November,1997 $4.99/$6.50 Canada о 70992 37371 || |" 72 рео | “ап insurmountable level of exellence” – GamePro Magazine “the most amazing RPG we've ever seen” - Game Informer “NeW graphics and 3D appearance lift this into the stratosphere: - Ultra Game Players “might be the greatest game ever made? - Game Fan 0 à human what | ЈЕ eadlights аге to а deer. PlayStation پا‎ тм NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF PLAYSTATION™ $27 2, orf. \ DEPENDING ON YOUR ARM. iA A uj UWE US ein dülag uos jo ssuetuepen aie 960) пові feld SUL B әзе әлпделәи] ѕорі pue ‘вәә наш pue HOUPUBYON FUE rere eeu NU НД 500 1061 ld 59018 ТЕТІГІ dospe iussus ue uosuLWIMEH 'e5103 uO: | BECAUSE POST-MILLENNIUM MAYHEM HAS STRUCI а AND IT’S GONNA ТАКЕ МОВЕ THAN A SEMI-AUTOMATIC TO SURVIVE THESE 3p MEAN STREETS, SUBWAYS AND SCUM-FILLED CITY PARKS, WHERE FIGHTING THE CROWDS H4 SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT MEANING. JUST KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED, BECAUSE ONE GOOD THROW AND! | YOU'RE OUT. Соб, = RS Editorial Ву Joe Funk * joe funk&zd.com ne hundred issues is a lot of work, but we've never lost sight of the fact that when you're writ- ing about video games, churning out 100 issues is a lot of fun. EGM has changed so much in the last eight years, and yet remains deeply rooted in the ideals it was borne out of: passion and integrity. Steve Harris grew this magazine out of a little-or-no- profit fanzine that he published out of a labor of love. During EGM's rise to the top, we've retained those simple ideals and never let ourselves get caught up in the pressures or criticisms that come with publishing a category-leading magazine. When the magazine launched in 1989, EGM quickly established itself as being the first to publish screen shots and information on the newest games. It was the tenacity of Steve and Ed Semrad that made it happen, and enthusiasts quickly recognized EGM as the premier source for breaking information and honest reviews by gaming enthusiasts. In the last eight years, we've taken shots from several major game compa- nies as well as competitors accusing us of whatever, when the only thing we have ever done is tell it like it is. The evolution continued when Ziff-Davis bought us last year. The cornerstone of their publishing model is “Content is King,” and we could- n't agree more—it’s been a perfect fit. Today we proudly stand and present to you a magazine that has always truly been by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts. EGM has been blessed with quality people throughout its existence, which is one BIG reason for our success. There's people like Ken Williams, John Stockhausen, Mike Vallas, Terry Minnich and Ed Semrad; you can trace their names in EGM back to the first dozen-or- so issues (Ed goes back to #11). And then there's Dan Hsu (Michigan), Cy Wochok (Illinois), Andrew Burwell (Texas), Crispin Boyer (Florida), Kraig Kujawa (Texas), John Ricciardi (New York), Kelly Rickards (California), Jason Hinman (Michigan), Shawn Smith and Scott Parus (Illinois) who have joined us from all different parts of the country because, first and foremost, they loved gaming and wanted to share their talent and articulate their passion with readers just like them. Finally there's our Publisher Jon Lane, Associate Publisher Jennie Parker and Circ. Director Joan Mclnerney, who have helped further refine the magazine in so many dynamic ways. While EGM is in as good of hands as it Printed inthe USA. has ever been, we've always been hum- ble enough to listen to our readers. As we approached milestone 100, we consid- ered your comments, and then too step back and examined what was good about EGM, and what was not so good. No doubt EGM has always been a little rough around the edges. But then, so has the video game industry. When EGM launched in the aftermath of late the 19805 video game crash, the industry was something akin to comic books in both its budget and public perception. Since then, the industry has grown into a multibillion- dollar beast, and has stepped up into the ranks of motion pictures as a mainstream form of entertainment. If you look back, you can really trace how EGM's design and editorial package has reflected the maturation of the industry throughout the last eight years. That's why this major redesign of issue 100 is our tribute to you, the readers. You've stuck with us, and now we present to you a publication we feel encompasses the state of the art in video game coverage. We think you'll like the changes, but as always, are anxious to hear your feedback. So what's in store for the future? Well, who the hell really knows for sure, but in our proud tradition of not being afraid to go out on a limb, here's a few predictions. When issue #200 comes around, the edit team can dust this off, laugh at our igno- rance and cast aspersions upon us: * While AI will improve, the best game programmers will recognize there will never be a substitute for a human friend or foe on screen, and more games will take advantage of multiplayer setups. Games will become more flexible in their Create-a-Player Mode so gamers can better personalize their characters (especially RPGs). The time is not too far off when gamers will be able to scan their own photos and put them- selves in games. Cartridge-based consoles will die off— although there will still be some Atari 2600 E.T. cartridges lying around. LBEs will replace the traditional arcade and will rival the popularity of movie theaters in many communities. We'll finally see the triple threat of a great license, followed by a great movie, followed by a great game (мете hoping it’s the Star Wars prequels). Capitalizing on their reputation and the Walkman name, Sony will roll out a Sony PlayMan—a portable device that can run PlayStation games. GUL OG с” Number 10.1 ПЕТЕ GANG F November 199 www.videogames.cot Jonathan Lane Joe Funk • joe funkGzd.com Ken Williams * ken_williams@zd.com Crispin Boyer Shawn Smith, Dan Hsu, John Ricciardi, Dean Hager, Kraig Kujawa, Sushi-X Michael Stassus • m_stassus@zd.com Cyril Wochok • cyril wochokGzd.com Andrew Burwell, Jason Hinman, Scott Parus, Tom DeMay John Stockhausen • john_stockhausen@zd.com Todd Mowatt Kelly Rickards Terry Minnich Mark Hain Chris Johnston, Helen Lee Ed Semrad • ed_semrad@zd.com Stuart Levy, David Rider Jennifer Whitesides Јо-Е! Damen, Dan Peluso Marc Camron Dave McCracken Paul Ojeda Pamela Schneider Mark LeFebvre Joan McInerney Don Galen Ann-Marie Mrozynski Subscription Service Number: 303-665-8930 Cathy Bendoff Ziff-Davis Inc., 1920 Highland Ave., Lombard, IL 60148 Telephone: 630-916-7222 FAX: 630-916-9254 Jennie Parker Suzanne Farrell Anthony George John Yoffie, 135 Main Street, 14th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105 Telephone: 415-357-5322 FAX: 415-357-5201 E-mail: jon_yoffie@zd.c Karen Landon, 135 Main Street, 14th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105 Telephone: 415-357-5460 FAX: 415-357-5201 E-mail: karen_landon@zd.com Amy Dellos. € Jessica Prentice Mike Darling inus М кт OGNALNIN „мимумузна | THN злабшм Apaads 0} uauiasuajap щошшеш шолу 58719 лаћеја зјдемећ S 1209 ЛИМУ Z6-9661 жузео циәў sıaKe|d aseaja pue ubis ‘dojanap ‘ape. ‘342319 шәшәВрирДІ шеәј |еј0ј sAasıaf рд} Sea} pue «әвәл UO зашеи ‘saaaajs uo 5180ШП|| 5214819 ge jeuofÁ[og sag-H ynyoey) Hay Aq 510081 Bunnoos шедј ‘TV paseg-yoogKe|g THN [enjoy 58145 Aejd ayloads ларџејјеоб pue бшҳаәцо резед-штившоуј sa!ydeıg ande] uono Кејаџдола Ш02:811005шІР|20287:МММ Gy sAasıaf pue 5000| wea} JHN 2104514 5пја " MIVIIIV 5лаћеја 009 1340 pue sweat THN 92 11/ KONAMI. 1-900-896-HINT (4468) WWW.KONAMI.COM *$0.85 per minute charge •51.15 per minute support from а game counselor *Touch-tone phone required «Minors must have parental permission before dialing. Hints are available 24 hours.a day. Live support Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST only. Prices and availability subject to change. U.S. accessibility only. Castlevania - Symphony of the Night is a trademark of Konami Co., Ltd. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. PlayStation™ and the PlayStation™ THIS IS WHERE FEAR LIVES. THIS IS CASTLEVANIA- - SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT". THE LATEST N€FARIOUS INCARNATION OF KONAMI’s CLASSIC ADVENTURE. WHERE THE UNDEAD COVET YOUR SOUL AND THE FLOORS ARE PAVED WITH SKULLS. WHERE YOU BATTLE YOUR WAY THROUGH 1,000 ROOMS (AND MAYBE MORE — NOBODY KNOWS FOR SURE) TEEMING WITH _ POWERFUL NEW MAGIC, WEAPONS, POWER-UPS AND UNIMAGINABLY GRUESOME CREATURES, TO KILL YOUR FATHER, DRACULA, ENDING YOUR CURSED OODLINE ONCE AND FOR L. BUT JUST WHEN you IT'S OVER, THE ENDINGS WILL LIFE AFTER DEATH. come PAY A VISIT тайы logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertain a service mark of Konami of America, Inc. All Rig trademark of Konami Co., Ltd. ©1997 Konami Contents Electronic Gaming Monthly, November 1997, Issue 100 Features If the EGM staff was abducted by unfriendly Go behind the scenes of a typical day at E.T.s, these are the games they would have the EGM office—where, believe it or not, to bring! it ain’t always fun and games! In a Chicago 'burb far, far away, there's a group The Review Crew picks five of the most of guys whose mission is to play as many under-hyped games that should be stuffed games as possible and review them...fairly. into your stocking this holiday season. Departments What a long, strange trip... ; ; : OV Ке у Letters 4 57 Моге than а decade's + H Sony’s keeping quiet about its PlayStation 2 development г у worth of game charac- з. Pac-Man ters—some famous, alan { зүү some not—have . tara Croft _ Sega’s Dural system could put the company back on top 1 QR stormed this month’s É a cover. Here’s a key to . Mario / | ||| 3 help you recognize ў Q-Mann has the scoop on а super-secret Nintendo system these guys. . Enterprise NCC-1701D . Mega Man . Yoshi H $ t 36 - Previews г Galaxian . Lost World T-Rex 36 – San Francisco Rush, N64 н 68 – Mega Мап Neo, PlayStation { ЕДЫ 38 – Diddy Kong Racing, N64 1 70 - Cool Boarders 2, PlayStation . Tetris 39 – Yoshi’s Story, N64 E 73 - Critical Depth, PlayStation . Donkey Kong 42 – Mace: The Dark Age, N64 X ( | j 76 - Jet Moto 2, PlayStation à Бел. Tooth 50 – Sega Touring Car, Saturn - а ў 77 – FIFA 98, PlayStation . Ed Semrad 51 – NBA Action ’98, Saturn ~ р 3 78 – MK Mythologies, PlayStation . Batman 58 - Thunder Force V, Saturn "x i 4 79 – C&C: Red Alert, PlayStation | E 62 - Resident Evil 2, PlayStation 90 - Mortal Kombat 4, Arcade . Ecco : 64 – Rampage, PlayStation 91 - ЅЕШ: 2nd Impact, Arcade . Шр Lombardi . Doom Demon . Peppy Hare . Fox McCloud = | . Link ӨТЕ i SEE d ; . Raiden The new Crew just might drive a stake through Castlevania: SotN | Slippy Toad n . Stormtrooper 18 \ С > <q . Bald Bull ü à эзи. у vus . Earthworm Jim Learn the moves early for Tomb Raider II in our new strategy briefings ў 3) к, . Sonic ! Уы 1 Я > . Kirby PKS | ] у ~ 2 | A . Samus { EKS OF ME Та А ; PaRanba Trickman shares his 100 Top Tricks of All Time % SS у БОШАП ж . Q-Bert / 4; . Bonk RT 5 k . Chocobo Don’t miss out a second time; get the new-and-improved АТ-АТ 5 . Doom Lost Soul . Sushi-X . Daytona Stock Car . Death Star . Asteroids Cover Art By: Allan Ditzig Game Directory 84 Batman & Robin 222 Battle Monsters Blitz Bomberman 64 Bug Riders Carnage Heart Castlevania: SotN C&C: Red Alert ol Boarders 2 Critical Depth Crow, Th Diddy K Duke Ми Excalibu Extreme-G FIFA 98 Fighting Force F-Zero 64 Ganbare Goemon GoldenEye 007 G-Police Gunbullet Herc's Adventures Intelligent Qube Jet Moto 2 JJ VR Football he Arena Fighters e: TDA Machine Hunter Madden 64 Madden 98 Marvel Super Heroes Maximum Force Mega Man Neo Mega Man X4 Mischief Makers MK Mythologies Monster Rancher Mortal Kombat 4 Mortal Kombat Trilogy NASCAR 98 NBA Action NBA Hangtime NBA in the Zone '98 NBA Live 98 NCAA Football 98 Pandemonium! Pitfall 3D Pocket Fighter Power League 64 Powerboat Racing Rampage Resident Evil Resident Evil 2 Riven San Francisco Rush Sega Touring Car Steel Reign SFIII: 2nd Impact SF Ex« Alpha Tactic Ogre Battle Tecmo Stackers Test Drive 4 Tetrisphere Theme Hospital Thunder Force Time Crisis Treasures of the Deep WarCraft Il: DS Yoshi's Story Youngblood Zelda 64 ге ЖА EGM's Top 100 From the Atari 2600 to the NES to the Saturn to the N64, the consoles have spawned too many games to count. Call us crazy, but we pick our 100 favorites. And no, SFII is not numero uno. Proumie PususWW, I. SILENT SOFTWARE, INC. RETURN FIRE II a MG Maloe Enterlairiment, 1102500 Broadway Street, Santa Monica, CA 0040 НА! Ао ВЕ гид, Software, Inc. Distr It’s. the sequel to the 1996 Strategy Game of the Year. And it’s got more firepower than ever. Use your head. 8 Don t leave any- thing standing. And don't take anyone alive. eom letters Letter of the Month Intelligent Gamers | would just like to extend a big fat thumbs down to all those in recent years who have ruthlessly attacked the video game industry over the issue of violence. Yes, it is true that many of today’s games depict graphic violence and brutal death. But it is also true that 99.99 percent of all gamers are able to realize that what we are playing is a game. Most gamers are very intelligent people, who enjoy using their minds and reflexes to solve challenges. Violence is merely a tool to make the challenge seem all the more real and com- plex for an overall rewarding experience. The only problem | can see is the false assumption that the gaming community is composed of children. The rating system has been a simple, yet effective solution. This allows older (and wiser) gamers to play games that would appeal to their level of maturity. It is important, howev- er, for parents and store personnel to pay attention to the rat- ing system, much in the same way we enforce movie ratings. As a final note, | would like you all to remember one impor- tant thing: Gamers are people. We make mistakes and some- times find inspiration in the wrong places. But if you are one of those people, then your problem lies much deeper than а controller and television set, and help lies more along the lines of education rather than blind censorship. Andrew Kaiser rkaiser@ix.netcom.com Well, we're really not sure what your last paragraph is trying to say, but you do a good job putting this violence in video games subject in perspective. The Mortal Kombats and Loadeds are just games. Blood and gore are just red pixels. And we all know that, kids and adults alike. We’ve yet to see a news headline: “KID INFLUENCED BY VIOLENT VIDEO GAME, KILLS 14.” And it’s real hard to believe video games can cause such a stir when shows like E.R., The X-Files and C.O.P.S are on prime-time TV. If we all treat the gaming rating system like movie ог TV ratings, then ме? have no problems. If you need to Бе of legal age to watch ап NC-17 movie, then maybe you should have to be of legal age to play a Mature 17+ game. Then the conservative senator/parent wouldn’t have anything to worry (or complain) about anymore, right? Congratulations. 274 You win an INTERACT Control Pad for the Saturn, PlayStation or Nintendo 64 (your choice). EGM Letters gives you the chance to praise, gripe, ask, speculate or simply reflect. EGM will discuss some of today's top issues in the video game industry. If you have a subscription inquiry or problem, please contact our subscription department at (303) 665-8930 or by going to: http://www.zdnet.com/zdsubs/egm/service/ on the Web. Writing the editorial staff about your subscription concerns is futile! Note: EGM cannot and will not personally respond to any letters. We reserve the right to edit any correspondence for space purposes. You can reach EGM by writing to: EGM Letters 1920 Highland Avenue, #222 (ЕсМ\ Lombard, IL 60148 e-mail: EGM_Mail@zd.com Sony in Denial You talk about a PlayStation 2 and claim that this new system is a 64-Bit console. Well | was wondering about this “mystery machine,” so | e-mailed Sony and asked them about the PS2 and what the due date was. | received this response: Sony has made no announcements about anything called PlayStation 2 nor have we announced any anticipated dates for a new model. This is sheer rumor and some- thing that will continue to be a focus of rumor as long as Sony continues to invest in research and development. But what company wouldn't? It would be foolish for us to rest on our laurels and not attempt to look way into the future for new opportunities. Any company that wants to continue on a leadership path must constantly invest in the future. That said, the PlayStation is an extremely powerful game system. We haven't even begun to see the kind of games that are possible through the technology that exists in that system. There is a very long life ahead for the PlayStation. Henry Quan Online Services Lead Sony Computer Entertainment America So what is the deal? Is Sony jerking my chain and making a PlayStation 2 or are you guys going wacko? Zuup@aol.com Whether мете going wacko or not is beside the point. Do you think Sony is going to fess up to a new system at the height of its current system’s popularity? Of course not, why would they? The people hold- ing out on buying a system would just have more reason to hold out. Plus, you can tell by Sony’s letter what they want you to do: Don’t wait—buy a PlayStation now. Sony won’t tell you about any new sys- tems until they are good and ready. After all, Ken Kutaragi, SCEA's chairman and CEO, thinks the PlayStation hasn't even lived out half its lifespan yet. But don't worry, that's what we're here for. We'll dig through all the red tape, hype and propaganda to tell you what's real- ly going on in the secretive video game industry. In the meantime, enjoy your PlayStation! Don't miss out just because you're holding out for a system that may not be available for a couple of years. Virgin Interactive Responds | am writing to express my dismay at your decision to identify S&M as the "Worst Game of the Show" in the September issue of EGM. A full year or more before the product is released, you have chosen to publi- cize your irrational conclusion that S&M is a poor game because you believe that in its current form, it displays excessive levels of gore and violence. To say that a product is “clearly the worst game at ЕЗ” surely implies that you are critiquing it, rather than presenting a moral opin- ion. | pray that this dangerous lapse in your otherwise impeccable ethics does not set a new journalistic precedent. | dread the day that Siskel and Ebert give two thumbs down to a movie because they felt the advance trailer had too much sex in it. Virgin is committed to building a killer new multiplayer fighting game, with a great engine, unique game- play and a novel approach to the genre. We know that "doing gore for gore's sake" doesn't hold a gamer's attention beyond a quick look, but S&M is designed to integrate the characters and theme with the game- play to accentuate the experience. | had an additional comment about the article's content. With specific reference to S&M, you quote “...the line has to be drawn somewhere. Doing gore without purpose is not appropriate." A mere 58 pages later you rightly identify the letter from James Prescott as "Letter of the Month." You title the piece "It's our money, it's our choice" and you conclude: “...5оте games have mature themes for mature audiences. If people don't like these themes, then they shouldn't support the game with their dollars. But let the mature CONTROL YOUR POWER is licensed by FOCA to Fuji PlayStation Available NOW at: Toys R Us, КауВее, Babbages, Hills, Electronics Boutique, Software Etc., Musicland and other fine retailers. (% S PlayStation Experience the #1 Driving Controller for PlayStation, Nintendo64, Saturn and PCs CHECK OUT THESE FEATURES: e Analog Steering Wheel, Accelerator and Brake * Proprietary Digital Pulse Mode for Compatibility with ALL Games • Digital Action Buttons and D-Pad for Easy Game Set-up • Full 270° Steering Wheel Rotation © Stick Shift Ж +: е www.madcatz.com e-mail: sales@madcatz.com ~ RALLY CROSS - FORMULA 1 © WIPEOUT XL NASCAR SIERRA ONLINE INC. SONY INTERACTIVE ENT. INC PSYGNOSIS LTD. PSYGNOSIS LTD. DESTRUCTION DERBY 2 ANDRETTI RACING PSYGNOSIS LTD. ELECTRONIC ARTS consumers decide...” I'd like to request from your readers what they think about gore in games. Do they agree that a line should be drawn, or that they should have the freedom to decide for themselves what they spend their money on? Simon Jeffery Vice President Marketing, Virgin Interactive We did not say that S&M is the worst game on the market; we said that it was the worst game at E3 (a show that is 99 percent comprised of incomplete games). We were not comparing S&M to finished store-shelf products, we were comparing it to the other demos at E3. To use Mr. Jeffery's analogy, yes, Siskel and Ebert can't say a movie is bad based опа preview trailer, but they can easily say a trailer is the worst trailer they've seen. We even qualified our comments by stating that the game was in early development, and things could change in the future. As we stated in the E3 article, we will be monitoring the progress of S&M and will get back to it in a future issue of EGM. Wolfenstein 30 Clones Why are first-person shooters called Doom-style games when Wolfenstein 3D came out before Doom? Daniel Martel—address withheld by request Because “Doom-clone” is much easier on the ears than "Wolfenstein 3D-clone." Also, the first-person shooter genre didn't become a big, mainstream craze until Doom got in players' hands (on the PC). Yes, Wolfenstein was first, but Doom created the gold rush. Вапјо No Mario I'm tired of you and the rest of the gaming press giving Nintendo such a hard time about Banjo-Kazooie's similarities with Mario. Since when is Mario the only 3-D adventure allowed on the N64? Why, all of a sudden, do we need a break from a game that you gave a near-perfect score to? So what if the gameplay is similar, is that such a bad thing? Plus, it's © The way Sega has treated Aww...who cares about Wolfenstein 3D? Doom’s the one that got us all hooked on the first-person shooter. been over a year since Mario’s release, but | guess that’s not enough for you guys. Furthermore, | don’t see you guys complaining about Tomb Raider 2. It’s still a great game, but offers the exact same graph- ics and gameplay as the original. Overall, change is much more evident when you look at Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie vs. Tomb Raider 1 and 2. Dee Brown — address withheld by request You make a good point, Dee, except you forget one important detail: Tomb Raider 2 is a sequel to Tomb Raider—it's allowed to have similar graphics and/or gameplay. Banjo-Kazooie is not a sequel to Super Mario 64. It's a brand-new game altogether, therefore we are allowed to make fun of the similar- ities between the two (actually, we're allowed to make fun of whatever we want, but the Banjo- Kazooie/Super Mario 64 thing is actually justifi- able). Besides, we're not saying Banjo-Kazooie is a bad game. We're just saying it reminds us an awful lot of Super Mario 64, that's all. Desperate Reader | have been reading EGM for two years now, and ever since, | have been dreaming of writing a letter to your magazine and seeing my name in print. | was just wondering, in which month do you receive the least amount of letters, so | can get a head start on my letter of the year? Brian Plourde—Gilford, NH During the 13th month of each year, we usually see a slowdown in the amount of letters we receive. Try writing us then, if you want to avoid competition. Cloud 9 You always have these very revealing pictures of females in your mag- azine (Lara Croft, Pai Chan, etc.). Not all EGM subscribers are male, ya know? How about a picture of Final Fantasy VII's Cloud in his underwear next issue? Pleeeeeease? “Terra” —Springfield, MA EGM’s 100 Best Games: The list broken down by system Before | even consider What are your thoughts on Working Designs’ announcement that they will stop publishing games for the Saturn? Next Month’s Question of the Moment: What did you think of our 100 Best Games of All Time list? Send your short, but sweet, responses to: EGM_Mail@zd.com with the subject heading: (EGM\ Q of the Moment: List. 16 Working Designs is dis- gusting, with the last straw being placed way back at ЕЗ. Sega needs Working Designs more than the other way around. Working Designs should’ve left a long time ago. rpgfanb1@wi.net If Working Designs doesn't like the way Sega does business, then they can keep making games for the PlayStation. Sega doesn’t need Working Designs to keep the Saturn going strong. | mean, look at how many delays have plagued WD’s Saturn releases! badger4042@aol.com buying Sega’s 64-Bit machine, they must make a public apology to Working Designs. It’s probably too late to save the Sega/WD relationship, but hopefully, if Sega takes the appropri- ate actions, something can be salvaged out of this. cALLENg@concentric.net І own а Sega CD, and the Lunar games are my favorite RPGs. | bought a PlayStation instead of a Saturn, so | was deprived of Working Designs’ hits like Dragon Force and Albert Odyssey. Now, | hope Working Designs starts working for Sony so that | can continue to enjoy their great gaming library. PingWizz@aol.com 17.5% 12.6% 233% | Super МЕ5 1.776 E TurboGrafx-16 | RS Nintendo 64 Е Saturn PlayStation | Genesis __|МЕ5 ў | OTHER See the complete story starting on page 100. “ULTIMATE тез TF www.pepsi.com (Go ahead. Hit it. You know you really want to.) PEPSI, PEPSI-COLA and the Pepsi Globe design are registered trademarks of PepsiCo, Inc. The Sony Computer Entertainment logo чә Рауза. is a trademark of Sony Corporation. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. We would love to make your fantasy come true “Terra,” but because of all the controversy sur- rounding us publishing the Nude Raider Web address, the best we can do is offer you a half-a- butt shot of Cloud, fully clothed of course. PlayStation X-Men May Come Qut After All | was wondering why X-Men: Children of the Atom never came out for the PlayStation. A guy at Electronics Boutique told me that it would be out at the end of September (1996). I’m no brain surgeon, but | think it's running a little late, don't you? After all, it came out for the Saturn a long time ago. Nick Colletti&mailbox.nvnet.k12.nj.us Just a little late. The problem is, Capcom ran into a big snag with the PlayStation's lack of RAM. They turned the project over to Probe Entertainment, who did the PC conversion of CotA. Now, Probe is working out the technical aspects of bringing the sprite- heavy fighting game to the RAM-shy PlayStation, which might mean we'll see smaller characters, fewer frames of ani- mation or both, for the final product. Barring any unfore- Seen circumstances, expect to see X-Men: CotA for the PS under the Acclaim label some- time this winter. WINNER Dennis Gregory Hurricane, WV Congratulations, your prize is on the A Different Kind of Bias way—an ASCII | don’t know if you’ve noticed Specialized Control В Pad for the but your magazine discriminates against sports games. First off, they only get two editors while other games receive four. Sports games also do not get rated on the factors like sound, ingenuity and so on. And what if we want to know the best and worst fea- tures of a sports game? | think you should change things to make the magazine more fair. PlayStation. It features rapid-fire controls for all buttons and slow motion for those intense moments. Letter Art egm letters Greedy #23 | just don’t get it! | was won- dering for the last century why Michael Jordan wasn’t in any NBA Jam or Hangtime or Live game. Does the gaming busi- ness hate Mike or does Mike hate the gaming business? Barry Lenski—Peru, IL Mr. Jordan is not part of the NBA Players’ Association (he can make more money licens- ing his prestigious name out independently). Therefore, any basketball video game that has an NBA players’ license doesn’t automatically get Jordan in the lineup. Right now, the price tag for getting М)5 name and likeness іп a video game is about $15 mil- lion a year, so you can see why he’s not too prominent a figure in the gaming world. For a while, Electronic Arts was pay- ing for an МЈ license. They used it in the side-scroller Michael Jordan—Chaos in the Windy City. But the reason you didn’t see #23 in any of EA Sports’ basketball games is because Jordan didn’t want to be in any games in which he isn’t a stand-out star. Guess he didn’t want to be dunked on in a game of NBA Live. Being based in Chicago, a lot of us like М) as much as anybody, but c’mon Mike, when is enough, enough? Where creativity, your favorite video game and a stamp can make you immortal!* Мау zz This Month in EGM History Close, but no controller Steve Наггі5-а world-record-holding video game whiz and manager of an lowa arcade-accepts $100,000 from the Kay-Bee toy store chain as payment for 60,000 copies of а magazine called Electronic Gaming Monthly, one of the very first video game mags of the post indus- try-crash era. It isn't exactly the first issue of EGM (Harris pub- lished a newsletter prior to the Kay-Bee deal), but it was still the start of something big for both Harris and game enthusiasts. Steve pours the money back into the magazine and-100 issues later-it's still growing just as fast as the billion-dollar indus- try it covers. streda@spec.net Thomas Philp Arlington, VA (OK, so this isn’t exactly envelope Name and address art, but who cares? It’s awesome!) withheld by request Too late. We're already one step ahead of you. (EGM) 18 “Or at least get your name and work in the нү. and win yourself a great prize (FIRST PLACE ONLY!) Blasto'* Armored Core" Fighting Force Final Fantasy. VII" Crash. у релй Eck d. Abe's Oddysee одон Ан of the Deep". NFL Gameday 98 Tomb Raider гт ША Armored Core™ Blasto™ Crash Bandicoot™ 2: Cortex Strikes Bach™ Fighting Force™ Final Fantasy® Ull NFL GameDay™ “94 Oddworld: Abe's Odyssee™ Tomb Raider™ 2 Treasures of the Deep" Also included is an extra-special үч of PlayStation / Vui ipa ihe Rapper” ГР) 4 ЭЭМ \/ Special Bonus: Video Profile home video Aa of the preromana! Lara Croft of Tomb Raider 2™ Sntertainment 2 mam: какиш (БІ поетски ШІ ето [Й кокыс cona NM imeem dd emma ie mobs Vl fee) киы pre cmo V mee PE ETA еселе Пита D reme n M peores КАЕ БЕЙ кши | рил |Ң cam Ud ЕСЕЛІГІ РІ vnus ЈЕ рер фе ыы adema ac пако! БРОК s NINHL logos and marks and NHL fem ров and marks dipl ren are по prop ‘rly of the NHL nd may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. ©1997 NHL. Officially 1 product of ihe National Hockey League. NHLPA National Hockey League Players’ Association, NHLPA and the NHLPA logo аге trademarks of the NHLPA and are used, under license, Bee |, Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. Officially Licensed Product of the National Hockey LeagugP! iation. Designed and developed by Killer Game. ESRB ©1997 Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the IntéFactive Digital Software Association. www.playstation.com => | PlayStation IVEN THE AMOUNT OF EFFORT IT TAKES TO SCORE, IT SEEMS ONLY FITTING THAT IT’S CALLED A GOAL. Хм ~ FACEOFF 88 PROPERTY OF PLAYSTATION ATHLETIC DEPT. World Video Game News Exclusive The hottest gaming news on the planet Sega’s Comeback The most powerful system ever created? he comeback kids of the video game | world might not want to са it a come- back. But after a couple of misses, their next system — code-named Dural—looks more and more like the hit Sega needs. Sega began developing multiple hardware designs, one using a 3Dfx-based Voodoo chipset (code-named Blackbelt), the other allegedly utilizing NEC's Power VR ARC technol- ogy (Dural). The design Sega chose was NEC's, and 3Dfx has filed a $3 million lawsuit against Sega saying the company reneged on their deal. Sources say the decision to go with the Dural over the Blackbelt has caused a rift between the U.S.-based Blackbelt team and Sega of America, and that the entire team has resigned. In early September, Japanese business news- paper Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Sega and Microsoft are teaming up for a new, under $300, 128-bit system for which Microsoft would provide the operating system. According to the paper, a deal allegedly will be signed in October, and the system will be released in 1999. The report also says that Dural software would then be playable on the PC, a first for any video game console. While it seems this news only cements rumors about a hardware relationship between Sega and Bill Gates' powerhouse, the power ofthe system is still in question. Considering that even the most pow- erful graphics work- stations don't use 128-bit chips calls into question the validity of the report. Neither Sega or Microsoft would officially comment on the story, other than confirm they are talk- ing about a partnership. Other than those few facts, Sega has been quiet about the Dural or any new hardware they might be working on. EGM has learned from sources within Sega that the new Shiny's Messiah and Sega's Virtua Fighter 3 are strong candidates as launch titles for Sega's Dura system when it's released around Christmas '98. А dering and anisotropic filtering. | Тһе Dural is expected to be released in time for the 1998 holiday season. The first four games that will be available for the system next Christmas include a new Sonic game, World Series Baseball, Messiah from Shiny Entertainment, Super GT, a Star Fox- like shooter and Virtua Fighter 3. The new machine is said to include four controller ports. Each controller will reportedly have a an LCD screen (to hide moves in multiplayer strategy or sports games) and a detachable memory card module on the top. We've been told that data will be able to be system is being worked on by Sega, NEC, Video Logic, Yamaha and Microsoft. Microsoft provide a Windows' CE-based operating system and the system's architecture is a derivative of NEC's Power VR ARC technology. The new system is being referred to in Japan as the CLX chipset. The Dural's advanced features include bump mapping, nurbs-based ren- d> PlayStation “Мау ЕД EGM owner and Editor in Chief Steve Harris lobs a rotten watermelon off the roof of the Sendai offices to celebrate the magazine's meteoric rise to success. Fortunately, since he tosses the melon at 5 a.m., no one's in the normally packed parking lot below. Only the cars of transferred between cards directly. The specs for the system currently include: A total of eight in-texture SDRAM. The system will have eight Megabytes of general RAM with the possibility of the final system having an additional eight megabytes of RAM for a total of 16. Also included in the system will be four megabytes of sound RAM and This Month in EGM Histo sources tell us a very advanced Yamaha sound Sources say the Dural has a default diligent EGM staffers-who board will be used. The CD-ROM will Бе asix-to resolution of 640 X 480, but it will be 3 are working on deadline- 12-speed variable drive. The Saturn and the able to handle a resolution of 1028 X 704. are damaged by the foul- PlayStation have two-speed CD drives. There’s also a mode where it samples the smelling debris. The pixel fill rate is expected to be around 1.5 1028 X 704 and reduces the pixels down to giga pixels, faster than the fastest 3Dfx Voodoo television resolution and anti-aliases the chip, which has a pixel fill rate of 50 mil- entire screen. For more information visit our lion pixels. web site at www.videogamespot.com. Tidbits... Sega’s secret Saturn game Sega recently held their annual Gamer's Day at their HQ in Redwood City, Calif. Many of us hoped for some official news of Sources say the system can display 6 million left off. This new system is expected to have a А polygons, although the average game will only modem and an RGB out so that you can hook Sega’s new home system. No utilize 1.5 million polygons. That is the maximum ир a monitor. Several developers are slated to news: n ШЕ record was provided. number of polygons that the Sega Model 3 make games for the system including Konami, Шу ЗА E T zo iun 112 arcade board technology can handle. This new Capcom, Electronic Arts, Acclaim, Interplay and НЕ ae У ae W BS y B Wis) system from Sega begins at 1.5 million polygons GT Interactive. The ones that aren't currently пету его ара акс) and takes over from where the Sega Model 3 developing for the system will be soon! Saga and Sega Touring Car Champions were among them. The biggest surprise came when Sega unveiled Yuji Naka’s next big game entitled Burning Rangers. This game runs on an advanced version of the NiGHTS engine and utilizes a new Voice Navigation System that allows you to track trapped people throughout a massive energy plant. The game was 10 percent complete, but looked good. N64 Games Delayed Again Nintendo throws a monkey wrench into their holiday lineup Konami signs Glen Rice D iddy Kong Racing will be leading the way for In other news, Glen Rice and Konami will be rocking the rim on the N64 and the PlayStation this fall. Konami signed an agreement with the Charlotte Hornets star. Rice will be featured on all NBA In the Zone 98 packaging. “These simulations are so realistic you feel like you are on Nintendo this holiday season. A monkey wrench has been thrown into their holiday release schedule and not just because their quick- thinking chimp will be starring in his own game, but because Nintendo wants to give their development teams a little extra time to work on their games. Among the games being delayed are Banjo Kazooie (will now be released March of 1998), as well as Ken Megs with 25 levels and 20 courses and will utilize Griffey Jr. Baseball and the newly renamed Yoshi's both the Rumble Pak and Nintendo 64 Memory Pak. И Story will be released in February. Zelda 64 апа The game will feature Diddy Kong along with seven Rx pane PE R ee Conker’s Quest are two other games that may be other characters including some new ones. Banjo re Bes Es prayers: delayed according to EGM sources. the Bear, Conker the Squirrel and Karsh the Veale | 8 In the meantime, Diddy Kong Racing will be 128 Kremling will make appearances along with Tip Tup КЕЗ ТІ the turtle, Pipsy the mouse and арру to be a Bumper the badger. Racers will member of the Konami race in one of three vehicles, including a go-cart, a hovercraft and a plane. The game also fea- tures a Versus Mode that allows two to four players to compete [^^ against each other. According to Nintendo the game will not only focus on high-speed rac- ing action, but it will include adventure and Nintendo made some changes to their fall release schedule and added exploration elements in a Mario (EGM) Diddy Kong Racing to their Nintendo 64 mix. Kart-meets-Mario 64 scenario. 24 team.” SAVE THE WORLD SAVE $10 ЯУ р кс Bas! 2 J A Stop the war betore it goes nuclear in ~ > the sequel to Soviet Strike. Once again you are in zm and it's a гасе against time as you (асе nuclear terrorism that could trigger WWIII. Follow the trail of a madman from the tropical islands of the South Sem «е forbidden valleys of interior Asia. The countdown begins. Get ready to STRIKE. COMMAND 15 VEHICLES 2 \ ^ М << $ = % Ie S FUN TEENS го << 2 пе € 2 t аа Good off regular price of Nuclear Strike, Valid 9/1/97 - 12/24/97 only. ^ о g өз Offer not good оп layaway balances, gift certificates or credit card ғ payments. Not redeemable for cash. Not valid with any other A Coupons or offers. Limit one coupon per transaction; one per = с. i^ @ customer. Void where prohibited by law. Cash value 1/20¢. ©1997 Te Sears, Roebuck and Со. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. ©1997 Electronic Arts. Nuclear Strike, Soviet Strike, Electronic Arts and the Electronic Arts logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved. Made in the USA. Licensed by Sony Computer Entertainment America for use with the PlayStation game console. