Electronic Gaming Monthly 2006 06
Electronic Gaming Monthly 2006 06
Electronic Gaming Monthly 2006 06
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June 2006 ISSUE 204
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contents
issue 204 • june 2006
LETTERS
14 Can you imagine if we went a month
without offending someone? Neither
can we
PRESS START
This is what’s happening in the
wonderful world of gaming this month
18 CRYING GAME
Designers want games that make you
cry—see how they’re doing it
24 PREVIEW: GOD OF WAR II
We talk with director Cory Barlog
about the return of Kratos
26 THE HALO GRAPHIC NOVEL
Announcing Halo Thr—wait, what?
30 REVIEW: FINAL FANTASY VII:
ADVENT CHILDREN
We love it...we love it not
32 AFTERTHOUGHTS: TOMB RAIDER:
LEGEND
The motorcycle levels still suck
34 DON’T TRASH YOUR OLD TV!
Thinking of getting a HDTV? Why you
should wait
36 TAKE THIS JOB: COMPOSER
Wanna make music for games? See
COVER STORY:
86
what it takes
42 PREVIEW: FINAL FANTASY XII
REVOLUTION
We tear through the Japanese
version of this year’s biggest RPG
46 RUMOR MILL
Providing fuel for message boards
everywhere
48 AFTERTHOUGHTS: GHOST RECON
ADVANCED WARFIGHTER The wait is over...we’ve got the first look at the games and
A candid conversation over
achievements and dopey A.I. the skinny on surprising new hardware features
GAME OVER
94 COVER STORY:
Last but not least...
©2006 Eidos. Rogue Trooper is ©1977 Rebellion A/S and a Trademark or Registered Trademark in certain jurisdictions. Used under license. www.2000adonline.com. Eidos and the Eidos Logo are trademarks of SCi Entertainment Group. “PlayStation” and
the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Online play requires internet connection and Memory Card (8MB) (for PlayStation 2) (each sold separately). The Online icon is a trademark of Sony Computer
Entertainment America Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox Live, the Live logo, and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. GameSpy and the "Powered by GameSpy" design
are trademarks of GameSpy Industries, Inc. Software platform logo (tm and c) IEMA 2006. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
letters
Choose wisely.
press start
gaming news, previews, multiple ménages à trois, and other stuff
Photo
graph
s by R
. Dods
on/SF
MISFIT
S
>> ACCORDING TO A STUDY, MEN WHO PLAYED GTA3 SHOWED “MORE PERMISSIVE ATTITUDES” TOWARD BOOZE AND DRUGS AND MORE “UNCO-
CRYING
GAMES
Gamemakers have done blood and sweat to death—now
they want to bring on the tears. But do developers have
what it takes to turn on the waterworks?
liff Bleszinski is a grown-up able goal,” says Neil Young, studio head But he’s coy on exactly how the game
C
■ Cut-scenes:
gamer, but he’s not afraid of Electronic Arts Los Angeles. “We need the easy way out. will work, other than to say that, so far,
to cry. Long before he was to more effectively engage the audience.” the development process hasn’t been a
designing brawny shooters like Unreal Young already made that his mission last cakewalk. “The brain goes to a different
Tournament and the upcoming Gears year when EA announced it would col- place when you’re playing a videogame,”
of War for Epic Games, he was just a laborate with Steven Spielberg on a three- he says. “You’re solving problems and
12-year-old kid playing the Sega CD role- project deal. The plan, he said boldly, was dealing with challenges, and your mind...
playing game Lunar—when he got over- to see if games could make players cry. isn’t on the same wavelength it’s on when
come with emotion. The girl he’d aged Jaffe has made a similar promise of his digesting traditional media. So how do
with in the game had transformed into a new, untitled PSP game. Clearly, the most you evoke emotion when the brain is in
lightning-hurling goddess and didn’t rec- cutting-edge gamemakers have set a new that space? That’s what we’re trying to do,
ognize him anymore. “I was climbing up movement in motion to make players all attention to a specific dramatic detail in and, so far, it’s sucking really bad.”
a ladder to tell her I loved her,” Bleszinski verklempt. And now, with new strategies, the game to drive the story forward. As Will Wright, creator of The Sims and
recalls, wistfully. And that’s when the perspective, and heavy-hitting talent, you pass over a trigger point in the game, the upcoming revolutionary evolution
real-life tears set in. they’re figuring out how. the camera detaches and zooms up on simulator, Spore, thinks lackluster cut-
It’s not often you hear about video- something that merits your attention. In scenes are symptomatic of gamemakers’
games making someone snivel. And Skip the movies one scene, for example, the main charac- misplaced film envy. “People wonder why
that, gamemakers say, is a big problem. First off, they’re taking aim at what has ter returns to his old house where he grew games don’t have the same emotional
“Games are already good at creating fear, long been the default mode of character up and zeroes in on heart-tugging bric-a- palette as movies,” he says. “But that’s
suspense, excitement, shocked surprise, development in a game: cut-scenes— brac in his childhood bedroom. To pack an the wrong way to look at it. It’s like say-
and laughter,” says Marc Laidlaw, a writer those interstitial sequences that stop the even bigger punch for such moments, Epic ing, ‘Why isn’t radio like reading a book?’
at Valve who worked on Half-Life and action to, say, let Master Chief talk turkey hired two writers to flesh out the story. Games, inherently, have a different
Half-Life 2. “Much rarer are games that with a giant plant in Halo 2. While some Jaffe shares Bleszinski’s belief in deliv- emotional palette, which is their strength.
create genuine sadness or even any kind are killer (Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid ering emotional cues within the action, As long as we measure against film,
of empathy with other characters in the series cinematics always make an impres- not outside of it. “If we can’t tell the story we’re heading in the wrong direction.
game.” God of War designer David Jaffe is sion, at least), many leave players snooz- in-game, it’s not a story worth telling,” he Cut-scenes and cinematics are the wrong
more to the point: “My wife will tell you: I ing in a pool of drool, as gamemakers says. “Great cut-scenes might be emo- direction—no one describes a cool cut-
am the most sensitive, easy-to-get-to-cry are well aware. “Cut-scenes suck,” says tional and political and thought-provoking, scene they saw in Zelda.”
guy when it comes to other media, but I Bleszinski. “They’re badly written, badly but, ultimately, all we’re saying is that
have never cried during a videogame.” acted, and made by amateur Spielbergs. the linear narrative medium is capable In control of your emotions
While the medium has advanced They should be a last resort.” of doing this, but the interactive medium Instead of trying to emulate the way in
through innovations in technology and For Epic’s next game, Gears of War, the is not.” Jaffe says that his PSP game—a which a film imparts emotion, games can
design, there’s a “next frontier” that’s ripe team is focusing instead on beefing up the black project that will tie into politics and exploit their interactive power to achieve
for exploration: emotions. “Connecting emotional immersion through techniques current events—will push player’s buttons something entirely new, says Hideki
with people and moving them is a valu- such as “forced looks,” pulling the player’s without relying on cinematic sequences. Konno, producer of heartstring-pulling DS ➤
OPERATIVE BEHAVIOR” COMPARED TO GUYS WHO PLAYED SIMPSONS: HIT & RUN. MAYBE THAT’S BECAUSE GTA STARS A PSYCHO MOBSTER? >>
Steven Spielberg
The man who made us
bawl when E.T.
went home (oh,
admit it—that
movie wrecked
you) has a three-
game deal with
EA. “We need
to make players
connect with the
plight of the char-
acters,” says EA’s Neil Young, who’s
working with Spielberg on the games.
Will Wright
His Sims games
and upcoming
Spore give players
ultimate control
over their char-
acters’ destinies.
“I want gamers
to be surprised
by their own
creativity,” he says. “I
want players to feel not like Luke
Skywalker, but George Lucas.” P
>> DRACULA IS SOOO 2006: CASTLEVANIA: PORTRAIT OF RUIN, A NEW DS GAME SET IN MODERN DAY, WILL SUCK YOUR FREE TIME THIS FALL.... >>
THE GENSHIJIN
This isn’t BC (Xbox), is it? Nah, that got killed.
The Genshijin—the, like, 99th budget PS2 title
that publisher D3 has foisted on an unsuspect-
ing Japanese audience—is an action-strategy
hybrid that places the fate of some monkeys on
your shoulders. As the leader of this zany crew,
you guide them through prehistoria, hunting
giant mammoths and gradually evolving from
apes into a modern Stone-Age family.
Any chance of these loony Japanese bud-
get games coming here? Actually, yes—a
mind-boggling number of D3’s Simple 2000
Pondering the Piracy Issue
titles have been released in Europe over the
PC game publishers love to point fingers
past two years. And as PS2 becomes Sony’s
at game piracy as a leading reason for
“budget” console in the U.S., it’s a virtual lock
slumped sales, with retail revenues
we’ll be sharing in the...uh, fun before long.
steadily toppling from $1.9 billion in
1999 to just under $1 billion in 2005.
As a result, invasive disc-based copy
■ PS2/GC protection schemes continue to flourish:
Bigwigs like EA and Ubisoft spare no
JIKKYOU POWERFUL expense when it comes to protecting
their products from unauthorized repro-
MAJOR LEAGUE duction, resorting to popular security
solutions like SafeDisc, SecuROM, and
Is this a budget game, too? Nope. In fact,
StarForce to deter software theft.
wrap your head around this: Despite its play-
But independent software developer
ers looking like Rayman rejects, Konami’s
and publisher Stardock takes a differ-
Powerful series is the cream of the baseball
ent approach to antipiracy: Galactic
crop in Japan with more than 12 million
Civilizations II: Dread Lords, published
copies sold over the years. This edition is
by Stardock last February, relies on
the first one to feature the U.S. major leagu-
actual incentive (in the way of frequent
ers, and it’s got volume coming out of its
software updates, active support, and
ears; aside from the standard modes like
additional game features for registered
league and multiplayer, Jikkyou features a
users) rather than aggravation tactics
role-playing-esque Success mode in which
to discourage software pirates. This
you’ll grow an inexperienced rookie into a
strategy’s worked well so far—GalCiv2
ballplayer who can adjust his package on the
sold 50,000 copies in its first week on
field like a seasoned vet.
shelves and skyrocketed to the top of
software sales charts at retail outlets
like Wal-Mart. Not bad for an indepen-
dently published space sim with no
BY THE NUMBERS copy protection, eh?
But the ever-shady security “profes-
A 25-year leap sionals” at StarForce (a copy protection
company) cried foul. An angry admin-
1981 Year the original Frogger hit
arcades in the United States
istrator on StarForce’s official forum
posted a link to a collection of GalCiv2
Frogger ’s ranking on EGM’s “The Greatest 200 torrent files, claiming that, “Right now
62 Videogames of Their Time” (Issue #200) several thousand people are download-
ing the pirated version. Is it good for
George Costanza’s (Seinfeld ) sales? Unlikely. Good [copy] protection
658,000 top score in Frogger is the tool, which increases [sales].”
Sounds to us like somebody can’t
The actual world record, set
589,350 by Donald Hayes in 2005 accept the hard truth that copy protec-
tion isn’t necessarily so critical after all.
—Ryan Scott,
Computer Gaming World
>> SEGA IS TEAMING WITH DEVELOPER OBSIDIAN (STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC II) TO MAKE AN RPG FOR PS3 AND XBOX 360.... >>
WIN BIG!
Log on to the 1UP Network for your chance to win a gaming
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Point your browser to http://intel.1UP.com, answer four simple questions about Team 3D, and you could
win a laptop powered by an Intel® dual-core processor to take your game to the next level.
(Hint: The answers can be found in this advertisement and in the downloadable video interview.)
Copyright © 2006 Intel, the Intel logo, Centrino, Centrino duo and the Centrino duo logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
All other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
ADVERTISEMENT
Competitive Edge
Maintaining your edge is what competition is all about. “I really like the competitive aspect of professional gaming. It is
like any other sport,” says Josh Sievers, aka Dominator, who takes his career as a professional gamer very seriously,
as do all his teammates. It’s crucial that their PCs are up to the challenge. “It’s kind of like racing a car,” Dominator
adds. “You don’t see a professional race car driver driving an old jalopy around for 500 laps. You need a top-of-the-
line rig to play these games.” Team 3D trains three to five hours a night, five nights a week. But even all this practice
can’t guarantee victory. As Rambo notes, “Any team that’s on fire can win on any given day. So we pretty much expect
every match to be our hardest!” Gameplay performance is a huge part of maintaining that competitive edge, especially
with today’s hardware-intensive games, which is why Team 3D relies on the power of Intel® dual-core. “We’re seeing 30
to 40 percent increases in performance,” says moto. “A lot of the new games are really pushing the envelope, but the
right hardware makes the experience that much more fun.”
GET TO KNOW
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video interview.
Watch the video interview with one of the best teams on the pro gaming circuit. Meet Rambo, Dominator,
Volcano, method, shaGuar, and moto from Team 3D’s Counter-Strike squad and learn how they first got
into the sport, what their favorite games are, and why they use Intel’s dual-core processor.
press start
■ PLAYSTATION 2 PREVIEW
Godsmacked
little over a year ago, Sony the developers hope to build on that base.
A scored an epic blow with God
of War, an exemplary PS2
Says Barlog: “[We’re] bringing in moves
that change the functionality [of combat],
action-adventure that features a badass so you have this standard, basic set that
in the lead, brutal combat and combo works really well and keeps the fluidity,
systems, and a now-infamous threesome but then you bring in a new element that
minigame. How will the company’s Santa [not only] links things but also opens up
Monica studio top this divine rookie the possibility for new forms of combat.”
effort? “Two three-ways is obviously the In addition to making use of new specials
next logical progression,” says God of and magic, the revamped combo system
War II: Divine Retribution Director Cory allows for midcombo weapon swaps
Barlog. “But we’re really trying to get two (Barlog’s remaining tight-lipped on new
three-ways that actually happen simul- weapons, though the Blade of Artemis will
taneously, using both analog sticks to not return), making 1,000-plus combos all
control them.” Ahem. Kidding aside, the the more feasible.
team has big plans for Big Whitey, begin- You’ll once again be performing this
ning with its story. cathartic form of anger management OTHER PIECES OF THE PARCHMENT
Divine Retribution picks up where the on enemies derived from Greek mythol- God of War II Director Cory Barlog on...
original left off. Though antihero Kratos ogy—a mix of old and new—but the boss ...God of War Director—now Creative Director of Sony Santa Monica—David Jaffe’s
has been crowned the God of War after battles will tantalize even more. Expect a input: “The initial focus and the vision and the narrative and the path that creative
toppling previous titleholder Ares, his greater number of showdowns this time takes is created by me, but David is still an invaluable resource that I work with all
conflicted and violent past haunts him (the first game’s were great, but you only the time.”
continuously. What’s a god to do? “He’s got three of ’em), and expect to be
literally going all the way to the edge of blown away: “We are absolutely maintain- ...Why Divine Retribution won’t be on the PS3: “With the PS3, we’d be in development
the world to seek out the Sisters of Fate,” ing the epic proportions [of boss battles],” for quite some time, because it’s a pretty beastly piece of hardware, and we have some
Barlog says. “They’re basically overlords Barlog says. “Bosses will never devolve absolutely insane ideas if we were to have that kind of hardware. So, in all, I think
of everybody in the mythological world.... into just running up and hitting the button you’d be seeing God of War a lot later than [when] we’re seeing it on the PS2.”
He’s going to seek them out to change and killing them—there’s always going to
his fate, to change his destiny.” Think of be something about the boss, generally ...How Kratos’ signature chain blades integrate into the beefed-up plat-
it as his couch session with an ancient associated with an interaction with the forming, grappling-hook style: “The blades are just such a natural thing
Greece–era Dr. Phil. environment and having to figure [some- for navigation. To be able to actually spear into pieces of the environment,
Whereas God of War’s story kept play- thing] out, whether it be physical puzzle grabbing pieces of the environment...it’s that rad feeling you got when
ers intrigued, the lure of hundred-hit solving or just a mental, ‘Hey, how does you first played Bionic Commando (Arcade/NES).”
combos is what truly hooked them, and this guy work?’” —Greg Ford
...Icarus Wings (you may have seen a mock-up of them in God of War’s extras), which
open up Kratos’ world: “It’s not a free-form flight mechanic; it essentially allows you to
get extensions on traditional platforming.... [Think the] Deku Leaf in Zelda.” P
>> BARLOG SAYS THE GRIFFON SEQUENCE SEEN IN THE RECENT GOW2 VIDEO IS A “PLAY EXPERIENCE” AND WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO THE GAME.... >>
© MMVI New Line Productions, Inc.© MMVI New Line Home Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
PERVASIVE STRONG BRUTAL VIOLENCE AND
LANGUAGE, SEXUALITY AND DRUG CONTENT
www.runningscaredthemovie.com www.newline.com
Supplemental material not rated.
press start
ON THE AUCTION
RING OF TALENT
Big-time comic-book writers and artists team up Item: A “custom” (read: made in
Mom’s basement) Resident Evil
to create the Halo Graphic Novel Umbrella Corporation clock.
Asking Price: $11
n what we’d like to think is Spartans testing out their battle armor,
I a roundabout apology for the
Fantastic Four movie and vid-
a Covenant squad investigating one of
their Flood-infested ships, and other
eogame, Marvel Comics is teaming up side stories that fit in and around the
with developer Bungie Studios to bring two games’ time lines. “[Halo has] some
Item: Xbox 360 owners with deep
out the Halo Graphic Novel. This 128-page of the most compelling source material pockets and pop sensibilities can
hardcover book is due out this July and in the world,” says Quesada, explaining bid on celebrity-made face-
features new art galleries and several why Marvel took on this project. “Many plates, in which all the proceeds
original tales, as imagined by some pretty of us here—like most of the world—are benefit the Children’s Miracle
big names in the comic biz (big enough huge fans of Halo. When the opportunity ■ Above: HGN ’s cover. Network. The top earner was one
to where we had to send our assistant was presented to us, we jumped at it.” Top: a sneak peek of the inside. designed by the band Rush and
art director and resident comic-nerd Mike signed by frontman Geddy Lee!
Cruz home early to take a cold shower). Winning Bid: $445
Some of these names include Simon What do you hope the upcoming Halo Graphic Novel will reveal?
Bisley (Lobo), Tsutomu Nihei (Wolverine:
Who originally planted (and
Snikt! ), and Jean “Moebius” Giraud (Silver
Surfer: Parable). “The list of artists [in 33% watered) that giant plant-
monster thingy (Gravemind)
HGN ] is certainly a who’s who in the world
of sequential storytelling,” Marvel Editor-
in-Chief Joe Quesada tells us. “Just the 25%
Source: EGM message board poll (boards.1UP.com)
idea that you can find Moebius and Simon How Halo 2 was 14%
supposed to end How a Halo
Bisley within the same original graphic
gets built
novel is compelling enough, but once you
actually get to see the artwork, you can’t
10%
Item: Not really a morning person?
help but be in awe of the amazing talent 13% Why the You can shoot your alarm clock
that graces this project.” How Sarge lived Covenant and not wake the neighbors with
to see Halo 2 would
If you’re hoping HGN will provide let whiny
this hardwired device that connects
some post-Halo 2 closure, plan on Grunts into an old-school NES Light Gun to
staying sad and unfulfilled. What you How the 5% their ranks your alarm.
