. The ability to
operate a video camera,
produce field segments and
direct edit sessions is a must.
Candidates should be familiar
with studio production, and
most of all, must be avid
gamers. All interested parties
should mail a resume and reel
with a brief cover letter to:
EM Capuano
ZDTV
650 Townsend St.
San Francisco, CA 94103
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egm letters
intently, there would be no need at all for game rating systems and their
like.” Truly, it’s the political leftists who want more and more govern¬
ment in our lives; video games are just another issue to them.
Neiljohnson-f-mr.kotter@juno.com
First off, we never blamed any Republicans. Second, If you had any
political savvy, you’d realize that the “liberal” and “conservative” tags
mean less now than ever when applied to the Republican and
Democratic parties. You’d realize that lately we’ve seen the rise of the
so-called “New Democrats,” who take a decidedly moderate approach
in an attempt to please the majority of their constituents. Sen. Joe
Lieberman is considered by many to be the “captain” of this new
Capitol Hill crew, and that’s why we’re seeing a conservative policy-
such as the game rating system—along with liberal views from a
Democrat. Whew...we’ll get off our soapbox now.
And The Name of This Game Is...
The game you were talking
about in issue 102 on page 16 is
Astrod [sic], i know it is Astrod
because you can go to Wal-Mart
and check out the arcade file.
Desmond Johnson, Jr.—
Havelock, NC
OK, thanks.
Mission: Delayed, But Not Impossible
I am writing to you to express my frustration over Nintendo 64’s
Mission: impossible. Every time I get my new issue of EGM, I turn to the
Coming Soon list and see Mission: Impossibly being pushed back
another month. What’s the deal?
Mike Wolfe—Indianapolis, iN
We theorized that Ocean/Infogrames (the joint developers of
Mission: Impossible) took their game back to the drawing boards upon
seeing what an utterly fantastic job Rare did with GoldenEye 007. A
spokesperson for Ocean, of course, denied this. He told us the game is
being held back for its own reasons—being that M:l contains “revolu¬
tionary game mechanics,” the game is taking much longer to complete
than anyone there anticipated. Right now, the game is slated for a sec¬
ond quarter release, 1998. Hopefully, it’ll be worth the wait.
Macintosh Loyalist
m writing in response to a comment made in your 102nd issue, “if
it’s games you’re into, forget about a Mac—it’s not even worth consid¬
ering anymore.” I know that the PC game market is a hell of a lot bigger
than the Mac’s, but I would also like to make it clear that there are a ton
of great games for the Macintosh such as Quake, Duke Nukem 3D,
MechWarrior il and so on. i also couldn’t help but notice that you at EGM
use the Macintosh too. On page 178 in your looth issue (in the picture
in the right-hand corner), you show a keyboard with the Apple logo on
it. in the future, please think before
hopping on the Macs-are-good-for-
nothing bandwagon, especially if
you use them yourselves.
Lucifero63@aol.com
We never said that Macintoshes
are poor computers for production
(which is what we use them for).
We simply wouldn’t recommend
them if you’re looking for a strong
gaming machine. That is, unless
you prefer shopping amongst the
few games on that tiny island dis¬
play at the video game shop over
the rest of the store. By the way, all
those games you mentioned are
also available on the PC.
Wait, don’t get too excited here.
We’re not looking for new edi¬
tors (well, not until Joe Funk
catches Crispin sleeping again,
anyway). We want your input.
We want to know what childish
antics you perform when you’re
losing in a game (joypad tossing,
name calling, etc.). Mail your
best stuff to:
LOSERS c/o EGM
1920 Highland Ave. #222
We'll publish some of the more
creative responses in an upcom¬
ing feature in EGM.
It Takes Guts '_
i want to commend you for print¬
ing the letter from Richard Spoonts, the gay man from Harvard [EGM
Letters, issue #101]. I felt the mere fact that you let it see print deserves
a big pat on the back. Why? Because presently, the world, in general, is
taking an extremely “anti-gay” attitude. I’m sure that you received piles
upon piles of letters blatantly trashing you for printing said letter. But
you didn’t discriminate at all, and you let another point of view see light,
it’s a gutsy move that i’m sure freaked many readers out, but one that
validates my faith in you guys that you won’t be pushed around.
As a straight white male, I get really tired of hearing others in my
demographic group whine on and on about this issue. I don’t know
about other readers out there, but the “hate those awful gays” attitude
gets stale real fast. So another thumbs up to you guys at EGM. You could
have sacrificed Richard’s letter for the purposes of a joke, hurting him in
the process, but you didn’t, which I think deserves acclaim.
ira Wells—wells_d@agt.net
We hardly received any letters complaining about us printing Mr.
Spoonts’ letter. We did get a couple, including one from a father who
cancelled his sons’ subscription because he didn’t want his children
exposed to such “filth.” We’re surprised this family is even reading
Electronic Gaming Monthly; we certainly can’t imagine these kids play¬
ing video games. The electronic images and strange noises emanating
from the “moving picture box”
must be frightening to people
living in the Stone Age. I
And hey! We’re perfectly 1
capable of printing letters 1
without cracking a joke or |
poking fun of (or insulting) |
the author. Now...can you tell i
us what the hell kind of name
is Ira Wells? Sounds like a '
girly name...
Question of the Moment
We shouldn’t need to see a
Direcipr’s Cut since [the cen-
sored sCenes] should’ve been
included in tbe first place.
Many gamers are getting ripped
off. In the case of Resident Evil:
Director’s Cut, i feel Capcom
shouldifecaLl the game and
refund the gamers who foolish¬
ly bought it.
Censored director’s cuts...what ; Eric^feasterly@xn.xerox.com
an oxymoron.
mojorecords@juno.com
Just because Director’s Cut
is censored doesn’t mean
it’s a had game. Don’t go
whmin| about how the
game’s uncut, because it’s
still a great game no mat¬
ter what you do to it.
happystickman®
mail.geocities.com
A director’s cut is a version ^
of a product in which the
director expresses his/her
original vision. Censorship
of a director’s cut is hypo¬
critical and not at all true
to its label.
RJStuff@aol.co
Next Month’s Question of the Moment: What classic game(s) would you like to see revived for today’s systems?
Send your short (very short, please), but sweet, responses to: EGM Mail@zd.com with the subject heading: Classics
■NltPiB
egm letters
All you folks (look up sarcasm in the dictionary,
by the way) who wrote in and told us that this
game is called Asteroids clearly did not check
with this “Wal-Mart Arcade File,” whatever that
• is. So the next time you’re in the mood for some
classic arcade shootin’, go to your local video
game retailer and ask to see their Astrod. Trust
us, it’ll be fun!
himself). Make sure to check out www.herb.lsa.umich.edu if you want
to learn more about the fascinating world of fungi.
Wake up guys! If you’ve ever seen the Super Mario Bros. Super Show
on UPN, you would clearly see that Toad Is a male.
Thomas Duffin—Berthoud, CO
We never caught the Super Mario Bros. Super Show on TV because
we never seem to want to turn to that channel. Want to know why? We’ll
spell it out for you: U-P-N. ’Nuff said.
Gender Bender
I’m responding to your article about Toad in issue #101. You thought
Virgin’s Cool Spot may possibly be a “chick.” Well in issue #88, page 50
and 51, there is a Cool Spot Goes To Hollywood ad with the heading,
“He’s Flirting With Disaster!” See? He. Hrt flirting with disaster. So next
time you tackle gender issues, get the facts at least almost straight.
Chase Macri—Hampton, VA
Kee-ripes! Take it easy!
Run out of laxatives, did
we? The Toad story was
done in fun, so chill.
Besides, there is more than
one Spot. Remember the
early 7*UP commercials
with Spots running ram¬
pant? Well, who do you
think gave birth to all those
Spots? A momma Spot.
I saw your piece on Toad [What’s the Deal With Toad?—EGM #101]. My
observation is that Toad is not a male or a female.: He is both. Science
tells us that life cells of mold, spores or related fungi have no sex. Toad
is a mushroom, and so are all of his people, right? Mushrooms are mem¬
bers of the fungi family. This explains it all, ya? Oh, except for one
thing—all of the fungi family are asexual. This; means they breed
amongst themselves and are both male and female,
Clint Riese — Hibbing, MN
I want to respectfully talk about Zero, from the Mega Man X series.
You forgot to include (him or her) in your list of androgynous characters
in the Toad feature. I think that Zero is a female hero. Can you solve the
problem of this enigmatic character?
Lymari Zayas—Patillas, P.R.
In last month’s Video Same Timeline story, we
Milton Bradley released Its Microvision handheld syst
correct year was *979. We wish to thank Leonard
author of the book Phoenix: The Rise and Fall
Videogames, for clearing up the matter. Also, we’d Ito ti
thank Steven Kent, author of the forthcoming book
Electronic Nation, for contributing to the feature.
Zero is male. You can read this
for yourself in the Mega Man
X4 manual.
You can question his
feminine appearance, and
you can question his long,
blond hair, but you can’t
question his gender.
Actually, fungi is neither
male nor female, and mush¬
rooms themselves are not fungi
(but merely a product of them).
Bob Fogel, professor of biology
at the University of Michigan-
Ann Arbor (and curator of fungi
at the U of M Herbarium), told
us, “Mushrooms are the fruit
bodies of certain fungi.
Mushrooms are reproductive
structures like apples on an
apple tree, that’s made to
spread the spores produced by
asexual reproduction.” in short:
Mushrooms do not reproduce
(and therefore, have no sex).
The fungi that makes them do
reproduce (but have no sex—
they either self-reproduce or
match up with compatible
fungi —however, they do
it “plus” to “minus,” not male
to female).
What does this mean for our
lil’ buddy Toad? It means he’s
probably a bastard child of
some nasty fungus somewhere,
and he cannot be classified as
male or female (and he defi¬
nitely cannot breed
/EGMA and make other Toads
*Dr at least get gaur name and work in the magazine and win
goorsell a great prize IfIRST PLACE ONLYil.
W NNER
Close, but no controller
OK, this is not envelope art. It’s a sculpture. Wanna make something oi it!
POWER and
AcliVisloH
When you’re busy leaping
treacherous chasms and
swinging across deadly pits.
don’t have
)ntemplate life’s mysteries.
After ail, being a legendary
jungle adventurer suddenly
thrust into a mystical universe
Besides, you’ve already learned
more than the meaning of life...
You’ve learned what it means to
The Medium Is
The Message
Nintendo proves that the
DD is more than just your
average add-on
playable games and the delay was displaced by
the games Nintendo showed on tape for the
DD—including Mother 3 (Earthbound 64),
Pocket Monsters Stadium, Pocket Monsters
Snap, Super Mario RPG 2, Picture Maker,
Polygon Maker, Talent Maker, SimCity 64 and
SimCopter. All incorporate Nintendo’s vision of
the DD—writability and creativity.
The DD also opens up the option of bringing
two separate games together, either by
expanding a current cartridge or combining
data from two different titles. “You could
have a game, and we have talked about this
in the context of the SimCity product family,
where SimCity might be a disk-based game
and SimCopter might be a cartridge-based
game that would read the city data that you
generated off SimCity and then would let you
fly around your own SimCity. Or Streets of
SimCity could be another add-on Sim file,” said
Jim Merrick, Nintendo’s project manager of soft¬
ware engineering. “It actually is something that
Maxis is working on now.” The method of com¬
bining data from one title to use in another is
also being used in the Mario Artist Series.
Merrick says that Nintendo will not be push¬
ing developers to make disk games over the
current cartridge format. “That is up to the
developer. We want people to support the DD.
We think it offers many advantages for the
licenses and the consumer. But it’s up to the
developer ultimately as to what they choose to
write for,” he says. “There are some games that
there might be a cartridge version and a disk
version, and the disk version might offer some
enhancements over the cartridge version. So
that is up in the air right now. We are not going
to pull the plug on cartridges...”
The added storage space and lower cost of
producing a disk game will undoubtedly be
tempting to developers who have not yet joined
Nintendo’s ranks. However, 64 Megabytes still
isn’t as much storage as a CD (650 MB), a
drawback which might be considered by some
to be fatal. CD audio and full-motion video are
luxuries not afforded to developers by the DD.
Could Nintendo have increased the storage
space that the DD could hold per disk? “Yes, it
could have been larger. You know, it doesn’t
seem as large now when you have a cartridge
game [Zelda 64] that is 32 MB. That’s half the
size of the DD. But we’re really aware of
the price sensitivity issue. We feel that
overtime prices of games are
going to drive down,”
Merrick says. “It still is
quite a bit of storage
capacity when you con¬
sider that we are not
advocates for full-
motion video and other
things that eat up a lot
of CD space. The real¬
time stuff that you see
in Zelda or Star Fox is
every bit is as dramatic
as FMV sequences and
still tells the story
equally as well, but
uses the real models
A s expected, the 64DD made its appear¬
ance at this year’s Nintendo Space
World 1997, held Nov. 21-24 at the
Makuhari Messe outside of Tokyo. The device
hadn’t been seen or heard from since last
year’s show, and while Nintendo announced a
handful of additional titles that will be coming
to the DD (and peripherals to go with them), no
games were playable.
During his annual speech, Nintendo presi¬
dent Hiroshi Yamauchi announced that the DD
will hit Japanese shelves in June of ’98, instead
of April as originally planned. The exact cost of
the system will be announced in early 1998.
But the disappointment from the lack of
I
Peripheral Visions
Nintendo 64 Capture Cassette
T he most interesting part of Space World ’97
(apart from the games) was the sheer num¬
ber of peripherals for the N64 and Game
Boy. At least a few of these will make their way
across the Pacific, so to give you a glimpse of what
you might be adding to your GB or N64, here's a
rundown of the peripherals of Space World:
The Game Boy Pocket Camera and Pocket Printer
capitalize on the current photo sticker booth craze
by allowing people to use the Game Boy as a digi¬
tal camera. The screen acts as the viewfinder, and
you can snap and save up to 30 pictures on a sin¬
gle cartridge. The snapshots can then be edited or
painted on, and then printed out onto stickers
using the Pocket Printer. Both go on sale in Japan
in February for about $50, and also come in differ¬
ent colors (corresponding to the 6B Packet colors).
Moving to the N64, Nintendo has a way for
gamers to bring portable games home and play
them on the N64 and vice versa. Pokemon (short
for Pocket Monsters), having sold 7.5 million
copies in Japan, is the main reason behind the
device, which lets the N64 share data with the
Game Boy and vice versa. Pokemon fans can then
bring their monsters home, use them to battle
using the Pokemon Stadium 64DD game and then
take them on the road with the Game Boy. There’s
no doubt that this will give Japanese gamers a
huge incentive to buy a Nintendo 64 and a DO to
go along with it (just to play Pokemon).
One of the strangest N64 peripherals yet comes
with BioTetris, currently scheduled for a March
release in japan from Amtek. The game comes with
a clip that clips to your ear, and connects to the
N64 controller. It reads your biorhythms and
adjusts the game’s difficulty accordingly. You might
Ever find yourself talking to ynur
favorite game? Nintendo and Marigui intend to
capitalize on this by bringing out a Voice
Recognition System for the N64. The first game to
use it is Pikachu Genki De Chu, starring one of the
more popular (and cute) characters from Pokemon,
Scheduled for release next fall, the VRS will retail
for about $30 in japan.
Nintendo’s also got a host of N64 peripherals
to use with upcoming games. The Nintendo 64
Mouse will come in handy for games like SimCity
2000, SimCity 64 and the Mario Artist Series.
Mario Artist will also take fuU advantage of the
Capture Cassette—which has video, audio and
microphone inputs for collecting video and audio
data to use.'
There^s also a digital camera interface cartridge
coming from Nintendo. Fuff Film and Tokyo Electron
next fall (in Japan). It allows you to take full-color
pictures with a Fuji-standard digital camera and
then interface its data module into the N64. The
pictures can then be stored in a virtual photo
album or used with the Mario Artist series. You can
also just retouch them using the M64 then take
them to your local photomat and have them print¬
ed on higher quality paper. The interface
cartridge will set you back about $92.
We'll keep you updated on whether any of these
new peripherals, all announced at Space World,
Nintendo 64 Voice Recognition Syster
Amtex’s Bio-Tetris
Game Boy Pocket Camera and Printer
and takes a fraction of the space.”
Multidisk games are definitely a
possibility in the future, and Merrick
told us that there are actually seven
different ratios of read to write that a
DD disk can have. The entire disk car
be used as read-only, and up to
38.44 MB of a disk can be writable.
The drive spins at one continuous
rate, so there’s a trade-off between
write and read speed as the heads
read closer to the center of the disk.
Merrick told us that developers will
have to decide how to use that to
their advantage.
The U.S. release of the
64DD remains sketchy.
George Harrison, Nintendo of
America’s vice president of
marketing and corporate com¬
munications, told us that the
DD would hit the U.S. after its
Japanese release. “We won’t
talk about our plans [for the
U.S.] until ET It won’t go until
the software is ready. What we
are seeing here is a demon¬
stration of several new prod¬
ucts but we still have to deter¬
mine which one we will launch
it with,” he said. “We find that
we will have to sell the DD to
somewhere between 60 and
Jim Merrick, Nintendo of America’s
project manager of software engineering
discusses with fGAf the advantages the
64DD offers developers.
80 percent of the N64 installed base
and that will be quite a challenge. It
is something that never has been
done before.”
The idea that a peripheral could
be accepted by over half of the
installed base of the original system
would be a feat not duplicated in
the video game industry before.
But Nintendo has already done the
impossible by introducing a success¬
ful cartridge-based game system in
an industry dominated by the CD stor¬
age medium. At in May, Nintendo
will show the DD for the first time on
U.S. soil, and will probably at
that time introduce addition¬
al games to launch it with in
North America.
Check out our previews of
Nintendo’s new N64 and DD
games later on in this issue.
Pocket Monsters Stadium,
a DD version of the popular
Game Boy series will help
make the 64DD a hit in
Japan. The mega-popular
series has sold over 7.5
million units for the Game
Boy since its introduction
in February 1997.
ACTliOCALlY
NAME: Douglas McClure
NONETIWN: Kokomo, IN
mmm net nGNTER: ist
DEGREES EARNED: 235,000,
traded 27,500 to buy Quake*
in the HEAT store
TumwimmrsmsT
Asimi/AusBnm
KnmsTm.mai
‘S^J ^^^ OKHaTMTS
Knrma,imTBnm
mmmYmm
Turns ustmaBK 99
lUTKaMMIE; reniu
TI»RNANENTREetR0:l2-2
swinging knife decapitation
TMSRTAUEXCaPT:
“Now that's what you cal! a super¬
close shave!"
%nmmmn
GAMES IN
REAT.NET:
Quake,"
Hexen II,"
Outlaws,” Diablo,"
WarCraft 11"
NETnGliTER,'T1IE8NlYHEHTIN6
LOCALLY-get the HEAT internet game network box at your local computer store! GLOBALLY-
Tr you can divert your anger off the streets and onto the net against real, live people
GUKAUir ON NEAT.NET/
GAME ON THE INTERNET!!
log on to HEAT.NET NOW! Through HEAT.NET and the miracle of CyberDiverslon,
all over the globe! You’ll feel better, die whole world will feel better!
NAME; Bill Shultz
HOMETOWN: Portsmouth, VA
IANKINNETn6NTER:2nd
DEGREES EARNED: 197,500, traded
17,500 to buy Scud: Industrial
Evolution” in the HEAT store
MitaanrmmHr
nuns, AMD OH aa mi
mmoHun mimoFacH
pasmuHTBOs. thoia
mammmmieom
pmiMrriammasiH
mmmoHmTJtn
AomTonamm mAim
Tomi mrmimmoBS
imiHBraiamiimciosi
mCAHEff
RUTVSEIIHAHE: thunderhammer
TNRMAHEMTIECIID:9 3
FAVIRfTESRECMLNOfE:
forked lightning kick
TRASR TAW EXCERPT:-Stop hitting
like a sissy girl!”
ITRER TAVIRrTE GAMES IN NEAT.NET:
Blood,” Duke Nukemr Total Annihilation,'
Shadow Warrior,” Rental”
"iH/TBIK*
\T HPATMPT ar
Playing With Digital Poison
Senators Lieberman and Kohl tell the industry what they're doiny riyht, and what they're not
V iolence in video games once again
took center stage in Washington in
late November when The National
Institute for Media and the Family, along
with Senators Joseph Lieberman and
Herbert Kohl, released the
second annual report card on the interactive
entertainment industry.
The results were favorable. The arcade indus¬
try has yet to adopt the industry-wide ratings
system, so they received an incomplete grade.
Both rental and retail aspects of the interactive
entertainment got high marks for ratings, but
lacked enforcement of those ratings.
“These developments are very encouraging,
and I want to join Senator Kohl in praising the
video game community for their cooperation
and commitment to making the rating system a
real success,” said Senator Joseph Lieberman,
who, along with Senator Herbert Kohl, brought
the video game violence issue to light over
Mortal Kombat’s depiction of fatalities and
Night Trap’s B-movie scenes.
However, even with the high marks given to
the industry, Lieberman is quick to point out
that violence is still prevalent in many popular
games. “The bad news, however, is that there
remains a small but significant element within
the industry that insists on churning out ever¬
more graphic, gruesome and grotesque prod¬
ucts,” he says, citing the PC titles Postal and
Carmageddon. “Let there be no doubt: These
games are not harmless fun, as some suggest,
but digital poison.”
Doug Lowenstein, of the Interactive Digital
Software Association (IDSA), issued a state¬
ment presenting the industry’s viewpoint.
“Video and computer games are used by
people of all ages, genders and interests. Some
products are not intended for children, just as
some books and movies are not intended for
younger audiences. And the Entertainment
Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings tell
parents when this is the case. That’s how it
should work—consumers are provided with
the credible information they need to make
their own informed purchasing decisions.”
Lowenstein says that children are an impor¬
tant part of the market, but that because
73 percent of PC gamers and 46 percent of
video gamers are over 18, sanitizing the
content for younger players ignores the inter¬
ests of older consumers.
Before Thanksgiving, the National Institute
for Media and the Family also issued a guide
for parents called KidScore: The 1997 Parents'
Guide to Software and Video Games. The guide
rates games by violent content, giving parents
the information they need when buying games
for their children. To give you an example. Final
Fantasy VII is summarized by the guide: “This
game contains some violence, illegal and harm¬
ful behavior, disrespectful language and has
the ability to cause fear in children.”
The guide can be obtained by calling (888)
772-2264. mediaandthefamily.org
Dead Air
The Sega Channel ends its broadcast day
Wish For A Mega Hero
Capcom grants a young boy's wish to meet his hero
D uring the first week of
December, a special wish
was granted to Joey, an
8-year-old boy from Ohio who
suffers from a life-threatening
form of cancer. Capcom and the
Make-a-Wish Foundation fulfilled
Joey’s wish to meet Mega Man.
Joey and his family visited the
Capcom Entertainment offices,
where he played Mega Man Neo,
saw how Capcom’s games are
designed and was presented with
many Mega Man gifts—including
Mega Man cake,
a sketch of
\ Mega Man by
4 the game’s
creator, a Mega Man RC car and
video games. Capcom also digi¬
tized a picture of Joey’s face and
composed it into the image of
Mega Man, so that he could
become his favorite video
game hero.
“We really couldn’t have asked
for a better Christmas present. In
a time where violence in video
games seems to take the center
stage, it’s nice to show the world
the positive side to video gam¬
ing,” said Bill Gardner, president
of Capcom Entertainment. “Joey
is a young man that Capcom will
not forget.”
www.capcom.com
D uring the Genesis’ reign
of the 16-Bit market,
Sega toyed with the idea
of “games on demand." That
came to fruition through the
Sega Channel, a 24-hour-a-day
service that allowed players to
download and play Genesis
titles for a monthly fee.
The idea worked, for the most
part, but there were a few draw¬
backs. Sega’s older, bigger con¬
figuration of the Genesis system
couldn’t be used with the Sega
Channel adapter, making it hard
to sell the idea to gamers who “o"’* watch J\l, ptaylV
had bought a Genesis early in was the Sega Channel's motto,
its life. When the Sega Channel
debuted, it was toward the end of the Genesis’ rule, and only had
150,000 subscribers out of the 20 million homes it was offered in.
In late November, it was announced that the Sega Channel will
stop broadcasting on June 30,1998. Run apart from Sega of
America, the service had watched its subscriber base dwindle
with the rise of 32-Bit consoles.
Reportedly the Sega Channel had been toying with the idea of
providing its games-on-demand service to personal computers,
but with the rise of cable modems and Internet gaming, the need
for a system like that through a coaxial cable also dried up.
www.sega.com
Tidbits...
Games that Go Platinum
According to Ninterrdo, Diddy Kong
Racing reached sales of 1 million
copies in early December. Nintendo
says that DKR is the fastest-selling v
video game in history.
Not to be outdone, Sohy also
announced that Final Fantasy Vtt has
exceeded sates of t million copies.
Considering that FFVII is an RP6, this
is a huge leap for the genre.
Digitally Immortalized
Ever dream of starring in a video
game? Welt, with a new contest from
Electronic Arts and Mello Yello, you
can! EA will create digitized images of
three lucky grand-prize winners to
appear in a future EA game. The three
winners get an all-expense-paid trip
to EA’s HCi near San Francisco for a
tour and a chance to check out the
company's future games.
To win, look under the caps of 20-
oz., 1 liter and a liter bottles of Mello
Yello. Each bottle includes an offer for
$10 off EA’s games.
The promotion runs through
Feb. 28,1998 in markets throughout
the Southeast.
Robotech Still On
Early In December, CameTek iled for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Wheel of Fortune, the campany’s first
N64 release. Is currently on shelves,
jeopardy! has also just been released.
But the project that might have, fallen
Is their N64 title Robotech: Crystal
Dreams. According to the company, the
game is still on and making progress and
will not be effected by the bankruptcy,
According to CameTek’s Milt Bland, the
game is stl ln development and is look¬
ing great, and should be out soon. “We
want to make sure that this is the best
game we can make before releasing it." If
that holds true, then Robotech fans
should be very pleased by the results.
X Marks The Spot
VM Labs hopes Ihst their new hardware will become the next big thing
T here’s a new video game system on
the horizon, but it’s not from any of the
names you’ve heard before—no Sega,
Sony, Nintendo, 3DO, Atari or Amiga. Dubbed
the “Project X,’’ this new machine has been
in development for three years by Los Altos,
Calif.-based VM Labs. Shrouded in secrecy, the
company has finally been able to share some of
the details with EGM.
According to VM Labs’ founder and CEO
Richard Miller, who once served as Atari’s vice
president of technology, the new system is “sev¬
eral generations ahead of the current gaming
platforms.” Miller declined to cite exact system
specifications, but the guys at VM Labs stress
the fact that this machine will change the way
games are made, allowing developers an
unprecedented amount of freedom. They would
not put a number on the main processor (64-Bit,
128-Bit, etc.), but did say that it’s several times
more powerful than current machines.
that software development began ramping up
about a month ago.
VM Labs also points out that developers who
have seen their technology are enthusiastic.
They provided comments from Gerry Blau at
AndNow LLC, who said “At first I was skeptical
about the introduction of a new gaming platform
in what is already an extremely competitive mar¬
ket, ruled by formidable players. However, by
the end of our meeting with the wizards at VM
Labs, I found it very difficult to think of any pos¬
sible outcome other than success for this new
machine.” Previous credits from AndNow’s staff
include Mr. Bones on the Saturn as well as Ecco
the Dolphin and X-Men 1 and 2 on the Genesis.
Formed in 1996, the company has yet to release
its first game but are working on projects for
other platforms.
Japanese software support is also of concern,
and one that VM Labs recognizes, but has not
yet addressed. A majority of software for video
Don’t forget to visit GameSpot News
for the latest 111 video game headlines!
http://headtine.gamespot.com
Building the hardware is only half of the battle
that VM Labs has ahead. Bringing out a new
video game system is never a cake walk, and to
handle manufacturing, the company is dealing
with several major consumer electronics compa¬
nies. According to Miller, more than one compa¬
ny will be involved in producing “Project X”
hardware, although specific hardware partners
have yet to be disclosed.
With the PlayStation currently at the peak
of its success, 1998 may be the best time to
release a new system. Current consoles are get¬
ting serious competition from the PC market in
terms of graphics superiority, so it’s a good time
to release hardware that could once again tip
the scales toward the console side. The price
of the machine will be a factor in its mass mar¬
ket appeal, and VM Labs told us that their
machine will land at a price that’s competitive
with current consoles.
Once you have good hardware and a manufac¬
turer, the next vital step is software. A steady
flow of software is a key factor in the success
or failure of a system. While many consider
Tempest 2000 as the jaguar’s killer app, lacklus¬
ter software support eventually killed the
machine. VM Labs claims that they have gained
the interest of developers and publishers and
game systems comes from Japan, and while U.S.
and European development can sustain a sys¬
tem for a while, Japanese development will be
vital to the long-term success of “Project X.”
Some will say that there just Is not enough
room in the video game industry for another
hardware platform. Bill Rehbock, VM Labs’vice
president of third-party development points out
that when Sony first introduced the PlayStation,
there were as many as six systems on the mar¬
ket, and that at the time, Sony was new to the
video game industry.
Jeff Minter, who was behind what is widely
considered the Jaguar’s best title. Tempest 2000,
is also an active member of the Project X team.
As a game developer, VM Labs says that Minter’s
knowledge has helped them keep the project on
the right track and focusing on the right things.
Art created by Minter using early Project X tools
can be seen at his Web site (http://www.magic-
net.net/~yak/).