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. R57?77012289s1000 ELECTRONIC ARTS” London Calling fall’s European Computer Trade Show (ECTS) held Sept. 7-9 in London. The major publishers attending showed off the latest versions of their upcoming games, alongside small developers hoping to get their game to the mass market. Nintendo showed up with their next few European N64 titles— which have been out in the U.S. for a while— Lylat Wars (Star Fox 64 in the U.S.) and GoldenEye 007. Sony showed attendees their latest, including Rapid Racer, Blasto, Armored Core, Steel Reign, NHL Face Off 98, Broken Sword 2, Everybody’s Golf (a Japanese manga- style golf game), Kula Quest and Medieval. Other publishers showed titles in Sony’s area, European developers show their stuff at ECTS evelopers in Europe looking for publish- D ers showed up with guns ready at this violent eight-player sports game for the PlayStation, and a helicopter combat title that’s headed to the PC and the N64. Cryo Interactive had Hard Boiled on the PS, a Tomb Raider-style adventure game called Pax Corpus, and Dreams to Reality. On to the bigger publishers, Ubi Soft showed several new games, including Tennis Arena (Saturn and PlayStation), Kick Off 98, Tonic Trouble Starring Ed the Extraterrestrial and F1 Pole Position 64. Ocean showed off their N64 puzzle game Wetrix, the cartoony multiplayer driving game Motor Mash and Total Drivin'. Eidos was showcasing Lara Croft and Tomb Raider || at their booth. Their other titles include Deathtrap Dungeon, Fighting Force, Ninja, World League Soccer and Lunatik. Gamers in the U.S. can expect to see some of these titles picked up by publishers in 1998. including Psygnosis, MGM Interactive and Capcom. Smaller developers also showed their stuff at ECTS. Dutch developer Project 2 Interactive brought two new PlayStation titles. Dodgem Arena, a futuristic racing game, was А looking good with realtime Gouraud-shaded graphics and multiplayer action. Their other title was Sign of the Sun, an adventure title set in 2012. SCi’s cartoony air combat game Freaky Flyers was early but looked promising. You fly combat missions taking out targets such as a Giant Sausage Factory to Godzilla! They also had Carmageddon for the PC, which attracted plenty of media attention. Rage Games Ltd. had Dead Ball Zone, a Fans of Namco’s Tekken series will want to check out Knightstone Comics’ limited-edition comic set. Comic Zone Tekken comics on sale now! ekken fans will be fighting to get their | hands on Knightstone and Namco’s Tekken comic book series. The eight-issue limited-edition set will follow the story line of the arcade and video game versions of Tekken, Tekken 2 and Tekken 3. Knightstone has followed the Tekken story line very closely and fans of the games will not be disappointed. The first and eighth comic book will be 48 pages and will cost $3.95 each, the other six will cost $2.95 and will be 32 pages, full color. The series has been on sale since the middle of September. If you are interested in getting the comics you can e-mail them: knightstone@worldnet.att.net or write to them at Tekken Comics at Knightstone Comics, PO Box 1745 NY, NY 10027. (ЕМ 26 а. 7 0j Burnin' Rubber ASC Games signs Jeff Gordon ff Gordon is not only the NASCAR Winston Cup racing’s brightest star, he’s one of the biggest video game enthusiasts in professional sports today. To that end, Gordon wouldn't be content with just lending his name to a game, he would want to be more involved in the nuts and bolts of making it. That's why ASC Games has teamed up and entered into a licensing agreement with him. The agreement allows ASC to publish racing games across a variety of platforms that Gordon will help design. The first racing game will be released in the fourth quarter of 1998. *This project is much more than a racing game with a celebrity endorsement. When you combine Jeff's racing expertise with his passion for video games, especially racing games, he becomes more than just a great name, he becomes an asset to the development team," said David Klein, president and COO of ASC. “Jeff’s hands-on involvement and personal touch will help us capture a level of excitement that will make this racing series something special for fans of racing video games.” Gordon has played more than his share of video games, but this will be the first time he has taken the helm as crew chief in the development of a game. “Being in a video game is a great opportunity and a lot of fun, but to actually work directly with ASC to co-produce my own game А is a whole new experience Fı j that | am really looking d 5А forward to. | have always been a gamer and | have always wanted to do a project like this for a long time," Gordon said. THE PART OF EGM THAT IS A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA FOR YOU LONG-TIME AND SHORT-TIME SUBSCRIBERS. THANKS FOR YOUR CONTINUED LOYALTY TO EGM...ENJOY! ЕСІЛ REVISITED!!! That's right, baby! This month we һауе a dish of some old-school EGM to serve you. It's а little spicy, but nothing you can't handle. First up is some editor in chief chatter featuring our former publisher Steve Harris. Steve talks about the booming gaming industry back then. It’s quite amazing to sit back and think about how much things have changed. On the backside is our one and only Quartermann, a la some interesting information from back in the day (EGM 1989). Some of it is rumor, but what out of it actually ended up coming true? Hmmm...interesting. As always, keep interesting ideas coming through —we may include them in upcoming Sushi-X Files. Read on... was a pivotal year for video and computer gaming. The Nintendo 1 988 Entertainment System cemented its presence in the hearts and minds of the game-playing public. Entertainment software for the IBM and compatible computers exploded at a ferocious rate. Arcades became even more exciting, with simulators that could reproduce all the excitement of real-life situations while stimulating all the senses with machines that would roll and spin at the command of a joystick! Even though the year proved to be positive in most respects, nothing could have prepared us for the unrealistic delays in game products, the short supply of hit games like Double Dragon, or the sheer number of game companies that seemingly sprouted overnight. With all the growth and excitement being generated you might be thinking that electronic gaming has reached the upper limits, in terms of both technology and imagination. While many are looking down at the roads they've charted in the past few years, others have been fortunately looking ahead to the future, beyond the IBM compatibles and the Nintendo Entertainment System. If all indications are correct, 1989 will be the year that the dream of these visionaries comes true. Three new game systems have been announced, and with industry leader Nintendo pushing back a planned March unveiling of their new Super Famicom game system in Japan, all eyes are turned toward Sega's 16-Bit Mega Drive that debuted last November and the recently announced European *Slipstream" 16-Bit machine from Konix. A high level of interest remains in the PC Engine as well. The advanced game system that is currently taking Japan by storm has unfortunately failed to court any strong interest from American game makers. The year 1989 will also see new emphasis on handheld games. Rumors indicate that Nintendo may be leading the way with a mid-range cartridge system that will play a variety of games on a specially designed 2-inch LCD screen. Other high-profile names like Konami are also promising to enter this equally lucrative area of electronic gaming. Through it all you can count on Electronic Gaming Monthly to bring you the hottest new develop- ments, reviews of all the latest game titles (both good and bad), and a keen insight on what will be happening in the months to come. Because no matter what the future holds for video and computer gaming, as long as there are people reaching out for that ultimate play experience there will be pages between these covers and grins on the face of this editor and you! Have fun with your games, this mag and remember, don't take life too seriously! — Steve Harris GAMING GOSSIP! t’s nice to be back! New name and new format, but the change is very becoming...the recent Tengen law- suit against Nintendo will undoubtedly go down on record as the hottest gaming development of the year! In a move that will have far-reaching repercussions, Tengen, the home software arm of Atari Games Corp. (the people who make Atari arcade games, NOT Atari home games) filed a $30 million anti-trust suit that, among other things, claims that Nintendo has unfairly monopolized the NES game market. Nintendo, as you may know, maintains strict control over all of the compatible game carts that are made to work on their Nintendo Entertainment System....In another move associated with the Tengen lawsuit, the company has released their own line of game packs that will work on the NES. They have busted the security chip that allows the Nintendo games to work with the Nintendo game system and can now make games independent of Nintendo. This may very well mean that more Tengen games will become readily available....Microprose, the home computer software company with a forte for flight and battle simulations, has announced the pending introduction of a new arcade piece that is supposedly powered by a new technology that can paint realistic characters that are so detailed, the planes you may be fighting in future coin-op contests will streak by with such clarity that you’ll see the rivets on the wings!...Atari Games may get a jump on the Microprose flight sim- ulator, however, with a new car game called “Hard Driver” that uses similar technology. It has two tracks; a conventional oval and a “crazy” track that loops and shoots in the air... Ultima, the great new role-playing game from FCI (based on the famous series of computer games by Lord British) has the distinction of being the third Nintendo cart, right behind blockbusters The Legend of Zelda and its sequel Adventures of Link, and it contains a battery memory back-up that can save a game in progress for up to five years!...Speaking of Ultima, Sega has reportedly captured the license to Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny. It’s supposedly a 4-Meg cart with complexity equal to Phantasy Star....Look out for the Abyss! The new James Cameron movie (he’s the guy behind Aliens and The Terminator) depicts a battle between aliens in a crashed star ship and the U.S. Navy. Look for plenty of bullets to be flying when the movie hits the screens next summer... Hasbro's NEMO game system has been officially cancelled. The unit was to combine generated computer characters with motion-picture backgrounds and settings....In other new console news, the 16-Bit Sega Mega Drive (*EGM #1) debuted in Japan during the last month of 1988 to rave reviews. While the graphics on the first couple of releases are not that extraordinary, the unit as a whole is extremely playable, with 10-voice sound that is absolutely unbelievable!...The Nintendo 16-Bit Super Famicom is rumored to be finished, but strong NES sales and a painful lack of software are postponing official release dates. Look for a September, 1989 introduction in Japan....Konix, a European company famous for joysticks, has announced the completion of the "Slipstream" game system. The 16-Bit unit uses an 8088 processor as opposed to the more conventional 68000 in the Sega Mega and Amiga computers. A high price tag may be prohibitive, but the $250 machine will come with optional disk drive and hydraulic chair. Yeah right, I'll believe it when | see it!...In a related develop- ment, the Slipstream has planned Stateside release in the fall of '89. The American distributor of the Konix line, Epyx, will be the likely marketing force. Epyx, along with Microprose, Ocean and U.S. Gold have already expressed interest in developing for the system. Judging the quality of many of these computer developers' arcade-style titles, I'd say Slipstream has a very ho-hum future... Mattel has officially stated that they will NOT be bringing the Japanese PC Engine game system Stateside.... Mattel has acknowledged that they may be introducing a new type of game peripheral. Instead of using joy- sticks and pads, the creative forces at Mattel have cooked up a glove that causes on-screen characters to react according to how the glove is manipulated. Should make Michael Jackson happy....Latest licensing coups: Those shriveled-up singers who plagiarized Marvin Gaye to gain fame and fortune, the California Raisins, will soon be the stars of a new Capcom video game. Sunsoft, meanwhile, has nabbed the rights to the upcoming Michael Keaton/Jack Nicholson movie Batman....Hope you all had a very merry holiday season and got those games Santa promised. Don't blame old St. Nick if you didn't however, even he can't control Nintendo's allot- ment program....Chow for now! — Quartermann Remember, this stuff is from old EGMs so it doesn't say a darned thing about stuff that’s happening these days. It's for nostalgia. Hope you enjoyed this commemorative installment of Sushi-X Files. Although older Sushi-X Files were more or less silliness, this issue is NO JOKE! ONE MAN. ONE SOLUTION. ONE STATE OF MIND. €^ EN 2. NOVEMBER 1997 enam emm AGS, ONE™ and ASC Games?" are trademarks of American Softworks Corporation. ONE? is co-developed by Visual Concepts. ©1997 American Softworks Corporation. ©1995 PEG Limited Partnership. PlayStation" and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All rights reserved. | n te r n a t i 0 n a [ М ews By John Ricciardi john_ricciardi@zd.com AV I-FLATNFAaF-RIIRS Okamoto Leaves Capcom Former Street Fighter ЇЇ creator departs to start his own company oshiki Okamoto, executive director and head of Capcom Co., Ltd.’s R&D division, not to mention one of the Ү two leading men behind the creation of Street Fighter ІІ (the other being Akira Nishitani), has left Capcom to form his own company. The new startup, called Flagship, is fueled by support from such industry giants as Capcom, Sega and Nintendo, and will concentrate game development on the Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64 and possibly the PC as well. The company's first planned titles are a series of RPGs for the Sega Saturn that are completely unique in nature; instead of one massive quest, there will be several smaller episodes released on a monthly basis (similar to a manga or miniseries), and each one will last anywhere from two to four hours. Current plans are to have four episodes per disc, and the first ones are slated to go on sale sometime in 1998. Sega Readies Shining Force III Hit Simulation-RPG set to hit Saturn in three parts A fter releasing two completely non-related Shining games for the Saturn (Wisdom and Holy Ark), Sonic Software Planning is finally at work on a new Shining Force game for the Saturn. Recently announced in Japan, Shining Force III features fully polygonal graphics, CG-rendered scenes and will come on three separate scenario discs—the first of which is set to hit Japan this December. Scenarios 2 and 3 are slated for release sometime in the first half of 1998, and will continue the story started in Scenario 1. Sega has no plans for a U.S. release yet, but it seems more than likely considering how popular the Shining Force series is. New Square RPGs Two new RPGs planned, Chocobo to become a star 6 quare recently announced plans for two new PlayStation RPGs іп The Ten Best-Selling Games As of Aug. 10 Japan. The first, Chocobo’s Mysterious Dungeon, stars the famous yellow bird in an action-RPG developed by Chun Soft. The game, which is a pseudo-sequel to three previous Mysterious Dungeon games (two for the Super Famicom and IF Lv 4 HP 48/ 51 43% one for the Game Boy), is being produced by Koichi Nakamura, one of the main men behind the Dragon Quest series. The other game, Xenogears, is a two-CD RPG with amazing graph- ics and a polygonal world that can be viewed from nearly any angle via full 360-degree rota- tion. We'll have more on both games next month. Nintendo Goes Large Key titles gain significant cart size upgrades N intendo recently announced plans to bolster the ROM sizes of two of its Derby Stallion (ASCII) - PS Everybody's Golf (Sony CE) - PS Gun Bullet (Namco) - PS Pocket Monsters (Nintendo) - GB Game de Hakken!! Tamagotchi (Bandai) - GB marquee titles for the fourth quarter in Japan. The first game, Yoshi's Story (formerly Yoshi's Island 64), which is due for release in November in Japan and on Feb. 9 in the U.S., has been increased from 96 Megabits to 128 Megabits. The other title, The Legend of Zelda 64, due out in December in Japan and in the first half of "98 in the U.S., has doubled in size and will now weigh in at a hefty 256 Megabits (half the size of a 6400 game). Nintendo would not specify what all the extra memory would be used for, but hey, we only hope for one thing: The games continue to get better. SaGa Frontier (Square) - PS Doukyousei 2 (Banpresto) - PS Ganbare Goemon: (Konami) – N64 Neo Momoyama Bakufu No Odori Monster Farm (Tecmo) - PS 0000000000 eurzeBew пвушь- Арөө o Kseunoo opu The Literary Fragment (OZ Club) – SS d PlayStation This game rips asphalt. little split-screen action White-knuckle the wheel i so you can taunt your and feel those raw ; 1 ! _ friends. Formula 1 has nerves pulse. 230 mph. been reborn. Grab hold, Crashes so realistic, Pierre. The back of your you'll beg for salve. Add a neck is going for a ride. LL НУ 9 утла 1 and Formula 1 Championship Edition are trademarks or regi red trademarks and ©1990-7 Е osis Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Licensed by Formula One А ЖЗ aR... NI mii Figure 7-2 س‎ First aid for fainting • Act quickly to prevent the victim from falling. • If possible, have them put their head down ог lie on the floor. • Loosen the victim’s clothing and wipe their head with cool water. • Do not try to revive the victim by throwing water on their face, shaking or slapping. • If the victim vomits, quickly put them in the recovery position. 2104 Волујац ‘uoo 5 ранима = FORE =z ғ 1 pue уолу тет 5: ssouoqil pen am əanoemu] əanemu] хорд jo sop 16619 As the victim revives, offer reassurance. Remind them that even the best gamers end up sucking face with the cement sooner or later. So whether it’s Deathtrap Dungeon, Tomb Raider 2 or Fighting Force, be prepared for the inevitable. And never administer any first-aid to the victim without first saving their game. ee You’ve been warned. www.eidosinteractive.com Video Game Gossip & Speculation * Sega's New System Revealed • EA Sports takes to the Ring • New Nintendo system info * N64 seen for $169 * Namco delays Pac-Man * Gamemaker goes Hollywood Quartermann `@ = e made it! It’s been a long time coming, but we finally hit the big one-zero-zero. Over the past 100 issues, the Q-crew and | have crisscrossed the globe more times than we care to remember; all in the name of video game gossip. Over the years we've strived to improve Quartermann to make it easier to read and more informative for our readers, not just giving you the hottest gossip but also giv- ing you insight into how the industry works. Just like the industry, we have evolved and the way we cover the industry has evolved. With the arrival of the 100th issue of EGM, you'll notice a host of changes and Q-mann is no exception. We will continue to bring you the juiciest, most life-, wife- and limb-threatening gaming gossip we can provide. Enough nostalgia, it’s time to get on with the show... Sega's 64-Bit Dural gets ready to rock your house! {Tokyo} Our ace Japanese correspondent, Terry-Aki has extracted a mother lode of information on Sega’s new 64-Bit Dural/CLX mega-console (for even more details, turn to page 22 for the full scoop). According to Terry, each of the Dural’s controllers (up to four can be plugged into the new system) will have its own detachable memory module. More than just your everyday game-data saver, the memory module also features: a rechargeable battery, an 8-Bit processor (thought to be a version of the Motorola 6502) and a monochrome LCD display that’s twice the resolution of a Tamagotchi unit. Here's the deal: Players will theoretically be able to download data off of the World Wide Web (a new customized football play- er with new attributes or a new fighting game character with updated movements). This will allow gamers to utilize the Dural's modem capabili- ties. Some other uses are said to include downloading or transferring a character's attributes during the game, transferring those abilities and attributes to an attached memory card module, and building up those attributes Tamagotchi-style. After the player is through with his/her per- sonal virtual training camp, he/she can insert the module back into its docking bay in the controller, import those attributes back into the game and then trade the data with his/her friends if they wish...wild stuff, huh? We really had to dig to get this stuff and keep in mind all of it is still being finalized. Sega is bending over backward to ensure that the Dural is a success (indeed, we hear that if this console isn't a smash hit, it's game over for Sega in the hardware market). Judging by their actions, Sega must reckon that tapping into the PC market is their ace in the hole. Although traditionally console-friendly developers like Capcom and Konami are chomping at the bit to work on Sega's new toy, other big-name (and previ- ously PC-only) publishers are being courted by Sega. They include: id Software (makers of Doom, Quake, Quake |! and the upcoming Trinity), Blizzard Entertainment (of Warcraft Il, Diablo and Starcraft fame), Westwood Studios (Command & Conquer, Blade Runner), 3D Realms (Prey, Duke Nukem Forever) and Epic Megagames (Unreal). Word on the street has it that Sega feels if they could snatch up a fraction of the developers previously mentioned all-star lineup of PC developers (as well as rounding up the usual suspects of the console world), Sega's future as a big-time hardware developer is in the bag...To tell you the truth, the Q would have no quibbles about playing VF3, SFIII, Castlevania IV and Quake II all on the same gaming rig... The Dural/CLX specs have just been finalized and Super GT is already up and running on the hardware. Sega is now said to be showing off the Dural (along with the aforementioned Super GT as well as VF3 and Jurassic Park) at the spring Tokyo game show...the clock is ticking... Get ready to rumble! {San Mateo, CA} EA Sports has a top-secret 3-D boxing game in the works. Due out next year for the PlayStation and PC, the new game will highlight top-name boxers such as: Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammed Ali, Oscar de la Hoya and Julio Caesar Chavez just to mention a few. The game's 3-D engine is based on Muhammed Ali Boxing, a game that debuted on the 3DO...stay tuned...The Spelling group has allegedly found a potential buyer for their shares of Virgin Interactive. The buyer in question is thought to be the software behemoth, EA...In other sports news, an unnamed Silicon Valley developer is working on a basketball game for the N64. Originally the game was to have the very expensive Michael Jordan license on it. The license alone was to cost upward of $15 million. The game is reportedly hotter than hot, and is nearly complete but there's only one problem. You see, the game was planned to be published by BMG Interactive and now that the group is no longer around, the developer is shopping the game around in a major way. This game is awesome and could be ready for this Christmas. To that end, many gaming companies have also been courting Tiger Woods to put his name and likeness on a golf game. So many have been interested in the young golfing sensation that Nike got a broker and now to get a Tiger Woods license it will cost upward of $10 million for three years. Super Secret Nintendo System Info! (Kyoto, Japan) Disguised as an off-duty geshia girl, Terry-Aki picked the lock of one of Nintendo of Japan's software laboratories. While hiding in the closet, he snapped a nifty telephoto shot of a design document of a project called LiDo-239. While Nintendo's white shirt goombas were on a restroom break, Terry flipped through the pages and found out that LiDo- 239 is the code name of a new hardware project at NCL. Unfortunately Terry was busy out-sprinting Nintendo's dobermans before he could zero in on any more details but we do know two things. One, LiDo-239 is not the Successor to the Nintendo 64 (that console is being designed in Mountain View, Calif., by Silicon Graphics/MIPS) and two, that LiDo-239 will mark a whole new direction for the video game giant...stay tuned... Gamemaker has sights set on Hollywood! (Hollywood) Douglas Tannapel, the creator of Earthworm Jim, President of *The Neverhood," producer of Skullmonkeys for the PlayStation and cool tall dude extraordinaire is getting involved in live- action motion pictures. He has written the screenplay and is directing the movie which is best described as a "sci-fi/romance film." Although Tennapel still plans on creating games in the future, he is gearing up to work on the film which should begin preproduction in February...Moving from the big screen down to the boob tube, look for an MTV series starring Lara Croft (of Tomb Raider fame) sometime next year... Quickies Shiny Entertainment's MDK team led by the charismatic Nick Bruty made big news at E? when they announced they would be branching off and forming their own software group. The Q has discovered that the name of Nick Bruty's new company is Giant Moon which is also the name of his first game. Giant Moon (the game and the company) is being funded by Interplay. GM, а 3-D action game will hit the PC and PS late іп '98... Namco's 3-D Pac-Man title for the PlayStation has been pushed back until fall 1998. Acclaim Entertainment has cancelled the PlayStation version of Quarterback Club 98 as well as the PS version of Turok. Often referred to as the Elvis of video games, Tommy Tallarico is branching out. Tommy T., best known for his video game music, is making his maiden voyage as a developer. The details are sketchy, but rumor has it that Tommy Tallarico Studio's first game will be a sports game. He has signed up several high-profile programmers and artists to help him with the game. Playmates and Sony are showing interest in the title. In the fall JC Penney Christmas catalog gamers can get their hands on the Nintendo 64 with two controllers for $169. The extra controller is a big plus and no word yet on whether the price drop will go public. That wraps it up for this episode of Q-mann. On behalf of the entire Q-crew, | want to thank you for your support. Tune in next month when we take you on an all-expense paid trip to the latest in gaming gossip. IMPRESS ve WOKING GANES ex Tue Hag! M N Meet your new co-workers. | Welcome to Section 9 — а crack team of high-tech covert operatives. This is no ordinary desk job, rookie. Your new superiors aren’t entirely human, and they expect you to learn fast. Don’t forget the donuts... «fi Plug into a wired world based on the hit feature film and comic book. «f Pilot а *Fuchikoma" tank through 18 huge 3-D search & destroy missions. | WfUse its unique “go anywhere" capabilities to navigate floors, walls & ceilings. A Brief yourself with over 10 minutes of original, theater-quality animation. 1 retailer or call 0 for orders only. q.com © Shirow Masamune/Kodansha Ltd. © 1997 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc /Kodansha. Lia. поо reserved. Ghost in the Shel is a registered trademark of Kodansha, ud. PlayStation end the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "The ratings icon i a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Ghost in the Shell; Special Edition | С уде, now available on DVD! за Presenting Masters of Teras Kasi, an all-out fighting frenzy featuring 9 Star Wars characters and introducing a new villain masterfully trained in the ancient martial art of terás kasi. Battle through 9 action-packed arenas. Engage іп weapon-to- weapon or hand-to-hand combat. Wield lightsabers, blasters, flame throwers and battle axes to engage in the ultimate conflict. Heck, even the PL Empire never struck back this hard. www.lucasarts.com зе @,™ & 1897 Lucasfim Lt, and LucasArts Entertainment Company. AI Rights Reserved. Star Wars and the LucasArts logo are registered trademarks, and Masters f Teräs Kêsi Б a trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd. used under authorization. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. пас pemp PRINCESS LEA LORE. SKYWALKER. Es. g omm — ڪڪ‎ A0 LORE SEYWALEER гарон LYE 1064 San Francisco Rush Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done Release Midway Entertainment — tor2 65 November Atari Games Racing 1997 Web Address: www.midway.com There were very few surprises for the N64 at this year's Tokyo Game Show, held Sept. 5-7. Atlus showcased Snobo Kids, a funky, polygon-kid-looking game (like VF kids) that features snow- boarding characters. Imagineer had SimCity 2000, a remake of the popular sim game in total 3-D. It's scheduled for a winter '97 release in Japan. They » also had Snow B Speeder, a ski rac- ing game that packs beautiful | display. This is a nine-character BE fighting game that's scheduled for a fall release in Japan. Konami unveiled NBA in the Zone, which is fully licensed by the NBA and the NBA Players’ Association and is in the early stages of development. Konami also had NEXTream, an interest- ing-looking fighting game that's also in the early stages. Hyper Olympics in Nagano 64 was also on display, and this one features several Winter Olympics events. Puyo Puyo, the popular puzzle game, is headed to the N64 from COMPILE. And Bandai show- cased Tamagotchi. The infamous virtual pet is coming to the N64 in time for Christmas. The number of games that 100 exhibitors showcased at the Tokyo Game Show Autumn '97. 36 Leapin’ Lamborghinis! t makes sense to port the arcade hit San Francisco Rush to the Nintendo 64 for two reasons. First, the N64’s SGI- supercharged graphics engine can mimic most of the effects pumped out by the coin-op’s 3Dfx-based hardware. And second, San Francisco’s a foggy place; as most N64 owners will agree, if there’s one thing their system can do well, it’s fog. My 2 Cents SF Rush's drive-any- where gameplay is both cool and a curse. | real- ly like being able to charge across country, down hillsides and over buildings, but it does seem a little too easy to roll your car on all the crazy hills and ramps. Still, I'm not gonna bitch too much about a game that tries something most racers don’t. The early version | played handles pretty well. | do hope power- slides are easier in the final game (Midway's still tweaking the con- trol and promises they will be, though). With tighter control, this game should fare well come review time. That said, SF Rush looks pretty close to arcade perfect. Sure, they had to take out some of the tiny details, such as a few trees, yet never for a minute do you think уоште racing any- where but the City by the Bay. You get all the landmarks (i.e., the Golden Gate Bridge), all the soupy weather (although you can change the level of fog at the Options Screen) and, most importantly, all the car-flingin’ hills. And with the hills comes the same go-anywhere gameplay that makes the coin-op so freakin’ fun. There are very few places you can’t take your car in this game, and shortcuts—most of which cut across fields and down side streets—are everywhere for the adventurous driver. Even rooftops and sewers are fair game if you have the right car and an inclination to leave the beaten path. Speaking of cars, SF Rush give you more than eight to choose from. They all follow the same physics models used in the ate-'8os arcade classic Hard Drivin’, except now you сап power- slide by using the handbrake or dropping into reverse (don't try that at home). The game packs six tracks in all, three of which aren't rom the arcade version. Other console-exclusive features include a new view of the action, split-screen for two layers and the optional Death Mode. With this mode activated, all autos that crash and burn during a race will stay wrecked, forcing you to dodge their flaming usks each time you round the course. And while you may not get the force-feedback steering wheel of the coin-op, SF Rush is Rumble Pak-compatible. Your joypad not only rumbles with each fender-bending impact, it also vibrates when you take tight turns. The arder your turn, the more it rumbles. -Crispin Boyer The meat and potatoes of SF Rush is its Circuit Mode, which is made up of 24 tracks that you progress through by acquiring points. This mode takes the game’s six basic tracks and reverses them, mirrors them, then reverses and mirrors them into 24 variations. It randomizes these courses each time you restart the circuit, so you're never quite sure what you're getting into. Of course, in a game where every hill or ramp can launch you into an impromptu shortcut, not much is predictable. e The new Death Mode means burning wrecks litter the road till race's end. San Fran's major landmarks are intact, from the Golden Gate to the hilly streets. NOW, WAYNE GRETZKY CAN FACE WHAT OVER 600 NHL’ PLAYERS FEAR MOST. He holds more career records than any player in NHL history. And we took his speed, | b. moves and cunning and put them right into Gretzky's 98 3D Hockey. It's not just a рате, Its an ~ NHL war zone, with active trading, player stat cards and a new, advanced simulation mode that even the real Gretzky could have a hard time beating. Wanna piece of it? Get in line. It's hittin’ the ice in November. ЕН THE NHL & NHLPA PRESENT WAYNE GRETZKYS 3D HOCKEY '96:61997 Atari Games Corporation All rights reserved THE NHL 8 NHLPA PRESENT WAYNE GRETZKY'S 3D НОСКЕҮ98: is a trademark of Wayne D. Gretzky and the National Hockey League Payers’ Association, excluding the word NHL NHL is a registered trademark of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior, written consent of NHL Enterprises, LP ©1997 NHL AI rights reserved. Used under license by Atari Games Corporation. Officially licensed by the National Hockey League National Hockey League Payers Association, NHLPA and NHLPA logo are trademarks o the NHLPA and are used, under case y Atari Games Corporation © NHLPA Ole en product of the National Hockey League Players Association. Nintendo, Nintendo 64 and the 3-D "N" logo are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. ©1996 Nintendo of America Inc, Licensed by Nintendo. PlayStation and the PlayStation Logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. MIDWAY® is a registered trademark of Midway Games Inc. Used by permission Distributed by Midway Home Entertainment Inc. NINTENDO 64 _ Publisher/Developer Nintendo Rare Players/Genre % Done Release 1-4 N ЈА November Racing Web Address: www.nintendo.com Nintendo is betting the farm with Diddy Kong Racing. Due out Nov. 24 (in lieu of Banjo-Kazooie, which has been pushed back to March), and designed by Rare, Diddy Kong Racing is an adven- ture/racing game. Players can race in various craft including: go-karts, hovercrafts and airplanes. Much of DKR's gameplay is based on Mario Kart power-ups) but certain levels in the game are based on other N64 games. The Hovercraft levels are very reminiscent of WaveRace 64 and the flying levels are a PilotWings 64/Star Fox 64 combo. With more than 20 different levels, fully polyg- onal graphics (complete with environ- ment mapping) and four-player action, Diddy Kong Racing has the potential to 00.672 ГА 64 (powerslides, projectile weapons, Беа hit. Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done Release Nintendo 14 December Hudson Action N/ A 1997 Web Address: www.nintendo.com Bomberman 64 Bg » т = There’s no mistaking the old ones. In Bomberman 64 2: 1583-000 un 07: Es Dein Bomberman when you see him. the arena can be on different lev- n e He's the little guy with a helmet els. Players can throw bombs up on his head and a bomb in his ог down stairs, over ledges hand. He's made the rounds (ona — and plenty of other places. whole slew of systems) and now Plus, instead of the bombs just he's coming to the Nintendo 64. being laid down and then explod- ing outward in a straight line, they The Story Mode is similar (in explode with a 3-D blast area (kind a sense) to the old games, but оға sphere like in Роу Роу for the now with 3-D graphics and other рс), This simplifies what the game surprises. The big differences |5 about, but as more info comes come in the multiplayer game—it іп, we'll pass it along. has a whole new feel compared to Nintendo Treasure Called Yuke Yuke Troublemakers in Japan, Mischief Makers was developed by Treasure, the group of Konami ex-patriots behind the oddball Genesis classics Gunstar Heroes and Dynamite Headdy. Treasure’s creative touch means three things for Mischief Makers: It packs awesome 2-D gameplay, unique charac- ters and the most lethally incredible Bosses in the biz. This side-scrolling platformer features tendered characters in levels that pack a sur- prising amount of puzzle elements. You'll love this game for its incredible special effects and super-tight control and gameplay. пода One thing’s for sure: Мо one does smoke effects like the anti-aliasing Nintendo 64. Konami Konami As always, NBA In the Zone’s players are looking mighty fancy. Plenty of excitement is promised by Zone's arcade gameplay and feel. NINTENDO 64 f your local arcade had this machine in, then you probably took a close look at it at one point or another. After all, Mace: The Dark Age is hard to miss. It is clearly one of the most visually impres- sive fighting games around, boasting smooth animations and large, colorful characters. N Mace is coming home to the Nintendo 64. And if you saw what the N64 did for the home translation of Midway's War Gods, then you should have a good idea how great the N64 Mace will look. Mace deviates from the tap-tap moves so prevalent in 3-D polygonal fighters today. Most attacks are performed with Street Fighter- style joystick movements. Each of the 10 char- acters (and seven secret ones) has a selection of special moves and a fatality. The environments are what separate Mace from its competition. Some playfields are mul- titiered with ledges, steps and ramps, while others are surrounded by dangerous ele- ments, such as lava, quicksand and fire. Mace may not have a whole lot going for it other than its appearance. The home transla- tion looks excellent so far, which is quite an accomplishment considering how good the arcade version looks. But in an age where Tekkens and Virtua Fighters rule the 3-D fighting game circuit, December 1997 www.konami.com Slowly but surely the holes in the Nintendo 64’s sports lineup are being filled. Providing the first basketball game (it is the first N64 basketball game we've seen) is Konami, who has decided to bring their arcade-style basket- ball game to the Nintendo 64. NBA in the Zone has always been a graphically pleasing game, and as you can see, they are well on the road to accomplishing this on the N64. Obviously, the N64 should have better 3-D graphics due to its 3-D hardware, but it will have some other advantages such as Rumble Pak support, which should add some pizzazz to those rim-rocking, controller-buzzing dunks. % Done lor2 Fighting Midway Entertainment Atari Games pretty graphics alone won't cut it. Mace may still sell well on the N64 considering the current drought of decent fighting games on the system, but watch for an upcoming review to see if it's worth the bucks. @ Grendal is one of the deadliest-looking fighting game characters around. One of these fighters is a secret, hidden character. Guess which one it is? Nintendo Co. Ltd 1-4 2nd Quarter Nintendo - ~ Japan Racing М А 1998. www. nintendo. со.) jp Miyamoto's 60-frames- per-second update to the Super NES classic F-Zero is coming along nicely. New info from NCL has it that the game features four hovercraft from the original, plus eight new ones. You get almost 20 courses that pack loops, corkscrews, half-pipes and other wild track sections you never dreamed you'd see in the first game's ultra-flat Mode 7 landscape. Best of all, F-Zero 64 will feature Two- to Four-player Modes and Rumble Pak compatibility. 1 | REEI elephant t D i 7 RARE. Game by ВА! and the “N” logo are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. © Nintendo, of А icicle projectile pterodactyl droppings У ТАМ; YR = аар ДЕНЯ airplane propeller No SES dinosaur saliva - Ж у ' i ; hit н 5 5 9 Н It’s а гасе. It’s ап Over 20 different courses. 8 different speed demons. Land, air, water and all kinds of wrong turns in between. With Diddy Kong Racing only for N64; the world is your crash site. And with Rumble Рак, ) you'll really feel the pain. | NINTENDO NINTENDO 64 Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done Release November Acclaim Interactive 14 85 1997 Probe Entertainment Racing Web Addr ww.acclaimnation.com n Extreme-G, 12 amazing roller coaster-like tracks have you racing through eery environ- ments of ancient ruins, decrepit cities, mine- shafts and dusty desert regions. Eight different bullet-shaped, "tron" bikes use their magnetic wheels to hug the track in any situation be it giant loops or the dizzying helix portions of the terrain. Game speeds: Fast and Faster give you a chance to learn the courses at a sane pace before you experience the blazingly fast Extreme Mode. As a group game, the Multiplayer Option can support up to four competitors and offers several games beyond straight racing including Flag Capture and Battle Mode. Advanced weaponry plays a big part in the Extreme- G experience. Apart from the onboard lasers, heavy weapons can be picked up along the way. Some of the more interesting ones include an electromagnetic pulse which emanates out each side of the bike, cre- ating a high-voltage barrier. Still other missile-type weapons swoop out of the sky and attach themselves to your bike fully locked and loaded and ready for use on your opponents. Extreme-G appears to be the fastest racing game for the N64 yet. At 60 frames per second you may have a hard time getting used to backgrounds flying by at speeds unequalled by any 32- or 64-Bit racer to date, even its protege WipeOut XL. At this stage of completion, it looks as though Acclaim is nicely positioned to capture the hearts of N64 racing fanatics everywhere. e Warning: This game could induce motion sickness 88:58:15 The checkerboard roadways and ominous jumps аге WipeOut-like. Try getting past that! A cool special weapon emits electric barriers. Two- and even Four-player Mode should make for a good battle. Nintendo Co. Ltd 1 Nintendo - Japan Action February 1998 www.nintendo.co.jp Yoshi's Story ә mu. “Nintendo Co. Ltd 1 N/A — dn Quarter Nintendo - Japan ‘Adventure 1998 Zelda 64 O This—the most highly anticipated Zelda ever—is actually set centuries before the other games, in ancient Hyrule. | Players guide Link through a totally 3-D realm in a quest to once again retrieve the Triforce for Princess Zelda before Gannon can sink his claws into the pow- erful artifact. Link is joined by Navie, a Formerly Yoshi’s Island 64, Yoshi’s Story (also tentatively titled) is the next big platform game to hit the Nintendo 64. What's different about Yoshi’s Story compared to other N64 platformers is that it’s a good old-fashioned two-dimensional side-scroller. The simple story line involves our favorite dinosaur in an adventure to get out of a magically transformed “picture book” world and into the др. real world (well, real to Yoshi's anyway). Besides “% fairy companion who offers hints throughout the adventure. The hero will be able to push, pull, climb and perform other moves, all of which will be modeled after real human movement. our familiar green Yoshi, 42 * = you can play as one of |. five other different-col- ored Yoshis. Expect to see i the same awesome, tradi- tional gameplay that put Nintendo on the map of success. Windows® 95 тми (а | SS... ee MM Mass Destruction” is a trademark of BMG Interactive International, a unit of BMG Entertainment. ©1997 NMS Software, Ltd. ASC Games" is a trademark of American Softworks Corporation. ©1997 American Softworks Corporation, Mass Destructi developed by NMS Software, Ltd. The NMS logo is used under license from BMG. BMG is а trademark of BMG Music. Play Station” and the Playstation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. Windows® 95 is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. Sega" and the Sega Saturn logo are trademarks of Sega Enterprises, Ltd. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All rights reserved. М | N 1 | M D 0 64 Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done Release Konami of Japan 1 10 0 Now Konami CE Osaka Adventure Japan Web Address: www.konami.co.jp/kceo/ Ganbare Goemon ome of you might remember a sleeper hit The Legend for the Super NES called Legend of the Mystical Ninja back in 1992. The game, é which didn’t catch on too much in the Continues U.S., is extremely popular in Japan, and га has already spawned several sequels. The latest one, Ganbare Goemon: Neo Momoyama Bakufu No Одоп, has just hit Japan for the N64 and is slated to arrive in the U.S. as Mystical Ninja 64 sometime late this year or early next. Goemon 64 takes place in a fully 3-D world similar to Mario 64, but with more RPGish elements, several dif- ferent gameplay scenarios (including a first-person giant mech battle) and a lot of witty dialogue. The story is really wacky (the bad guy has gay dancers as his henchmen—really!), and has a lot of ancient Japanese cultural influences. The Japanese version is a lot of fun save for some minor annoyances with the 3-D engine (it’s not as smooth as Mario’s), but the humor, while bizarre at times, really adds to the play experi- ence. We'll have a more in-depth preview soon, as the U.S. ver- 15005025 sion is due for release shortly. Goemon’s intro is loaded with voice, as a song plays to the cinematics. Talking to characters will reveal some of Goemon's bizarre style of humor. “Hudson of Japan Hudson of Japan ГІТ В Hudson Soft’s first N64 game, Power League 64, was recently released in Japan. PL64 is the latest entry in Hudson's long-run- ning (and popular) baseball series which was a huge hit on the PC Engine and Super Famicom. Power League's main draw (especial- ly to potential importers) is the fact that it features realistic-look- ing players, instead of the short, super-deformed people in most Japanese ballgames (including the two already out on the N64). As you'd expect from the N64, all of the players and stadiums are 3-D modeled, and look great. The animation is a bit choppy at times, but it doesn't detract from play too much. Besides the Pennant Mode, you can participate in a Home Run Race (Home Run Derby), edit your players and save the data to a Controller Pak or play with a friend in Two-player Mode (unfortunately there's no sup- port for more than two players). Right now it's doubtful that Power League 64 will make it to the U.S., but if you're a big baseball fan and you can't wait until next March for Griffey, you may want to check this one out. Like any good baseball game, PL64 features a Home Run Derby Mode. можа | S6 „моршм ЕД| шпјес eBag 10) у 21005 / ІШІЛЕ ГӘ Јп0/ si Appng И 35ше8е џевл05-1105 10 (10005 39995 pue s19]9eJeuo uappiu јелозић 291 0} 5191 әә/8әр 096 (іп Ul ЕЕ ДЕД u3ea 'sesinoo GE Әл SNOJ апе] 152] al ш еј] 0} oy ÁLS 4 ашп Publisher/Developer Sega of America lor2 Racing Sega Enterprises, Ltd. Web Address: www.sega.com Sega Touring Car Championship The Saturn may be losing steam in North America, but it's thriving in Japan. That's evident from all the amazing Saturn games at the recent Tokyo Game Show. Atlus had Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, the next . installment in the b, highly popular RPG | series. ESP show- | cased the impres- | sive RPG Grandia as Mi well as Lunar 2: А Eternal Blue. | Capcom had X-Men | vs. Street Fighter (to | be released in Japan / this month). Konami * showed Dracula X but didn't announce a release date. Jaleco unveiled GT24, a port of the racing coin-op. Sega showed Shining Force III (set for a Christmas release in Japan) and Burning Rangers, a new game from the Sonic Team. Tecmo showed off Dead or Alive and Hudson showcased Super Bomberman 2. This Month in EGM History... Арг. ЈЕ] | onic ck ream г. ega’s latest arcade-to-home racing port isn’t even 80 per- cent complete yet, and already it’s looking much bet- ter than last year’s disap- pointing Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition. Touring Car Championship has come a long way since E3, and if it keeps moving at this pace, it may end up being the best Sega Saturn racer yet. Touring Car Championship, released in arcades in 1996, is sort of a mix between Sega Rally and Daytona USA, Sega’s two most popular racers. The look and feel of the cars are a bit more like Rally, but the overall sensation of speed surpasses even that of Daytona. In fact, that’s the first thing immediately recognizable about Touring Car—the speed. The game moves along at an insanely fast rate, and it never seems to experience breakup or slowdown. The control is defi- nitely a lot harder to get used to than previous Sega racers, but that’s the nature of Touring Car—it’s meant to be realistic. And with realism comes difficulty as well. The computer-controlled cars are no pushovers, and the timer isn’t very forgiving; mess up one too many times and you'll find yourself retiring early because you couldn't make the next checkpoint. There are two "Sides" of play in Touring Car: Arcade Side and Saturn Side. The Arcade Side is exactly like the arcade game, but you can choose your difficulty level and number of laps per race. The all-new Saturn Side adds two-player split-screen racing, the ability to turn off Damage and Boost Options, and an option called АЛ. DATA that wasn't yet functional in our preview copy. In addi- tion, you can customize any of the four available cars to your lik- ing; Gear Ratio, Handling, Tires, Front and Rear Suspension and Brakes can all be modified and then saved to the Saturn's backup memory for use during play (in Saturn Side only). Currently there are four playable tracks in the One- player Mode and two in Two- player Mode, but it's uncertain as to whether or not there will be more than that in the final version. Even if there isn't, Touring Car still has the poten- tial to be a big hit with racing fans when it hits store shelves in November, and those who were disappointed with Daytona CCE (like me) will most likely be very happy when they get their hands on it. e Players/Genre % Done Release December 60 1997 Before you begin you must first run a qualifying lap around the course. Touring Car's Two-player Split-screen Mode plays just as fast as One-player Mode. A first for Sega's arcade racing ports, Touring Car has a rear-view mirror. Game magazines come and go, but few have escaped being the butt of EGM's jokes over the past eight years. And one of our editors’ favorite ways to poke fun at the competition is by hiding secret messages in the text of previews. Maybe it's not all that mature a thing to do, we admit. (Exactly what is mature in an industry staffed mainly by 20-something punk kids?) Probably our most infamous jab at а compet- ing magazine is hidden in the April 1991 issue. Read it from cover to cover, examine every word in the issue, and you just might uncover it. Of course, the message is hidden so well that you're probably best off taking our word that it's in there. Still, despite the ire this message drew from one of our competitors, a similar insult is hidden a few issues later. Unfortunately, no one at the competition seemed to catch that one. (C'mon, диуѕ-уои gotta pay attention!) Kudos to those readers who did, though. So, are we sorry about any bruised feelings that resulted from our little insults? Yes. We'll never do it again. Starting now. Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done Release Sega 1-10 65 October Visual Concepts Sports 1997 Web Address: www.sega.com NBA Action '98 МВА Action's instant replays make ust in time for the basketball season for sorie is Sega’s NBA Action '98, a game views 8 that looks much improved over last year’s version. If you look closely, however, you might recognize that this game is nearly identical to Midway’s NBA Fast Break (formerly Ist known as Hardwood Heroes), which is the PlayStation version of this game. Last year’s NBA Action had a few too many graph- ical and gameplay flaws. Many of these problems are being corrected, and these fixes are paying divi- dends. For example, Action’s texture-mapped, 3-D players have been much improved by having a cleaner look and most importantly, more player sizes (allowing you to easily tell which player is which). The motion-captured players are impressive as they have some new fancy lay-ups and runners that haven’t been seen in other basketball games. Some of the more popular NBA players can also per- form special “signature moves.” The gameplay is being revamped, and one of Action’s new additions is the “icon passing” which HOU Plenty of rim-rocking dunks are available to juice up the action in NBA Action '98. action in lieu of last year’s beleaguered Marv Albert. With all of these improvements and changes, there is no doubt that Sega and Visual Concepts are putting forth the effort to make a better basketball game. When you consider the stiff competition, it’s obvious that they have а tall mountain to climb. @ is starting to appear in every basketball game. When you add this to the faster gameplay, a lot of NBA Action plays like a new game. As a side note, Chuck Hearn will be providing commentary on the If you look closely at Barkley you can see him posting up. % Done Release 60 Publisher/Developer Players/Genre Sega 1-6 Radical Ent. Sports November 1997 Web Address: www.sega.com Coming from the same development team that created Virgin’s Power Play Hockey, NHL All- Star Hockey '98 has the gift of good lineage as well as some impressive game features to launch it into the hockey arena this November. > Y Hockey games, like soccer games, have got- у Ir ten very complex in the last year or so. Look at ЙТ J the facts: It’s not enough to have 650 players od / represented Кот all 26 NHL teams along with A = '96/'97 season stats, and decent polygon The Saturn still has a lot to give sports fans, and this game could be one of the best. Game speed is not the fastest we've seen but still works well overall. graphics and gameplay. Now you must have advanced Al that allows forwards to execute 2- on-1 and 3-on-2 defending, multiple coaching strategies including power play and penalty- killing styles and of course “Create-a-Player.” If the developers are really ambitious, there will be lots of subtle attributes like left-handed play- ers and goalies to vary the strategies from game to game. To round out the package, the fights have to be up-close and personal with a 360- degree rotating camera catching every slap, jab and duck punch. As you've guessed, NHL All-Star Hockey '98 has a lot going for it. But more than that it has proven gameplay and a good development team (Radical Entertainment) behind it, proving more than anything else this one could be a good hockey sim. - + "s is) P Radical Entertainment made sure the play was much like Power Play's. сама loves a good ra. right? A selection of punches get thrown. ІСІ raise the hair оп the back of your neck. аасы arte P ANNA: e ; See Gothic London like never before ~in stunning 3-D graphics. Battle 21 marauding medieval monsters. Use 28 different mutilating moves to divide and conquer. Dont let something as minor as a severed limb stop you. lt won't stop them. Activision is a registered trademark of Activision, Inc. Nightmare Creatures is a trademark of Kalisto Technologies. © 1997 Kalisto Technologies. Published and distributed by Activision, Inc. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks ot Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners. => | Playstation if you ave one still h That is, This six-armed spider-creature is just one of 21 bloodthirsty beasts who'd like to separate you from your assorted body parts. Go hand-to-hand against these creatures of darkness in the cobblestone streets — + _ A uu. ? of 19th-century Gothic London. E It's kill or be killed. Your job Battle as the fearless monk, Ignatius, or is to find the ultimate demon of the lethal femme fatale, Nadia, who seeks to darkness, Adam Crowley, before he overtakes the world. avenge the brutal murder of her father. Combat deranged demons, barbarous beasts and overzealous zombies who've been Explore Gothic London 4 while you battle а brigade unleashed by a clandestine group known of bloodthirsty beasts as the ever-faithful Ignatius. only as the Brotherhood of Hecate. Legend has it that the Brotherhood’s leader, the evil Adam Crowley, seeks to Solve puzzles and search for „lues for your inevitable overtake the world. But there’s dissension confrontation with the insidiously еа % crafty Mr. Crowley. within the Brotherhood and clues are a 8 left on each of the 16 increasingly morbid E " i levels to help you find him. Encounter everything from fire- breathing demon dogs, who can decapitate you with a flick of a razor-clawed paw, to Gargoyle statues, who come to life to try to As the nimble, sword-wield- h 1 1 ing Nadia, you'll have to slice Experience this macabre end yours. So beware, there'll be plenty and dice your way through maze of horror from multiple of creatures trying to separate you from Mr. treacherous London streets, points of view. sewers and alleyways. Crowley. Not to mention you from you. NIGHTMARE A bloody good time in jolly old London. The nightmare begins October 31. To prepare yourself, go to www.nightmare-creatures.com or www.kalisto.com Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done Release ATURN Technosoft Co., Ltd. 1 100 Now Technosoft Co., Ltd. Shooter Japan Web Address: www.tecnosoft.com Thunder Force V t’s been quite some time since we’ve seen a new Thunder Force game here in the States, but in Japan, Saturn owners have been getting their fill of Thunder Force nicely. Last year Technosoft released two compilation discs for the Saturn— called Thunder Force Gold Packs—which togeth- er encompassed the entire Thunder Force series in their original forms. Volume 1 included Thunder Force ІІ MD and Thunder Force Ill, and Volume 2 had Thunder Force IV and Thunder Force Arcade. Most recently, Technosoft released the first totally new Thunder Force game in years: Thunder Force V. While the Gold Packs never made it to the U.S. (and probably never will), there’s still a good chance that Sega of America will bring over Thunder Force V if interest stays high. Thunder Force V is a side-scrolling 2-D shooter with fully polygonal 3-D characters. The gameplay is essen- tially similar to past TF games, but your ship and its weaponry are completely new. This time there are five main weapons you can obtain, and you can hold onto each of them for as long as you’re alive. You can con- figure your control setup to switch between them with certain buttons, or you can set it so each button repre- sents a different weapon. In addition, your ship can collect up to three CRAW units at a time (Constituted Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done Release Midway Atari Games 102 October Gun Game 50 1997 Web Address: www.midway.com Remember 12 Monkeys where a radical terrorist group released a deadly virus that killed most of the human population, leaving the animals to roam freely around the Earth? Well, what if something similar happened (with nuclear bombs instead of a virus) except now it's not just in a movie...it’s in a video game. From the makers of Area 51 comes Maximum (ЕсМ\ Force, It’s a shooter with the feel of Area 51 but with enhanced graphics, a whole slew of new secrets and a different story line—in short, a whole new game (not a sequel). Players will go all over the place: From the jungles of South America to the Easter Islands (and another exotic location... New York City!). While roaming around in these various locales, players will jump on all-terrain vehicles, helicopters and more. I guess you're made of glass since every time уоште hit, you shatter. The photorealistic backgrounds in Thunder Force V are just gorgeous. Ray Art Weapon units) that revolve around your ship and can be used to temporarily power up your weapons into a “Berserk Mode” that does lots of damage. You can also change the speed of your ship at will. There are several stages in Thunder Force V, and you can choose your path through the first three at the Intro Screen. Overall, the graphics are well done and provide a nice atmosphere, and the music rocks. The only problem is that right now there are no plans to bring the game here. But as we said, there’s a chance Sega will bring it over if they see a high demand (so let Sega know!). e Behind the Screens Here are two perfectly The good excuses for impatient ә gamers who don’t want Special to wait for a U.S. release of Thunder Force V to go Pack ahead and purchase import copies: 1) The game is completely in English, so there's really no knowledge of Japanese necessary to play (except to read the manual). 2) For about $10 more than the normal price, you can get the Special Pack, which includes a CD full of b arranged music from past ‚ games in the Thunder Force series. Even if the game does come to the U.S., it's highly doubtful T that the music CD will be packed with it. NINTENDO: © 1997 Video System Co., Lid/Paradigm Entertainment, Inc. AeroFighters is a trademark of McO RIVER, Inc. (Video System U.S.A., Inc.) a 11155 Knott Ave., Suite F, Cypress, CA 90630 Tel: (714)894-3355. Licensed by Nintendo. Nintendo, the Oficial Seal, Nintendo 64, the 3-D "N" logo, and М the Rumble Pak are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. ©1996 Nintendo of America Inc. YOU WANT TO BE A HERO? DOGFIGHT BOGIES AND BOSSES OR GO HEAD-TO- HEAD IN TWO-PLAYER COM- BAT IN STUNNING GRAPHIC ENVIRONMENTS TO SAVE THE EARTH YET AGAIN. THERE’S 10 LEVELS OF FAST ACTION THAT DEMANDS FAST REACTION. JOIN THE BATTLE IN THE ONLY GAME THAT MATTERS. PICK A (HEY, IT'S CHRISTMAS. “Tekken 2 is the hest...no contest.” -Game Players August ‘96 г "Tekken 2 is THE can't-miss PlayStation game of the year!" - Game Players September ‘96 who owns a PlayStation (novices and "This game is a must buy 2 fanatics alike).” - PS Extreme September ‘96 Tekken 2™ © 1994 199719 6 Namco Ltd. SOULBLADE™ & © 1995 1996 Namco Ltd. All Rights Reserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PICK TWO.) “Soul Blade heads the early list for best fighting game of the year.” - GameFan February ‘97 "..no gamer should be without this: the most spectacular fighting game ever to grace a console." - GameFan March ‘97 -its simply the best 3D | | PlayStation.” Playstation www.n SE om 1 The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Capcom USA Inc. 1 5 January Capcom Comp. Ltd. Adventure 1998 www.capcom.com Resident Evil 2 Tokyo Game Show Lots of companies served up loads of games for the PlayStation at TGS this year. Artdink led the charge with A5 (an urban development sim qame) and Kaze no Nohtam (Nohtam's Wing) a hot-air Ба!- loon simulator. ASCII unveiled School 3 (an RPG creator), as well as Mars Story and Moon, both RPGs. Asmik unveiled Snow Break, a winter sports дате. Altron showed off Robo Pit 2, a follow-up to the cartoon y mech-style vs. game. Enix showed Egg of Steel, an action game with graphics done by a Hollywood special effects com- pany and Bust a Move, a new dance game where you control a dancer. Capcom showcased Rockman Dash and an RPG with an anime feel. Konami showed Metal Gear-it wasn't playable but the videos looked awesome. Square had Einhander, Xenogears (a sci-fi RPG), Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon (an RPG featuring the popular Final Fantasy character), Front Mission 2 and Parasyte Eve. The only game Sony showed was Gran Turismo, a game that fea- tures a variety of regular and sporty cars. Hudson showed Bomberman for the PlayStation, while Namco showed Namco Museum Encore. This one's the finale to the Namco Museum series. It includes Rolling Thunder, Sky Kid Dragon Saver and other classic games. (EGM) 62 m алай le his winter's most-anticipated PlayStation release is bigger, badder and even more fright- ening. Resident Evil 2 is Capcom's follow-up to their best-selling (2.5 million units worldwide) horror-adventure game, which was voted "Best PlayStation Game Ever" on the official PlayStation Web site (www.playstation.com) and "Readers' Top Pick of All Time" in EGM's readers’ poll (this issue). No one can argue the popularity of the first Resident Evil. And considering the sequel is a big improvement, Capcom could only be thinking, “cha-ching!” Resident Evil 2, first and foremost, looks great. The prerendered backgrounds look crisper and more detailed than those in part one. The animations even look improved. These are all impressive feats, considering how good RE looked. New camera angles and improved graphics give Resident Evil 2 that special cinematic feel. Part of RE2's beautiful aesthetics comes from the new-and- improved environments. The game now takes place throughout the heavily populated (by zombies, anyway) Raccoon City. The haunted streets are filled with decrepit buildings and burning cars. Everything is drawn so lifelike, you'd swear you're watching a scene out of Escape From New York. The streets of Raccoon City alone provide enough exploring material to keep you busy for a while. You can walk down dark alleyways or see haunted inner-city basketball courts. Everywhere you look, you'll find empty (and not so empty) buildings to check out. You may find an occasional living human, but chances are, you'll meet a hungry zombie waiting for fresh meat. In our Resident Evil 2 demo, we were tossed right into the mix. The demo starts you off downtown, surrounded by zombies on fire. After escaping (or killing) them, you can find a gun shop, still run by a frightened store owner. Here, you can pick up ammo, and after a little bit, the owner's shotgun. From that point on, the sus- pense and action never stop. e Want proof that Resident Evil is a big- HO name video game? Recently, Capcom licensed the rights to the game for development into a major motion picture. Screenwriter Alan McElroy (who wrote the screenplay for Spawn) has completed the story line for the Resident Evil movie. The film will be produced by Constatin Films, which currently has two other movies in production: The Silver Surfer and The Fantastic Four. Тћеге nothing like splattering zombie guts all over the wall... $ Finally, there’s violence on T.V. worth getting excited about. That's because NAKI’s new Red 5191 Laser Target System gives you total shooting control. Blow away enemies cowering Бейіпа obstacles, pick out terrorists without killing hostages — any time tie situation demands pinpoint accuracy, you've gotta power Up the Red Sigit Laser. There’s simply no alternative. Bea iad јаве Target hown with + Combine special features like Auto Fire, Auto ee Sony Reload, and Semi Auto Fire in any way you like. PlayStation (attaches to NAKI Lunar Guns are—> NAKI Lunar Gun). lightweight, durable, and + The Red Sight Laser Target System works with апу available Far all ESSE shooting games for PlayStation, N64, and Saturn. 1. 80 0 : 626 i 6 2 54 Wireless Pro Pro Fighter 8 Wireless PSR-2 Memory Cards RF Switch C кен, Controller Сац for your nearest retailer ши (IMB, 8MB) System Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done Release Web Address: Rampage: World Tour The days of retro gaming are in full swing, meaning that it was only a matter of time until Rampage finally got its chance to live again on 32- Bit systems. Rampage is a classic in which you become the evil monster that eats the good guys and destroys their cities. Three creatures participate in the carnage: George, a gorilla; Lizzie, a Godzilla wanna-be; and Ralph, a giant wolf. в Rampage: World Tour starts in Peoria and spans the globe іп the mon- ® sters’ quest to destroy 16 research facilities whose experiments have created them. The purpose of the more than 14o levels is about the same: Destroy as much as you can, as fast as you can. Using a variety of jumps, kicks, punches and secret moves, you're able to level whole blocks, while evading the well- armed police forces and military. They'll try to stop you with flame thrower-toting soldiers, helicopters, tanks and even rival creatures. Any of these threats can be neutralized with some brute muscle, and some make a tasty treat. Although only two are seen here, up to three players can reck havoc at the same time (provided you have a multiplayer tap, of course). Three players can play at the same time, making for some incredible carnage. At the end of each level, destruction totals are tallied, providing a à definitive answer as to who was the most destruc- Contrary to popular belief, monsters tive. Coincidentally, EGM will soon provide the defini- are susceptible to flame throwers. tive answer on whether this game is worth it or not. This Month in e EGM history... Acclaim 1 N ЈА November • | May Ri ve n Sunsoft Adventure 1997 Sushi-X joins the maga- WWW.riven.com zine as а reviewer and resident fighting game expert after defeating sev- The question everyone will be asking from Myst was eral staffers, including the very beginning is if the sequel to Myst will often called Advertising Director David be any more fun. It’s no surprise that onlyahand- “boring” and Siller, in hand-to-hand combat. He has been our most popular reviewer- and our defacto mascot- ful of console gamers enjoyed the version that — "too calm” for came over to us (opposed to the PC and Мас the average versions). Well, here's a quote from the Web site — action-craving for Riven (www.riven.com) that sounds kind gamer, appeal- ever since. In fact, it has of...er...delightful?: ing more long been company policy toward a mid- that all job applicants тера to “п ао] КЩ dle-aged com- must hold their own timeless, unresolved conflicts, a world о uter user. But Е Е i ii incomparable beauty, intrigue and betray- ine thing that a mn Қай scenes (П ААС ЕН M al. Prepare to go to Riven." can’t be denied Walt you "ets поре thats not all. or they're out the door. about Myst is that it certainly looks good, from a Меейев5/% say, getting rendered graphics standpoint, that is. а job at ЕСІ ain't easy. So what about Riven makes it better? It’s still early but there looks to be a more interesting story line, nearly three hours of animations and interaction with a bunch of different creatures and characters (something Myst lacked). So at least you're not by yourself. The game also features thousands of still images (or scenes) to interact with, a graphics engine that seems to be enhanced, and a full- length musical soundtrack. Of course, the envi- ronment is completely different, set in a whole new world. Riven will test your skills of observa- tion and button clicking as you wander around the mysterious land. e ВЕМЕОВОНИЕНКӘ © HWA: E vr WRRIVEE = COMMAND & CONQUER RED ALERT FOR THI PLAYSTATION™ GAME CONSOLE. „5 | 224 Over two dozen Allied and Soviet missions on two action-packed CDs. • Fight over land, sea and air with MiGs, spies, destroyers, submarines and more! • Take the ultimate challenge by fighting up to 3 Al opponents in SKIRMISH mode. • Battle maps are up to 2 times larger than those in Command & Conquer. * Three game difficulty settings. • Dozens of close-ups and action movies. • Specially-designed interface with completely “ reworked graphics for your PlayStation™ Game Console. 2. ck S. 5 т > E -- LOCK ‘N LOAD е € о D Ц [o] = www.westwood.com | PlayStation | stwood S: LL | RETAILERS Ж ) ћурег егер, батон sound — —— amplified өп 15 way Sub»woote қ » тв | | sound pjecisiGn-adjustAble бе Ж m | | | | | speaker doors, А 4 | | || | | | | | / / ў / A | | | | хідео game sound presets / | | | | | iS | |27 | | | | | | | | ІШ | | | | | | | | | | ЈЕ А] | | | һурег graphic апћаћсејте | | | pone ||| | || | amplified) | | ||| ||| | | | | low-emission, image burn-in / graphics resistant screen | || | 13" color ТУ with | 181-channel tuning | extreme ев with ali 5 | | | | дате syptems | power | | | | || | | | тип рје|дате system \ | ІШІ ы. чв | | | \ | | | | | | қ | | tilt/gwivel гтаћа | (азса (өшу :одоча GOI TE 5jou/^o олуоедвој ләц} jo Auedoud ou) ere зурешерел Jeujo | "ош 'eoueury зошодооја битот; Не! GXE1395), osimple<com/ me а. KB tey works BA t ore information о Func foi call 1 800 SO SIMPLE bosque Capcom U.S.A., Inc. 1 10 February Capcom Co. Ltd. Action 1998 WWW.capcom.com Mega Man Neo | рат уш== j Realtime cinemas keep the flow of the game fluid. EGM 68 apcom’s world-famous blue bomber is currently en route to making yet another appearance on the home gaming scene—this time exclusively on the PlayStation. With Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4 both out in stores now (X4 should be out by the time you read this, anyway), Capcom can finally concentrate on putting the finishing touches on the latest in the long-standing series of Mega Man games. But be warned —this ain't your father's Mega Man. In Mega Man Neo, the action takes place in an entirely 3-D world with lush environ- ments, amazingly smooth polygonal graphics and— get this — RPG (yes, RPG) elements galore. The basic story behind Mega Man Neo involves Mega Man going on a quest to save the Hidden Legacy treasure (whatever that is). Right now it's uncertain as to whether or not the Mega Man in MM Neo is the orig- inal Blue Bomber or an all-new metal warrior. For one, he doesn't wear his helmet (not during the early stages of the game anyway), and his good friend Roll (Dr. Light's female assistant) doesn't look anything like she used to. Could it be an all-new cast? Who knows, but either way the game characters still convey an alarming amount of charm through their onscreen actions and animations. In fact, all animation is motion-captured (well, the human-like characters any- way), and the result is near-lifelike movement. The entire game world is made up of polygons, and while it retains the rough look that PlayStation gamers have grown used to, there is virtually NO clipping at all, and the movement is silky smooth. Fortunately for us (and Japanese gamers), there's a fully playable demo of Mega Man Neo on the Resident Evil 2 Interactive Demo Disc that comes with the Japanese version of Resident Evil: Director's Cut (that's BioHazard for you purists out there). Unfortunately, the demo won't be available in the U.S., but we got our hands on the Japanese one before it hit stores, and we were able to play through the entire thing. Even though the game is still early, the demo, over- all, looked very promising and was—and this is key, considering it's a 3-D game we're talking about here— a LOT of fun to play. It only lasted about 45 minutes or so, but still—in that time we stole a large treasure, crashed an airship, talked to a monkey, had a run-in with the cops, rescued a man from deadly serpents in a cave, defeated several mini-Bosses and then went face-to-face with one of the main villains of the game (and whooped her butt, | might add). If this is any sign of what's to come, I’m already sold, and | think most of you will be too. Hopefully we'll have a more in-depth preview copy soon. Until then, feast on these screens. e The 3-D Bosses are quite impressive but deadly, especially the big, red ones. Mega Мап” long- time favorite gal (Roll) is back, makeover and all. She's hot! was) slowly; ITA PENDING PlayStation — Соо! Воагдег5 2 Catch massive air in the “bowl” portion of the competition. Publisher/Developer Players/Genre — 9o Done GT Interactive Тог2 Aardvark 50 en years ago snowboarders were about as welcome on the slopes as ОЈ). is... well, anywhere. Today they’re consid- ered the new denizens of the extreme sports movement. Sony’s Cool Boarders 2 has come into its own as well. Their second edition explores all things snowboarding has to offer, including half pipe compe- titions, two-player racing and 31 new tricks to perform. In addition, five different snowboarding afficionados shred the courses with their own specialties and strength points. You can dress them as tacky as you want—it doesn’t matter, they’re rad in any outfit. A unique new feature allows you to design your own snowboard, otherwise there is a selection of 18 Burton- brand snowboards to choose from. Hands down the most important improvement made is the addition of Two-player Competition Mode. And while a lot of work was done to make the variety of tricks extensive and entertaining, it can’t hold a candle to a good old-fash- ion head-to-head race with a human competitor. Polygonal characters and tracks are back as is the whole “rad” atmosphere complete with eight pumping tunes and smart-ass commentary provided by an anonymous dude. Put all that together with the dron- ing crowd noise and all the elements are_in place for the complete snowboarding experience. Release November First-person shooter 1997 Web Address: www.gtgames.com tal Meltdown The first-person shooter with attitude (and strippers) comes to the PlayStation. Total Meltdown, like the other Duke Nukem games on competing systems, has exclusive features. The six PlayStation-only levels are perhaps the best additions to this version. Each of them has a theme, like Womb Trader (enemies are outfitted with Lara outfits and large breasts), President Weevil (based on Resident Evil, of course) or Wipe ’Em Out (imagine pig cops flying around in WipeOut ships). The PlayStation Duke Nukem will also introduce a new меароп, пем епе- mies, | Two-player Link Mode, a Bot Mode (where you face off against up to eight CPU-controlled dukes for death- matching) апа support for Sony’s analog pad. racing makes its EA-Origin 1 Bullfrog Simulation М А 1997 SCEA 1or2 60 November UEP Systems Extreme Sport 1997 www.playstation.com Two-player split-screen debut in Cool Boarders 2. Style is everything. The Board Park is where mondo tricks are performed. November It’s one thing to take a bullet like a man but how does one take 3-foot long, razor sharp scissors? How will you avert decapitation and keep your entrails from spilling out over the kitchen floor? This will surely be your fate unless you can outwit Norway's most lethal killer-Scissorman. You'll have to become a master of stealth and deception to avoid being cut to ribbons in this blood-soaked horror adventure. W Five playable characters and ten different endings for super-extended replay value. W Amazingly detailed, horrific graphics and special effects. © Bone-chilling sound effects. So grab your copy of Clock Tower™, » turn out the lights, and "АЯ К Tower and the Clock: tarks of ASCH Enter the ademark of the Шет ed trademarks of their respective holders. tainment Inc Playstation inside out. Explore a whacked-out psychedelic landscape with Nikki's insane double јитр— еп dominate with Fargus’ maniacal attacks by hurling his viper-tongued side-kick Sid for skull crushing go Navigate the undulating 3D hyper-kinetic backgrounds ‘till it turns your brain to puddin! H 5 a twisted new world of furious gameplay that'll "A Tm Game Rating Information Crystal Dynamics, the Crystal Dynamics logo, Pandemonium 2, and the GEX character are trademarks of Crystal Dynamics. ©1997 Crystal Dynamics. M rights reserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc, GT Interactive 102 75 November l | В | DIO) SingleTrac Action 1997 Critical Depth hey say the Earth is made up of 75 per- cent water, so it’s no surprise that SingleTrac put all that wasted wet stuff to good use. They’ve surfaced to give us a look at a nearly complete version of their first title for publisher GT Interactive, Critical Depth. Collect the pods to open the slipgate. The game puts players in the cockpit of one of more than 10 subs. Each of them has its own driver and per- sonality (i.e., Captain Cutlass rides around in a pirate ship-esque sub). Sound a little like Twisted Metal? It should, considering SingleTrac describes their new game as a cross between Twisted Metal and Warhawk with plenty of surprises and additions to boot. SUCKER Critical Depth has a crazy amount of weapons to pick eae ЛП up, most of them having a heavy nautical theme. It’s amazing what water can do to Twisted Metal. It’s like a new game...uh. In the game, players need to recover four pods per level to open a slipgate that sends them to the next stage. Within each level (besides the power-ups, pods and obstacles) are three other enemy subs that try to stop you from getting the pods. The arsenal on your sub is just as powerful as the enemies, and at times more powerful depending on what sub you’ve chosen (like how powerful Mr. Grimm was in Twisted Metal) since each of the subs has their own attributes. The levels are scattered in far-flung locales, including the Red Sea, around a sunken city and other oceanic places. Critical Depth also offers a Two-player Split- screen Mode. @ | May СТЕК ВР АУС ЛЕТА San Francisco-based _Ziff-Davis Publishing Company buys Electronic Gaming Monthly, EGM and several other publications that were part of Steve Harris’ Sendai Media Group. New group publisher Jon Lane promises not to tinker with the mag's content or style, while Ziff-Davis itself begins pumping its vast resources into EGM. Soon, readers begin to notice that the magazine is printed on better paper and screen shots are brighter and clearer. All staff concerns over the new owners are erased several weeks later when-as Chicago's summer temps shift from simmer to boil-Lane lifts Sendai's year-old ban on wearing shorts. EGM's staff is once again free from their pants. (Note: You don’t even wanna know why shorts were banned in the first place. Сап you sing the jingle, “We wear short shorts?) “The only NFL game good enough to put my name on it.” — Jimmy Johnson, Miami Dolphins Ask Jimmy. Motivation, game tips, personnel assessment and post-game analysis from Jimmy Johnson. Coach’s Clipboard.” Create your own custom plays and save them on memory card. One-Step” Play Calling. Choosing your play is as simple as pressing a button. 3-D Passing Interface. Ап innovative interface provides precise control of passes and kicks. Fully Licensed. Real NFL teams, iogos and players with authentic play books and formations. Plus Customize Players and Teams, General Manager Mode, and Adjustable Real-Time Camera Movement Before the Snap. “There is so much more in my game...so get a move-on and chech it out for yourself!" – Jimmy Johnson developed by PlayStation © PADDED CELL STUDIOS. © 1997 Interplay Productions, All rights reserved. VR Sports, VR Football and The Difference Is Real are trademarks of Interplay Productions. All rights reserved. Exclusively licensed and distributed by Interplay Productions Developed by Padded Cell Studios, a subdivision of Game Tek, Inc. Jimmy Johnson is a trademark of Golden Cane Enterprises. The NFL shield design is a registered trademark of the National Football League. TM/© 1997 NF Back-to-Back Super Bowl Championships Four-Time NFL “Coach of the Year” 36 Consecutive NCAA Victories $СЕА Тог2 50 November SingleTrac Racing 1997 www.playstation.com Jet Moto 2 s the year of the sequel marches on, Jet Moto 2 makes its first playable appearance. And it’s delivering a new physics engine, beefed-up bikes and 10 new obstacle-laden tracks. While some may consider Jet Moto 2 to be a poor man’s WaveRace, it really isn’t. For starters, WaveRace never let you ride sleek, half hover- craft, half Jet-Ski vehicles over quake-shaken Los Angeles. But that's all in a day's work in Jet Moto 2, as is careening through several other tracks containing caverns, rapids, canyons and even roller coasters. The all-new tracks pack more obstacles as well as much improved graphics. Corkscrew roads, steeper water- falls, incredible launch-pad ramps and even lava fields spice up the racing quite a bit. At one point on the Los Angeles race (earthquake terrain), sections of upturned highway provide a means to launch yourself so far and high it seems like you'll never land. Still other tracks make you navigate skinny passageways at high speeds, while narrowly missing cement pillars and ledges. One of the faster tracks, The Canyon, is an all-out speed fest—or a death fest depending on how you play it. At this point it looks as if Jet Moto 2 has kept most of the elements that worked in the original, while improv- ing the graphics engine and adding miles of brand-new courses to conquer. @ The roller-coaster corkscrew will leave you silly in the head, if you're lucky. Other technical improvements, such as sharper col- ors, shifting lights and new animations, have all found a place in Jet Moto 2. More importantly, improvement in the “TruePhysics” design have made the bikes’ han- dling abilities better than the original Moto. % Done Release N/A Publisher/Developer Players/Genre SCEA Sony Interactive 1-8 Sports November 1997 Web Address: www.playstation.com sidelines to avoid going out of bounds, stutter-stepping an opponent and one-handed spinning catches are all very impressive to see in a polygonal Last year Sony's GameBreaker sported small, sprite-basetl players that moved about the field so fast it seemed more like a flea circus than a football game. GameBreaker 98 does away with the mini-mites andin format. Game speed/frame rate their place are fully polygonal 3-D is the same as GameDay football brutes. 