Covenant Winning Bid: $235
will get to see is how Sarge survived came to be
the Flood at the end of the first Halo,
>> FOR MORE ARTWORK AND STORY STUFF, GO TO WWW.BUNGIE.NET AND ADVANCE SEARCH “GRAPHIC NOVEL” (IN TOP STORIES/MARCH).... >>
2006
TOP 10 BEST-SELLING GAMES TOP 10 XBOX 360
2 Call of Duty 2
3 Full Auto
4 Madden NFL 06
5 Dead or Alive 4
6 Need for Speed: Most Wanted
7 Project Gotham Racing 3
8 Condemned: Criminal Origins
9 NBA 2K6
10 Perfect Dark Zero
1 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 1 Mario Kart: Double Dash!! 1 Animal Crossing: Wild World • DS 1 Fight Night Round 3 • PS2
2 MVP 06 NCAA Baseball 2 Sonic Riders 2 Grand Theft Auto: LCS • PSP 2 24: The Game • PS2
3 Arena Football 3 Super Mario Strikers 3 Mario Kart DS • DS 3 Black • PS2
4 Fable: The Lost Chapters 4 Super Mario Sunshine 4 SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo • PSP 4 Fight Night Round 3 • XB
5 Fight Night Round 3 5 Super Smash Bros. Melee 5 Mega Man Maverick Hunter X • PSP 5 Black • XB
6 Madden NFL 06 6 Mario Party 7 6 Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire • GBA 6 WWE Smack! vs. RAW 2006 • PS2
Source: Blockbuster Video
7 Halo 2 7 Lego Star Wars 7 Disney’s Chicken Little • GBA 7 Sonic Riders • PS2
8 NBA Live 06 8 Resident Evil 4 8 Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time • DS 8 Star Wars Battlefront II • PS2
9 Need for Speed: Most Wanted 9 Shadow the Hedgehog 9 Nintendogs: Dachshund • DS 9 Call of Duty 2: Big Red One • PS2
10 Doom 3 10 Animal Crossing 10 Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Duel Academy • GBA 10 Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams • PS2
>> A JAPANESE GAMER HAS SET A NEW RECORD BY FINISHING THE ORIGINAL SUPER MARIO BROS. WITHOUT COLLECTING A SINGLE COIN.... >>
Battle skilled rival aces with their The Ace Style Gauge adjusts play Challenge your friends or enemies
own individual flying styles. to maximize the challenge. in two-player versus mode.
ACE COMBAT ZERO™ THE BELKAN WAR & © 2006 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. Ace Combat is a registered trademark of NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered
trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All trademarks and copyrights associated with the manufacturers, aircraft, models, trade names, brands and visual images depicted in this game are the property of their respective owners, and used with such permissions.
press start
FANTASY
FULFILLED?
We get all Roger Ebert on the CG movie,
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
he videogame biz owes a lot to what Advent Children was about. So please cessing power on the hair. I mean, the cast stood out...except for Mena Suvari as
T Final Fantasy VII: The 1997 PS1
classic introduced many in the
explain. And it better make sense!
Bryan: Well, you see, it picks up two years
here is like one bad ’80s band (and I mean
that in the best way). But the character
Aerith—she’s atrocious. Seriously, I’ve felt
more emotion listening to a rock than to
U.S. to the role-playing genre. It gave after the game and...people have been movements are still a bit wooden. Their Suvari’s brief stint as the franchise’s most
Sony’s first-ever console a huge edge, infected with this thing called “Geostigma” hair, wardrobes, and bone structure may be tragic character.
and one scene in particular proved that and...uhhhh...there’s this power source gorgeous, stunning even, but they all still Jennifer: Like I said...Mother !
even recluse gamers had feelings. Nine called Mother, and these white-haired move very unnaturally. I also thought the
years later, Square Enix’s blockbuster dudes are looking for it because...uhh.... overall film, from an artistic viewpoint, was Is it at least better than Final
has made its way into Hollywood with Jennifer: Normally, I’d wait for you to disjointed—too many different visual styles Fantasy: The Spirits Within?
the recent release of FFVII: Advent say “Uncle” but in this case, you can just and environments. I didn’t sense an unify- Jennifer: I’d say yeah, it’s definitely got
Children (on DVD and UMD). Time to say “Mother” (in a real breathy voice like ing “look” the way I do in an FF game or in more meaning and context—the tie-in
grab the popcorn? EGM’s Managing those white-haired dudes do in the film). a Pixar film. That said, it’s still a breathtak- with FFVII adds a lot.
Editor Jennifer Tsao and Previews Editor Seriously, I think the film has an esoteric ing accomplishment. Bryan: And cosplayers of the world should
Bryan Intihar answer the big questions plot no matter how you slice it. What Final be taking notes from this flick’s getups.
about this game-to-film translation. Fantasy fans will like is the reappearance How are the voice actors? Jennifer: Yeah, this one’s got much better
of all the classic characters. Bryan: No one’s performance really wardrobe. P
If I haven’t played FFVII, will I Bryan: I’ll admit Advent Children’s story
understand it? has its share of “huh?” moments, but I’m ■ Cloth, hair, and
Jennifer: Heh. Honestly, I think the ques- not sure any FFVII fan—whom this movie is other textures look
tion should be, even if you have played really intended for—expected an Oscar-wor- particularly lifelike
FFVII, will you understand it? thy screenplay. Just look at the source mate- in Advent Children.
Bryan: Of course you will! And if you ever rial; the game’s plot was pretty out there.
need a quick refresher, you can always
head to the “extras” section and check out Does it look as good as a
the brief FFVII montage that splices key Pixar movie?
scenes with in-game footage. Bryan: I can’t imagine a debate here—
Jennifer: Do I smell a little something Advent Children is simply stunning. Now,
called denial? I guess I need you to explain that’s not to say it’s perfect (the use of
the plot to me, because I played FFVII motion capture resulted in a few animation
(though I wasn’t as obsessed with it as hiccups), but I’d still put this one in the
many are), and I watched the refresher, same category as the Pixar films.
and I still couldn’t tell you, start to finish, Jennifer: They clearly spent a lot of pro-
>> LATER THIS YEAR, ACTIVISION WILL SHRINK DOWN ITS WILD-WESTERN GUN FOR THE PSP. EXPECT MULTIPLAYER MODES IN THIS VERSION.... >>
STRATEGIC MILITARY
WARFARE IN THE PALM
OF YOUR HAND.
Wage War Multiplayer Style, in Ad Hoc, Turn the Battlefield to Your Advantage in 30
Infrastructure, Hot Swap and Transmission Modes. Single-Player Missions.
© 2006 Sony Online Entertainment Inc. SOE and the SOE logo are registered trademarks and Field Commander is a trademark of Sony Online Entertainment Inc. “PSP” is a trademark and “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family
logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Memory Stick Duo™ may be required (sold separately). The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All rights reserved.
press start
LEGEND
TOMB RAIDER:
AFTERTHOUGHTS:
Cup-size controversies?
All right, stop looking at Nude codes? Ex-boyfriends?
Lara’s ass and head to
the EGM Extras section
at egm.1UP.com for our
We uncover the naked truth behind
uncut interview.
Lady Croft’s return to form
>> SAYING THAT VIDEOGAMES ENJOY FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTION, A FEDERAL JUDGE STRUCK DOWN A MICHIGAN LAW BANNING SALES OF
VIOLENT GAMES TO MINORS. HE ADDED THAT THE STATE FAILED TO PROVE A LINK BETWEEN VIOLENT GAMES AND AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR.... >>
DON’T TRASH
YOUR OLD TV!
Five reasons current HDTVs aren’t
ready for gaming prime time
f you’re seconds away from maxing out Reason 2: Copycat killers
I your Mastercard on a titanic-screened
HDTV, allow us to slow-mo dive in front
And here’s why HDCP-compliant inputs are important.
New copy-protection scheme AACS (Advanced Access
of you shouting, “Noooooo!” Holster that wallet Content System)—similar to the protection method
until fall if you want a boob-tube that takes total CSS (Content Scrambling System) currently imple-
advantage of the latest gaming hardware (i.e., mented in today’s DVD flicks—is the encryption tech-
November’s PlayStation 3). Here’s why.... nology designed to protect high-def content on next-
—Rob Fox generation media such as HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs.
Hollywood, you see, is very protective of its proper-
Reason 5: You want 1080p ties, and it won’t give you a high-resolution version of
Sony brags that the PS3 can output in state-of-the-art a movie without some sort of copy protection in place.
1080p resolution, but 1080p is not an official standard; AACS will actually limit the output resolution by using
very few HDTVs actually support it. (The slightly less something called ICT (Image Constraint Token). This
sharp 1080i is the current HDTV standard.) You will component can restrict the resolution of the movies to
find a few HDTVs—such as the higher-end Samsung 540p if you are not using HDCP-compliant hardware
DLP sets—that can transform a 1080i image into to watch the flicks.
1080p, but their inputs don’t support a true 1080p
signal. So if, say, Metal Gear Solid 4 for PS3 can Reason 1: Shifting specs
output in 1080p, almost no current HDTV or projector Specifications for a lot of this technology have yet to
could accept its signal, and you would get at best an be finalized. Only very recently, for example, has an
upconverted 720p signal or deinterlaced 1080i. It’s still interim AACS spec been released to allow manufac-
a pretty picture—nearly impossible to discern from ture of Blu-ray hardware and software. The key word
1080p—but not the proverbial 1080p image. is “interim,” as the current specifications will eventu-
ally be modified and finalized. It’s possible that a
Reason 4: You’ll save moolah particular piece of hardware or setup that works
FITS
HDTV prices have tumbled over a grand in the past now could wind up totally busted after the final AACS
R. Dodson/SFMIS
few years, and their feature sets have improved with specs are released and have trickled into hardware
each revision, giving you more bang for your buck. and software.
By PS3’s launch, new HDTVs will have hit with true Also, keep in mind that current high-def content
Photograph by
1080p support, bigger screens, faster color wheels such as TV shows, movies, and sports broadcasts
and refresh rates, and more inputs. are currently only transmitted in 720p and 1080i.
While the ATSC standard, which governs hi-def
Reason 3: The HDCP dilemma specifications, does include an official spec for
The majority of current HDTVs have some sort of 1080p, it is not likely that content will be transmit-
digital input, whether it be HDMI (High Definition ted as such anytime soon. When Blu-ray movies
Multimedia Interface) or DVI (Digital Visual Interface), begin to ship, they are likely to be 720p and 1080i,
but just because that port is present doesn’t mean it not 1080p, although anything is possible. Will we
supports HDCP. Whazzat? Short for High-Bandwidth see 1080p movies on disc, thus requiring 1080p-
Digital Copy Protection, HDCP is the protocol that compliant inputs?
determines if your Blu-ray disc player and HDTV are And current shots of the PS3 show only HDMI
trusted devices—thus allowing full-resolution movie output—does that mean folks with just a DVI port on
playback (if the content is copy protected; see the next their HDTVs have to buy a pricey HDMI-to-DVI con-
reason). If your TV lacks an HDCP-compliant DVI or verter cable? Will that converter account for digital
HDMI input, your image will be dumbed down to barely audio as well? (HDMI carries both audio and video
better than DVD quality. Analog component inputs signals.) See, you have nothing to lose by waiting
won’t work either; HDCP requires a digital interface, so until this fall. Surely, Sony’s promised “4D gaming”
don’t think you’ll get your high-def fix that way. will be worth it. P
>> GATES’ XBOX POSSE GETS BIGGER—MICROSOFT HAS PURCHASED LIONHEAD STUDIOS, BEST KNOWN FOR MAKING XBOX RPG FABLE.... >>
THIS MON
TH:
TOM
SALTA
TAKE THIS JOB: FREELAN
GAME-MUCE
COMPOS SIC
ER
COMPOSER
Our monthly look at the jobs you want—
TOOLS OF
HIS TRADE
Apple Logic
with tips from the guys who have them This sequencer program, running
on a Mac G5, is the center of Salta’s
workflow—where he composes and
pull from.” He suggests listening to great returns for another couple of hours after It worked: Before the record was even
when I play games on it in 5.1 [sur-
movie and game soundtracks; you’ll need dinner. “It’s not uncommon to work 15- done, Microsoft licensed three of his
round sound], they sound incredible.”
to make tunes as good or better. hour days during crunch mode,” he says. tracks for RalliSport Challenge 2. Other
Location of most jobs: The West Coast, Usually, Salta is working on a couple of games followed: Salta’s first job scoring a
Virtual Instruments
but composers can live anyplace with games at a time. Even with a large-scale full game was the adventure title Still Life.
“Instruments made by companies
Web access (Salta lives in Connecticut). gig like Advanced Warfighter, however, To get the Advanced Warfighter gig,
like Spectrasonics and Native
Current level of demand: Low he’s basing his work mainly on the Salta had to compete against several other
Instruments,” Salta says,
direction of the game’s audio director, as composers, each of whom composed their
“allow me to work very NE
What’s a game composer do? opposed to early versions of the game. own sample main themes. Salta’s got
quickly, get great sounds, PR XT UP:
“It’s my job to create music that augments “I’ll get to check out early movies and still picked. Now you can hear his tunes in the
and save and recall my EVALOUDUCT
the gameplay experience—to convey a shots, but I rarely get to play the game game or at www.tomsalta.com. ATOR
work instantly.” P
lot of information to the gamer through before it’s done,” he says. —Evan Shamoon
>> YOUR WAIT FOR THE JAPANESE-WATERCOLOR ADVENTURE OKAMI (PS2) GOT A LITTLE LONGER. CAPCOM DELAYED IT UNTIL AUGUST.... >>
EGM.1UP.COM
Read the mag cover to cover and
still hungry for more? Head to our
official website, where this month
you’ll find the rest of our Tomb
Raider: Legend and Ghost Recon
Advanced Warfighter Afterthoughts.
>> SCARY STUFF—THIS FALL, KONAMI WILL RELEASE SILENT HILL 0RIGINS (THAT’S SPELLED WITH A ZERO, NOT AN “O”) FOR SONY’S PSP.... >>
©2004, 2006 IREM SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INC. “Steambot Chronicles” is a trademark of IREM. All rights reserved. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. Sony Computer Entertainment America takes no responsibility for this offer. *While supplies last.
OLVE MYSTERIES and puzzles that go beyond anything you have seen or
S read. You must stay one step ahead of an enemy formed by an ominous,
covert society that will stop at nothing to protect their 2,000 year old secret.
Follow a trail of clues hidden in Da Vinci’s A unique blend of stealth, combat, Experience new adventures and solve new puzzles
paintings that will ultimately lead to the exploration and puzzle solving. that you won’t find in the film or book.
final resting place of the Holy Grail.
The Da Vinci Code: TM & © 2006 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All rights reserved. 2K, the 2K logo, and Take-Two Interactive Software are all trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Developed by The Collective. Underlying Game Code: © 2006 The Collective, Inc. All rights reserved. “PlayStation” and the “PS”
Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation in the U.S. and/or in other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other
marks and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
TM
Explore world famous locations such as The An all new videogame adventure.
Louvre,Westminster Abbey, and Saint-Sulpice.
See the movie, in theaters May 19th.
press start
>> DEVELOPER JASON RUBIN (JAK AND CRASH BANDICOOT SERIES) USED HIS MYSPACE ACCOUNT (MYSPACE.COM/JASONRUBIN) TO
ORDERLY 1. 1.
CONDUCT 2. 2.
ANNOUNCE HIS FIRST SOLO PROJECT, IRON AND THE MAIDEN. ALL HE’LL SAY IS THAT IT’S “RAW, UNCENSORED, [AND] UNCUT....” >>
OVERHEARD
Them some strong words
“Do I hit Up, Down, Up, Down, Left, Right, Left,
Right, A, B, A, B, Select, Start?”
—The Daily Show’s Nate Corddry asking how to get
unlimited ammo on a real shotgun during a quail hunt
QUOTATION SOURCES FROM TOP TO BOTTOM, STARTING WITH LEFT COLUMN: MCSWEENEYS.NET, THE DAILY SHOW, WWW.ESCAPISTMAGAZINE.COM, GAME DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE, ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY
>> PUBLISHER HUDSON IS CURRENTLY LOOKING INTO BRINGING SOME OF ITS OLDER BOMBERMAN GAMES TO XBOX LIVE ARCADE.... >>
■ World of WarCraft :
Get off the PC and onto
the side of our van.
>> ATLUS HAS DECIDED TO RELEASE THE SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI SPIN-OFF DEVIL SUMMONER, AN RPG FOR THE PS2, HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.... >>
©2006 SCi Games Ltd. “Eidos” and the Eidos Logo are trademarks of the Eidos group of companies. “Urban Chaos” and “Urban Chaos: Riot Response” are trademarks of Eidos Interactive Ltd. All rights reserved. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer
Entertainment Inc. Online play requires internet connection and Memory Card (8MB) (for PlayStation 2) (each sold separately). The Online icon is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox Live, the Live logo, and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or in other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. The rating icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
press start
>> THE SUPPORT FOR XBOX LIVE ARCADE KEEPS GROWING, AS MICROSOFT RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THAT ARCADE WILL SOON FEATURE GAMES
GHOST RECON
ADVANCED WARFIGHTER
Campaigning for fixes in the campaign mode
t seems Ghosts aren’t play through GRAW twice to mocking you when they’re run- [For example], when you walk, there’s
I afraid of bullets. Your fellow
squadmates in Ghost Recon
earn all of the single-player
achievements? Shouldn’t play-
ning around in the open, ask-
ing to be shot?
that microlayer [of] what’s just in front
of me. There’s a door—I have to open
Advanced Warfighter (Xbox 360) will ing missions on Hard also AL: The basic purpose of the VIP is to the door and go through it. These are all
stand out in the open or walk right count for Normal, like in most protect him. He sometimes puts himself microdecisions that you make on a very
out in front of you while you’re aiming other games? in positions that aren’t brilliant for you, local basis. But that’s just one layer. Then
through your gun’s scope. Is the arti- AL: Achievements are a very hard thing but it’s your job, as leader of the Ghosts, you have the parts where you have to go
ficial intelligence in this series forever to get right, because, obviously, there’s so to take out the enemy targets and protect from one position to another, to take cover
destined to be bad? Or does it not much difference between different games him. It’s a difficulty thing, so it’s part of or not to take cover—all of this is another
really matter, since the game’s so good at the moment and how you get achieve- the game plan. layer. It makes it very difficult for the A.I.
anyway? Yann Le Tensorer (campaign ments. We just felt like giving the hardcore to take into account all the parameters,
producer on GRAW and managing Ghost Recon fans a slight edge to get EGM: But doesn’t it break from because there are so many parameters....
director of Tiwak, which helped more achievements. the realism when you’re trying It makes it very complex.
develop the game engine) and to get rid of some snipers and
Adrian Lacey (senior coordina- EGM: Do you hate the Internet the president of the United EGM: Is there room for
tor) talk about A.I. and other when you see people mak- States is just running around improvement in future
single-player issues with us. ing videos that showcase the outside? Even your teammates sequels?