If all the factors come together—software,
solid hardware, a big marketing and promotional
push, worldwide software support and a mass
market price, then the “Project X” at the very
[east has a chance. We will have more updates
on the “Project X” in future issues of EGM.
www.vmlabs.com
Sushi-X Files
e-mail: sushi..x@zd.com (c
Something Special For Our Loyal Subscribers!
shawn_smith@zd.com
THE BLOB
3
Hoppy Stomp
Charge #< 3 +Kick
Rabbit Shortarm
^ ® + Punch (close)
Rabbit Longarm
-^tt'^ac^ + PunchCfar)
Hoppy Kick
+ Kick
Jackrabbit Punch
003 + Punch
SUPER MOVES
Hash ’N Bash
#3 003 0 +Kick
Mega Carrot M. Gun
0^0#^^ +Punch
Rabbit Punch Overdrive
-i '3 0 'i '3 0 +Punch
CLAYTALITY
Rabbit Out of a Hat
^♦00 SR
Rabbit Pellets
SL
Gum Toss
+Kick
Taffy Twist
+ Punch
Jelly Roll
Charge 00 + Punch
Air Twist
'S-SO + Punch (in air)
SUPER MOVES
Big Gun
Charge Punch, hit Kick
Super Twist
+ Punch
KickO’ Plenty
#000 + Kick
CLAYTALITY
Who Da Man!
#3 0 SR
Fireworks
^0^0
Splat!
SL, SR, SL, SR
Buzz Saw
Charge 00 + Punch
Blob Raid
0«#Et^ + Kick
L.A.P.D.
+ Punch
Dragon Glove
#3 0 +Punch
SUPER MOVES
Irvine Axe Massacre
#®0#K><3 + Kick
Super Lunge Punch
# 30#30 + Punch
Overhead Axe
#i2<3#»4a + Punch
CLAYTALITY
Launch From Island
##SL ##
Da Bomb Knock Off Top Half
0#0SR #«OSR
Meat Grinder Bite
### SL SL ##0 SL
Hit_and Run
##00 + HP (2 inches away)
Pac-Man
SR
BAD MR. FROSTY J
( ICKYBDOCLAY )
Ice Bash
+ Punch
Unearthly Travel
#65 0 + Punch
Snow Ball
Great Pumpkin
Charge •^0+Punch
#3 0+ Punch
Blizzard
Ghoul Roll
#«0 +Kick
Charge 00 +Punch
Ice Pick
Bats in the Belfry
♦ ^ 0 + Punch
0#® + Punch
Ice Skate Dash Opener
Boohooken
Charge 00+ Punch
0#3 + Punch
SUPER MOVES
Rising Ghoul Roll
Frozen Frenzy
♦ »0®#30 + Kick
0«#«0 + Kick
Icky Kick
0e#3 0 + Kick
Super Kicks
#30#fl0 + Kick
SUPER MOVES
Super Hurricane
03#»00 +Kick
Evil Presence
♦ t50#t40 + LP
CLAYTALITY
Snowcone Squeeze
Icky Shuffle
OoOO +Kick
0##0 SL
Haifa Loaf of Clay-Fu
Knock Off Top Half
#«0#«0 + Kick
0#00 a few steps away
CLAYTALITY
Squish
Demon Spin
♦ 0 ♦ 0 a few steps away
0^#30SL
Launch From Island
Scary
##SL, SR
♦ #00 SR
( BANKER )
rEARTHWDRMJIM )
Merry-Go-Clown
#ttO +Kick
Fire! Fire!
#30 + Punch
Get ’Em Fifi
EWj Punch
♦ fi #■ + Punch
0#a + Punch
Ferris Wheel
#«# +Kick
Tumbleworm
♦ «0 +Kick
SUPER MOVES
Worm Ball
Welcome to the Big Top
##+ Kick
♦ «##«# + Kick
Big Fifi
#a0>#*0 +Punch
Supers
♦ BO#ttO + Kick
CLAYTALITY
SUPER MOVES
Super Fire
♦ 30#«0 + Punch
Stairway to Heaven
#65 0#*0 +Punch
Super Propeller
# 65 0# 16 0 +Kick
Super EWJ Punch
Cannon Claytality
♦#♦♦
♦ flO#3 0 + Kick
CLAYTALITY
Off the Island Claytality
0000
Knock Off Top Half
0#0 SR
^e^djbutt Claytality
Cow From the Sky
#♦# SR, SL
Squish
0000 SR
RUNG POW
Crane Technique
#eO + Punch
Egg Fu Young
0#3 + Kick
The Crane
#+ HK (in the air)
Nunchakus
#3 0 + Punch
SUPER MOVES
Pork Fried Rice
#3 0#3 0 + Kick
Fu Manchu
#fl 0#3 0 + Punch
Lo Mein
#»##feO + Kick
CLAYTALITY
Bruce Lee Squish
###
Slice & Dice
000
Round Toss
#♦00
Pan Toss
o#o#
( HDUNGAN )
Voodoo Surfing
#^0 +Kick
Air Voodoo Surfing
#® # + Kick (in Air)
Chicken Baseball
♦ 3 0 + Punch
Voodoo Mask Smash
♦# + Kick (in Air)
Curse Crawl
♦ 0 + Kick (in Air)
Upperkick
0#« + Kick
SUPER MOVES
Super Twirl
#E5<3#»0 + Kick
Graveyard Shift
00#«0 +Punch
CLAYTALITY
Claytal Hand Grope
### SL
Claytal Bad Hand
♦ SR
Claytal Bad Mojo
0 e# 30 SL
Clay Fighter 631/3
The Cast of Clay Fighter 631/3
Bad Mr. Frosty
An evil snowman
with bad habits.
Bonker ;
Whoever said I
downs were fun? }
Kung Pow
Stereotypes go
crazy with Kung.
T. Hoppy
A rabbit with a real
Rambo complex.
The Blob
The name realty
says it all.
Taffy
This guy's really
bad for your teeth.
Ickybod Clay
A typical scary,
Halloween type.
Houngan
A witch doctor
and his chicken.
Earthworm Jim
Interplay’s token
character!
SECRET
What do you think? ■,
We’re trying something a little new with the Sushi-X Files these
days. So what do you think? We still want your feedback, so don't
slop those letters. The Idea here is to not only give you some-
- thing to laugh at or enjoy, but also present some useful infor-
^ mation—be it strategy for a game, a move list for a new
fighting game, or other info to help take your gaming
J further. So keep your ideas coming: tor
Sushi-X Files
1920 Highland Ave. Ste. 222
' Lombard, IL 60148 ^
'Grumby” Speaks His Mind
No, not Gumby. Unfortunately, we couldn’t afford Gutnby, so we got
the second best thing, Grumbyt Being Gumby’s body-double, Grumby
has an intimate knowledge of the green clay friend’s life and realm.
Since Clay Fighter 631/3 deals with clay and violence, we thought
we’d get Grumby’s opinion on violence in video games. Specifically,
we asked Grumby the following; , -
EGMt How do you feel about the amount of violence in video games'
these days?
Grnmby: Well, i think back to when we had to work with the
Blockheads. 1 mean here are two guys who are constantly causing
trouble. If they're not hoisting someone up on a ladder, theyVe top¬
pling over boxes. Even with all the mess they made, we never once
had to resort to vtetence. Sure, we would’ve liked to mett them down
or blow them up, but we didn’t ^ *
EGM: So it’s fair to say that you think there’s too much of a focus on
death and destruction?
» ■; Grumby: 1 think sb, but
■ then again—the triore I
I think, about it, themore 1
; killed those two. 1 mean,
what A-hotes they: were!
£GM: Oh; wet,..sorry
1 to bring back those
free s^scription to your •
lrelf:Yeah...uh,..see
A History of Clay
Clay Fighter has really been around for some
time. Starting way back on the Genesis and :
Super NES, the little clay fighters have been at '
each other’s throats. Of course, if it weren’t for
all of the gore of Mortal Kombat and the stan¬
dard Street Fighter set, we most likely would
never have even seen one game tike Clayfighter
made —let alone a half dozen or so! So here’s a
short history of clay in video games.
Clay Fighter
Clay Fighter 2: judgement Clay
Clay Fighter: Tournament Ed.
Clay Fighter 2: judgement Clay
PlayStation:
Clay Fighter Extreme
Nintendo 64:
Clay Fighter 63 1/3
On a side note, we shouldn’t forget
Claymates on the Super NES and the
upcoming Skullmonkeys (even though
they’re not really in the CF series).
Point
Does Clay Fighter do a
good job at being both
fun and funny?
POINT: Yes. for two
reasons. One, the
game does a good job
of mixing several fight¬
ing game engines, and
the control is very
responsive. It just feels
right. Two, Interplay
rounded up several
recognizable voice
actors to lend each
character a hilarious
goofball personality.
—Crispin Boyer
COUNTERPOINT:
No way. Sure, the
game may be funny,
but when it comes
right down to it, I just
wasn’t impressed with
Clayfighter as a fight¬
ing game. It’s sup¬
posed to be funny,
but that sure isn’t
worth $60 to me! I’ll go
with something that
may not make me
laugh, but will last a
lot longer.
Point
Counter
Join America's favorite racing famiiy.
Newman/Haas Racing.
We’ve got racing in our blood.
International News
By John Ricciardi john_ricciardi@zd.com
-:x-X
Yamauchi Says “Stop Playing Dull Games”
S pace World ’97 kicked off with an address
by Nintendo Co., Ltd. president Hiroshi
Yamauchi. He repeated Nintendo’s battie
cry with both the Game Boy (which is stiil
going strong after neariy nine years), N64
and 64DD: quaiity over quantity, innovation
over duilness. According to Yamauchi, Nintendo
has the formula for success, and that their
64DD and upcoming N64 titles will revitalize
boring, drab market.
“The recent TV game market is losing
momentum. Naturally, it’s because of too
many boring or too complicated software, that
ordinary users can’t enjoy playing. Such games
are flooding the market,” Yamauchi told the
assembled crowd.
The DD, in Nintendo’s estimation, will change
the way video games are made—for the better.
“We can’t have a bright future prospect for the
TV video games right now. This is why we are
about to offer the 64DD, to bring about a quali¬
tative change in games. Without introducing
unique new ideas, we can’t persuade users to
accept the 64DD, and that is why it’s taking a
long time to launch the system,” he said. “As
for the price, I want to make it as cheap as pos-
sibie, but i can’t say how much it will be right
now. We would like to make the notable differ¬
ence with the existing TV games.”
“Now, the game industry is facing the turning
point for the developers toward the next year
and thereafter. The current TV game market is
just the setting sun, and it must realize the
changes. 1 beiieve the overseas [outside of
Japan] TV game market is fine compared with
Japan, but we can’t be optimistic. It, too, is
facing the turning point, i think.”
Yamauchi aiso announced that an N64
version of Derby Stallion, a hugely popular
PlayStation horse racer, is coming. Plus, he
confirmed that the U.S. wili be getting Pocket
Monsters (with a new name because of trade¬
mark issues) sometime in 1998. At the show,
Nintendo offered players a special Pocket
Monsters monster, and thousands of kids and
their parents descended onto the Space World
floor. Pokemon
madness was so
widespread that
Nintendo added a
fourth day to the
show to accommo¬
date the over¬
whelming number
of eager players.
X-Men Vs. Street Fighter: The Story So Far
S ega recently released their n
Megabyte RAM upgrade cartridge for the
Saturn in Japan. The cart, four times as
big as the previous RAM cart (which was used
with Marvel Super Heroes, Metal Slug, King of
Fighters ’96 and several other titles), comes
bundled with the fantastic Saturn conversion of
Capcom’s X-Men Vs. Street Fighter. While the 4
Meg cart isn’t backwardly compatible with the
aforementioned smaller cart games, it does
work with Marvel Super Heroes—and there are
several games planned for it in Japan, including
Vampire Savior, Dungeons & Dragons
Collection and Marvel Super Heroes Vs. Street
Fighter. Without this cart, whose U.S. release is
stilt up in the air, it’s highly doubtful that any of
these games wilt ever make it to the U,S. In
other XM Vs. SF news, Capcom announced a
version of the game for the PlayStation, but it’s
a bit different The current title is X-Men Vs.:
Street Fighter EX Edition (no, it’s not g-O).
Because of the PlayStation’s RAM limitations,
only one player can fight ofi each side. Instead
of a tag team. You'll still be able to choose two
per team, but only one of them will do the fight¬
ing—the other only comes in during special
moves. To make up for the loss, they are includ¬
ing Training and Survival Modes—two options
that aren’t available in the Saturn version of the
game. A U.S. release 1
of the “EX Edition” is I
slated for this spring, T
according to Capcom I
USA representatives, f
Look for a preview in
EGMsoon.
Enix Brings DQto GB
Enix's Popular Dragon Quest Series Goes Portable
The Ten Best-Selling
Games As of Nov. 23 |
|in
I
n a surprise move, Enix of Japan recently
announced that the company’s hugely
successful RPG series. Dragon Quest
(known as Dragon Warrior in the U.S.), would
be coming to the Game Boy. Titled Dragon
Quest Monsters: Terry’s Wonderland, this
first-ever portable Dragon Quest will be
released in March 1998 overseas and will
weigh in at a hefty 8 Megabits. Not much
information has been released about the
game yet, but it will be compatible with the
Game Boy Link Cable, just like Nintendo’s
Pocket Monsters, which as we reported
earlier has sold over 7 million copies in
Japan. Thanks to DQ’s enormous popularity
in Japan, it’s expected that sales of this hot
title will burst into the millions within weeks
of its release. DQ fans might recognize the
character Terry from Dragon Quest VI, the
1995 Super Famicom RPG that was never
released in the United States.
fapan
^ J.League Pro Soccer Club Tsukurou! 2 (Sega)-SS
m
^ Gallop Racer 2 (Tecmoj-PS
Q Diddy Kong Racing (Nintendo)-N64
Einhander (Square)-PS
0 Let’s & Goll WGP Hyper Heat (Jalecoj-PS
0 Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (Atlus)-SS
0 Pocket Monsters (NIntendoj-GB
0 Power Dolls 2 (ASCII)-PS
0 Everybody’s Golf (Sony)-PS
0 Game De Hakkenl! Tamagotchi 2 (Bandai)-GB
A. Rcsr'V' -f!
HPation logo are-lrademarf
Iwemark of the fntei^ive Df
are property of their re^ntive
r
Video Game Gossip G Speculation
Madden football from Fox?
EA, Virgin deal dead
Rewritable PlayStation games?
PS64 dev kits arriving this summer?
Durai release pushed back to 1999
Rare working on new Bond game?
Quartermann
S
by a slew of urtent messages on our,wtretess EGM
Mk2 satellite communicajfbn device. Here’s vyjiafbur Q-sleuths
have unearthed
0He’sM
alutations Quarterfans! It is I, the great Q-holio, PlayStation 64 Tidbits
reporting live from sunny Foster City, Canf.,,hQtnje-- ^xtsterCity, Calif.JJerry and I have uncovered a mother lode of
of Sony of America’s HQ. Right nowH-W hiding in info on the l^ayStation successor. According to our Q-spies, the
the bushes with my Nippojies'e buddy, Terry Aki. format of the PlayStatTofk64 has not been finalized as of yet.
We were just abouUfH'nfiltrate Sony’s stronghold although the field has been narrowed down to two well-qualified
via the air conditkrning vent, when we got^ddu_g^^_flflaiists. The first candidate in qVstion is the Mini Disc HD. As
one wouTcTsutnii^se from the name, this new format is basically a
high-density versfen-Qf the current gendr^tion Mini Disc. Unlike
the existing Mini Disc {vvhich boasts aroundazo megabytes of
rewritable storage space), th^ new MD HD i^^aid to feature over
__4oo Megabytes of infinitely revirtjtable storage\pace. This new
high'd'errsity version of the Mini Df^c is a format^ony has been
working on foHhe last few years anHjs targeted tb,be the succes-
..._...... ....____ sor to the Mini DisKThe PS64 would bp a prime can'qlidate to
TV (njTndshare earned by- -—-ttseJhJs format si
format dfilieir own w
wdLrtd..give th€^PS64 tf
' candidate i'p a
—recent possibilityiXDVD-RW. 6ver the past ye'pr, Sony and\Philips
No H/s Mine /
(San Mateo, Cal/f.)This just in,/'We hear several reportsTrfffhb
Q-informants t^at Fox Interactive is the latest gaipTrfg company
launching a shorts lineup. According to those M-the-know, Fox is
looking to leverage their presence
;e Nintendo is also irttroducing a rewritable
witfr-phe DD64. If used, the MD HD\format
4 the sTprage capacity df a CD and tne
ndcE
their p'l
the Fox Spirts label) to bring sports ganphg to a PlayStation and
N64 near you by Christ/nas 1998. Considering how lucrativethe
sports galling genre if with the gamifJg consoles/sports games
make up,himost 50 percent of the video game raarkqt), this newv -tcuchl ^Ju^J=ll3lULy:\y’
comes ai little shocl^'to fans of sports video gdmes; Howevet, —ha.ye'ljeen woVin^on a rewri\able DVD formW. In contract to
someonp else may fihd this move td be a shock to/their system. Toshi^atf DVD-f^W format, the '^ony/Philips dVd-RW is designed
Who coi|ld that be? None other thah the leadpr misports/ga/nm^: {pbechdaper a|id n^ore efficient than Toshiba’s rewritable DVD,
Electronic Arts. | ! i i 1 \ \ wJiichlwduld result ih lower licensing costs toidevelopers] Sony is
You see, EA ownd.a sports franchise that 19 very near apd\ - 'hop^g the DVD/-RW.format wil.! be inexpensive enough tofuse by
dear to tjiem: Madden Football. Up Until now, the fact that Jqlnh.,.^ tbe'tinTe the PldyStption 64 is/ready to roll. At this point, ^the mair
Madden '(and Pat Surbrnerall, who is\also featured ir1\EA’s garhes)._stufhblmg blpck wbuld be (wjiit for it) cost. ^Ithough the/final
1 television announcer for Fox Spotts was not^big'bqncern to format hafh’t bpen chosen yet, the Mini Dis/: HD seems to be
the rriDrelogj,c4l path. / / /
"Tri other-.PS64 news, Spny approached fdveral devetofrers late ir
sjpdcsc^" ..
I announcer for Fox Spotts was not'a^bigbqi
EA as Foxy/as not in direct competitioiVwith EA Spbcts. fhatjs
until now. Hhe news tha'bFox InteractiveViay launch a''sp,prts divi¬
sion (perhad^s even a football game) comp^fipates things grehtly.^.^ ippb Wifh proposed
So what’s goi^na happen? At this point, it’s hkd to say. On
hand, the Madden franchisees established naTns with great
brand awareness among football gamers. On the othfer-hand,
it’s difficult to dispute the fact th'bt john Madden is not the sole"
property of Electroflip Arts and has obligations with Fox
Will heads roll? The Cb-fyiann guaranteeVit...
Westwood But EA Wouldnit —
(Irrine, Calif.) Speaking of EA^-f^nd don’t we always?) talks""
between the sports gaming beherribth. and Virgin Interactive a
reportedly dead in the water. Inside soufe-esjjeveal Virgin
Interactive has until March 31,1998 to raise eh'ougtLcapitai to
stay in business. Virgin initially wanted to hand.fl\ieLtti£j:Dinp
to EA in exchange for a cool $215 million-bcash only, thank yo J
very much. EA then countered that with a jbid of around $150
million (most of which would be EA stock)|and back and forth |lh(
negotiations went. Things reportedly camb to a screeching haljt 1
when Brett Sperry, head of Westwood Studios (a subsidiary of " ^^-Quickies
Virgin), demanded to be a member of £A’d board of directors. EA
politely said no and proceeded to kick Virgin to the curb. Down,
but not out. Virgin is reportedly speaking jto several other inter¬
ested heavyweight industry players (a nuijnber of which are very
attracted to the idea of acquiring the yvell-ifegarded Westwood ^ __: ^ ^
Studios in the bargain). We do know dne tjhmgTbrl^ulellthe eafTy ig^lWenythatlusf about wraps it up for this month
is ticking for Virgin. As soon as we he|r m(3.taVjxgiain£afr.Qm.lhe_0;fan5.CatcfLyalater*
Q-crew, we’ll let you know.
last month’s Q-Mannt I broke the news
person shooter being worked qn by Rare using the GoldenEye
engine. Well, our sources ipdicjate the game in question will be
another Bond game, although it will not be a sequel to Golden-
Eye. The game is currentlyjwel in development and is due out in
^The "0"
turned out most de.vdlopers were not (rapPY with the'design so
Sony scrapped.it'and started to rede^gn the systeib. Because of
this delaj(,-de'velopment systems Vjifn not be available until june of
a9'98'at the earliest. The PS64 (yhow said to h^Ve four times as
much memory as the curren)>PlayStation (3.^,<Megabytes) and is
-targeTed to be at least asqlowerful as Segqts upcoming Dural
syste n. That would^rrrban the system wqtild have 14 Megs of RAM
(the [lural is,said'lo have around 18 lyie'gs of RAM) and should be
able tff dirpiay more than 2 millioFtrolygons per second. The
; PS64 is due for a Christmas i,99'9 release in japan with a U.S. and
European release someUme m the year 2000, but we now hear
that $ega’s DuraUwon’t ship until March of ’99 in Japan with a
my Northt-AiTCrican release soon thereafter. My question is this: Will
that eight-month window give Sega enough time to get back on
track|as a hqfdwaTe'heavyihitter like they we
with Ijhe Gehesis?...Oply tifne \|/ill tell...
total rush...
The undisputed
king of combat
racing games!
Electronic Arts are trade
AS YOU CAN SEE [SORTOF], NEED FOR SPEED HAS GONE DOWN AND DIRTY.
M B IN NEED FOR SPEED V-RALLY YOU CHOOSE FROM 11 WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP CARS.
THEN YOU SLUG IT OUT DAY OR NIGHT OVER 42 PERILOUSLY LIFE-LIKE, GRITTY OFF-ROAD TRACKS. SNOW. RAIN. FOG.
AND IF YOU'RE LUCKY BLISTERING HOT SUN ROUND OUT THIS BRUTALLY RAW JOURNEY. BRING SOAR
ELECTRONIC ARTS
www.ea.com
©1997 Sony Electronics Inc. All rijhts reserved. Sony is a trademark ol Sony.
64DD situation in the U.S.
though? Not much. Pokemon
(it's coming in late 1998), so
NoA is going to have to rely
on something else to push
the DD out here, and right
going to have enough big-name
games to get the DD out in the
U.S. before Christmas (they
won't release it without at
left their mark on the industry
once again. Always about Inno¬
vation and setting the trends,
Nintendo is pushing forward in
Japan with a variety of Pocket
Monsters games and some
truly unigue peripherals (or
downright weird, depending on
which side of the fence you're
on) that they are banking on to
push the N64 back into the
race in Japan, while getting
the 64DD off to a rocket start.
Shigeru Miyamoto shows off
leWa 64 to excited members of
the press at Space World ’91.
Game Directory
• Legend of Zelda; The
Ocarina of Time
• F-Zero X
• 1080 Degree Snowboarding
• NBA Basketball
• Mario Artist Series
• Super Mario RPG 2
• Yoshi’s Story
• Mother 3
• AeroGauge
• Tonic Trouble
• Fighter’s Destiny
• Wetrix
Publisher/Developer
Players/Genre
% Done
Release
Nintendo Co., Ltd.
1
70
April 1998
Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Action-RPG
Japan
Web Address; www.nintendo.co.jp
The Long-Awaited
Return To Hyrule
The Legend of Zelda:
The Ocarina of Time
I t's been a long wait, but Zelda 64—now
known as “The Legend of Zelda: The
Ocarina of Time" in Japan—is finally on
the way. Unfortunately for U.S. gamers,
it won’t be hitting store shelves as soon
as we had hoped. The Japanese release
has been pushed back until the last
week of April, meaning a stateside release
isn’t likely until June or July at the earliest.
The good news, however, is that we finally
had a chance to spend some time with the
game, and we came away more than
impressed. In fact, impressed is quite an
understatement. Zelda 64 is by far the best¬
looking Nintendo 64 game yet, and based on
what we’ve seen and played, it’s safe to say
ny very well end up being
eru Miyamoto’s greatest
^ The Story So Far...
Much of Zelda 64’s
story is still being
1 kept under wraps.
I Apparently, the
li game takes place
BEFORE the Super
NES game, A Link
to the Past, mak¬
ing it the earliest
' game in the Zelda
timeline. As a
young member of
the Kokiri family, Link
L sets out to receive his
guardian fairy at his
clan s customary coming-
^ of-age ceremony, when he
stumbles across an injured fairy
with a dark message: Don’t let
the man named Gannondorf gain control of
the Triforce.
As the story goes, Canon is still an ordinary
man and hasn’t yet become the evil SOB that
you’ve come to know and hate in past Zelda
games. The goal is to prevent him from get¬
ting ahold of the Triforce and turning into that
monster, and to successfully achieve that
goal, Link will have to travel through time—a
first for the Zelda series.
The Intro
The game’s short-but-sweet intro sequence
(which most likely wasn’t finished yet at the
show) begins with a young Link approaching
Hyrule Castle at night in the pouring rain
(remind you of a previous Zelda game?).
Suddenly he hears a noise and runs off to the
side of the castle drawbridge to hide. As the
castle gates swing open, a beautiful white
horse—ridden by a Hyrulian guard and the
young Princess Zelda—comes galloping out
of the castle at full speed, as if being chased
by someone. After they take off. Link walks
out to the center of the drawbridge to see
what happened, only to come face to face
with Zelda’s pursuer, also on horseback. As
you can imagine, the pursuer is none other
than Canon (err, at this point his name is
Gannondorf, a mere young thief), and as you
can also imagine—he looks awesome. As
Link and Canon glance upon each other for
the first time, the camera heads off into the
stars, setting the mood for the long adventure
that’s about to take place.
Touring Hyrule
The version displayed
on the Space World
show floor was about 70
percent complete, but it
was set up so that you
could only try certain
portions of the game
reviews
During the intro, we find the
young Princess Zelda fleeing
Hyrule Castle on horseback
at night, accompanied by
a Hyrulian Guard.
through special “Tours” that were selectable on the
Main Menu Screen. The three Tours, the Hyrule Tour,
the Dungeon Tour and the Battle Tour, each showcased
different areas of the game and let anxious showgoers
get a good taste of the variety of different play styles
in the game without having to play through the entire
game to see them. Before we get into the Tours,
though, let’s take a look at Zelda 64's control setup.
The Controls
Zelda’s control setup has obviously been very well
thought out. Moving Link around is a cinch, thanks to
the N64 Controller’s Analog Control Stick. Movement is
used for Link’s sword (which can be upgraded at least
twice during play). To unsheathe your sword, you
press A once. To use it, you’d press A again. To put it
back, you press B. Of course, there are various moves
you can pull off with your sword, like charging it up,
doing the old Whirling Blade technique and more, 'fou
can even put away your Shield for a more powerful
(though harder to handle) Sword later in the game that
requires two hands to wield. Speaking of Link’s Shield,
the R button is used to control it, while the L button is
used for Options (such as bringing up the transparent
map in dungeons, etc.).
Next up is the multifaceted B button, whose usage
depends on the situation you’re in. Above the icon on
top of the screen is some text that changes as B’s func¬
tion changes. For example, if you approach someone,
B will be used to “Talk” to that person. If you
walk up to a treasure chest, B will change
to “Open.” If you’re just walking around
and want to search the area, B will let
Recognize this guy? His
full name is Gannondorf
Dragmire. Silly name for
such a powerful foe...
The red target shown here
appears when you press the Z
Trigger button. This allows
Link to focus on an object
while moving about freely.
similar to Mario 64, and while Link may not
be able to perform Mario’s infamous “Butt
Stomp,” his arsenal of moves and abilities
far surpasses anything the stout plumber
could even dream of.
Pressing Start will bring you to a subscreen that is
broken up into four separate areas, each with different
info. There’s a Map Screen (to show the Field or
Dungeon Maps), an Item Screen (where you can select
your items, as well as view which Medals you’ve col¬
lected so far), an Equip Screen (where you can equip
_ Link in four different areas—
Sword, Shield, Clothes and
Boots) and finally a Magic
|[Hmtv4UU J Screen that displays the
spells you’ve collected
The young Link
(above) will be
able to use
certain items
and weapons
that the older
Link (right)
cannot, and
Back at the top of the Main
Screen, there are icons for
each of the main buttons—B,
A and the bottom three C but¬
tons. The Top C button is used
for camera control. Indoors, it
changes to an overhead view
that lets you see things from
above, while outdoors it
switches you to a first-person
view so you can look up, down
and all around Link. The Left C,
Bottom C and Right C buttons
are each used for items or
weapons (like Bombs, a
Boomerang, your Bow &
Arrow, etc.). The A button is
you “Check” your
surroundings. There are several uses in all, and the
ease of use makes it much easier to become immersed
in the game without having to worry about which but¬
ton does what. You’ll be able to jump with the B button
as well (usually when holding down the Z button to
maintain a specific camera angle), but there will be
several cases where the game will auto-jump small ■
Zelda 64DIJ^
( Although it's still a
ways off, Mr. Miyamoto
explained at the show
' that the 64DD version of
Zelda (which is how the
game was originally going
to be released on the
64DD) is already in the
early stages of develop¬
ment. He explained
that they have not yet
decided whether or not
it will be an all-new
quest, or an add-on disc that
requires the original car¬
tridge to play. The game
probably won't be released
until 1999 in Jaoan.
IN m
FUTVPT,
MA6HINR
WIULNOf
^ {/sen.-
fnemi
Imarss yourself in sewn unbelieuetls fantasy mrirls and anythiny organic. Through 18 punishing iavels, anti an end-
take on a marrauding matallic hattalion of meohanized death less barrage of spsctacular eaplasive firepower and amazing
machines with your weapon-packed, futuristic assault uehi- lighting effects, you must track the Shadow master down and
cle. The Shadow master, an euil ouerlord, has gone complete- make scrap metal of him and his lethal robotic creatures,
ly mad, and he will stop at nothing less than total genocide of Shadow master, the ultimate fentesy shooter.
Inside the towns and houses, the
camera can be switched to an
overhead view, as shown here.
the day too, showcasing the game’s
f v-JB progressive time feature.