98, which has proven to be quite sufficient. Like NFL GameDay 98, nothing less than a total overhaul has taken place. Sony’s new, 3-D game engine has beefed up the graphics to new levels. Contributing to the realism equation There are 111 Division 1-A teams included along with some greats from the past: USC *72, Notre Dame "88 to name а are multiple player sizes, fluid move- ments and some impressive motion- capture animations. Tight-roping the few. Stat tracking and the real rosters for the 1997/98 season are in there. Create-a-player and tons of Easter eggs are also in the mix. If anything, Sony’s GameBreaker 98—as well as GameDay 98—have proven that fast polygonal graphics and gameplay in a football game can be done on a 32-Bit system. Running the option is one of the more popular plays in GameBreaker. Hey Frost, wrap that ball up! Give the Huskers a fighting chance this year. 76 wEWRW Lay PLAYSTATION FIFA: 98 Publisher/Developer Players/Genre %Done Release November Electronic Arts 1-8 40 1997 EA Canada Sports Web Address: www.easports.com IFA: RWC 98 could go down in history as the most meticu- lously detailed sport sim ever. With 172 nations represented and 17 actual stadiums, there is no shortage of teams or venues. Last year FIFA 97 had some problems with a sluggish frame rate and less-than- exciting play. This year things have been tightened up—especially in the gameplay and control departments. Other improve- ments include enhanced Al, new weather effects and highly detailed players. This year the boys will be sportin’ their own facial features and hair styles. Looking more like a wounded bear than a defender, this guy chokes. As the name suggests, the road to the World Cup will include many tournaments and qualifying rounds to play through. The sheer number of teams you’ll need to beat is staggering. One thing is for sure: It will no doubt take lots of time. Hopefully with the new improvements to FIFA: RWC 98, it will be time well spent. @ Lots of attention to detail is evident in FIFA’s new players. A Little The Finally there’s an instant way to get the latest gaming information and interact with the game editors at EGM 5 EGM? without using snail mail or the Internet! Listen to the Q-Mann for the hottest news in the industry! EGM’s Review Crew cuts loose with their trademark no-holds-barred reviews! Tell us Ires reviews or strategies, then read 'em online— or maybe even in the next EGM and ЕСМ! Be first to unearth the next big thing in EGM and EGM’! E б М? ELECTRONIC Be sure to get your parents’ permission to use EGMs Talkline if you are under 18 years MONTHLY of age. Make sure you have a touch-tone phone. Messages subject to change without notice. A service of EGM апа EGM.. Midway 1 5 0 September Midway Action 1997 www.midway.com MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero The action and adventure are broken up with cheesy, but fun, full-motion MK video. This Month in EGM History... Sept. Ir Acclaim-toying with the idea of entering the pub- lishing industry- offers to buy EGM from Steve Harris for $50,000. The deal eventually falls through, but imag- ine how different the world would have been if Batman and Sushi-X teamed up in a video game. (кєм 78 ouldn’t it be cool if the makers of Mortal Kombat took all the things they're famous for (like the fighting elements, characters and fatalities) and mixed them into a side-scroller with some adven- ture elements, such as experience points and useable items? Well, it’s no secret that Midway has been working on MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero for some time now, and the game is exactly what was described—more or less an MK side-scroller. So how does Midway translate the game that defined digitized fighters and introduced gore like never before into something other than a fighting game? First, Midway came up with a story line for the game. In it, Sub-Zero is presented with a series of tasks. Even from the get-go, the sorcerer seems to have ulte- rior motives, and Sub-Zero can sense it. Problem is, Sub- Zero’s mentor, the grandmaster, only sees the rewards for working with the sorcerer. But since he’s working for his leader, Sub-Zero can’t refuse to do what he asks. The graphics have the same style as the older MK games, except now everything is set up in levels. Some elements are similar to Pandemonium! in that although the game is 2-D, the level will rotate giving a 3-D appearance. As the title suggests, Sub-Zero is the main character and as players control him through the various levels, he gains more and more of his special moves (i.e., ice blasts and such) through earning experience points. These are gained by performing combos and other special attacks. For example, by dishing out a four-hit combo, players will receive somewhere around 10 points of experience. Then after a certain amount, Sub-Zero will be able to freeze his enemies and give them the classic Sub-Zero uppercut. Some new moves have been introduced as well. Sub- Zero can now double freeze an enemy (without becom- ing frozen himself) and then give him/her an uppercut, shattering him/her into dozens of pieces of ice-cold flesh. Note that it only works on weaker enemies. Besides fighting-type moves, Sub-Zero will also be able to hang from ledges and pull himself up (see upper-right picture). The levels take players all over the place ranging from Shaolin temples to strange fortresses high in the Himalayas. Wherever the game takes them, lots of traps, enemies and other hazards await. It’s a strange new world (the action side- scrolling genre) that Mortal Kombat is entering, where there’s a whole slew of new competitors. It should be interest- ing to see how the kings of Kombat fare in this new arena. e See...there’s still plenty of Kombat to deal with in MK Mythologies. Tecmo 102 15 November Tecmo Simulation 1997 www.tecmo.co.jp Monster Rancher aking its cue from the highly successful of items you can buy or sell and use in disciplining or Game Boy game Pocket Monsters rewarding your monster. Keeping tabs on the money is (available in Japan for the last two another key element of the game as well. years) and its cheaper cousin the Tamagotchi pet, Tecmo’s Monster Monster Rancher combines 2-D RPG-type menus and Rancher prepares to bring a similar story windows with 3-D polygonal battle sequences and style of breeder game to America. monster animations, thus creating a cool mixture of game genres. No doubt, saving your best monsters for In Monster Rancher, you raise the monster of your battle with a Doing battle at а tourna- choice (most of them resemble dinosaurs) over along friend's will be ment. The fights are the period of time, building them through work, training опе of the key highlight As game. and general care in several categories: power, skill, selling points intelligence, speed, etc. In addition, loyalty, will and of Monster popularity come in handy later on in the tournament Rancher. e portion of the game. Giving it even more depth are tons You raise them, love them, Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done | Release then send your monsters off to battle. Sad, no? Web Address: Red Alert, the follow-up to Command & Conquer, is actually a prequel which explains the background of the aforementioned C&C. Red Alert's plot involves the Allies and Soviets, and although it begins in the 19405 and ends in the 1980s, the complexity of the game easily eclipses Command & Conquer. There are many more units consisting of land, sea and air weapons in addition to indoor commando mis- sions. Experimental weapons such as the Chronosphere and Iron Curtain can be used (some with consequences), while some old favorites such as the Mammoth Tank and Grenadiers will still remain in the repertoire. Red Alert plays just like the original, except 2 dq with more units and a better story line. E $СЕА t8 October Sony Interactive Sports Му А 1997 www. playstation.com NHL Face Off 98 ony’s sports division is definitely on a big roll right now. It’s been proven that they can do the 32-Bit polygonal format quite nicely, and they haven’t hesitated to use it in all their new sports games, the latest of which is NHL Face Off 98. Building on last year’s strong points—mainly responsive gameplay, icon passing and applied team strategy—this year the emphasis was obviously put on the new polygonal look. Much the same as GameDay 98, the new Face Off makes the transformation to polygonal players. Keeping the competent gameplay, Al and frame rate while incorporating the new 3-D engine and polygonal graphics isn’t easy, but at this point it looks (and plays) like they've done a very thorough job. We expect all 26 official logos, stadiums, teams and players from the '97 season to be used. Statistical tracking is as extensive as ever with several categories for teams, players and users, including points, assists, penalty minutes, wins, shutouts, etc. Blood thirsty hockey fans will be happy, as Face Off 98 includes all the fighting they crave. ЫШ ~ ЧО Face Off's 3-D Cool new additions include 3-D fighting with uppercuts, Mf “Î graphics are plus pushing and pulling (no ear biting, though). Actual in- impressive in the preview- game moves such as hip checks, backward skating, drop zz] ~ | able version we passes and poke checks, to name a few, have benefitted greatly from the polygonal treatment. A lot of new sound uy м M played. effects have been added in many areas of the game, from ER > fighting to the rippin’ organ tunes. 2%) к It's premature to say that NHL Face Off 98 is the new king of the hockey sims, but at this point it looks good д AS enough to shut down the current competition. @ Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done | Release BONO Cur а F ГС „у Web Address: БАЙ ° A Fighting Force It seems Fighting Force is right on track for an October release. Eidos’ fighting game (spotlight- ed in the July ’97 issue of EGM) will feature 3-D fighting similar to Streets of Rage, complete with 40-50 moves per character and a bizzaro mad- man who plans to feed the world large doses of LSD in hopes of global genocide. With Core Design (Tomb Raider) doing the programming honors, expectations are high. HS Not only can you kick the enemies’ Each of the three characters has № heads, you can also blow them off. his/her own style and techniques. 80 NBA Live 98 Electronic Arts 1-8 40 November EA Canada Basketball 1997 www.easports.com Here's one of the many in- your-face dunks you can expect in NBA Live. Oct. ЕД In what is probably the most famous case of a company pulling ads from EGM, Capcom stops advertising after Super Street Fighter ІІ is criticized for being more Street Fighter rehash. Publisher Steve Harris responds in an editorial, explain- ing how Capcom's reaction is nothing new to the mag. More than anything ever written in EGM, these comments from his October 1994 editorial sum up our philosophy: his next installment in the Live series benefits from EA having another year of 3-D experience. The textured players are impressive, sporting more detail than last year's version. Many of the popular players' faces are recognizable, and there are also new motion-captured ani- mations, such as new dunks, fadeaway shots, spin moves and crossover dribbles. Gameplay packs a variety of new additions. There is now a Direct Passing command that's activated by the Shoulder button, an improved post-up system and a Direct Dunking button that commands the player to force a dunk (if he can't he will revert to a lay-up). Also new are leaning drives, which are executed by hitting the L2 button. While hitting this button, leaning drives, spins and crossovers can be used to get to the hoop. Live has always captured the “showtime” spirit of basketball, but this year they hope to take it to the next level by emphasizing the *NBA on TNT" license introduced last year. The TNT broadcast team of Vern Lundquist and Ernie Johnson engages in radio-style play-by-play during the oncourt action. Needless to say, you'll find plenty of TNT broadcast banners and graphics speckled through the game. Also in the spirit of showtime is Live's new, fast-paced, three-point com- petition that is played at the NBA All-Star Weekend. e The new player models are detailed as you can see in this glob of players. Here, you can see NBA Live 985 “Direct Passing” Option which allows you to easily pick which player to pass the ball to. The feature first appeared in NBA Shoot Out 97. This Month in EGM Histor This type of stance has cost EGM more than $500,000 in revenue, but no amount of money can buy back lost integrity. The guiding principle of this publication is that it is written for the reader, and it is this principle that has made EGM the biggest, most widely read, and most respected magazine in the video game industry. Yeah, what he said! Laugh while you frag, from Hollywood to outerspace! 4 Bag some aliens with over a dozen hi-tech weapons! An all-out overload of non-stop carnage! Duke’ s in town. And there's nothing he hates arene їй army of alien punks crowding his расе ВШ levels of freak-smashing 30 mayhem should see if it. AR. ‘guns! Gruesome enemies! Total interaction! ~ (and all-out devastation! Иш, ШЕЕ with The Man! ” 52 Ou E у RB! | REALMS Д Е Www:3dreatms.com | M | | 4 5 iG > [- b ыш. TA 1997 30 ant м бәк Reserved, Dyke Nukem 64"™ ©1996, 1997 30 Realms. All Rights Reseed аб ғ PlayStation and 1, Zn E CASS of боту Compl к v 4 WE 74 1 ТТІ! TOTAL MELT our ADDRESS: CITY: PHONE: ( Developed by niie www.3drealms.com Fill out this form and hightail it down to any of the retailers listed below to reserve your copy of DUKE NUKEM: TOTAL MELTDOWN or DUKE NUKEM 64. And if you hurry you'll take поте an exclusive Duke Nukem poster/strategy guide." 3 FORCE Варрадес GT Interactive " Software www.gtinteractive.com *Poster/Strategy guide only available while supplies last. у Weapons and bigger bosses tor а fun-filled fragfest! = А енгі eres exploding buildings and working subways! Foursplayer, Split-screen Dukematch action. P DUKE NUKEM 64 | From КА to the moon — 32 towering levels of (00% interactive carnage! Оп film sets, in bars, оп moving subways...no butt-ugly alien is safe from ће Aet ai Duke! Grenade Launchers. Shrink Rays. И Нагусоге 3D action. And graphics to kill for! ІШКЕ coming to take uut ће garbage! o Ба registered trademark ot магае Software бир: a the Offical меді ГИ [ub үре are the properly of M UR YS les, v ы ЖА Known for its great graphics and arcade gameplay, the latest incarnation of the NBA In the Zone series is being readied for the PlayStation. Konami is beefing up their polygonal basketball game in a number of ways, Publisher/Developer Release Players/Genre % Done Web Address: starting with Charlotte Hornets forward, Glen Rice providing an endorsement for the product. More importantly, Zone’s already impressive 3-D graphics are being improved with the addition of some new moves and motion-captured animations such as no-looking passing and behind- the-back dribbling. As always, the game will be heavy on action, but a few, new features might attract simulation fans to the game. Interplay lor2 November Promethean Design Racing Ni А 1997 www.interplay.com VR Sports' upcoming Powerboat Racing has an interesting premise anda sparse amount of competing games to worry about. After all, there just aren't that many boat- racing games out there. Powerboat Racing looks like it'll offer more than pure racing action. The producers promise it'll pack precise physics and handling characteristics, which will simu- late the way in which a speedboat you say WaveRace 64?), while still retaining some arcade elements to pump up the action. In addition, a lot of work has been put into the backgrounds surrounding each course. Animated trains, planes and automobiles will liven up the scenery of the nine courses. This could turn out to be an origi- nal and entertain- ing racing title, one gamers have been craving. reacts to the shifting waves (can % Done Release December Му А 1997 Publisher/Developer РІауегѕ/бепге Acclaim Ц Probe Action Web Address: www.acclaimnation.com We all know what the old Batman side- scrollers were like —a little like Final Fight, but not quite as fun—and then a new one came to the PlayStation and the Saturn and it was enhanced a bit, but it was still in 2-D (not a bad thing, but like the oldies). This time Batman is still on a 32-Bit console, but now he’s in 3-D and stars in something other than a side-scroller! Acclaim is still the makers of the game and they tried something differ- ent than their standard side- scrollers. This time you can go all over the place ina truly 3-D environment, kind of like Tomb Raider, but a lot differ- ent. In Batman and Robin, you can jump in the Batmobile and explore Gotham City, going from various building to building trying to put down Freeze. Even though there’s more exploration going on, the game still has plenty of action. After all, Batman wouldn’t be Batman if he wasn’t kicking somebody's booty. And the same goes for the *Boy Wonder." The game more or less follows the movie and has the same dark mood, but it doesn't have the real stars in it—only 3-D models that look like them (instead of sprite versions like other Acclaim games). нерест тр => == PlayStation ntertainment Inc. "RAYSTORM" is a trademark of Taito Corp., licensed by Wi Designs. Original Game © Taito Corp. 1996. а "Warking Designs js a d trademark of Working Designs, Inc. All rights reserved. "SPAZ" is a trademark of Working Designs, Inc. All rights reserved. ray light my fire!? For a dealer near уоилса! (916) 243-8417. 800-771-3772 for Game Rating Information. 3: E ox $СЕА SCEI Тог2 Puzzle www.playstation.com November 1997 85 Publisher/Developer Accolade Pitbull Syndicate Intelligent Qube ntelligent Qube—Sony’s new block-rocking puz- zle game—isn’t much to look at. With its empty, black backgrounds and rows of marching blocks, the game looks like a no-frills version of Atari's Klax. But then, it isn’t IQ's graphics that boosted the game into the top-o’-the-chart stratosphere in Japan, where it has sold more than 600,000 copies. This game is as addicting as it is simple. 105 goal—to clear waves of blocks—is nothing revolutionary, but it’s the simplistic gameplay that hooks you. You start each round as a little guy stand- ing in the path of rows of marching cubes, which come in three types: Normal Cubes, black Forbidden Cubes and green Advantage Cubes. The blocks march in unison toward you and the edge of the level, where they'll slip into the abyss if you don’t clear them in time. Your job is to get rid of the Normal and Advantage cubes, while leaving the Forbidden Cubes untouched (oh, and take care not to get crushed by the blocks as they march toward youl). To eliminate a cube, mark a floor panel in its path by tapping the Circle Button, then jab the button again when the cube rolls onto the panel. Normal Cubes will disappear, but if you clear one of the spe- cial Advantage Cubes, you can tap the Triangle Button Players/Genre 142 7 Racing % Done 50 Release November 1997 Web Address: www.accolade.com rive 4 Test Drive 4 takes the best of the classic cars-the '69 Camaro, '70 Chevelle, '67 Shelby Cobra and a '71 Plymouth Baracuda-and matches 'ет against modern day heaters, including the '97 Corvette and '98 Dodge Viper. Providing the testing grounds are six extremely long road courses located in San Francisco, the Italian Alps and the German Autobahn, to name a few. Reminiscent of Need for Speed, the courses are littered with police cars and motorists travelling in the oppo- site direction. You have to avoid them as well as the racing competitors. The power-sliding rest of the time, through corners and keeping your car on the road will provide the brunt of the challenge. Most of the older cars will sway and fish-tail around the corners just as they would in actual life. Conversely, the modern cars stick to the road like glue and offer a totally different dri- ving experience. Trigger the green Advantage Cubes and you'll clear every nearby block—but don’t clear the black ones! to clear as many as nine nearby blocks. The trick is to clear all the blocks—except the black Forbidden ones, which must be allowed to fall off the edge—in as few turns as possible (each forward roll of the cubes counts as a turn). Clear a Forbidden Cube and a por- tion of the level will crumble away, leaving you less room to maneuver. And that’s pretty much how the game progresses, level after level. No fancy power-ups. No gee-whiz special effects. Still, IQ does pack a potent incentive to keep you going. When you screw up, it displays your IQ rating, and if you play like an idiot, you'll earn the appropriate score. And getting a high IQ takes more than just making it to higher levels; you'll have to clear each wave of cubes quickly, making every turn count. IQ's simple graphics and gameplay carry over into other parts of the package, too. Besides some brief tutorials and five different texture sets, IQ offers few options. And the Two-player Mode has players taking turns rather than competing head-to-head, so don't expect any heat-of-the-moment shouting matches like those spawned by multiplayer Tetris Attack. e М D Ж ү сс HERE „А ге Exist Only One K ifle: Bxpect The ya | FEE RATED BY ESRB This official seal is your Р „ый. assurance that this product >. „ * meets the highest quality Ij standards of SEGA™ Buy тм 24 £2 lh 7 а t 22 714, SEGA AND SEGA SATURN ARE TRADEMAR 6 n Е lb PEST uf trade! GUN Corporal y Working Оез ут Game © Sunsoft 1996. English Translation ©. A b М е: Fe ў (; E 47 Call 1-800-Zz1- 2 tion on Game Ratirig Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done Release Web Address: Tactics Ogre Battle The cult favorite Tactics Ogre Battle is returning to the PlayStation in a different form. This time, the strategy game is taking on a three-fourth per- spective, turnbased format. Like Final Fantasy Tactics and Vandal Hearts, Ogre Tactics will play like an advanced chess game, complete with special attacks, magical spells and a multi- tude of different units. Tactics Ogre Battle will contain deep gameplay and a few RPG elements that make the genre so popular among strategy fans. Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % ропе Release = = You ngblood Originating from the pages of the Rob Liefield comic book, Youngblood is coming to the PlayStation. This isometric game fea- tures all of the characters from the book includ- ing Badrock, Vogue and others, taking them to a slew of locations in an effort to stop Dr. Leviticus (as shown in the comic book-style cin- emas done especially for the game). Although it seems like the game is a shoot- 'em-now-and-ask-questions-later type, it's far from that. Oh, it does have action, but the focus of Youngblood is on strategy (sort of like X-Com in a sense). After all, it'd be easy to make another straight action game based on a comic book. Activision 1 40 Februar) Activision Act/Adv 1998 www.activision.com e Bug Riders Pitfall 3D We've just nabbed some new The newly added Bosses in Pitfall 3D are so screen shots of Bug Riders, one of cool, we felt we had the more unusual games to come to show one to you. along for the PlayStation. Set in the This Boss, called fantasy world of Entymion, the the gladiator, is a game has you racing atop giant huge baddie who insects in a bid to become the new sits in the middle of king. Your insects are armed, thus a frozen field of ice. adding some combat elements to You must guide the game, too. Bug Riders is being Harry across the developed by n-Space, the team slick surface to acti- of mostly ex-military-sim coders vate several switch- who brought you Tigershark. es—all while dodg- The game also features a Split- ing the Boss’ screen Two-player Mode. attacks and moving laser beams. It's tough, sure, but so is much of this game, which has Harry facing a lot more challenges than he did in his 8- and 16-Bit adventures. d Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done Release p AYSTATIO a Namco lor2 Now Namco Shooter 100 Japan nBullet (9) ЅМӘІЛӘЈ Web Address: www.namco.co.jp n an age of technologically advanced shooting Take out the Going Back games, Namco has decided to take a step back- gangsters in ward. Not to say that’s bad, however. GunBullet ample time to • (known as the arcade game Point Blank in make it to the To Basics America) takes the gun game concept back to its next stage. roots. You won't find any fancy graphics here. All you'll find is good old-fashioned gameplay. GunBullet is basically made up of a series of very sim- ple one- and two-player minigames. Some games involve Skill shots with limited ammo, like the skeet shooting level or the stage where you have to kill three bouncing balls with one shot. Other games have you shooting as many targets as possible within the given time limit, like beer bottles. You might also find yourself trying to destroy a car, preventing meteors from falling to Earth and even typing (via bullets, of course). It's all very fran- tic and fun, even more so if you're competing against a second player. What better thing to have in a game than ninjas? It's just one of many perks. The home version (which only supports Namco's own Guncon) also has many never-before-seen stages. It also has several new modes of play like Team/Tournament Modes and an RPG Mode, where you can explore a coun- tryside, meet people and éarn experience points and gold by beating the minigames. If GunBullet sounds like a blast, it is. But don't fret —Namco is planning оп bring- ing out a U.S. version (Point Blank) early in 1998. "TD WE T кі m | тү - = ya jai NN ШКМ Шы ЈАШИ іші БЫ ИШ My 2 Cents lar. Look around your local arcade, and what do you see? Driving, fighting, shooting-that's it. Remember the ol' days Gyruss, Mario Bros., Cadash, etc.? Let's look to the smaller companies to help us out of this "rut." -Магк Hain With both the game industry and his magazine burst- ing at the seams, Steve Harris decides to launch ЕСМ2, a sister publication to EGM that will focus more on arcade and international cover- age. The magazine ships two weeks after each issue of EGM, so that readers can get their gaming fix twice a month. Now surpassing its 40th issue, ЕСМ25 focus has gradually shifted from pre- views to strategy. This Month in EGM History. 5 It seems all anyone in this industry has on their minds anymore is Mortal Kombat 4. When's it coming out? Is it any good? Yada, yada, yada. Well, it should be out right now, and all I сап say is, "I'm sick of fighting game sequels. Period." This is not against Midway in particu- '94 MK4 is going through a lot of changes. Who gets what weapon has not been fully decided, and all of the moves have not been programmed. One thing has been decided: Noob is out, Clooney is in! A character bearing an un-canny resemblance to the Batman actor named Jarek has taken his place. He has some of Kano's moves, plus a new move where he falls backward and shakes the screen. Tanya is another new char- acter who is basi- cally a Sindel who can't fly. Reptile's moves have been NFL Blitz is an NFL equivalent to NBA from the prerelease version (some of it change when the final is released). emphasizes straight out action as oppos of down, and there are going to be wild passes. All of the players, as well as thei forms, curren ros (even Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done Release Web Address: www.midway.com being fun as hell). Well, their new off-road game | reminiscent of the Cruis’n series. Designed with history, this game features eight diverse trucks in you can customize your truck. You can upgrade head to head play. NFL Blitz “2 The following is information we've gathered — Broncos uniform realism. It's 7 on 7—you do call plays but of course be there's no player substitutions or punting. It secret plays and will take more than just 10 yards for a first tons of secret tackles and plays. You will also be able to tip game utilizes Midway has had a lot of success in the driving arena considering they don’t have a System 22 or Model 3 to render perfect cars and tracks. Perhaps it’s because their games don’t cost $1.50 a shot (maybe that’s why Cruis’n USA and World had such an appeal besides just Stewart, one of the most winningest drivers in off-road ing 4x4s, hummers and more’ as well as six tracks and tons of power-ups. There is also a speed shop where tires, shocks and engine for better performance. Up to four Off-Road Challenge machines can be linked for lor2 October Fighting 85 1997 www.midway.com programmed. He has his invisibility (although it is now worthless — since you can still see a Sub-Zero-like mist around him) as well as a strange move where he scurries up to you and elbows you for a sin- gle hit. There is also one stage fatality where a large fan is in the background; you, of course, can get thrown right into it. There are still characters up in the air (Goro?), but Ermac has also been sighted. Midwa' lor2 October А 85 1997 Јат. neat-o-keen may revision will be Blitz included in NFL edto Blitz). There will sack characters. The runi- 3DFX technolo- will gy, however the ђе fromthe hardware is dra- (797 matically different from that used in games ter like Wayne Gretzky, Mace and Rush. that Midway lor2 Midway Racing 100 ooks lvan clud- your Publisher/Developer Players/Genre % Done Release Capcom of America 1ог2 80 Quarter 4 Capcom of Japan Fighting 1997 Web Address: (american) www.capcom.com (japanese) www.capcom.co.jp Totally non-characteristic of Capcom (key in sarcasm here), they have updated their newest Street Fighter game and entitled it Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact. This new update features slightly enhanced graphics and a new super art graphic scene as well. Last of all, there are two new characters reminiscent of past Street Fighter characters. One is a carbon copy of the SFIII Boss, Gill. Named Urien, he wears nothing but a pair of Speedos and a bad attitude. He seems to have limited control over the elements, so his story is probably related to Gill in some way. The other character is Hugo from Capcom’s Final Fight series. One of the best features about this revision is the changes in gameplay. Ken and Ryu can now d i Hurricane Kick in Sean has been weak- ened, Yun and Yang have individual moves and a lot of the charac- ters have new moves. There are also throw Capcom of America. 10г2 80 Quarter 4 Capcom of Japan Fighting 1997 Street Fighter IIl was a bit of a disappointment for some of us here at EGM. Gem Fighter, however, looks like a game that might be able to stand on humor alone! It copies the Virtua Fighter Kids concept (in other words, it's basically Street Fighter Kids). Returning in this game are Ryu, Chun-Li, Felicia, Sakura, Morrigan, Donovan (after a non-appear- ance in DarkStalkers 3) and for some reason Dan. It is unknown just how many new characters are going to appear, but one of them for sure is a witch named Sabasa. There are only three buttons in GF: Punch, Kick and Super Art. escapes and taunts. 2nd Impact will also allow you to change your Super Art before every bout! Remember these guys? They remember you. This game packs punch. 27 Street Fighters in 3 different games. Super Street Fighter ||, Super Street Fighter Il Turbo, and Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold, all in their true arcade form. Own the Street Fighter legacy. At around $1.50 a fighter, that's a fair fight, dontcha think? NN © Capcom Со, id. 1997. © Copcom USA, Inc. 1997. All rights reserved. Street Fighter II, Super Street Fighter Il, Super Street Fighter Il Turbo ‘ond Sire! Fighter Alpha 2 ore trademarks of Capcom Co., Ud. Capcom is o registered trademark of Copcom Co. id. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos oro trademarks of Sony Computer Enleroinment Inc. бода ond Sega Saturn are trademarks of Sega Enterprises, Ud www.capcom.com soon PLAYSTATION ENDO 64 Beast Wars Hasbro Interactive Nov. Fighting Diddy Kong Racing Rare Nov. Racing са С: Red Alert Westwood Studios Nov. Strategy Duke Nukem GT Interactive Nov, First-Person Caesar's Palace Interplay Nov. Simulation Extreme 6 Acclaim Nov, Racing CART World Series SCEA Nov. Racing Gretzky 98 Midway Nov. Sports Colony Wars. Psygnosis Nov. Action Jeopardy Gametek Nov. Simulation Cool Boarders 2 SCEA Nov. Racing Madden 64 EA Nov. Sports Courier Crises GT Interactive Nov. Action MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero Midway Nov. Action Crash Bandicoot 2 SCEA Nov. Action NFL QB Club '98 Acclaim Nov. Sports Critical Depth GT Interactive Nov. — Action San Francisco Rush Midway Nov. Racing Duke Nukem GT Interactive Nov. First-Person WCW vs. NWO World Tour THQ Nov. Sports Gretzky '98 Midway Nov. Sports Wheel of Fortune Gametek Nov. Simulation Intelligent Qube SCEA Nov. Puzzle Bomberman 64 Nintendo Dec. Puzzle Jet Moto 2 SCEA Nov. Racing Mission: Impossible Ocean Dec. Action Joe Blow Sir Tech Nov. Action NBA In the Zone '98 Konami Dec. Sports MDK Playmates Nov. Action Nogano Winter Sports Konami Jan. Sports Mega Metal Mindscape Nov. Action Midway Collection 2 Midway Nov. Compilation NBA Fast Break Midway Nov. Sports NBA Live 98 EA Nov. Sports NCAA FB Gamebreakers 98 SCEA Nov. Sports One ASC Games Nov. Action р Ray Tracers THQ Nov. Racing The world's most popu- Riven Acclaim Nov. Adventure lar multiplayer action San Francisco Rush Midway Nov. Racing nac Shipwreckers! Psygnosis Nov. RPG game is going to get a SSF 2 Collection Capcom Nov. Fighting full 3-D treatment. SW: Masters of Teras Kasi LucasArts Nov. Fighting iM lite Tanktics BMG Interactive Nov. Strategy Bomberman 64 will lit Test Drive 4 Accolade Nov. Sports erally take the game to Theme Hospital EA/Origin Nov. Strategy n TNN Motorsports Hardcore 2 ASC Games Nov. Sports new heights as players Tomb Raider II Eidos Nov. Adventure compete on multitiered po: EIQ Ноу. Fighting levels. This time, you WCW Nitro THQ Nov. Sports E с X-Men: Children of the Atom Acclaim Nov. Fighting won't need а multitap. Youngblood GT Interactive Nov. Action Я Aindra Working Designs Dec. RPG Guide three Japanese ‘Aqua Prophecy ASCII Dec. RPG schoolgirls through a Auto Destruct EA Dec. Racing tical reali in Magi Batman & Robin Acclaim Dec. Action mystical теат in Magic Dead or Alive Tecmo Dec. Fighting Knight RayEarth, an Grand Theft Auto BMG Interactive Dec. Racing Ы Major League Soccer BMG Interactive Dec. Sports action RPG that Р Меп Іп Віаск Design League Dec. Adventure Working Designs is NBA In the Zone 98 Konami Dec. Sports i NBA Shoot Out 98 SCEA Dec. Sports translating for the Spawn SCEA Dec. Action Saturn. Expect this one SpecOps BMG Interactive Dec. Strategy Tactics Ogre Battle Atlus Dec. Strategy to be ready by the end The Wild 9 Interplay Dec. Action of November. Agent Gex Crystal Dynamics Jan. Action Atari Collection 2 Midway Jan. Compilation Cardinal Syn SCEA Jan. Fighting Constructor Acclaim Jan. Simulation Deathtrap Dungeon Eidos Jan. Action Gran Turismo SCEA Jan. Racing Nogano Winter Sports Konami Jan. Sports Powerboat Interplay Jan. Racing ReBoot EA Jan. Action Courier Crises GT Interactive Nov. Action Resident Evil 2 Capcom Jan. Adventure Enemy Zero Sega Nov. Adventure Risk Hasbro Interactive Jan. Simulation FIFA: Road to the World Cup. EA Nov. Sports Shadow Master Psygnosis Jan. — Action Magic Knight Rayearth Working Designs Nov. RPG Skullmonkeys EA Jan. Action NBA Live 98 EA Nov. Sports 7 Ке, NHL 98 EA Nov. Sports The highly anticipated (and NHL Hockey '98 Sega Nov. Sports i i i Quake Sega Nov. First-Person highly hyped) Resident Evil Sonic R Sega Nov. Racing 2 is coming out this winter. SSF 2 Collection Capcom Nov. Fighting This sequel will have two Worldwide Soccer '98 Sega Nov. Sports Е Dead or Alive Tecmo Dec. Fighting new lead characters, special Sega Touring Car Championship Sega Dec. Racing weapons and improved graphics. We predict that RE 2 will become the #1 sell- ing PS game of all time. STREET FIGHTER’S IN B CUN ay Been missin’ Street Fighter game- play? The world’s premiere fighter goes kickin’ and screamin’ into 3-D. This beast pits the original 8 Street Fighter vets — Guile, Zangief, Ryu, Ken, Bison, Chun-Li, Dhalsim and Sakura in an amazing arcade hit. What else is the same? Signature Street Fighter gameplay. New? Lots! Crack your knuckles and welcome 12 all-new fighters in the biggest Street Fighter ever! Playable bosses, 7 different play modes, a total of 23 characters, this is the 3-D game worth fighting for... PlayStation Ryu got your number? New Training Mode adds moves, reduces bruises. New Multi-Hit combos bring ‘em to their knees. Slow Mo Replay makes victory even sweeter. www.capcom.com © АЁКА CO., LTD. 1997 © CAPCOM СО. LTD. 1997 © CAPCOM U.S.A., INC. 1997 АШ RIGHTS RESERVED. STREET FIGHTER is a trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. CAPCOM is a registered trademark of CAPCOM СО, LTD. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. O = [esc urf the Web in style on VideoGameSpot, the premier =e source of video game information on the Web. Nowhere Puta else will you find a complete archive of reviews for each Да = of the top systems-PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and Saturn. At VideoGameSpot, you'll find previews of games that have yet to hit store shelves and daily news that is at the forefront of the - Lm industry. All this in one complete package, available now on the л шаш — und болы, World Wide Web at http://www.videogamespot.com! Неге аге just a 3 SB: Nie’ NEWS few of the things going live this month: Features € s Keep watching for continued updates to our massive History of — қо” Street Fighter series. From the original Street Fighter to the ene latest Street Fighter Ill: 2nd Impact, you'll find everything you duties, need to know and more right hi Strategy Guides = The most complete library of strategy guides on the Web. If с HN 4 you're stuck in Final Fantasy VII, Star Fox 64, GoldenEye 007 саз, or Castlevania Symphony of the Night, you'll find your Иши | болыс кина ато T FOTO solutions here. New strategy guides are added regularly. J “Ассо Designer Diaries Ever wonder how a game goes from concept to reality? i КЛ VideoGameSpot takes you through the process with Designer aa sig Diaries from Pitfall 3-D, Critical Depth, Frogger and more! VideoGameSpot's news is updated twice daily so you're always in touch with the latest from the industry. Available directly at http://headline.gamespot.com. ADVENTURE ОИУ “Өстік “SPORTS | sramom, | PLATFORM бїт | ACcESsomes f you just can't get enough of EGM in print, check us out online! Our regularly updated Web site includes all the reviews, previews, gossip and cool stuff you expect from the staff of Electronic Gaming Monthly. Hear from your favorite editors in columns available exclusively online, send comments to EGM's mailbox and participate in reader surveys! Every Monday, get your weekly dose of the best content that the number-one video game magazine in the world has to offer. It's more fun than a barrel of chimps. The GameSpot Network features content from magazines like Electronic Gaming Monthly, EGM? and Computer Gaming World, in addition to content created by SpotMedia Communications. Sites in the Network include VideoGameSpot, PC GameSpot, GameSpot News, EGM Online and Computer Gaming World Online. Apre SERS Нилсон 405066 ШЕ, мм Мдеодате5.