—Dan “Shoe” Hsu, with help game’s glitches? know to take cover at some YT: Sure. A.I. is typically one of the places
from Steve Maldonado AL: If people want to spend time put- point, but the VIPs don’t seem where we keep improving all the time. It’s
ting videos up there, we can’t really get to have that same A.I. one of the most difficult, but it’s one that
EGM: How did you offended, because I think, at the same time, YT: Sometimes, you have to make has the most room for improvement.
get GRAW to look we have a lot of people who have already choices when you make a game. And to
that damn good? said the game looks great, they love playing bring more realism in the very important EGM: Is it irresponsible for
Yann Le Tensorer: We it, it’s really fun, [and so on]. So you have to places of the game, sometimes you have the U.S. military to leave
worked for two years take the rough with the smooth sometimes. to remove some from the nonimportant weapon-drop boxes outdoors,
to have one of the best places. This is really not something that where enemies, children, and
engines around—it’s EGM: Do you plan on fixing is key for the game, so we decided to put homeless people can get to
called “Yeti.” Our tech- any of those problems, like the more A.I. in other places than here. them?
nology is very powerful disappearing objects or cor- AL: [Laughs] Not if they take place in
and uses the full power rupt save files? EGM: Why is the A.I. bad in the Clancy universe under Clancy rules,
of the 360. AL: We still playtest the game even after every Ghost Recon game? because we’re not allowed to have civil-
Adrian Lacey: From an it’s launched, and there are some things GRAW’s is definitely improved, ians, and you’re not allowed to shoot civil-
artistic point of view, that we’ve seen that we simply can’t but you’ll still find situations ians, anyway. So they don’t exist in our
the art director and reproduce. It’s very difficult, from a testing like your teammates running in universe. At the end of the day, it remains
the level designer both point of view, to find out what can be fixed front of your line of fire.... a game—I mean, there are a lot of things
went to Mexico City to get and what can’t be fixed. Sometimes, it’s YT: You’re talking like it’s only the Ghost in our games that I wouldn’t necessarily
as much real reference [as just a freak thing [that happens]. But at the Recon series where the A.I. is bad, and recommend to the military, anyway.
possible] to try and give it moment, we’re not looking at fixing those it’s really not unique to the Ghost Recon
that authentic feel. bugs in the campaign mode, no. series. A.I. is always very hard, because EGM: Like what?
there are many layers of A.I.: the micro- AL: I wouldn’t recommend going to war in
EGM: Why do EGM: Are the VIPs, whom layer, the medium layer, the high layer, the the first place. It looks a bit dangerous to
you make us you’re supposed to protect, difficult tactics.... me. [Laughs] P
FROM PUBLISHERS KONAMI, HUDSON, AND NAMCO BANDAI. TWO CLASSICS ALREADY ON THEIR WAY: PAC-MAN AND GALAGA.... >>
THE HOT 10
What’s on our now-playing list
IT GETS
2 SWEET
1 A LITTLE
BLUE
The rules are dif-
ferent in Japan.
And the rules say
Konami’s revealing
in-store Rumble
Roses XX (Xbox
OBLIVION We won’t go so far as to say that
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (XB360)
has made RPG nerds cool. But it has
made it temporarily acceptable to
360) standees are discuss the benefits of heavy versus
A-OK mega fine. We light armor over lunch. (Note: Light
can’t even print the wins, for reasons too complex to
other, racier one. go into here.)
WHINING
7 ABOUT OLD
PROBLEMS 8 “GAMEPLAY
TARGET” VIDEOS
It may be next-gen, but It’s the newish thing we love to hate. Game publishers some-
it’s still the same ol’ crap. times create gameplay target videos to give their developers
THE DS MASSIVE
6
Product delays, laggy and something to shoot for and to just generally show off. OK, fine.
dropped online games, But when they try and pass off these spectacular clips as
Massively multiplayer, that is. voice chat echoes—if you actual in-game footage, that’s not cool (see: pretty much all
Wrangling 10-16 of your closest thought we were done of Sony’s PS3 game clips
■ MotorStorm on
DS-owning friends for head-to- whining and moaning after from last year’s Electronic PS3. Yeah, right.
head-to-head (etc.) Tetris or Brain last issue’s “New & Not- Entertainment Expo). Keep
Age may not be possible, but that Quite-So-Improved” article, your eye jaundiced when
doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. you were wrong. watching this year’s E3 vids.
YOU SANK MY
9 BATTLESHIP
Everybody likes a nice, portable
turn-based strategy game. They’re
10 UNO!
The Xbox 360’s slim soft-
ware pickings means that
we’re still getting way
good for you. Make you strong, too excited about simple
whiten your teeth. And now you can Xbox Live Arcade games.
Just watch us rack up 200
add Field Commander (PSP) to the achievement points playing
rotation, along with Age of Empires, hardcore multiplayer online
Uno. Draw four, bitches! P
Advance Wars DS, etc. We have.
>> YOOT SAITO (OF SEAMAN FAME) IS WORKING ON A DS GAME. LIKE HIS PREVIOUS WORKS, EXPECT THIS ONE TO BE...UH, DIFFERENT.... >>
Play these instead of enjoying the fine weather Def Jam had a
headache this big!
Q Q
JUNE
2006
And 1 Streetball
Ubisoft • PS2/XB — Streetball claims to
be all about the moves, but we hear it’s
also sorta about the shoes.
Q Q
Def Jam Fight for NY: Urban Chaos: Riot Response FlatOut 2
The Takeover Eidos • PS2/XB — Your task: Save the VU Games • PS2/XB — Take muscle cars out on the open road and crash them into
EA Games • PSP — Larger-than-life hip- city by doing a heckuva job organizing each other (and the surrounding environments) at deliciously high speeds. This is how
hop brawlers shrunk for portability. emergency services. Chuck Norris does Sunday-afternoon drives.
Q Q
Also in June
Big Brain Academy Magnetica NFL Head Coach
Nintendo • DS Nintendo • DS EA Sports • PS2/XB
Lord of the Rings: The Battle MechAssault: Phantom War Over G Fighters
for Middle-earth II Majesco • DS Ubisoft • XB360
EA Games • XB360
■ LOTR tip: Run faster than the hobbit. ■ NFL Head Coach: not psychotherapy.
>> THE BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY LIST FOR XBOX 360 HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH DOZENS OF GAMES, INCLUDING STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT II.... >>
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PL
CRACKDOWN
Microsoft • Fall 2006
Q Jaywalkers, beware. WHAT WE LIKE: Like it or not, GTA is an acronym ingrained into
the minds of many gamers (for those who’ve been living on planet Zarcon
the last few years, it stands for Grand Theft Auto). And for good reason,
too—open-ended cities riddled with endless destructive possibilities are
enough to put a sadistic smile on anyone’s face. But unlike the aforemen-
tioned gangsta game, Crackdown is looking to breathe life into its world
through the power of friendship. “Our game has been designed to take full
advantage of multiplayer, cooperative gameplay,” says David Jones, founder
of developer Real Time Worlds. “And in a world this big and this destruc-
tible, you simply can’t imagine the possibilities for wide-scale, team-driven
chaos.” Running amok through a sprawling metropolis with a buddy in tow
is long overdue. Plus, the thought of sharing a touching moment of death
and dismemberment with a friend online should be enough to make even
the most hardened hothead shed a tear.
While whacking kingpins with a pal, Crackdown’s unique character cus-
tomization feature ensures your player will have the skills to continue to kill.
“We’ve got five main skills in the game: driving, agility, firearms, strength,
and explosives,” says Jones. “That’s five different ways you can find to
destroy something.” Also, the abilities you improve all depends on how you
interact with the world. Jones explains: “Toss around a bus or two, and
you’re likely to bulk up pretty quickly. Burst through a door guns blazing, or
indulge in the occasional rooftop sniping session, and you’ll end up a fairly
good marksman. Run a lap around the city, and that second lap will go a
little faster. Overall, your character is yours to perfect.”
Lust for a license to kill? Then try capping fools as a cop. “Many of
the titles rooted in this urban, open-ended genre have featured some
form of criminal protagonist,” says Jones. “So, certainly the ability to
wreak the same havoc and inhabit this limitless world as ‘good guy’
was a fun challenge. Where being a criminal is all about the next cool
weapon, being a hero in Crackdown is all about making your agent
powerful enough to be a one-man army.” Replacing the antihero with
a no-nonsense do-gooder is a nice move, especially considering the
endless string of drive-bys from other criminal-based games. And these
streets are long overdue for some cleaning. “Villains are everywhere,”
says Jones. “Actions have real, tangible effects in Crackdown, so if
gamers choose to take out a gang’s weapons shipment, those firefights
are going to be a little easier later down the line.”
WHAT WORRIES US: Think the main dude (left) looks silly? Wait
till you see some of the bad guys’ designs. Ridiculous. —Michael Donahoe ³
JUST CAUSE
Eidos • Fall 2006
Q You can explore this island’s mix of jungle, villages, and big
burgs however you wish, but Avalanche’s Sundberg recom-
mends going by air—if for no other reason than to use the
parachute. “It’s the coolest gadget in the game,” he says.
“You can BASE jump from skyscrapers, bail out from moving
vehicles, attack enemies from the air—the list goes on.”
NCAA FOOTBALL 07
EA Sports • July 2006
WHAT WE LIKE: Atmosphere—it’s what helps
separate college football from the No Fun League. And
thanks to the horsepower of Microsoft’s new console, EA
believes it can finally reproduce that electric “go-team-
go!” atmosphere found every Saturday in places such as
Michigan’s Big House and Florida’s Swamp. “We will now
be able to create a true living stadium with the power
of the Xbox 360,” says Product Manager Kendall Boyd.
“Smart fans will now dynamically react to what’s hap-
pening on the field, and we have actual bands, mascots, a
student section, alumni, and visitor sections in the crowd.”
So if you start mounting a major comeback at home,
expect those in the stands to really bring the noise.
Turning the tide does more than pump up the volume,
though; it’ll also widen the window of opportunity for
game-changing plays. “We have a brand-new momentum
system that will dictate who has overall control of the
game,” says Boyd. Max out your momentum meter, and
it’ll temporarily raise your team’s attributes, which then
gives you a better chance of, say, intercepting a pass or
blocking a punt on special teams.
PHANTASY STAR
UNIVERSE
Sega • Fall 2006
Q These are screenshots from the
PC version of PSU. But expect
nothing less from the 360’s visuals.
WHAT WE LIKE: Anyone who handed over 200 hours of his or her life to the vari- Surprisingly, PSO’s individual character classes got the boot, replaced by a new system
ous incarnations of Sega’s Phantasy Star Online can attest to just how powerfully addic- that allows you to determine your character’s strengths and skills as you progress through-
tive online roleplaying can be. We hate to break this to the junkies, but they’re going to out the game.
be back on that never-ending treadmill before you know it: After years of expansions Other exciting changes to the online experience include upping the party size from four
and offshoots, Sega will finally offer a legitimate, full-fledged sequel, Phantasy Star to six, allowing characters to simultaneously wield pistols and swords, and large towns
Universe, for the PlayStation 2, PC, and Xbox 360. And this ambitious follow-up goes far that allow massive amounts of users to interact and trade items. Also, PSO ’s handy “mag”
farther than anyone expected—while PSO offered a stripped-down single-player experi- robots have evolved into “partner machinery”—larger ’bots that can manufacture items
ence alongside its robust multiplayer game, PSU will deliver fully formed online and and fight alongside you on the battlefield.
offline adventures.
The single-player quest stars Ethan Waber, a spunky lad tasked with saving the galaxy WHAT WORRIES US: Not a whole lot, actually. It would’ve been nice for the Xbox
from an insidious alien invasion. Along the way, you’ll recruit a party of A.I.-controlled 360 visuals to blow away those on the PS2; unfortunately, though, that doesn’t appear to
adventurers, traverse three planets, slash your way through numerous dungeons, and be the case. Currently, all three versions look fairly similar (the PC and 360 versions merely
watch several hours of fully voiced cut-scenes. sport higher resolutions), but hey, the original PSO still looks good today, thanks to its
As engaging as this newly fleshed-out offline quest sounds, we’re pretty sure that classy sci-fi aesthetic, so we’re not worried.
when we get our hands on this massive game, we’re gonna be spending all of our time We’d also like to know whether or not Xbox 360 players will be able to join up with PS2
with the online mode. Expect a cavalcade of improvements, including a newly revamped and PC players. Final Fantasy XI allows for this cross-console cooperation, but it does so by
character-creation system, which adds a new beastmen race to the returning roster of circumventing Xbox Live via Square’s PlayOnline service. (The downside: You can’t access
humans, numans, and cast cyborgs. Now, you can also tweak minute details of your Xbox Live functions while playing FFXI.)
avatar’s appearance, down to their clothing, facial features, and crazy accessories. —Shane Bettenhausen ³
BOMBERMAN:
ACT ZERO
Konami • Summer 2006
1.8
66
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• UNI-T® Technology
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com • 67
next-gen
preview feature XBOX 360
VIVA PIÑATA
Microsoft • Fall 2006
WHAT WE LIKE: We can see it now—politicians all in a
tizzy about a game that arms kids with baseball bats and encour-
ages them to blindly bludgeon innocent little creatures out of this
earthly realm. But, alas, they’d be wrong again. This Animal Crossing
look-alike takes place on Piñata Island, a carefree world where your
colorful papier-mâché friends are free to roam a verdant garden
where their biggest concern is a sneaky fox out to nip their tails. The
player’s task will be to create a harmonious ecosystem where their
piñatas live happily. You’ll plant fruits and vegetables, build homes
Q Nothing says “home” like one for your piñatas, and make your island a generally pleasant place to
resembling Mr. Hamburger Helper. be—in order to attract new, rare piñatas who’ll want to come to live
there. When you need a variety of animals or different types of fruit
trees, you can trade with friends on Xbox Live.
And wouldn’t you know—the game launches this fall in conjunc-
tion with a Saturday morning cartoon series of the same name. The
cross-media promotion will be typically crafty. “If you see something
happen on the show, it’s probably going to happen in the game,” says
Designer Justin Cook. “In fact, if you watch the show, there’s a good
chance that you’ll find out some of the game’s secrets.”
If it all smells a little Pokémon-ish, then you’ve got good senses.
The television show comes from the folks at 4Kids, who also brought
Nintendo’s trading/catching/cute-little-animal juggernaut to U.S.
boob tubes.
Viva Piñata (the game) is the product of developer Rare.
NINETY-NINE NIGHTS
Microsoft • Fall 2006
WHAT WE LIKE: That Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the guy Q Apparently, cloning isn’t an issue
responsible for Ninety-Nine Nights, still remembers what video- in Ninety-Nine Nights’ society.
games are supposed to be all about. “I was so nervous before
making this game,” said the creator of quirky hits such as Space
Channel 5 (DC), Rez (PS2), and Lumines (PSP) to our friends
at 1UP.com. “This is a fighting game, a war game. So that was
a really big challenge for me.... In my mind, I kept telling myself:
‘It must be fun.’”
As Mizuguchi confessed, this is quite a departure from his
previous projects. And while the game will undoubtedly draw
comparisons to both the Dynasty Warriors and Kingdom Under
Fire series (all three can’t pack enough warriors onto their killing
fields), its narrative should help separate Ninety-Nine Nights
from the rest of the hack-n-slash pack. “[All the playable char-
acters] bring a different view to the story,” said Mizuguchi. “And
in this game, the big surprise is that you can [also] play as the
enemy.” So be prepared to assume a lot of different personas
here, each with their own unique fighting style and ties to the
overall plot.
MOBILE OPS:
THE ONE-YEAR WAR
Namco Bandai • Fall 2006 DEAD RISING
Take control of your Mobile Suit in a war of Capcom • Summer 2006
galactic proportions. You can also hop out of Use anything in your environment (and we mean
these towering mechs and embark upon the mis- anything) to get out of a mall. The catch? The
sion on foot. (Why would you want to do that?) thousands of zombies between you and the exit.
BLUE DRAGON
Microsoft • Fall 2006
GEARS OF WAR
Microsoft • Fall 2006
CHROMEHOUNDS HUXLEY
Sega • Summer 2006 Webzen • 2007
Countless customization options will make it nearly
impossible for you to share the same mech design LOST ODYSSEY
as others on Chromehounds’ online battlefield. But Microsoft • 2007
will anyone be there to fight? (Historically, these
kinds of games don’t sell so well on our shores.) MARVEL COMICS MASSIVELY
MULTIPLAYER ONLINE RPG
Microsoft • 2008
MASS EFFECT
Microsoft • 2007
PREY
2K Games • Summer 2006
LOST PLANET:
EXTREME CONDITION SAINT’S ROW
Capcom • Winter 2007 THQ • September 2006
This intense third-person
TEST DRIVE UNLIMITED shooter pits you against hordes
STUNTMAN 2
Atari • Summer 2006 Atari • Fall 2006
of alien bugs on a hostile ice
Can’t scratch up enough coin for a trip to planet for the control of a ther-
Hawaii? Well, aloha, anyway—Unlimited has mal-energy source. You’ll battle
TOO HUMAN
Microsoft • Fall 2006
beautifully re-created the island of Oahu, these foreign creepy-crawlers
where you (and anyone else online) can use both inside (meh) and outside
its streets as an impromptu raceway. (good) heavily armed robots.
WOLFENSTEIN
Activision • 2007 ³
CODED ARMS:
ASSAULT
Konami • Fall 2006
VIRTUA FIGHTER 5
Sega • Spring 2007
WHAT WE LIKE: Fighting games don’t get more serious, technical, or influential you’re not stuck looking at the same stock models—the game’s massive customization
than Sega’s legendary Virtua Fighter series. This is the franchise that birthed the whole system allows you to customize the physical appearance of your fighter with unlockable
3D fighting genre, after all. Unlike fanciful fighters such as Soul Calibur, Tekken, or Dead haircuts, clothing, tattoos, and accessories.
or Alive, VF focuses squarely on simulating real-life martial arts action. If you’ve never
taken the plunge before, expect a fairly steep learning curve—casual pugilists tend to WHAT WORRIES US: So far, we’ve only had hands-on time with an early ver-
shy away from the series’ demanding move sets and pinpoint timing—but true fighting sion of the arcade VF5, and it wasn’t quite perfect. Most of the backgrounds looked
game fans know that VF5 will likely set the standard by which all future competitors just as impressive as the hyperdetailed fighters, but a few stages seemed graphically
must be judged. uneven, perhaps just unfinished. (The final game doesn’t hit the Japanese arcades until
VF5 introduces two original characters: El Blaze, a Mexican Lucha Libre wrestler who July.) Also, the characters didn’t seem as evenly matched as we’d expect from this
uses his compact size and swift speed to counter veteran grappler Wolf’s brute strength, historically balanced series, but that should theoretically be fixed long before the action
and Eileen, a young Chinese girl who battles with Kouken monkey fist style. These new- lands on the PlayStation 3.
comers join all 15 returning fighters from VF4: Evolution (VF3 ’s tubby sumo champ Taka Unfortunately, Sega has gone on the record stating that the home version of VF5 will
Arashi remains the lone series outcast) to create the largest cast yet. Also, a few of the not offer any type of online play. Apparently the game’s hit detection requires exacting
old standbys sport redesigned looks—Lau Chan has seemingly aged about 30 years, frame-by-frame precision, and any amount of net latency would unravel the game’s
while formerly butch G.I. Jane wannabe Vanessa now appears shockingly feminine. delicate gameplay. While the full details of the home version’s single-player game aren’t
You’ll likely spend a lot of time gazing at these character models, too: VF5’s extraordi- known, hopefully a system similar to that of VF4’s (in which you faced off against A.I.
nary visuals truly look a full generation ahead of what we’ve seen in competing fighting versions of Japan’s top players) will provide some solace to VF fans who don’t have a
games. During combat, it’s difficult to appreciate just how good the characters look, but stable of real-life friends to punch and kick with.
when the camera zooms in between matches you’ll see the stunning level of detail. And —Shane Bettenhausen
Q And to think
Jeffry’s arms
ain’t the hairiest
parts of his body.