When you first exit Link’s house,
.. you’ll probably be blown away by the
beautiful world that unfolds before your
eyes. Local villagers will explain the game’s
basics to you, while your guardian fairy, Navie,
will lead you toward any important objects or locations
(like the signpost near Link’s house, for example).
The overworld and river areas (yes. Link can swim,
too) are merely other places of Hyrule to explore.
There are huge mountains, narrow valleys, dark
caves—you name it, it’s there. In the demo, you could
explore the town (the game Is only going to have one
main town, similar to Zelda: A Link to the Past), which
has several different interesting viewpoints, depend¬
ing on what area of the town you’re in.
Then of course there’s the horse scene. There wasn’t
too much to do in the demo, but you could mount
pits and the tike for
you, so you can
concentrate on more
important matters.
Finally there’s the all-important (and completely
innovative) Z Trigger button. The Z Trigger is used to
“lock-on” to objects and enemies (and basically any¬
thing in the game you can interact with), so that Link
can approach it and check it out without you losing
sight of his surroundings. For example. In battle with
the 3-D viewpoint, it would be very tough to maintain
a clear view of the action if you’ve got Link jumping
The Underworld conies to life
in Zelda 64, with many old
and new faces alike coming
together to try to stop Link
from finding the Triforce.
and ducking, slashing and dodging, etc.
without any camera control. So, to fix
this problem, you simply hold down Z to
lock on to your enemy so you can always
see where it is, while still maintaining full
control over Link. It’s an amazingly simple idea
that works surprisingly well. Battles are now a treat
to participate in AND to watch, and you’ll have no j
problem becoming completely immersed in Zelda’s J
3-D world because of this ingenious little addition M
to the control setup.
Back To The Hyrule Tour
The first of the three Tours on the demo
was the Hyrule Tour. The Hyrule Tour gave you
four locations to start from, including Link’s
House, the Hyrule overworld, a River area and
outside the castle—riding Link’s horse. The dif-
ferent scenarios took place at different times of
Is It really just a game?
Multi-Racing Championship hints more than just the scenery. It hlurs
the line between gaming and reality.
Each of MRC’s eight, fully customizahle vehicles (plus two other secret vehicles) allow
you to tweak gears, brakes, suspension and more. And you’ll need to, because MRC’s
three intense courses pit you against more than just the clock. You’ll be up against neck
snapping terrain, nasty weather and up to 20 other drivers at a time.
Designed for the N64 Rumble Pak, MRC’s detailed graphics, sound and multiple viewing
perspectives can mean only one thing.
It starts where all the others finish.
THEY COULD HAVE TAKEN ANYTHING.
HIS HOME.
HIS PRIDE.
EVEN HIS FREEDOM.
OUT THEY TOOK AWAY
BECKO DETERMINED TD 5 TDD HIM.
Link’s horse and ride around
the fieids near the Castie,
jumping over smail fences and
hilis and trotting around to get
used to the controi.
The Dungeon Tour
The Dungeon Tour aitowed
you to start at one of three
dungeon scenarios, each of
which was a iittie bit different
mHH ' other. Like previous
Zeida games, there are traps
puzzies in the dungeons,
and there’s a siick map system
which resides at the bottom
corner of the screen that can be toggied on and
off. There are huge pits and obstacles. Treasure
Chests and keys and, of course, as you’ll read about
Ahh, the Battle Tour. Certainly the most impressiv
aspect of the Space World demo by far, the Battle
Tour let you try your hand at three different J
Boss battles—against Ghoma, wj
Dodongo and Stalfos. The Stalfos
battle is fairly simple—you fight M
against two huge Stalfos A
Knights in a big room, simply
hacking and slashing until ^
ail that’s left is you and two
piles of bones. The Ghoma and
Dodongo battles, however, are
truly a sight to behold. Without
spoiling too much, let’s just say
the cinematics before, during and
after the battles are incredible, J
and the actual creatures them-
selves look amazing. Clearly battling M/m
in Zelda 64 is going to be quite a JP
Interacting with the locals is
nothing new to Zelda fans.
The Legend of Zelda series Is one of the
most popular gaming franchises in the
history of video games. Despite being
around for over 10 years now, Zelda 64
is only the fifth main installment In the
licensed CD-i horrors and a very cool
Game & Watch game). Here’s a quick look
at each of the previous four Zelda titles.
The Legend
of Zelda:
A Link to
the Past
(Super NES,
A Brief History of Zelda
NIKNDO 64
The Missing Links
—As you can probably tell from some of the screen
shots here, you’ll play as both a young Link and
an older Link. This ties in to the central plot of the
story, with the Ocarina of Time. The Ocarina will allow
Link to travel through time, but the exact details of
how, why and when are still a bit cloudy. We do know
that a place called the Tower of Time plays a big part in
all of this, and we also know that
the two different Links (young
and old) can wield different
weapons, some exclusive to
their respective forms.
—The Rumble Pak will be
utilized in some form, although
exactly how and how much is
still up in the air.
—Yes, the Triforce is back,
and it’s the ultimate item. How
will it tie in to this already awesome plot? We’ll just
have to wait until this summer to find out... ^
The Battle Tour
You WANT TO BE A HERO'
STUNNING GRAPHIC
There are 1 □ levels of
FAST ACTION THAT DEMAND
Distributed by
BATTLE IN THE ONLY GAME
.»«MTEA(/)7
I t may have been a long time In coming (over
seven years, to be exact), but Nintendo is finally
back in the garage working on a sequel to the
smash hit first-gen Super NES racer, F-Zero.
F-Zero X (tentative title) was shown in playable
form for the first time at Space World ’97, and it
wowed crowds with its fast, fluid animation,
variety of crafts and intense track design.
F-Zero X features four racing circuits to race on—the
Jack Cup, the Queen Cup, the King Cup and a fourth
Cup that (presumably) doesn’t open up until later in
the game. Each Cup has a variety of tracks, just like
the first F-Zero, and in fact many of them come
Publisher/Developer
Players/Genre
% Done Release
Nintendo Co., Ltd. 1-4
Nintendo Co., Ltd. Racing
Web Address; www.nintendo.co.jp
An
'''' 1998 Japan
rmavnot™'r*
aSnmetlS^I??sc
^^-=1 A 1
on a Japanese sys
item, import at your
- 1 ^ r
[like this one)
giant tubes
Thank goodness
for gravity
part, entirety new). The track layouts are superb, with
big jumps, lots of twists and turns, special features
(like tracks that are spherical, where you race around
the outsides of a huge tube that holds you in with
some sort of gravitational pull) and more. And for
those who complain about N64 games not having
enough variety—there are 30 (yes, 30!) crafts to
choose from, each with its own unique characteristics
and drivers Oncluding the four from the first game). In
addition, each craft is rated from A-E in terms of Body,
Boost and Grip at the Selection Screen.
Obviously the best part about F-Zero X, though, is
the game’s astonishing sense of speed. If you thought
the first F-Zero was fast, wait until you see this
baby zip across your TV. We’re talking 60
frames of animation per second, with
crafts that reach speeds of 1000 km/h
and more (our personal best was
over 1400 km/h), and this is with up
to 30 crafts on screen at once. Even
the Two- and Four-player Modes are
fast. Just like the 16-Bit version,
there are “zippers” on the tracks
that send you forward, and when
you complete a lap, your craft gains
the ability to “Boost” at the expense
of your Power gauge. Fortunately, just
after each lap you can race over
special bars on the track that will
help replenish lost energy
(again, just like the first F-Zero).
All in all, F-Zero X is shaping up
to be a killer
racing game, and
with a 64DD add-on already in the works (see sidebar),
you can count on seeing this baby in the headlines for
a long time to come. The only problem? You’ll have to
wait until late ’98 for the U.S. release. With any luck,
NoA will give us a quick port so we can be playing the
game before the end of
the summer,
Behind
the Screens
F-Zero X for the 64DD
At the Space World show, Mr.
Miyamoto revealed that F-Zero
X would be one of the first N64
cartridge games to have a 64DD
add-on disc released sometime after
the cartridge. With this add-on, you
wiii be abie to choose from more hov-
ercrafts, more tracks and best of
ail-the disc wiil come with a track
editor and a hovercraft editor! Not
only will you be able to create your
own tracks, but you'll be able to
download ones that your friends may
have made, or possibly (in Japan at
least) download special event tracks
from participating retailers with
special kiosks. Heck, you'll even be
able to record your best race and
turn it into a ghost racer for someone
else to race against on their machine!
The possibilities are endless!
IHebt L0RP DEimos. ■
He's got E00KS that kIel
Hahds 0F steel
/AE0TrEnDtsP0SlTi0n.
Lord Oeimos is jusr one of the vicious
wArriors you’ll go AgAinst in Macc ■
Tlie DArh Age. EacH fighter comes
with his or her own deAdly weApon And
so mAny different moves And combos
thAt inflicting pAin will be eASier thAn
ever before. And thAnhs to the ArcAde
development of the “Voodoo GrAphics”
chipset, you’ll get 3-0 fighting like
you’ve never seen before. So pick
up Macc - The DArk Age todAg. But
be cAreful of Lord Deimos - he’s looking
for his next victim.
1 . I Az.itir'i.'t.f.- ^
EVERYTHinG'S A WEAPOH.
1080 Snowboarding
ne of Nintendo’s two surprise games
at Space World (the other being NBA
Basketball), - - ■
From The
Creators Of
Wave Race 64...
U .,, iq8o Snowboarding
shocked everyone with its amazingly
rich graphical detail, smooth control
and overall polish that only an EAD
game could provide.
Developed by the same team that brought us Wave
Race 64, 1080 Snowboarding is one of several snow¬
boarding games on the way to the N64 in the coming
months. So far it seems to be the best one. There were
three tracks to choose from at the show (there are sup¬
posed to be at least six in the final version), and three
different boarders to race as, as well as (you guessed
it) three different snowboards to race with. There’s a
Match Race Mode, a Time Attack Mode and a Score
Attack Mode (just like Wave Race), and two players
can go head-to-head via a split-screen in the game’s
Two-player
Steep drops, big jumps, “mondo” stunts and more are
all a big part of 1080’s highly realistic gameplay.
the snow to the photorealistic scenery in and around
each track. And control with the N64’s analog Control
Stick makes everything move smooth as siik. it truly
looks awesome.
1080 is scheduled for a February release in Japan,
and it WILL be comingto the U.S. soon after, so be sure
to check back for a full preview of the U.S. version as it
nears release. A
Incredibly realistic graphics
highlight the gameplay.
Like Wave Race, 1080 Snowboarding
features a Two-player Split-screen ^
Racing Mode. It’s smooth!
H Nintendo’s second surprise
Space World title is looking
very nice so far, despite
only being roughly 50 percent
complete at the time of the
show. NBA Basketball (tenta-
is scheduled to be NBA
Courtside) is Nintendo’s latest
addition to their Nintendo
Sports lineup, and is being
developed by a U.S.-based
company called Left Field Productions.
Courtside features all of the official teams, players and stadiums
from the NBA, and has nice polygonal graphics (obviously) and
particularly strong player animations (especially for this
stage of the game). All of the players are modeled after
their real-life counterparts, and believe it or not, there
seems to be a good amount of CPU A1 in this baby
already—clearly a strong sign of a potential blockbuster.
There’s full play-by-play announcing too, and the crowd
really gets into the action, something that has been HHHH
noticeably lacking from many NBA games as of late.
Since the game won’t be available until July in Japan, it’s
doubtful that we’ll see it here until the fall—unless iMKik.S'’*?,'’.,
Nintendo is planning on a simultaneous launch, or even a
U.S. launch first. Whatever the case, as soon as more info
is released, you’ll read about it right here in EGM.
NBA Basketball will
feature all of your favorite
NBA players and teams
in all their 3-D glory.
Instant Replays and a variety
of camera angles highlight
the action in Nintendo’s
NBA Basketball.
Piil)li$lier/Deve)op«r Pfayers/Genre % Done Release
Nintendo Co., Ltd. N/A »/. June
Nintendo Co., Ltd. Variety 1998 Japan
Well Address: www.nintendo.co.jp
Mario Artist
Series
NINTENDO 64
Polygon Maker:
is basically the
64-Bit update
of Nintendo’s
classic Super
NES game
Mario Paint.
karate, perform
balancing
and more—and best of all, you
(or anyone else’s for that matter)
al talent star for some
you can do it’s scary.
Each of these disks will be available in Japan
launch of the 64DD, and are expected to be very
affordably priced. Nothing official
announced yet, but It’s likely that the
series will come to the States. These disks
realizations of just a few of the many cool
the 64DD will be able to do once actual
released for it when it launches in late 199!
The Fun
Machine Gets
Creative
t Space World, Nintendo unveiled the first
JHHk three entries in the Mario Artist series
(everyone remembers Mario Paint,
right?). All three games are going to be
available for the 64PD, and all three
(four actually—the fourth title.
Mm mk Sound Maker, wasn’t shown
floor) will work in conjunction with each
to the DD’s writability features.
To accommodate these games, Nintendo_
both an N64 Mouse and something called a Cap
Cassette, which has A/V inputs
that allow you to hook up video
cameras, VCRs—basically any¬
thing with Audio/Video out¬
put—so you can grab images
and use them in your creations.
For more on those, check out
this month’s News section.
Consider this the direct
descendant of Mario Paint. You
can draw your own pictures (up
to four people can at the same
time, if you wish), or download
pictures and edit them with a
variety of options and tools
Picture Maker isn’t limited to
mere 2-D creations like Mario
Paint was. Go all out in 3-D!
(similar to some higher-end PC
paint programs). So simple, yet so much fun. And you
can take your pictures and import them into the other
programs, like Polygon Maker, where they can
be mapped to polygonal characters for even more
creative uses.
Picture Maker:
This one looked the most impressive—and rightfully
so. It’s basically a stripped-down, affordable version of
Nichimen Graphics’ high-end Nintendo 64 develop¬
ment tool, N-World, stuffed into a little 64DD disk.
With Polygon Maker you can create 3-D models from
scratch, then texture map them, animate them and
the show, programmers showed
and turned it into
This one looked
the most bizarre of the
have the most poten-
you create a person
have it do a variety of
Show. You can
dance, practice
Laugh while you frag, from
Hollywood to outerspace!
lag some aliens with over
dozen hi-tech weapons!
Big weapons and bigger bosses
for a fun-filied fragfest!
Four-player, split-screen
' Dukematch action.
t Fram L.A. to the moon - 32 towering levels of
Q0% interactive carnage! On film sets, in bars, on
wing subways...no butt-ugly alien is safe from the
. wrath of Duke! Grenade Launchers. Shrink Rays,
^^ardcore 3D action. And graphics to kill for!
coming to take out the garbage!
mTENDO 64
Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done Release
j^uper Mario RPG 2
Mario RPG certainly looks
nice, but what’s with
the flat 2-D Mario?
Unfortunately, it’s too
early to tell right now.
r'l t a -X
Mario RPG Takes
On A Whole
New look
S uper Mario RPG was one of the most
charming and well-designed games that
ever graced the Super NES, and now,
two years later, the first screens of the
sequel have been released. Not much is
known about the game yet, but as you
can see by these pictures, it looks dras¬
tically different from the original. Mario Is now a flat
2-D object In a 3-D world (this is obviously some sort of
artistic thing), and according to Mr. Miyamoto, the
game will be geared toward a younger audience. We
just hope it’s as good as the first one. ^
Yoshi's Story
The sequel to one of the
most underrated Super NES
games of all time is almost fin¬
ished, and will be available in
Japan by the time you’re read¬
ing this. That’s right, Yoshi’s
Story, the “2 1/2-D” follow-up
to Yoshi’s Island, is on the way,
and from what we’ve seen (and
played), it looks fantastic.
In Yoshi’s Story, the main goal is to
collect fruits hidden throughout each
stage in the game’s six worlds. There
are six different Yoshis you can
choose from in each stage (differing
only in color), and no sign of that irri¬
tating baby Mario anywhere (thank
goodness!). The game controls much
like the first Yoshi, but with
some nice enhancements. For
one, everything is controlled
with the analog Control Stick.
So now Yoshi can lash his
tongue out in any direction
possible, and aiming eggs is
much easier than it used to be
Oust press the button to
throw, and move the target
anywhere on the screen
with the Control Stick). And in
addition to a variety of cool moves (both old and new),
Yoshi now has the ability to swim.
We don’t need to tell you how incredible the graph¬
ics are—these screen shots speak for themselves.
But if you think this is nice, just wait until you see the
game in motion.
check back next
month when
E6M blows the
doors open on
Nintendo’s
latest master-
depth preview
of Yoshi’s Story.
PoMisher/Oefelopef Pia^ers/
While there hasn't been much
information released on Mother 3
in quite a while, Nintendo did man¬
age to sneak some new video onto
the giant video wall at the Space
World show, and the game seems
to be coming along nicely. For
those of you who are unfamiliar
with Mother, it's the Japanese
version of our EarthBound series
(EarthBound was Mother 2 in
Japan). The full 3-D RPG is
slated to launch with the 64DD
when it arrives in June in
Japan, and looks well on its way
' to being completed.
, The fight system
Designed by
the primary ere- iSWt*
ator of Rayman, '
Tonic Trouble is ^
already starting ‘ “
to show com- *
polling designs of ^
distinctiveness '
that made the '
aforementioned
game find a niche -
of its own.
Tonic Troubie's plot revolves around an alien
named Ed who drops a mysterious can onto Earth.
Havoc ensues, and mutations of plants and animals
break out throughout the planet. Seeking to fix the
problems that he created,
y T , jHBrm Ed must explore and fight
!» ^ enemies with a variety of
.* . weapons. As you can see
from these screens, this
7 game shows promise. Rest
/ assured, we'll do a more in-
f depth preview as soon as we
get some more info.
‘ the game looked
quite polished for
only being shown
on video. We wiii
have more on this
It doesn’t take a genius to see
how games like WipeOut and
F-Zero have influenced AG.
the wild designs of the vehicles,
jroGauge is pretty straightforward
both in gameplay and appearance
(think WipeOut meets F-Zero). Five
unique machines are available at the
k game’s outset, including one that
^ looks like an N64 controller craft.
Five more are included but must be
game. The crafts are ranked by
speed, acceleration, shield and agility. Each one is dec¬
orated with wacky logos and paint jobs a la WipeOut.
They resemble everything from sleek speeder-type
vehicles to modified tugboats and dump trucks.
Four tracks plus two bonus ones are spread out
around the world. The courses feature lots of bridges,
banked turns and the obligatory tube portions. The
vehicles have the ability to fly very close to the ground
or way above it. Because of the vehicles’ maneuvering
abilities, the tracks have multiple levels and some¬
times alternate
routes hidden
among the lay- 1
out. Also includ¬
ed are short
pit-stop lanes
in which cars
can replenish
their shields.
Game modes
Game speed remains constant
even in Two-player Mode.
The cars can take corners way up high or very low (like
this one), adding a twist to traditional racing play.
include: Grand Prix (with a time trial). Single Mode,
Time Attack and Split-screen Two-player.
Gameplay is similar to WipeOut with a bit more
maneuverability. To help in this area, most of the cars
have flaps that extend out on the turning side to help
tighten corners. Turbo boost is done with a button
combo but can only be used coming out of the corners. @
Previews
Fighter's Destiny
will be
very inter-
esting to see
how the finished
product turns out. ^
Destiny
Turns On
theN64
Jokers steal your skills unless
you defeat them in battle.
Brush up on you
the dummy in
F ighter’s Destiny is a 3-D fighting game
with 10 regular characters and a bunch of
hidden ones — ranging from a clown to a
Middle Eastern wrestler. In some of the
game’s other modes, you’ll face bizarre
opponents tike a cow (yes, that’s right—
COW) and a training dummy.
The setup is simitar to that of Virtua Fighter—you
fight in a ring (of variable size) and the goal is to knock
the other guy out as many times as possible. The
graphics are smooth and move very fast, giving the
game that arcade feel.
Gameplay is different from most fighting games
though. The action is points-based, meaning that each
attack or knockdown gets you a certain amount of
points. For instance, a “ring out” is only worth one
point, so it’s not advantageous to just knock your
opponent out of the ring and be done with it. Using
special attacks and combos will get you more points.
The game also lets you adjust the amount of points
that each attack gives you, so you can customize the
game to get rid of cheap wins.
You can use either the analog or digital pad to con¬
trol your fighter, and configure almost every aspect of
the game. There are plenty of modes to play, too. It’s
got a One-player, Training and Vs. Mode, but Fighter’s
Destiny has other modes that are not so common for
fighting games. Record Attack is an endurance mode
(with three categories—Survival, Fastest and
Rodeo). In Survival, you’re pitted against
opponents in a fight to the finish. As the
name implies. Fastest Mode is based 01
how quickly you can defeat your oppo¬
nent, and Rodeo is a battle to s(
can stay in the ring.
The game’s Master Challenge
ilso vastly different from your
nage fighting game. You fight
of a certain skill or
move. Your moves
then be saved onto
the N64 ’s memory cartridge
and used against a
friend and their cus¬
tomized fighter.
Developed by Genki/
Imagineer, Fighter’s Destiny
looks like the best fighting
game for the N64 so far.
Using special moves and combos ir
Destiny will gain you more points.
Wetrh
After gaining skills in the Master
Challenge Mode, you can save your
traits and battle a friend.
Wetrix is an imaginative puzzle
game reminiscent of Tetris, only
instead of stacking boxes the object
is to build walls and barriers on a
floating 3-D platform. If done cor¬
rectly, the falling pieces will stack
up to form little corrals In which
water will gather as it periodically
falls from the sky. The more water
that drains out due to faulty pools
the quicker you lose.
Along the way you'll have to deal
with falling bombs, fire, ice and
mines. Use these elements to patch
or blow holes in your pools or just
wreak havoc on your opponent.
As the game progresses, pieces will
fall faster with water coming in
quicker intervals.
Alternate modes of play include
ice-covered platforms, variable
landscape and random holes. Two-
player Split-screen Mode offers a
straight-ahead race for survival
with the player who fills their drain
first losing.
The only question now is how long
can cool new games like this one be
spawned from the Tetris archetype?
Look at the pretty rainbow...n
they thought of everything!
Two-player adds the
bonus of controlled bomb¬
dropping to help slow your
opponent’s progress.
HIHTEHDO 64
PuMIsher/DweloiMr Mayen/Genre % Done Release
Sports
s: www.infogrames.
Call 1-888-625-2876 to purchase the SA-VA7 speakers and you’ll receive the Playstation"
Underground’"CD Magazine, a CD carrying case, and a Sony baseball cap.
Get the point? This magazine is loaded with reasons why you need the SA-VA7
speakers-a sound system that can rattle your inner organs. It’s 17 inches of
the most realistic sound projection you’ll ever drooS over. Bib sold separately.
www.sony.com/sava
Tt s a deadly
HHIf ' international mission where your ^
PPIwily chance of survival will be your precision
gun control, your razor-sharp aim and your
impeccable sense of style. Good thing
' you’re James Rond. In the new GoldenFye M
t for N64, you ve got a 360-degree range, fl
f 18 weapons and a license to kill. JK
11^ Mope your tux is pressed.
Some levels leave you in
the dark, at least until you
find the light switch.
does the occasion¬
al radio chatter
from other
Burning Rangers
monsters and the
flames them¬
selves, you’ll bat¬
tle robots and
other unfriendly
station residents.
Your ranger can
wield five types of
firefighting
weapons, such as
foam cannons and
gas grenades,
which you can
power up by hold¬
ing the Fire button.
Numerous traps—
including collaps¬
ing floors and
ixploding canis-
5 flashlights to push back the darkness.
Burning Rangers may not look as cutesy as
Naka and his Sonic Team’s previous efforts,
but it does pack all the trademark touches.
You collect the apparently mandatory rings,
and—just as in NiGHTS—you receive a grade
for your rescue and firefighting efforts at the
end of each level. Fans of Naka’s other titles
certainly won’t be disappointed. ^
many stores have been dis¬
counting Saturn hardware in
anticipation of a weak holiday
sales season (Target dropped
to $119 and EB dropped to
$129-and by the time you're
reading this there may have
© been more drops), if
you've been hoiding out.
now might be the time
to take the plunge.
ters—pop up throughout the station, a
To complicate matters, hostage locations are
randomized each time you play.
Burning Rangers uses a supercharged
NIGFITS engine, so it looks and plays a little
like the ground-based portions of NiGFlTS.
Yet Burning Rangers has the Saturn perform¬
ing tricks through software that the system’s
hardware was never designed to do. The
IpsvcnosisI
Colony Wars ranks as the
best space combat game
on the'ElayStation."
CRY FREEDOM
Blast the chains of slavery straight to Hell. Join the rebellion and fly t
hottest ships in the stars. You'll master six unique craft in your quest, ea
with different flight characteristics and weaponry. You'll fly more than
unique missions, success or failure determining a destiny that lies along o
of five different paths. The cost of freedom is high. Are you willing to pay
n? I've jumped 4D-fDDt gaps.
'Coptered into virgin chutes.
But nb\A/, I'm not riding for kicks,
rfn, riding for gold, in Nagano.|
And you're cutting ; u
rhy groove.
Shred it.
jM
mmr.
Previews
• Breath of Fire III
• R-Types
• Master of Monsters
• Tekken i
• Bushido Blade 2
• Rascal
• Riven
• Alien Resurrection
•C
Breath of Fire III
With the success of the piatinum-
selling FFVII, the Japanese RPG flood
gates should open. Let 'em flow!
Sony also enjoyed plenty of suc¬
cess with their Power Price line
of software. Consumer reaction
to the Power Price games were
overwhelming, especially during
Christmas. Some of Sony's
best-selling games like Game-
Day '98 and Crash Bandicoot 2
outsold the competition because
they undercut their price. With
a worldwide installed hardware
Yep,just
average day
est—saving
R emember Breath of Fire back
in the days of the Super
NES? Well, the popular
series is now making its way
onto the PlayStation. And
with the update comes nice-
looking 3-D graphics and a
, among other features,
s a healthy dose of plotline
pick up the controller. Even
m the beginning of the game, you can see
that this isn’t like the old Breath of Fire-
polygon graphics and neat-o effects
■■■ the screen as a drapn lets
on some baddies (you
I dragon),
are two different
views: the map view and
an area view. Although the
map view is not quite as 3-
D as the area map, it's still
in an isometric view. While
in the world map, you can
around to various loca-
such as towns, moun-
and dungeons. When you
place you can enter, you
or simply get info,
is different from the world
map in that it uses 3-D polygonal graphics.
The characters are still 2-D but nearly every¬
thing else in this view is polygonal. When
you run into an enemy, you don’t go into a
special fighting screen, your character(s) sim¬
ply spread out into attack formation and the
battle begins.
While in the area map view, each character
has a unique action that he/she can perform
Train rides are supposed to be fun, but in this case,
it’s just a one-way ticket to hell!
while walking around. For example, Ryu can use his
sword to slash through the shrubbery to unveil
a secret bag of gold or other goodies. More to
come later. 0
The 3-D graph-
to the Breath
boys from
fire-breath¬
ing dogs.
Viva Las Punky uemn’ Verticanj ^ggress ive Moves! Tomb Wader ^
Over 30 huge levels with multiple pathways and bonus levels!
Think you’ve played it all?
Think again!
Action packed - in the air, on land and underground, in the water too!
Thrash, skate, dig, glide and jump past legions of mutant mice!
: Filled with that classic 2D action that everyone’s been talking about!
ASCII Entertain
SystemSoft, Ini
www.eiilo5interactive.i
Web Address: www.ascilent.i
Followinq in the tradi- ■
tion of their latest hit, I fP' *'
Fighting Force, Eidos is ^ ■ I ' ‘ '
bringing out yet anoth-
er 3-D action game ^ *'
with its roots grounded J u. -3
in the days of classic Er-S’
side-scrollers. Nmja
takes conventional ''^**®***|
arcade action and puts ” ^
it in an open 3-D envi¬
ronment, with compiete freedom of movement.
Gamepiay primarily consists of jumping on platforms,
avoiding traps and fighting ninjas and monsters of the
Orient. We’ve oniy seen early levels so far, so we'll keep
you posted as we get updates.
■PLAYSTATION
R-Types
Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done
85
The Classic
Space Shooter
Returns
R-Type Delta will feature
2-D gamepiay with 3-D
modeled backgrounds.
fter a long break, Irem is back in business
with their first PlayStation game, R-
Types. R-Types isn’t an all-new shooter
though; instead, it’s a compilation disc
containing the full arcade versions of
the original R-Type and R-Type II (the
latter of which has never been
released on a home console—the PC Engine version of
R-Type II is merely the second half of the original R-
Type, which at the time didn’t fit on one HuCard).
Both R-Type and R-Type II will be loo percent perfect
translations of the arcade originals, and as a special
bonus, Irem is adding all-new rendered FMV
sequences to the games. Even better though, they’re
including a demo moyie of their brand-new upcoming
PlayStation R-Type sequel, R-Type Delta. R-Type Delta
will retain the classic 2-D gamepiay of the older R-Type
games, but with 3-D backgrounds and dazzling graphi¬
cal effects (similar to Philosoma or Einhander). From
the limited amount of screens that have been released,
It looks like R-Type Delta is still quite a ways off, but
what we’ve seen so far certainly looks impressive.
R-Types is due to be released in February in Japan.
No U.S. plans have been announced yet, but hopefully
someone (Working Designs maybe?) will pick it up for
a U.S. release soon. The shooter market needs some
rejuvenating, and bringing back true classics like the
R-Type games is just the way to do it. ^
R-Type is known for
its awesome Boss
characters and
challenging play.
Master of Monsters
Master of Monsters will return to
the gaming forefront in a bright new
32-Bit incarnation early in ’98. The
former 16-Bit strategy game will
boast several new features including
impressive 3-D battles (hopefully) and
a ton of new terrain to conquer.
This turn-based strategy game will
challenge you (or up to four players) to
take command of your own race of
home-bred monsters and turn them
against anyone or anything that
stands between you and world con¬
quest. Points and experience are
gained by roaming new territories
with the intention of taking them
over by means of battle. Of course,
your monsters do all the dirty
work for you because you are
S the Master of Monsters!!...or
I at least you’re trying to be.