сот Big air, sick tricks, and ten outrageous tracks, tracks, racks, including the Great Wall. Т А, Power wheelie on both motocross апа superbikes. Turbo-steer on one wheel. hand, 1 2Plaver sor ve ra Ur Ж се for the Slt en ть Шан а peinst тени Cup 4 % غ Moto Racer. Fast, arcade-sfyle motorcycle rácin for your PlayStation." тгасек тч хы ш ELECTRONIC ARTS" Pre m © 1997 Delphine Software International. Moto Racer, Delphine Software International and the Delphine Software logo are trademarks of Delphine Software International. Нес logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts in the United States and/or other countries. The ratings icomis.a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Ass PlayStation logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment. Windows is a trademark or registered trademark of Microsoftin the United States and/or other countries. | zs | Ils ond the Вопіс Arts 4 PlayStation and the ~ 4 100 Best Games The EGM Editors Pick Their 100 Favorite Console Games OK, let’s get one thing straight from the get-go—THIS IS NOTA LIST OF THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL GAMES OF ALL TIME. Nor is it a list of the 100 games that generated the most nostalgia-driven fuzzy feelings. These are the best games of our lives. So what do we mean by best? Simple. In the words of industry icon Trip Hawkins, “What gamers care most about is gameplay.” We couldn’t agree more. Stuffed in a cramped conference room and fueled by soda and junk food, the EGM staffers spent days scrawl- ing the names of their favorite games for every console. Then, to make sure we were picking only the best games, we asked, “Which 100 of these would we want to take with us if we were abducted by aliens?” Our only restrictions were that the games had to come out in the United States and must be in the stores by October. We also treated the games in compilations as individual titles. But don’t think picking the cream of console gaming’s 20-year- old crop was easy. More than one EGM staffer lost his life defending his picks, and more than a few tears were shed as we fired up our old favorites. of All Time So why traumatize ourselves? For starters, no other magazine has compiled a top-games list that only ranks console titles. Ours doesn’t deal with PC games (unless they wound up as killer con- sole ports), and we only considered the home versions of arcade coin-ops. But the most important reason for our list is actually the simplest: Ever since players first plugged in Pong, there have been thousands of games for dozens of platforms. Our Review Crew has evaluated a good fraction of this collective console library, but someone had to pick the best of the best. We couldn't resist the challenge. But we didn't want to monopolize the list-making business. A few months ago, we began inviting programmers, producers and other industry bigwigs to contribute their picks for—as we put it— the “Тор 10 Greatest Games in the Galaxy." (Note: Since the devel- opers came from such varied backgrounds, we didn't limit them to listing console-only titles.) Did they only choose the games they worked on? Read their picks to find out. We will say that some gave us more than we bargained for. Oh, and keep an eye out for other top-10 lists we've sprinkled throughout the feature. Wanna know our picks for the 10 most rev- olutionary games? How about the 10 best arcade titles? And is E.T. really one of the worst console games of all time? Resist the urge to peek ahead. Turn the page and let's start at (ЕсМ\ the beginning, at the 100th best console game of all те... 101 100 Ох МЕ5 Nintendo, 1990 The game: Use a tiny spark—called a styx—to draw boxes until you’ve covered the majority of the playfield, meanwhile avoiding the roving Qix spike(s). It made the list because: The risks are clearer in Qix than in any other game. You can either play it safe and build lots of little boxes, thus earning squat for points, or draw enormous boxes, earn a better score and runa greater risk of getting zapped by the ever-unpre- dictable Qix. We prefer to combine both strategies and build narrow bridges across the entire field. Sure, Qix was never much to look at—sort of a cross between an Etch-a-Sketch and a screen saver—but its simple and PLAYER 4 addictive gameplay made са it endlessly playable. Coolest part: Earning bonus points for separat- ing multiple Qix spikes. Didn’t you hate it when: You'd cruise miles from the safety of the nearest wall, only to see the Qix dart suddenly in your direction. Samurai Shodown Мео•бео SNK, 1993 The game: A 2-D one-on-one sprite-based fighting game that is the first to use real weapons (quite a vari- ety, too) and companions. It made the list because: Among all of the Street Fighter Il wanna-bes, Samurai Shodown is one of the best. The fighting game engine is solid, the blood is used realistically and the moves are easy to pull off and fun to watch. Coolest part: Playing as Galford and sicking your trusty canine pal after the enemy. Hey, it’s the little things that make us happy. Didn't you hate it when: You're thinking, “1 hope the lit- tle bonus guy comes out soon and tosses me some health," and he throws you a bomb? 98 Virtua Cop 2 Saturn Sega, 1996 The game: A light-gun shooter featuring polygonal ene- mies, multiple branching paths, accurate injuries and clean graphics. It made the list because: The Virtua Cop series revolu- tionized the light-gun shooter genre by replacing life- less, cardboard-cutout 2-D sprite-based enemies with polygonal characters that run, duck and jump. More significantly, they react realistically to where you shoot them. VC2 improves on a great engine by adding branching levels and innovative stages. With the possi- ble exception of Namco's upcoming Point Blank, VC2 is the best light-gun game on the market. Coolest part: Shooting an enemy in the family jewels and watching him double over in pain. Also, watch- ing the first Boss toss a delivery truck at you. Impact on gaming: VC 1 and 2 show light-gun games don't have to have static levels and enemies. MLB 98 PlayStation Sony, 1997 The game: A 3-D baseball game with loads of features, options and fun gameplay. It made the list because: Not only does MLB 98 have all the features that die-hard baseball players crave, but it also has excellent gameplay. It has its minor flaws and bugs, but overall it's the best 32-Bit baseball game. Coolest part: MLB is a fast-paced game of baseball, sure, but is still a realistic one. Play of the day: Going to the warning track, and making a one-handed, leaping catch to steal a home run. You get really excited, until you realize it's a little too easy to do in this game. 96 WipeOut XL PlayStation Psygnosis, 1996 The game: Sure, you've heard it before, but this really is racing taken to the next level. WipeOut XL has awe- some 3-D graphics, brilliant lighting effects and a futur- istic setting—and it's a solid racer game to boot. It made the list because: Let's face it, something about WipeOut XL is undeniably cool. Maybe it's the fact that it's the first game of the cyberpunk-esque“electronic age," before the electronic age was just a hype-filled buzz word. The racing is fast and solid —much more so than in the first WipeOut—and leaves anybody who plays it with their jaw on the floor. Plus, the Two-player Linked Mode is more than worth the trouble of gather- ing two televisions, PlayStations and copies of the game. Besides all of this, it has some of the coolest graphics on the PlayStation and creates a universe that may just be what ours will become. Coolest part: Using the weapon that sends a ripple down the track, throwing your opponents helter skelter and putting you firmly in first place. Did you know: A sound- track is available for WipeOut XL that features many artists who are now all the rage with the kids (i.e., Prodigy, Orbital, etc.). pull di radical stunts gr eal asalt! це psycho cyclist. : 50 extreme errands, Catch hig Buy better yikes. EXCLUSIVELY FEATURING ® Bicycles “(АСЕ 6+ 1 м „| Playstation Courier Crisis 161997 New Level Software. The New Level logo i$ a trademark of New Level Software. Use BMG Music. All rights reserved. Distributed by GT Interactive Software Corp. GT is a trademark andithe:GT with repeated checks until it turns into an all-out team- versus-team brawl. What about Blades of Steel: We realize Blades of Steel was an excellent game for its time, with far better graphics than Ice Hockey. But the fact is, if you had to pick between these two games today, Ice Hockey is clearly more fun. For sheer realism we can turn to one of the newer NHL games on the 32-Bit systems. 93 Blast Corps Nintendo 64 Nintendo, 1997 The game: Use an assortment of whacked-out Tonka trucks and other vehicles to clear a path for a runaway nuke-hauling truck. It made the list because: Стоп, not only are you dri- ving all the vehicles you thought were mega cool as a kid—you’re using "ет to plow through buildings. How could Blast Corps not make the list?! Part puzzle game, part edge-of-your-seat twitch-fest, Blast Corps is just one of those titles that makes you scream and lean in your Seat. And it’s packed with so many secrets and so much challenge it'll keep you screaming for months. 95 DecAthlete Saturn Sega Sports, 1996 The game: The Olympic game sleeper hit that took gamers by storm. Choose between five players and compete in 10 events. It made the list because: This modern take on the Track & Field formula is the ultimate sports game for people who aren’t into sports games. DecAthlete has great graphics (which are similar to Virtua Fighter 2), awe- some control (as awesome as tap, tap, tap can be any- way) and cool camera angles. Plus, the characters are stereotypical, but very funny. Coolest part: When you get the highest score and climb to the first place pedestal to receive the gold medal. The whole ceremony brings tears to our eyes. Special guest star: In the Japanese version of DecAthlete, there’s a secret character who has a big afro and looks startlingly like Rudy Ray Moore (the rappin’ and tappin’ actor who played Dolemite). Unfortunately, he’s not in the U.S. version. Coolest part: Bounding in low gravity across Mars’ surface —and several other otherworldly bonus levels. Didn’t you hate it when: You'd clear a particularly tough level, only to smash into the bomb truck itself while pulling in to park near it. Ice Hockey NES Nintendo, 1988 The game: Fast-paced four-on-four hockey (not includ- ing goalies) with six international teams, adjustable speeds and three different types of hockey players to choose from. It made the list because: It’s fun! Ice Hockey has some of the most hilarious gameplay of any sports game ever, yet it still requires a lot of skill to play and accu- rately represents the excitement of real hockey. Fights turn into brawls, close games raise the crowd noise up when the game clock reaches two minutes, and the available team members vary in ability, making for (gasp!) strategic play. Coolest part: Egging on an opponent Flashback Genesis U.S. Gold, 1993 The game: The sequel to Out of This World, but better. Players explore an alien world trying to regain their memory and figure out why they lost it. It made the list because: Another great “son of Prince of Persia,” Flashback has all the qualities we were look- ing for: great gameplay, great graphics and lasting President, Shiny Entertainment An industry icon, Perry helped create Earthworm Jim. His latest projects include MDK and Messiah. What he had to say: 1997 has been a turnaround year for our business. The 32-/64-Bit hardware has settled in, and development teams have finally got a really strong grasp of 3-D technology and can now focus back on gameplay. Shiny has reflected the industry in its growth with two to now four games being developed internally at once. You can see them at www.shiny.com. 10) Donkey Kong Country—Super NES 9) Toshinden 3—PlayStation (“Thunder Ring!”) 8) Final Fantasy VII— PlayStation 7) Stunt Car Racer—Amiga 6) 3D Deathchase— Sinclair Spectrum 5) WaveRace 64 —N64 4) Populous — Amiga 3) Daytona USA—Arcade 2) Tekken 2—PlayStation 1) Command & Conquer—PC t title - now impossible he March of the Black Queen features р Шогы musical scores, and we have even "to look even better than the original version! amand your army through the Zenobian Empire and reclaim the ntinent! Along the way, recruit additional characters to join your quest. Once in control, will you hand over power to the rightful ruler ог keep the continent for yourself? Only you can decide! A proven hit! The name says it all! COMMAND 75 DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHARACTERS! 13 POSSIBLE ENDINGS ENHANCE REPLAY VALUE. NON-LINEAR GAMEPLAY. HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE EITHER GOOD, NEUTRAL OR EVIL! THIS LIMITED EDITION TAKES OGRE BATTLE TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL OF 32 BIT GAMEPLAY! at Stategy/RPG'S” e All-time ше (PSExtre гете) “One of th "...Ofre Battle has Solid Seller emblazoned on it.” (Video Game Advisor—April, 1 997) ИІС E = J = А - LUS pac Come visit us on the world wide web at www.atlus.com © Atlus Corp., LTD. Ogre BattleTM Episode 5 March of the Black Queen is a Trademark of Quest © 1993, Artdink © 1996, Published by Atlus Corp., LTD. 1997. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Call 1-800-771-3772 for Game Rating Information. power. In other words, it’s a strong package that is fun to play even today. Flashback makes us feel like мете in that alien world, and with its lifelike animation and excellent moves, we can’t help but love it. Coolest part: Being able to come out of a combat roll, pull out your gun and blast the enemy all within a couple of seconds. Classic gameplay never dies: A great modern incarna- tion of Flashback is Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee. It packs all the puzzle elements and great animation of Flashback (but we still prefer the older game). Axelay Super NES Konami, 1992 The game: A vibrant, intense shooter that mixes side- scrolling and forward-scrolling levels with lots (and we mean lots!) of Mode 7 effects. It made the list because: Simply put, Axelay is a beauti- ful game. The backgrounds come alive in Mode 7 splen- dor, while the screen-size Bosses are supremely well animated. The gameplay demands more strategy than most shooters, too, since you have to choose the weapons loadout for your ship before each level. Choose poorly and уоште in for a rough flight. Coolest part: Pick a Boss, any Boss. They were alla marvel to look at. Did you know: If you beat the game three times ina row on hard, you’d see “Axelay 2 Coming Soon” appear after the ending. All that hard work was for nothing, though, since the sequel never appeared. 90 Panzer Dragoon Zwei Saturn Sega, 1995 The game: This 3-D shooter perches you atop a dragon and lets you twist in the saddle to blast baddies in every direction. It made the list because: Like the first Panzer, this stel- lar sequel serves as further proof that shooters can evolve with 3-D technology. Not only do you have to fly your dragon, you also have to rotate your perspective and take out enemies who cruise in from the sides and behind. Aside from its innovations, the game is best known for its mondo Bosses and atmospheric levels, not to mention that your dragon evolves throughout the adventure. Coolest part: Beating the game and earning Pandora's Box, a collection of options that lets you customize your weapons, choose different dragons and just plain cheat like crazy. Keep an eye out for: Panzer Saga, an RPG-ish take on the Panzer Dragoon formula. BY Ms. Pac-Man Genesis/Super NES Tengen/Williams, 1991/1996 The game: If you don’t know what Ms. Pac-Man is, then you probably suck. The 16-Bit version improves on the arcade classic by adding new mazes and two-player simultaneous cooperative or competitive action. It made the list because: We don't need to tell you how cool Ms. Pac-Man is (unless, once again, you suck). The 16-Bit versions are even better. Two-player simultane- ous play and new mazes completely revive this classic. ` Coolest part: The sweet taste of a flashing 1,600-point ghost— just before it turns back to normal. Remember when: You first laid eyes on Ms. Pac-Man in the arcade and saw the fruits bouncing around the maze instead of sitting still. Talk about one of the biggest and best advances in video game history! 88 NinjaGaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos Tecmo, 1990 The game: Side-scrolling ninja action with cinematic cut scenes laid throughout the entire game. It made the list because: The original Ninja Gaiden was the first game to make use of cinematic cut scenes, and the sequel really takes it to the next level, with awe- some gameplay, a truly intense story line and some of the best music of any NES game ever. Of the three Ninja Gaiden games, II is easily the best. Coolest part: Being able to play with two shadows of yourself that help out when fighting enemies. Good News, Bad News: Tecmo released all three Ninja Gaiden games on a special Trilogy Pak for the Super NES. Cool, right? But then they messed with the game- play a bit, redid the music (the original's sounded bet- ter) and they didn't add anything to the graphics. What a waste of a compilation. 87 Baseball Stars NES SNK, 1989 The game: Just another baseball game, right? Try again. Baseball Stars stands up to some of today's best as far as gameplay is concerned, and is every bit as fun as it was eight years ago when it was the best baseball game the NES ever saw. m ; 4 ~ = s áli HOKUTO Hokuto left home at 17 to look for her brother, who disap- peared and is now feared to be lost in state of dark confusion. She grew up learning tradition- al martial arts from her father, and she has developed these teachings into her own distinct style. She is forced to fight an unknown enemy to find the true location of her brother. SPECIAL MOVES Deadly Elbow JN > + Any Punch Waving Air Kick уге + Any Kick Waving Air Attack 14/6- + Any Punch SUPER MOVE Phoenix Attack Jue due + Any Kick .capcom.com ARIKA CO., LTD, 199; CAPCOM СО. LTD. 1997 CAPCOM U.S.A., INC. 199: CAPCOM is a reg RIGHTS RESER) LTD, PULLUM PURNA | Pullum Purna was wandering through the halls of her million- aire father's mansion and noticed an odd silence from her grandfa- ther's room. Normally an active and verbal student of Hinduism, Pullum Purna's grandfather sat quietly and had a distant look in his eyes. He held a book in his hands that had one word printed on it: "Shadowloo." Pulium Purna vowed to seek out the leader of “Shadowloo” and make them pay for brainwashing her grandfather. SPECIAL MOVES Pullum Kick => уз + Any Kick Tunnel Kick 4 €- + Any Kick Drill Pull уље + Any Kick SUPER. MOVE Super Pullum Kick ум— w- + Any Kick ARIKA CO., LTD. 1997 BLAIR DAME After growing up ina somewhat sheltered ы European family, Blair $y У PN jumped at the chance to travel when her friend pre- sented the opportunity. Even though she had an education that included martial arts, Blair felt reassured of their safety with a bodyguard there to protect them. SPECIAL MOVES Lighting Knee — у + Any Kick Kick Shot j£ €- + Any Kick Sliding Arrow J+ Any Kick SUPER. MOVE Spin Slide Shot ы YN + Any Kick 25 ар АВКА CO., LTD. 1 'APCOM CO.. LTD. АРСОМ USA. I 7 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED mark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. ” \ Я | private wrestling organization sponsored by a group of influ- tunes changed. He is hired as CRACKER JACK This guard for Shadowloo prefers to work alone. And when the organization assigned / many young, inexperienced grunts to work for him and to learn how to intimidate, Crackerjack took offense. He proceeded to teach the grunts their first lesson — how to deal wi severe injuries. SPECIAL MOVES Straight Dash (Charge 2sec.) € then -> + Any Punch Upper Dash (Charge 2sec.) € then 4 + Any Kick Final Punch Press all punches at the same time then release SUPER MOVE Home Run Него фу + Any Punch ALL RIGHT E0. lemark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. lost in the first fight of a recent tournament. The chal- lenger was Ken. After the fight Ken assured him that he was still a big fish in a little pond - he must battle on. Allen now travels the world with Ken to become even stronger. SPECIAL MOVES Soul Force J w+ Any Punch Rising Dragon Э {У + Any Punch Justice Fist € + Any Punch SUPER MOVE Fire Force NJ + Any Punch capcom.com L RIGHTS RESERVED. trademark of CAPCOM CO.. LTD. CAPCOM is a DARUN MISTER Darun had no freedom to fight. As the champion of a ential millionaires, Darun lived a lucrative lifestyle yet could not choose his own opponents. Then Darun’s for- a bodyguard for one of the millionaire’s daughters during her travels and Darun is able to fight the best champions throughout the world. SPECIAL MOVES Riot > + Any Punch Ganges DDT 4 ум + Any Kick Lariat 360 degrees + Any Punch SUPER MOVE Super Demon Bomb 720 degrees + Any Punch ARIKA CC CAPCOM CO.. LTD. 199 CAPCOM U.S.A CAPCOM is RIGHTS RESERVED. CAPCOM CO., LTD. pain and recover from ALLEN SNIDER Long admired as the strongest karate fighter in America, Allen ү SKULL-O-MANIA W His superiors were not pleased with his results as a salesman. Down on his luck and constantly under pressure for results, he vol- unteered to dress up and perform like a superhero at a carnival thrown for a top customer in their department store. He had hoped it would be chance to prove his value as a salesman. When he grabbed the attention of all in attendance, something clicked in him. Skull-o-mania now realized his fate to be a superhero. SPECIAL MOVES Skull Head ıı + Any Punch Skull Crusher JW + Any Punch Skull Dive Cy + Any Kick SUPER. MOVE Super Skull Slider jw x + Any Kick wv apcom.com. ARIKA CO.. LTD. 1997 4 CAPCOM СО. LTD. 1997 CAPCOM U.S.A.. INC. 1997 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. istered trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. KAIRI know what started his Kairi lost his memory a few decades ago and does not quest to fight. All he recalls is this - you must challenge your limits. He is a lonely wolf in chaos . . .driven to the fight by amnesi SPECIAL MOVES God's Energy (УЭ + Any Punch Mysterious Dragon Light J + Any Punch Natures Spirit |, iz €+ Any Kick SUPER. MOVE Wicked Jackal Punch bw €- i£ € + Any Punch capcom.com ARIKA CO., LTD. 1997 CAPCOM СО. LTD. 1997 CAPCOM U.S.A., INC. 1997 А HTS RESERVED. CAPCOM is a registered trademark of CAPCOM CO, LTD. DOCTRINE DARK Once served Lt. Guile with his own special unit. During his duty the unit got into a scuffle with another unit led by Rolento. The scuffle escalated into a full-on battle and he was the only member of his unit to escape. The battle scarred him emotionally and physically. He escaped from the hospital and went into hiding, only to re- emerge as Doctrine Dark. SPECIAL MOVES Kill Blade J + Any Punch Dark Wire у + Any Punch Explosive |, €- + Any Kick SUPER. MOVE Killer Trump {м Э {мә + Any Punch www.cap от ARIKA CO., LTD. 1997 CAPCOM СО. LTD. 1997 CAPCOM U.S.A. INC. 1997 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CAPCOM is a registered trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. 10) Shaq Fu—Super NES/Genesis 9) Rap Jam—Super NES 8) Friday the 13th — NES 7) Bubsy 3D — PlayStation 6) Club Drive—Jaguar 5) Total Recall — NES 4) Plumbers Don't Wear Ties—3DO It made the list because: Back when baseball games — make that all sports games— were fairly simple, Baseball Stars took giant leaps in terms of overall playability and gameplay. You could create your own teams, customize your players' abilities, play a full sea- son and keep full stats of every player. And —best of all—it was still fun (usually all that good stuff was reserved for more sim-type games). Coolest part: Being able to climb the wall and rob your opponent of a home run. Did you know: Romstar released a sequel to Baseball Stars for the NES called Baseball Stars 2, but it didn't catch on quite like the first game. 86 Galactic Attack Saturn Acclaim, 1996 The game: Known as "Layer Section" in Japan, Galactic Attack is an intense, overhead 2-D shooter that has tar- gets attacking you from multiple playfields. It made the list because: This is a great 2-D shooter, and it adds some welcome twists to the genre such as the dual-layer playfield. This playfield allows you to use “descending” weapons to destroy targets below you in addition to those in front. This adds plenty of depth— lit- erally—to the gameplay. Coolest part: Shooting ships with your descending lasers before they have a fighting chance to kill you. Did you know: The PlayStation shooter RayStorm is the 3-D sequel to Galactic Attack. 85 Bonk'sAdventure TurboGrafx-16 HudsonSoft, 1990 The game: A side-scrolling platformer starring a feisty, huge-headed cave baby. It made the list because: The best game in the series, Bonk's Adventure's slightly Super Mario 2-ish levels are superb and more than enough to earn it a spot on our list (you even explore the innards of a dinosaur!). But The Top 10 Worst Games of all Time 3) Shadow War of Succession — 300 2) The “Make Your Own Video" series-Sega CD 1) 90 percent of the Atari 2600 games released in '83 , and 84 (So bad, they crashed the industry!) the real reason this game's so dear to us is its star. Bonk—who resembles a bald Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes—is the most hilarious mascot ever. We love the way he attacks enemies by leaping into the air, then butting them with his noggin. We love the way he scales walls by chomping them with his gappy teeth. Heck, we just plain ol’ love Bonk. Coolest part: No contest here: Watching Bonk blow his top—literally—whenever he gobbles a piece of meat. Did you know: Bonk’s blasted onto the 32-Bit systems. You can choose him—along with several other Hudson characters—as a combatant in Saturn Bomberman. BA у: Avalanche/ Mean Bean Machine Super NES/Genesis Nintendo/Sega, 1994/1993 The game: A one- or two-player puzzler where cascad- ing puzzle pieces (is there any other kind?) drop to form matches of four. Combos are created when disap- pearing blobs cause falling pieces to make new match- es. Big combos drop garbage blocks on your opponent. It made the list because: It is one of the simplest, most addicting puzzle games around. Anyone can play it, and anyone can set up combos. Beware: Beginner play- ers should not attempt to play against veterans! Coolest part: Watching a screenful of garbage blobs choke a helpless foe. Did you know: Kirby’s Avalanche and Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine were originally Puyo Puyo, a popular arcade game in Japan. Revenge of Shinobi Genesis Sega, 1989 The game: You control a vengeful ninja who wields a sword, throwing stars and magic attacks. It made the list because: Easily the best of the Shinobi series, Revenge of Shinobi packs fantastic level design and even better gameplay. You have to master the tim- ing of your ninja’s double leaps апа multiple-shuriken attacks if you’re going to get anywhere in the game. It’s definitely one of the most challenging of the genre. Coolest part: The novelty of battling Spider-Man, ` Batman, the Terminator and a scaled-down Godzilla (sans the spine spikes) in a game that has nothing to do with those characters. Sega apparently liked teasing copyright lawyers. Forgivable flaw: Let's face it—the ending— even the “good” one— really, really sucked. 82 Jumping Flash! 2 PlayStation SCEA, 1996 80 Legendary Axe TurboGrafx-16 NEC, 1989 The game: A side-scrolling hack-’n’-slash adventure. It made the list because: At a time when gamers demanded a decent console port of Rastan, they got Legendary Axe —which actually turned out to be far better than Rastan ever was. This game became a mega-hit on the turbo because of its huge levels and dead-on control. You could leap incredibly high to take out flying foes, and your ability to charge up your trusty ax by not using it for a while added an element of strategy. Plus, like in most other Turbo games, the enemy bitmaps were enormous. Coolest part: Your battle against Jagu, the final Boss, who's the largest end-of- game enemy since the finale of Ghouls & Ghosts. What's the deal with that: The sequel to Legendary Axe featured none of the characters, items or ene- mies of the first game. It had absolutely nothing to do with the original. The game: Control a mechanized bunny (called a Robbit) while you try to find all the muu muus and save the world. It made the list because: Although Jumping Flash! 2 is just as incredible as the first one, it's just a tad bit more fun. Sure, there are some problems in the length, but the overall package is awesome. It's 3-D, so it's kind of expected, but we still give Sony mad props for going out on a limb and bringing this innovative title out (since it's kind of a weird one). Coolest part: Jumping all over the place and then realizing just how high you actually are in relation to the "ground." Forgivable flaw: The game was just a little too easy. Still, it serves as another great example that 3-0 platformers can work. 79 Virtua Fighter 2 | Saturn Sega, 1995 The game: A 3-D fighter that demands more strategy, less button-slapping. It made the list because: In all its hi-res glory, VF2 is the other side of the fighting game coin when com- pared to Tekken 2 or a Toshinden title. It’s all about strategy, technique and timing. It’s a game you can play for years and never completely master, especially since no two combatants fight alike. Still—although we love and admire VF2’s thinking-man’s approach to fighters— we much prefer the frenetic pace and chain-combo craziness of Tekken 2. Coolest part: The game’s massive arsenal of attacks. VF2 has more moves than any other fighter ever. Played in Japan: Until VF3 came along, VF2 was as pop- ular in Japan as the Street Fighter series ever was in the States. In fact, Japan’s most popular gaming magazine, Famitsu, ran a regular column on VF2 strategies. Sega Rall батон Saturn Sega, 1995 The game: One- and two-player rally racing through four extremely varied courses. It made the list because: This is about as dead-on accurate as console racing gets. Everything from your car’s physics to its sense of speed to the sound of your tires as they skid across varied terrain seems incredibly real. Sure, it takes a while to master powerslides, but that’s what makes this game so darn challenging — despite it only having four tracks. Coolest part: Performing a perfect powerslide around any one of a dozen “long medium right, baby!” turns. It’s so realistic that: The ІІІ head instructor of the ие дд Russell Racing School at 0'153 : Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., was quoted as saying Sega Rally’s cars handle more accurately than those of any other rac- ing game. Hey, he would know, right? 78 Mega Man X4 Saturn, PlayStation Capcom, 1997 The game: The first true 32-Bit entry in the “darker” Mega Man X series, featuring, for the first time, the ability to play as X or Zero. Driver Wanted. теке ACTLABS: Hit the road like a ruthless speed demon in all your racing games. The ACT LABS RS breaks all the rules with multi-system ACTLAES compatibility on PlayStation" N64" PC and Sega Saturn? PlayStation ACTLABS Comes standard with no-slip pedals, a Formula-1 butterfly gear rocker and 12 HYPER Programmable buttons. ACT-LAB BS? | WO) are nae БАКА | http://www.actlab.com 1-800-980-9997 © 1997 ACT Laboratory Ltd. All rights reserved. ACT LABS RS and ACT LABS are trademarks of ACT ВЕ Огу Ltd. PlayStation is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. N64 is a trademark of Nintendo of America Inc. Sega Saturn is a trademark of Sega Enterprises, Ltd. With the most accurate gun available for the PlayStation” console, Time Crisis is a can't-miss proposition. Hey kids. Get one free in specially marked boxes of Time Crisis. THE MOST i ACCURATE GUN ON THE PLAYSTATION CONSOLEHII! |. Presenting a shooting game | co intense it comes with it's | own weapon. Time Crisis includes the formidable firearm pictured here, the original award-winning arcade shooting game, plus a whole new shoot- fest specifically created for the PlayStation” console. Full 3D polygon environments surround you with full 3D polygon enemies. Multiple modes include Story, Arcade and Time Attack, plus multiple endings. Blast away and duck for cover as you exterminate the criminal element in a variety of hidden zones. It's fast. It's frenzied. It's shoot first and do the chalk outline later. TIME CRISIS" & © 1995 1996 Namco Lid АЛ Rights Reserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Photo of Time Crisis gun enhances to look more scary. Ho collagen or saline implants were use. www.namco.com It made the list because: It’s the best game in the X series and a significant improvement over X3, with amazingly detailed 2-D graphics, well-balanced (although slightly easy) gameplay and an awesome story with very well-acted animated cut scenes. The story is what pushes X4 over the edge; the voice acting is well done, and the mood isn't overly kiddy (as is the case with Mega Man 8 and its squeaky voice acting and incredibly childish feel). Such touches add a lot to an already well-done game, and makes it stand out from prior X games. 76 Life Force NES Konami, 1988 The game: The home version of the arcade pseudo- sequel to Gradius, which includes both horizontal AND vertical-scrolling stages. It made the list because: Life Force is one of the coolest Shooters ever, and it is one of the first big two-player simultaneous shooters on the NES. The game has an uncannily organic atmosphere that creates a unique mood during play, and it had some of the flashiest graphics of its time (the fire stage was mind-blowing back in the day). The music is quite memorable too. It's pretty safe to say that Life Force is a must-own for any serious shooter fan. Coolest part: Definitely the fire stage, with its huge bursts of flames and monstrous fiery Phoenix Boss. Played in Japan: In Japan, a slightly modified version of Life Force exists called Salamander. Besides the NES port, there were ver- sions for the PC Engine, as well as for the Saturn and PlayStation (on the recently released Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus compila- tion disc). Coolest part: Turning on the game to find out that the voices aren’t horrendously lame like the ones in Mega Man 8. What a relief! Did you know: Mega Man X3 was rereleased in Japan for the Saturn and PlayStation with anime cut scenes added in throughout the game. TI Blazing Lazers TurboGrafx-16 NEC, 1989 The game: An ultra-intense vertical-scrolling shooter. It made the list because: Few shooters throw more enemy ships and blaster fire at players than Blazing Lazers, one of the most intense games of all time—at least in the later levels. Much of the backgrounds are actually huge sprites that extend off the screen, and players can swoop left and right to reveal a little bit more of the scenery. Add in the incredible and highly varied power-ups, and this game has all the ingredients of a timeless shooter. Coolest part: Unlike in other shooters, your ship is never without a charged-up blaster for long; new power-ups zoom onto the screen at least once every 10 seconds. How'd they do that: The Turbo has the same 8-Bit CPU that powers the NES, so how can it pump out the number of sprites seen in Blazing Lazers? The answer lies in the system's special 16-Bit graphics chip (hence the name TurboGrafx-16), which gave the Turbo extra muscle for manipulating sprites and backgrounds. ActRaiser Super NES Enix, 1991 The game: Part god-sim, part hack-’n’-slash side- scroller, ActRaiser is one of the most unique games in the history of, well, video games. It made the list because: ActRaiser has an almost hyp- notic atmosphere to it that makes playing the game seem more like a religious experience than a regular day with the Super NES. The graphics are beautiful, Yuzo Koshiro's music is simply enchanting and the gameplay is just amazing. From the arcade-style action scenes to the totally innovative simulation sequences, everything is just a blast to play. Coolest part: The switch from overhead map to battle sequence. When the map zoomed in and rotated The 10 Titles That Revolutionized Console Gaming These are the games that, regardless of their platform, shaped what we play on our home systems today— as well as what we'll be booting up tomorrow. For the record, ’80s arcade superstar Pac-Man came іп at 11. 10) Super Mario 64—N64 4) Space Invaders—Arcade 9) John Madden Football — Genesis 3) Street Fighter II —Arcade 8) Dragon Quest—Famicom 2) Super Mario Bros.—NES 7) Tetris — Multiplatform ee 1 D 1) Pong—Multiplatform 5) Mortal Kombat— Arcade (heavy Mode 7 effects here, kids) it was pretty damn cool back in the days when scaling and rotation were considered wow-worthy effects. It’s too bad: That Quintet scrapped plans to create a remixed version of ActRaiser for the Saturn earlier this year in favor of an all-new title that has nothing to do with the game. Oh well... 14 Worldwide Soccer ‘97 Saturn Sega, 1997 The game: Well, it’s a soccer game, simple as that. WWS '97 has several international teams, a Penalty Shoot Out Mode and plenty of options, like night games and weather conditions. It made the list because: Worldwide Soccer '97 is con- sidered one of the best soccer sims around. The play- ers’ movements are lifelike. The Al is smart. The ball passing is (for once) done just as it would be in real life. The graphics are top-notch, etc. You can't go wrong with this soccer game. Coolest part: Seeing the multiple shadows of all the players during night games. Impact on gaming: Worldwide Soccer '97 set the standard for all other soccer games to follow. As such, it is considered to be the "Madden" or "NHL" of Soccer. It's the one to beat. Mega Man 2 NES Capcom, 1989 The game: The first of many, many, MANY sequels to Capcom's first-generation NES platform/shooter, Mega Man. Also the best one. It made the list because: Right about now you're proba- bly saying, “Why didn't Mega Man 8 make the list? Mega Man || is so old!" Well, for one, Mega Man |! has the most appeal. The characters are fresh, the story is just beginning to get good and the game is actually a bit difficult —something unheard of іп the regular Mega Man series. It may not have the graphical flair of Mega Man 8, but it certainly has gameplay that can stand the test of time. And that's what's most important. Coolest part: When you first arrive at the HUGE dragon Boss in Dr. Wily's stage. Talk about awesome! Those graphics were unheard of for that time. Our only regret: It's too bad that as the series pro- gressed, each new Mega Man game didn't provide as much a leap above the last one as Mega Man II did over Mega Man |. Zelda ||: The Adventures of Link NES Nintendo, 1989 The game: The sequel to the most popular action-RPG of all time, Zelda II brings side-scrolling gameplay and some traditional RPG elements (experience building and magic spells) into the fray. It made the list because: It continues the story from the original Zelda brilliantly, with a much larger quest and world and a different style of play that is still a joy to experience. One thing we've learned about Zelda II is that most people either love it or hate it. As you may guess, we hold it in high regard but still feel that the other games in the series are better on the whole. Still an all-time great though. Coolest part: Finding Bagu's hidden cabin in the forest. Did you know: Some gamers who couldn't wait for Zelda || because of Nintendo's alleged "chip shortages" imported their copies from Canada. That's dedication! Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Genesis Sega, 1992 The game: Sonic the Hedgehog returns, but this time with a Spin Dash charge and a slightly mutated buddy named Tails with him. It made the list because: It's arguably the best Sonic of the bunch (excluding Sonic CD, of course). This one has even cooler levels than the first. And what's this—a Two-player Mode?! Although it looks a little squashed, the vs. races are a lot to fun. And remember how much this one was anticipated before its release? Coolest part: Speeding along corkscrews and loops and breezing through an entire level. Sure, you don't find many secrets, but it sure looks good. Don't you hate it when: You rack up dozens and dozens of rings, only to accidentally hit a spike sticking out of the wall and lose them all. On top of that, you can usu- ally only recover a few after they scatter. NiGHTS Saturn Sega, 1996 The game: Unlike anything you've seen before, NiGHTS is a 2.5-D platform game without the platforms. You fly at high speeds through large 3-D worlds. Think of it as a Sonic game sans terra firma. MONSTER RANCHER™ Remember when you were just а little guy and you thought there were monsters lurking in every dark comer of the house? You were right. They were stuck inside every CD in the place! Luckily it's 1997, and we now have the technology à to yank them beasties right off а CD and onto a memory card using the Monster Rancher™ game disc! Now you're in control! miss this for nuthin’! THE 2 c FUN nee Di FAMILY! ADDICTIVE HEAO-To-HEAD CAMINE © Tecmo, Ltd. 1996 ТЕСМОФ is а registered trademark of Tecmo, Inc. Stackers™ 1997 Tecmo, Ltd. Monster Rancher ©1997 Tecmo, Ltd. PlayStation™ and the PlayStation™ logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. For more information on game ratings contact the ESRB at 1-800-771-3772 NILUM ANY CD Hot diggity dog! You don't wanna MONSTER MAYHEM! Yesl Picture this... pop in your mom's old disco inferno compilation, your litte sister's fuzzybear alphabet CD-ROM or even your dad's spreadsheet data disc, and you'll be up to your ears in monster таућет! Next thing you know, you're going around to all your friends’ houses pitting your monsters against theirs, making them better, and stronger, and smarter, and soon... well, you get it, right? PlayStation has been bribed!) • bi Dienst ler 7) Super Metroid — Super NES It made the list because: You'll love it, or you'll hate it. It’s that different of a game. But most of us love it. It’s fast, it’s smooth and it’s beautiful. The huge Bosses, innovative levels and dreamy atmosphere reel you in. Coolest part: Dogfighting with the evil Reala. Did you know: Sonic Team originally considered making the flying portion of NIGHTS with full freedom of move- ment. They decided the 2.5-D (2-D play in 3-D worlds) approach would be better suited for such a high-speed game. This way, the 2-D planar tracks would guide players smoothly through the large stages. Snatcher Sega CD Konami, 1994 The game: You're a futuristic cop (part of an elite police division known as J.U.N.K.E.R.S.) and try to find the "Bio-roid" that keeps slaughtering everybody. It made the list because: It's a definite cult hit. Chances are not many people have played it, but almost every- one knows of its grisly story line. Besides all of the gore, the game has an intriguing story, lots of cool plot twists and plenty of R-rated appeal. Coolest part: Seeing the shoulder of someone lean- ing against a pillar, then going closer and realizing the person's head has been ripped off. Nice. Insert shameless plug here: Your little sidekick robot in Snatcher is called "Metal Gear." 68 WaveRace 64 Nintendo 64 Nintendo, 1996 The game: Race fancy Kawasaki Jet-Skis in diverse and obstacle-laden water courses. Or wreck them in just as many stunt courses. Project Manager/Lead Designer for Iguana’s Turok: Dinosaur Hunter Dienstbier's current project is Turok 2. What he had to say: | hate trying to narrow this down to 10 games. I’ve been playing video games since the Pong days, so this is truly difficult. Some of the games I’ve chosen are “no-brainers” — recognized by nearly every game-playing human being the world over as landmark games. Others are personal favorites that for one reason or another just threw the right switches for me personally. 10) Bomberman —Any System 9) Tempest 2000— Jaguar % 8) Turok: Dinosaur Hunter—N64 А (Yeah, like it WASN’T going to make my list! David Shameless plug! Shameless plug! The judge 6) Foresaken—PlayStation 5) WipeOut XL—PlayStation 4) WaveRace 64—N64 3) Zelda—Super NES 2) Super Mario Kart—Super NES 1) Super Mario 64—N64 It made the list because: It’s a great racing game with very few flaws (aside from some cheesy music). There are so many skills to master that will improve your time—like buffeting waves to retain speed or sliding around corners—that WaveRace is a title that always beckons you to play more. Coolest part: Without a doubt, the ultra-realistic, wavy water. Playing this game made us thirsty from just staring at the stuff. The EGM water bill skyrocketed when WaveRace arrived in the office. Not coincidentally, so did bedwetting. Did you know: The original WaveRace came out on the Game Boy. It looks almost as good as the N64, but not quite. 