UNTOLD LEGENDS: the combat system, will provide a significant improvement over
the typical hack-n-slash experience,” he says.
DARK KINGDOM
Sony Online • Fall 2006
WHAT WORRIES US: While gamers embraced the first
Untold Legends, the recent follow-up smacked of mediocrity. Also,
after seeing Dark Kingdom in person, we couldn’t believe—from a
graphical standpoint—that this was really a PS3 title. —Greg Ford
FATAL INERTIA
Koei • Fall 2006
WHAT WE LIKE: You can totally tweak out your 23rd century hovercraft in this
online combat-racer, bolting on new bits and designing custom paint jobs. But who
cares? The potential fun here comes from blowing other players’ rocket-powered jalop-
ies to jaggy bits, not slathering on soft pinks. “The damage here isn’t just graphical,”
says Lead Game Designer Michael Bond, “but actually involves losing parts of the vehi-
cle, including engines and wings, which dramatically alters the vehicle’s performance.”
Fatal Inertia’s hyperrealistic physics engine, plus the power of the PS3, allows
for weapons we’ve never seen before. “We have small magnetic projectiles that are
attracted to all metal objects in the game,” Bond says. “That not only means they
behave like heat-seeking missiles, but also that their effect is cumulative—if more
magnets are attached to a player’s vehicle...it makes it easier for other players to
hit the vehicle with more magnets.” You’ll also wield a sticky missile topped with a
rocket booster that, “upon impact, exerts a force on the opponent’s vehicle at the
point where it’s attached,” says Bond. “It causes a constant external force that the
opponent must deal with...making driving and fighting more challenging.”
WHAT WORRIES US: If the physics tricks don’t deliver, Fatal Inertia could turn
out as just another racing game. —Crispin Boyer ³
MERCENARIES:
WORLD IN FLAMES
TBD • Fall 2006
WHAT WE LIKE: Freedom. If modern gaming had a movement, it’d be toward giv- “Mercenaries always wanted to be a next-gen game,” says Brown. “There was so much
ing the player more freedom: freedom to go anywhere and do anything, freedom to behave more we wanted to do but just didn’t have the power.” The first in line for a shot of PS3
in ways you’d never behave in real life, freedom to do things the designers of a game never smart juice is the game’s artificial intelligence. “With the massively increased amounts of
intended. The Mercenaries franchise, embarking on its sophomore sequel, takes the con- memory and CPU power available, we can make A.I. smart enough that it becomes truly
cept to an extreme. Last year’s Playground of Destruction (PS2/XB) was often described as satisfying to outsmart it,” says Brown.
simply “Grand Theft Auto in a war zone.” But its dedication to all-out player freedom—the One thing that really set the original Mercenaries apart from the throng of GTA-alikes
ability to destroy nearly anything in the game, for example—gave Mercenaries an identity was the novel way you progressed through it. Inspired by the playing cards handed out
of its own. And, really, if you’re going to explore your inner psychopath in a densely popu- to soldiers at the outset of the Iraq war, the game designated 52 targets on its deck,
lated urban area, why not have a few tanks and bazookas on hand? informing you of the bad guys to take out in your own way and at your own pace. This
“The beauty of Mercenaries is that there are no hard rules,” says Director Cameron sequel will ditch the decks in favor of some new, unknown structure. “We didn’t want to
Brown of developer Pandemic. “[It’s] a place where the player can do anything and simply repeat ourselves,” says Brown. “I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll just
everything....” That place is about to get a next-gen makeover, not just in the good looks say that verifying high-value targets is still a major part of the game.”
department, but in the subtle details that make a game world more believable. “We are
now fully simulating a living, breathing, dynamic war zone,” says Brown. “We can create WHAT WORRIES US: The first Mercenaries was a rare collision of reality and
a truly reactive world.” What does this newfangled “reactive world” mean for players? “It game. Yet we’ve got a tinge of discomfort in the idea of the very fictional Han Solo or
means people talk to you and about you, know who you are, what you’ve done and how Indiana Jones (both were unlockable characters in the original game) indulging in a killing
you did it,” says Brown. “It means you’ll see appropriate chaos when a heavily armed spree in a very real, modern North Korea, a country where thousands have starved to
maniac runs amok in a crowded city.” death in recent years under the rule of a ruthless dictator. “I think everyone gets that
It doesn’t sound far removed from the original game. Playground of Destruction, set in the game has a kind of ‘action movie’ relationship with reality,” says Brown. “It’s informed
an imagined North Korean conflict, kept track of your relations with warring factions, set- by reality and features recognizable situations, but no one’s going to mistake it for
ting old friends against you when you rubbed them the wrong way. But if all goes accord- a documentary!”
ing to plan, World in Flames will go deeper into the territory the first game staked out. —Robert Ashley ³
DC COMICS MASSIVELY
MULTIPLAYER ONLINE RPG
Sony Online • 2008
FULL AUTO 2
Sega • Fall 2006
GENJI 2
Sony CEA • Fall 2006
UNREAL TOURNAMENT 2007
Midway • Fall 2006 GRAN TURISMO 5
Sony CEA • Fall 2006
Dig first-person shooters but not their online
fragfests? Then UT2007 definitely isn’t for
you, as this pretty-looking game’s No. 1 (and
KILLZONE 2
Sony CEA • 2007
No. 2...and No. 3) priority is multiplayer.
MOTOR STORM
Sony CEA • Fall 2006
RIDGE RACER 7
Namco • Fall 2006
METAL GEAR SOLID 4:
GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS TEKKEN 6
Konami • 2007 FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Namco • 2007
Wanna know what the PS3 is really capable of? Square Enix • 2007
Enter MGS4. And while this new chapter in the Last year, Square Enix teased everyone with what
THE GETAWAY 3
Sony CEA • 2007
stealth-espionage series (starring a borderline- it called the “FFVII PS3 tech demo.” Well, what do
geriatric Solid Snake) is sure to visually dazzle, you know: This test case was really a sneak peek
we still need some reassurance on its narrative. at a next-gen revival of the PS1 role-playing hit.
WARHAWK
Sony CEA • Fall 2006 ³
SONIC
THE HEDGEHOG
Sega • Fall 2006
WHAT WE LIKE: Well, for one thing, it’s got very little in
common with last year’s disastrous series offshoot, Shadow the
Hedgehog. That means Sega’s blue blur won’t be packing heat or
using foul language here; instead, he’ll be taking a cue from his
glory days on the 16-bit Genesis. “We have many goals that we
are striving to achieve with the first Sonic game for the next-gen
consoles, but the main one is to return Sonic to his roots,” says
Director Shun Nakamura of development studio Sonic Team. “[We
want] to utilize the latest technologies and production values
to allow people to experience a similar impact of Sonic’s first
appearance 15 years ago. That’s why we are titling the game sim-
ply Sonic the Hedgehog—to ‘reintroduce’ the new Sonic.”
The comeback trail begins exactly where it should: equipping
this speed freak with an even stronger pair of legs. “Obviously,
the increased sense of speed will improve the realistic sensa-
tion of the game,” explains Nakamura. “In previous titles, it was
fast, but the speed didn’t necessarily feel ‘real.’ Now, thanks to
the next-gen consoles, we will offer players the sensation that
they are running fast, in a real world, against backgrounds built
more painstakingly than before.” And speaking of settings, this
journey will have Sonic running like the wind in the new lagoon
city of Soleana, featuring stages that emphasize either explora-
tion or action. Nakamura promises the latter kind will really take
Q Sonic: Always the showboat. advantage of the mascot’s greatest attribute...and that you’ll get
a major rush while blazing through these gigantic areas. “The
action stages are where Sonic’s blistering speed will be used in
full effect,” he says. “Running through breathtaking high places
will make your hands perspire, and running along the walls of tall
buildings will make your heart beat fast.”
The game will also borrow a page from the more recent (and
questionably received) Sonic Adventure titles (DC/GC), as you
won’t just assume the role of the world’s most recognizable
hedgehog. Other popular characters from the series will be play-
able, and while Nakamura won’t confirm names, we’d bet on—at
the very least—Sonic’s longtime sidekick Tails and his tough-guy
pal Knuckles showing their mugs here.
BROTHERS IN ARMS:
HELL’S HIGHWAY
Ubisoft • Fall 2006
WHAT WE LIKE: That we get to play another next-gen war game. Seriously, bazooka team, mortar crew, or radio operator who can call in artillery or air support. And
would you be disappointed if Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway follows the path forged we’re told the A.I. has evolved past the typical run-n-gun numbskullery. Pitchford says
by Call of Duty 2 and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter—two of the Xbox 360’s best the squads react to context, so, say, they won’t just start shooting at enemies in range;
games? Visually, it’s looking up to snuff, as evidenced by these superdetailed screens. rather, they’ll look to set up ambushes. “There’s nothing quite as powerful as setting up
“The stuff that can be done with real next-gen technology is just amazing—pushing way your fire team where the enemy doesn’t know they are and getting your assault team in
far beyond what we saw in the 360 launch titles,” says Gearbox Software head Randy position from the opposite direction,” he says. “It’s serious stuff, and it’s real tactics, but
Pitchford, who throws out phrases the game makes use of—Unreal Engine 3, normal it’s also great fun.”
mapping, depth-of-field blur, a motion-based animation system—that would send any
technophile into fits. But the game has to deliver more than glamorous graphics to con- WHAT WORRIES US: Despite our reinvigorated enthusiasm for the war genre,
vince gamers—well, the non–“visual whores,” at least—to enlist. not everything’s guaranteed to hit a gold standard (see The Outfit for the 360). Also,
This latest entry in the BIA series—set during World War II’s Operation Market Garden, while multiplayer almost always adds something to these types of games, we wonder
in which the Allies attempted to capture key bridges between Holland and Germany— whether it’ll be more GRAW (amazing) or COD2 (somewhat problematic). Pitchford won’t
will put an even heavier focus on squad tactics. In addition to the fire and assault teams go into too many details, but says, “We’re making really bold decisions about accessibil-
you could control in the previous games, Hell’s Highway adds a third team to your com- ity and usability to make the whole experience better for gamers who, like us, spend a
mand: a special group that, depending on the situation, can be a machine-gun crew, lot of time playing online.” —Greg Ford
MEDAL OF HONOR:
AIRBORNE
EA Games • Fall 2006
WHAT WE LIKE: You’ll enter World War II in a way that’s simply a lot more exhila-
rating than in Hell’s Highway: Each level here begins with what EA’s billing as a “fully
interactive airdrop into enemy territory.” And, just like in any real combat area, where
you land will have a direct impact on how you tackle missions. “If a player lands where
the allies land, they will have lots of backup as you make your way into battle,” says Jon
Paquette, Airborne ’s design director and writer. “But a more skilled player who is familiar
with the jump and landing tactics may land right in an enemy encampment on top of a
building.” You also shouldn’t have a problem distinguishing between safe and hot zones
during your descent. “We designed iconic spaces and events that communicate safe and
unsafe areas clearly,” says Paquette. “For example, in one circumstance there are groups
of allied paratroopers that all drop into the same area on a map, drawing the player’s eye
to that location and urging him to follow if he wants a safe landing.”
Once your feet hit the war-torn earth, expect to encounter (like every other military
game is promising these days) smarter troops on both sides of the battlefield. “They now
have an understanding of the value of cover, the tactical importance of one building or
structure over another, and whether they can hold a position during an enemy attack, or
if it would be better to retreat to a fallback position,” says Senior Producer Matt Marsala.
“The result of this system is that there’s a lot more motion during combat, and there’s
a sense of shifting battle lines as the Allies push toward an objective and the Axis tries
desperately to reinforce the front.”
While multiplayer features remain mostly classified, we do know that team death-
match sessions are a go. “We started seeing exciting scenarios, such as the idea of clans
jumping together from the same C-47 [military transport],” says Paquette, “and realized
that deathmatch was ultimately the best option for both the game and the community.”
WHAT WORRIES US: We haven’t taken the plunge through Airborne’s unfriendly
skies yet, but if the dev team doesn’t properly execute this feature, it could come across as
gimmicky. And this franchise can’t afford another dud, with top-tier competitors Brothers in
Arms and Call of Duty also prepping new installments for 2006. —Justin Frechette ³
AIRBORNE 101
All of the Medal of Honor titles have strived for historical accuracy, and this one’s no
different. The 82nd Airborne Division—which provided the inspiration for the game—
Q New in Airborne is the
ability to get behind the
played crucial roles in famous battles throughout WWII, such as Operation Neptune
wheel in select missions. over Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. After the tour, General George S. Patton,
enamored with America’s flyboys, stated: “In all my years in the Army and all the honor
guards I have ever seen, the 82nd’s honor guard is, undoubtedly, the best.”
MARVEL:
Professor X’s mutants? No problem. Or, would your rather
assemble the unlikely foursome of Thor, Dr. Strange, Blade,
and Elektra? Go right ahead, true believer. “You can name
ULTIMATE ALLIANCE
[your team], pick the logo, pick the team roster,” says
Project Lead Dan Vondrak of developer Raven Software.
“Once [your team] has gained enough reputation, you’ll
increase in team level. With each level increase comes
the ability to increase your team bonuses, and these can
Activision • Fall 2006 be applied to any members of your team.” If you re-create
a classic Marvel lineup—like The Avengers—your group
will actually start out with a slight rep boost.
The almost limitless team customization options won’t
be the only reason to wear Underoos again; Ultimate
Alliance comes to the fight with a much deeper combat
system than the X-Men Legends action-RPGs (which
Raven also made). “We’ve changed around the combat
chains, added charge moves...added new moves coming
off the grab state,” explains Vondrak. “We’ve also added
several character-specific moves that override the normal
ones.” So, for example, the hotheaded Ghost Rider will use
his chains to hurl enemies into the sky and then repeat-
edly smash them into the ground, while your friendly
neighborhood Spider-Man can hang them from the ceiling
with his web.
WWE SMACKDOWN!
WHAT WE LIKE: No shortcuts. As the 360 launch
demonstrated, when annually updated franchises (like
Madden) make their next-gen leap, you usually see much
VIRTUA TENNIS 3
Sega • Fall 2006
Sega’s rendition of the stuffy country
club sport has routinely served game-
play aces. Now, maybe these con-
soles can help make its tennis pros
look less like wide-eyed zombies.
JOHN WOO’S
STRANGLEHOLD
Midway • Fall 2006
This interactive follow-up to Woo’s 1992 movie
Hard Boiled will trash these next-gen consoles...
but in a good way, of course. Cross your fingers
that the control mechanics are intuitive enough
that we all can look like Hong Kong action stars.
DARK SECTOR
D3 • Fall 2007
DEF JAM 3
EA Games • Spring 2007
DIRTY HARRY
Warner Bros. Interactive • 2007
GOLDEN AXE
Sega • 2007
RAYMAN 4
SPLINTER CELL Ubisoft • Fall 2006
DOUBLE AGENT
RESIDENT EVIL 5 Ubisoft • Fall 2006 SEGA RALLY
Capcom • 2007 Sega • Fall 2006
As the title suggests, the sneaky
Aside from blowing the heads off zombies (or Mr. Fisher will play both sides here.
are they?) on your own, No. 5 will also come Does that mean this Splinter Cell
TONY HAWK
packed with some sort of online component. Activision • Fall 2006
carries a plot that, for the very first
You know those Internet-ready PS2 RE games, time, we’ll actually give a crap
Capcom? OK, do the complete opposite of that. about? (Early signs point to “yes.”)
TUROK
Buena Vista • Fall 2007 P
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ast place. It’s not somewhere Nintendo point to objects onscreen and to hit things. Most people on
L
used to hang out. But relative (compared the team said, “You can’t play a standard game with that...
to PS1 and PS2) failures Nintendo 64 what are we going to do about the [downloadable classic]
and GameCube have left the company—a Virtual Console games?” So there were some doubts about
formerly uncontested console champ—in the design...but then Mr. Miyamoto said, “Why don’t we give
unenviable territory. it a shot, and make it work by making the remote small and
But talking to Nintendo President Satoru Iwata or compact, but with an expansion port for other functions?” By
Senior Managing Director (and Mario creator) Shigeru creating a shell of a classic-style controller, you can have all
Miyamoto, you’d almost get the sense that they’ve tran- the functionality for standard games.
scended this whole nonsense about it mattering who’s in So we were able to put together a prototype, implement
first place. For their upcoming next-gen gaming machine, it in a gameplay demo, and we found out that this kind of
the Revolution (whose name should change by the time control actually makes first-person shooters really fun with
you read this), they’ve practically forgotten about battling the aiming and pointing...but what do you do with movement?
rivals Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo’s not after those That’s when we took advantage of the expansion port for the
guys’ audiences—it’s after everyone else. And we mean nunchaku configuration [where you plug in a second device
everyone. If that sounds cuckoo-for-Cocoa-Puffs ambi- connected by a cord]—that setup was proposed by the NCL
tious to you, just remember, this is a company whose [Nintendo Co., Ltd., Nintendo’s name in Japan] producer of the
name was once synonymous with the word “videogame.” Metroid Prime series.
So just what is Nintendo planning? Some crazy,
innovative s***. Crazy enough to make us think that this EGM: How are things going with the
little-guy-who-used-to-be-a-big-guy might, just might, Revolution now?
have what it’ll take to rule the world again. SI: It’s progressing smoothly. A lot of developers have gotten
their hands on the Revolution controller, and they’re starting
EGM: Could you discuss the history of the to understand the types of things that they’re able to do with
Revolution project? it. Our internal developers and second-party teams are now
Satoru Iwata: In early 2004, we began discussing in earnest bringing to me the projects that they’re working on, and I’m
what to do with the controller for our new console. Around getting more and more excited with each one.
that time, the DS concept had recently come together. One At [May’s game trade show] E3, we’ll be demonstrating dif-
common objective that we’ve had with both the DS and the ferent ideas on how to apply this innovative new technology.