’Vj-.';-. ; Eight different characters
i are available, each with
•’is/her own strengths
'' I and summoning abilities.
I Look for a full report in the
; coming months.
Puklisher/Deveioper Piayers./Geae %
IT'S A SIMPLE PROPOSITION, REALLY. JUST USE THOSE STRATEGIC POWERS IN THAT NOG¬
GIN OF YOURS TO OUTSMART AND DESTROY THE HUMORLESS GEOMETRIC BLOCKS AS THEY
COME CRASHING TOWARD YOU. OR BE SQUASHED LIKE A POTATO CHIP. YOU MIGHT ALSO
FIND YOURSELF CAREENING OFF THE END OF THE UNIVERSE. IS IT ANY WONDER YOU'LL
KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE?
Only on PlayStation.
gent
Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done Release
PLAYSTATION
Namco 1-2 3rd Otr.
Namco Fighting 1998
Web Address; www.namco.cotn
Tekken 3
W l hen the two previous install-
[ ments of the Tekken series hit the
PlayStation, they had one thing in
common: Both were improved over
the arcade version. Still, we had our
doubts over whether Tekken 3
would make an equally stunning
home translation. From what we have seen so far
(admittedly, only screen shots), the game looks nearly
arcade perfect.
Tekken 3’s story starts where Tekken 2 left off—
at the final battle with Kazuya (and Devil). Heihachi
has gained control of Kazuya’s Wlishima conglomerate
and is now helping to settle wars and aiding third-
world countries. During an archeological dig in Central
America, Heihachi’s workers dig up a mysterious
life-form. Fleihachi knows not what it is because
communication is lost. When he gets there, all that is
left are corpses.
Many of the old stars of
Tekken came back. Of
Fists of Iron
and a Whole
Lot More
Tekken 2 has
sold more than
3 million units
worldwide.
They’ll more
than likely sell
one more, since
Crispin just
broke his copy
into a million
pieces due
to extensive
gamblinq debts.
Yes, it's an
addiction.
Like Tekken 2, the KOs still look as painful as ever.
Should “Beard-0” Paul be knocking down girls like that?
As the strange story continues, Heihachi comes to
conclusion that he must hold another King of Iron Fist
Tournament. As fighters gather to challenge one
another, so will PlayStation owners. Of course, no one
will die (or hopefully even get hurt) when they fight
each other on the PlayStation..
Tekken 3 has an improved graphics engine,
lighting effects and more detailed characters. The
backgrounds have also been improved, with all the
pseudo 2-D buildings and structures of the arcade
game. Of course, the PlayStation version will have a
rendered intro along with ending cinemas for each of
the characters.
We should also put to bed rumors of Tekken 3 need¬
ing an add-on to work properly. Mike Fischer, Namco’s
director of marketing, says that no add-on will be
needed to enjoy the PlayStation version of the
arcade hit. “The developmentteam is really push¬
ing the limits of the PlayStation,” commented
Fischer. “Tekken 3 will showcase what the system
is really capable of doing.”
But is the system capable of reproducing
the visual pizazz of the System 12-based
arcade game? WeTl let you know when we get a
playable version. ^
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^kvlUVHOMket^ MilMlOM(.
Unleash deadly emissions— from the
Fart-Heod to the almighty Universe Enema.
Give your thumbs a rest with
bee-yoo-tee-ful cinematics!
Over 90 levels hand-crafted in
high-tech, superfiy, 3-0...GIAY!
Crn(k tvil
With YoW futt
Adventure
December
1997
Puzzte/Adv
In March, Psygnosis will be
bringing out a new 3-D game
unlike anything you've seen
before. This impressive-looking
title will contain a bagful of tech¬
nical tricks, giving it a hi-res look
in low-res, at 60 fps.
The game concept also looks
impressive at this early stage. The
game has you following the adven¬
tures of Rascal, an original Jim
Honson Croature Workshop-creat-
s 'Xj ed character. Rascal must rescue
I his kidnapped father, an inventor,
|- by travelling through six worlds in
, three different time zones. Each
? of the worlds has a traditional
- ' theme, like Aztec, Wild West,
Pirate Boat and Castle. But what
sets thls 3-D platform game apart
from the rest are the different time
periods. Each world has a past, present and future, giving the
game a unigue approach to traditional themes (for example,
the Wild West may have cowboys in the past, but it turns into
a movie set for the present).
Riven begins where Myst
left off. You must aid Atrus
in a search for his wife
Catherine who has been
imprisoned on the island by
an evil man named Ghen. On
Riven Island point and click
your way through 100s of
detailed rendered environ¬
ments, searching for
clues in 4,000 plus
scenes. Remarkably
sizable. Riven is actu- V
ally five times the size ^
of Myst and is contained I
on five discs. Aside from
the trademark graphic ^ '
splendor and challenging ^
puzzles. Riven takes the # a
series to the next level by ^
including several anima¬
tion sequences ranging from roller-coaster type adven¬
tures to psychedelic underwater excursions.
Although not your average game. Riven has the poten¬
tial of becoming a cult hit on the PlayStation. Gamers
should prepare for a major puzzle experience.
iPLAYSTATION
, Publisher/Oeveloper Players/Genre % Done Release
Web Address; www.psygnosis.coni
Rascal _
Square's Unique
Realistic Fighting
Franchise Returns
Some fighters will
to battle with two
for dual-bladed
W i hile the original Bushido Blade
I has only been out for a couple
' of months here in the U.S., Square
is already hard at work on the
sequel in Japan. Bushido Blade 2 is
well under way, and judging from
what we’ve seen of it so far, it’s going
to be a nice improvement to the unique samurai
brawler that took traditional fighting games to an
entirely new level.
So far, 14 characters have been revealed, seven of
which are new, while the other three are returning from
the first Bushido Blade (Tatsumi, Mikado
and Kannuki). There will be a Story Mode
where you can choose to fight for one of I
two clans, and there are numerous game-
play enhancements planned, including
faster, smoother play, better defensive tac¬
tics, two-sword fighting and more. In addi¬
tion, there are more unique fighting
stances for each character, there are only
two attack buttons now and there’s a heav¬
ier emphasis on the story in the Story
Mode (now known as the “Top Mode" in
BB2). This one’s still early, but already it’s look- Bushido Blade 2 will feature
ing hot. We’ll have more on BB2 as it develops. In at least 14 characters, many
the meantime, start sharpening your Nodachi...® of which are new.
Like the Japanese original,
Bushido Blade 2 will support
Sony’s analog pad.
Piiblisisef/DeTCtoper
Psygnosis
Traveller's Tales
Players/Genre
PLAYSTATION
Publisher/Developer Players/Genre
% Done
Release
Konami 1
March
Appaloosa Action
oU
1998
Web Address: www.honami.cam
This newest compiiation from
Midway showcases some true
ciassics. None of these games
were iow key in their time, and
most are stiii remembered
today by oider gamers.
This edition inciudes Crystai
Casties, Marbie Madness,
Gauntiet, Miiiipede, Paperboy
and Road Biasters. Our very
eariy beta doesn't support
anaiog controis ( '' '
wouid be nice for I
Madness or Miiiipe
muitipie piayers (bi
Gauntiet screen
show room for mon
one piayer). This
change as the
approaches reiease.
Piibiisher/Developer Piayers/Gesri % Done Release
Pubiisher/Deveioper Piayers/Genre % Done Reiease
After Contra: Legacy of War,
fans of the long-running
Konami series were itching to
get a game that captured the
classic feel. If all goes right,
this game will be successful in
bringing the series back to its
rightful place. Not much is
known about “C” at this time—
not even if the game will
be called Contra-but from
the screen shots, it looks as
if the game will be a combination of 2-D and 3-D levels
with rendered backgrounds and enemies. The game
is currently 30 percent complete, and Konami . ■
is hoping to ■
release the •
game in March.
^ Fox Interactive 1 Ui. 2nd Qtr.
Arpnonaut Action 1998
Wib Address; www.foxinteractive.com
The Fifth Element
Alien Resurrectioi
The only shots available are
Science-fiction movies lend
themselves to video games, so
it's no surprise that early
screens are already appearing for
the PlayStation (a Saturn one is
also under development) version
of Alien Resurrection, the game.
This third-person, 3-D action
game takes place in the Alien-
infested corridored environment
of the research vessel Auriga.
Players will command five differ-
Another movie-
inspired game has
arrived. The Fifth
Element contains
elements that will
come as no sur¬
prise for many
gamers. To draw a
comparison, our
early glimpses of
the game reveal
Tomb Raider-like
room-to-room adventuring along with combat action rem¬
iniscent of Nightmare Creatures. Large polygonal charac¬
ters romp through 3-D buildings, city streets and land¬
scapes displayed in the ever-popular third-person per¬
spective. Playing as Korben or Leeloo, you must do your
best to rid these areas of evil forces using several combat
weapons including rifles, handguns and big blasters, not
to mention your dukes.
It’s not clear how closely
follow the actual
line, but if it stays true
to past movie-inspired
games, it .-.ill shed all
semblance uf a plot and
leave you with an all-out
kill fest. Just use your
imagination and pretend
you’re Bruce Willis...
Savage,
flair,
% The Siant, Dean Malenko,
[Previews
Kj «"-:,'0.«top6r Piayers/eenre faSoss Rsisase
Capcom 1-2 1st Qtr.
Capcom Fighting 1998
f eis Address: www.capcom.com
Game Directory
• Rival Schools United
By Fate
• Last Blade
about this? Keep going to the
arcades! Our cash support in the
form of quarters will help make sure
that companies will be bringing
home the most (financially) popular
arcade hits The home translations
are almost always flawless, and they
manage to add options not available
in the original release
Coin-op companies don’t need to
worry about lost business since
arcades continue to stay one step
ahead of the consoles in
terms of technology. They
merely need to push the
76 y envelope of quality.
Mortal Kombat 4 has been in the
arcades for a few months now, and
we just heard from Midway it may
come home as early as March, with
home conversions of NFL Blitz and
Bio-Phreaks to follow. Some compa¬
nies take a little more time (Tekken
3), but for the most part, companies
are still feeding off the “arcade fren
zy” of a game when they announce
the console release.
IPLAYSTATION
Dies
MGM Interactive announced that
it will be publishingTomorrow Never
Dies. The game begins where the
movie leaves off by letting you play
through an original screen-written
story, while interacting with Bond-
inspired characters. The action of
the game is reminiscent of past
be meshed together with cinemas.
The finished product will have at
least five styles of play that include
skiing, driving and fighting level;
They will be playable through first-
and third-person views. TND’s
scheduled release is fall ’98.
Rival Schools United By Fate
Rival Schools United By Fate is Capcom’s lat¬
est 3-D fighting game. Due out the first quarter
of 1998, RSUBF is the first game to run on the
brand-new Capcom PS-1.5 arcade board. (It’s
basically an updated version of the original PS
arcade board used with Star Gladiator and
Street Fighter EX.)
The story of RSUBF goes as such: Near the
turn of the century, high school students are
being mysterious¬
ly kidnapped by
an unknown
force. Four high
schools have to
fight it out to
solve the mys¬
tery. The stu¬
dents must
oppose a pow¬
erful enemy
that even the
police can’t
The gameplay touch. And so they rise to the
in RS is as fast occasion to take matters into
and furious as their own hands,
any 2-D game. The gameplay in RSUBFis
a combination (so to
speak) of other popular
Capcom games. The Chain Combos, Supers and
Alpha counters (Tardy counters in this game)
are straight out of SFA and the Team attacks
reek of X-Men vs. SF. Players choose two char¬
acters from one of the four high schools, and
the characters can be
switched between
rounds. Some of the
characters range from
baseball and soccer
players to school teach¬
ers and a school girl
bearing an uncanny
resemblance to Sakura
from SFA2 and SFEX.
There are 14 selec¬
table characters and all
the character artwork
has been illustrated by
Bengis, Capcom’s top
staff artist. Look for
a PlayStation version
of RSUBF sometime in
the future. ^
Last Blade is SNK’s latest Neo*Geo offer¬
ing. The gameplay is similar to Samurai
Shodown with weapon-to-weapon combat
and projectile attacks. It’s so similar to
Samurai Shodown that fans
of the series should be
happy with this game until
SS4 hits the arcade scene.
Last Blade also features a
“Rage Meter” used for
stronger basic attacks and
Super attacks. Each charac¬
ter has six basic attacks
(short and long range)
which are accessed with the
first three buttons. The fourth button is used
for the “Shadow Block” (a form of counter
attack). There are 10 characters to choose
from and three Boss characters.
Super combos play a big part in Last
Blade. That’s a hell of a big bell.
Fans of fighting games with
projectile attacks will feel
right at home.
CHIPS&BITSinc. Also Available www.cdmag.coiTi/chips.html
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m.
VIDEO GAMES; SNES
l~ VIDEO GAMES: GENESIS I
winFn f^AME HINT BOOKS ~ I
Donkey Kong Ctry 3 NOW $14 Playstation Play Gde 2NOW $12
MK Mythologies NOW $10
Mort Korn 3 Pckt KodeNOW $ 6
MortKombtSPlayGdNOW $11
Nint 64 Pocket Gde 2 NOW $ 7
OddWorld Abes OddsyNOW $11
Super Mario Kart R NOW $10
Tekken 2 Official NOW $13
Tomb Raider NOW $10
Vandal Hearts Unauth NOW $12
WCW vs. the World NOW $14
DUMnu UAivitb
UHlVitS
KQ8:Mask of Eternity 01/99 $■
Battletech Starter
Dr Who Starter
‘DEATHTRAP DUNGEON' This ultimate dungeon thriller
is based on the fantasy gamebook series and offers 10
tortuous levels of combat. Armed with swords, mis¬
siles, muskets, magic spells and more, you can fight
solo or multi-player combat in an eerie dungeon atmos-
‘RESIDENT EVIL 2’ Join rookie-on-the-job Leon
Kennedy as he sprints through the chaos of streets
littered with debris. Pursued by zombies, he must make
it to the Raccoon City Police Headquarters. The head¬
quarters equals Resident Evil's mansion in size and
possesses the same creepy ambiance.
Capcom (Adventure)
Release Date: 1/98 PSX $52
'BREATH DF FIRE III' Immense environments allow
viewpoint rotation to reveal hidden pathways, items,
secrets and powerups. Find the secret of the Dragon
shrines or become an apprentice to learn magic and
special abilities
Capcom (Roleplaying)
ease Date: 1/98 PSX $44
‘POWER WHEEL' was designed to bring realism and
playability to the video game player. Provides smooth
four direction shitting. Brake and gas pedals provide a
realistic feel and are ergonomically designed to be used
either sitting or standing. Steering column can be
adjusted for correct height.
Game Source (Hardware)
Release Date: NOW PSX/SAT $52
‘LUNAR SILVER STAR' Join Alex as he begins a quest
to save Lunar from the Magic Emperor. Explore
dungeons and fight terrifying monsters as you advance
towaro me explosive comoat mat win keep you
‘MAGIC KNIGHT RAYEARTH' Three Japanese school¬
girls must save a Princess to restore peace to the land.
Breathtaking animation with over 90 minutes of audio.
When you talk to characters in the game, they reply!
Working Designs (Roleplaying)
Release Date: 2/98 SAT $52
‘MORTAL KOMBATiMYTHOLOGIES’ The Mortal
Kombat saga cohtihues with an all new storyline,
mies while exploring 8 new worlds. Real-time 3D light¬
ing, fully rendered 3D characters.
Midway (Adventure)
Release Date: NDW PSX $46, N64 $76
‘DIDDY KONG RACING ' While focusing on high-speed,
entertaining racing action, Diddy Kong Racing also
throws in the works by adding a large dose of adven¬
ture and exploration. Diddy Kong and seven other char¬
acters will race through a total of 20 beautiful 3-D
courses with rivers, waterfalls, tunnels, canyons, lava.
Release Date: NOW NG4 $54
‘WARHAMMER' Become a fearless commander- paint¬
ing and assembling mighty fantasy armies to do battle
on the tabletop. Warhammer provides you with the core
regiments of two armies, the valiant Bretonnians, and
Games Workshop (Board Game)
Release Date: NOW BG $65
‘MAGIC THE GATHERING 5TH EDITION' This deck
contains 60 tradable game cards, randomly assorted,
plus a rule book. Each player must have a deck. This
deck may be enhanced with more cards sold in
booster packs.
Wizards of the Coast (Card Game)
Release Date: NOW CG $7
'DEADLANDS' The year is 1876, but the history is not
our own. In this Weird West Roleplaying game, players
Scientists armed with weird, steampunk gizmos,
deadly Gunfighters, fearless Indian braves and wizened
Pinnacle Entertainment (Pen/Paper RPG)
Release Date; NOW RPG $22
object to change
ngand handling
vhKiaOOoTtt
INTRODUCING THE FIRST GAME YOU CAN PLAY WITH THIS JOYSTICK.
BETTER GRAB YOUR LIGHTSABER JEDl KNIGHT":
r>ARK EORCES® 11 CONERONTS YOU WITH THE |
JOYS OF JEDI KNIGHTHOOD. INTER-GALACTIC I
ASSASSINS ABOUND ON SINGLE AND MULTI-PLAYER 3-D j
LEVELS, EACH WITH THE SINGULAR INTENT OF PUTTING
YOUR SKULL ON A STICK. AND THERE'S NO JOY IN THAT.
WARS’--. .
... — OMSK raecH;
.Lucasarts
One of the hottest
games for the PC is
finally making it to the
PlayStation. Look for a
full preview of this com¬
pelling dungeon game in
Psygnosis has been
known for their
eye-popping visuals.
Hopefully, they can
bring their technical
skill to their new 3-D
platformer, Rascal.
ing
knnw
soon
Compiled by: John Stockhausen
NINTENDO 64
Yoshi’s Story is one of
the most-anticipated
platform games. Does
its 2-D gameplay live
up to expectations?
From the creator of
NiGHTS comes Burning
Rangers. This new Saturn
game places you in
the role of a fancy,
futuristic firefighter.
SATURN
Dead OF Alive : ' leemo feb, Figtttmg.
Panzer Saga Sega March Act/Adventure
House of the Dead Sega April Shooter
Reversals
SPORTS SERIES
to the school.
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Illustration by Jerry Blank
D im lights. Rows of Defender and Joust machines.
Greasy Galaga gurus in concert T-shirts. A jangled
jingle of Pac-Man waka-waka and Centipede
thump-thump-thump. Given the average age of an
EGM reader, all that’s the stuff of arcades back
when you first caught your fingers in Missile
Command’s trackball, back in early ’80s suburban
game-room land.
Then you grew up. And so did the arcades. They
grew in size, from cramped mall niches to today’s
arena-size “Family Entertainment Centers,” as the
industry calls them. They grew in content, with Final
Fight sharing floor space with ticket-spitting Skee-Ball and Wack-
a-Mole, as well as virtual-reality gizmos, massive ride games and
bumper cars. And although the $7-billion-a-year coin-op industry
has remained stagnant since the late ’80s, we’re seeing a boom in
bigger, flashier, more expensive arcades. We’re seeing 30,000-
square-foot location-based entertainment (LBE) centers—anoth¬
er industry tag-pop up across the country, including Sega and
Steven Spielberg’s GameWorks centers and the immensely suc¬
cessful Dave & Buster’s chain of arcades for adults.
Meanwhile the smaller, independent game rooms struggle
to survive.
What gives? Where are all the dark, no-nonsense arcades
of our junior high hangout heydays? Why does every game
room pack Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter right alongside
Skee-Ball, plush prizes and other seemingly opposite entertain¬
ment experiences? And are these huge LBE centers inevitable in
at the Evolution of Arcades
the continuing evolution of arcades?
The answers lie in the ups and downs of the industry. They lie
in the way arcade operators try to lure in mom, dad and little sis—
the typical teenage male—over the years. They lie in the
arcadegoers seemingly yearn for a one-stop spot for all their
eating and even shopping and movie-watching needs,
to get a bird’s-eye view of the entire process, you have to go
back-way back—to the very, very beginning.
Four Score and 10 Years Ago...
Before Pong, before pinball, before the suburbs and malls and
there was that one breakthrough sensation that
coin-op industry, and it came way back in the 1880s
first coin-operated machine that took the world by storn
vas called Nickel-in-the-Slot,” said Marcus Webb, editoi
of RePlay magazine, the coin-op industry’s main trade publi
;ation. “It was a variation on the Edison Dictaphone, and i1
was the forerunner of today’s jukebox.” These bulky
machines played prerecorded songs and speeches
that were stored on interchangeable tubes (the entire
recording industry as we know it today was created tc
support the Nickel-in-the-Slot phenomenon). Although
hardly hi-fi, Nickel-in-the-Slot created such a stir that lis
parlors began sprouting across the country, in cities
resort areas and amusement parks. These were the grand
daddies of the modern arcades, and the newborn coin-of
industry boomed.
in 1906 came the Victrola phonograph, a $7 machine
delivered the same experience in your living roon
Nickel-in-the-Slot. Suddenly it was like fast forwarding
years into the future, when the Nintendo EntertainmenI
System offered gamers a cheap way to bring home pixel-perfect
translations of arcade games. “The Victrola killed the Nickel-in
Miyamoto to the Rescue
Nintendo’s mega-hit Donkey Kong
was actually built atop a spectacular
failure—the game Radarscope, which
Nintendo brought to the U.S. in 1980.
it was a dud. So, to salvage the huge
inventory of Radarscope machines
gathering dust in a New Jersey ware¬
house, Nintendo charged a young staff
artist named Shigeru Miyamoto with
designing a game that could run on the
Radarscope hardware.
His creation was Donkey Kong, which
became Nintendo’s first blockbuster. Yet
it wasn’t until 1982’s Donkey Kong Jr. that
the game’s plumber star was named
Mario, in honor of the leasing manager
of Nintendo’s warehouse.
the-Slot business,” Webb said, “and so all these guys
who had these locations ran out and got all kinds of
novelty machines to fill up the place and keep attract¬
ing people, and that’s where the original Penny
Arcades came from.” These gadgets-mostly fortune
tellers, peep-show viewers, love testers and crane
machines-are familiar even today, and they were so
popular they spread out of the inner-city arcades and
resorts into bars, tobacco shops and grocery stores.
They were also the first in a series of “Next Big
Things” that kept the industry afloat through a series
of broadside bashes. Pin games, pinball’s flipperless
precursor, drew a steady stream of down-and-out cus¬
tomers during 1930s Depression-era America.
Pioneering companies such as Gottlieb and Bally pro¬
duced most of these simple machines, just as pioneer¬
ing arcades such as Playland and Sportsland began
popping up in major cities. Besides pin games, these
arcades featured Skee-Ball, claw games and other
novelty machines, yet they were geared more toward adults,
while children were sent to play in the amusement parks.
But while the industry made it through the Depression
unscathed, the 1940s were another story. Across the nation, city
councilman and county commissioners—eager to combat the
alleged evils of slot machines and other games of chance—began
banning all coin-op amusements. “Suddenly many arcades closed
their doors,” said Roger Sharpe, who has been involved in the
industry for more than two decades and is now Williams’ director
of marketing. “Some remained with just
Skee-Ball types of entertainment and
Girl Power
Atari’s Centipede was the first
arcade game to attract more women
than men. So maybe it’s no small coin¬
cidence that it was also the first arcade
game designed by a woman—Dona
Bailey, who created the insect-blasting
masterpiece with Ed Logg.
fortune tellers and the like.”
But arcade owners had little time to worry about the ill effects
of city ordinances. America’s need for World War II war machines
delivered what at the time seemed the coin-op industry’s _
death blow. “The majority of manufacturers during the
war wound up changing over their production lines
from games to building war materials, bomb sites /
and the like,” Sharpe said. By the mid-’4os, coin- / /
op-machine manufacturing was nonexistent,
and arcades nationwide closed their doors as /1
business nosedived to an all-time low. i i ^ % •' 1
After WWII and the Korean War ended, the ’
few companies stilt able to manufacture coin-op \ \
games, as well as the few surviving arcades-
the Playlands, amusement parks and resort game
rooms—were rewarded with another innovation
that jumpstarted the dying industry: the pinball flip¬
per, which brought about pinball as we know it today.
Through the ’50s and ’60s, pinball became the most important
machine in coin-op, with new arcades opening across the country
to ride this new tide of success. But even more monumental was
something that had been brewing since the close of WWII, when
babies began booming and families started craving more space
than cramped cities could provide. The history teachers call it
suburban sprawl, and with it came the retail fortresses that
defined suburbia.
“Suddenly you have the phenomenon of the shopping mall,”
Sharpe said, “and by the early and mid-1970s, what the shopping
mall became was the place to go not only to shop but also for
entertainment. Most malls built movie theaters. Many started to
increase and improve their food services, so you wound up with
the phenomenon of food courts.” The bright idea of sticking
arcades in malls, of wedging them between the multiplex and the
Bad Dreams, Man
When Dave Theurer, the creator of
Missile Command, set out to design
Tempest (originally called Vortex), he
wanted it to be a first-person take
on the Space Invaders formula.
But no one at Atari seemed
. \ keen on the prototype
\' game he’d come up with,
■f'. . y , After struggling with
y, some other concepts,
1 j Theurer was unsure of
I I his project’s future.
Then he received a
// creative boost from an
unlikely source—a night-
' mare. In it, creatures were
clawing up at him from a tun¬
nel in the earth, and as hard as he
tried he couldn’t defend against them.
The next day, he went into the lab and
soon had a similar scene playing out on
the game screen. His nightmare had
become Tempest, considered by many
as one of the greatest arcade games of
indoor McDonald’s, seemed a no-brainer. Sure enough, arcades
migrated into the malls’ climate-controlled interiors at the begin¬
ning of the ’70s.
Pinball was still the primary draw, but other, more sophisticat¬
ed machines such as shooting galleries, bowling games, air hock¬
ey and elaborate electromechanical devices that had players con¬
trolling model planes or driving race cars also snatched quarters.
The game rooms were so successful that arcade chains began
their mall-to-mall expansion, with the Time Out centers starting in
New York, Bally’s Aladdin’s Castle spreading through the Midwest
and Sega’s Kingdom of Oz opening on the West Coast.
And then, in 1972, a strange-looking coin-op called Pong-
developed by a newly formed company named Atari—began
raking in quarters at a Sunnyvale, Calif, bar.
The Golden Age...
Pong wasn’t the first coin-operated video game (that honor
goes to Computer Space), but it was the first whose popularity
went supernova. Video games joined the pin game and the pinball
flipper as the Next Big Thing in the coin-op industry. “Here was
this introduction of a totally different technology that never exist¬
ed before,” Sharpe said, “it brought a whole new generation of
people curious to see how they could interact with the TV screen.”
Pong’s stellar success was followed by hit after arcade hit.
Taito’s Space Invaders. Atari’s Asteroids. Namco’s Pac-Man.
Williams’ Defender. Nintendo’s Donkey Kong. Sega’s Frogger.
“There was a lot of innovation at that time, and games were sim-
ause of the technology,” said Nolan Bushnell,
games v
a broad walk of life, because there wasn’t any
built-in learning curve.”
Bushnell banked on this all-inclusive
nature of video games in 1978, when he pur¬
chased the Pizza Time Theater franchise
(after selling Atari to Warner
Communications). With its mix of animatronic
animals, greasy pizza, birthday parties, Skee-
Ball, plush prizes and video games, this new
breed of arcade broke the mold of the dark¬
ened mall game room. Bushnell’s franchise
was an immediate hit that soon grew to near¬
ly 300 locations.
Although Pizza Time Theater (later renamed Chuck E. Cheese’s)
spawned several clones, most of the arcade industry wasn’t ready
to copy the chain’s conventions yet. Everyone was doing just fine
as they were. By 1981, arcades had sprung up in just about every
mall, many with rows of the same game. They were making
money, lots of it, more than the coin-op industry had ever seen.
The arcades earned $5 billion in revenues in ’81, while the coln-op
industry as a whole brought in $7.25 billion. It was bigger
than the movie and record industry combined, and it was way
bigger than the $1 billion-a-year coin-op market of only a half¬
decade before.
Then the whole thing went to hell.
Invasion of the
Coin-Abducting Aliens
Taito’s Space Invaders became an instant
hit In japan, where the game was so popular
that soon after its release, the Japanese
treasury department was hit with a mysteri¬
ous shortage of 100-yen coins. Turns out
the coins were
lllliiiiiiiippiPB^^ all inside Space
invaders machines.
The dim, teen-infested interiors of early-’80s
arcades were the stuff parents loved to loathe
{just as they feared letting little Johnny into
the seedy pinball parlors of the ’50s). But with
business booming, game rooms in 1981 saw no
reason to change.
Not exactly Mortal Kombat, early
arcade machines were a biiarre lot of
strength testers, fortune tellers and
other gizmos that delivered novel
thrills for about a penny a pop.
Crash Course...
Something bad happened to arcades in 1982: People stopped
going. In one year, the coin-op industry’s revenues shrank by $3
billion. Suddenly, there were too many game rooms, not enough
gamers. “By ’82, the shooting match is over,” said Steve Kent,
Bristol., England -- As Conal Wilmot
NEXT TO ME IN THE LOO. BUT THEN, I TURN MY HEAD
AND SHE’S GONE.” CONAL’S MOM THINKS HE’S “PLAIN BARKING
LTOmB]
Inset photo (above): Without warning,
teo time becomes TRI time.
eiDOS
author of Electronic Nation, a forthcoming book on the industry’s
history. “The big arcades and the tiny ones were the first to go.
The big guys disappeared because people just weren’t interested
in going to arcades. And then the spillover, the folks who didn’t go
to the big arcades would go to the smaller ones, and that was
enough to keep them in business for another six months.”