67 Game Boy Donkey Kong Game Boy Nintendo, 1994 mm y The game: It starts out predictably enough: Guide Mario up ladders and over barrels to rescue his girl- friend. But as soon as you clear the third stage, Game Boy Donkey Kong suddenly shifts gears and becomes a super-addicting puzzle game. It made the list because: It's strange but true, but the best version of Donkey Kong is on the Game Boy— mainly because this incarnation offers all the gameplay of the original and so much more. Rather than just a few action-packed levels, you get hundreds of puzzles, and the difficulty curve is perfect; each world packs new puzzling gizmos. Plus, Mario can pull off moves he can't even do in his Super NES and N64 exploits. Coolest part: Never running out of lives because it's so easy to win them in the between-stage minigames. Caught misbehavin': Hey...that chick Mario's saving doesn't look anything like Princess Toadstool! Name: Mia Age: 19 Height: Те N Measurements: 36-24-36 Occupation: Rave 0] Fighting Technique: Pj-Kua Kung Fu Home Turf: The Streets A Loads of cool characters and environments Endless ho, unbelievably fast gameplay \ Tons of kickin’ \ alternative rock tunes Join the Brawl in November ДИ www.thq.com е = Visit your local retailer or call THQ à 1-818-591-1310 f | PlayStation ыш Versus © and ™ 1997 THO Ine: PlayStation and PlayStation logos are а па с. ТМ. trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. A rights reserved. ит PlayStation КЕ © 1997 YANOMAN GAMES © 1997 CLIMAX. АП rights reserved. ASCII Entertainment, Felony 11-79, and the Felony 11-79 logo are trademarks of ASCII Entertainment Software, Inc. PlayStation and the PlayStation logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other ENTERTAINMENT brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Guardian Heroes Saturn Sega, 1996 The game: Final Fight on steroids, Guardian Heroes is a side-scrolling fighter with a few RPG elements sprin- kled in. You сап pick your character and choose differ- ent paths to take in the game. As you progress, you earn experience points that'll beef up your combatant. After defeating the enemies, you can play as them ina two- to six-player Battle Royale Mode. It made the list because: It’s the best side-scrolling fighting game on a next-generation system. Guardian Heroes has special moves, magical attacks, combos, juggles...it has it all. Coolest part: Watching your combos rack up hits in the triple digits. Don’t you hate it when: Old-school gamers insist that Double Dragon is a better side-scrolling fight- ing game. Tecmo Super Bowl NES Tecmo, 1991 The game: The most realistic football game of its day, with arcade-style play, full-size teams and all of the NFL teams and player licenses. It made the list because: While everyone knows the Madden and GameDay games are top-notch for real- ism, there’s still something to be said about a game that has a small amount of plays, is easy to master and yet still draws gamers of all kinds— even ones that aren't into sports games. Tecmo Bowl was first to incor- porate all of the real players from the NFL, which was its main draw (along with addicting play), and Tecmo Super Bowl expanded upon it by making the game even more realistic without sacrificing gameplay. Coolest part: Dropping back 40-50 yards to let loose an incredibly long Hail Mary whenever the chance arose. It's a shame: That 16- and 32-Bit versions of Tecmo Bowl failed to improve upon the awesome gameplay of the original 8-Bit versions. 64 Twisted Metal 2: World Tour PlayStation Sony, 1996 The game: The sequel to the wicked 3-D action game that pits weapon-wielding maniacal vehicles against one another in various locations across the globe. It made the list because: It's a blast (literally), especial- ly in its Multiplayer Mode. And hey—taking cool cars and crushing national landmarks is a favorite childhood fantasy, right? Ahhh, Paris. Coolest part: The sheer amount of different vehicles, levels and weapons available at your disposal makes for awesome multiplayer matches. Twisted Fun: Going to Paris and destroying the Eiffel Tower with a spiffy ice cream truck. There's something very cool—and very wrong —about that. Return Fire 3DO Prolific Publishing, 1995 The game: Be all that you can be...on the 3DO. Control one of four army vehicles, blow up the enemy and cap- ture the flag. Then kill your friend in Two-player Mode. It made the list because: There have been few games like Return Fire— ones that really capture the frenetic feeling of combat. Besides, it's a fun game that can be played time and time again, one-player or two. The 3DO version was chosen over the PlayStation and Saturn ones because its gameplay was tighter. Coolest part: Choosing the helicopter and hearing Ride of the Valkyries boom from your speakers...or any of the game's other hard-hitting classical tunes. Baron Von who: A guy by the name of Baron Reichart Von Wolfsheild—an actual baron—created Return Fire. He was the president of Silent Software, the devel- oper of the game, at the time of Return Fire’s origi- nal release on the 300. 62 Phantasy Star Sega Master System Sega, 1988 The game: An epic, traditional RPG that mixes medieval and sci-fi themes. It made the list because: Phantasy Star was the largest, most involving RPG of its day. The game’s nearly 50- hour adventure spans three planets and is loaded with miniquests (plus, you gotta love a game that combines swords, sorcery and interstellar travel). Oh, and let’s not forget the 3-D scrolling dungeons, easily the most impressive graphical effect of the 8-Bit era. Coolest part: There are at least three points in the game when you're sure you've arrived at the end, only to discover another quest awaits. Yet despite its length, the game never seems to drag. Did you know: At $70, this 4-Megabit cart was the most expensive game of its time. But it was worth it. e aming’s greatest © hero unleashes his _ X-traordinary new powers on 32-bit systems! Mega Man X4" blasts light-ye ahead of its predecessors | with unrivaled graphics, vibrant animation and . a barrage of cool new features. For the first ti you can play either a Man X or his mighty Zero in two separate tures. X-plore all-new levels, where perplexing passages, power-ups, concealed rooms and _ hidden weapons abound. while mastering and Zero's Z-Saber С. All told, it's the Ка по X-ploit in Bomber's history. uly, а 32-bit blast! Жар PlayStation CAPCOM scenes, which were a first for the sim-RPG genre. Save your pennies: Sega recently announced Shining Force III for the Saturn, and rumor has it the game will be released separately on three CDs. 59 Thunder Force Ill Genesis TechnoSoft, 1991 61 NHL Hockey '94 Genesis EA Sports, 1993 The game: Before hockey games went 3-D and polygo- nal, there was the NHL series. This overhead perspec- tive game had the vital NHL and NHLPA licenses, fight- ing and every major statistic that you'll ever need (for the 1994 season anyway). It made the list because: The NHL games are amongst the best sports games around. The action is fast and smooth. And as realistic as NHL '94 is, it never loses its video game appeal. It’s a perfect balance between an arcade action game and a hockey sim. But why '94 and not any of the more updated versions? Because NHL '94 is the last of the series where fighting was so prevalent. EA put a halt to hockey fisticuffs for a while, and ‘94 was the last time you could start a full- fledged in-ring brawl. Coolest part: Getting a dozen friends or so and playing an NHL season. Did you know: NHL Hockey is a movie star. Ever see Swingers? You can make Gretzky’s head bleed! 60 Shining Force Il Genesis Sega, 1994 The game: An intense shooter with a huge arsenal of cool weapons, big enemies and awesome levels, yet it still packs originality. It made the list because: It's one of the greatest shoot- ers of all time, and the best one on the Genesis. Although it doesn't have all the fancy effects that some newer shooters have, this one still has good graphics and, even more important, solid playability. Coolest part: The Bosses and how huge, detailed and deadly they are. Wasn't it funny how: In the beginning of each level, some omnipresent comput- er was nice enough to tell you what that level Boss' weakness was, thus making the big baddie easier to destroy. Is that you, KITT? Dragon Warrior IV NES The game: The sequel to Shining Force, a simulation- Enix, 1992 RPG where you gather party members and take part in turn-based strategic battles on grid-based playfields. It made the list because: It's one of the more unique games to appear on the Genesis (along with its prede- cessor), and one worthy of any RPG or strategy fan's playing time. Battles require you to think, yet they never become so overbearing that you don't want to play anymore, and the story that goes along with it is very compelling. The Sega CD version deserves mention as well, but since it's strictly bat- tling (no town visits at all), we feel Genesis Shining Force || is the better pick. Coolest part: The full-screen fully animated battle The game: An epic RPG, Dragon Warrior IV was the final NES episode of the series that takes Japan by storm with each release. It made the list because: Dragon Warrior IV (known as Dragon Quest IV overseas) is easily the best RPG ever released for the NES—in the U.S. or Japan. The story is awesome, the quest is huge and there's just so much to do it's amazing they fit it all into a tiny 4-Meg cart (who needs CDs?). It's too bad we never got to see the Super NES sequels (5 and 6), because they were absolutely brilliant and completely worthy of a U.S. translation (do | hear PlayStation or Saturn compilation pack, anyone?). Coolest part: Being able to play as each supporting Vice President of SingleTrac SingleTrac is the developer of Warhawk, the Twisted Metal games and Critical Depth 10) Tecmo Bowl — NES 5) Doom— Multiplatform 9) Space Invaders—Arcade 4) Super Mario 64—N64 8) Samurai Shodown ІІ-Меоебео 3) Tekken 2—PlayStation 7) Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee — PlayStation 2) Warhawk—PlayStation 6) Twisted Metal—PlayStation 1) Galaga—Arcade PO W ER and P EN da odit ЈА f ELE Ever feel like driving а Porsche®? Want to? The Alps Gamepad for те ПУШО опите consoles offers you the power, performance, and handling you've been waiting morania ЕРК ИД ТЕШ finely-tuned and tested controller designed by professional game players УЕР НЕ demanding needs of today's gamers. cj PlayStation ili: ЕСЕ Е FROM BADROCK ТО RIPTIDE — HARNESS 11 DENSE JUNGLES, ARID DESERTS. | WEAVE A TANGLED WEB OF A FIERY COCKTAIL OF FURIOUS 3 ACTION UNIQUE AND DEFIANT CHARACTERS. AND THE DEPTHS OF HELL ITSELF! PLAYER-CREATED STORYLINES. AND STRATEGIC RPG. ‘CONTENT RATED av | ESRB) YOUNGBLOODO and all related characters are TM and © 1996 Rob Liefeld, Inc. from Extreme Studios?" and Awesome Entertainment?" All Rights Reserved. Developed by Realtime Associates, Published and distributed by GT Interactive Software PlayStation SEVEN SUPER-SOLDIERS ELEVEN REAL-TIME COMBAT MISSIONS A THOUSAND GENETIC MUTATIONS A MILLION WAYS TO DIE You’re commanding a team of heavily-armed warriors into unholy war. And in the heat of battle each of them will be changed. They'll learn new strategies. Gain new powers. Handle bigger weapons. Form new relationships. Hell, some of them might even live. ROB LUEFEL DS ATE SEARCH & DESTROY P7 TREE STUDIOS IESE 6) GT Interactive x Software www.gtinteractive.com ‘Corp. PlayStation and the PlayStation Logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. character in Chapters 1 through 4 before taking up the main quest in Chapter 5. Let’s all pray: That Sony (or somebody) has the sense to bring over the upcoming PlayStation version of Dragon Quest VII to the U.S. It’s a guaranteed best sell- er, and is sure to outsell FFVII in Japan. 57 Castlevania Ill: Dracula's Curse NES Konami, 1990 The game: The final NES installment of the Castlevania series, and easily the best of the 8-Bit trilogy. It made the list because: While Castlevania ІІ took on a much more adventurous, almost RPG-ish feel, Castlevania III returned the series to its roots with more platform-oriented play. There are three playable charac- ters (including Alucard, the star of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the PlayStation), and multi- ple paths to choose from en route to Drac's castle. The graphics were top-notch for its time, and the music stands up to some of the best soundtracks of today. Coolest part: Finding out that Alucard, the son of Dracula, was actually a friend and not a foe. He turned out to be quite a useful character. Played in Japan: The Japanese version of Castlevania IIl has enhanced graphics over the U.S. version (despite being released earlier) and differ- ent music in certain areas. Super Punch-Out!! Super NES Nintendo, 1994 The game: First-person boxing based on the popular arcade and NES games (the latter of which starred the ear-munching Mike Tyson before he lost his title). It made the list because: It's one of the most entertain- ing boxing games ever created, even if it's more goofy than realistic. The NES version is great, but the Super NES one is even better, with large, well-animated char- acters, great control and a near-perfect learning curve. Coolest part: The feeling of accomplishment you get when you stop an opponent dead in his tracks by find- ing his weak spot (like nailing Bald Bull in the gut dur- ing his infamous Bull Charge). Not played in Japan: Super cd 37 | Punch-Out!!, despite its wide range of appeal, was never released in Japan. Yet strangely, there was a code in the U.S. version that gave you access to Japanese text instead of English. Weird, don’t you think? 19050 ORE Dragon Force Saturn Working Designs, 1996 The game: A simple strategy game of epic proportions. You must lead adventurers across the countryside, either killing or recruiting all who get in the way. Your job is to decide who is sent into battle, and what armies are most effective against the enemy's. It made the list because: The massive battles are utter- ly awesome! Although repetitive (some Sega news- group denizens even dubbed the game “Drag-On Force"), sending in army after army into huge melees never seems to get old. So addictive and impressive is Dragon Force that in our most recent EGM Buyer's Guide it won 1996's Saturn Game of the Year, Strategy Game of the Year and was runner-up for 1996's Overall Game of the Year. Coolest part: Watching a five-wave Sonic Blast rip through your enemy's troops. Don't you just hate: Looking for hidden items? It's optional (and a pain in the ass), but for some reason, you still felt compelled to do it... Tomb Raider PlayStation Eidos Interactive, 1996 The game: A 3-D exploration game starring the most lethal heroine this side of Metroid's Samus. It made the list because: With its miles of subterranean tunnels, expansive ruins and scalable ledges and rock walls, Tomb Raider keeps you exploring — and lost—for weeks. It's also the perfect 3-D incarnation of the PC classic Prince of Persia. And although her gender adds little to the gameplay, there's just something insanely exciting about controlling Lara Croft, Tomb Raider's pointy, two-fisted star. Coolest part: Rounding the bend in the Lost World level and coming face to face with a Buick-size T-Rex. Did you know: Eidos has registered Lara Croft with a modeling agency, and fash- ion designers can pay to have her rendered wearing their designs. 53 Gate of Thunder TurboGrafx-CD NEC, 1992 The game: A side-scrollirrg, Thunder Force-style shoot- er, with a phenomenal redbook soundtrack and decid- edly Gradius-like Bosses. Everything Vegas. In a box. [T P шїї "и z = coms rano All the grandeur of the Golden Nugget casino. Try your luck at Double Diamond slots. Experience the thrill of Baccarat. Solve a mystery starring Adam West. It seems elegance, excitement, and 16 games of chance can actually fit inside one video game. That’s right, finally a casino game has been created for the Sony PlayStation game console. Luckily that game is the Golden Nugget, featured in its opulent brass and marble environment. Saunter into this virtual Las Vegas casino, and play BlackJack, Craps, 7 Card Stud and more. And play them all with the odds and payoffs you'd really have in Vegas. You'll also get to solve a mystery with Adam West. From your living room, no less. It's just part of the privilege of owning Vegas, the one in the convenient take-home size. V 1996 VIRGIN INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT, INC. Al igh reserved. Goiden Nugget is a registred Hotel and Casino. Vigna registered vademark of Vegin Уі Your Local Retailer or Call: authorization of IGT-Norh America: ‘Royal Fush” and di LOOK FOR SPECIALLY d Sony Compute Е tetainment America for use with the PlayStation game a MARKED VIRGIN GAME 1 PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ark of he interactive Оо, Associaton, Manufactured and páted USA. mei S THIS SOFTWARE IS COMPATIBLE WITH PLAYSTATION GAME CONSOLES WITH THE NTSC ШС. www.vie.com ee ™ DESIGNATION. U.S. AND FOREIGN PATENTS PENDING. py Producer, Namco’s Tekken series Nakatani was also the product leader on Rolling Thunder, Metal Hawk and other Namco classics. What he had to say: The moment that the Tekken 3 team finished the arcade game, we immediately began work on the PlayStation version. It’s a challenging project, but we’ve got some great ideas for this consumer version, and you can expect it’s going to be an incredible game. His top picks: (Note, Mr. Nakatani said there are U.S.)—Famicom/NES only five games he considers worthy of being on 3) Family Tennis— Famicom/NES any best-of list that he puts together). 2) Galaxian—Arcade шеа 1) Space Invaders—Arcade 4) Family Stadium (released as Batter Up in the Hajime . Nakatani It made the list because: What sets Gate of Thunder apart from other “me too” shooters is its phenomenal envi- ronments and heavy-metal CD soundtrack (nothing gets you in the shooter mindset faster than mosh-wor- thy music). The animated backgrounds are as much an enemy in this game as the swarms of enemy bogies or the dozens of Bosses and miniBosses. Note: Although we love the sequel, Lords of Thunder, it wasn’t as lengthy as the first game and didn’t quite make it in our top 100. Coolest part: Finding out that the human brain can indeed cope with simultaneous attacks from the front, behind and the background. What a deal: Gate of Thunder was included ona CD along with Bonk's Adventure and Bonk's Revenge. Plus you could enter a code at the Title Screen (Up, Right, Down, Left, Button 11) to access the original five-player Tekken 2 PlayStation Namco, 1996 The game: A better-than-arcade-perfect 3-D fighter that requires lots of button slapping and is crammed with fighters —both regular and hidden. It made the list because: No other 3-D fighting game is more fun than this, the second installment of the “Iron Fist" tournament. Its one-button-per-limb control scheme makes perfect sense, and most short combos are only a few button taps away. But just because the game's easy to get into doesn't mean you can master it instantly. There are hundreds of 10-hit combos, throws and reversals to perfect for the 25 beautifully rendered and animated fighters. Secret characters abound, including a boxing kangaroo and a velociraptor. Coolest part: Watching a fresh fighter's health bar zc, Bomberman. become completely decimated by King's seemingly ل‎ never-ending Octopus Combo. Forgivable flaw: Very few characters can perform rever- sals, which are actually the coolest moves in the game. R.C. Pro Am Devil’s Crush NES Nintendo, 1987 The game: An isometric racing game that has you rac- ing remote-control cars around tracks. Beefing up your car's abilities (tires, speed) is essential, as is using the variety of weapons available. It made the list because: It’s a really fun racing game that embraces the fundamentals of great gameplay— especially the art of the powerslide. Similar titles fol- lowed, including a NES sequel and Rock ‘N Roll Racing for the Super NES, but despite their multiplayer options neither delivered the raw fun of the original. Even now, R.C. Pro Am is a blast to play. Coolest part: That you could come in second or third place without even cross- ing the finish line. Did you know: RC Pro Am was one of the first games developed by Rare, who went on to create the Donkey Kong Country games, Blast Corps and GoldenEye. TurboGrafx-16 NEC, 1990 The game: Pinball with a satanic twist, Devil’s Crush 15 set on a huge, scrolling table populated by dragons, druids, skeletons and other hellspawn. It made the list because: Put simply, Devil’s Crush is the best video pinball game of all time — mainly because it didn’t try to be anything like real pinball. Instead of aiming for bumpers or ramps, your goal is to knock out the demonic baddies who roam the table, as well as complete sev- eral minigames (which play more like shoot- ers than pinball). And the music—a gothic, heavy-metal jam—is mighty kick ass, too. Coolest Part: Watching the bumper in the middle of the table transform from а hot babe into a hideous snake. Did you know that: You could enter “DAVIDWHITE” into the Password Screen to see something unique to pin- ball—an actual ending to the game. 49 Мапо Каг 64 Nintendo 64 Nintendo, 1997 The game: A 64-Bit update of the Super NES classic go-kart racing game starring the cast of most Mario games. Power-ups and weapons make this more than just a racing game. It made the list because: Forget flat Mode 7—Mario Kart 64 has walls! This game improves on a winner in the graphics department, and Four-player Mode kicks butt. Mario Kart 64 doesn’t take itself too seriously; therefore it’s one of the most entertaining and fun party racing games around. Coolest part: Activating the Lightning Bolt power-up on the dirt track map at just the right time and watching your shrunken opponents fail to make the big jump in the end. Don’t you just hate it when: You kick butt in Four-player Battle Mode, then everyone decides from that point on that you should be the tar- get of their one-shot revenge attacks? ae Military Madness TurboGrafx-16 NEC, 1989 The game: Using a variety of troops and vehicles, you battle through enemy lines and war-ravaged terrain to conquer the enemy’s prison camp and factories. This is the ultimate hex-based strategy experience. It’s like chess with war machines. It made the list because: The most addicting strategy game ever, Military Madness is both easy to learn and incredibly rich in gameplay complexity (the handy little tutorial at the game's outset is all you need to jump right into battle). Its difficulty curve is perfect, with later levels introducing new vehicles, larger maps and much more cunning enemies. Each stage teaches you tactics you'll undoubtedly use in the next. And although the game can get pretty darn difficult, you always come back for more. Coolest part: The feeling you get when—outnumbered and with nowhere to run— you use the terrain to your advantage to make a big comeback and win. Didn't you hate it when: You'd get wiped out in later levels before you could even throw together a basic strategy. АТ сһоч: ‘n Ghosts Genesis Sega, 1989 The game: One of the first games to come out for the Genesis, Ghouls & Ghosts sends a knight in shining armor (and sometimes, if you’re not careful, not-so- shiny boxer shorts) through levels full of demons, monsters and giant hornets. It made the list because: In its day, it’s the version of Ghouls ‘n Ghosts that came closest to the arcade real deal. It was like having the coin-op right in the middle of your bedroom. The graphics and music rock, and the enemies are awesome. Coolest part: Jumping on the final Boss’ knee and shooting spears at its head. What’s weird is that he doesn’t seem to mind that you’re sitting in his lap. What's the deal with that: Not only do you spend time running around the level in your diaper-looking under- wear if you get hit, you also waddle around as a duck wearing a red bowtie when the magician nails you. Space MegaForce Super NES Toho, 1992 The game: A furious, 2-D, top-down space shooter with great graphics and lots (we mean LOTS!) of power-ups. It made the list because: In addition to being a cool game with lots of nice power-ups, Space Megaforce makes heavy use of the Super NES' special graphic effects to provide a variety of different level styles. Coolest part: The power-up system, which in addition to charging up your guns lets you position drones and change the spread-pattern of your fire. . Did you know: The developers who creat- ed the classic TurboGrafx-16 shooter Blazing Lazers (see number 77) created Space MegaForce. Contra NES Konami, 1988 The game: An intense side-scrolling two-player simulta- neous action game that put all other games of its type to shame when it was released. It made the list because: Let's face it, Contra is one of the most action-packed games ever created, and it set the standard for all two-player simultaneous action games to follow. There’s а nice degree of variety between each of the game’s eight stages, and the music and graphics are totally memorable. It may not be as good-looking as the arcade game (naturally), but the port was extremely well-done and the gameplay was kept perfectly intact. Coolest part: The giant head of Red Falcon at the begin- ning of the final stage. Talk about huge! Played in Japan: Contra was rereleased in Japan about a year after it hit the U.S. with slightly enhanced graph- ics (added layers of parallax here and there, falling snow, etc.), new intro and ending screens, and map scenes between stages. Metroid NES Nintendo, 1986 The game: A futuristic sci-fi action/platform game that stars a female, for once. You can collect a ton of unique power-ups and weapons, all of which you must use effectively to properly progress in the game. It made the list because: Metroid is one of the all-time best games on the NES. It’s not a straightforward shooter/action game. You must utilize every tool avail- able to find everything this deep and involving game has to offer. It’s an all-around well-crafted masterpiece. Coolest parts: Bombing apparent dead ends and find- ing secret paths to new areas. Did you know: Certain areas in the third Metroid game, Super Metroid, are taken straight from the original. Even some of the secrets (like the seemingly unreach- able energy tank hidden in the ceiling) are in the right places in the 16-Bit sequel. Herzog Zwei Genesis Sega, 1989 The game: A realtime strategy game where the combat- ants attempt to destroy each other’s “home base” by launching a myriad of different war vehicles. It made the list because: This game is so the list. There is still nothing else like it on the market today, and that’s too bad since it's an awesome multi- player game. Coolest part: Putting up dozens of SAM sites around your opponent’s home base so he can’t take off from his own territory. And don’t forget that transformable robot that turns into a plane. That’s good stuff. Did you know: Herzog Zwei means “The Second Baron” in German. Strider Genesis Capcom, 1990 The game: An excellent action game that apparently takes place in Russia sometime in the future. It made the list because: Although it’s relatively close to the arcade, the Genesis version is one of the sys- tem’s greatest games. The graphics are awesome and the control is nearly flawless. Let’s face it, any game where you can crawl on walls and do all kinds of cool flips is pretty awesome. Coolest part: The dark area at the start of the game with the lightning that brightens the entire screen. Oooh. Ahhh. Did you know: At eight Megabits, Strider was the largest cartridge of its day. Compare that to the 256 Megabits of Zelda 64. The times, they are a-changin’. Arkanoid NES Taito, 1986 The game: A simple update to a simple premise. Arkanoid is a futuristic Break-Out, complete with plenty of unique levels and power-ups. It even came with a paddle-controller for the NES. It made the list because: Arkanoid is the type of game that you’d pick up because you need a quick video The 10 Best Arcade Games of All Time Relying on the same game-picking philosophy that governs our top-100 list, we asked ourselves, “Which 10 arcade machines would we want to bring with us if we were abducted by aliens?” (Yes, the ship’s getting a little cramped.) 10) Marble Madness—Atari 4) Double Dragon—Technos 9) Super Contra—Konami 3) Gauntlet 2—Atari 8) Tekken 3—Namco 2) Daytona USA—Sega 7) о ыг Names 1) Street Fighter || Turbo: 6) Smash TV— Midway Hyper Fighting—Capcom fun and original that it had to make 5) NBA Hang Time — Midway SHELL BREAK YOUR HEART. CRUSH YOUR BONES, Kick You İNTO A LAVA PIT. THEN SHELL SNEER AT YOUR WEAPON. It's Mace - The Dark Age. The most graphically stunning 3D fighting game to ever come home. In fact, Next Generation says, Mace is well on its way to being the best 9-0 fighting game for Nintendo 647 There are 10 death-seeking adversaries, two devilishly difficult bosses and seven hidden characters, Each one with a deadly weapon or two and so many moves and combos that youll need à high pain threshold just to watch. A word to the wise: if youre getting your face kicked in, we suggest you hit the 3-D Dodge Button ~ it might just save your butt. Not to mention your life, 2) 2 4 I 24 ARN EVERYTHINGS А an. Mace - The Dark А 7 Atari Games Corp. All rights trademark of Midway Games Inc Mace The Dark Age and all character rames are trademarks о! 5 Corp. Distributed by Midway Home Entertainment Inc. under nse | Tite ndo, Nintendo 64 and “N” logo are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc, ©1997 Nintendo of Ж ‘America Inc. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos аге trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. ом KETE ils кит-206 БЫШЫ 7 5T о LOX pre SOON 1-отн-<-е -F‏ لا NSOLO ь- сть‏ м<) 9<52У<-‏ GO -Z <‏ 050+ «Ad „ты I ZUD то коб ULZ DO d BUSHIDO BLADI 5 SQUARESOFT` wu02'uonejsÁejd"MMM ру “02 auenbs Joyrewape рәәјѕ!бәл е 51 @ yosasenbs ‘yyy 466 L6» punos 'panJasaJ SIU Iry ‘PI "09 1Цбәмшбл/ pr1 “ог asenbs /661@ эц иашитеџајиз заулашо“) Аиоб jo $нешәред әле ѕобој UONPISAEId 9U} pue џодејолеја "uoneJodio? Áuos jo УІРШӘРЕД e si обо нәшшерәиз зајпашоо) AUOS eu. L тм NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF PLAYSTATION™ PlayStation /ы<-4 wrodut ом Уор ӘРІ eee ee 20 к-%ш 4-%-- е-4ООр» OHdrI Уо ><әғыу вРомре J< KOMMARD. Ра کا لاف‎ ы-ІШЕ eZ М-> МУ game fix but would end up playing for hours. The level design is wonderful, demanding a lot of skill from play- ers (remember trying to aim the ball at narrow pas- sageways?). The power-ups are just icing on the cake. You'd think that shooting lasers in a Break-Out-type of game would be cheap, but Arkanoid manages to keep everything challenging and fun. Coolest part: Ricocheting the ball off the floating alien pieces to kill the last piece: What's the deal with: *DOH," the Arkanoid Boss? Guess that word was around long before Homer Simpson made it a household expletive in the American vocabulary. Lunar: Eternal Blue Sega CD Working Designs, 1995 The game: The sequel to Lunar: The Silver Star and an epic RPG with loads of voice and full-screen animation. It made the list because: Despite some gamers' claims of the dialogue being a bit too witty in Lunar 2, the game itself is fantastic. The story is compelling, the music is great and the voice acting and animation are all top-notch. It's just too bad that the game came out so late in the Sega CD's lifespan, long after most own- ers had already written the system off in favor of next- generation hardware like the Saturn. Coolest part: Beating the quest and then finding out there's yet another five to six hours left in the game's very cool Epilogue. Forever delayed: Despite a delay of well over a year, Working Designs promises to have the Saturn remake of the first Lunar game on store shelves before the second coming of Christ. 39 Star Fox 64 Nintendo 64 Nintendo, 1997 The game: Sequel to the FX-chip Super NES master- piece and overall bringer of 3-D polygonal goodness to shooter fans around the world. It made the list because: It's the best 3-D shooter in the history of mankind. Each stage looks amazing, and the amount of speech rivals any CD-ROM game to date. Star Fox 64 seems a bit easy at first, but attempting to earn Medals on all of the stages, and then playing through the Expert Mode, proves to be a challenge only the best gamers will be able to overcome. That depth, coupled with the game's enduring charm, adds up to one of the best N64 games to date and another one of Miyamoto's classics. Coolest part: Finding out that a certain someone who you thought was long gone is actually alive (at the end of the game on the Hard path). Forgivable flaw: The only disappointment in Star Fox 64 is the music, which doesn't hold a candle to the won- derful soundtrack from the original Star Fox. 38 Ys Books | and Il TurboGrafx-CD NEC, 1990 The game: Two action RPGs on one CD (although the transition between the two games is seamless, making it seem like one big ol' adventure). It made the list because: This was the first game to make players think maybe there really was something to all this CD nonsense after all. It was the first game to integrate cinemas— complete with 20 minutes of digi- tized voice— into the story line. But that was just the icing on what was already a solid RPG. The story line, which involves a tower, six missing books and a float- ing city, is one of the most engrossing in RPG history. Coolest part: The first time we saw the cinematic intro, which nearly justified the $400 price of the CD add-on. If only we knew of all the FMV crap that CD technology would soon spawn. How it rated: In his review of Ys Books | and Il years ago, former Editor in Chief Ed Semrad stated, "The ulti- mate game just hap- pened." He rated it a 10, one of the very few per- fect scores in the history of the mag. 37 Super Mario Bros. (All-Stars Edition) Super NES Nintendo, 1985 (original) 1993 (All-Stars version) The game: Oh, it's something about a plumber who runs around and busts up turtles and blocks and stuff... It made the list because: Need we say anything. The original NES version was god of all games in its day, and the Super Mario АП Stars version has all the great gameplay plus even better graphics and sound. And let's not forget that this game brought the video game market back from the dead. Plus, it set the standard for all side- scrolling platform titles from that point on (it was, after all, the first). Coolest part: Finding the secret looping world апа swimming around forev- er and ever...ahhh. An F1 simulation with no equal!” ” exceptional frames of animation... Managing Director of Core Design U.K.-based Core is the developer of Tomb Raider, Thunderstrike for the Sega CD and the forthcoming Tomb Raider 2 and Ninja. 10) Asteroids—Vectrex 3) River Raid—Atari 2600 9) Tetris—Game Boy 2) Super Mario 64—N64 8) Bomberman—Super NES ) 4 H н ен а 1) Tomb Raider—PlayStation 6) Jetpack— Commodore 64 (“ ”) 5) Soul Blade—PlayStation It has to be! 4) Dungeon Master—Amiga Did you know: The Princess is not actually inside the bag that Bowser is guarding at the end of the castle in levels one through four. Sorry, little dude, but our princess is in another castle. 36 Street Fighter Alpha 2 top-down perspective, and your player (Solid Snake) has access to a wide variety of items and weapons, from Health Rations to Plastic Explosives. What puts it over the top, though, is how you have to think like a spy to win, which means you don’t always have to fight. Many times you must use your head to find alter- native means of getting past tough spots. Of course, if you choose to, you could still kick ass the old fashion way, at the touch of a button. Coolest part: Having to climb into a cardboard box and sneak around to get through certain areas. We can’t wait: Konami’s upcoming Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation is draw- ing nearly as much hype as Nintendo’s Zelda 64. Let’s hope it ends up playing as ык ж good as it looks. Saturn Capcom, 1996 The game: The latest incarnation of the popular one- on-one fighting game series, Street Fighter ||. This one introduces new fighters and brings back two classic ones. SFA 2 also introduces the Custom Combo, to the dismay of many SF purists (Custom Combos are flashy enough to make amateurs look like they know what they’re doing). It made the list because: We can’t help it. We love Street Fighter. SF Alpha 2 is one of the best ever, with its super combos (two to four of them per character!) and almost-classic gameplay style. The Saturn version is the best, thanks to slightly better graphics. And who can forget Evil Ryu? Coolest part: Watching your opponents start Custom Combos, then sweeping or throwing them before they land the first hit. Worst part: Inadvertently starting a custom combo by accidentally hitting the three key buttons. Nothing’s worse than wast- ing your level-three Super Combo Gauge оп ап untimely Custom Combo. Kid Icarus NES Nintendo, 1987 The game: One of the first two games to incorporate a password feature (the other being Metroid), Kid Icarus features both horizontal- and vertical-scrolling levels, and room-by-room dungeon areas as well. It made the list because: Along with Metroid—and, of course, Super Mario Bros.—Kid Icarus was one of the first big NES games to show that the system went way beyond offering the single-screen arcade-style experi- ence. With 16 stages scattered among four worlds, a wide variety of enemies and items, and challenging gameplay (something that seems to be missing from the 32-Bit era), Kid Icarus is easily one of the best games of its kind and time. It’s only too bad we never got to see a true sequel (although one was rumored on the Super NES for a while, it never appeared...what a cryin’ shame). Coolest part: Getting turned into an eggplant by the Eggplant Wizard! Edutainment really does sell: Most of the characters in Kid Icarus (as well as the game title) were taken from stories of Greek mythology. See, video games can be educational. Metal Gear NES Ultra, 1988 The game: А spy/action thriller where the main goal is to put an end to a nuclear threat known as Metal Gear. It made the list because: Metal Gear is one of the most innovative games ever. Gameplay takes place from a x unl Т ||| ||| ПІ! ІНШІ ||| ||| | | il ~me > -- .. a م‎ 2e атал) т лғ. ан: ж ONE™ апа ASC Games™ are trademarks of American Softworks Corporation. ОМЕТМ is co-developed by Visual Concepts. ©1997 Americ ©1995 PEG Limited Partnership. PlayStation™ and the PlayStation logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All rights reserved. 10 TOTALLY DIFFERENT 8 PRANHA SWARMS; MAGNETIC SUCKERS; с DEPTH CHARGES АМО MORE! IMPLOSIVE REAL-TIME 3D/GRAPHICS. DEEP SEA MULTI-PLAYER' GAME MODES. HULL-CRUSHING ENVIRONMENTS. This is what they really mean when they talk about totally immersive gameplay. Take a dip in these suh-infested waters for a spot of nuclear LOCKJAW -— ARMAGEDDON fishin’. 12 suhaquatic psychos want to send you аға down and they've Bie 1огрейбе БУЙ? NP. ai Pli < ae 5 E Н \ UN BOTTOM LINER бел” Ki ory: You'll know you're i fit "RW 2. a": 3 tei] A ELOPERS OF TD:METAL" PlayStation{ t- 4 GT Interactive Software PlayStation á ІН www.gtinteractive.com jies, Inc. Twisted Metal, Warhawk and Jet Moto are trademarks of Sony Interactive published by Sony Computer Entertai ‘of SINGLETRAC Ent nc ation" logo are м Т s eractive Software vd the GT sa registere ark of GT Interactive Software Corp. LT fo AND WARHAWKS: 7 E uo QM 2 PM >. с | MP ^ E > НЕ | ARCHIMEDES LA GRIFFE =) NBA Live 97 PlayStation Electronic Arts, 1997 The game: A realistic, fast-paced basketball simulation that captures the attitude and atmosphere of the NBA. It made the list because: No other basketball game comes close in playability and realism. The multiplayer aspects of this game are some of the best in any sports game. Unfortunately, the Saturn version isn’t nearly as good. Coolest part: Playing this game with a bunch of bud- dies and throwing them off with trash talk. Did you know: This is the only basketball series to have Shaquille O’Neal in the game. Bionic Commando NES Capcom, 1988 The game: A side-scrolling classic in which you guide a soldier who, instead of leaping from platform to plat- form, uses his cybernetic claw-arm to swing to his des- tination. It made the list because: It’s just plain cool to run around big levels and swing from ledges with a claw, all while shooting at bad guys. Plus, there are many adventure-game elements—such as rooms to enter, etc.—to Bionic Commando, as well. Coolest part: Being able to swing around with your bionic arm, but not being able to jump. Though it’s a strange thought, it added a whole new element to the common side-scroller. Isn’t it very convenient how: Whenever you're wire- tapping in one of the enemy's communication rooms, the bad guys just happen to be talking about a very important part of their strategy against you. 31 NFL GameDay 98 PlayStation Sony, 1997 The game: Sony’s NFL GameDay emerged as the only serious contender to Madden on 32-Bit systems. It made the list because: It packs great graphics and solid, more action-oriented gameplay. GameDay and Madden are becoming what Pepsi and Coke are to some people. Many people just prefer one more than the other, sometimes religiously. While the computer isn’t quite as smart in the newest GameDay as in Madden 98, GameDay has revolutionary graphics for a 32-Bit football game, and very solid gameplay. Coolest part: Many thought a fast, fluent, 3-D football game couldn’t be accomplished on a PlayStation. GameDay 98 proved the naysayers wrong. Did you know: The “steroid” code in GameDay angered the NFL, so Sony was forced to take it out or risk losing the NFL license. 