Revolution is this idea of, “What can we do to expand the We’ll be able to provide third-party developers a hint as to
audience beyond people who normally play videogames?” what directions they can take with their own development.
Just to give you an example of how we’ve approached
this, think about hardcore gamers—they have a console EGM: How will third-party support compare
in their home. Does everyone who lives in that household to what we’ve seen for GameCube?
use the console? My guess is, the answer is no. Our driving SI: I think the conditions in Japan and in the U.S. are slightly
concept behind the Revolution is to make it something that different. Our goal of expanding the market [with the DS] has
everyone in the household can relate to and interact with. been met with tremendous results in Japan. A lot of develop-
One question we had was why people are willing to pick ers are looking at those results and now have high expecta-
up a TV remote control and interact with that, but at the same tions for their games on that system, as well as what they’ll
time they’re not able to pick up a videogame controller. The be able to do on the Revolution.
funny thing was, at that time, even though we’d been discuss- On top of that, the Xbox 360 has had virtually no impact
ing the TV remote, we never thought to translate that into our whatsoever in the Japanese market. And maybe there are
controller design. So for a while we were unable to escape some special considerations going on within that market, but
our fixed perception that a videogame controller is something because the 360 has had no impact, it’s leaving Japanese
that you grip with both hands. We drew a lot of concept developers with essentially two choices: either the PlayStation
sketches and put together a lot of prototype controllers at this 3 or the Revolution. So because of that, we’re seeing a lot
time. And there were a lot of ideas there that people would of developers who are getting very excited about the unique
look at and never equate with being a videogame controller! things that you can do with the Revolution controller.
We spent close to a year going through this prototyping I think that in the West, looking at conditions there, many of
process, going through tons of concepts. the publishers have been operating under the business model
One of Nintendo’s biggest strengths is that we have both of producing one game and releasing it on three different
hardware and software developers in one building, and they’re consoles. And while it’s not impossible for people to do that
continually cooperating in their efforts. The hardware develop- with the Revolution, I think a lot of people will have concerns
ers can come up with an idea, propose it to the software side, with that, given the fact that the system has this unique
and say, “What do you think you can do with this?” They’re controller. Will gamers want to play “standard” games on the
able to quickly put together a very simple gamelike mechanic Revolution? Similarly, a lot of developers continue to operate
related to that idea, then quickly evaluate it to see if it has on what I call “sustainable innovation,” in terms of processing
that gameplay hook that they’re looking for. power and graphics. Those kinds of developers might not be
In early 2005, a young leader on the controller development quite as interested in developing on the Revolution. What we
team proposed the idea of this one-handed controller. Shortly are seeing are a lot of Western developers who are getting
before that, we had already developed this direct-pointing- attracted to the idea of “disruptive innovation,” and they’re
device technology, and we were thinking of using that to looking at the Revolution controller and coming up with ➤
88 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
VIVA LA REVOLUTION
Five reasons Nintendo’s new system could be more than a gimmick
■ The Revolution controller’s
nunchaku setup: Good for
5
It Is Your Father’s Game System
moving and shooting and
And your mother’s and your kid brother’s and your barber’s and, well, everyone’s. That’s Nintendo’s plan, anyway.
fending off home burglars.
The company went with the unique remote-control doohickey specifically because it’s more simple—more pick-
up-and-playable—than the dual-stick, googol-button gamepads packed with conventional systems. And Nintendo
execs insist the system’s software lineup will include titles that are irresistible for any age of gamer. “Usually, when
I bring games home, only my son and I play them,” says Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, “so our goal is to have the
Revolution be something that everyone in my family will feel compelled to play.”
With the nunchaku analog-stick add-on included with the Revolution to facilitate first-person shooters and other tradi-
tional genres, Nintendo figures everyone—hardcore and casual gamer alike—will win. “If you live in a house where
there’s one person who hates videogames,” Iwata says, “and who feels that games are not something that they want
to spend time with, then that makes it harder for gamers in the house to feel comfortable with their hobby.”
4
Old Systems Go! It’s Your Cheapest
3
It’s enough to make us think Xbox Live Arcade Ticket to the Next Gen
is f***ed: While Xbox 360 gamers can down- The magic price for a game console—the maxi-
load twitch arcade hits and puzzle games, mum moolah most gamers would be willing to
Revolution owners will download titles—at drop—has stuck at 300 bucks for years. But then
launch—for every Nintendo home system, Microsoft launched an Xbox 360 deluxe pack-
plus Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 games, all age that broke the barrier by $100. And Sony’s
sharpened up for progressive-scan TVs. feature-rich PS3 may push the price envelope
Download prices may vary by vintage. “NES further. Only Nintendo, which consistently
titles might be a few dollars,” says an analyst. launches its consoles for well below
“Super Nintendo $5, Nintendo 64 $10, etc.” $300, seems capable of adher-
Even if the download library is limited to top ing to tradition. “$250 seems
sellers, Xbox Live Arcade will need something appropriate,” says Martin
more than Gravity Wars and Uno, but quick! Shkreli, a hedge-fund manager
at Elea Capital.
Even the games themselves may
be cheaper when compared to third-party
Xbox 360 titles that weigh in at $60.
“Ubisoft has a potential blockbuster with
Red Steel, and they may try to charge
more,” says Wedbush Morgan Analyst
■ Turbo rights holder Hudson says it’ll have its games Michael Pachter, “but a $50 price point may
ready at launch, then take requests for third-party stuff. be the right one for software produced for the box,
especially without HD, and given the likely lower
development cost compared to PS3 and 360.”
2
It’s Online Even
When You Turn It Off
1
Deep inside its slim innards, the It Really Is Revolutionary
Revolution uses minimal power to Really! Take the remote’s built-in speaker, a feature Nintendo has kept secret and revealed
maintain its online connection when exclusively to us prior to this May’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, the game industry’s trade
you power down, preserving any virtual show. Miyamoto can rattle off a dozen simple uses: The thing will talk to you, telling you
world for friends to visit while you’re when it’s your turn, or “if there’s a game where you have a lightsaber,” he tells us, “people
busy in the real world. “Even if [you would be pretty psyched to hear their Rev controller making that noise. Vrrrrm! Verrrrr!”
are] asleep in the middle of the night,” Add the always-on connectivity and you get innovations piled on top of innovations. “The
Iwata offers as one potential use for Revolution controller is such a unique feature for the system that I think most [developers]
this feature, “I might be able to access will build their games around its abilities,” says Alex Ness, producer of launch title Tony
your [Animal Crossing] town, talk to Hawk’s Downhill Jam. The remote’s motion-sending features make it ideal for the first-person
residents, and leave items for him.” genre, and check our previews on page 102 to see other novel in-game uses for the gizmo.
But “is [the Revolution] going to end up being a big novelty that after two or three days
you’re kinda bored of?” asks David Jaffe, designer of God of War and a studio manager at
rival Sony. Ultimately, it’s the question of the moment—especially because Nintendo has
gone gimmicky before (remember Virtual Boy? Or GBA-
GameCube connectivity?). Jaffe continues, answering
the question for us: “Now it is Nintendo, and it is [Mario
creator Shigeru] Miyamoto. I think that guy and that
company are a hundred times smarter than I am,
so you’d be an idiot to assume that they haven’t
■ Animal Crossing: The city that never sleeps. thought of that.”
➤ their own unique ideas of what do with it. So I believe that EGM: And outside of the graphics?
we’ll see a lot more exclusive third-party content than we SI: Over the years, we’ve seen a lot of different videogame
saw on the GameCube, with lots of different ideas and unique consoles, but we’ve never seen one that’s able to do anything
gameplay. And in order to continue fostering this development, when it’s turned off, no matter the horsepower of the system.
it’s Nintendo’s job to make sure that the Revolution is a con- And the Revolution has this ability to operate in a unique
sole with a lot of momentum and strength, and by building our way with very low levels of power: The memory, a portion
installed base, we’ll attract even more third-party developers. of the processor, and the system’s Wi-Fi connection will
With Revolution, we’re really focusing on not only having a continue to function while the system is off. What that
strong launch lineup, but also having a steady supply of games means is that it’s a game machine that is connected to the
coming after launch. That’s our task in the years ahead. Internet 24 hours a day. Of course, you can unplug it. [Laughs]
Think about it this way: Everyone in the room probably has
EGM: The perception is that the Revolution a cell phone, and even though you’re not using it right now,
has this cool controller and unique tech, but it’s sitting there in a waiting mode where it can receive calls
that its visuals won’t be comparable to what and e-mail. We think that by taking advantage of this concept,
you see on the PS3 and the Xbox 360. It we can bring some very interesting new ideas to gaming.
doesn’t even support high definition…. Up until now, network gaming services have all offered the
SI: Because we chose to not go HD, you’re essentially looking standard multiplayer experience brought online, where you
at freeing one-fourth to one-sixth of the console’s process- battle against other players to test your skill. With our new
ing power. When I look at that, I don’t think the Revolution is functionality, we really think that we can change the types of
going to be underpowered. If you were to go look at a straight things that you can do while online.
list of hard specs, yeah, in that sense the Revolution is prob- With an innovation like this, we feel that the need to com-
ably not as high as the other systems. But in my mind, HD pete with other systems in terms of graphical power becomes
is still an unstable format. Some people consider 720p to be less relevant. The kind of sustainable innovation we’re used
true HD, but others say that 1080p is HD. You don’t actually to seeing means that last generation you might have seen
have a standard there, unlike NTSC [television signals]. And if 50 characters onscreen, and that now you’d be able to have
you look at the number of TVs in America that are actually HD 500. Sure, that can influence gameplay a little, but that kind
compatible...you’re essentially taking the biggest selling point of innovation is really just something that requires more
of your games and devoting all of your processing power and hardware power, more manpower—and as you continue to
memory to this idea of HD graphics, yet only a very, very small go down that path, the only companies that can really be
percentage of people in the U.S. will be able to view those profitable are big publishers with very strong franchises.
graphics in the way they were intended. So in that sense, for
us, it really became a question of whether it was worth it for
I think about a game like Tetris, which was developed
20 years ago by one Russian scientist. If he were to make
“We’ll see a lot more
us to put HD graphics in there in order to please a very small
minority. We decided that it was more important to reinvent
it now and pitch it to a publisher, they would probably
tell him to go back and add better graphics, more levels, exclusive third-party
the interface, to really change the way people play games
with “disruptive innovation.”
Personally, I like technology. I’m an early adopter—the kind
CG cut-scenes, and possibly even a movie license to
make it sell more. If someone were to come up with the
idea that could be the next Tetris-type phenomenon—a
content than we saw on
of guy who goes out and buys new tech as soon as it comes
out. I have an HDTV in my home, but I’m not the mass-market
very simple, very fun game—it wouldn’t be approved.
We want to encourage people to be more creative, and
GameCube.” —Nintendo President Satoru Iwata
consumer. We really want to bring Revolution to as many to open up development to people who don’t have the
people as possible. The specs of the system were based on resources to do the type of development these other con-
➤ idea. My ultimate goal is to have as many people in the
that soles require. It’s these new, different, innovative ideas that
world as possible experiencing the interactive entertainment will broaden the interactive entertainment experience. Some
that Nintendo provides. people look at this and consider it risky, and in some ways it
is, but at the same time the potential for success will be huge
EGM: We’re not just talking about HD, but if we can pull it off.
the actual graphical power of the console As for why we have not mentioned this up until now even
itself. Will the system be capable of keeping though it was finalized over a year ago: We wanted to wait
up with the other consoles? until a point in time when the other hardware manufacturers
SI: If you were to compare how many calculations all of the would be unable to copy this functionality.
systems are able to do, I think that you’d find that there are Shigeru Miyamoto: We do have a lot of ideas on how to
areas where the Revolution is not as capable. But in the end, I use this...we are looking with Zelda at ways of using this
don’t feel that has really anything to do with what impression functionality to add an element to the Revolution game-
a game leaves on the player. Do the graphics have as much play. To be honest, I don’t have any more examples right
impact as the interaction itself? The customer’s experience is now, but generally speaking, we have a lot of ideas around
what is most important. That’s where it becomes a question this concept of flowing information to the hardware whether
of balance. Where do you balance what you’re doing with the it’s asleep or awake and seeing communities build something
hardware with what you’re doing with the controller? It’s more around that...but nothing concrete right now.
important to focus on bringing these new experiences to the
user, rather than focusing on the same stuff that everyone EGM: What else?
else has been doing for all these years, [which is] just trying SM: There will be a speaker built in to the controller. It won’t
to find new ways to make games look better. be really high-fidelity sound—it will be kind of basic speak- ➤
5
As Not Seen on HDTV
Strictly speaking, you don’t need a supersize HDTV to play next-gen games. But Sony and Microsoft
are at least making it worth your while to take out a second mortgage and invest in new idiot-box
technology—both the Xbox 360 and especially the PS3 support high-def display modes.
With the Revolution, on the other hand, Nintendo has taken a “no HDTV, no problem” position.
The system won’t support any resolution sharper than 480p, same as the 5-year-old GameCube.
Add to that the fact that you need an add-on to watch DVD movies and you have a console that
sounds way behind the times—at least for AV snobs. “We’ve made our decisions regarding HD
because Nintendo’s priorities are in a different place,” says Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, saying
that the company is focusing on innovation rather than using hardware resources to generate
higher-res visuals. “The 4:3 NTSC format has been standard for over 20 years, whereas HD is still
new.” Nevertheless, 19 percent of American homes now have HDTVs, which will outsell old-fash-
ioned analog sets by 89 percent this year, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
4 3
Sony and Microsoft as Xbox 360 or PS3
Might Get Revolutionary, Too With its built-in Wi-Fi adapter, USB 2.0 ports for expandability, and SD
As nifty as the Revolution’s electric-shaver-look-alike remote controller
card slot, the Revolution is hardly a bare-bones system, but Nintendo
may seem, it’s not new technology: Junior executives have used similar
has made no secret that its console still can’t compete with the Xbox
virtual mice to manipulate edge-of-your-seat PowerPoint presentations
360 and the PS3 when it comes to specs. “We could have easily
for years. And Sony has shown off experimental motion-sensing game
taken Nintendo in the direction where we try to do the same kind of
controllers before and reportedly has something special in the works for
console that the other guys were doing,” Iwata says. “But we didn’t
the PS3. What’s to stop Microsoft from doing the same thing with the 360?
want to apply all of our processing power to graphics. We wanted to
And if Sony and Microsoft got into the magic-controller game,
use it in new ways in order to truly change the gaming experience.”
wouldn’t that make for a glut of motion-sensing ports?
The less-potent horsepower makes for the cheapest new system,
But Nintendo has one advantage the other guys can
of course, but it also relegates the Revolution into the role as the
never swipe: The Revolution’s special controller is
second or even third system to own for graphics-whore gamers who
packed in with the system. Sony and Microsoft would
insist on buying the highest tech first.
have to sell their motion-sensing gizmos separately, which
means gamemakers couldn’t count on every PS3 and 360
■ Red Steel : Nifty but
gamer owning the necessary gear. “That would limit the not quite revolution-
adoption rates for the device to something like 50 percent ary in the graphics
or less of the installed base,” says Michael Pachter, analyst department.
for Wedbush Morgan. “Developers would have to think hard
about whether to chase the 20 million Revolution market
for $5 million in cost, or to chase half of the 40 million PS3
market with development costs of $10 million. My guess is
that Nintendo has nothing to worry about.”
2
Nintendo Might
Not Be Ready for Online
1
When Nintendo VP of Sales and Marketing Third-Party Support Might Suck...Again
Reggie Fils-Aime describes the Revolution’s It certainly looks like a promising launch: Nintendo claims it will have about seven first-party
online network—which will reportedly be up games and 13 third-party titles ready around the time the Revolution hits. But we worry that
and running on day one—he emphasizes its once this initial flurry of innovating games dies down, we’ll get stuck with ports that only
ease of use, zero cost, and reliable connectiv- make token use of the system’s controller (gimmicky minigames, basic camera control, and
ity. That’s great. But “ease of use” isn’t the so forth). History check: 84 percent of GameCube games were third-party cross-platform
first phrase that pops into our heads when ports. And less than a quarter of the games in the DS’ library make innovative use—meaning
we try to find online opponents with the more than just for maps, inventory, or analog control—of the touch screen.
DS’ convoluted friend-code system. And the Will the Revolution fall into a similar situation? While developers are psyched to make
Revolution’s “reliable connectivity” won’t help games using the system’s novel fea-
anyone without a wireless home network— tures, they’re not always the guys who ■ Will common ports
the system only supports Wi-Fi connectivity make those decisions. “As a designer, like the Splinter Cell
out of the box (although you can get an adapt- I’d love to design for a system like that games get more than
er to connect an Ethernet cable). Plus, it took that offers that new interface flexibility,” token uses of the
remote controller?
Microsoft five years to fine-tune Xbox Live says Sims creator Will Wright. “As a
into the killer online service it is today. But game publisher, I dunno what the via-
hey—we’re totally stoked for the “zero cost” bility is yet. It’ll come down to the eco-
part of the Revolution’s online equation. nomic viability of the market, although I
am kind of rooting for Nintendo.”
cover story:
the revolution
EXTRA LIVES
We pick the obscure prehistoric
hits we hope will find downloadable
superstardom on the Revolution
It was a boffo feature to begin with: the Revolution’s ability to download games for every
➤ er noises. But in addition to the rumble, the controller itself
previous Nintendo home system—from the original NES to the Nintendo 64—into its “Virtual
will make noises when you use it. Console.” (The system also accepts GameCube discs and controllers.) Then company execs
added one more Revolution retro-boost: emulation for Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx-16
EGM: Where did this idea come from? games, too. Nintendo hasn’t highlighted which games will be available for download yet, but
SM: During the development of the controller, we heard from that hasn’t stopped us from wish-listing underappreciated classics we hope get a second
a lot of different people offering a lot of different ideas about lease on life courtesy of the Revolution. Are you listening, Nintendo?
what to add. And there were ideas about cameras and micro-
phones and more, and we tried many of them out. But the
sound teams in particular were very passionate about having
a speaker in the controller that could make noise.
You are probably familiar with Yoot Saito, who developed
Seaman and recently Odama [reviewed on page 119] for the
GameCube—he made mention that if it had a speaker you
could have it ring like a phone...that sort of thing. And a lot
of the development teams were excited about it, too. So after
debating its cost and function, we decided to include it.
REVOLUT
A
halfway into a yearlong delay, the expectations surrounding The
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess are...well, ridiculous.
Fanboy blogs hypothesize wildly, their speculation based on
the few facts we already know: Link will travel back and forth to
another realm, where he takes on the form of a wolf, in his quest to once again
defeat Ganon and save the land of Hyrule. Gaming magazines (yes, including this
one) spend pages analyzing every screenshot, dissecting each new quote. Rabid
fans pore over every detail on Internet message boards, scrutinizing the few
glimpses we’ve had of the game down to literally each blade of grass. Then word
leaked out that the GameCube game will make use of the upcoming Revolution
console’s unique one-handed controller—that’s when things really got nuts.