Over the next two years, the coin-op industry continued to slide
into oblivion. Even Bushnell’s Chuck E. Cheese’s chain went bust
in 1985, when it was purchased by ShowBiz Pizza Time. So why
did all the self-proclaimed “Vidiots” who lined up for Pac-Wlan,
Asteroids and Defender a few years before suddenly give game
rooms the cold shoulder? Some industry observers think the coin¬
op video game was simply a fad that had run its course. Others
say the arcade’s early-’8os downfall was tied to the equally dis¬
astrous crash of the home console industry.
“The nail in the coffin was the public’s perception that video
games were over, and that was all due to the crash of the home
market,” said Keith Feinstein, president of the video game muse¬
um Videotopia. “There was all this news coverage of Atari col¬
lapsing in on itself, and Warner reporting huge losses. Then along
comes the Cabbage Patch Doll. That’s the big Christmas gift and
the next big story, and that translated into people saying all video
games are done.”
Arcade operators once again began the quest for the Next Big
Thing to lure back their
shrinking audience. _
Laser disc games pro- |||||||||||||||||||||^^ . -fjmSMjdy
a resur-
gence in 1983, thanks
to the success Don
Bluth’s animated dun- 3 k
geon romp Dragon’s ,
Lair. But it wasn’t k. ,
enough-especially j| ^
when the Nintendo r
Entertainment System
debuted in 1985 and
brought true-to-the-
arcade games home.
Game rooms had to
reinvent themselves,
or die. “There was an actual summit meeting of some leading
industry figures in San Antonio,” Sharpe explained. “They coined
the phrase Family Entertainment Center, making sure the word
family was in there so it would be easier to sell. But more impor¬
tantly, they promoted the idea that the classic county-fair skill
game, the shooting games, Skee-Ball, etc., were updated elec¬
tronically and brought into arcades. They were called redemption
games, and you added the element of winning tickets and
redeeming them for prizes.”
And so even the mail arcades began adopting Chuck E.
Cheese’s family-friendly tactics, bringing in cheap toy prizes,
Skee-Ball and other ticket games, as well as a younger audience.
Many even began hosting birthday parties in their cramped inte¬
riors. The game rooms put on their happy faces. They brightened
up and became more kiddie friendly, leaving fewer and fewer
teens to pick game rooms as their after-school hangouts of
choice. And although no redemption machine ever brought in the
$900-per-week profits of a hit arcade game, they did earn a
steady flow of tokens that kept arcades going through the lean
years of the middle and late ’80s.
The game room goldrush of 1981 would never return. But the
industry would see another spike in business soon enough, when
The Iron Competition
when Bally/Midway designed
Tron, it arranged a competition
between groups of its own designers
to see who could come up with the
best concept for the game. One
design team planned a complex first-
person veaor-graphics game to mir¬
ror the environments of the film. A
second group opted to use estab¬
lished Midway technology to play a
collection of five minigames, which
the movie.
in the end, the management went
with the concept based on tried-and-
true technology, since it had the best
chance of being completed by the
deadline. Incidentally, the fifth
minigame had to be dropped from
this design due to time and techno¬
logical constraints, but it was reborn
later with better hardware as the
game’s sequel. Discs of Tron.
Arcades wanted to be more than just
game rooms in the mid-’80s. So in
came the fast food, the birthday
parties and a broader audience. Family
entertainment centers were born.
The Asteroids
"Lurker"
in 1991 two Dragon Punching dudes named Ken
and Ryu opened another chapter in arcade histo¬
ry—and some say nearly closed the book.
The Curse of Street Fighter II...
To hear Atari Games Game Director James
Goddard tell it, the arcade scene was mighty
lame in the early 1990s. Of course, we all know
that; we were there, dropping tokens into Final
Fight, N.A.R.C., WWF Superstars and not much
else. Then Capcom released a sequel to its 1987
game Street Fighter. “Here comes Street
Fighter ii, and all of a sudden there’s four
people around it,” Goddard said, “and this
game opened up a sports-club mentality in
arcades with its head-to-head competition.
it had the whole macho thing going. Next
thing you know, there’s six people around it.
Then there’s eight people. Then there’s two
machines. Then there’s 16 people playing it on a Wednesday
night. Then there are three machines.”
Goddard should know his Street Fighter history. He worked for
Capcom between 1991 and ’93 as co-designer and U.S. producer
of the Champion Edition and Hyper Fighting upgrades. He also
created the character Dee Jay in Super SFII (not coincidentally,
Goddard’s nickname is Djames).
“All of a sudden, the arcade operator is looking at a
machine that cost $1,600 that can earn $300 to $900 a week
for eight months,” Goddard said. “A $200 upgrade comes
out and he can get another eight (
Deep Dish Pac-Man
During the heyday of the arcade
shoot-’em-up (Space Invaders, Asteroids,
Missile Command, etc.), a young game
designer at Namco
,, named Moru iwatani
decided to create
a game
appealing to women as
well as men. He settled on«
maze-type game with
enemies that were
fashioned after
. mop-heads. But
when it came time
to design the game’s
Over dinner one night, Iwatani gazed
at a pizza with a single slice removed, and
suddenly he had the idea for his main
character-a simple yellow circle with a
slice missing. Pac-Man was born, and it
went on to become one of the most suc¬
cessful arcade games of all time.
r
rsM m:
A favorite high-scoring technique
for Atari's 1979 arcade blockbuster
Asteroids was to eliminate all but
one small space rock, then sit and
wait for the UFOs, picking them off
one by one. This technique was
called "lurking.” and adept lurkers
could tie up a machine for hours on
a single quarter.
When Atari released Asteroids
Deluxe in 1981, it was suddenly open
season for lurkers. The designers
improved the UFOs' aim, as well
as unleashed hexagonal pods, which
drifted about and fragmented
into smaller ships when shot. These
little guys would then hunt the
players spaceship.
nine months. That’s huge. People are buying houses off the kind
of money they’re making from those machines.” It’s not surprising
then that arcade owners wanted more of this newest Next Big
Thing, and Capcom was only happy to oblige with upgrades
(released in part to combat the illegal “Rainbow Edition”
upgrades that less-scrupulous arcade operators Jacked into their
SFII machines).
Meanwhile, Midway’s Mortal Kombat put its own bloody spin
on the SFII formula, and it, too, was a hit. “Suddenly, there are
two camps of fanatics for two series, both fighting games, that are
earning outrageous amounts of money,” Goddard said. “Now the
arcade operator is going, ‘Wow, I gotta have more fighting
games!’ At that point at Capcom there was this mentality of, ‘Well,
heck, let’s just pimp the series!’ That’s when we asked, ‘Is this
right? Wilt this be a problem?’ And sure enough, it was a problem
for Capcom.”
In 1992, Super SFi! hit an arcade scene clogged with fighting
game clones, as well as gamers who were loyal to one series or
another, but not eager to pump tokens into every new game that
came along. Super SFII was a dud compared to its predecessors,
and arcade operators began scrambling For the next winning
fighting-game variation. They found it in Virtue Fighter and Killer
instinct and Tekken, but none of these could bring back the 16-
person-to-a-machine crowds of 1991. Those days, just like the big
money boom of a decade before, were over.
So just as SFI!, for a brief time, recharged the industry, it also
bred a shrinking audience, a core of die-hard gamers who are so
lethal at the art of video game hand-to-hand combat that no new¬
bies would dare challenge them. “! like to say that Mortal Kombat
ill was only fun if you had a Ph.D. in Mortal Kombat,” Bushnell
said of the fighting genre’s ill effects. “What this does is it tends
to narrow the market. People who go into the arcades, a lot of the
games developed today are for them specifically, not for Joe
Jobs' First Job
Atari's Breakout,
the ultimate evolu¬
tion of the Pong'i
style arcade game,
was designed by a
young Atari employ¬
ee named Steve
Jobs, who would
often call on his
friend Steve
Wozniak to lend a
hand with technical problems or Just come
down to the lab to play games. During
Breakout’s design process, Jobs and
Wozniak began cooking up the idea of ere-
ating a personal computer. The two even
went to Nolan Bushnell with the idea, but
Atari was experiencing “growing pains,”
and Bushnell didn't think it wise to risk
branching into another business.
Jobs and Wozniak built a prototype
computer with parts “borrowed” from the
Breakout project. The computer was called
the Apple 1, and its successors went on to
become the most influential personal
computers in history in fact, there is
rarely a video game made today that has¬
n’t felt that influence, either in the design
of the game and its artwork or in the
make-up of its hardware.
Sixpack and not for the guy on the street.”
Of course, other genres—namely driving and shooting—have
grown in popularity to make up for the wane of the fighting game
(note the coin-op blockbusters Cruis’n USA and Daytona USA).
Still, profits from video game coin-ops have remained stagnant-
and, in some cases, declined. “Wiliiams announced an i8 percent
loss in its arcade and pinball division over last year,” said ian
Berman, an industry anaiyst with Frost and Berman, “while
Konami announced a lo percent loss in its arcade division.
Everybody’s complaining in the last 12 months how much the
industry has dropped in the number of quarters being spent and
in sales of equipment.”
Meanwhile, the home console market is expected to show a
more than 40 percent jump in revenues this year over ’96. Such a
boom only makes sense, considering that the Saturn,
PlayStation and Nintendo 64 are pumping out arcade-qual¬
ity games at home, it’s like 1985 all over again, when the
NES debuted and made iife even more difficult for the
already beleaguered arcade operator. Once again, game
rooms must evoive. “They have to come up with ways to
prove that you get something from going to arcades that
you wouidn’t get from staying home,” Kent said, “it can be
done. That’s what Namco did best when they came out with
Alpine Racer. All of a sudden you saw this game and said,
‘Wow, this is something i could never do at home.’ Unless
of course you’re Steven Spielberg.”
Thinking Big...
And if you’re Spieiberg, you build the prototype for the
next generation of arcades. Spielberg’s GameWorks—a
mm
■■4
Part night club, part game room, the
Sega GameWorks centers try to offer
something for everybody. Check next
month for an on-location report.
Editor’s Note: Special
thanks to Keith Feinstein for
providing many of this feature’s
pictures and info on the games
themselves. Feinstein is the
president of Videotopia, a trav¬
eling exhibit on video game
history that showcases more
joint venture of DreamWorks
SKG, Sega and Universal
Studios—typifies these 30,000-
square-foot arcades for aduits. in theory, the LBE centers offer
everything: a club atmosphere, VR-type games and the newest
arcade hits—including linked Super GTs and Lost World—that
smaller arcades just can’t afford (some machines cost upward of
S2o,ooo apiece). Most LBEs are within walking distance of movie
theaters and shopping centers, the idea being that guests need
never trek elsewhere for their weekly dose of entertainment. And
with the notoriety of GameWorks and the success of the 12-loca¬
tion Dave 8 l Buster’s arcade chain, other big piayers—including
Sony, Disney and Namco—are lining up to play the LBE game.
But are these mega arcades living up to their hype? And how
can the smaller game rooms survive when faced with super-
expensive arcade hardware designed for the big boys? That’s for
the second half of this feature, which you can catch next month,
when we scout out the LBE centers for an on-location report, as
well as look at the options of the small arcades (which are recent¬
ly finding unlikely allies in the PC industry).
Big doings are most certainly ahead for arcades. And to hear
some industry observers speak, it’s as if the coin-op scene is mor¬
phing once again, just as it did when the Victrola killed the listen¬
ing parlor and Nolan Bushnell’s Pong transformed the pinball par¬
lor into today’s video arcade, “i think that computer-driven social
experiences were fairly limited up until recently, and those were
called video arcade games,” said Carl Goodman, curator of the
Digital Media exhibit at the American Museum of the Moving
image in Austoria, N.Y. “Now with these LBE centers, you have
many more computer-driven social experiences that take what
was going on with arcade games many steps further. We’re only at
the beginning of these sorts of experiences, and i just don’t think
we’re going to cali them arcade games, and we’re not going to call
the places in which they are piayed arcades.” @
Southern California’s Sunnyvale Golfland
offers miniature golf to draw in more
customers. But since this famous arcade
is the prime testing site for new games
from Capcom, Namco, SNK and others, it
hardly needs the extra help.
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MMITEb EDITION
NAGANO
Ytjur Country Needs You.
W hile the Internet has become a popular
conduit for multiplayer PC games, there’s
no substitute for being able to sit around
the television set and play games in your
living room with a bunch of friends. This
“social” gaming Is one of the biggest strengths of con¬
sole systems and responsible for their popularity today.
Nowadays, just about every game has a Multiplayer
Mode of some sort, but only a few are really designed
with multiplayer action in mind. Great multiplayer titles
incorporate gameplay elements that keep them fresh
and replayable. They also usually support more than
two players, although there are the outstanding excep¬
tions. Think about some of the great multiplayer games
that continue to captivate their players sequel after
sequel: Bomberman, Street Fighter, Madden and NBA
Live. All possess that special element that keeps
gamers coming back for more—even if the sequels
aren’t much different from the ones before it.
^ Multiplayer games are such a large part of our
gaming diet that we decided to list
10 of the best ones that really
' that won’t
get stale, and for the most
part, more than two players
can get in on the action
” once. Some of
Xk these games are
, a , so skewed toward
//V y i competitive game-
yN. , play that they really
V . ' aren’t even much
fun to play by yourself.
\;y . So gather your multitaps,
extra controllers and plug
■ vour console Into a large TV.
These are the lo best multiplayer
games you can find on the next-
generation systems.
10. International H
SuperStar Soccer 64 v
(Ninttndo 64| ^
The Game:
Oh, it’s only the best soccer game ever—
number 24 on EGM’s Top 100 List, for those
keeping score at home.
Why You Shouldn’t Play It Alone:
Soccer games are much more exciting in
multiplayer because great goals demand great
teamwork. There’s no better play than when
your teammate passes you the ball, and you
finish the job with a sweet goal.
How We Like To Play:
ISS 64 doesn’t have many modes of play, and
frankly, just using all four of the N64 controller
ports is good enough.
Best Excuse For Giving Up a Goal:
Shoddy goalie A.I. it’s never your fault—it’s
the poor goalie’s. They make great scapegoats
for sore losers.
by Kraig Kujawa
The future of multiplayer gaming—
and we’re talking beyond when Diablo
hits the PlayStation—is becoming
more clear as console manufacturers
start to provide some clues into what
we’ll be playing in years to come. One
common denominator that we know
about each new console system is that
they will most likely embrace multi¬
player gaming over the Internet.
Sega’s new system is embracing PC
architecture and, probably, its connec¬
tivity. Nintendo’s forthcoming 64DD
has
been confirmed to have a modem,
and what little has leaked about
Sony’s PlayStation 2 suggests that
they plan on taking a similar route.
While any further speculation on the
future consoles is just that, it is safe to
surmise that companies know that
multiplayer gaming over phone lines
will be a “killer app.” Presumably,
they intend on exploiting it in the next,
next generation of gaming consoles.
How We Like To Play:
Having a lot of different teams can really
encourage backstabbing. The player with
the most remaining worms at the end of the
game usually winds up with everyone else
teaming against him—at least until his
troops are worn down to their level.
Did You Know?;
Sony tried to stop the release of Worms
because it was 2-D. Back when the
PlayStation was still young, Sony was
adamant that games on their system looked
“next-generation,” which to them meant
3-D. Thankfully, Worms finally crawled onto
the PlayStation.
8. Twisted Metal 2
(PlayStation]
The Game:
lust about everyone loved wrecking their Hot
Wheels when they were a kid, and Twisted
Metal 2 allows you to revisit and indulge
those childish urges in this wonderful, car¬
nage-filled sequel.
How We Like To Play:
Cruisin’ around Paris and destroying the
Eiffel Tower is good multiplayer fun. Even
better, when it falls, it forms a bridge. That
way, destroying the Eiffel Tower doesn’t
make you look like such a bad guy. The only
other level nearly as entertaining is Hong
Kong, complete with subways.
Cheap Way To Play:
Use the car Spectre. Keep away from your
opponent and pepper him with the homing
missiles that go through walls. That’s really
annoying—and deadly.
7. Street Fighter
Collection
(PlayStation/Satum)
The Game:
Super Street Fighter II, Super Street Fighter
II Turbo, Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold—three
great 2-D fighting games, one inexpensive
compilation that will satisfy any fighting
game fan.
9. Worms
(PlayStation/Saturn)
The Next Step
in Multiplayer
Gaming
The Game;
Worms is one of the most underrated multi¬
player games, but it has a strong cult follow¬
ing. You control a well-armed team of worms
who position themselves along a large, 2-D
landscape. Killing the other team involves
strategy and understanding the subtleties of
your weapon’s physics, not twitch gameplay.
Why You Shouldn’t Play It Alone:
Worms is a perfect example of an average
one-player game that also delivers an excel¬
lent multiplayer contest. The game is much
more interesting when you outwit your
buddy by skillfully bouncing a grenade in his
worm’s cubbyhole and blow him to bits.
Why You Shouldn’t Play It Alone:
When you play the Single-player Mode, it’s a
lot of dumb vehicles versus you. The action
is much more intense in a one-on-one battle
where your combatant is smarter than the
computer (he/she is smarter, right?).
Why You Shouldn’t Play It Alone:
One-on-one fighting games capture the true
competitive spirit in all gamers. Nothing is
more satisfying than mercilessly beating
your friends into a bloody pulp...In a Street
Fighter game, that is.
How We Like To Play:
EGM Street Fighter rules are simple: handi¬
caps off, the winner can continue playing
and don’t reconfigure the buttons. Cheese
wins, ticks (throwing someone when they’re
blocking) and tap-throws are grounds for a
real-life beating by the staff. Heck, we just
look for excuses to give staff members a
real-life thrashing.
Why Didn’t Capcom...:
...include the original Street Fighter II? Or
Championship Edition? Or our office favorite.
Hyper Fighting? The compilation, although
excellent, doesn’t feel complete.
6 . Point Blank
(PlayStation)
The Game:
Broken
Links
Point Blank is a simple and colorful potpour¬
ri of dozens of light-gun minigames.
Why You Shouldn’t Play It Alone:
If you have two Guncons, a few friends and
Point Blank, then you have a party. All types
of gamers love Point Blank: young or old,
male or female. Two can play at one time,
both competitively (trying to outscore each
other) and cooperatively (trying to reach a
common goal). Even eight people can com¬
pete on two teams of four. With the variety
Point Blank offers In gameplay, you can’t
help-but have fun.
How We Like To Play:
For some reason, Crispin and Shoe invented
the “Quick Draw” technique to keep
them entertained between Point Blank
minIgames. When It comes time to pick the
next level, the two players must draw and
shoot at their desired stage. This way, the
faster hand gets to pick the next minigame.
But That Sounds Kinda Lame...:
It is, but the game itself isn’t. Don’t forget,
Crispin and Shoe are easily entertained (and
they invented this idea over a couple of
brewskis at Dave & Buster’s).
S. Madden NFL 98
tPliyStation)
The Game:
Hardware advances in multiplayer
gaming haven’t tome easily. Sony
created the inexpensive Link Cable,
but third-party support for it waned.
Companies thought it was too unreal¬
istic to expect gamers to bring two
television sets, PlayStations and
copies of the same game in a room to
play. For the most part, they are right.
Too bad, because Link Cable games
are a blast.
Sega took the most risky and ambi¬
tious route with the NetLink. The idea
was sound, but unfortunately there
simply weren't enough Saturns sold to
boost sales of this Internet device.
Although software support is decent,
killer multiplayer games such as
Quake don't support the troubled Link.
This is by far the most realistic football game
on the market. It also happens to have the
widest variety of Play Modes and Multiplayer
Options found in a football game.
Why You Shouldn’t Play It Alone:
While Madden’s Al may be really good,
nothing substitutes for the chess game that
ensues between two veteran human players.
Coming through in pressure situations, mak¬
ing big plays and doing awesome jukes is
what multiplayer Madden is all about. And
don’t forget the art of taunting and talking
smack during the game.
How We Like To Play:
A few weeks ago, we had a Madden tourna¬
ment where we drafted our own teams then
battled it out. It was great fun, and led to a
lot of broken joypads and bruised egos.
Also, playing two teams of two players is
interesting because it really changes the
way the game is played. The biggest chal¬
lenge is getting both players on the team on
the same page when it comes to playcalling.
It gets so serious that sometimes you make
signals to your teammate when you’re call¬
ing a play so he knows what you’re running.
Biggest Upsets In Our Madden Tournament:
Upsets happen, and as they say, “That’s why
they play the games.” John Ricdardi
PlayStation
How We Like To Play;
Playing two teams of about three people
each works really well. If it goes any higher,
offenses get a little too unorganized and ille¬
gal. Finding six people to play isn’t too hard
a task, because rookies tend to learn the
basics of Live quite quickly. If things get
hairy, just turn down the fouls and realism.
We’re actually just starting to gear up for our
NBA Live tournament, which will probably
happen after the holidays. If you want to
make a really in-depth tournament, you can
undergo the time-consuming task of putting
together teams with all-time great players
(with the player creation feature). Then, you
can save them to a memory card and use
these custom players in a tournament.
Overlooked Part Of This Game:
The 3-Point Shootout taken from the NBA
All-Star game is a really good but underrated
part of Live 98. It’s also easy for casual
gamers to pick up and be competitive at.
Party Games
There are multiplayer games, and
then there are party games. Of course,
party games are multiplayer games,
but they generally consist of games
that are easy to play. This Insures
that no one Is left out of the action.
For example, you might not want to
play Twisted; The Game Show with
your college buddies, but such a
game might go down better in a
party-llke atmosphere. Here'S some
other party faves:
Jeopardy! (N64)
Monopoly (PlayStation)
PaRappa the Rapper (PlayStation)
Twisted: The Game Show (3DO)
Wheel of Fortune (N64)
notched his first win
against art monkey
Mike Stassus in the
' critical elimination
round. Editor in chief joe Funk, favored
early to make it to the finals, bowed out in
the first round due to a cheap call.
4. NBA Live 98
(PlayStation)
The Game:
This is the best PlayStation basketball game,
by far. Live combines realistic hoops with
intuitive control and fun gameplay.
Why You Shouldn’t Play It Alone:
However good Live is, the computer oppo¬
nent is just too easy to beat to a pulp (even
on the hardest difficulty setting). Thus, to
get some good competition, you really need
to turn to humanoid help.
3. Mario Kart 64
(Nintendlo 64)
The Game:
Take a few of the most popular Mario char¬
acters, throw them in a bunch of souped-up
go-karts and you have a totally unrealistic,
yet awesome racing game.
Why You Shouldn’t Play It Alone:
There’s nothing like playing Mario Kart 64
with four players at a time (well, OK, Diddy
Kong Racing is something like it, but we pre¬
fer Mario Kart 64 for multiplayer games).
Racing is fun and frantic; very few games out
there let you shrink, shoot or squish your
friends on the race track. You can also
forego the racing factor and simply battle it
out with three friends, head-to-head-to-
head-to-head. Last kart standing wins.
How We Like To Play;
Cheap with no-holds-barred. No EGM editor
feels an ounce of guilt releasing the light¬
ning bolt at the perfect moment to screw up
another racer’s well-timed jump. Did that
cheap little nudge knock you off a cliff?
Heh...tough luck, sonny. You can also be
really crafty and hang around second or
third place until the last lap. This way, you
can get the better power-up and speed past
the leaders who get the crappy green shells
because they’re in first.
Why Mario Kart 64 Beat Diddy Kong Racing;
It was a close call, but Diddy Kong Racing
wins in the one-player department, and
Mario Kart 64 wins in the multiplayer
department (some even like the Super NES
Mario Kart more). Why? Kart 64 is simply
more exciting. The levels and power-ups
were designed to keep races close and hec¬
tic (see above strategy). Everyone is always
close to the action, and almost always, it’s
anybody’s game.
2. GoldenEye 007
(Nintendo 64)
The Game;
As you’ve probably heard, this 3-D first-
person game is one of the few that does
its movie license justice.
Why You Shouldn’t Play It Alone:
GoldenEye is the first and best four-player
Doom-type game on a console system,
period. The multiplayer competition in this
game is as groundbreaking as it is intense.
Endless hours of fun cart be had with all of
the different modes, some of which are
unlocked by progressing through the game’s
One-player Mode. There’s nothing better
than filling your favorite Bond movie charac¬
ter up with lead—especially that short guy
named “Oddjob.”
How We Like To Play:
There are a few modes we prefer, although
we love ’em all. Try playing two-on-two
teams with the Golden Gun. That’s about as
intense as it gets. One shot, and you’re
dead. And it feels oh-so-good to get those
one-shot kills. It’s also amusing to see every¬
one running around the level like mad trying
to find Golden Guns so that they have a
fighting chance. If you’re wondering about
which weapons to use, keep in mind that
Rocket Launchers and Grenade Launchers
are nice, but using Power Weapons and
Automatics is more entertaining because it
lends itself to long gun battles.
Most
If you’re killed by the weak little Klobb gun
(named after Nintendo Guru Ken Lobb) in
multiplayer competition, that’s reason to be
ashamed. And whoever kills someone with a
Klobb should probably get two points
instead of one.
1. Saturn Bomberman
(Saturn)
The Game;
One of the grandfathers of multiplayer
gaming, the latest in the series adds subtle
improvements to a proven game.
Why You Shouldn’t Play It Alone;
Bomberman has never been known as a
one-player game (although the N64 version
tries its darndest to be one), if you bought
Bomberman for solo action, you bought it
for the wrong reason.
How We Like To Play:
Naturally, getting as many players as possi¬
ble into a game is a good idea. There’s
plenty of room in the Hi-res Mode on the
Saturn to allow 10 players to play at once.
Unfortunately, the 10-player level is a very
plain one (nothing but bricks), and we play
on the more interesting, smaller levels. The
soccer level is one of our favorites—how can
you beat fire coming out of soccer goal nets?
That’s something special, indeed.
Dumbest Way To Lose Momentum;
Sega held a Bomberman competition a few
months ago in the EGM offices. The partici¬
pants in the finals match were Kraig and
Shawn. Kraig was up 2-1 in a best of five.
Game Three started, and oddly enough, one
of the Bombermen died immediately.
Apparently Kraig wasn’t paying attention
and didn’t notice that his starting spot on
the map changed, and it resulted in bombing
himself out of game four in less than five
seconds. Shawn took advantage of this
embarrassing mistake and won game five
to become the office’s new Bomberman
champion. Let that be a lesson to all you
Bomberman players out there. Learn from
Kraig’s mistake—pay attention to your
starting position.
SEGA SATURN’
SONY
[VtSUAL
Our Philosophy
displayed behind the revi
for the same system. In ;
ingenuity and replay valu
ind based on how the game compares to other titles
ion, the reviewers rate each game's graphics, sound,
le averages of these scores are listed at the bottom.
Editors’ Choice
r Rating Scale
lO-Perfection
An absolutely flawless experi¬
ence. It doesn't get any better
5-Average
Not great, not crap. A ho-hum
title that isn't for everybody
9-Virtually Flawless
Drop what you're doing and
buy this nearly perfect game
4-Rent Firet
We have problems here.
Definitely try before you buy
8-Semradical
Delivers everything you’d want
in a game, despite minor flaws
3-Tiine Waster
Playing it for more than 10
minutes gives you a migraine
7-Wortliy
A solid title that you won't
regret buying
2-Don't Even Rent
The only point in playing this
garbage is to make fun of it
6-Goo(l, Not Great
Sure, it has its problems, but
1-Flushlt
Run for vour life if vou see it.
Current Favorites
GoldenEye 007
Armored Core
Crtticaf Depth
Frogger
104 Favorite Genre: Shooting
^ Shawn finds it hard to believe that February is already
Last thing he remembers is Christmas-lots of gifts
ip and a bit too much eggnog at one of his Christma
F parties. Since he's a little confused, Shawn figures that
r be best to just snuggle up by a toasty fireplace, grab a
' " ■ and play some games. Sounds nice.
Current Favorites
X-Men Vs. SF tJapanese)
Last Bronx
Sonic R
Burgertime
Favorite Genres:
Strategy/Puzzle
Shoe missed a day of deadline so he could fly out to
York to make his TV debut. MTV invited him to appea
MTV Live, to speak as an expert on the video game Indus- I
try. We were pretty flattered since we were the only mag-
id to go. Imagine our surprise when Shoe sh
up on TV for an entire minute. Well Shoe, 14 more to g
k Chicagoland's arctic weather had Cris-who grew up in
I Florida-looking for gaming-related ways to keep warm, r
I tried heating his seat with the Naki laser sight, but the
J beam wasn't powerful enough. Then he wrapped himself in
r overheating PlayStations, but all those skipping games
Prove him crazy. In the end, he just put his pants back or
Current Favorites
Alundra
Legend of Zelda 64
Monster Rancher
Quake
Current Favorites
Colony Wars
Armored Core
NBA Live 98
Madden NFL 98 (Retired)
Favorite Genres:
Feeling good after taking home the trophy
office's Madden NFL 98 tournament by deft
Team EGM comrade Dean Hager, Kraig is now ready to
hang up the uniform and retire victorious from this
year's game. He'll probably move on to basketball, or
whatever new sports tournament we happen to cook u
Developer Midway
Following in the footsteps of its PlayStation
twin, MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero is probably
the last attempt of this type of genre mixing
for a while. Don’t look for MK Mythologies:
Raiden anytime soon. While I somewhat
enjoyed the PlayStation version, I detested thf
N64 mockery. The cool cut scenes are com¬
pletely missing, replaced by static screens
that look like Super NES rejects, I can't imag¬
ine how this game got approved by Nintendo
for publishing. It has nothing that made the
PlayStation version work for me. The sound
and music aren’t nearly as crisp and moving
on the N64, Overall, this translation feels like
I have mixed feelings about Bomberman 64 ,1 1
like it, but I think I do for the wrong reasons, I I
mean, the One-player Mode is better than the I
Multiplayer Modes! This can’t be right.„can it?