30 Phantasy Star Il Genesis Sega, 1989 The game: The sequel to the RPG classic on the Sega Master System, Phantasy Star is famous for its sheer size. This sucker was long! It made the list because: How could this one not make the list? Phantasy Star || was the RPG to play if you had a Genesis, and a good reason to buy the system if you didn’t have one. The characters, story line and awe- some enemies make PS || an incredible experience from start to finish. Plus, the quest is incredibly mas- sive. Phantasy Star Il is the best RPG on the Genesis. Coolest part: Finally getting to Dark Force, seeing just how big the thing was, and then how many damned hit points it took to kill it...only to find that it wasn't the real final Boss! Didn't you hate it when: You get halfway through the game building up the Nei character only to have her killed off (as part of the story line). Of course there's a trick where you can resurrect her, but you're not really supposed to. 29 Chrono Trigger Super NES Square, 1995 The game: One of the most popular console RPGs of all time, Chrono Trigger took the best aspects of Final Fantasy III and Secret of Mana and combined them with an amazing gameplay engine and an involving story line. It made the list because: While not quite the overall package Final Fantasy Ill is, Chrono Trigger still packs quite a punch. The whole time-travel aspect is very well done (not to mention very intriguing), and the graphics and music are sim- ply beautiful. The quest is long, and while character development doesn’t move as smoothly as it did in РА, the gameplay engine is far superior, and the realtime (well, sort of) fighting is a nice change of pace. Coolest part: Finding Bagu’s hidden cabin in the forest! Did you know: Chrono Trigger was developed by Dream Project, a mix of developers from the two most popular RPG series in Japan—Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. 28 The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening Game Boy Nintendo, 1994 The game: The portable version of Nintendo's immensely popular action-RPG series. It made the list because: Even for a Game Boy title, Link's Awakening is incredible, beating out the Super NES Zelda in both size and scope. Of course, four-color (shade) graphics are a bit of a pain, but regardless—as a game, Link's Awakening is simply awesome. It mixes the best elements of play from Zelda 1 and Super NES Zelda and adds a bit of humor to the dialogue, never taking itself too seriously. It's also quite challenging and won't be beaten easily by even the best gamers. Coolest part: Being able to take Zelda anywhere is cool enough, is it not? Dear Nintendo: Please take all four 8- and 16-Bit Zelda such as the weapon system and Bosses (most of whom are just plain silly—but then, that's what developer Treasure is known for). Plus, you can do a bunch of cool moves like hanging onto ledges, combat rolls and throws. This coupled with the graphics makes Gunstar Heroes a classic. And, of course, it's one of the best two-player games ever made. Coolest part: The Boss level where players must roll ice and defeat a series of mini-Bosses in a board game-style setting before challenging the last Boss— talk about innovative! Keep an eye out for: The eveloper of Gunstar Heroes, Treasure, has just finished Mischief Makers on the Nintendo 64. 26 Super Mario RPG Super NES Nintendo, 1996 The game: Give the greatest RPG maker (Square, of course) access to some of the most popular characters in gaming—as well as a bunch of SGI workstations — and you wind up with this colorful 16-Bit masterpiece. It made the list because: No other game adds so many twists to the standard RPG formula —and succeeds so wildly as a result. Even though its graphics are limited by the Super NES, they're still mighty impressive. But what makes this game killer are its extras. Every battle is engaging because the timing of your button presses affects battle results—an idea more RPGs should use to liven up what is often boring, repetitive turn-based bouts. Plus, you get so many different mini-games and quests, such as composing a song or racing against Yoshi's pals. And it takes forever to find everything in the game. Coolest part: Mario and Bowser—this is not a typo—teaming up and kicking ass. See, they can get along. Did you find: A little scene in which Mario transforms into his old-school 8-Bit incarnation. It's classic stuff, my friend. games and stick them on a Super Mario All-Stars-style compilation cart for the N64. Please, please, please, please, please, please, please. Wal 12° J Yours truly, EGM. 2 Gunstar Heroes Genesis Sega, 1993 The game: A crazy, side-scrolling action title with lots of enemies and weapons and a cartoony feel. It made the list because: It has all of the quali- ties of a kick-ass side-scroller. And it has some really original ideas to boot, President of Working Designs For years, Working Designs has translated and published Japanese RPGs and strategy games for Sega’s systems and—more recently—the PlayStation. Their credits include Dragon Force, the Lunar Sega CD games and RayStorm. What he had to say: So that this doesn’t become a self-promotional Working Designs love-fest, уе automatically EXCLUDED all Working Designs titles, many of which | consider to be the best of the genre of all time. 10) Magician Lord — NeoeGeo 4) Super Mario 64 — N64 9) Super Mario Bros.—NES 3) Ghost Warrior Spriggan — PC-Engine CD 8) Zelda — NES 2) Ys Books I&ll — TurboGrafx-CD Victor 7) Last Armageddon Brain—PC-Engine CD 1) Tengai Makyo 11— 6) Ghouls ’n Ghosts—NES Ireland 5) Demon Attack—Atari 2600 PC-Engine CD BESIDES DANGER AND INTRIGUE, TREASURES OF THE DEEP OFFERS SOMETHING THAT’S BEEN LACKING IN ACTION/ADVENTURE GAMES. hat’s the missing ingredient from action and adventure games? Salt water. Treasures of the Deep" places you in the role of Jack Runyan, ex-Navy Seal. Your global treasure trek whisks you from the shark-infested Great Barrier Reef to the foreboding abyss of the Mariana Trench. You'll utilize lethal high- tech weaponry and submersibles as you explore sunken ships, battle sea monsters and thwart terrorists. ЖЖС , " Your underwater hardware is 100% high-tech: robotic vehicles, Grab your scuba gear. It’s time to dive into danger. homing torpedoes and heat seeking mines are all at your disposal. ACTION AND 14 treasure-huntiri] missions, including Antarctica, the Bermuda | ЕТЕП su thy Triangle and the sunken Aztec ruins off ihe Yucatan Peninsu spear voracious sharks before they snack on your s orkel. - Б) а ~ е За > 2.” тола TREASURES ОР THE DEEP™ © 1997 Namco Hometek Inc. All Rights Reserved. TREASURES OF THE DEEP is a registered trademark of Namco Hometek Inc. PlayStation The most striking 3-D world in all of game-dom. Beautiful. i Pilot 8 State-of-the-art submersibles. Amass your fortune and sea creatures propel themselves with polygon perfection: trade up from а USN RV-1 mini-sub to a deadly Viper attack sub. Explore mysterious wrecks, retrieve a lost satellite, defuse a nuclear warhead, then treat yourself to some alligator shoes. x i | | || ШЕ; ve мй ж” жж le 111 THIS TIME, YOU'RE IN OVER YOUR HEAD. wWww.namco.com PlayStation and the PlayStation logos.aretrademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon і а trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. 25 GoldenEye 007 Nintendo 64 Nintendo, 1997 The game: A first-person shooter (alright, it’s a Doom clone) that lets you control 007 in various missions that follow the movie. It made the list because: This is easily the best movie game, and, more importantly, the best first-person game ever. The atmosphere, graphics and attention to detail are incredible. The Multiplayer Mode is simply fabulous, better even than Mario Kart 64. Coolest part: All of the different reactions that the ene- mies have when they are shot (wounds to the buttocks usually provoke the best ani- mations!). Even better— watching these reactions through the scope of your sniper rifle. Did you know: This game is arriving roughly two years after the movie, and only a few scant months before the new 007 sequel, Tomorrow Never Dies. 24 International SuperStar Soccer 64 Nintendo 64 Konami, 1997 The game: A beautiful and realistic soccer game that is a living testament to the N64's 3-D power. It made the list because: Every facet of the game is just incredible. The gameplay is awesome, appealing to both hardcore and casual fans of the sport. The graph- ics are the best of any sports game, as the attention to detail in the player animations is amazing. 15564 appeals to just about every gamer, and with good rea- son. No soccer game comes close to this one. Coolest part: The funny cel- ebrations that the players perform after a goal. Most questionable play: The dumb goalies making leaping catches on balls that are just rolling to the net. Those theatrics don't impress us, buddy. R-Type lll Super NES Jaleco, 1994 The game: The best of the home sequels to R-Type is also the best 2-D shooter in history. It made the list because: R-Type III is what R-Type and Super R-Type should've been. The slowdown is almost totally gone, the difficulty is turned up a notch, and the graphics and sounds are splendid. The ability to choose from three different Force Device units adds to the already high level of strategy (you can't win R-Type by just pounding on the buttons like most shooters), and the addition of the Hyper bar gives new meaning to the term “whup ass.” Coolest part: Finally beating the end Boss, only to find out that after he’s gone, he returns with a sneak attack from the rear. Not good. Somebody, please: Irem may be gone, but their spir- it lives on. Let’s get an R- Type compilation CD for one of the next-gen sys- tems, and include the never-before-seen-at-home R-Type Leo Кот the arcade! 74 ben «— — — ^ annee«n Super Ghouls ’N’ Ghosts Super NES Capcom, 1991 The game: One of the most graphically intense side- scrolling action games the Super NES has ever seen. Also one of the hardest. It made the list because: It’s even better than the already awesome Genesis version. Super Ghouls "№ Ghosts adds better graphics (and some slowdown), an astounding soundtrack, extremely tough gameplay (it’s widely considered to be one of the hardest games ever) and—of course—the now famous double jump. Coolest part: Getting turned into a baby by the wizard and trying your damnedest to avoid getting killed before you return to your normal self. Wasn't it awesome: Turning on Super Ghouls 'N' Ghosts for the first time to witness the Mode 7 intro of the Princess getting taken from her castle. Sweet. 2] Final Fantasy VII PlayStation Square, 1997 The game: A three-CD RPG with fully rendered back- grounds, polygonal charac- ters, seamless FMV integra- tion and more. If you haven't heard of this game by now, you probably (you guessed it) suck. It made the list because: It’s a work of art. It may be Readers’ Тор 10 Picks of All Time A long time ago, іп an issue far, far away (#97), we asked you, our esteemed readers, what games you would like to have with you if you were stranded on a desert island. Well, we counted and counted and counted until our eyes bled, and here are the results of the thousands of postcards that were sent in: 10. The Legend of Zelda—NES 9. Final Fantasy VII — PlayStation 8. Twisted Metal 2 — PlayStation 7. Final Fantasy Ill —Super NES 6. Tekken 2— PlayStation 5. Mario Kart 64— N64 Final Fantasy V store shelves a a bit more on the "Interactive Movie" side and less on the “RPG” side than previous Final Fantasy games, but it's still one of the most beautiful-looking, sounding and, for the most part, playing games of all time. The story is outrageously good, and you become so involved with the characters that you'll feel as if you know them by the time the game ends (just like in the previous FF games). It's an instant classic. Coolest part: The way an in-game area will merge flaw- lessly with an FMV sequence — smooth as silk. PC owners look out: Final Fantasy VII is headed for 3Dfx-equipped PCs sometime in 1998, and is expected to look even better than the already-gorgeous PlayStation version. Expect Square to announce FF8 for the PS within the next six to eight months. Super Castlevania IV Super NES Konami, 1991 The game: An epic side-scrolling adventure that was laden with never-before-seen special effects back when “scaling” and “rotation” were the reigning industry buzz words. It made the list because: This was the first game to show what the Super NES could do. Entire levels rotate around the hero. Bosses are brought to life with trans- parency and scaling effects. Backgrounds warp and spin. And all these effects are revealed gradually, so each new stage gives players something new to drool over. Better still, the control is top-notch (using the whip to swing from platform to platform feels com- pletely natural). This game has some of the best music in the series, too (only the tunes in the import Dracula X for the TurboGrafx-CD are better). Coolest part: You have total control over Simon Belmont's whip, and сап even make it dance in the air to score rapid-fire hits on enemies. Did you know that: In terms of story line, Super Castlevania IV is actually a remake of the very first 8- Bit NES Castlevania. қ Rex 4. Star Fox 64—N64 3. Tomb Raider —PlayStation 2. Super Mario 64—N64 1. Resident Evil—PlayStation | made an impressive showing, considering the finished American product was not in the time of voting. We had our reviewable Final Fantasy VII, but none of you did! The 15-minute demo and the Japanese version must’ve been a big hit with everyone in the States. 19 Madden NFL 98 PlayStation/Saturn ibn Electronic Arts, 1997 The game: The most popular football game on the mar- ket, Madden football combines ease of use with real- ism, smarts and fun gameplay to create an awesome football game. It made the list because: The Al in this version is the best seen in any football game ever. Finally, the tried- and-true Madden gameplay is complemented with a computer that has plenty of smarts to spare. Coolest part: Playing multi- player teams and making a perfect 40-yard bomb to your buddy. That makes for some good trash talkin'. After further review: This is the first Madden game where you can't throw to your running backs all day. F-ZERO Super NES Nintendo, 1991 The game: High-speed futuristic hovercraft racing with Mode 7 tracks and three separate racing leagues. It made the list because: F-ZERO has an amazingly tight control system —and was the first game to really make good use of the L and R but- tons on the Super NES. Each of the four crafts has distinct handling character- istics, and the computer- controlled racers are more than tenacious. Even though F-ZERO was a tech- nical marvel for the time, it still stands today as one of the best racing games the Super NES—or any sys- tem— has seen. The only downside to F-ZERO is that there is no Multiplayer Mode (but F-ZERO 64 will thankfully fix that). Coolest part: The post-race camerawork—a first for home racing games! Played in Japan: In Japan, two updates to F-ZERO have been released exclusively for Nintendo’s satellite ser- vice Satellaview. New tracks and crafts, as well as updated graphics and multiplayer play, were added to your opponents so hard that the game stops counting how big of a combo you’re making. Did you know: Our boss had to confiscate our office copy of Tetris Attack because too many people were playing it for too long during work hours. Naturally, we snuck our personal copies of the game into work. 15 Super Mario Kart the game. 4 Super NES Sonic ср Nintendo, 1992 The game: One- and two-player go-kart racing starring the most famous faces on Nintendo’s roster. Sega CD It made the list because: OK, we already have Mario Sega of America, 1993 Kart 64 on the list, so it should be no surprise that the 16-Bit originator made it as well. But why does it fare so much better? Two words: level design. Although the courses in Super Mario Kart are shorter, they pack more shortcuts and are much more exciting overall. The Battle Courses, too, are much more compact and better designed (that’s why we still prefer two-player, old- school combat to four-player Mario Kart 64). And we can’t forget the Feather power-up, which lets you leap incoming homing shells and course gaps for game-win- ning shortcuts. Coolest part: Using a mushroom turbo and a speed bump to launch hundreds of feet into the air and cut across a third of the course. Try that in Kart 64! Most challenging moment: Trying to explain to some- one who hasn’t played the original Super Mario Kart why it’s better than the 64- Bit sequel. The game: Sonic’s still running around like a crazy man, but this time he’s doing it CD-style, complete with a kick-ass soundtrack and some FMV. It made the list because: More levels and a cool ani- mated anime intro made Sonic CD a sure hit with Sega CD owners and fans of the hedgehog. Sonic CD has all the playability of the old Sonics, but now he’s on CD with QSound and neat bonus levels. It is the best addi- tion to an already popular series. Coolest part: The 3-D bonus levels that really show off what the Sega CD could do to enhance the games. This was the first time Sonic was in 3-D with scaling and rotation (and not that choppy stuff from the original). Did you know: Although the upcoming release Sonic Jam for the Saturn does not contain Sonic CD, it does have the animated intro to the game. Hmmm. Kinda makes us wonder if maybe Sega didn’t hide it some- where on the disc. 14 Super Mario Bros. 2 (All-Stars Edition) Super NES Nintendo, 1988 (original) 1993 (All-Stars version) 16 Tetris Attack Super NES Nintendo, 1996 The game: The popular side-scrolling platform series takes on a different twist. Now, instead of hitting over- head blocks, you pick things up. It feels different from every other Super Mario game, but it’s still a lot of fun. It made the list because: The game design is brilliant and the levels are creative (and unlike anything you’ve seen before). And at the end of each one, a cool Boss awaits you. Figuring out how to kill each one is perhaps the best part of the game. Coolest part: Knowing how to get a cherry on the first slot machine spin every time, thus guaranteeing you an automatic 1-up per attempt. Played in Japan: The U.S. version of Super Mario 2 was actually an entirely dif- ferent game in Japan called The game: A puzzle game where you switch two pieces around at a time in an attempt to form matches of three. These matches disappear, and all blocks fall to fill the empty spaces. You can perform combos by matching more than three at a time, or by having the falling pieces form new matches. It made the list because: When you see EGM vegeta- bles, er, editors drool from playing Tetris Attack for hours on end, you’d won- der why the game didn’t 1/24 place higher on the list. озар The combo system is а Sie breeze to learn, and with a = little practice, you'll pull off chains like crazy. It's addic- tive, trust us. Coolest part: Comboing THO No roads anywhere www.thq.com ©1997 XING/THQ, Inc. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Arriving in September < = PlayStation тм For more information on game ratings contact the ESRB at 1-800-771-3772. The NFL Quarterback Club and NFL shield are registered trademarks of the National Football League. Team names, nicknames, logos and other indicia are trademarks of ће teams indicated, TMO 1997 NFLP. Officially Licensed Product of the National Football League Players, The PLAYERS INC logo is an official trademark of the National Football League Players. Nintendo 64 and the 3-0 "N" logo are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. © 1996 Nintendo о! America Inc. All other trademarks are trademarks of Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. ™ ® & © 1997 Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. Screen shots shown were taken from the Nintendo 64 version of the videogame. ACCLAIM”. THE ONLY OFFICIALLY LICENSED NFL GAME ON N64 All 30 NFL Teams and 1500 Players > Exclusive Quarterback Club profiles |= Proprietary Motion Capture Graphics Real moves by real NFL stars All 29 3D-rendered NFL Stadiums Mile High Stadium to Lambeau Field Game and Season Stat Tracking In-game updates to individual league leaders Total Team Management Creating, trading, drafting and managing the salary cap Comprehensive NFL Playbook Plays designed by Brett Favre NFL CLUB 98 The difference between winning and losing is in the details. A split-second of missed coverage. А deflection. А committed block. Knowing your opponent's tendencies. Why should our game be any different? NFL Quarterback Club “98 does the small things the same way it does the big things...the right way. From bone-jarring tackling animations to Total NFL Team management, this year's model is even faster, meaner and deeper. Play it. Brett Favre 1996 and 1997 NFL MVP NINTENDO* М It made the list because: This is not only the best 2-D game on the PlayStation, it’s one of the best, period. There are an incredible amount of areas to explore, a vast army of creatures, and excellent traditional 2-D gameplay. The graphics and music are also top-notch. Plus, if you uncover the game's greatest secret, you'll double its length (nyah, nyah — we're not telling!). Coolest part: All of the huge creatures that inhabit the game. Most of them aren't even Bosses, although they could easily pass for such. But don't worry—there are still plenty of Bosses. Lucky Japanese: In Japan, Castlevania: SotN came bun- dled with an art book and a music CD filled with classic Castlevania tunes from earlier games in the series. Doki Doki Panic (same game more or less, but with other characters and a completely different look). Later on, the U.S. Super Mario 2 was released in Japan as Super Mario USA. B The Legend of Zelda NES Nintendo, 1987 The game: A unique top-down action-RPG. You control our little hero Link in his adventures to save Princess Zelda. Along the way, you collect dozens of power-ups that can help you defeat tougher enemies and get into previously inaccessible areas. It made the list because: Zelda is simply a lot of fun to play—and it’s one of the grandest adventures on the NES. The game is designed so well, all of us at EGM would still gladly play it today (and, in fact, we do). Every area of the map is well thought out, requiring you to use a little noggin-power in your quest. And each time you pick up a shiny new weapon, the game forces you to use it intelligently. Coolest part: You find the pieces of the Triforce, you kill Ganon, you rescue Zelda. As you bask in your hard- earned victory, you slowly realize that the game designers are going to award you with a whole new second quest in the same cartridge! Did you know: The Legend of Zelda is the first car- tridge in gaming history to have a battery backup to save your games. ТІ Super Mario World Super NES Nintendo, 1991 The game: Mario makes his 16-Bit debut, along with a soon-to-be-superstar dinosaur pal, new moves and a HUGE new world. It made the list because: Like Mario 3, Super Mario World is a monster of a game, with plenty of warp zones and hidden keys to secret areas. Mario packs a few new maneuvers, including the ability to fly with a cape. But the real star here is Yoshi. Cute, tough and able to gain new powers depending on what he eats, Yoshi’s the perfect companion to Miyamoto’s plumber. Still, in terms of pure gameplay, Mario 3 remains the crown jewel of the series. Coolest part: Yoshi (duh!). Oh, and knocking Bowser's hovering, smiley-faced ship from the sky at the game's finale. Whoa—look at the pretty scaling and rotation! What's the deal with that: If the God-awful Super Mario Brothers flick is to be believed, the real-life Yoshi isn't nearly as cute as his video game counterpart. 12 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night PlayStation Konami, 1997 10 Saturn Bomberman Saturn Sega, 1997 The game: Castlevania finally makes its 32-Bit debut with Alucard’s romp through creature-infested castles. This is classic Castlevania, with a few gameplay elements from Metroid and the NES Castlevania II thrown in for good measure. The game: You still get the same little Bomberman character who likes to blow up his friends (and ene- mies), but this time he's on the Saturn with up to 10 Producer, EA Sports' Madden Series 10) Super Mario 64— N64 4) Punch-Out!! — NES 9) World Series Baseball —Saturn Tie: 3 & 2) NHL 94—Genesis/Madden 93— Tie: 8 & 7) Tekken — PlayStation/Crash Genesis Bandicoot— PlayStation кы ivici Tie: 6 & 5) Donkey Kong— Super NES/Street 1) Baseball Intellivision Fighter !—5ирег NES и Get a grip on a 12-cylinder tornado for the redline racing experience that's gonna shred your N64! 6 tortuous, high-resolution tracks. 4 modes of turbocharged racing perfection. A stable of ultimate racing machines. And the Lamborghini Diablo. Welcome to the velocity convention. Your bull is waiting. Compatible with Nó4. Rumble Pak- feel the road in your bones. Visionary lighting effects and revolutionary graphics! 00 ак^ Strategic camera angles that catch every hair-raising turn! e 1 to 4 player racing with horizontal and split screen options The trademark Automobili Lamborghini ^ and Diablo " is owned by, and used under license from Automobili Lamborghini " S.P.A., Italy. ік. Nintendo 64 and the 3-D “N” logo are trademarks of Nintendo of America Іпс.< 1996 Nintendo of America Inc. Titus, Titus The Fox and |1 the Titus logo are registered trademarks of Titus. АП rights reserved. 21670 ___1300) players at once. It’s as good as multiplayer gaming on the consoles gets. It made the list because: If you have a copy of Bomberman and can rustle up at least four friends, there’s really no reason to play any other game—or even leave the house. It’s simply the greatest party game on the planet. And Saturn Bomberman is the best incarnation of this classic series yet. Sure, the Super NES and TurboGrafx-16 versions come close, but now 10 players can try to blow each other to bits in a Hi-res Mode that is incredibly hectic and fun (although it burns the eyes a bit; Eight-player Mode's a little easier on your vision). Plus, you get options for team play and the ability to lob bombs from the sidelines after you die. Revenge is a wonderful thing. Coolest part: Realizing that you’ve trapped your oppo- nent(s) with bombs just as the one-ton weights are about to clobber you from above. Yep, you can start panick- ing now. Don’t you hate it when: You start trash-talking before a multiplayer game, only to start and trap yourself with two of your own damn bombs. D’oh! Final Fantasy Ill Super NES Nintendo, 1994 The game: A traditional, Japanese RPG with more gameplay extras than any other title in gaming history. It has a super-long quest, multiple (and interchange- able) characters and a fun, menu-driven realtime combat system. It made the list because: OK, where should we start? The graphics are rich and beautiful, as is the music. The cast is crammed with personality. The story line 15 magical and so involving that you may need to keep notes to follow its twists and turns. Heck, you even bat- tle dinosaurs! We could go on and on. Very few people can argue that FFIII isn’t a AAA title (we'd like to be in on that argument). It's the game that revolutionized the genre, while keeping old-school RPG fundamentals alive. It's also far more rewarding than FFII, and just a tad better than the awesome FFVII (FFIII offers more varied gameplay). We'll love this game forever. Coolest parts: Trying to decide which characters are going adventuring with you and which are staying behind on the airship to twiddle their swords. And what about how awesome each character is? Some have Street Fighter moves (how's that for RPG innovation?), some can transform, some have special attacks, etc. And don't even get us started on the opera scene. Then there are the Chocobos, the Espers, the mechs...hoo boy—there are too many “coolest parts" to list. Did you know: Final Fantasy Ill is actually part six in the series. It's only called FFIII because it’s the third one released in the States. And—you guessed it— Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation is the sequel. Contra lll: The Alien Wars Konami, 1992 The game: Just like the original Contra, except a thou- sand times more intense. It made the list because: Talk about sensory overload! This game has everything: huge Bosses, Mode 7 stages, ultradeep gameplay —all wrapped up in a beau- tifully atmospheric post-apocalyptic package. You get all the great control of the original, except now with new moves and the ability to carry and switch between two devastating weapons. But what really sets this game apart are its Bosses. No two can be toppled the same way. (Our favorite is the giant robot who smashes through the wall and lobs time bombs at you.) Coolest part: Beating the game on normal or hard and watching the final Boss claw after you as you cling to an ascending helicopter gun- ship. And, of course, play- ing simultaneously with a buddy/sibling. Where have | seen that before: Go back and watch the intro to Contra III: Alien Wars. Hmmm. Think maybe the folks behind Independence Day were fans of this game? T super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island Nintendo, 1995 The game: Super FX2-based side-scrolling platformer with the most amazingly unique graphics the Super NES has ever seen. It made the list because: Yoshi's Island is as much а piece of art as a game. It’s like a huge, playable color- ing book. Unfortunately, the game couldn’t have been released at a worse time, going unnoticed by quite a few gamers. Trust us—Yoshi’s Island is the epitome of platform gaming, falling only inches behind Super Mario Bros. 3 as the best 2-D platformer of all time. Beautiful graphics, great gameplay, lots of bonus options and mini-games and well over 50 stages— what more could you ask for? Coolest part: All of the “morphmation,” what Nintendo calls the stretching and warping of the game charac- ters. Also, your mad dash to rescue Baby Mario after he’s been knocked off Yoshi. Did you know: Yoshi's Island was in development for over three years before it was finally released. The game was redone almost from scratch at least once, but the end result shows that the time taken was certainly worth it. jog Wiw.eidosinteractive.com г: Ri mer ii ғ 2 Е WIR c ТЕ ЈЕ bee warned. БЕАТНТВАР_ у Y e M x 1 үзі i 24) - A 3 “Ж”» PE X | | s» ЖА 27 ru es Це eee e ee ~ | «3 / Sx az ججج ج ريو و ججج ي‎ 4 еш * 4 ч „ . Gu Wwe } а М 4 7 ) A Ж \ | X Y à ^ irat یح‎ XR جم‎ eas form his own company, Arika Deve What he had to say: Congratulatio years ago, back when we were ma Leader of the team that created Street Fighter Il Nishitani also worked on SF2 Champion Edition, Final Fight and Forgotten Worlds. He left Capcom to opment, which developed Street Fighter EX for Capcom to publish. ns, EGM, on your 100th issue! | started working in this industry 12 ing games with such little memory and weak hardware compared Nishitani try to make better games, so that 10. Quath —Arcade 9. Tetris Plus—Saturn 8. RayStorm — Arcade 7. Cadash — Arcade Famicom Super Metroid Super NES Nintendo, 1994 The game: It's a bigger and better version of the futur- istic 8-Bit platform/action classic. Super Metroid has tons of levels, weapons and secrets. It made the list because: Boy, if you've played Super Metroid, then you wouldn't ask why. From the exciting intro (with elements taken from the end of the original Metroid game) to the emotional ending, this 16-Bit sequelis simply stunning. This game takes skill, brains and technique to complete successfully, and you'll love every minute of it. Coolest part: Seeing you-know-who come to your res- cue in the end. Did you know: You get to see Samus in her bathing suit if you beat the game in under three hours. Also, if you let the demo run unin- terrupted, you can see a slew of Samus' secret moves. A few of us didn't even notice the educational demo until after we beat the game. Better late than never, we guess. 5 Street Fighter Il Turbo: Hyper Fighting Super NES Capcom, 1993 The game: The second SFII game to come out for the Super NES. This one added speed and playable Bosses to an already successful formula. to the recent technology. Back then, who could imagine today's technology, such as game characters made with polygons that move in realtime, or that we'd play over a network. Game development has also changed. Today's games use more characters, animation, background, music and are overall ly, there is a need to have the latest technology, so for each part modeling —there needs to be experts. his industry has evolved very fast. More and more new technologies are emerging, and there will soon be more reasons than ever to play games. | find these new challenges exciting. | will can be invited by EGM to reflect on the industry again someday. becoming more flashy. Most recen of a game— like CG, programming, 6. Darius Gaiden— Arcade 5. Final Fantasy series —Famicom/Super 4. Dragon Quest series —Famicom/Super Famicom 3. Dungeon series—Arcade 2. Street Fighter Il, Street Fighter ІІ Dash (Champion Edition in the U.S.) — Arcade 1. Diablo—PC It made the list because: This is the best and newest Street Fighter that still plays like the classic. The series changed when it became “Super” and later “Alpha.” But many of us still like old-school SFII best, and Hyper Fighting is as good as old-school gets. Excellent control on an excellent translation of an excellent fighting game engine. Need we say more? Coolest part: Playing this game for hours and hours until your thumb just couldn't take anymore. Coolest code: Pressing Down, R button, Up, L but- ton, Y, B on the second player controller while the word "Turbo" scrolls across the opening screen. Now you can pick a 10-star speed setting. This is Hyper Fighting in the truest sense of the phrase. Super Mario 64 Nintendo 64 Nintendo, 1996 The game: This adventure stars a familiar plumber in a very unfamiliar setting: breathtaking 3-D worlds. But you already knew that. It made the list because: Take your pick: Its selling power put the N64 on the map. Its look and feel spawned a new era of 3-D adventure knockoffs (Banjo- Kazooie, anyone?). Its many secrets, shortcuts —and even its bugs—fueled the hype that made it one of the most-talked-about games ever, certainly one of the best-selling. But most importantly, its game- play showed that as far as 3-D gaming goes, we haven't seen anything yet. Just about everything in Super Mario 64 works flawlessly—the analog control, the puzzles, Mario’s new moves, the way most levels offer new challenges each time you visit them. Sure, the game has its tiny flaws, especially in the camera department. But мете talking about a title that’s as revolutionary today as the original Super Mario Bros. was back in the mid-'8os. It's not easy creating an entirely new genre, no matter how many times Shigeru Miyamoto has done it. And while Super Mario 64 isn’t quite as challenging or as fun as Mario 3, no gamer should die without playing—and beating —it first. Coolest part: Seeing someone pull off the ultimate trick—reaching the roof of the castle before ever nab- bing a single star. Trust us, it can be done. А sleeper hit? Superstars — even digital ones—are just as “human” as you or me. Case in point: If you leave Mario alone for a minute or two, he'll sneak in a quick nap. Talk about your com- 8 puter Al advancements! 3 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Super NES Nintendo, 1992 The game: A sequel to the 8-Bit action-RPG series, with better graphics, new tools and weapons, and more worlds to explore. It made the list because: A Link to the Past takes every- thing that made the original Zelda such a classic and supercharges the entire package. The graphics are improved tenfold over the original, and the levels — especially outdoors—are huge (remember the forest maze?). The environments are also much more inter- active than in previous Zeldas (remember lighting the torches in the dun- geons with your lantern?) Part three of the Zelda series is clearly the best action-RPG ever made. Coolest part: Remember seeing the rain for Game Designer, Nintendo greatest game designer on Earth. PS the first time? Remember thinking how awesome your Super Nintendo is when you saw that rain? Did you know: In our reader poll for top games of all time, Zelda 64 received a dozen votes. Peculiar, would- n't you say, for a game that isn't even out in Japan yet? We're sure the game's gonna be awesome, too, but let's not jump the gun yet. 2 "Uu Mario Bros. 3 (All-Stars Edition) Super NES Nintendo, 1990 (Original) 1993 (All-Stars Version) The game: The third chapter in the insanely successful Super Mario Bros. series, it's also the single best plat- form game of all time (as well as the second best game of all time). It made the list because: Super Mario Bros. 3 took the series back to its roots, but expanded upon the original game in every way imaginable. No other game since has been able to recapture the spirit of adventure and enchantment found in Mario 3. There are dozens of worlds to explore, tons of secrets to find, minigames up the wazoo, perfect gameplay and special animal cos- tumes that grant never-before-seen powers. What, for instance, could be better than batting turtles with your tail after nabbing the Leaf power-up? Or how about sprinting and launching into the air for a few seconds of flight to grab those hard-to-reach coins? And for the first time, the levels were spread out on an overworld map that sprawled in every direction (but watch out for the roving Hammer Brothers!). The entire game just cries out to be explored! Best of all, the All-Stars version on the Super NES is like a dream come true— everything is re-created perfectly, but with gorgeous graphics and better sounds. Coolest part: Using the Whistle from Zelda to get to the hidden Warp Zones! Just a reminder: We're not including compilation games on our Top 100, or Super Mario All-Stars would be the clear-cut number- one game of all time. It's a sin not to own this king of compilations! Shigeru Miyamoto has created or helped craft nearly half the games in the top-20 portion of our list. He's the man behind Mario, Donkey Kong, the Zelda games and other Nintendo clas- Sics, as well as the inventor of the side-scrolling platform genre (with Super Mario Bros.) and the perfector of the 3-D platform genre (with Super Mario 64). Ever humble, Miyamoto is the What he had to say: | am very honored to be chosen as a key person in this industry, but as a game developer | feel | am not in a position to judge other people's games. Also, | don't really play many other games, so | must apologize for refraining to provide my top-10 list. But | would like to comment about how the gaming industry has changed in the past decade. It used to be that the industry had no real history, but in the past 10 years, there have been L4 Shigeru some things that can be called history. For example, there were not many games in the old days that can be enjoyable even today. But there are some games today that can still be enjoyable Miyamoto even five years from now. | feel this is the most profound change in the industry. THE OFFICIAL TRANSLATION OF THE #1 ARCADE SMASH! CUPER HERNEN = o S [d ІН > Е [s MARVEL SUPER HEROES TM & © 1997 MARVEL CHARACTERS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERV CHARACTERS, INC. CAPCO CAPCOM CO., LTD. icing Teams, Inc. А! logos and mar its Tea is Dive and may not be reproduced, in whole ог №. PlayStation EAR WILL ALWAYS BE IN THE CAR WITH YOU. YOU JUST CAN'T LET IT DRIVE. 