In the middle of this storm is Eiji Aonuma, director of Twilight Princess and the
principal man behind the series ever since Majora’s Mask on the Nintendo 64.
No stranger to high expectations, Mr. Aonuma has himself stated several times
that his goal is to top Ocarina of Time, the seminal Zelda adventure that’s widely
regarded as one of the greatest games of all time (many would argue it’s the
greatest). Of course, he has some help: Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Zelda, Mario,
and just about every great Nintendo franchise, is overseeing the project with the
same high standards he brings to every game he works on. We sat down to talk
with both men about Twilight Princess, how it will work on the Revolution, what
went wrong with the last Zelda game, and what a difference a year makes. ➤
—Mark MacDonald & Shane Bettenhausen
“Zelda isn’t the type of game that can be a ■ And you thought the lava in
Resident Evil 4 looked good.... Twilight
100 on a scale of 1 to 100—it has to be a 120.”
—Director Eiji Aonuma, paraphrasing Nintendo President Satoru Iwata
pushes the GameCube further than
anyone thought possible. Nintendo
says the graphics should look about
the same on the Revolution....
➤ EGM: Let’s start off by talk- games] could be overcome by using the
ing about the delay—Twilight Revolution controller and the new inter-
!!! Princess was originally sched- face that goes with it.
uled to ship in the fall of ’05.
Why did you decide to push it EGM: What can you tell us
back, not just a few months, about how the Revolution
but an entire year? controller will work with
Eiji Aonuma: A few reasons. One is more the game?
of a physical problem—the game just Shigeru Miyamoto: We’ve done a lot
wasn’t progressing the way we’d hoped of experimenting with controls over the
it would be, and so in that sense we were years, and what we’ve found is that they
being forced to delay it. But the larger tend to get more and more complicated.
reason is that [Nintendo President Satoru] What we’ve tried to do with the Revolution
Iwata has been saying that Zelda isn’t the controller is allow you to do very com-
type of game that can be a 100 on a scale plicated things very simply. And that’s
of 1 to 100—it has to be a 120. In order to really where the focus has been in terms
do that, we needed the extra time. of implementing it with Zelda. [We’re still
We were really fortunate to have the looking] at the Revolution controller’s
extra year—we have gone back and looked functionality and trying to figure out ways
at everything and been able to rework it to take advantage of it with Zelda. ■ Link inherits his love
and add in these new features. At this point of fishing from several
it’s like 80 percent complete and it’s look- EGM: For example? members of the devel-
ing like it’s going to be a really great game. SM: [Well,] usually in Zelda games, when opment team....
you want to aim you go into this first-per-
EGM: And another reason son mode where you tilt the control stick
was to have it work with the up to aim down and vice versa, because
Revolution controller? it’s always been like you were controlling
EA: [Yes, the delay also] had to do with a puppet from the back of the head. But
the Revolution. As we were working on the that was complicated for a lot of people,
Revolution controller, we really felt that it’d and some people prefer it the other way
be fun to use with Zelda, and at the same around—you push up and the aim goes up.
time, we felt [that] a lot of the frustrations This time, taking advantage of the direct-
people have had playing [previous Zelda pointing-device functions of the Revolution ➤
➤ controller, it’ll be very intuitive and very setups, but we found having to move your
tactile—you just aim the controller at what arm around every time for the sword could
you want to shoot at and shoot. get very tiring. There will be certain spe-
EA: It can also be used for locking on to cial events that will require you to do that
things. Up until now in Zelda, we’ve had a sort of thing, but we found that using the
sort-of autolock feature where you didn’t controller to do everything else, in addition
really get to choose the target you first to swinging your sword, just got too con-
locked on to, but you’d have to adjust. This voluted and too tiring.
time you can use the pointing device to
choose who you want to talk to or what EGM: What about the audio
you want to lock on to and attack. It’s speaker built in to the Rev-
really nice; it feels almost like a 3D mouse. olution controller—how will
Twilight Princess use that?
EGM: What about using EA: It can be used for [any] close-up
the controller to move noises that you might experience in arrow, [you’ll get a “thhpt!” sound from EGM: Any other differ-
your sword? gameplay. When you throw something, you the controller that] will get more quiet ences when you play Twilight
EA: We’re not going over the top in terms might here a sort of “whoosh” sound as as it flies away, and then the sound you Princess on the Revolution?
of having people swing the controller in you toss it. Or as you’re doing something hear from the TV from the arrow will get EA: The one question everyone kept ask-
order to swing their sword. We experi- with the pointing device, you might get louder—it gives the sound a really, really ing me in interviews last year was: “Is
mented with it and tried a few different some feedback from Navi. Shooting an nice depth. Zelda going to have a widescreen mode?” ➤
Rogues’ Gallery
Sure, everyone’s cool with Twilight Princess’
■ Nope, this isn’t newly macho Link, but what about the rest of the
some bizarre glitch— game’s cast? Here’s a sneak peek at some of the
we suspect that this bizarre characters you’ll be encountering on your journey.
is how Link travels
between Hyrule and
the Twilight World.
REVOLUTIONARY
GAMES
And exactly how you’ll play them with Nintendo’s remote controller
Red Steel
Ubisoft • Fall 2006
What is it? It may sound like Tony Hawk on skis, but Downhill
Jam is all about skateboarding. This time, you’ll skid down
death-defying slopes in the world’s more vertiginous locales,
from San Francisco to Machu Picchu. “Many kids have tried
riding their skateboards down steep hills,” says Producer
Alex Ness of developer Toys for Bob, “and there’s a growing
faction of people dedicated to downhill skating.” This arcade-
style racer looks like Hawk, but your bread and butter of
past games, tricks, will mostly be used here for boost as you
complete time-based challenges in one of three modes—race,
trick, and slalom. “We’ve modified the physics to support a
downhill race,” says Ness, “and our level layout is completely
different.” Another change? Downhill Jam isn’t being made by
Hawk standby Neversoft. Ness says the faithful should have
no fear, though: “[Neversoft has] given us plenty of great feed-
back on the gameplay.”
How do I play it? The developers have tried to use the con-
troller to mimic the side-to-side motion of riding a skateboard. ■ Heard this game’s strictly
If the player rotates the controller left or right, their skater for kids? “Who said that?”
turns that way in the game. “This is something many people asks Producer Alex Ness.
“Give me a name! This game
intuitively do anyway when playing a racing game, and now it
is really for everyone.”
has an effect on how the game is played,” says Ness.
What is it? If you’ve played any of the previous SMB installments, then you’ll know the What is it? The limbless hero will tame magical creatures such as rhinos, spiders,
drill here: guide a funky, sphere-trapped monkey through tons of mazelike levels and and angelfish so that they can help Rayman rid his home planet of...demonic rabbits?
along the way collect as many of the animal’s favorite treat as possible. Expect an ample It’s kinda like those Ape Escape games, except with a lot more of Satan (and to think,
supply of minigames, as well. this one’s supposed to be for the kiddies).
How do I play it? The nunchaku’s analog stick adjusts the camera, while the remote is How do I play it? Ubisoft couldn’t get us control specifics in time for this issue. But
held vertically (think along the lines of a PC flight-sim joystick) to maneuver your mon- if we were to venture a guess, the remote will act as Rayman’s very extendable arms,
key. Tilt the remote forward and watch him roll, or pull back to hit the brakes. and that you’ll swing it in order to knock these red-eyed furries into next Tuesday.
When it comes to Banana Blitz ’s minigames, the controls will adjust with the chal-
lenge. For example, in Home Run Derby, you’ll hold the remote like a real baseball bat
and swing accordingly. But in the Ring Toss competition, you’ll motion as if you’re hurling
the controller at the screen and then let go of one of its buttons to release the ring.
THIS MONTH
IN REVIEWS...
A
fter what seemed like
an eternity banished
to Reviews Wrap-up,
Oblivion finally has its coming-out
party, and the Crew welcomes it
wholeheartedly. For the many of
you who have already dug into this
behemoth of an adventure, its Game
of the Month accolades should
come as no surprise. For those of
you who haven’t, be prepared for
your new summer fling.
On a sadder note, Nintendo’s
intriguing pinball/military-strategy
hybrid Odama will have you yelling
at the game for all the wrong
reasons. Some combos are just best
left...uncomboed.
GAME DIRECTORY
Xbox 360
106 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
109 Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
Multiplatform
110 OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast
110 Winback 2: Project Poseidon
111 Rogue Trooper
112 Hitman: Blood Money
PlayStation 2
113 Ace Combat Zero:
The Belkan War
114 Atelier Iris 2:
The Azoth of Destiny
114 Tourist Trophy
Xbox
115 Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
PSP
GameCube
119 Odama
OBLIVION
DS
120 Brain Age: Train Your
Brain in Minutes a Day!
121 Lost Magic
Extra Stuff
122 Reviews Wrap-up
124 Reviews Archive
THE RATING SYSTEM & AWARDS JENN FRANK • Staff Reviewer MATT PECKHAM • Staff Reviewer
Reeling from devastating defeat, Jenn If only they had published Dreamfall
pledges to practice Field Commander as a novel...Matt has been looking for
■ OFFICIAL U.S. PLAYSTATION MAGAZINE and 1UP.COM are the icing on the cake,
ESRB Ratings The ESRB’s game ratings range from “Everyone” to “Adults Only.” the lemon in your water, the whipped cream on hot chocolate, the quarter on your PSP
Visit www.esrb.org for the full lowdown.
D-pad—doing the little things that make life sweeter.
■ Xbox 360
THE ELDER
SCROLLS IV: OBLIVION
Grand Theft Horseback
ROBERT C: So far in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, continent, mixing up new potions or creating ramp-up time (I played 20 hours before I started
Free Cache I’ve murdered a man by fixing a stuffed Minotaur your own custom spells, trying different solutions really enjoying myself), and my score’s probably
Oblivion uses the head in his skull; woke up to find the ship I was to quests, or experimenting with different play looking like a typo. But no. Everything Robert
Xbox 360’s hard sleeping on had been hijacked; stalked innocent styles. Frankly, I’m amazed developer Bethesda said? I couldn’t agree more. Oblivion makes you
drive to cache people for a paranoiac who ultimately tried to kill got all this content—and such sweet graph- do hard time—and you love it. That’s amazing.
game data for me; cured an entire village of mass invisibility; ics—packed onto that one disc. This may be the
faster loads. broke up a gang of female thieves; served time best game I play this year. 1UP.COM—JOHN: Before I played Oblivion, I’d
Ironically, this for grand larceny; and persuaded a group of par- decided that my approach to this review was
can lead to long tygoers to murder each other. Oh, and I became a JENNIFER: Many of you will absolutely detest going to be: “This is how long I played before I
loads as data vampire. I did all of this in 40-plus hours of play- (like, controller-smash detest) Oblivion. This couldn’t take it anymore.” When a game is hyped
gets fragmented. ing the game—and not a second of it has to do mega-titanium-diamond-hardcore game pun- up as being as huge as this is, my first thought is,
If this happens, with the game’s “official” plot. I’ll get around to ishes even the passionate. Dilettante roleplayers “I just don’t have that kind of time on my hands.” I
reset the console that eventually...maybe after another 40 hours. beware: Class and attribute decisions made mean...who does? I do now.
and hold the A Oblivion is such a huge game that it can make casually at the outset will haunt you for weeks as The main quest is beautifully paced (surpris-
button as the your brain ache; thankfully, it’s very user-friendly, you discover your character’s hidden strengths ingly, it’s actually kinda like 24, in the way that
game boots until
with a nicely organized quest journal (a big and painful weaknesses. Battles are tediously nothing is ever fully resolved before another
the Bethesda
plus, since having a dozen current quests isn’t difficult; forget the hack-slash-potion formula. problem pops up), and, most importantly, you’re
screen to safely
unusual) and an enormously helpful map that Enemies are smart and fight dirty, and loot is treated with respect throughout. Nothing’s dumb-
clear your cache.
points you in the right direction and sports great frugally (even...realistically?) distributed. Also, the ed down, and information is simply presented for
That should get
new fast-travel options. controller just doesn’t have enough buttons for all you to interpret. I love that. I can understand the
you cruising the
This is a seriously questcentric game, yet you the needed options. Over time, I became increas- issues that Jen is expressing, but I’m really not
hills and dales
won’t find a more open game world anywhere ingly frustrated navigating menus and inventory, seeing the whole “punishment” thing. You have to
of Cyrodiil at top
(sorry, GTA). Oblivion consistently rewards explo- especially in combat. Add on a bunch of glitches, play it like you really mean it, sure—but isn’t that
speed again.
ration, whether you’re traversing the sprawling loading problems, and an unbelievably long kinda the point?
Developer: Bethesda
Good: Huge, rich world full of options and things to explore
(OUT OF 10)
Players: 1
Bad: Huge world and myriad objectives might overwhelm ESRB: Teen
Strangely Difficult: Getting your character to not look hideous
ROBERT C. JENNIFER JOHN www.elderscrolls.com
sat down with Oblivion’s Executive a couple of quests scale harder. If you them lower on Xbox. Based on talking to
Producer Todd Howard and asked do the battle of Kvatch at high level and people about what we did, we think doing
him to address some of your burning you’re a stealth character, that’s going bigger and better things at 150 points is a
questions. to be harder—because of the nature of good number.
stealth and the number of enemies we’re
EGM: So, the scaling difficul- throwing at you—than if you were at a EGM: We’ve seen some play-
ty—some people love it, some lower level. ers complaining that magic Dragonfire Castle
people hate it. Did you real- users are overpowered— Cool feature: A taxidermist who makes
ize you were creating such a EGM: What about having high- because they can instantly stuffed trophies for you
controversial feature? er prices on Xbox 360 than cast spells, even while run-
Todd Howard: When you’re creating PC for downloadable content? ning. Some say the game is
a wide-open game like this, you really TH: We fixed that. The next plug-in is “unrealistic” because a “real”
have to find some way of having the going to be 150 [Microsoft] magician would
difficulty adjust for if the player is really, points and $1.89 on PC. We have to, like, sit
really powerful, or [if] they just start the got a lot of feedback on the down and meditate
game and this is the quest they ran into. horse-armor thing. It sold to cast a spell.
Otherwise, you’re constantly running amazingly [well], but since What do you think?
into things that are too hard and you we’re the first ones doing it, TH: I can verify that it’s Deepscorn Hollow
Cool feature: A venomous garden that grows
don’t like them, or [they’re] too easy and we’re definitely concerned with completely realistic.
only items with negative effects
you’re bored. setting the standard for it and [Laughs] P
WARNING
TM
INTRODUCING NEW POCKET-SIZE TAG BODY SHOTS.
LOAD IT, LOCK IT, AND ROCK IT AT YOUR OWN RISK.
review crew
xbox 360
■ In single player,
you can “hot swap”
and take control of
any teammate to
change your class
and weapons on
the fly.
■ Xbox 360
FOR YOUR
An army of plenty
Good: It’s like playing with army toys. Lots of army toys
Bad: Single player is a different (and not-as-good) game
Voice-Chat Problems: EA says it’s fixing them
SHOE: Love is a Battlefield game. Lots doesn’t capture the toy-box magic and Internet outages—online battles
of shooters give you guns and vehi- of Battlefield at all and plays like are the main event here.
cles, but Modern Combat gives you a stripped-down shooter). Forget
the mother lode of a virtual toy box to Pat Benatar, I guess I only like this 1UP.COM—GARNETT: I hope we’re
play with. When you log in to an online Battlefield—for its online play. near the end of the “dolled-up cur-
match, you jump right into a battle rent-gen games masquerading as
where tanks, helicopters, gunboats, CRISPIN: I’ve seen some crazy s*** next gen” transition period, at least for
jeeps, turrets, and more litter the play- on this battlefield. Like the time one the 360. Not that Battlefield 2 doesn’t
ing field. Go ahead, hop into any of of my special forces buddies slapped look visibly better than last fall’s PS2/
them: You’re licensed to drive and fly C4 on his Humvee and smithereened XB release, but neither does it stand
them all. If you can talk to your friends a squad of enemies. Or the enemy up well next to games built from the FOR YOUR
(our voice chat stopped working for chopper pilot who airdropped all of ground up for the new hardware. And POCKET
hours at a time), you can tell them to his passengers right onto our control even with the single-player game’s
get in with you so they can man the point. Sir, yes, sir—the unconven- improved hot-swap ability that now
guns while you steer. Or just hoof it on tional warfare here was crafted for works without necessitating line of
foot—the five different soldier classes fun, not realism (you wear a reusable sight (which the previous version
you can choose from keep the bipedal parachute, go all Dukes of Hazzard required), the retuned A.I. has upset
action varied and exciting. over washed-out bridges, etc.). It the balance, making the solo action
It’s all there—everything you need makes for lots of “Whoa! Didja see more frustrating than elating. That’s a
to make one kick-ass first-person that?” moments. shame, because it should offer a nice
shooter. Everything except: 1) strong And while you can have fun run- break from the massive online battles
level design (you can get stuck a ning and gunning, you’ll get the most the series is known for. Like the others
lot), 2) a variety of modes (only two... if you unleash strategery with a regu- said, those are as good as ever and
haven’t these guys played Halo ?), lar band of brothers. Oh, and save the feel right at home on the 360, where
and 3) a good single-player game (it so-so single player for basic training Live connectivity is second nature.
FOR YOUR
ARRESTING OFFICER
WINBACK 2:
Bad: It’s not a Transformers game
Often Sounds Like: It has a porno soundtrack
MATT: Pose, crouch, creep-creep-creep, Trooper (see next page)
peek, fire, bang-bang-you-win, flip a switch, surprised me with how well done it is;
PROJECT POSEIDON
More like Project Pedestrian
open a door, repeat. There, you just played
Winback 2. See how we help you save time?
Sequel to the Nintendo 64’s Winback,
Winback 2 cuts the wrong kind of mustard
Winback, unfortunately, did the opposite.