It’s a weird situation. As a regular old one-
player game, it’s a lot of fun with plenty to I
offer. The graphics are simple, but still pretty
nice (especially those reflections on water),
and the music is great. One of the main things
about the game that really rubs me the wrong
way is the awkward camera positioning. Sure,
the camera is fully adjustable, but even with
that, certain tight areas make it impossible to
get a really good angle on what you’re doing-
or more important, who’s about to hit you or if
you’re about to fall to your death. Since the
game is one of action and exploration, I think
it’s important to have a nice view of where
you’re exploring, OK, now on to what B-man is
known for—namely, multiplayer fun. As a
Bomberman game (that is, as a multiplayer I
game), Bomberman 64 isn’t Ml that great.
Playing against Al opponents Is barely fun at I
all, and the 3-O arenas make playing against I
your friends more of a hassle than it*s worth I I
understfBtrthat the entire:game is 3-8 and I
they couldn’t make the Battle Mode 2-0, but I
as it stands, the Multiplayer Mode needs* lot I
of work. Overall, it’sa solid iP game, but those
camera angles need some work. ■ C||guii||
Chameleon Twist is one of those games that 1
shows off how creative this new generation of I
programmers can fare but also how limiting
their techniques are. What we have here is an
utterly useless story line combined with an
intriguing weapon: your tongue. Go figure. The
various uses for your secret weapon are not
only bizarre but limited at the same time.
You’ll quickly find yourself more than a little
bored, if your skill level is akin to beating
Super Mario World. Obviously, Chameleon
Twist is aimed at beginners, and with that in
mind, I can see the appeal of the overly cute
graphics and sickeningly sweet background
tunes. Now if only they could fix the terrible
camera angles, we’d have a real contender for
a top spot in Top 10. Plus, it could have used
more power-ups to add variety to the game.
Basically, you won’t see much different in the
game beyond the techniques you have from
the start. There is no way to improve your
character throughout the game, and that lack
of advarrtemetrtburts a little. Maybe iff
learned several new tongueiattacks, I’d be
more mativaled to continueon to the next
level. Not even the Multiplayer Mode Is very
exciti,it®:flBd in fact, I don’t considerfItMrth
mentiotlitl'g. Chameleon Twist is deafly meant
for one-player use,and the Multiplayer Mode
^as added without much thought. 3||3[|j
writable carbon copy of I
Bombepijan 64 represents a pretty.drpstic
change to my favorite multiplayer series. Even
though it plays almost nothing like previous
Bomberman games, the One-player Mode is
stilt a tot of fun and offers a nipe change Of
pace from the tried-and-true 2-0 mayhem of
the old days. Reding all the hidden Gold Cards
Is a nfce added challenge, and the reward is
wet! worth it My main gripe is that the Battle
^ode gets old too fast Cffsplll
Well, this ain’t exactly Mario 64, butth,pn it’s
not supposed to be. Chameleon Twist's game-
play emphasizes puzzle solving over explo¬
ration, with,lots of little tricky areas that ■
require specific tongue-flickiag moves. And
the game is fun-while it lasts. The bripf, easy
levels are proofenough that this game was
designed for kids. That’s not to say grown-up
players won’t enjoytt, at least for the few
^dursfttakes to beatjbe game, CffSpin
'Bomberman 64 looks exactly like how I’d pic¬
ture Bombermanln 3-D. But in my book, cer¬
tain games should stay 2-D, and the B-man
series is no exception. The pne-ptayer game
fairly decent. A third dimension gives the
developers much more rootn to be creative
here, lintortunately, it doesn’t work for the
multiplayet game The 2-D gattres are much
more exciting andffantic. The game could al;
.use some more multiplayer maps. Da
'chameleon Twist is a good example of how
average a 3-D action/adventufe game canhe.
It has the' standard cute characters, deaffi-
de%ing,platform jumps and array of moves.
But here’s the problem: Unlike Mario 64, this
game doesn't really present anything new.
Sure, the waV¥®u kill enemies is interest*#!'
but certainly isn’t revolutionary. Besides alt of
this, the graphics are a bit belpW-average and
the control tteeds to b# tweaked. S^pWll
This marksthe most drastic change,in.the
Bomberman senes, and I’m not Justtaiking
about the 3-D graphics. The One-ptayer Mode
is much better fljan previous B-man games,
thanks in part lb more in-depth gameplay and
new elements. 1 don’t like the faster-paced
Multipteyer Mode quite as much as the.previ-
ous ones, but it is different, intense and fun to
play. It’s good to see this new take on the
Bomberman series done right. KrSiO
former that suffers from one mrnor (well.
majBr) problem: It’s too short. There areonly
six stages,.andyou only needto go through
four of them to get to the final Boss, t man¬
aged to go.dirough all six stagesfand the spe¬
cial seventh area) in about six hours, which
says little for this game’s replayability. But still,
what IS there is good, and the Battle Mode I
imustag. Definitely give it a try. Johll i
■Ecum
Bern slightly cleaner, thanks to no load time,
ut that isn’t enough to save MK Myth from a
I fatality of the most gruesome kind. The quest
ains true to the Mortal Kombat world, with
I many of the attacks we all know and love. For
:e reason, my uppercuts seem to miss 30
percent of the time, despite passing through
what should be a solid hit. It, seems that colli¬
sion detection isn’t done very well either. Well,
that’s enough ranting for now t suppose. MK
Mythologies ip no more than an average rental
title, and not even thewrath of Shao Khan
^outd change my mind. ' _ SUShl
MK Mythploj,ies has the coolest premise (play¬
ing througlta-^de scrolling action title with a
fightinggame-sharacter), but the execotioB
just doesn't fly at all. The stage graphics can
be nice sometimes, but the gameplay is very
repetitive (there’s not nearly enough variety in
the enemies), and the control is terrible. The
story is kinda cool, and the (severely hacked)
cinemas are neat, but that’s about all MKM
to offw. Better luclFTtext time,-. Johlll
___ jtand w,hat Midway was tryiqg.to do
with MKMythologies, but the results are any¬
thing but stellar. First, the gamers morediifr-
cuil than ttjtad to be simply because you have |
to hit a buttorrto flip your chameter. That to
meiVnot very ‘wtuitive. The character anima¬
tion is verystiffpnd awkward and the graphics |
are only average for a 2-D action game. "
Granted i’m net a fan of MK, btd yoa can find
^better action games on the N64. Kelly I
Besides some nicer-lookmg graphics and te„ _
tures, MK D%thologies on the N64 is'essenttal -1
ly thesamttasthe PlayStatio^seisIon. One of r
the things i miss is the FMV sequences (even
thou#t they are cheesy). The control is still I
the worst part of the game-why hit a button I
to turn around even if it’s to maintain a certain g
Style? i think the idea is excellerttbut it sore
asn’t executed right I’m sure it can be done, I
ot with this ond. Shawn!
Developer Player One
Last Bronx is perhaps my favorite of the Sega ’
three-button fighters. It’s the type of fighting
game a patient gamer (who’s willing to learn
all the intricacies and nuances of the deep
fighting engine) will truly appreciate, and the
type a casual gamer would probably be bored
with fairly quickly. Each character has dozens
of unique moves, combos and juggles—plenty
more than any 2-D sprite-based fighting game.
It also has more personality than the average
fighter. The character backgrounds and game
intro and outro fit well together, giving the
game a decent story line. But it's the (mostly)
blunt weapons that set this game apart from
the rest. Sure you can get swords and sabres
in other fighters, but it’s very satisfying to
bash your opponents in with tonfas and mal¬
lets. What I don’t like is the amount of damage
simple combos can do. I play Yusaku, and a
simple two-hit juggle can do almost 50 percent
damage, if it properly connects. Add in a jump-
ally speaking) doesn’t do well. Games like
Myst, Mansion of Hidden Souls and D may
have a cult following, but they certainly don’t
make it into the mainstream console market.
Luckily, it has been awhile since a game like Eo
has been out, and besides that, the game is
incredible. With that said, I hope the game
does well. The intro sequence—and really all
the video in the game—is spectacular. It cre¬
ates a great, cinematic mood. The story line
and how it unfolds is much like an actual
movie. Sure, the whole “trapped in a ship with
tanoyancesinc
|on breakup.)
f fighters. Th|
; Bronx offers|
lame like Figl
ytf the few games that
^fejand it didn’t dm
perfect blend of horroi
fiTIiflraphics are
and sound effects The
^^^re of the gart#%
i^^ns, but the few i
^■es whll^ke ep^
. I didn’t expect rnu
dayed the arcade v
ihting style (w|K
■tying to met^
IS. The depth of pl<
Mastic, and th^S
By Aerial Combo
^playability.
ENEMY ZERO ^ LAST BRONX
Developer: Warp
Developer: Sega
ie get this straight—Midway decided to
I release War Gods, but PASS on this? Hello?
I Robotron 64 is one of the most addictive
[ames to come along in quite some time,
reing canned by Midway, Crave picked u|
same and here it is, back from th
his a wise move? You bet it was.
)4’s action-packed gameplay will strongly
I appeal to fans of twitch shooters and old-
I school style arcade games (especially those
I who liked Smash TV), and the variety of con-
I trol setups (particularly the ability to use twi
I N64 controllers at once) is a welcome
Te game. The graphics are nothing to writ
I home about, but they’re hardly what I’d call
I bad. The music, on the other hand, is really
I good—it’s almost all fast-paced techno and il
I really gets your adrenaline pumping for the
I frenzied gameplay. Still, what’s the best part
* about Robotron 64? The amount of pure gam
it offers. There are 200 stages
time i reached 100,1 was sure it couldn't pdSsi-
I biy get any crazier, but sure enough it kept
I gomg-and going-all the way to 200. And
I much to my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed it
* /hole way through (beforeEptayed it, I
ed it’SWOttldn’t be too hot since Midway
I passed on tt..,sHly me) The only glaring flaw?
1 No two-player simuttaireous play. That
1 Other than that though,1?64 rocks.'
ssallftfthe problems thatplaguedthe
I PS version. R64 is fast, frantic and sure as hell
I hard to put down. This is the type of game
I you’ll cottis back to time and time again. It hasl
I alt the addictive qualities that made the origi-
I nal so successful, plus a fewmkeextrasylike
I Bosses, bonus Stages and power-ups. ft’s a flt-
I tie too easy though, and $50-60 may be too
much to pay for such a Simplistic game, [)g||
'I like the N64 version of this game rnpre than
I the PlayStation one The pruSary reason is the
I nonexistent toadtime, which helps the gdme
I keep up (ft Signature frantic pace There is,
I howevefifSlowdown during later levetS.'tLfeal-
I ize there are many enemies on screen, but the
I N64 hasfOaough muscle to cope. Thissfault
I aside, just about everything possible has
I been done to update this classic. If you like
* Robotf0B,'you’ll like this remaketoo'. ■ Kraii
lumber Of Players: 1-2 Best Feature: Tons of Moves Worst Feature: Not Enough Chara
Developer: Radical
Quake for the Saturn is a remarkable re-cre¬
ation of the computer game, even in spite of
its flaws. The game moves at a reasonable
frame rate and Quake’s 3-D graphics and
gioomy mood are intact—for the most part.
The enemies’ animation is occasionally chop¬
py, and sometimes they blend in too well with
the backgrounds when they are far away.
Some improvements help make up for its defi¬
ciencies, such as new light sourcing on firing
weapons and explosions not in the original.
There are two major problems with this game
that severely mar the excellent game engine.
The first is the lack of multiplayer support.
Quake is not a great one-player game-it
gained its notoriety on the Net as a multiplay¬
er. The Saturn version of Quake doesn’t even
have NetLink support, which is criminal, given
Quake’s Internet roots. Also, the control is dif¬
ficult to manage, even when using the analog
controller. Without being able to look around
quickteftfee with a mouse oh tfieW, rtf*
hardi^^ick off enemies above or befowystl
(vstf^rl^ential). They did the best they could,
botSte gam reality IS that current conseterron
Boilers lust rfcti’t work well with Quake It’s
l^bad that this game doesn’t have rrwftli
IJtayer supp'SfOVithout that^and solid control,
thfe greaMopIfig s«i»ver»ft of Qg^
^sn’t nearlya*good as the onginai K|.gjg
In the arcade, Sega Touring Car has a reputa- 1
tion as one of toughest racing games ever. I
Now although it’s much easier to shave those I
precious milliseconds off your time when you I
don’t have to pay a buck per play, the Saturn I
version is still one of the more challenging rac-1
ing games in recent memory. If ever there was
a driving game of millimeters, STC is it. Unless
you hit every turn just right and accelerate just
so, moving on to the next track is just a pipe
dream. Because the margin of error is so small
on each track and the demands are so great,
only the utmost intensity and concentration
will cut the mustard. I feel as though I need a
pep talk and some cheerleaders whenever I
play this game. As a two-player game, my spir¬
its lifted as I discovered that I didn’t suck at
games; everybody struggles with this one at
first. Part of the problem is that STC plays
much better with the analog controller than
lem IS tiwtjhe hyper-sensitive certrftlfB diffi¬
cult t&dosj^o grips with ancf the last prdSteml
Last year. Virgin’s NHL Powerplay ’96 was 1
widely considered to be the best all-around
Saturn hockey game. Sega’s NHL All-Star
Hockey ’98 is the unofficial sequel to
Powerplay ’96, with the same developer
(Radical), the same basic game engine and the
same slick interface. Compared to the last All- I
Star Hockey, this game is light-years above
and beyond it in just about every category. But
compared to last year’s Powerplay, ASH ’98 I
falls short in several areas where it should’ve I
improved. First of all, more important than any
other problem, the game plays WAY too slowly.
Everything moves along so sluggishly it almost
seems like the game is running in some sort of
slow motion. The animation of the players is I
nice, and the overall graphics aren’t bad at I
all—but when they’re moving like they’re in I
quicksand, it really takes a lot of fun out of the I
game. Another problem (which isn’t quite as I
bad, but still noticeable, especially to veteran
hbckSsf jaaibrs) is that the goaJrfffSh’ttoo
hot Wl?« ttis adds up to is a gatM'thstJias
lQad@)f potential, but falls thEjie#
importantfeas. To its creditjlheplayerAI Is
Powerslave and now Quake |
Featured In: f6M #100
:fCAf#101
;f6M#99
is_|»SBga designed this ga^tpibe-tougb
3SjM5.Tbe developers went to great pains t
insure this game accurately simulates the dtp
Vittg physics of the European Tourftig Car rac¬
er*. TheySUSSeeded with that hut somebody
fbrgotabout’the ga*s,Thi5g#Meisfoo
hardcore «n for i^aoSThat^-scary, Ifnlli
John
LobotomyrSto know their st^ wheir?^,
comes to ffrst^rson games..^^Satur(rpsrt
Of Id’s Quake Is amazing, with'^lighting efcCt*
that make it more impressive than the non¬
accelerated FC version Everything’s infact-
ificludlng tberSpial level desl^ and Ninst-litch
Nails jams. Toa-iad there’s no Deatbmatch
iviorie, which’^ulc^^staunched thegatte’s
replay vdlue through the roof Crisnin
H Was there anyone not excited about this
H game? Thtfikebout it: The home,DaytonaM/as
y decerft Rally was leagues beBSfi.«d Touring
■ Car’Stefutd’ve been awesome,.right’ Not really,
H It n^*%*pks nice and is tepf thefestest
9 haae racing games around ftarEhoddycon-
n ftsSImwevBrjt^kes you format! of that.
II Doiftbotbw^Vmgthiswitlisufan
H pad. The IwtnegarralalsffjieAstBBy more
11 tratfeitStfettranstbLiai# no^ ‘ Qgi]
nersarftBlow, and thegraphics are 1:
as Sega Rally «, but it suf comes ctosS:
TftETSeflfa^^afepeed is a^^to(a1t^ragh
the fram^fatescertainly suffflMigtthange),
and the.^^K)l (particularly with the Analog
Pad) IS sweet I like the whole aggressive'
nature of the game (awesome fast paced
musife-'aq^r-fast gameplajcetsA, andove#l
it’s)i#tafcn gam#t6|fcy A^rtobri
after the painfully weak Daytona CCE. Inh
h ImeL Aud uil [mLLL[2ad-u[i uud ratidu ta L-muiilci.
Crash will have to work
He’ll fly with a jetpack, surf on a jetboard
ind saddle up a polar bear cub. He’s got
obstacles.
steep Slope Sliders may be a stupid name, ^
but the game itself is the best snowboarding
sim on the consoles. Simply put, it’s a lot of
fun. The four main courses are well-designed
I and full of rocks, bumps, ramps and other
I obstacles that launch you skyward for flips,
I spins, board grabs and dozens of other cool
tricks. You also get a half-pipe course, a more
conventional Alpine track with slalom gates
and a ramp- and rail-filled snowboarding park
where you can really cut loose with the tricks
(yes, the game’s setup is very similar to Sony’s
Cool Boarders 2, complete with hidden alien
character). Better still, once you open the four
secret boarders—including a punk kid and a
speedy racer who can’t perform any tricks—
you can earn access to four secret tracks. And
then you can open even more characters! It all
makes for high replay value. The game con¬
trols fine, even though it doesn’t support ana¬
log. You need to use the A, B and C buttons
with the shoulder buttons to pifWWWbd
AHS.'theSftfltoves aren’t eafe b«f thif’b »^y
they’re worth the big points. ^3*0 get a
c^te»^system that ifeyotfwfehr
your best tricks over and ovee|*sjBg sim
cotert lenses, strobe lights airtifcr
ta«t«a efff^ifyou like) Stg^s;^^lo|^ *
Sliders’ graphics are a bit rough around the
e(^btttt*ey’re
Gobi Jones said, "This is the best soccer game
on the planet." Gobi Jones’ licensing bonus
check must’ve made him blind. Worldwide ’98
is one of the biggest disappointments of the
year for me. I was a huge fan of last year’s ver¬
sion. The problem is, soccer games in general
have improved, and Worldwide didn’t. First off,
the multiplayer aspect is seriously lacking (for
example, only certain modes can be played
with friends). When you start the match, you’re
treated to an impressive view of the stadium
and a loud crowd waving their home countries’
flags in support of their respective teams. But
once the game begins, the disappointment
kicks in. Human-controlled players are identi-
addicting racing game with furry characters, ]
Sonic R is your game. If you just want to race I
through the game (so to speak), you can beat I
it fairly quickly but you won’t see all there is to I
see. Although there are only four main courses!
(and a couple of additional hidden ones), this I
game is a blast to play. There are tons of
secret paths and items in the game (some of
which open up additional characters and
courses), so it’ll take a while for players to see
everything. Each character has his/her own
strengths and special abilities too, which offer
incentive to try different tracks with different
racers. Graphically, this is one of the best-look¬
ing Saturn games I’ve seen in a while. The 3-D
texture-mapped graphics are absolutely lush
in their detail, and the frame rate always
seems to hover around 30 frames per second.
In addition, I really think the track designs are
excellent. Not only is there a lack of the I
lamous clipping problem that all too'dTfen I
tWtfead on the Sa^ftsybtrt tfte I
« !an#tttWsandoff-track|,t*«rnsiTjSt* I
'Ufi *@ly The music ipfele to«fl^. I
dascripf fcr ^ tastes, and I ifowish nwj*- I
large, colorful circles. The real trouble, howev¬
er, starts when play stops. With every corner
kick, free kick, goal kick and throw-in, every¬
thing stops. You cannot move around the play¬
ers on the field to set anything up. You simply
K vW the setup the ywi.
ajwannoyance is tftS-Wttple’Wy.
ay-by-play. The an^fcrs get
plays and teams wrong almost all the time.
Satftettme Sfcy il even scre^wC
m^me ^'^ay’s standards.Itbas
lis^re|5(|fl#ie tepid divl 3 w f ex^
to be. The game grew on me and if you j
chance, it’ll probably grow on you. |
YSj^wuestion about it—if a SflflTC racing
ihad ts^done, this is th^way to-feit
E mifiMart, I got thatgSkl Sortie
Jtii^^ls, lots of col^stand a weird*
h of animals). The graphics are some of
iSfAmi tl^.Saturn, and aS C*Wesy a 9 ttej
fare,yo»*n’t help butft«»«hert>^«^
(gam.tWfay they hidettitpcp-6pts ■
r«Ke,tDO;fwe(|kaK<»t intheSwOFalaYer
^jteMhere’S.i^secrets.Sfe|Wn
Steep Slope Sir
i is a great snpwbaarding
1 are OK (the textures are a
othm thaTthat'ssl'is°a^
S WWS’pBisdefin
dly perfect
atrlSISTiice, and the ei^ifi^ntStff
tfetyjolished up a littleJiit, b’ut other
wise this is pretty much the same game as
lastyearwttji^meannoyingteafts Tht^
that you ciE^^ve around whenever ttsh/fa
opposngt**^ about to pLtt 4 b^t)alllft piay
^houW be. Lerall I’m disappointed.,^ Johll
: four hiddemcourses .and tons ofl
lers. hjjDu’reVfiaturn Ow«#
no^^^g MRWVirth alwing
Sonic^^^^ne of those types of gamesthat
drive you absolutely nuts because it’s soi-dar
good, but it (Ul hdoesn’t give you enough of
«lji'|o(^»atter one bit I^Sedte
S lSSOeWflned fun' On t 0 ^oftMS,fte
il fa.afewt flawless (only failing when
you get stuck in a corner). This iiiie is easily 1
S 3 P 10 favorite Saturn titles of all time. I’,
go as far as .saying Steep Slope Sliders i
lad better than Cool Boarders 2 S||gw|
backward The game loof
exciting as it used to be,
of the hOflWdous goalie
kickedffOaacross the fie
way i^Jfce net in additic
playi^ito^g the gamepi
0 ne-^^)lVlodeS #8 Stil
this game from being dis.
Whenjou firstly Sonic R, you’JL^bably
be turned off by the awkward control of the
I " I I actually piefei the digital pad in Ihl
What happened here? The first twp.y£t
Worldwide Soccer were totally rockin' e
now this! This game has the worst gr
and the slowest gameplay of the serie
h The physics of this fast racer rivals
and you’ll fnJitfats&dOWar
e^^Bs. Still, there aTe*me'gW^
ssfudt^wesome courses to comt^^So
Inot^se interest for quite a while. My
todoorfoaefttou
ng in first. The Two
exciting, antfifie
best) and fcg^^e i
.ide. Played apatpultl
Sas Its merits (dSdo i|
I’m all for compilation discs that feature 1
classic arcade games (even classic home
games), but whether or not this one is worth
owning is entirely up to the tastes of each
individuai player. The seven games on AGH:
The Midway Collection 2'are certainly classics
by nature, but I found that after playing most
of them again, some don’t live up to the fond
memories that I have, while others are turning
out to be even more enjoyable than I remem¬
bered them to be. For example, I loved Spy
Hunter on the NES and in the arcade, but for
I’ve been anxiously awaiting this one for a
long time, and now that I’ve finally got my
hands on it, I can confirm what I believed
would be the case for quite a while. Simply
put, Alundra rules. Action/RPG is a genre that,
for some reason, has dropped off the face of
the planet (sorry. Legacy of Kain isn’t my defin¬
ition of an RPG in any sense of the word unless
you mean Really Poor Game), and WD’s bring¬
ing it back with Alundra just makes my day.
Alundra is like a mix of Zelda and LandStalker
(that’s practically holy), but with enough origi-
At firstX^ted to call this one a yjttual O n
rip-off butfljat couldn’t have bedwimfflttf'
from the truth. Sure, the game ntayhave"
trt^clij in it but there’s a lot iwei For one.
Armored Core isn't set in a dinky arena. umI
ly like the variety of environments and number
of missions the Jiame gives ifc. ^ond, the
game also allqvys you to buil® tustom mech
and then us'e it In the game. I mean, what’s
cooler than that’I’m solct. ShaWII
Publisher: Midway
Featured In; £CM #99
Featured In: fCM #101
Featured In: fCM #101
INGENUITY
of the game). Anyway-
thing about Alundraf%§,
,.„>,-|-difficult. In ap age where Aal
l^ngeseeir^tpbave been riteijecond^i
' • '')gi.Ateifdracome 5 ^str|ngteaW,i
s difficult games around. R tow me '
■40-)tfurs to beat (feotlfh I do like to
iyfmieX‘and I promise—the puzzles
WILLstufep you at owppint or another. Great,
John
Yorkip^^signs’ first PlayStation..|gg^rings
velcorne diYecsity to the system's role-playing
the first acSon/RPG on ffrp
■ fahSoflandStalker and 2 elda will love
downrfght^^ant in design.Warklng0asigfls,
as always.«fan excellent jr^btiiiflslatlng.the
dialogue and story.although their trademark
hi I jn
jbig fan of LandStalker, and,j[Jj^ough
Alundra doesn’t share LS’s isometric view, it
»ve<$|mflanties. Although the ovwhsac
nd realtime battles are very Zelda-ish,
/le of tW puzzles, characteriart (with'the
big oversized boots and head) and even some
of the music tracks bring me back to Land-
Stalker. Alundra’s action is challenging and
wi ' r. 11J 1 the lengthy quest will take u
■ :hunk out of your gaming life Kelli
greens-and tans, see Qu»ke),
ali'ths qufSE'in Alundra is very solid. This Is
•■,.T c .-.ii Cl vpiy romfnitable 111 many
gamers’hands, t r ■■ ■; t.' i,.-. r
-'finalFantasyVII •, - "-Sgslli
I , ,ii li, . = “ii-g’Vl ,1
easily fnyfqvotjte game on tfee-clisc (I cai
play il for hours without g® ng tired of
-dofit,;
i.and-pe
’questionablerspltlfol), a
Trivia ftrne'fs a nice extra.-evenif it does
becoi* dbintless once yo|-ptaythroaghffie
whole thirt once. In the eiHywhat it all ettnes |
down to is whether or not yotffea fan of the
gam^S mihe CDi'.lf^Uare, this., Jq|||
Ever since I was a kid, I loved those television |
shows, such as Transformers, Voltron and
Robotech, that were chock-full of fightin’
robots. Armored Core is a game that puts you
behind the wheel of those monstrosities in
what amounts to a very deep and well-
designed game. Like many other mech games,
you play the role of a mercenary-for-hire
whose only allegiance is to himself—and
money. Credits are earned by completing con¬
tracts whose objectives include destroying
other robots, killing monster ants and protect¬
ing bases. Adding complexity to the game is
that you must pay for the ammunition spent
and damage incurred during battle. This
makes you carefully conserve your Prepower,
and try to avoid being hit, even if you’ve got
an overpowering mech. Once you save enough
money from missions, you can upgrade just
about anything on your mech, enabling you to |
kill faster (to earn more money, to kill even
laster, etc.). The best thing abSBfWHaifr'
(^e rs the incredible amount of customiza-
tibits you can do to your mecfcfay buying parts
a in the ^tj.op..|tew arms, legs, jte^ip.atotion
tp pn’asspFtment of weapons-.ednSe bought to
tati£ 4 ifoiit»ji*b. As the missions get i»rd.ef,i
5»ij' may find yiourself having to.adppt the way
ydttpfay in adciition totefittingyour mech. Tbp
..Ki^iql
Sqmeliow, this arcade
ingand disappoinling.
artfa'
i'ofmy,favottti
^ AMoon Patrol,
I Root Beer ■fepbsprXfww about
f the original Tapper?)—but the
me ox.>..J^uu„u„e,e,euceu„„„g^««W
gravqrwi'of gam^Jhat shfuld have stt ' '
bunef'in oliscuri^f^^k goodness th^tffvm_ |
jiHtfo' Sushi!
J nored Core may be the best mech game to
Ee..lt takes Virtual On’s classic formula and
shes it one step further by ^ving you mis-
hs and the ability to buy parts-for, and
jtomize, your mech. Giant,robot combat is
iply that much more fun if you’re earning ■
iney (from completing mission^ and-buyfpg
re powerful gear. The game could’ve been
It much better had it supported dual-analog
ttwt(far“authentic’.’'mech controls.' DUU
aitgs a pr^pnent of buyin||,,^^sic game |
npilations.'After all, it’s the'-Bestway to
ia\llB1toof Arne of tim,greatest games
of all tim.e^MHunter wasS-tat^e di^arti*
(it j^^psn’t do it formeanymo«)rWid |
rest are fairly mediocre,.,except for
BurgefTimei This is the REAL reason fO buy'
■ s (^^Bition (even thoi^hWcontfols-bet
on . ) I ...I' If you already have
irgerTime, you may want to pass. |)0p
le, Armored Core is the happy median
/een the too simple Virtual>On and too "J
ptextltleslike MechWarn^II|ncfCarrtSge
1 . It takes arcade style gc^rty.aad
tens it with strategic elen^Sasybu •
iissioff.'iSaiguWgiJ'
I youfmechwithdifferent parts and weapons.
Is'fij^l st^jS about as challet«gitig as you
ran get without crossing the line over into
frustrating. This is not one to miss. Jq0
I deepens it
whether you (te the classics
I- I learned that Spy Hunter IS
t as fun as I remembered it to be, and that
; onlysantes that I still enjoyed playing
re BurgerTime and joust i. Otherwise'.-the
presettatton of this pack copfljove been bet-1
refined (although-the trivia game I
offered up some interesting tidbits and interv¬
iews). Ovdrall, tM» Is a good ’-([rsifl
ting Your Mech Worst Feature: Smalt Environments wwwplaystati
Officially licensed by PlayStation!
Complete steering wheel, accelerator, brake and
stick shift systemi 4-way D-pad plus 8 programmable
digital action buttons. Incredible 270° wheel rotation.
Also available for Nintendo 64
with built-in Force Pack!