The game’s attempt at variation—its “two
sides to a mission” system—falls flat. Both
routes are linear; if you do see the other
with dull looks and a cheap version of Metal character, they’re essentially doing the same
■ Die in boss battles Gear Solid’s third-person sneak-n-shoot. thing every time. The developers also tried
and you can start Tactical-action team? Check. Guns, terrorists, to give you lots of control over targeting,
where you left off; and a lean-around-corners ability? Yawn. though pinpointing specific areas is awk-
sounds nifty, but Play the same stage from two simultaneous ward in actual use. And jumping and diving
it’s not particularly perspectives.... Ooh, something cool! feel akin to a very Mikhail Baryshnikov–style
sporting. Except it’s not so cool in execution. of dramatic flailing. To top it off, you get to
Winback 2 ’s “route system” ushers you enjoy all of this with graphics that would be
through corridor-based levels from two per- pretty—if this were a PS1 game. It isn’t.
spectives, so you’ll hit a few objectives with
one agent, reset the clock, then run through OFFICIAL PS MAG—THIERRY: I gotta dis-
parallel parts with another, triggering “assist” agree with these two on one point: I actually
spots that link the narratives. The interaction like the two-route mechanic. Yeah, it’s script-
has no spontaneity, though—it just ticks off a ed, but it’s cool how doing things in route
script. And most missions thrust you through A affects events in route B, such as how
a disc-load-up door (that is, it pauses to load disabling the power to the doors in a timely
before throwing you into a room of eager fashion on one side results in fewer enemies
enemies), so “tactical” involves finding cover. attacking you on the other. And I like how I
Multiplayer’s worse, consisting of just could shoot some baddies twice in the chest
cramped levels and four nigh-identical and then toss a grenade their way, then see
deathmatch modes. No online support and that same double-shot/grenade combo from
Developer: Cavia
(OUT OF 10)
Players: 1-4 reason to bother at all. the rest is pretty much trash, with terrible
ESRB: Teen jumps (and crappier jumping puzzles), scarce
KATHLEEN: Of the two unknown, out-of- ammo, and graphics that look like this was
MATT KATHLEEN THIERRY www.koei.com nowhere games I played this month, Rogue made right after 1999’s Winback.
OUTRUN 2006:
Bad: Not enough new features
Smoothest Version: Xbox
Players: 1 (2-6 online) OFFICIAL PS MAG—GIANCARLO: OutRun much more interesting than the original
ESRB: Everyone 2006 originated as an arcade game, and designs, mostly because of the quasi-
it should’ve remained an arcade game. real-life locations—racing through the
GREG S. GIANCARLO ANDREW www.sega.com While it’s perfect in short bursts—like Milky Way stage is a visual treat.
■ PS2/XB
ROGUE TROOPER
Blue Man night at the gun club
Good: Solid gunplay, entertaining co-op modes
Bad: Bland levels, typical run-and-gun feel
Shocker: Xbox version plays a little smoother, looks better
G. FORD: Rogue Trooper came injured-soldier levels—is also done don’t love the characters (or the low-
stamped with huge double-whammy well and left me wanting more. calorie story), but Rogue looks great,
potential: Not only is it a licensed But while this war offers high-caliber plays great, and shows that there’s still
game, but it has a license none of us thrills, the monochromatic levels blend room for surprise hits from little studios
was familiar with (it’s based on a strip together, and you’ll have no problem in this big, big business.
from popular United Kingdom comic outwitting the enemy A.I. Also, other
2000 AD ). This fact made the result- supposed features feel more like empty KATHLEEN: Though its gameplay is
ing solid third-person action-shooter filler, such as the rarely used stealth totally derivative—and its “Blue Man
sweetly satisfying in a happy trigger kills and lame bazooka sequences. Group goes G.I. Joe” main man looks
finger way. Gameplaywise, it’s familiar Still, Rogue’s a solid surprise. ridiculous—Rogue Trooper ’s variety of
shoot-shoot-bang-bang fare with an wisecracking guns, explosions, guns
interesting hook: When your geneti- ROBERT A: I had to play through that cause explosions, fast-paced mis-
cally engineered hero’s blue-hued Rogue Trooper twice just to make sure sions, and (bless its heart) skippable
comrades head to that Smurfville in underdog-love wasn’t clouding my cut-scenes won over my jaded heart.
the sky in scripted fashion, you grab judgment. Well, that and I wasn’t done The online co-op missions ended up
the soul-containing biochip of each, exploring all the myriad ways to kill the being such fun that I was irritated they
which you then attach to your gun, enemy “norts,” from luring them across were so undersized—I could’ve used
helmet, and backpack so they can a patch of mines with a holographic a couple more of them. And while the
give you posthumous support. (Your projection of myself to perfecting the rest of the game won’t deliver much
helmet cracks a lock while you tackle art of a well-lobbed grenade. The game you haven’t seen before, it’s innovative
an ambush, for example, or your gun achieves a Halo-like open-endedness just by the fact that it does every-
acts as a sentry turret as you go on a in combat, though the bad guys aren’t thing it sets out to do so well. Rogue
flanking attack.) nearly as smart. But Rogue’s excellent Trooper, I thank you for the important
Online co-op play—which consists pacing makes it all enjoyable, constant- lesson you’ve taught me about judg-
of just three straightforward mission- ly changing gears—from sneaking to ing a game by its cover art: That’s now
based levels and two defend-the- sniping to all-out Rambo firefights. I accurate only 99 percent of the time.
Developer: Rebellion
(OUT OF 10)
Players: 1-2
(2-4 online or system link)
ESRB: Teen
G. FORD ROBERT A. KATHLEEN www.eidos.com
review crew:
multiplatform
Notorious H.I.T.
Blood Money ’s biggest
addition to the aging
Hitman formula is
its notoriety system,
which pegs you for unnecessary noise and
violence. If your notoriety value gets too high,
you have to either bribe it down or deal with
the increased awareness from security person-
nel and civilians. Directly related to this: The
newspaper write-ups after each level will have
more detailed sketches of you based on wit-
ness descriptions.
■ PS2/XB
Developer: lo interactive
(OUT OF 10)
■ PlayStation 2
CRISPIN: Crack the sound barrier dening retries of the lengthier levels minutes splitscreen multiplayer don’t
and watch vapor bloom from your when you crash and/or burn. help the war effort much either.
fuselage. Throttle up to afterburner Zero does mix in special, savvier
and see the patchwork farmland rival opponents, a much smarter OFFICIAL PS MAG—JOE: The Ace
zip by at blurring speeds. Officially wingmate, and a new flight-evalua- Combat series has had some really
licensed planes are lovingly detailed tion system that affects radio chatter. spectacular moments in the past.
down to their rivets and virtual But this series seriously needs to By deftly mixing realism and sci-fi,
cockpits. Yep, this is as good as evolve past niftier visuals if it’s going the designers usually managed to
flight games are going to look on to take off on the next systems. keep things interesting: Witness
the PlayStation 2. So it’s too bad the Electrosphere’s space battle or
mission variety and plot and fire- DEMIAN: If this is what it’s like to Shattered Skies’ infiltration of a mis-
and-forgettable dogfights don’t soar pilot multimillion-dollar jets at Mach sile installation. Unfortunately, Zero is
to the same heights as the visuals. whatever, put me down for a defer- a big exception. The game packs in
In fact, Ace Combat Zero feels like ment. Zero inspires the invention of the cheesy live-action cinemas and
such a no-frills follow-up that at new swearword combinations thanks overwrought story, but what hap-
times I often felt like I was stuck on to its no-checkpoint philosophy (I pened to the interesting gameplay
last year’s flight. The plot—which can’t count how many missions I had that made the series such a classic?
stars a cast of live actors doing to restart after 30 minutes of futility) The vast majority of Zero’s missions
community theater in front of CG and plain crappy targeting. Strangely, are pedestrian chase-and-fire affairs,
backgrounds—has achieved Metal Zero sometimes forgets that your with almost no imaginative twists.
Gear Solid–style pretentiousness. Too missiles can actually lock on to The always-excellent controls and
many missions send you on so-so targets, and I often had to switch wide assortment of different planes
bombing and dogfighting sorties (the weapons back and forth before it are fairly entertaining, but Zero’s a
last game had more variety). And a would remember. huge step down from either of the
lack of checkpoints guarantees mad- An insipid story and fun-for-five- last two games.
■ Two-player dogfights
involve lots of left turns,
with occasional right turns.
Players: 1-2
ESRB: Teen
TOURIST TROPHY
Bad: Unforgiving controls and lonely races...no online
Four Wheels: Better than two?
GREG S: As a simulator, Tourist Trophy is that and two brake buttons
about as good as you’ll get on two wheels. (front and rear), a crouch button, and
Terror on two wheels The unforgiving handling—not to mention the analog stick, I could be hitting up to five
supreme throttle and brake control—of inputs at once—and still wishing I had an
the crotch rockets within feels perfect and analog trigger for the gas.
forces you to learn each and every curve Tourist Trophy is an incredibly techni-
of each and every course. But for most, the cal racing sim and a well-executed vanity
frighteningly realistic physics are almost project that will appeal to a very small
too much to take. Even with the different group of people. It feels a whole lot like
riding styles available, it’s difficult to find Gran Turismo, from the menus to the
the one that will ease you into riding if you license tests, but it’s even less forgiving on
don’t already know what you’re doing. the track. I can see how some players will
And as a straight racing game, Tourist really appreciate that, but if you’re looking
Trophy is boring. With only four bikes for an actively fun racer, this isn’t it.
maximum on any of the massive courses
available, events can get really lonely. 1UP.COM—MILKMAN: Gamers who like
Especially if you’re used to full-fielded titles Gran Turismo 4 but aren’t motorcycle
like Namco’s MotoGP series. enthusiasts might not enjoy Tourist Trophy
The other major problem for me is that all that much, despite a significant cross-
the whole thing feels like a rushed Gran over of tracks, visual finesse, and modes
Turismo 4 spin-off...which it pretty much (license tests, anyone?). The game’s likely
is. The recycled tracks, the limited upgrade lack of appeal can be attributed to the
options on each bike, the silly one-on-one steep learning curve, primarily with the
races needed to unlock most of the inven- handling and controls, which, while nimble
■ Lonely roads: Them
tory—none of it is satisfying. enough, demand gamers carve out perfect
tracks are empty.
Hardcore bike aficionados will be in racing lines. For more determined gamers,
heaven thanks to the variety and physics. To however, Tourist Trophy features a deep list
ATELIER IRIS 2:
Atelier: A studio, especially for an artist
Developer: Gust
(OUT OF 10)
Players: 1 many better options out there. however—spending more time with game-
ESRB: Everyone 10+ play aspects I liked, exploring and experi-
SHANE: Packed with antiquated graphics and menting at my own pace—that I ended up
GREG S. SHANE JENN F. www.nisamerica.com corny dialogue, the Atelier Iris games seem having some real fun.
■ Xbox
DREAMFALL:
THE LONGEST JOURNEY
Everybody's kung-fu fighting...badly
Good: Unconventional story
Bad: Jaggy graphics, hideously bad combat
More Depressing: PC predecessor was a big-time award-winner
MATT: God, I miss adventure games. puzzles. Match a doohickey and the but shouldn’t there be a place for that?
On the other hand, I miss Betamax, plot advances, unfolding predictably My main complaint is that the puzzles
reel-based home movies, and sepia- enough until the combat. Combat? aren’t always well designed, so you’re
colored shag carpet—that doesn’t Combat. Possibly the worst iteration often left scratching your head.
mean you should. Unfortunately, The of third-person slap-kick-block ever,
Longest Journey sequel Dreamfall Dreamfall’s scattered action sequenc- 1UP.COM—GARNETT: Dreamfall ’s
has my problem: numskull nostalgia, es practically wreck an already niche developers got so caught up in telling
to the point of wrecking an otherwise experience. In other words, it’s pre- their tale that they forgot to make
uncommonly well-written story. scribed, with reservations, for patient a game to go with it. You’re not so
As the game sputters into action The Longest Journey zealots only. much playing this story as it’s pulling
(lots o’ load screens here, folks), you you through on a leash.
play Zoë Castillo in Casablanca in 2219. JENNIFER: I think this unconventional The 3D world is dramatic enough,
You’re in a coma, but we don’t know game deserves more credit for its but most of the game involves walk-
why. (Flashback time!) It seems that great story and voice acting. That ing your character from one place
two weeks earlier, you were having the plot can make me want to suffer to another and watching the next
visions of a girl, a black house, and a through abstruse puzzles and hideous scene—a slow, trudging trek. When
wintry landscape. (Uh-oh.) When one of combat simply to find out what hap- you do face some obstacle or puzzle
your friends disappears, you hit the trail pens next may not win the game an to solve, the solution is always near
talking to people and solving puzzles. award, but it does lift it above those at hand and easy to sort out. And
Dreamfall cobbles small, scantly cookie-cutter titles with crappy com- woefully clunky hand-to-hand combat
detailed 3D areas together and gives bat, meh environments, and terrible and rudimentary sneaking sections
you third-person control of Zoë (and stories. (And I found the environments, don’t break up the grind any better.
eventually, of two other characters while not always graphically impres- Dreamfall may have left its point-and-
whose stories intersect) to explore, sive, at least interesting and exotic.) click roots behind, but it comes up
gather mundane objects, and solve Yeah, the game’s easy and slow paced, empty trying to replace them.
Developer: Aspyr
(OUT OF 10)
Players: 1
ESRB: Mature
FIELD COMMANDER
Bad: The Advance Wars copying is relentlessly blatant
Awesome: Downloadable, player-made missions
ROBERT C: Remember how much you loved AW expertise, but if you like
Advance Wars? All those different units, the handheld strategy games enough to
A battle in your pants (pocket) solid rock-paper-scissors play balancing, read this review and you haven’t played it,
the crucial bonuses granted by command- pinch yourself—you may not exist.)
ing officers, the desperate land rush to I like the game’s more versatile infantry
finance your growing legions, and (above units: Spec-ops soldiers lay mines and
all) the critical strategizing it took to beat take out armor from afar, while snipers
each map? Now you can play it again—only can go all stealthy. Aside from a few other
in 3D and without as much personality (and quirks, the learning curve is more like a
a little less strategizing)—on your PSP. mild ripple. I do wish the A.I. were smarter,
Field Commander isn’t bad. It just lacks but other than minor complaints like that,
Advance Wars’ energy and verve, leaving you’re looking at Advance Wars with online
you with a game in traditional military drag play. It may not be innovative, but it’s still
■ Online: Aside from head-to- with solid but uncompelling gameplay. As addictive as hell.
head battles, Transmission mode in AW, missions rarely go beyond “capture
lets you play up to five games or kill all your enemies.” But the A.I. rarely JENN F: Addictive as hell is right. No mat-
simultaneously over time. Log challenges you—only two missions were ter how deliberate a battle’s pace is, Field
in, play your turn, log out. Nice. so tough that I had to restart. Multiplayer Commander never has a dull second, thanks
is more satisfying...or it would’ve been, if to the constant strategy lurking beneath
Demian had shown a shred of mercy. each turn-based move. Even online play,
My biggest challenge was making out tinged with lag, never loses its momentum.
the units—too many of them look alike. I also like how you can save game progress
I shouldn’t have to manually scan every anytime during missions—even in multiplay-
enemy to know what I’m up against; I er—so that long rounds can staccato into
should be able to just see it. It’s worth shorter, more portable-friendly sessions.
mentioning corrupted saves late in the Just as impressive—and a little surpris-
game forced me to replay some missions. ing, given the genre—is the presentation;
Players: 1-2 (2 via local or DEMIAN: Field Commander’s turn-based muscles when the bird’s-eye view suddenly
online Wi-Fi) battles are such a rip-off of Advance Wars’, swoops down into the battlefield, bringing
ESRB: Teen
it’s easier to describe how the two games the exchange to life. Did I mention this
ROBERT C. DEMIAN JENN F. www.us.playstation.com differ. (Normally, I wouldn’t just assume your game is great? There, I said it.
MONSTER
Bad: Defeating big beasts on your own is tough
Unforgivable: No online play
HUNTER FREEDOM
Commander—seems the PSP’s finally the PS2 version—couldn’t really get into
building a respectable library of games. Freedom. Yeah, it controls fine and looks
And Monster Hunter Freedom adds to it. fantastic, but it suffers the same “been
For the most part, Capcom’s PS2 action- there, done that” feeling as other PS2-
Hunt anywhere, anytime roleplayer makes a seamless transition to-PSP ports, in this case with the added
to the smaller screen. It’s stockpiled with handicap of no online play. A few new fea-
things to do, as quests range from simple tures and local wireless play (how often
(gathering wild mushrooms) to demanding can you really use that?) are no substitute
(slaying a creature of Jurassic proportions). for the camaraderie of joining up online to
Kills aren’t only about needlessly spilling take down a big dragon or checking out
blood, either; I took scraps from carcasses your rivals’ custom-built gear.
and created sweet weapons and armor.
MH vets (well, with the exception of Mark) 1UP.COM—MILKMAN: With the exception
will enjoy the new additions here, including of a couple of interesting tweaks (most
two-player treasure hunts and the Felyne notably, a new farming safe zone where
Kitchen—why slave over a hot stove when thrifty green-thumbed gamers can save
you can hire these crazy cats to cook you money by growing food, mining resources,
some stat-boosting grub? And visually, the and fishing), Monster Hunter Freedom
game is a spitting image of its big brother. is a near-perfect port of the original PS2
Yet, while Freedom retains the original’s Monster Hunter. That’s pretty impressive,
good looks, the same can’t be said for if only for the seamless transition of the
its online mode. Sorry, but I have a hard crispy visuals. And while the “innovative”
enough time naming three friends, let alone control scheme from the PS2 version (use
getting three in the same room for local Wi- the right analog stick to attack) doesn’t sur-
Fi hunts. The lack of Internet play becomes vive the port, the game is actually improved
an even greater headache when pursuing because of this. Pressing the X button to
a towering beast—unless your character is attack is an infinitely more satisfying form
Developer: Capcom
(OUT OF 10)
Players: 1 (2-4 via local Wi-Fi) likes of a dragon is a lost cause. a notably more singular affair thanks to the
ESRB: Teen lack of online support (as the other guys
MARK: It doesn’t say much for this PSP have already groused about). Now, how
BRYAN MARK MILKMAN www.capcom.com Monster Hunter that even I—someone about Monster Hunter Deux?
■ Not pictured:
screams of agony.
■ GameCube
ODAMA
A weird world of pain
Good: The satisfying crunch of destruction
Bad: Harder than the bar exam...in a foreign language
Humiliating: Playing Odama in public: “Press forward!”
ROBERT A: We can just imagine Yoot crushes friend and foe alike. revere (I’m looking in Robert’s direc-
Saito, Odama’s creator, lounging on a It’s all about multitasking, juggling tion). You do get a sweet sense of
beanbag chair years ago and smok- the strategic (the troops) and the accomplishment when luck favors
ing heroic quantities of marijuana, immediate (the ball). I loved it...when you and you can clear a board or
listening to Close to the Edge by the I wasn’t clawing my eyes out. Odama topple a boss, but rarely does the
band Yes, and daydreaming about is old-school hard, compounded by fun reach full tilt.
pinball. What other story explains the plenty of rough edges. It’s a too-brief,
inspiration for a game that combines too-messy, too-charming monument G. FORD: Robert might be onto
a stone ball the size of a house with to the power of personality in games. something with that whole beanbag
an army of expendable soldiers in idea. Surely, the king of publishing
demolition-friendly feudal Japan? CRISPIN: As it turns out, pinball and gimmicky games (think Brain Age,
It’s your job, as commander of this real-time strategy aren’t two great Nintendogs) wouldn’t approve this
rabble, to corral them as they guide tastes that taste great together. messed-up mash-up, which has
your sacred bell from one side of the The ball in this genre mash-em-up a dreamy inspiration that’s totally
battlefield to the other, thus into the moves with all the zippiness of a offset by an oh so painful execution.
gate that leads to the next stage. You cantaloupe drop-kicked in lunar Good luck guiding the sluggish ball
control them with simple commands gravity. Meanwhile, I yelled a lot up the thin paths of the brutal moun-
issued into the included microphone. worse than just the accepted voice tain level. And it’d be nice if your
You keep the enemy at bay with the commands into the microphone as soldiers followed orders with any
stone pinball, which you thwack into my pikmin-size soldiers lost ground consistency, high morale rating or
enemy buildings and bosses and again and again. Top it all off with not, a hang-up that kills any strategy.
send careening over power-ups—the blah graphics and confusing levels I did enjoy the humor, specifically
most important of which turns every (have fun figuring out the multisided the bowled-over units’ comments
flattened enemy to your cause. But mountain) and you get an oddball (“Does this mean no bonus?”), just
you’ll need to combine dead aim game that only a cult dedicated to not enough to recommend this
with field-tilting skills; your ball wackiness for wackiness’ sake will clever, but frustrating, mess.