I At first, I didn’t know what to expect from Autc^
I Destruct. On the surface, the game
I more like a rip-off of Twisted Metal than any-
I thing else, but after spending more time with
to Destruct, I found this game has more
I substance than TW in certain ways (keep in
big fan of the Twisted
I Metal series). For one, the learning curve and
I pacing of the missions seems very well tuned
I to my tastes. Although action is the rule of
I the day, there are some aspects of resource
1 management in AD, and whatever you need
I always seems to be close at hand. This “just-
in-time” resource availability works well In the
I game. For example, I always had myself to
1 blame for a failed mission instead of the
I game...a good sign. All the action takes place
in San Francisco, and even though the game
I environment is absolutely huge (several
I square miles), the radar is useful enough for
I you to find what you’re looking for. If anything,
I the city iSiTt^® big as it tak® what seems
I like foreverto tiS/erse it. G@phte3lty, Auto
I Destruct IS only about average. The texture
I quality is OK-dod the explosions are decent,
I but oyerall,the graphics a®tgjthing to write
« . The music also gets onryour
a while as the tunes are ref^ti-
'e.jlf youTe into mission-based racefji.'Auto
- Kelly
1 Destg#i|a (
r lmagin|J,DTiS a Twisted Metal/FeJ^yii-79
I mix with more depth and.^a much' larger
I piling arra,^ahough the miaiops arepfetty
the sarfle, they are all delivered with
Jft.Wtndovv dressings to keep things itrter-
I estirig-and fresh. If you’re a fan ofqffensiVet
I driving, arid felt something was always mlss-
I ingfrom the other games of fce genre (i.e., the
I ma aforementioned.tftes), give AD a try. It
might just have what you’re looking for. Qg||
' Auto De|{ruct do
le graphics are
lhejob,>fl<
: get into the'^
issions do
makes ft fun to drive around J
find t$t@>Of protect things, but so .
later you get bored -you’ll want more. The
missions atlow'you to do different things,
with a whole.airay of weaponry, bot all it
bpijs-down to is j u^ dfMng around. Overall,
It’S ntadewefl but dbistft la<
I long. Shawn I
I This is a very ambitious game that re<re.
I cities for you to cruise tnyour'lupercar. I
I Forthe mo^fRarf; the cities’are wen¥dn'Stfuct-|
hougtr^ttifere is some yfsihle 3-Dj3op up.
meptay is good, but ^eiBeofthe%ger
nsJivrlt try your patieftclfWiis
you’ve almost complete^one,
‘ ;n red^tte^ntire mis-
lecommend AD-lfs^agreat
ily if youTe’a patient pllyef.' Kraifl
I Prior to playing Broken Sword 1 r
if the Knights ofTemplar. Nowthat I’ve
I played the game, I want to know
ihat’s cool about the game. You can’t
I help but get drawn into the complex and
I twisting plot, the characters you meet up with
and the bad guys you’re after. Needless to say,
the story line is excellent, but that’s
I only thing that’s cool about Broken Sword. The
I graphics are really nice-they totally look like
I something from a Don Bluth cartoon and are
ted just as well, too. The backgrounds
io nicely drawn. One thing about the
I graphics that I notice is that at times some of
I the detail is lost, especially in the item bar and
ertain objects that you must interact with. On
re flip side, the item bar itself and all of the
I Menu Screens in the game are really easy to
jse. If you’re into games like this, buy
I the PS mouse (especially for Broken Sword).
I On the'daipgue end of things, the gam'e has
I qufte a unjcjue cast, full of different voices.
I Don’t .expect allofthe voice actingto beftaW-
" ss,—or at'Jepst all of the accents to bb accif-
te (is that feench or Russi*?). Whatever'the
cent, there%'plenty of hurtorti
I rollin’. The'bfggest flaw is the loa
I thatiie.y'reaClhatlptrf.b'Jtttiere'sreAiOT of
"^littleones that kind bf’f'add up." '' §||g^||
’ I carft^^l’ve cloyed a lot of pgprjt^nd-click
_ but thisiftle IS a nice ewbption The
I ailimkfons areg'ft'at, the voile acting Is fan-
I tastic anAityries a quirkj^settse of hutUOr. (I
I found myselfasking chara^^tots oftfiies-
I tions justto.fiear what thejli say) Its iconic
"g-islilso pretty gooBlthough the pics I
^aittle larger or have text caJI-OutS. If I
^Be old|rf^^ecfadvejtWp' lames, B
Si^tty wfay successor. 'JogK
n not a fpp of point-and-click graphic adven- I
res but Broken Sword is intriguing enough f
at it kept my interest gene from flatlining.
I The load times are annoying moTd Often than
I npt and the story is a bit on the linfear side
I (there doesn’t seem to be a way to do the
I wrong thing) but the dialogue is interesting'
I enotjgh for metb care about whfthappensto I
I the characters. Like rodfcanats, ibbsetypes of"
^gamesareht as badas I remembered. |{G||y
The FIFA series of games on the PlayStation
been disastrous, but this FIFA looks like it
. signify a turnaround (albeit a slow one)
for the series. That is not to say that this is a
great game—it’s not. It is, however, a substan¬
tial improvement over last year’s horrible FIFA
97. FIFA 98’5 3 -d graphics are the most
detailed of any 32-Bit soccer game, but the
problem is that the game’s erratic frame rate
and player animations leave much to be
desired. Because of these problems, the con¬
trol of the game isn’t as smooth as it should
be. Often, you are forced to take a few extra
steps in the wrong direction because of chop¬
py polygonal animations. Such a thing is
annoying when those extra steps force you to
kick the ball out of bounds or overrun a pass.
Overall, the gameplay is pretty realistic, and
includes all of the moves you expect to see in
a soccer game. The passing has some prob¬
lems, mostly due to passes not being led in I
front of therr intended receive^ Also, the ’ I
goalibintelligence is competdift, but prone to I
some really dumb mistakes. §TAeasily has I
most features and licenses of any soccer I
16. Player creation, hundreds of real teams I
several tttodes of play are available, but I
does it matter If the gameplay isn’t refilled? EaI
should coftCefitfate.oi\Ji|rprovlrt'8TlfA’f play so
■' can better complement its I
I two games may share the sajne^me but I
HayStatioMrsion of Road’To'wwtd Cup
98 doesn’tqtti^lave the rrtt^c thatthe N64 I
version provides. That said, RTWC 98 is the I
' t soccer game I’ve played on the PS so far.l
graphics have a clean look and the anima-1
tion is very smooth. Although the Singteiplayerl
Mode Is fud to play, the multiplayer gatfie.is a I
'■ t and 4 ‘half(ajiii 1 cj)be expected with a I
«*^»ie). Not ted'by any mearts. |[0||y I
RTWC.gg,|S, a very, very good soccer game and I
on.e'of the best available for the'Play^tl&fl, if I
not the best. It’s a FlUGE improvement over the!
' jst (forgettable) FI FA, and as usual with EA I
ports games, it’s loaded with options and hasi
fantastic interface. The game controls reaiy I
tflc.ely (AnalogPad support, teli'and (heart- I
'ton is irrtp/essive too. My^t^complaint I
ain] is that it’s just too easiTs^ing, steal- I
whatever— make it harder, EA! Johll I
■ The FIFA series continues to improve each
1 year but still has trouble reaching the eyet-c
I sive alt staifSWpfe. This yeaft^Fon'sfldws
I off imprc^^^phics and r^t^'tiQvqs and
r^sjian you can shbi^ a stick at, Th
re'Wme rate, however,’-sticks
ry difficult
^rf-it’sve.
.iff-stii isn’t very realisticand the-goi
bit strange sorhetimes.frea'king-,exa
■' “ -'"estshotsl I
1 ated Sflveyfor the silliest shotS), “ :
Publisher: Midway
You don’t need to be a fan of the original
Apple or Commodore 64 Lode Runner to get a
kick out of this update. You only need to be a
fan of tough puzzles. I’m talkin' reo/iy tough
puzzles. Some of the later levels in this more
than 50-stage game had me so stumped, I
tossed my controller aside in frustration. Still,
the thought of getting to that next puzzle did
keep me coming back for another crack. You
can save at any time, so you’re not forced to
backtrack through a lot of old stages if you
screw up. While Lode Runner’s two different
collections of single-player levels kept me
busy, I actually had the most fun with the
Two-player Mode. It forces both players to
invent strategies, such as having one person
run interference to distract the pursuing
monks, while the other collects all the gold.
Just as in past Lode Runner games, this one
lets you make your own levels, which can be
saved to a memory card. It’s a cool option, bu
construgia^playable, well-balanwdsthges is
touglaer than you might thinky|had itfbre fun
making levels out of lewd pictetes* Lode
l^<e#ier’s.simple graphics are far from'speclac
ular (the character sprites ,ire"so-small, they’ri
downright .adoable), but they are true to the
And it’s the classic gameplay tlafs
su/e to draw,®wholeww geh«i«tten @f farw
J 0 this i5-.yea7old game. GriSDII]
The level design in this racing game.is.very
cute, as are the graphics. Althqt^h there are
dfferert vehidbs (including bp^, and a few
weapons, the gameplay becofe^-tpo repetl-
lious. Even worse, the multiplayer part of this
game is atrocious. The camera views make it
unplayable(,and;the way that the Multiplayef
mode IS designed to play is annoying. What'
you’re left with is a very average racer that’s
.only fun M Its One-piiy#Modest". h „*Kf3 jg
Lode Runner was one of my favorite games
years agOy^jd I looked forward to this adapta¬
tion. As you might assume, it has improved
gra^iicsl sound and more levels, but nothing
better than average. The sad truth is that LR’s
gameplay no longer stands the test of time
as 4 s.With-?qr^, additions, it could (and •
should) have been freshened up. For this rea¬
son, I think only hard-core fans will enjoy this
^ameyas’if has becdAe tio stale.'
’This bring^back fond memories frgtjLm|
Commod6i»64 days. It’s pretty rBuchthe same
game.as Itwa's years ago, whto&a'good' .
thifigrtbe Two-player Mode cfff'even get,. '
amusing, as players try to help each other out,
but end up screwing themselves in the process.
The Al IS inconsistent 1 1 1 -,1. i
appareni reason at times Some of the levels
were designed poorly, with dead ends and
^heablraiJS aplenty Solid; but a'bit-bld. Ogg
Maclil^tWes'WllnotwantWmiss^tS'
upteted4fetStol|;‘'complete with so many '
modes get lost ti0nft|o fitKL'fcetn
all. White th??)ne-player game is prelty^pd,
the Multiplayer Mode is an utter joke. I don’t
call “ Ajg-off edges less tel.y0ur oppo- >
nent’sA&match. Yet thismalithe gamefeal-
ly is-iSwer-i^fe’t v^.usefU« the
^rackrWrtolargeljrtM-screen. , ^UShl
■concept behind LodeRanfter,
1 stays I rue-to that. The graph-
and the puzzles slightly repeti
n’t try to give you anything
le game and slays true to its
■,1 wouldn't pay $50 for it but
' ' Shawl
Featured In: fGM #101
er watched the Japanese
I Ghost in the Shell before but if it
lis game, I gotta watch it. I knew going in thatj
I Ghost in the Shell uses the Jumping Flash!
engine but to my surprise this game is much
re interesting and fun than JF1 and 2 (and I
I really like both of those games). I really enjoy
mission-based action games so this game is
II of the missions are fairly
I diverse and challenging, but the Bosses are
way too easy. It took me a while to get used to
having the ability to stick to any surface like a
spider but once I did, it became second nature,
really cool thing about that feature is that
can sort of adjust the difficulty of the
I game on the fly. When you take the high road
and stick to the ceilings or walls the game is
I range of fire and launch your (unlimited) mis-
and pick off the enemy at will. On the
1 other hand, if you’re feeling frisky you could
jump into the frying pan anrfWWffTOTffeht
■ Difficult,'but ttwefTtnore
wardingthatway. The 3-Dgraphics are clean
id thesi^'iC seems to fit lie mood ^esch
issiqn^i^te well. On the Ihtai-sit
atmv cartoons were kii ' '
j followed thestory tjiBsiafithe I
.. r .leiok Ippi, evefflll %very I
4'but a gttteteo short., .; |^Q||y |
I mat wp tufflv (
I cooli|s(ft$ but
».sirhM^feel
,d ofsearorry
I . ..._st admit, this game isn’t anything like
wanted to see'fof such a high-profile anitr
blse’d ga'rri%-S(B!, Ghost in t$e-$lleif provides |
a pretty cobpfrst-person shooter tttlp fbat can
I hold its-avvntgainst the rnyMaS other tiWes in
the geflfe-While I was lookirtg for a detaUBd
RPG/^Spure, I’ll settle for this gatwuwhfch
-'isplWS'KOt scene animation frvaiingthatbf
■, ,ni I ill ' i Too bad the
ame doesn’t uphold Its namesake. Sys||j |
GITS is a tp^ugh call for me. I love how the
game laaiw^od feels just like the movie in -s;
mansL'fefi'Detts, and the ability,!® ^mh walls
(like a spider) adds an extra 6^l(ihUp,play
that really dstinguishes GITS from mosLefliKi-
dor-style games. My problem? Aside frbm;pf|e
or two very cool stages, the gameplay is too
■petitive With only three attMjs.styles; and
_ .ot.much variety, things get old fast, it you’re a
I tan otthewfdvie, ch&<t|t-out. * - 1 <■. Jnl|n
| in|game that ttoderfully tfeis tittle or no I
resembtsm^to fcom How?With Its fast pace.l
the abilit|,to#mb walls anftswiBnety of mis-
(wfehilet much more furt after the.first
I three)^^nvironment5. You can be<aaiking
t in a cityscape in one,'then
_ . igtheoceanqfapeeding.3topga
I highvi%inthe n^ffe/un)1iUtW>ttti«da few
Joe I
I lf you’re a fan of the i6-Bit versions of Micro
Machines, then I have good news— the classic
gameplay is nearly intact in this spectacular
32-Bit update. For the uninitiated, the game
has you racing Micro Machines (yes, those
tiny toys) through oversized environments,
such as the tops of dining-room tables, across
I school desks, etc. Depending on the play
mode, you’ll win by either beating opposing
the finish line, completing a track
I course longer than anyone else (trust me: It's
)o easy to get lost in some tracks, or fall off
le tabletops to smash on the linoleum floor
I below). All of the coolest Micro Machines are
represented, including monster trucks, tanks,
I power boats—more than 30 bug-size vehicles
" in all. Plus, you earn secret cars that are saved
to your memory card and wagered in multi¬
player races. Yet it’s the tracks that are the
real draw here. You’ll see nearly 50 courses
each is mtwSpjqd in painstakirigdMalf.from
the itogor»flte$that buzz over the water
stag^ ts the'sticky spilled smip on the
kitebw table. Still, as fun as «^ptayec tar¬
ing is, mnllpjajrer stinks. Sure, it supports ^
tO-etght pi|^eti and there’s ^ty of ««*»!
But with everyone confined to,a single screen.
:’s nic.q,ta.play a game like this ever.y..npv
ga|(v—clean and simple fun. Tjje game starts
ofttap'd of ilowbut gets much'better asfycw
r.ii- . •! il the primitive graphics work sui-
prttiii|t5|i,l^) Even though tllfrCOursesten#
tobe a little short, I’m sure I’ll still comeback
{o.tWs one. two more thingssWt^s up with
th* kindeifat^ training level®; afid the lame
characters you can.chopsef Overall, a solid lit
rie'tepewn-racer . ‘AS- ‘'SfiaWH
i i
C n
It
Yoin« *®!!2!f£
HOiUHOU.
^ ' Oq/I
4? • /V/
>1SCII
® 1997 YANOMAN GAMES ® 1997 CLIMAX. All rights reserved. ASCII Entertainment, Felony 11-79, and the Felony 11-79 logo err
ENTERTAINMENT brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
Developer: Kalisto
Utilizing a third-person engine that rivals Tombl
Raider, Nightmare Creatures delivers an awe- I
some horror story that you participate in. I
Much like Clock Tower, you’ll soon find yourselfl
slowly peeking around every corner looking fori
the boogieman. The special attacks are sur- I
prisingly easy to perform, and only the turning I
speeds get on my nerves. Otherwise,
Nightmare Creatures is a well-done title that
has lots to offer those who love to explore as
well as beat the crud out of undead meanies.
Nearly every technique is useful, except the
lame jumpkicks. Don’t even try them on most
enemies, unless you enjoy being swatted from
the air like a gnat. Also, this game is easily
picked up by beginners as well as experts. You
will not need to use the block button while you
learn, but experts will quickly take advantage
of it to complete their goals perfectly. Even the
items are so powerful that it almost seems
unfair to use them against the undead. Pistols I
ki 11 wStth’one l.nt and life capsules are ifety I
The E= sleeper hit and visually incredible One
has finally arrived. So does it live up to its
hype? Yes. This is what a 3-D Contra should
be. It has huge explosions, lots of lights, a
simple but effective story line and loads of
action. And this action is apparent from the
get-go—a short but impressive intro quickly
gives way to an action-packed escape from a
giant attack chopper along a narrow, elevated
walkway! Yes, it is as cool as it sounds. The
me of the old days of gaming. For example,
you’re fighting a Boss at the top of a tower—
BAM, the next level starts on the top of that
building. And where are load times? Virtually
invisible. My major gripe is control. There were
times when I expected to move one way but
ended up going another because of a camera
change (i.e., pressing left moves me forward —
camera rotates—now left is actually down).
This is a problem inherent in most 3-D games.
StiW-Jt can get annoying at times. Also, keep
B mera change!
e it so you c^^Se the mam
t losing a limb
suppose thatj
SI IVel'enTfiayKhile.withi
, and do m bos to boot, v; -j
I one action-packed game that Visual
pts really Worked haid on making origi ■
tTfotii^^execution faltsshort, the
beW^em are brilli^<^njMt every
I^^Btains a new concept in 3-D gun
;£6M/f99
:EGMm
CGUm
NIGHTMARE CREATURES .
Developer: Visual Concepts
i
raphic feast, but thegameplay
j rough edges that make it
pd siimeiimesfrustrating),
era view often makes control.
The movingcameia view often makes control
ling yoqtcharacter tough, and even harder to
aim at^rtes Sometimeshuge explosions
hide ^^g tactes you must lump, maktng
your^^Bl a gupssmg game. One is a good
m more fine tuning““'‘* Krajg
U^is tpega^that will please^^e yet c
appoint marfy® year. I persohcijly like the
I ‘ ■ .1 detest Ih
predidable patleins to the enemies, partici
larlyihe Bosses f'l
lenge foes, but will find yourself con
stantl^Hing the crevices and bottomless
hem “t ruin: -i'l- I
ra(her?tfWsin bailie than by fcnHing Ciic
quite
nstthe
obstarl
Sushi
w Ray Tracers.
I looked like an updated version of Taito’s a
:oin-op Chase FiQ. Then I beat the game
ut 30 minutes, and I really have no
I urge to play it again. There’s just not enough
I to it. Each of the six levels has you barreling
I down the highway in an indestructible car,
I plowing through Sunday drivers for bonus
m ramming a big Boss machine to
ivel’s end. Sounds exactly like Chase
J FIQ, right? Trouble is, Ray Tracers doesn’t pack
I any personality, making for boring gameplay.
ne courses are dull, the drone cars are no
ore than random nuisances (which yield
onus points when you hit ’em), and the six
I Bosses are easy to topple. You simply turbo
I boost into them until they die. Fleck, two of
le Bosses—a helicopter and a Flarrier fight-
e. Why don’t
they just fly a few feet higher off the road, out
of reach of your ramming attacks? On the plus
id«,'®l|^)w;er 5 IS very fast Tb«?^^
‘ " The,^ur selectable cars cbhff#:
lugh yoH’fUocout^a
...getaTimfAtalK
courses ag»b»st#dri|Be
mt. butt adds little tB the feplpy-vstue. I
I
jCrispmJ
I like the jolend of racing and desjrujtipn. in,,
Ray TraceBs-l&t there are |ust too many prob¬
lems vyjtja th® game. The car’MtfflttoIs are
overiyjfeJWW, and there is B^ant 3-D
pop.oWv«ff»you can overlRf these techni¬
cal flaw's, yo'u cu n’t ignore hdW-b^ fl^gaihe
IS. There aren’t many levels, and the B^^i
are easily destroyed It won’t take the average
player morq’than an hour or so toTmish the
Do compgnies honestly think the y cart-g et
ismg games thafbnty lake"!^
- ipleteTWhere’lthe-^uatityA- I
troi?|?t-Tracer5 is an excell^game-great I
glSphfcs.#eat concept, fast a«matioii, etc. . I
But JO minutes of video game enjoyment is : I
worth-paying for, right? Too bad, Ray; I
,J co||iiye.5cored very high in my^fc. I
premiseJo RayTracers is this: Drive car, d«
S rUTTBlSSs I
augkthe L
introfi-s decent and the graphics are attially I
! 1 . Ray Tracers is the most simplistic.
Developer Pack in Video
I Fishing games have historically been fairly
I popular for some unknown reason. I don’t
I doubt that Reel Fishing will do well, but it
on’t be by my recommendation. I really
I couldn’t stand to watch someone play this for
I the first time; my own experience was bad
I enough. On the easiest level, in the simplest
I fishing hole, you will find that catching a fish
1 in Reel Fishing isn’t anything like real life. You
J have a 95 percent chance of losing either the
I fish, the halt, the hook, or (most likely) all
three. Sure, you might finally get the hang of
it after building your virtual fishing skills for
I hours, but who wants to lose for that long? For
ie thing, you are guaranteed to hook a fish.
I These fish are dumb. Despite your high rate
I of hooking a fish, you will find that these bad
I boys can break your toughest line without
:h problem. This is mainly due to the lack
I of sensory feedback for the tension on the
I line. Without that, it’s a pure guessing game. I
I 10\^thefltheffeatures likethefish tanks,but
I they towstfy aren’t what I’d basfs-fishlng ’
I game.-for. They are merely fillet Add the poorly
I designed tackle box interface to my: list of
I frustrating features. Carpal Tunnel Fishing is a
I better naiJM fepit, as replacing your h®»fe#8e
I and sinkertai^flS far too long thartks to the :
I weak. »iettifs)*tem and loading. At leastt|d
^sbing holetjackgmidrtdftare c»9l„ ■ ^^||j
ly kindjjlgame,
I WsiWtodiJiitK-for a “fish simi" this is.about E
as realistic as it’s going to get. There’s a lot of E
strategy i»»h<ed in choosi«i|iteSp^nt
to use (httc^'bait, etc.), cpdbeing ^te-to
keep care of som^ofyour cs^l^m
your i^n-Hsh Tanks is very cool. The’muMis
-ry^fig and the whol«fSfc hWBsAe I
r There’s 1
man™ c
:_e thing about Reelfi|tijng-it
Sough, the ftpphfcs andleel
I of Reel Fi^Sfere nice. I cafYtsay my jaw ‘
drops Q^^ing, but thegbtb#-tertaidly#)es
■ /e me thWeeling of really fis«g. fWBS
e to'secmore detailed gSUbl® oh the pole
d i^^Be screens. I wouMnttuyonyfrsh-
; ga^e,:but if you’re into ftshirfg at all, then
fo(^fe%iis one%Aeeperi
) exp.|rt, but the few times I’ve d
I few woTOS-yyith a rod and reel, I’ve ne
consistent bites like in this fishing game. Just B
ab^'^ery time you throw tte tore in, .you getE
a bite from a fish. As you can fel, this isn’t a
I qW^t^iy,TWstic game. Nevertheless, to ay
S e, I ijld (J(e it. There’s a lot of quiliy,'
abodfiOuch as.
Developer Psygnosis
Shipwreckers is a cute and original game
whose simple play mechanics make
appealing. Using an isometric view ti
the cartoony 3-D terrain, your goal is to pilot
pirate ship through various waterways in the
hopes of securing harbors and finding trea¬
sure. The gameplay is mostly action-oriented,
but there are a few basic puzzle elements that
involve the opening of doors and the use of
transporters. A variety of weapons such as
flamethrowers, depth charges, rockets and
mines are available in addition to any pirate’s
weapon of choice—cannonballs. Although the
One-player Mode is fun, the two-player com¬
bat is clearly this game’s strength. Here, play¬
ers square off in various water arenas with
power-ups and ship upgrades available to
them during battle. The game feels a lot like a
fancy game of Combat, especially when the
camera zooms way out when opponents dis¬
tance themselves. Aesthetically, Shipwreckers
isn’t flashy, but its 3-D graphicsdTflffe-atmos-
p!ietfe-bftl^4^ perfectly,iTie only annoy¬
ance is th^^’weapons aijd e^lo^n efrectsj
are imptb^, but they lo^’o
given i ^B t of the less flasljy
music orj,#i'e other hand is truly annbyte^ and
I fou^^gelf playing with it twped'off in.
ordertbfep my.sw»^ Ortersd, Sh^iWlWker
provSd toT|e a veifsSlWorthy vessel. IJl-gj]
Shipwreck!rs’ mix of puzzles and iijgtseas
shootigg^&n just didn’t do it for me. I got
bor|^^PIring around the levels.-solving
PL^Sfmost of which are e^y), and felling
blbvyhtp'tttS'by the frustratinfty-tough’ene-
r.i.". Foituria’ei . the game has a saving
grace-its excellent Multiplayer Mode 'n to
We people tan engage in ship-tq-ship death-
matches m 10 different arenas. These multi¬
boat bouts can get pretty wild' CriSDill
m.
Shipwreckers is another game thaj.,;y.9u^
shouldn’t play alone. The Multiplayer Mode is I
aitlBtarffbrrwtfff cool power-upiiirt'cfcniWo- *
pbo% arenps (that’s a good Ihin^, however
the single-player game is a little too baring 1
and straightfemvard for my tastes. Basically,
you go ar#M;6)lving puzzlesand shpoUng. L
thittgss thete-JUfe isn’t that much to thisi^me. I
Theframe rate slows.dovTO at times arjdtbe L
W Overall, Shipwreckers is a fun littj£j.|izzle
^ gaifte withii^li of action, tt^'wbtthtfbest
I arobhd (toi#ai#d to similafiction/^ZZlfe
I games lik||.&tVikings) butlrsftrtalr((^i 1 i;,lot I
I of fun Tj^i^aphics look good and It has a
ol muiipftiyer feature. ThWM^estfMIlMem
I have with the game is the mosic-lt’s like
-- It offt)itfotf.tiothfet‘elso,i™5This
le fofctfre MultiphyeeMode V',. j
Developer Sony Interactive Studios
remember going out to see this game in
/ery early stages, and getting excited. The ideal
behind the game was not only to convey what I
the Spawn world was like, but also to give
PlayStation owners a fun gaming experience.
I thought it shouldn’t be that hard to make a
good Spawn game considering the 16-Bit one
that came out really didn’t do the job. A lot of
time passed and I couldn’t help but think of
how cool the game was going to be. Well,
it’s finally here and I can't say that I’m
impressed. I’m a fan of Spawn (well a few of
the comics and a lot of the figures anyway),
and the game definitely has a certain horrific, I
gritty feel, but that’s as far as it goes.
Graphically, Spawn is a step below Tomb
Raider. The special lighting effects and animat -1
ed textures are impressive, but only
I like the music—it being more for a
most of the time, and then rockin’w
sequence takes place. Which is another point. I
The expj^*i in the game i*^.
fight that are belc^i
best. Ja^ef^nd that they w^eSift trying to I
make a fighting game here, but since thisTs
tho‘<%, b«»6ld’ve left out the fightirtg
(oBi^i^re make it more like To^^B
Raider’s action sequences). I_ reqUy waiitto J
J “Yawn” IS more like it. Spawn’s a game nc
« a fan of.the comic or film could like.
fit’s Botthring, it’s fru5tr#ig.1t fail
I miserably as a fighting ^Bie^^nd expte- I
1 rative,ac4>#b#r, with a wealct|^iig engine, f
J horrililil^cimera, choppy-Contiol ai|jbad
I graphicsJtlWfks right down Ihefewit^,
I Sirtech’s Excalibur 2055 and-ASC’sPerfefit
M Looking for a bad action game? Smetl no fur-
I ther tharfj^n. The most frustfeSng pto of
I playingthis^e IS seeing hfflW-fBBchpd^-
I tial itfeps (erf.-liad). A 3-D ar^sBigame.with - ,
I lighting game-sly le ball les sounds so
I thspiyjbuttheexecution isn’bfhtre m Spite.
■ as muddy as ai?*k\Afoo4''
a iM»ni».W^bWOn State, thes-D’ftghtijw I
I engine 15 sfit^wid a«*s«wl, apd-’ite Pfi^AI I
^just couldiYtife morelirtindearf • - ||6||v *
' I haven’t .seen many bad third-pej;
lis yea^ but Mmew hell would ha
)mewhip.\k^n’t find much goe|
I about thfcp^ly conceived tjttei%|ayny
’ "I'nction was the awesothe
art; McFarlarfeifeidws howtb I
jsfans. Thatin mind, IhndK f
with the ;
I choppy, pixelated, slow-moving game h'. _
slishil
Developer: Ural Group LLC
I’ll be the first to admit that it seems weird '
that Nintendo has their name slapped on
these headphones, but if you think about it,
it makes sense. If you can’t afford a big ol’
surround sound system and your parents or
neighbors complain, these headphones are an
inexpensive solution. After using them, 1 never
want to mess around with wires anymore! It
is sweet to just sit back wireless, hear the
sounds from every game I play and not have
to bother anyone around me (except when I
would get mad at the game and scream). Plus,
the set has two inputs. So not only did I have
my systems hooked up to the headphones
(through a switcherbox), but I also had my
portable Walkman jacked in. The infrared unit
needs to be plugged into a wall outlet, but has
a pretty good range, and for most practical
uses, the set should work just fine. The head¬
phones take a couple of AAA batteries which
last a good 10-15 hours. I will say that the
headphones themselves are a little snug.
S«e.JlieyTe adjustable, but weftwftfc^hat
SByjpakBntyears a little unttrti^rtable. The
st^SSitlfwIStOteke a break evefydOUpleWOtyrs
or SO. I tried f|te headphones «lBt a bypchof
S t and they worked great With
enjf1%y especially kick^ass whstryop
as« tbeprsvitlia ga«^t has»«ijngs«eo
,5(WiS,tt%«keyo^^ly there,
Wrestling games usually aren’t my cup of tea 1
but the newer games have sparked my interest!
in the sport. WCW Nitro is one of them. I’m not I
one to take pro wrestling any more seriously I
than a form of organized (and sometimes over-1
wrought) entertainment and this game is a I
fine (but not outstanding) representative of I
the “sport.” The graphics are well-done with I
large wrestlers and a detailed wrestling arena I
but the action seems to be set too far away. I I
would’ve preferred if the viewpoint was up I
close and personal. I want to see blood flow- I
ing and bodies bouncing but that was nowhere!
to be found in WCW Nitro. For a beginner like I
me, the controls were simple and intuitive but I
there seems to be a slight delay with each I
button press. This doesn’t pose as much of a I
problem in the One-player Mode because the I
computer Al seems to be kinda dumb, but I
when playing a real person, it can be really I
frustrating. Speaking of playing a real person, I
did notice tha»#ie game sl^ip)wn^«l4
when fQ^^^stlers are all biTSdleerratJw I
same tim«:|)verall, WCW Iftro fea g^dgiiiit
not g^^Bestling game. ^g^on»«|i|k)se I
Tennis Arena is a prime example of a solid
tennis game that took a little too much libe
with its arcade-ish feel. Now don’t get me
wrong, I do understand the concept and fur
an arcade-style tennis game, but I feel somi
the stuff in this game is just dumb. For exar
pie, just about every tennis game I’ve ever
played uses the directional pad to create th
extra little bit of "English” on the ball. With
Tennis Arena you can use the D-pad if you
want, but the effect is very subtle. The mair
way of swerving the ball in the desired direi
tion is to use the Li and Ri buttons which I
is counter-intuitive and complicates things I
control after a while, but if it ain’t broke, why
fix it? Problem #2: Each player has their own
“Unique Super Special Shot” where you’ll see
ludicrous things like balls being hit by players’
bellybuttons and 360 spins. It all seemed a lit¬
tle cheesy to me. If you get in a long rally, you
cati<a%r acquire a regular s^eW»f«"|le
acquire this MfS a-sSr icon
■ llayed under your play^^p problem
is thaffc^an’t be turnedW, SO if yt».
S thelsre ||^^buf these silly extras ’
t cubit tor^ritj- f ^ MtMu
Although h isn’t great, this is the best_ _
wrestlinifArie I’ve played on,1Ke PtayStaStti.
The.ac^frft quick, and the canferis intuftive.
The 3-D graphics are pretty good.'bqt.when
more than two wrestlers are on screen the
B Sibody slammed -Such 3'thin®
of the Multiplayer Mpg^ii
Jf skimpy already. Snfficf to .
SystsmlSIfWee bit pricey at $59 (MSRP), but
if yot^e agaSisr who’s not tocrtwcerhed’
afctpfiavfegA'iound setup tbsb'Bibiow your
nbig^afste# the next district, these babrSs
are for you. The sound Is crystal-clear for at
least as long as your controller cord will
reach (and then some), and the unit and heat
phones are nicely designed and take up little
^pace. Perfect for late-night gaming. J0||[
I lot of fun. Both modes of
Idone (World Tour for one
Pi Tennis fofi^ttppte bil^r:
enough lhat both die-hard
I Kelly) and non-fans of the
'^Here’s ajigat solution for those of you w
are afraid of waking your folks or roomm;
S g that late night gaming session Thi
phones have excellent clarity and de
ding far better than most television
<ers. Using these headphones will
nte ta«^f your gamir*«^rieSii
unless^already own a kiltgrlWfie rtei
systsBf^ again, you shouldn’t use a
The pickiga have been slim latelyfor fans of
PlaySt^Btonis games, so fennis Arena
coul«»e come at a better time. Turns'
out the fame’s pretty solid The Mujtiplayer
M^de^ane-atbiast (especially when you-have
IMJ- Tper
arcade touch to the ather-
^M alii^Mion. Control fc^b ut ^M
When I r^d “Your Racket Is YourOnly,^
Weaponl&^his game’s box taiew 1!
S resting expeeience UbtSoft
ought tennis was'an interest-
s all sorts 0^^
amusing,’but «ls«un<|«tfce
WCW isJ.r!,other wrestling game, like it;
c^§B^^Soks good,
■ dstfere^and will appealH^psw
fMge a WCW fan andyou own
Jbvfousjy your game But fandoi
what ties beneath the expensive been
strictly average wrestling game with a
Althguj
t particularly need a^|^
• gameplay in the fGMoffici
h»&these^les ones wsisB be ju^fliw
aniidSfr^thflid I gave thenwlest drlueby
pteyiBgG^aiEye and Maddeft^ andthe
sound was crystal clear .. an
a tittle price» to if you're anb^ftf papA.
a«w»d youvrtth thei^ision.t«m«dmso
prifemsifi»toohightopav Krajg
Com
ELECTRONIC
CMMinC
= MONTHLY
ng to the N
ECM‘
Official
PlayStation
* Magazine
e t
February 1998
^ideogamespot
2D
ZIFF-DAVIS
a SOFTBANK
company
Editors' Choice Award
Rank Number
2 Last Bronx
3 ? Diddy Kong Racing
4?*SFCoilectlon
5 Monster Rancher
^ PiayStation/Tecrad
6 Armored Core
7 Bomberman 64
9 Enemy Zero
ho Robotron 64
Hiatendo44/&»te
Sliders
Why?
Why NOT?
Plus you II get
exclusive gaming news,
restricted cheats & codes,
insider PlayStation inFo,
access to PlayStation
Underground merchandise
and special oFFers.
And you'll also get a $29.95 rate
when you subscribe to the
PlayStation Underground CD Mag.
SitpUp-MliFIIEB
Mail To; PlayStation Underground
P.O. Box 152225, irving, TX 75015-9859
Fax To: toii Free 1.888.780.SONY (7 e e 9 I
oc Call Toll Free! 1.888.770.SONy (J669)
0015
Weapons & Powering them up
Magnets (yellow)
Trick of
the Month
Colony Wars
CHEAT PASSWORDS
On the Main Menu Screen, go into the
Options and then highlight and enter the
Password Option. Choose “Enter” and put
in one of the codes shown below for
various results. The passwords are case
sensitive, so enter them exactly as shown:
Hestas*Retort - Infinite Energy
Commander*Jeffer - Access to all levels,
missions, acts, movies (at the Main
Menu Screen).
Tranquiltex - Super-cooled weapons
(don’t heat up).
Enter Commander*leffer to get You will receive ii
access to all the levels. entering the Hest
Meino*X33RTY - Infinite serondary weapons.
AU*cheats*off - Turns off all the cheats.
Jason Karol
Mulberry, FL
All of these codes must be entered while
in the middle of the game. Find a flat
surface and follow the movements
carefully for each of the tricks listed:
Level Skip - Step Left, Step Right, Step
Left, Step Back, Step Forward, Turn
around three times and then do a
Forward lump and immediately press the
Roll button to get the level end cinema.
All Weapons - Step Left, Step Right. Step
Left, Step Back, Step Forward, Turn around
three times and then do a Backward Jump
and immediately press the Roll button to
get all weapons and plenty of ammo and
items in your inventory.
Exploding Lara - Step Left, Step Right,
Step Left, Step Forward, Step Back, Turn
around three times and then do a Forward
lump and immediately press the Roll
button. Lara will explode and you will
have to begin the game again.
Get Rid of the Butler - Go into the
kitchen and open the freezer. When the
butler follows you in, jump over him and
close the door behind you. He won’t be
able to get out and you can walk around
without the butler following you.
Do the Weapons code to get
everything in your inventory.
Final Fantasy
eE6[lfiAi[E.HOCOgi;'5IAMiN‘A
Here is a trick for Chocobo
racing within the game.
When racing your Chocobos,
hold the Ri and Rz buttons
simultaneously and your
stamina will regenerate. C *
Even if you speed up your ^ ^ |
Chocobos, it will increase or
stay the same. If you sprint, MANY [
the bar will drain slower „ . ..
than before. °
Peter Land mEutLa
hold the Ri and Rz buttons
simultaneously and your
stamina will regenerate.
Even if you speed up your
Chocobos, it will increase or
stay the same. If you sprint,
the bar will drain slower
than before,
Peter Land
Waukesha, Wl
Wars: Masters of Teras KasI
Duke Nukem 64
MANY MATS REVEALED
To get these cheats to work, you must fiist enter the main code:
l eft, Left, L button, L butlon. Right, Right, Left, Lett. This will open
the "Cheals” Menu. After It is entered, pul in any one of Ihese
codes on the Main Menu Screen for the results shown below;
Invincibility - R button, R button, R button, R button, R button, R
button, R button. Left.
Items On/Off - R brrtfon, Right-C, Right, L button. Left-C, Lett,
Right-C, Right.
Monsters On/Off- L button, Left-C, Left, R butlon, Right-C, Right,
Left, Left, Right.
Benjamin Yavitz
St. Louis, MO
Froqger
lEVElSfiFITAHO INFINITE IIVFS ^
These tricks will give you some great cheats to help you
along in the classic come back to life.
All Zones Open - Pause the game during play and press Right,
Square, Triangle, Square, Triangle, Ri, Li, Ri, Li, Circle.
Infinite Lives - Pause the game during play and press Right,
Square, Triangle, Square, Triangle, X.
Once you do either of these tricks, you will see the results in
text on the bottom of the screen.
I find the Level Select!
Pause In the middle of your
game and do the trick.
Once you go back to the Level
Menu, all of them will be open!
Time Crisis
USE PEDAL WITH THE GAME
To do this method, you will
have to have the Mad Catz
steering wheel peripheral.
Make sure your GunCon is
plugged in port i and plug
the Mad Catz wheel in port
z. When you begin your
©
game, you can use the ped¬
als included with the wheel
to activate the “duck” fea¬
ture. This will give you more
of an arcade feel while
playing the game.
Wim de Koning
Holland
Fighting Force
At the Main Menu Screen, Options. Now go into the
press and hold buttons Li, Options Screen and you will
Rz, Square, and Left (on the see that the first two options
directional pad). Do this until will now let you select your
“Cheat Mode” appears under level and Invulnerability!
rIANY LHtAlbANOHIOOEN CHARACTERS
The following tricks are to be done during the Character Loading Screen and can be done in
the Versus and Practice Modes only.
Big Head - Hold the Select button during loading.
Super Deformed - Hold the Select, Down and X keys during loading.
Tiny Mode - Hold Select, Down, X and Rz buttons during loading.
The following characters or arena select features can only be unlocked if “Player Change at Continue”
the Options Menu is set to “No," which is the default .setting.
Unlock Oarth Vader - Play through Arcade Mode with Luke Skywalker on “Standard” or “Jedi” difficulty.
Unlock Stormtrooper - Play through Arcade Mode with Han Solo on “Standard" or “)edi” difficulty.
Unlock Jodo Kast ■ Play through and win against seven or more characters
in “Survival Mode.” —■ •— “
Unlock Slave Leia - Play through Arcade Mode with Princess Leia on \
“jedi” difficulty. JpP
dock Mara jade - Hold the Li, Lz and Ri buttons as you enter Team Mode
“Jedi” difficulty. After the computer selects the characters, you will see _
“Battle for Mara Jade.” Win the battle and she will be released. |
" lock the Ability to Select Arenas - (Practice and Arcade only)
"lay through Arcade Mode with Chewbacca on “Standard”
or “Jedi” difficulty.
Moto Racer
G-Police
WEJPOSS, AMMO AND 5HIEID5
These codes are to be
entered on the Title Screen
(with Start/Options);
View Credits - Press 0 , T, 0 ,
0 , T, 0 , Up, Right, Left, X.
View Victory FMV Sequence
- Press 0 , T, 0 , T, 0 , T, Li,
Up, R2, X.
Enable Ail Tracks - Press Up,
Up, Left, Right, Down, Down,
0 , Rz, T, X.
Enable All Reversed Tracks -
Press Down, Down, Right,
Left, Up, Up, 0 , L2, T, X at
the Title Screen.
Reverse Mode - Press Left,
Right, Left, Right, 0 , 0 , Ri,
Li, T, X,
Pocket Bikes - Press Up,
Down, R2, L2, Down, Up, Li,
X at the Title Screen.
CPU Bikes Only Go 50 km/h
■ Press Down, Down, Down,
0 , Li, 0 , L2, Down, Down, X.
Turbo Boost - Press Up, Up,
Up.T, Ri,T, R2, Up, Up,Xat
the Title Screen.
Unlimited Shields ■ On the
Briefing Screen, hold
Li+R2+Square. While hold¬
ing these, press Left.
All Weapons and Unlimited
Ammo - At the Loadout
Screen (weapon choice),
hold Li-tL2,-tRa-tCircte+
Triangle-tSquare. While
holding these, press Left.
Kevin White
Belvidere, IL
PlayStation Underground No. 4
VANY BIDDEN CODB l^s
Disci
Contest - In the Bulletins section, hold Triangle and Circle. While holding them, press Square twice.
New Memory Cartridges - In the Code Archive section, hold Triangle and Circle. While holding them,
press Square twice.
Where Are They Now? - In the Event Center, hold Triangle and Circle. While holding them, rapidly
press Square.
Parappa Fun Code - On the Main Menu Screen, press Square, Triangle, Circle, Triangle, Triangle.
Disc 2
Resident Evil 2 Video - On the Main Screen (with Cardinal SYN showing),
press Square, Triangle, Square, Triangle. t
Our Lady Peace Video - On the Main Screen (with Cardinal SYN show- ” *
ing), press Circle, Triangle, Circle, Triangle, Circle, Square, Circle. ‘ 3 '
Twisted Metal 1 Ending - On the Main Screen (with Cardinal SYN show- . i, , ''f-.lfLo,-
ing), hold Circle and Triangle. While holding them, press Square twice.
Cool Boarders 2 Tips - On the Main Screen (with Cardinal SYN '
showing), press Triangle, Triangle, Circle, Triangle, Square. ,
Rprf Asnhalt fnrips - fin the Main Srrppn fwith
Test Drive 4
NEW CABS AND BACKWARD TBACKS
Choose a One-Player Race from the Main Menu and choose a
Drag Race from the Race Menu. Now choose a car and win the
race. You will set a new record for the race. When the “Race Again”
Menu appears, choose “Quit.” Now put in your name as KNACKED
for backward tracks, or SAUSAGE to get four new cars (GTSR, TVR
12/7, Pitbull Special and a ’69 Dodge Daytona)! The new cars and
tracks will appear in the Single Race Mode only.
David Howsley
Purcell, OK
Red Asphalt Codes - On the Main Si
Cardinal SYN showing), press Si
Square, Circle.
in see an ending for
>d Metal that was cut!
Monster Rancher
To do this trick, your breeding status must be in master rank
(R-io). Note: You must have another game called, “Tecmo’s
Deception” to do this trick. When you are about to breed a
monster, put in the Tecmo’s Deception game CD and you will
get a secret character from that game called Ardebaren when
you generate a monster in the shrine! Also, PlayStation and
iaN- i-.LV-
Cool stuff you could probably live without, but shouldn’t
O V is for Victory
street Fighter maniacs can now kick back
and watch the early adventures of Ken and
.'u as they strive to become the best
fighters in the world. Top-notch animation
id a wonderfully developed story line
highlight this lo-volume set. No, Sheng
Long doesn’t make an appearance, but
look for the hidden Akumas in nearly all 29
action-packed episodes.
O PaRapper’s CD
if you got the urge to bust-a-move
while playing PaRappa the Rapper,
you’re not alone. Why, if it weren’t
for the intensity of the game a
(it requires all your concentra- JM
tion), we’d all be layin’ out
the cardboard for some old- Mk
school breakin’. Get the
soundtrack through this
small but friendly importer.
Price $i9.95(dubbed) each
$24.95(subtitled) each
For more information
■ vw.manga.com
phone (212) 780-4058
O No Skip to My Lou
After you get your PaRappa CD, check out the SL-S651C
B Personal CD Player from Panasonic, it features a 10-
p second anti-shock memory, so you can skip around like
” an idiot and not miss a beat! A remote control and
Illuminated control buttons make this pup a gem
of a car CD player.
Price $200
For more information
www.panasonic.com
phone (201) 348-9090
Why is it that with a cool license like Star Trek the only
good games are the multimedia offerings from Simon &
Schuster? Star Trek Captain’s Chair lets you explore
every nook and cranny on the bridge of the Classic
Enterprise, Voyager, Defiant—as well as the Next
Generation’s Enterprise D and E. QuickTime VR technolo¬
gy lets you “walk” wherever you want to go, so you can
check out all the cool bridge displays, many of which
actually work when activated. Heck, touch the wrong
button and you can even auto-destruct the USS Voyager!
VESSEL SIAM 0B1142
rive 3 BONUS nrdf
coming yoLic yyay chi
Hey Gamers!
This time of year there are so many cool games coming our way it’s hard to inc
enough space to tell you about ’em all. That’s why we have EGM and EGM^
special issues like the ippS Video Game Buyer’s Guide, Guide to
Sports Video Gomes and Video Games for the Nintendo Although
these mags are created by your favorite EGM and EGM^ editorSt they contain
lots of information not found in the pages ot EGM and EGM^. Let me tell you a
little about each...
1998 Video Game Buyer’s Guide
Put together by Dan Hsu and the rest of the Review Crew, this mag tells you
our pick for this year’s best system and which games you should buy! We
also have our Good, Bad and Silly look back on the gaming industry, along
with a massive trick index and game review chart with over 1,300 games
listed and rated! Plus, go behind the scenes with Shigeru Miyamoto on
the future of Nintendo, and take a top-secret look at the world of video
game-controller design.
Video Games for Nintendo 64
Written by brand-spankin’ new Review Crew guy (and Nintendo-book veteran)
John Ricciardi, this mag has everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the
N64. It’s packed with reviews of all the new N64 games, previews of more than
20 hot new titles, a huge tips-and-tricks section and —best of all—strategy
guides for all of your favorite games. John just got back from Japan with the
latest Nintendo news, and he’s itchin’ to unload it allln this special issue.
im make all the big plays? Want to know which
bother playing? EGM’s guide will satisfy all of
1 comprehensive strategies, interviews, in-depth
/lew lineup of the ultimate sports titles. Watch
interview with
id-the-scenes blowout and
EGM’s armchair jock Kraig Kujawa is writing
linly on football, basketball and hockey titles.
Features Editor
Crispin Boyer
Official
PlayStation
" Maaazina
Available Today!
Don't forget to look for our
newest title...
Lookinq
down the
barrel of a
machine qun
is a memory
a person
doesn't
quickly
R emember the live CNN
coverage of the Gulf War
from inside iraq?
Journalists sometimes
have to go to dangerous
areas to cover a story.
Fortunately, video
games are a rather
“safe” industry to cover.
Until now.
For the past couple of months 1
have been traveling around the world
gathering information for a story i
am working on. i was abie to go to
a couple dozen countries including
Russia and China, and to get the
details, 1 had to go beyond the nor¬
mal tourist sites. That’s where things
really got interesting.
First, there was Russia, i always
have had uncanny luck of being in the
right spot at the right time, i got there
just when they were celebrating the
85th anniversary of the Russian revo¬
lution. i was among the crowds in Red
Square taking pictures when a soldier
Russia was getting a tour of the city
with the prime minister of China and
security was tight. Well, there 1 was,
standing a foot taller than the crowd,
Chinese soldiers, who proceed to
grab me and pull me off to their car.
All the time they were yelling some¬
thing in Chinese and one soldier had
EGM's own gaming guru shoots from the hip
tigeeib:"
Month
SMSiMIME'
®Z3ZaM7ZZ7®
The year 1997 was a great time
for next-generation gaming. Now
that the last games of ’97 have
arrived, dress up in your tux,
because it’s time for the 1997 EGM
Editors’ Choice and Reader Awards.
We’re sure you can guess some of
the obvious winners, but there will
be a few surprises.
The next few months promise to
be landmark ones for gaming.
Kicking off the tidal wave is
Resident Evil 2, which we will
review, in addition to major cover¬
age of the N64 ’s Yoshi’s Story. Also Yoshi’s Story has been
look for reviews of NBA In the Zone
’98, Nagano Winter Olympics
(N64/PS) and Winter Heat (SAT).
ing our editors to drool for
months. Finally, we get our
hands on the popular dino.
The only event big¬
ger than the Oscars,
or the Super Bowl—
The fGM Editors’
Choice Awards.
Resident Evil 2 is
an eagerly antici¬
pated sequel.
Does it live up to
expectations?
March 1998
If you can’t get Lara to the
next level, she might not be
“just another pretty face.”
Travel through time and even
hell to obtain the keys to the
Tower of Hell while beatin’ up
your foes!
February 1998
Mr. Groundhog won’t be popping
his head out all too soon because
EGM’ has a fantastic lineup of
strategy guides next month.
Starting with our second part to
the Tomb Raider 2 guide, we left
off with Lara dangling from a
cliff...OK, maybe not. But we do
show you how to conquer the next
couple of levels and Bosses.
Next, the zombies are on the
loose in Raccoon City, and without
our help, you could be zombie
chow. Learn all the ins and outs
of the sequel to Resident Evil.
Plus, it will be a good day in hell
if you use our Spawn strategy in
next month’s issue!
Check out the first-ever
hands-on strategy guide
available for Resident Evil
2—and learn the ins and
outs of this “killer” title.
It’s finally here! February will
see the first annual 0 PM Editors’
awards. What will be chosen as
the Game of the Year? What were
the standouts that will receive
honorable mentions? Will joe
Rybicki’s New Year’s resolution
be regrowing his flowing mane?
All these questions and more will
be answered in February.
Continuing our coverage on
maximizing your PlayStation,
CFG Lab’s president Brent
Butterworth tells you how
calibrate your television! Of
course, the issue will still be
packed with the latest info about
all things PlayStation.
You can cut the tension with a knife!
What will the game of the year be?
$5.00 OFF
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jr order, payment, and this coupon to you. El
To Buy Games To Sell Games/Systems
No Boxes?
No Instructions?
Strategy Guides
and Hint Books
We are now buying Genesis, Super Ninte • ^ i
and Saturn games without boxes or instructions, i ne
following are prices for cartridge/disc only.
Nintendo 8 bit (cartridge only)* $i ,uu
Game Boy (cartridge only) $2.uu
Game Gear (cartridge only) $2.uu
Genesis (cartridge only) $2.uu
Super Nintendo (cartridge only) $o.uu
Saturn (disc only) $2.uu
PlayStation (disc only) $5.00
^ Nintendo 64 (cartridge only) $15.00
Hogan's Alley and other zapped gun^or power pad games. '
packaged games (Virtua Fighter Remix, etc.) and games that were
included with systems. Miscellaneous/extra PlayStation and Saturn
Castlevania Survival Guide $12.95
N64 Survival Guide $14.95
N64 Survival Guide Vol. 2 '' " $14.95
Call for more Guides/Hint Books
Ask about used Guides/Hint Books
The above strategy guides/hint books are BRAND NEW factory fresh.
MACETHEDARKAGE
MADDEN '98
MARIO KART 64
MISCHIEF MAKERS
54.95/24.00
49.95/22.00
54.95/24.00
MKMYTHOLOGIES SUB ZERO
MKTRILOGY
MULTI RACING CHAMP
NAGANO OLYMPICS
NBA HANGTIME
'NTHEZONE
)-BACKCLUB'98
.....3REAKAWAY‘98
PILOTWINGS64
QUAKE
ROBOTRON64
WAYNE GRETZKY HOCKEY
WAYNE GRETZKY'98
WCWVS. NWO
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
YOSHTS ISLAND 64
54.95/24.00
49.95/20.00
54.95/24.00
54.95/24.00
54.95/24.00
49,95/22.00
54.95/24.00
54,95/24.00
49.95/22.00
54.95/24,00
P. 49.95/22.00
49.95/20.00
49.95/20.00
54!95/24!00
49.95/20.00
49.95/22.00
•Impact Racing-In the I.
ituii a Diuod - iron Man X-0 War - Johnny Bazookatoiic
Jumping Flash 2 • K1 Arena Fighters ■ Killing Zone
Kileak DNA imperative - King's Field 2 - Krazy Ivan
Legacy of Kain - Lernmings - Loaded - Machinehead
Monal KomLt sTba hThe Zone - NB^rJamTE.
NBA Uve '97 - NBA Shootout '97 - NCAA Final Four '97
NCAA Gamebreaker - NFL Full Contact • NHL '97
NFL Gameday '97 ■ NFL Quarterback Club '97
NHL Face Off '97 ■ NHL Powerplay '96 ■ Overblood
Olympic Summer Games - Pandemonium • Pitfall
Perfect Weapon - Primal Rage ■ Primal Rage
Project Overkill - Project Horned Owl - Reloaded
Return Fire - Revolution X • Ridge Racer
Rise 2 Resurrection ■ Robotron X ■ Shellshock
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$19.95 Each
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Now Buying DVD Movies/Discs - Prices in this ad are good through February 28,1998
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IMPORT
Tales of Destiny
Samurai Showdown 4
Xenogears
Z-Gundam Limited
Bio Hazard 2
Over Blood 2
Chocobo Dungeon
Grand Turismo
Real Robot Finai Attack
X-Men vs Street Fighter
Gun Bike
Front Mission Alternative
Critical Blow
Qrandstream Saga
Gensou Suikoden Wars
u.s.
Road Rush 3D
Breath of Fire 3
Cardinal SYN
Riven
Deathtrap Dungeon
Resident Evil 2
NBA in the Zone 98
WCW Nitro
SEX: Enter Gecko
San Francisco Rush
[V m S'
• NEO CD $339 WITH ANY GAME OF YOUR CHOICE.
• We cany Neo-Geo CD and Neo-Geo cartndge panes. King of Fighters 97
Final Fantasy 7
Action Figures: $20 EA.
DBZ Super Battle
Collection Action
Figures VoluME,
1-27 Price From
$12 to $18 EA.
I'Ai -n't
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PINCH.W PRESS.I< BLAST.A WRECK.D
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ADVERTISER INDEX
. 146-147
Acclaim.5
www.acclaimnation.com
Activision.18-19
www.activision.com
Alps Electric.17
www.interactive.alps.com
ASC Games .15,102-103
www.ascgames.com
ASCII Ent.116-117
www.asciient.com
Atius.13
www.atlus.com
BRE Software.137
www.bresoftware.com
Capcom.148
Chips 8i Bits.77
www.cdmag.com/chips.html
Eidos.C2-C4,88-89
www.eidosinteractive.com
Electronic Arts.34-35,68-69
www.EA.com
Funco.139
www.funcoland.com
Game Cave.144
www.gamecave.com
Game Express.142
www.gexpress.com
GT Interactive Ent.50-51,74-75
www.gtinteractive.com
Innovation.145
www.innovationl.com
www.gameshark.com
Interplay Productions.30-31
rw.interplay.com
Jaleco, Inc.
www.jaleco.com
.63
Konami.
.60-61,82-83
www.konami.com
Lowbuys, Inc.
.143
www.lowbuys.com
LucasArts.
.6-7,78-79
Nintendo or America.
www.nintendo.com
.>0-5/
.41
www.oceanline.com
.141
Psygnosis.
www.psygnosis.com
Sega of America.
.27, 39, 59, 93
.10-11
www.sega.com
www.segasoft.com
www.sony.com
Sony (Hi-Fi Division).
.22-23
.65,108-09,125
.36, 55
.81
www.tecmo.co.jp
T*HQ, Inc.
.138
UBI Soft.
.29
www.ubisoft.com
n;
www.workingdesigns.com
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE $69.00
NAGANO OLYMPICS $61.00
NBA IN THE ZONE 98 $61.00
ROBOTPONX $66.00
SUPERMAN 64 $69.00
WHEEL OF FORTUNE $55.00
ALUNDRA $45.00
AUTODESTRUCT $43,75
BASS MASTERS CLASSIC $40,00
BATMANS, ROBIN $42,50
CARDINAL SYN $41,50
EXODUS $41.50
JOE BLOW $44,00
NAGANO OLYMPICS $46,50
NBA IN THE ZONE 98 $46,50
NBA SHOOTOUT 98 $40,00
POWER SOCCER 2 $42,00
RESIDENT EVIL 2 $47.00
RIVEN: SEQUEL TO MYST $50.50
SHADOW MASTER $43,75
SKULL MONKEYS $45.50
THEME HOSPITAL $43,75
WCWNITRO $44.20
WRECKIN'CREW $44.00
BATTLE MONSTERS
BLAST CHAMBER
BRAIN DEAD 13
BUG
CLOCKWORK KNIGHT
CRITICOM
DEFCON 5
DOUBLE SWITCH
JOHN MADDEN 97
MORTAL KOMBAT II
MYST
NBAJAMIIT.E,
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PRIMAL RAGE
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Call 860-395*3090 or fax 860-388-0084 to order or locate the store nearest you, write us at Innovation PO Box 360 Old Saybrook, CT 06475.
All trademarks and registered trademarks are properties of their respective owners. . ■' ^ . . ' ■ ■ ■
PSX Regular or Advanced Color Ccffltreltere -*THE
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_ i PSX 240 Blocks Color Memory Card '< PSX
■ V >' ' Analog Stick Controller
■ ■■ w/Rumble feature
R^esidenj
Evil 2
Has I^isen.
f'*
n
I
JHE GAMING
EVENT OF 1998 .
Nothing Else Even
Comes Close."
- GameFan
L,
\ .. '
The most anticipated gaming event of 1998 has arrived. Resident Evil'“2,
tlie shocking sequel to the Comtimer's Choice: Best PlayStation Game Overall
plunges horror fans into the most intense, the most terrifying game experi¬
ence ever crafted. You see evil. You hear evil. You're overwhelmed by evil.
If The Suspense Doesn't Kill You, Something Else Will.
Play the online Resident Evil 2 game <^1
at www.residentevil2.com Si I l.
® CAPCOM CO., LTD. 1998 © CAPCOM U.S.A., INC. 1998 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. RESIDENT EVIL is a Irademai* ol CAPCOM CO.. LTD. CAPCOM is a
registered trademark ol CAPCOM., LTD. PlayStation and the PlaySlalion logo are trademarks ol Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
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