Developer: Vivarium
(OUT OF 10)
Players: 1
ESRB: Everybody 10+
■ DS
It’s a Draw...
Counting and reading tests are obvious gauges of
mental capacity, but Brain Age presents you with a
couple more unexpected exercises. One of our favorites
involves drawing objects from memory. You’ll be asked
to sketch a random object, such as, say, the Mona Lisa.
Then the game shows you the original and compares
it with yours, emphasizing the prominent features your
sketch should have. Don’t feel bad if you’re not that
JENNIFER SHANE JEREMY REAL THING
artistic—look at what we came up with....
Developer: Nintendo
Good: Another truly innovative title for the DS
(OUT OF 10)
LOST MAGIC
Bad: Frustrating A.I. problems, uneven difficulty
Character Designs: By anime legend Yoshiharu Sato (Studio Ghibli)
SHANE: Lost Magic may look like an JENN F: What? I scroll away for one sec-
unassuming action-RPG, but beneath its ond to get a quick look-see at my minions,
Real-time strategy gets sketchy old-timey 2D trappings lurks something and I scroll back only to learn some mon-
far more daring: a role-playing/real-time ster has been punching my hero in the
strategy hybrid. You still get the basic face repeatedly. Uncool. While its hybrid of
tenets of Japanese RPG-dom—doe-eyed game mechanics is truly nifty, Lost Magic
anime characters, a hackneyed story line, quickly becomes a fast-paced terror of
and scads of equipment and spells to multitasking and micromanagement.
collect—but Magic’s nontraditional touch- Granted, there’s an enemy-tracking GPS
screen gameplay offers plenty of surpris- on the top screen that I ought to be watch-
es...not all of them pleasant, mind you. ing, but it’s tough when the touch screen
First off, your hero’s frontline offense is flurried with tiny icons where I assumed
forces you to draw increasingly complex actual graphics would be. Worse, char-
magical runes with your stylus. This poten- acters can clump up during battle, which
tially nightmarish tactic actually works, makes tapping the intended icon nigh
thanks to a forgiving recognition system impossible. If it weren’t for the killer music
and simple interface. Unfortunately, touch- and Studio Ghibli stills, I would have imme-
screen control doesn’t work so well for diately thrown my DS across the room.
the other aspects of battle. Maneuvering
your hero and troops by pointing, grouping, 1UP.COM—JEREMY: The DS seems like a
and clicking feels clumsy; an obnoxious natural fit for real-time strategy games, but
manual camera forces you to baby-sit the a touch screen alone does not a great RTS
action; and poor A.I. pathfinding means make. Case in point: Lost Magic. The battles
that everyone will get stuck on corners and tend to be small in size, and your captured
edges—it’s all incredibly frustrating. Factor monster allies are pretty limited in their
in a total lack of exploration, and the game abilities. Victory is often a matter of trial and
boils down to an exhaustive parade of error to determine the designers’ prescribed
tense, annoying battles. sequence of events. And while using the
Online multiplayer matches fare a little stylus to draw magic runes is enjoyable, it
better, as the thrill of assaulting your tends to get in the way of directing combat.
friends with monster rushes and souped- Lost Magic is fun when it’s not frustrating,
up spells momentarily overshadows the and as far as portable RTSes go, it’s about
lingering control and A.I. issues. the best you’ll find. Still, WarCraft this ain’t.
■ Commanding your
monster army with a
stylus gets distress-
ingly chaotic.
Developer: Taito
(OUT OF 10)
by Rick O’Connor
REVIEWS WRAP-UP
The games that were too little...or too late
From Russia With Love NBA Ballers: Rebound MLB SlugFest 2006
PSP • EA • ESRB: T — In the PSP • Midway • ESRB: E PS2/XB • Midway • ESRB:
mood for a subpar third-person Ballers has you going from E10+ — SlugFest stays the
run-n-gun corridor shooter rags to riches in one-on-one course with its familiar arcade-
with slipshod controls that tournaments against streetball style game (complete with MLB
you can play on the go? From and NBA players. Although the players and teams). A charac-
Russia With Love’s single-play- character creation is robust and ter-creation mode marks the
Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan
PS2 • Square Enix • ESRB: T — This is easily the best
er campaign reduces to you to the extras you can buy add to only big addition, so if you’ve
expansion for Square’s massively multiplayer online
finding small blue checkpoints the replay value, the repetitive always wanted a big-headed
role-playing series yet, adding new jobs for the first time
to trigger events, and the mul- gameplay, long load times, and rendition of yourself in your
in years, new areas, and a wealth of new features—like
tiplayer is anemic at best. limited juke moves will have homer-happy games, have at it.
chocobo breeding/racing—and new assault and besieged
you bored in a couple of hours.
battles that make you feel like you’re in the middle of a
Bottom line: The From Russia Bottom line: SlugFest is still
massive Lord of the Rings battle, but with friends.
DVD and game both feature Bottom line: Like most ports a crowd-pleasing, unlockable-
Sean Connery’s voice—the for- on the PSP, Ballers is best filled hardball alternative. And,
Bottom line: Aht Urhgan puts as much fun back in FFXI as
mer is the better investment. played on a console. hey—it’s only 20 bucks.
the last expansion, Chains of Promathia, sucked out.
Bottom line: Really, though, this stuff should have been included on the upcoming PSP game, Silent Hill:
0rigins, as unlockable bonus material.
Bottom line: Five games plus a movie gallery with Bottom line: Burnout Legends is a much more solid
soundtracks equals a great deal for PSP owners. game, but OutRun is a good secondary racer. P
review archive
MLB 06: The Show PS2 ■ Innovation isn’t defined as finally adding a decade-old feature to your baseball game 6.5 6.0 4.0
MS Saga: A New Dawn PS2 ■ Gundam RPG with superbosses and lots of customization but lots of fetch quests 6.0 8.0 5.0
NBA Ballers: Phenom PS2/XB ■ Shows good off-court ambition, but the gameplay shoots too many air balls 6.0 6.5 7.5
Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams PS2 ■ We agree this samurai game is beautiful but aren’t sure about its RPG aspects 4.5 7.5 6.5
The Outfit XB360 ■ Linear single player, but this WWII shooter’s dash of strategy is fun in multiplayer 7.0 6.0 7.0
Pokémon Trozei! DS ■ A Poké-themed puzzler that inflicts equal parts dullness and puzzle 6.5 7.0 6.5
Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness GC ■ The series makes some strides on the Cube with this passable RPG for Pokémaniacs 7.0 6.0 7.0
PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient PSP ■ A rather ho-hum puzzler that does manage to score a few “Aha!” moments 5.5 6.5 7.5
■ A crappy vehicular-assault game with a dumb premise and broken controls
8.9
Pursuit Force PSP 3.5 4.0 6.5
Super Mario series
(six games) Resident Evil: Deadly Silence DS ■ Outdated graphics and gameplay stunt this portable, multiplayer Resident Evil 6.5 7.0 7.5
The Rub Rabbits! DS ■ A touchable minigame title that doesn’t provide enough fun to be lovable 6.0 5.0 6.0
Rumble Roses XX XB360 ■ Wrestling with sluts has never been more next-gen or more pandering to perverts 7.0 6.5 3.5
Shadow Hearts: From the New World PS2 ■ A little-too-short-but-quirky RPG with an excellent timing-based battle system 8.0 7.5 7.0
Sonic Riders PS2/XB/GC ■ Sonic’s hoverkart racer isn’t fun or fast enough to catch up to Mario’s standard 5.0 5.5 5.0
Spider-Man 2 DS ■ If your spider sense is on the fritz, let us warn you to avoid this ho-hum adventure 6.0 5.5 3.0
Splinter Cell Essentials PSP ■ The controls might be difficult for some—Sam Fisher just doesn’t feel right on PSP 2.0 7.0 6.0
Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max PSP ■ The same Street Fighter you loved—without enough new features to make it shine 6.0 8.5 7.5
State of Emergency 2 PS2 ■ Third-person action sequel no one asked for delivers new ways of being average 6.0 5.0 6.0
Suikoden V PS2 ■ Slow to start and a bit dated, yet a compelling RPG with collect-em-all fun 6.5 6.5 6.5
■ A maze game that blends infuriating ball-rolling and adorable ape themes
8.1
Super Monkey Ball: Touch & Roll DS 6.5 5.5 6.5
Donkey Kong series
(five games) Super Princess Peach DS ■ A shiny new Mario-style adventure that needs to take the difficulty up a notch 7.5 7.0 8.0
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror PSP ■ Lots of guns and interesting gameplay aren’t as much fun with awkward controls 7.0 7.0 6.0
Tales of Legendia PS2 ■ An RPG that’s too ugly and unbalanced to make the actiony battles worthwhile 5.5 5.0 7.5
Tales of Phantasia GBA ■ This dusty, classic RPG ported from the Super NES hasn’t aged very gracefully 6.0 7.5 7.5
Tao’s Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal DS ■ An ambitious RPG that is stunted with a totally broken interface and battle system 4.0 5.0 4.0
Tetris DS DS ■ Classic puzzler brought to the DS, but with only one new mode for the touch screen 7.5 7.0 9.0
ToCA Race Driver 3 PS2/XB ■ This flawed and unbalanced racer is partially redeemed by its amazing variety 6.5 6.0 7.0
Tomb Raider: Legend PS2/XB ■ The titular raider is back, swinging and clinging in this solid tomb-robbing game 8.5 8.5 8.0 Silver
Top Spin 2 XB360 ■ Deep career mode, graphics update, and new shots make this a grand slam 8.0 7.5 8.5 Silver
True Swing Golf DS ■ A pick-up-and-play golf game that makes excellent use of the DS’ touch screen 8.0 7.0 7.0
■ A hackneyed, hack-n-slash dungeon crawl with a semifun multiplayer mode
7.7
Pokémon series Untold Legends: The Warrior’s Code PSP 6.5 5.0 5.0
(seven games) Warpath XB ■ Bargain-priced action-shooter’s online action is smooth but limited and clichéd 4.0 5.5 5.0
World Soccer: Winning Eleven 9 PS2/XB ■ The WE series finally catches up with the rest of the gaming world and goes online 7.5 8.0 8.5 Silver
*Games in red are previous Game of the Month winners.
SEANBABY’S
Kong’s TVToy: Sego Sonar the Hedge- Worst License: Bad Boys Miami Takedown NES went away beaten,
but with a new skip in
Hodge Monster. Until then, the eight Worst Concept: McFarlane’s Evil Prophecy I once offered the out-
their step. “Someone’s
quarterfinalists will face off as follows: Worst Game: GoDai: Elemental Force raged creator of Total
worse than us!”
Genesis versus GameCube, PS2 versus Manager: Fugitive Hunter: War on Terror Recall, Mike Arkin,
cheered Deadly Towers.
NES, Xbox versus GBC, and PS1 versus Fugitive Hunter manages a solid team of bad games. Miami the chance to fight
GBA. May the worst system win. Takedown took Jerry Bruckheimer’s love letter to buddy- me. He refused. His
—Seanbaby cop movies and ethnic stereotypes and removed the intel- game, however, had
lectualism. And McFarlane’s Evil Prophecy marked the way- the eye of the tiger. It
too-manyth time they let Todd McFarlane design a game led the way in a close
and he came back with a drawing of some spiders. victory over the PS2
team. The deciding
factor was when all
NES the games realized
Worst License: Total Recall that Fugitive Hunter’s
Worst Concept: M.C. Kids terrorist-karateing
Worst Game: Deadly Towers awesomeness might
Manager: Wally Bear and the NO! Gang be unironic. So it was
The NES is another strong favorite. Total Recall and Deadly disqualified.
Towers have always been top contenders for worst game
of all time, and M.C. Kids is a game about McDonald’s.
Managing these all-stars is Wally Bear, a skateboarding
teddy bear that has done more to make drug awareness
uncool than anyone living or dead.
SEGA
could match that level
of failure. *NSYNC
kept it competitive, but
GAME BOY COLOR
GENESIS! XBOX once Drake of the 99
Dragons started flail- Worst License: ECW Hardcore Revolution
Xbox advances straight ing his guns around W.C.: Extreme Sports with Berenstain Bears
to the finals, since like a girl playing fash- Worst Game: Titus the Fox
With a bye in the semifinals, every- GBA was unable to Manager: *NSYNC: Get to the Show
ion model, it was clear
one thought that a fresh Team Xbox continue due to injury. GBC had no hope. The Game Boy Color did its best, but being the worst Game
could finally take down the show- Its hard-fought victory Boy Color game is like being the toughest International
boating Team Genesis. And in the over the PlayStation 1 Male model. However, they’re managed by a game about
beginning, it seemed like Aquaman was too punishing. My managing the band *NSYNC, so we know it knows how to
could take them. That’s until Robin Disney Kitchen from get something to really, really suck. But can its experience
Williams pulled out a peanut the PS1 team stumbled hope to overcome Xbox powerhouses like The Guy Game
launcher in the Genesis adapta- from the locker room and Aquaman?
tion of Toys. Congratulations, Sega to shout into the
Genesis. Robin Williams, Batman, microphone, “Some
and Cyborg’s Rise of the Robots may escape, but no PLAYSTATION
buns helped make you the worst one leaves My Disney GBA Worst License: Dukes of Hazzard
videogame system of all time. Kitchen unscarred!” GBA versus PS1 was Worst Concept: My Disney Kitchen
a war. PS1’s Dukes Worst Game: Bubsy 3D
of Hazzard, Disney Manager: Hooters Road Trip
Kitchen, and Hooters Bubsy 3D is a champion of mascot desperation. Please let
Road Trip were all him appeal to you, preteens. However, the star of the PS1
eliminated early, but team is My Disney Kitchen. It simulates having Mickey
nothing would make Mouse as your neighbor who’ll creep his uninvited head
Bubsy 3D go down. through your window as you cook and chirp, “What are you
That mascot came making, neighbor? I’ll bake your souuullll!”
to suck. While Mortal
Kombat sacrificed
itself as a distraction, GAME BOY ADVANCE
Fear Factor covered Worst License: That’s So Raven 2
Bubsy in the last of its Worst Concept: Fear Factor: Unleashed
goat-brain juice. Then, Worst Game: Mortal Kombat Advance
with its last burst of Manager: Karnaaj Rally
ham, Raven ate it.
We gave Mortal Kombat Advance a zero. Karnaaj Rally
had such a stupid box I refused to review the game. Fear
Factor: Unleashed is a translation of TV attention whores
drinking insect pee, and it worked even worse than you’d
expect. And oh, snap! That’s So Raven 2 is so, so Raven.
GBA put together a hell of a team.
GRUDGE MATCH
Get in the ring
vs.
RUMBLE ROSES GUNS N’ ROSES
If you think two chicks can really claw it up in a wrestling ring, you haven’t
seen Slash and Axl fight for the rights to “Mr. Brownstone.” Let’s see whether
ripping off songs or pawing at thongs draws a bigger crowd....
THE CONTENDERS
Chicks in leather
Dudes in leather
Advantage: Rumble Roses
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE
SEGA’S
MASTERFUL MOMENT
Sega’s mostly forgotten 8-bitter hits the big 2-0
I
f you’re one of 90 percent of American kids who grew up
in the late ’80s loving videogames, you were the proud
owner of a Nintendo Entertainment System. But what about
the 10 percent who didn’t play with power? Though they never knew
the pleasures of Super Mario, a fortunate few discovered the Master
System, an NES alternative from an up-and-coming Sega. This other
8-bit wonder has just turned 20—a momentous occasion for Sega
nuts and fans of grids alike. —Jeremy Parish
THE MACHINE
The Sega Master System’s poor show-
ing in stores certainly wasn’t due to
technical inferiority; Sega’s hardware
put the NES to shame. Its Z80 proces-
sor was twice as fast as the one in
Nintendo’s machine, plus it had four
times the memory and could display
more than three times as many colors
at any given moment.
Admittedly, SMS had some design
quirks. The controller borrowed liber-
ally from Nintendo’s design, but its
D-pad was a square rather than a
cross, making the controls a little
mushy. Weirder yet, the SMS controller
had only two buttons—meaning that
in order to pause you had to press a
button on the console (or rather, the
“Master Base,” as Sega called it).
On the other hand, it did have a
wicked awesome hidden game built
right in to the hardware! OK, it was
a boring maze game starring a snail,
but it was a cool enough Easter egg to
make more than a few NES fans green
with envy.
Mario in the
Third Dimension
For our exclusive preview of
Mario’s first 3D adventure, Super
Mario 64 (N64), our staff poet went
with this puntastic headline: “There
may have been a koopala versions
out there before, but none of them
can touch Mario 64.”
A Preview of
Upcoming Games
We took a first look at tons of
games that month, including
arcade-fighter port Marvel Super
Heroes (PS1/Saturn) and an Aeon
Inc
PREVIEWS
■ Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)
■ Metroid Prime 3 (Revolution)
■ Resistance: The Fall of Man (PS3)
■ Resident Evil 5 (PS3/XB360)
■ Mass Effect (XB360)
WORLD EXCLUSIVE:
CALL OF DUTY 3
ust when you thought you didn’t have the guts—or the interest, really—for yet another WWII tour of duty, the
J guys behind the Xbox 360’s best-selling Call of Duty 2 return with a game that’ll make you want to reenlist. With
Call of Duty 3, they’re bringing out the big guns—and EGM has the exclusive first look at it in action. We’ll have
screens of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, plus an arsenal of info on the new features and surprises.
We’re also deploying to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (or E3), the largest videogame trade show in the world, to
give you something you’ll find in no other magazine: opinionated impressions of all the games rather than just the boring, REVIEWS
■ Final Fantasy XI: Treasures
always-optimistic previews you read everywhere else. Find out what we really think of the Revolution’s remote- of Aht Urhgan (XB360)
controller as we take on Mario, Super Smash Bros., and other launch games. We’re going hands-on with PS3, tak- ■ New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
ing Gran Turismo 5 for a drive, and seeing if Gears of War can really be the 360’s Halo for 2006. Plus, we’ll see what ■ Rockstar Games presents
Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo really think about the competition. Expect fighting words—this is a war after all. Table Tennis (XB360)
■ The Da Vinci Code (multi)
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