35 24 50 WORLDSERIES PROPERTY OF PLAYSTATION ATHLETIC DEPT. Tetris Multiplatform Created by Alexey Pajitnov in 1988 The game: Spend half your life forcing six differently shaped blocks into neat rows at the bottom of a well. Spend the other half waiting for the straight, skinny block so you can score a “Tetris.” It made the list because: Let’s forget for a sec’ that до million people worldwide play Tetris. Let’s forget that— for most people—it’s the single most addicting game on the planet. Let’s forget that it paved the way for today’s most exciting, flashy, combo-ridden puzzle games. Tetris is as pure asa video game can get. It’s just you, seven blocks and a well. Your goal is incredibly simple: line up the blocks in rows and make them go away, preferably four rows at a time, to make room for the never-ending rain of blocks from above. When the right blocks come your way—and if you can manage to avoid mistakes—the game can be relaxing. One mislaid block, however, and your duties switch to damage con- trol, a mad, panicky dash to clean up your mess or die. No, Tetris doesn't look, sound or play like any other video game. Nevertheless, it's complete gaming bliss. When it came time to pick the best version of Tetris, we found ourselves in a pickle. First, we fired up the old Tengen version for the NES (you remember—the one Nintendo filed a lawsuit over because Tengen cracked the Big N's lockout chip?). We were really, real- ly hoping this version was as good as we remembered. After all, wouldn't it be cool if the greatest game of all time was an outlaw? Alas, the Tetris packed with Dr. Mario for the Super NES plays a little better (it's easier to control the speed of your blocks" descent, and the Two- player Mode is more fun than the one in Tengen's). Still, many on the staff argued for the Game Boy version. You can take it anywhere and still play two-player games with the link cable. After hours of bick- ering, we finally realized that Tetris pretty much plays fine no matter which system you use to rock your puzzle blocks, whether it be a PC, con- 5 2 sole, Game Boy or a $10 keychain. Coolest part: Knowing that whenever you get bored with the latest 3-D „ог the Game Boy. Hey, you really сап adventure or shooter ог take it with you—and link with а pal! — ciao ccroller or RPG ог You can’t go wrong with any version of Tetris, be it on the Super NES... 155|5СОНЕ) HIGH IES EL ~ ` 3 z х 5 i i Q7) 77777777 2271 7 772 7 ..or the NES (seen here in the out- lawed Tengen arcade port)... sim, Tetris—and its seven blocks— will be waiting for you, always. Did you know: The greatest video game of all time was never originally intended to be a video game at all. When Alexey Pajitnov invented Tetris, his intention was merely to create a mental exercise for fellow Russian scientists. Maybe this is for another fea- ture, but Tetris is the best keychain of all time, too. Final Thoughts... We know we're due for a tidal wave of mail from readers burning with questions and how- dare-you comments concerning our list. Where are all the Genesis games? How could we make a top-100 list that doesn't include Space Invaders or Pong or Pitfall or [insert your own MIA classic here]. And — most pressing of all, we're sure— what's the deal with all the NES and Super NES games in the top 20? Remember, our list is NOT about influential games, or even the greatest games (which— by definition —should include influential titles). It's about games that play the best and are the most fun. The downside to this philosophy is that many old-school classics were nixed from our list during the selection process. Sure, we could have included Pong or Asteroids, but would you really rather play those instead of GoldenEye 007 or Sonic CD? And as far as the predominance of Nintendo games goes: No, we are not biased against Sega or Sony. We have no reason to be. It just so hap- pens that, in our opinion, many of the best games came out for the NES and Super NES. (Also note that many of these titles were crafted by Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, the most gift- ed game designer on the planet.) Some may look at our list and say it sends the wrong message to the industry, that it tells developers to stop fiddling with polygons and 3-0 gameplay and go back to the good-ol’ days of sprite-based platform games. Nothing could be further from the truth. Keep in mind that most of the 8- and 16-Bit titles on our list were designed at the height of sprite-based-gaming technology. Back then, the developers knew how to squeeze every ounce of gameplay out of the hardware, whereas today, they’re still figuring out the nuances of shooting, kicking, jumping, climbing, etc., in a 3-D world. In some cases— Super Mario 64, Tomb Raider—they’ve succeed- ed beautifully, and we have little doubt that the next time we create a top-100 list (issue 200, perhaps) it’ll be crammed with modern, 3-D, polygonal masterpieces. FLARED NOSTRILS TO SMELL FEAR. A REINFORCED NECK FOR RAMMING PREY HEAD-FIRST. SERRATED TEETH TO SLICE THROUGH BONE. bite and dismember your way up the pre-historic to the bloodthirsty T-Rex himself. All in lush 3-D environments with pulse-pounding music and plenty of bone-crunching sound effects. The Lost World. Where only the strong fierce and remorseless survive. == = DREAMWORKS 2 ELECTRONIC ARTS SEGA hm M c E ш Also available on Genesis" and Game Gear. THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK" & ©1997 Universal City Studios and Amblin Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. Licensed by MCA/Universal Merchandising, Inc. Software © 1997 Dreamworks Interactive L.L.C. Dreamworks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Sega is registered in the U.S. and Patent Trademark Office. Sega Saturn and all game titles are trademarks of Sega unless otherwise noted. © 1997 SEGA, P.O. Box 8097, Redwood City. CA 94063. All rights reserved. ALL CONTROLLED ВУ А BRAIN INCAPABLE OF REMORSE. Interactive is a tratlemark of Dreamworks L.L.C. Electronic Arts and the Electronic Arts logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts jn the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation logo аге tradema Inside the Review Crew ure,everyone in Area 52 has a thing for lab coats, high-tech gizmos and black helicopters, but our philosophy for review- ing games is as straightforward as when the Review Crew debuted in EGM’s second issue. We hound game companies to send us complete versions of their titles, play them from beginning to end (sometimes with a little help from the gurus of EGM’), then give them a score between one and 10. It's as simple as that. The scores are based on how each game stacks up against all other titles for the same system. Of course, you can't express your opinions for long in this business without being accused of showing bias—and we've had plenty of readers complain that we favor Nintendo's or Sony's or Sega's systems. That's simply not true. We have no reason to be biased. After all, each reviewer gets one of every console to keep at his desk and play games on. Crew members don't have to pay for these systems or games; so they have no reason to like one game company more than another. Plus, living and working in Lombard, Ill.—a sleepy Chicago Suburb thousands of miles from the West Coast (where most of the game industry resides) —has its advantages. We don't hang out with game company reps and make lots of pals in the indus- try. We grill them for information, sure, but we don't build friend- ships that could be jeopardized if we have to slam a crappy game with a bad review. Such distance helps preserve our objectivity. Our review system works, no doubt about it. But we couldn't help but tinker with it when it came time for the big 100th-issue redesign. We've expanded the review section to cover sports titles (note that we've nixed the Team EGM section), peripherals and the same titles for multiple systems: Now, you'll be able to see how, say, Mega Man X4 rates on both the Saturn and the PlayStation, as well as what die-hard sports gamers and less-rabid fans alike think of the Maddens and GameDays that come our way. Међе also doubled the Crew’s size by adding three new full- time members and a slot we'll fill each month with a special guest reviewer. Why:the extra manpower? Simple— we're reviewing more products thatvever, and we want to make sure everything gets its of attention. So who's new in Area 525 Review Crew? And what are the old guys Ш б Check out these recently. declassified bios. But keep an eye out for black helicopters... Boyer Crispin Crispy, Crispix and every other goo! iati of his already-goofy name аи р Јипе 18, 1971 TY Н St. Petersburg, Fla. ЕСТ. : RPGs and shooters FIRST VI Pong, natch. Т VIDE Н. E You can overcome any obstacle as long as it has a glowing red dot. HI I Е Firefighter Fighter, a light- i i | r gun shooter in which you kill fi with a flamethrower before they can shoot Ba AE ІШЕДІ waterhoses. Cris has nothing agai just li е gainst firemen; ће just | the irony of the game’s ridiculous premise. ES BLOOD TYPE: A Positive E na E: Drunken Bastard в TRUE: у: 8 Cris says Street Fighter А pha 2 superschoo| girl Sakura is “sauc despite more than one coworker telling him, “Dude she’s like = you pervert.” ó Cris got his big break in the gaming biz back i hired by Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time үйл US costume and let kids yank his tail at birthday parties. He didn't mind the abuse, though, because the job's main perk — unlimited tokens in the restaurant's arcade —took his mind off his achin behind. Cris decided to Study computer science in college so E subject because, as he puts it, “You ha | е 5 1 ? ve to, like, be able to co end Stuff." He nabbed a journalism degree instead, worked ЕМ ay IRE Donee Wau. then landed his plum gig at EGM. Now е5 Just waiting for someone to make Firefi h i У give the гате а perfect score. ен: т Е. RIT! : 10) Chrono Trigger—Super NES 9) Castlevania: SotN—PlayStation 8) Phantasy Star II—Genesis 7) Final Fantasy VII— PlayStation 6) Contra Ill: The Alien Wars—Super NES 5) Super Mario 64—N64 à Ena Fantasy Ill —Super NES 3) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the — 2) Super Mario All-Stars —Super NES 7 m г 1) Tetris Game Boy 165 ALIAS: Shawnimal (half Shawn, half animal—all cop!) D.O.B.: Dec. 10, 1975 CITY OF ORIGIN: Joliet, Ill. SPECIALTY: Action/adventure FIRST VIDEO GAME OWNED: Pong WHAT VIDEO GAMES TAUGHT HIM ABOUT LIFE: uug UMS ALIAS: Shoe .0.В.: ms | арт 1971, which sucks because it’s right next to Christmas CITY OF ORIGIN: New York, N.Y. SPECIALTY: Strategy and puzzle games FIRST VIDEO GAME OWNED: That he could take on—and eventually conquer—any gigantic, evil corporation all by himself with the help of a decent machine, at least one bomb (or grenade) and a thirst for justice. HIS BIG IDEA FOR A GAME: A Contra-esque, side-scrolling action game, but with а '705 сор- show theme. The game would have little or no humor as players fight against an evil pimp/drug pusher and put him down. Levels would range from inner-city areas all over the United States to the druglord-ridden jungles of South America. Players would eventual- ly make their way to the mastermind’s mansion in Miami where the final battle would take place. “It'd be a little like the Beastie Boys “Sabotage” video, except, of course, you'd be able to play it," Shawn said. The name of the game would be Street Flex Five: Leon's Retreat. BLOOD TYPE: AB Negative FIGHTING STYLE: Bald Monkey (a.k.a. Crazy Monkey) SAD BUT TRUE: Before working at EGM, Shawn would sometimes try to impress girls by telling them he was a вате producer for Atari. Note, this never got him anywhere, so don't try this at home kids. BIO: Shawn's one of the youngest guys on the Review Crew. He has been playing games as long as he can remember. The first one he personally owned was the Colecovision (a gift from his brother Brian). Years later, he saved his money so he could buy practically every Sega system that came along (except the 32X, fortunatel ) He admits to being an old-school Sega freak, but enjoys all Systems as long as the games are good. The discount he got for working at Babbage's Software helped his gaming addiction. He had no idea he'd end up working for the video game mag he grew up with. TOP 10 FAVORITE GAMES: 10) Tekken 2— PlayStation 9) Dragon Force— Saturn 8) Gunstar Heroes — Genesis 7) GoldenEye 007 —N64 6) Phantasy Star Il — Genesis 5) Super Mario 64—N64 4) Contra III: Alien Wars— Super NES 3) Super Metroid—Super NES 2) Super Mario All-Stars — Super NES 1) Tetris— (practically all systems) Super Mario All-Stars — A Popeye LCD handheld game HIS BIG IDEA FOR A GAME: — E A first-person perspective 3-D game where yo e ut hoot demons...no wait, a one-on-one fighting game м ч 2 xin have special moves...no, no...actually, Shoe doesn't һам original ideas at all. BLOOD TYPE: UT He couldn't tell you to save his life. FIGHTING STYLE: Hip-hop Bop БАР PS e Unies of Моа on eona T ДЕ al iracion to ose pursuing REIRI е 1 М үш о Шур Street Fighter | Turbo. ie connected to a TV and had game controllers, Shoe was isiting hi ins’ t of love . He always loved visiting his cousins house, nof au 1 ene but (5/8 for their Atari 2600. His а ae tems (and games) are the Vectrex (Mine Storm) and In ionli (AD&D, Burgertime and Оу Ed d кон i Л inball Pete’s (an arcade ds E d Id Electronics Boutique (where ds ace НЕ 10 percent employee discount). НЕ РО dE decent writer, because during his interview at Е ү е impressive in the least bit. He was a nervous wreck anc ПИ wth at all. But hey, you'd be nervous too if you were intervi for a dream job, right? TOP 10 FAVORITE GAMES: 10) Tetris & Dr. Mario— Super NES 9) Metal Marines—Super NES 8) Saturn Bomberman —Saturn 7) The Legend of жш orce— Saturn n д RS 2 Collection —Saturn/PlayStation 4) Super Metroid — Super NES 3) Final Fantasy III —Super NES 2) Tetris Attack —Super NES i 1) Super Mario All-Stars — Super NES Super NES 166 1) Tetris—Game Boy @ siud a, i" S 2 ў | ‘Wg Теб » Њу; О 8 ж saueaed әлеу 10 suvad g| 94 Isny “әзпііш/56:0% I[e jo 3505 `/9р-Е/ /-006-1 INIT LNIH SOGI3 3 E б 2, TE & 9 E] 9 5 3 К] т 5 El 2 E 5 E 3 a = 5 2 E 2 3 @ © 5 8 & 8 8 °, g 5 E о 5 3 I 8 3 E 3 3 2 8 -арелз әле з5аџа»уј Joy pue YOD елет uapiey шоу ‘a09 “әлпэеләзц| sop!3 ‘pasinbea euoud гиој-узпој ‘U HALL. THE 38 EXPRESS SQUEALS TOA е T Playstation- HALT EVERY HALF HOUR ON THE STREET Care BELOW. SLEEP DOESN’T COME EASY IN ROOM 23. BUT FOR 19 YEAR-OLD RAY COOPER, IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE NOISE. AS HE SAYS, “IT’S BECAUSE EVERY TIME I CLOSE MY EYES, Top: The Second ALL 1 SEE IS LARA CROFT.” Coming, slated for ! this fall. Bottom: Є | [205 Preparing for her return. You’ve been warned. inset photos => К 12% PlayStation m Believe The Rumor... We бос Савсћшовт Jim"! - Rm v b: ем Coming Soon Clay Fighter Схсвете Creacures of clay will descend on 3D environments of outrageous Coming іп October m i Clay Fighter 6375 ЧІ 4 accion and comedy. And che old games shall envy che пеш. John Ricciardi ALIAS: The Italian р.0.В.: Мау 7,1975 CITY OF ORIGIN: Staten Island, N.Y. SPECIALTY: RPGs, platformers, shooters— basically anything but strategy games FIRST VIDEO GAME OWNED: Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack for the Intellivision WHAT VIDEO GAMES TAUGHT HIM ABOUT LIFE: Kraig Kujawa College was a waste of time HIS BIG IDEA FOR A_GAME: та like to make an RPG someday with the majority of important characters being female and the music 100 percent fully orches- trated. That or a game about a fat Italian guy with a red hat who stomps on turtles and eats mushrooms. | can't believe nobody's done that yet. BLOOD TYPE: O Positive FIGHTING STYLE: FIGHTING br Turn-based SAD BUT TRUE: En route to a Japanese book store in New York City to pick up the latest issue of Famitsu back in early 1995, John's car got totaled by a bus that blew past a broken red light just three blocks from his destination. Rather than ride with the tow truck and his now-raisin-esque car back to the mechanic, however, he opted to walk the remaining three blocks to get his Famitsu, and then spent about $50 on public transporta- tion to get back home. BIO: Despite being a hardcore gamer since around 1981, John did- тї make his “official” entry into the gaming business until 1994, when he landed a job at the local EB (hasn't everyone in the game business worked at EB or Babbage's at one point or another?). During that time, he began going to trade shows (Summer CES '94 and everything after) and ended up landing some freelancing gigs in and about the industry. Finally in March of last year he got “the call” from Sendai (now Ziff-Davis, if you've been keeping score), and as the saying goes, the rest is history. In addition to his Review Crew work, John is heavy into Japanese gaming, and is the editor in chief of EGM's Nintendo 64 guides (sorry, had to get a plug in somewhere). TOP 10 FAVORITE GAMES: 10) Lunar: Eternal Blue—Sega CD 9) Dragon Quest VI—Super Famicom 8) Super Metroid—Super NES 7) Yoshi's Island —Super NES 6) Super Mario All-Stars Super NES 5) Zelda Il: The Adventure of Link—NES 4) Tetris— Game Boy 3) The Legend of Zelda —NES 2) Final Fantasy V—Super Famicom 1) Dragon Quest V — Super Famicom ALIAS: Kanga. | don't know how Mike Stassus, our head art chimp, came up with that one. ШЕМ гі пе. It stuck though. Also known as опе of the two D.O.B.: Aug. 26, 1973. Send lots of presents! CITY OF ORIGIN: Richmond, Texas SPECIALTY: Sports games FIRST VIDEO GAME OWNED: Pong = WHAT VIDEO GAMES TAUGHT НІМ AB! H Punt on fourth down— don't give in to greed! тыы: желі BIG IDEA FOR А САМЕ: omeone is going to make a ton of money if th based on O.J. Simpson. Mark my words. ылы шы BLOOD ТҮРЕ: О Positive FIGHTING STYLE: Kangaroo SAD BUT TRUE: You probably wouldn’t know that Kujawa is a shortened Polish name. By saying that, I’ve just o | of Pollack jokes. just opened myself up to a landslide BIO: Kraig worked as a manager at a in Ri 5 ё grocery store in Richmond, Т tamed НА decided that doing real work for a living . It was then that he became a freelance video game “j пер 4 S i nalist” until he finally made the big leap to working for EGM а. Although he lived in Texas for so long, he doesn’t have а southern accent, hates country music and doesn't say “Yall,” making every- one believe th: a Teee youth at he was probably tormented and ridiculed as a ТОР 10 FAVORITE GAMES: E Ms. Pac-Man — Genesis. 9) Castlevania X: Symphony of the Night—Pl i 8) NBA Live 97 — PlayStation £ эў" 2 же Metroid—Super NES e Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past— S 5) Contra ІІ: The Alien Wars— Super NES pt 4) Madden NFL 98— PlayStation 3) International SuperStar Soccer 64— N64 2) Super Mario All-Stars — Super NES 1) Tetris — Game Boy ALIAS: Well, he's Sushi-X! Nuff said! D.O.B.: Unknown, but sources say he’s in his late 20s. CITY OF ORIGIN: Unknown SPECIALTY: Fighting games (no, really?) FIRST VIDEO GAME OWNED: Pong : WHAT VIDEO GAMES T 1 AUGHT HIM ABO H Under no circumstance should you throw a fireball at ШІ. ШЕ у Dragon Punch girls or talk i ЕА trash to guys bigger than you—unless arg BIG IDEA FOR A GAME: uus нү Street Fighter sequel that r i ant. 15 complete with all the characters ii universe (including Sheng Lon FUN dd 8, Of course), a real st | tures Sheng Long, unique marti қ С ШЫН е 5 al arts styles and in’ | u a rock - ee ME is іп EX-style 3-D, with Tekken 3- and ak р e М а ООП the SF series since its inception, this is the a Е ushi wants to make the most. He won't divulg е etails but would love to get Capcom’s attention os BLOOD TYPE: X FIGHTING STYLE: He knows 'em all—not a guy to mess with! SAD BUT TRUE: ELS eee of Street Fighter and Double i је was ready to finish his i EGM (or EGM found him), and he never Rare aig ЖӘЙЛІ ВІО: I'm afrai ар ү ме еп t divulge too much about this mysterious figure АШ, а more time reviewing games than anybody in / ем history. We'll tell you he's a guy, b "si eW Cre ‚ but th. aninja suit everywhere to hide his КОШЫ уоџ е guess his nationality. Sushi also 4 А ашћ | id’ titled Zen and the Art of Buttkicking. шаа ы ТОР 10 FAVORIT AMES: 10) Tekken 2— PlayStation =a = 9) Mario 64—N64 8) Tomb Raider— PlayStation 7) SF Alpha 2—Saturn 6) King of Fighters '95 —Мео•бео 5) Мега Мап Х2 —Super NES 4) SFEX+Alpha—PlayStation 3) Star Fox 64 — N64 2) Super Metroid—Super NES 1) SF Collection— PlayStation ¥-rusng ALIAS: K. Lee or K. Wree D.O.B.: Dec. 30, 1968 CITY OF ORIGIN: Ocho Rios, Jamaica SPECIALTY: Driving and fighting games FIRST VIDEO GAME Pong WHAT VIDEO GAMES TAUGHT HIM ABOUT LIFE: Patience, persistence, practice and perspiration HIS BIG IDEA FOR A GAME: Eclectica, an RPG that packs every style of game within it. Fans of sports games could simply drive their character down to the foot- ball or baseball stadium and play Eclectica as a sports game. Racing fans could travel to Eclectica City Speedway and drive against other cars and so on. Kelly’s RPG would encompass all games for all people. OWNED: BLOOD TYPE: о FIGHTING STYLE: H.R.R.S. (Hyper Honorable Ryu Style) SAD BUT TRUE: Kelly is known to foam at the mouth and convulse uncontrollably if he doesn't get his weekly fix of Street Fighter. BIO: Kelly first caught the video game bug in the '705 when titles like Asteroids and Space Invaders hit the arcade scene. His interest in games weaned a bit around the early '8os when Kelly discovered there was other cool stuff in the world (girls, baseball, skate- boards, etc.). The introduction of the Nintendo Super Famicom marked an important turning point in his life, so much so that Kelly decided once and for all that video games were his calling. He squeaked through college and nabbed a degree in communications (while working part-time at a video game mail-order store) and went on to pursue his gaming lifestyle. To this day, Kelly vehement- ly swears he is the black Ryu (this is one of his many disillusions) and is training to be an eighth-degree black belt in Street Fighter. TOP 10 FAVORITE GAMES: 10. Sonic 2— Genesis 9. Gunstar Heroes — Genesis 8. Street Fighter Collection —Saturn 7. Super Mario Bros. 3—NES 6. Final Fantasy Ill — Super NES 5. Super Castlevania IV —Super NES 4. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past—Super NES 3. Super Metroid — Super NES 2. Super Mario 64 —N64 oy Å LL SpXexorü 1. Street Fighter I! Turbo: Hyperfighting— Super NES зарип зле 8/21 pue еладлај YAL 241 "paytuit] биџәә! WAL 40 мешарел e S} од 30 iewapen e зле ибіѕәд Apog рие 019 зециод ШЕКЕ Биз “pry sie) зепбег jo sxremapen ayy әле „022СХ,, SILIU? ƏY} pue 'eataop зе» ] ларип рап aie pue "v's'n 'иоцелодлоу 291520) Jo оџешарелу. рәзәдѕ £ JA дамо “Duy 'ХЈДЕ Jo YewWapeN e si хє sarueduro» әлцэәйѕәл HAY} Jo әле орешарел IAY pun pasn әле sjoquifs pue so uorye10d10) si0joW үеїәшәз) “ио! aəzeposse pue „ездоу Áqjous,, "uj 'орејоззу од әзчәэц зәрип рәѕп 1g 1030W 32101۸2) Jo оџешаред әле suBisag Кров pue олеше) 'зујалац) * ' депбер,, paom au] "uoissuuiod Áq разпролаау “uessin jo орешарел poroystba! әле ,XZ00E,, 943 pue iouiÁ]g 993 pue ерп) уупошлја чу гброд ‘sa! jeu) әброд 'зәйїд зброд “зи 'uonipuay jo yrewapen e is yNquid Aq padojanag ‘paniasas syuBu JY “IUI 'арејоззу 2661 “DUT 'арејоззу Jo орешарел paroysibar әзе ТА зајоллацу T ay әј pue әлид 3591 Hot Soundtrack Featuring The Music Of Orbital The Younger, Younger 28s а the demo today i.accolade.com i: CALL 1.800.245.7744 TES mne Ps ACCOLADE il mud d ды. ТАХ ч ч / м ЛЕ F á ^ Available November ‘97 For Sony PlayStation and PC CD-ROM! (ће Behind screens А candid look at the madcap antics of the gamers who create EGM you read a gaming magazine like EGM, it’s hard to believe and comprehend how much work is actually put into the final product that you see on magazine shelves. Now, we're not about to suggest that playing games for a living is a tough life, but the process of making EGM is probably hard- er—and perhaps even cooler—than you might think. People who have visited the EGM offices (some to never return) usually describe it as visiting a college dorm. It’s easy to see why. The main EGM offices are a maze of oddly constructed cubicles decorated with everything from toys to posters to, of course, games. Lots and lots of games. Gold CD-ROMs containing the latest games are found everywhere (companies burn their games on them before they press the production copies), and, in some offices, the really old ones are used as coasters. Like some smaller dorms, EGM in many ways resembles a large family. Мете all good friends, and мете all around each other way too much. Even after deadlines are over, and that month’s issue is put to bed, we still end up hanging out with each other after hours. Many of the EGM staff, especially Crispin, are known to relax or take impromptu naps any- where in the office (top). Dan Hsu and EGM Art Director Cyril Wochok interrogate Assoc. Art Director Burwell (above), trying to find out where he put those darned K.C. Munchkin screen shots. Text Kraig Kujawa Gh Photos Michael Stassus 174 The productivity and hard work going on in this picture is truly out- standing. Shawn Smith, EGM"'s Scott Augustyn, Cyril Wochok, Dan Hsu and Andrew Burwell passionately debate where to go for dinner. If you look closely, you can see Crispin lying down, again (above). Kelly Rickards (bottom left in picture above) is our West Coast editor, who we fly in from San Francisco to help us at the end of deadlines. Here’s a unique glimpse of Kelly, Shawn, Dan and Crispin unknowingly demonstrating who got first, second, third and fourth place in their four-player GoldenEye death match—while at the same time eerily resembling the ridiculous review system of a competing mag. John Stockhausen is our liaison to game companies. In between calls, he stares at his Star Wars models, and creates his own, personal Battle of the Empire (left). Jason Hinman, EGM art director, must suffer and work through ridicule. In this case it’s Joan McInerney, our circ. director, who randomly stops by to laugh at him (bottom left). J here, we’re playin’ t and in our dreams w Crispin Boyer Features Editor “There’s a lot of wit around the office. EGM is like a sitcom which writes itself. Someday this could be funny TV.” Michael Stassus Creative Director The battle to place games on the Top 100 list became quite heated — the guys had powdered wigs and longcoats and stuff, you would have thought they were drafting the U.S. Constitution. While settling on rankings, editors resorted to time-honored means such as tic-tac-toe, lawn jarts and bare-knuckle boxing. The room didn’t empty until the wee hours of the morning, not coincidentally about two hours after they had burritos for dinner. average work day at EGM can vary, depending on what time of month it is and what each staff member's role is. The magazine follows a cycle that averages about three weeks. In the beginning, we all sit around like bums, relax and play a few games. Once those few, relaxing days are over, the regular work days commence, followed by the marathon all-nighters that take place just before deadline. Those 16-hour work days are always the most interest- ing. After all, when you have a bunch of 20-something guys who play games for a living—and are deprived of sleep— anything can happen. The average all-nighter consists of us all finally arriving in the office by around 10 a.m. Everyone groggily goes about their duties in the morning (reviewing games, writing previews, doing layouts, etc.), and then files out for lunch at the normal time. After just about everyone aside from the EGM crew leaves at 5 p.m., the festivities begin. At any time, the hall outside the EGM offices is liable to be converted into a Decapitato Arena. Playing “Decapitato” involves two or three players at each side of a long hall. Each Decapthlete flings a hard, circular frisbee down the hall in hopes of hitting hapless opponents. No one has been injured during this epic sport, as we're Ту all professionals. 176 Here, art boys Andrew and Cyril chuckle at Crispin because he’s drinking Coke instead of his usual Pepsi during dinner in the EGM conference room (top). Through many Ziff-Davis focus groups and research, it is known that dewbacks can thrive on a diet of fried rice and stormtroopers (left). Now You Can See Resident Evil Through The Director's Eyes. Experience the director’s original horrific vision. Presenting RESIDENT EVIL DIRECTOR’S CUT" = the uncensored, unrelenting version of the CONSUMER’S CHOICE OVERALL "BEST-PLAYSTATION GAME." Substantially enhanced with frightiully graphic footage, alternate camera angles and new levels of difficulty. Resident Evil Director's Cut. It’s a sight for sore eyes. кы ea AM MID Џ \ SEARS пио нон: ононе (FuN TRONS | t 510 p] || || a | OFF R5770218510D0 > Not redeemable ог cash. dor your mon “HEY PlayStation [t y balances, gift certificates or credit card pay 7 Sears Roebuck and Go, Satisfactio veding 510. Valid Oct. 15 rough Nov. 30 19 on: one per customer, Void where prohi жән жее ды» Сз. шой EP cu ҒА е” рə CAPCOM U.S.A.. INC. 1997 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. RESIDENT EVIL and RESIDENT EVIL Directors Cut are trademarks of CAPCOM CO., LTD. ed trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. © CAPCOM CO.. LTD. 1 CAPCOM i “When а lot of good games arrive in the office, it’s almost like ANOTHER surprise Christmas.” Kraig Kujawa Associate Editor , by the way, is hidden in one of the pictures on this feature’s first page. We usually review the games at the end of each issue, so many of our late nights involve writing reviews and last-minute previews (games arrive throughout the magazine's cycle). А late dinner ensues, which is paid for by the company, thus result- ing in us eating like lowa swine. Playing four-player GoldenEye has become a recent post-dinner tradition. The Top 100 list in this issue is a good example of what keeps us here so late. We worked until 2 a.m. agreeing on just the Top 20. Then, when screen shots were needed, Crispin and Andrew stayed until 10 a.m. But, even with all the long hours, it hardly seems like work. After all, what other job could be nearly as fun as getting paid for playing and writing about video games? We're sure as hell not complaining. ІШ Here, Ed Semrad explains to John Ricciardi and Wataru Scott Parus had the lovely job of gathering screen shots of the games in the Maruyama how to run up a big company expense Top 100 list. Here, Ken Williams, managing editor, instructs Scott exactly account during the Tokyo Game Show in Japan. where to shove the cartridges he's handing to him. Kraig knows that it's pru- dent to wash your hands after playing with some- one else's joystick, err, controller (above. Here Crispin cuts loose with Associate Editor Dean Hager toils through another stressful game sequence, a gaping yawn in his cubicle, (left) while a sympathetic Terry “Trickman” Minnich types in “All work and no dead tired after a day of play..." for the 12 millionth time. Meanwhile, Crispin takes a little cat nap on the vigorous napping. floor of his cubicle. 178 The PlayStation game console’s first one- handed controller Ideal for role-playing, simulation, sport and strategy games ' * ж Ergonomic design aximizes player “flexibility and comfort ons for е your best — : Р Play your best hand. tion. Kick back. hands. TE yourself. It's the most relaxing and comfortable way to play your favorite games. Imagine the endless possibilities. ASCII ASCIIWARE => PlayStation www.asciient.com ™ < > PlayStation || IDS To ADULTS SCORE WASN'T VENGEAN WAS SIMPLE JUSTICE. G Police, Psygnosis and the Psygnosis logo are trademarks of Psygnosis, Ltd. €1997 Psygnosis. Ltd. All rights reserved. SLATER NS ФА THERE, ON RETURN TO ду THE HORIZON! = FORMATION!! И] А Г EATH, || BLACK, wi Н FIRE || TAKE our THE ENTIRE DOME, [> V; IBS E "8 Police... one of the most amazing-looking titles ever seen on the PlayStation.” -Electronic Gaming Monthly You are Jeff Slater, 21st Century Cop. Fly your Havoc gun ship on 85 missions through 51 of Callisto's domed environments. You have fly-anywhere 360° maneuverability and tons of firepower. Serve & protect. ж) WRAP AROUND SLATER'S HE. ка XA SQUEEZING, SQUEEZING, SQUEEZING... Pay attention, you punks. Keep an eye out for these potential sleeper hits. We guarantee that not a single one of 'ет 5 t’s a given that you’re gonna buy the big stuff this Christmas—Tomb Raider 2, Quake, Diddy Kong Racing and all the other hyper-hyped holiday releases. But we at EGM feel it’s our duty to point out the X-mas games that—although just as great as these surefire blockbusters —aren't getting the attention they deserve. So five of the Review Crew guys decided to pick the five no-hype games you must not miss this holiday season. If you haven’t heard of these games yet, you will. 182 hat it’s all about.. You're a space-fighter flyboy о sticks it to an unlikely nemy-— Earth —in this eye-pop- ingly, pretty cosmic-combat sim. Unlike the console ports of Darklight Conflict and Wing Commanders 111 and IV, Colony Wars is exclusive ‘to the PlayStation. It pushes the sys- tem's prowess with lighting effects to the max. Why It's Crispin's Pick... With its explosively vibrant special effects, Colony Wars packs all the pyrotechnic punch of WipeOut XL. But there’s more to this game than Babylon 5-worthy space battles. Control, for starters, is both realistic and fun, letting you pull off more life-saving tricks than in any other console | sim. You can slam your engines into reverse to tighten turns when dogfighting, ristmas. These are the games that won't be ign ж--- Стїзрїп ог (ту personal favorite) kill your engines, spin 180 degrees and take out pursuing bogeys while flying backward. But aside from its great gameplay, Colony Wars packs enough features to make it the ulti- · mate deep-space shooter. You can | pilot six different | ships, including a stealth fighter and а bomber, and you'll share the final frontier with nearly 60 allied and enemy crafts. Plus, each of the 14 weapons is suited for a particular task, forcing you to think before you pull the trigger. Perhaps most noteworthy is the dynamic mission struc- ture. Colony Wars packs 70 missions in all, but sucky pilots will only fly five or six before seeing one of the six endings. Better players may fly. up to 30 missions before getting a (ЕСМУ better ending. Now that’s replay value! 183 Did you know that Treasures of the Deep is made by the same team behind Black Daw d you know the · Treasures of the Deep Namco Discovers A Sunken Treasure What It’s All About... Treasures of the Deep follows the exploits of an ex-Navy Seal who plunders the ocean’s depths in locations around the world for every- thing from riches to nuclear bombs. The game includes a variety of levels, and the stakes grow higher as you progress through each one. The depths become increas- ingly more haz- ardous, too, as they offer One The One Game b Get For The Holidays What It’s All About... Players control John Cain, a guy looking for answers. Problem is, he doesn’t really have any idea where to get them. What he does know 15 he has a lot of anger buried inside, and that’s where the action comes from in One. Of course, the hordes of bad guys help a little, too. One features a story line with depth, realtime 3-D with little or no load time and a main character who can do plenty of moves including com- bat rolls, jumps and others. Oh, and it has plenty of cool lighting effects, too. But with all that mar- keting-speak said, one may think One is just another PlayStation game...so to speak. Why It's Shawn's Pick... Forget all the fancy buzz words and dollars that are tossed around by marketing folks. What it comes down to, and this is no secret, is whether or not a game is good—and One is. It brings back some of the feel of the Super NES Contra games— and does it well on a 32-Bit machine to boot. deadlier enemies ranging from rival treasure seekers to really weird ocean- ic creatures and monsters. To even the odds, tons of equipment and tools can be purchased with your newly found riches, such as differ- ent types of subs, a large array of torpedoes and other helpful items including flares, nets and even a fancy blowtorch. atmosphere. Even better, it has fun, diverse and challenging gameplay to match. Some levels get a little tricky, but that only adds to its lasting power. Why It's Ктаја 5 Pick... In this time of "me too," cookie-cutter games, it's refreshing to play a 3-D game that really breaks from the norm. Treasures of the Deep's originality really pays off. It has excellent visuals and a great soundtrack that contribute to its fantastic One has lots of action, huge Bosses and great gameplay (and it's in 3-D, no less). But does it copycat the oldies? No. One has original ideas like the rage meter, where the more successful you are with attacking the enemy, the more powerful you become, among others. From what I’ve played, I'm sold. CHIPS & BITSinc. mso Available О WWW.cdmag.com/chips.html POB 234 DEPT 10937 ROCHESTER, VT 05767 Jaguar, 300 and CD or call 1-800-600-4263 INT’L 802-767-3033 FAX 802-767-3382 Source Code 10937 VIDEO GAMES: PLAYSTATION ‘FINAL FANTASY 7” Act out your mercenary dreams тте Ваше Pace Тие йик Pace Тв йге Price Tme паша Paice while saving the planet. Spectacular animated plot | ASCII Sphere 360 NOW $69 ^ Commnd & Congr NOW $46 Grand Theft Auto NOW $51 Nightmre Creature NOW 549 sequences, impressive storyline, three dimensional Ace Combat 2 NOW $46 Constructor NOW $49 — Heaw 02/98 $49 Nuclear Strike NOW $46 characters, unprecedented level of detail, great effects. | Alpha Storm NOW $49 Contra NOW $46 Нег Adv NOW $40 _ Odd World NOW $49 Sony (Roleplaying) Alundra NOW $49 Cool Boarders2 NOW $42 Interstate 75 03/98 $49 Ogre Battle NOW Release Date: NOW PSX $59 Andretti Racing '97 NOW $49 Courier Crisis NOW $46 Joust Epic NOW $49 PGA Tour 98 NOW $46 Aqua Prophecy 02/98 $49 Crash Bandicoot 2 NOW $49 Lost World NOW $44 _ Pamdemonium2 12/97 549 1 3 7 7 Ату Меп 05/98 549 Crime Killer 02/98 $50 МОК NOW $46 Parasite Eve 02/98 $69 STEALER ШШ Ascii Grip V NOW $29 Croc NOW $49 MK Mythologies NOW $46 Rampage Wd Tr © NOW 546 ЖОЕ, eoe foveal а ал УД ЕДО Auto Destruct NOW $46 Dark Forces NOW $49 MLBPntRace98 NOW $36 Resident Evil2 01/98 $52 НЫ each with undue moves ad Individual Barb Wire NOW $52 Dead Or Alive NOW 546 — MLBPA97 NOW $48 _ Ridge Racer NOW $44 ОТАНЫ CD ПАЙ q Р Battle Sport NOW $36 Death Keep NOW $52 Масе: Dark Age NOW $46 бада Frontier 01/98 konami ЕВА E score, Battlestations NOW 536 DeathTrap Dngn NOW $46 Madden FB 98 NOW $46 Sign of the Sun — NOW Release Date: NOW PSX $48 Beynd the Beynd МОМ $49 Diablo NOW $54 Mage Slayer NOW $49 Soul Edge Now 2 Biofreaks 02/98 $46 Піс World 2 NOW $46 Magic the Gathrng NOW $50 Storm NOW 550 Я Blades of Rage NOW $49 Dragon Warrior 01/98 $56 Master of Monstrs 02/98 $49 Stratosphere NOW $48 "MORTAL KOMBAT: MYTHOLOGIES' The Mortal | Breath of Fire3 0198 $54 Dream Knight NOW 560 Mechwarrior 2 NOW $39 Suikoden 2 NOW $49 Kombat saga continues with an all new storyline. Brunswick Bowling 02/98 $49 Оше Nukem NOW $54 Metal Gear Solid МОМУ $56 — Swagman NOW $50 Instant playability as you take on over 30 different Bugrider's. NOW 546 Dungeon Keeper © NOW $46 Monkey Boy NOW $46 Ogre 1297 549 enemies while exploring 8 new worlds. Real-time 30 Bushido Blade NOW $44 Dynasty Warriors NOW $46 Monster Rancher NOW $44 Tale of the Sun NOW $46 lighting, fully rendered 30 characters Buster Brothers МОМ S42 FIFASoccer98 МОМУ 546 Monstrous City МОМУ $54 Tall Ships NOW $52 Midway (Adventure) C&CRed Alet МОМ $46 Felony 1179 NOW $44 Myst 2: Riven NOW 549 Теп Pin Alley NOW $44 Release Date: NOW PSX $46, N64 $79 S Caesar's Palace | NOW $46 Final Fant Tactics 01/98 $56 — NAMCOMusm4 МОМ 544 The Glove NOW $68 Cardinal Syn 01/98 $44 Но & Klawd NOW 551 NBA Live 98 NOW 546 Time Crisis NOW 569 ‘MLB FEATURING KEN GRIFFEY JR. N64’ comes Carmageddon NOW $50 Floating Runner NOW $39 NCAA Football "98 NOW $44 Tomb Raider 2 NOW $49 packed with over 1500 motion-capture animations and Castle of Damned NOW $54 Freak Fast NOW $46 МН Game Day'98 NOW $39 Triple Play 98 NOW S46 a stadium full of stats. Pinpoint control and a fistful of Clayfighter 3 12/97 $50 Frogger NOW $50 NFL OB Club 98 NOW $46 VMX Racing NOW 546 specialty pitches. Four modes of play, including exhibi- Clock Tower NOW $44 бЕХ2 01/98 $49 NHL Face Off '98 МОМ $46 Wild Arms NOW $44 tion, half or full-season, Pennant race, or World Series. | Colony NOW 546 бате Shark NOW 550 NHLHockey'98 МОМ $46 Xevious 3D NOW $44 Nintendo(Sports) = VIDEO GAMES: SATURN = JY == Release Date: 11/97 N64 $74 ASCII Fighter Stck NOW $34 Darklight Conflict МОМУ $44 Lunacy NOW $49 Resident Evil NOW $44 “SEGA AGES’ The hottest hits of the 80's arcades are Albert Odyssey NOW $52 Darkstalkers 3 NOW $49 Lunar Director Cut 12/97 $46 Shining Holy Ark МОМ $46 finally available on a home system. On a single cd, Barb Wire NOW $52 Diablo NOW $54 MLBPA NOW $44 Shining Wisdom NOW $42 Sega Ages’ features the blasting sci-fi madness of Batman and Robin NOW $44 Die Hard Arcade NOW $44 Madden FB 98 NOW $46 Soviet Strike NOW $49 "Space Harrier’, the tune-rockin’ tour race ‘Outrun’, and Battle Monsters NOW $34 — Duke Nukem NOW 544 Mechwarrior? NOW $36 Star Fighter NOW 544 the top gun action of ‘Afterburner II’ Bedlam NOW $52 Enemy Zero NOW 549 Меда Man X4 NOW $44 Тесто Super Bowl NOW 554 Working Designs Fea Bomberman NOW 552 НРА Soccer 98 10/98 $46 MortalKombat4 03/98 $62 Теп Pin Alley NOW $44 Release Date: NOW SAT $40 Clockwrk Knight 2 NOW $22 Fighters Megamix NOW $52 МВА Action 98 МОМ $49 Tomb Raiders NOW $50 Colliderz NOW $52 Here's Adventures NOW $42 МВА Live 98 NOW $46 Ultimate Football NOW $46 ‘MAGIC KNIGHT RAYEARTH' Three Japanese school- Commnd 8 Congr NOW $52 Hyper3D Pinball МОМ $42 NFL OB Club 98 NOW $46 VMX Racing NOW $46 girls must save a Princess to restore peace to the land Courier Crisis. NOW 546 Legend of Oasis МОМ $39 NHL Hockey '98 NOW $46 WWF Arcade NOW $29 Breathtaking animation with over 90 minutes of audio. Croc NOW $49 Legends Ftball ' 97 NOW $50 Nascar 98 NOW $46 Wing Arms NOW $26 When you talk to characters in the game, they reply! Crypt Killer NOW $46 Lost Vikings 2 NOW 546 Quake NOW S44 s NOW $46 Working Designs (Roleplaying) Dark Legend NOW $39 Lost World NOW 544 Quarterback Attck NOW $29 Worldwde Socr98 NOW 549 Release Date: NOW SAT $52 | VIDEO GAMES: SNES VIDEO GAMES: GENESIS ‘DARK FORCES JEDI KNIGHT’ In this long awaited Collge Footbll 97 NOW $54 МВА Live 98 NOW Fahrenheit NOW $19 МВА Hang Time NOW 549 sequel to Dark Forces, you battle a multitude of Demolition Man NOW $19 NHL Hockey '98 — 11/97 Nomad System NOW $169 МВА Live 98 1098 $52 enemies and discover the secrets of the lost Jedi burial | Donky Kng Cntry3 NOW $64 ^ Revolution X NOW Liberty or Death NOW $39 — NFLOBCIub96 NOW $29 ground. Master lightsaber combat and harness an | Harvest Moon NOW $56 Secret of Evermore NOW Lost World NOW $44 МН Hockey '97 МОМУ $56 arsenal of firepower. Develop your force powers and Killer Instinct NOW $19 Super Mario NOW Lunar NOW $34 NHL Hockey '98 _ NOW 552 become a Jedi Knight or a dark Jedi. All new 30 Lost Vikings 2 NOW $44 Super Mario Kat МОМ Lunar 2 NOW 548: Popful Mail NOW $22 environments and characters, Madden 98 08/98 $52 Timon And Pumba NOW Madden 98 NOW $52 Тесто Spr Bowl 3 NOW $29 LucasArts (Action) | Mortal Kombat 3 NOW $59 Тоу Story Now Madden FB 97 NOW $54 — Vectorman 2 NOW $49 Release Date:NOW PC CD $53 | МВА Hang Time | NOW $52 WWF Arcade NOW Mutant Chronicles NOW $42 World Series'98 МОМ $46 | VIDEO GAMES: NINTENDO 64 VIDEO GAME HINT BOOKS | ‘LAST BRONX’ It's winner-take-all urban combat set in mats the unforgiving confines of the asphalt jungle where Blast Corps NOW $62 instinct Gold NOW $72 Breath of Fire 3 МОМ $11 МК Mythologies NOW 510 fighters must use hand-to-hand weapons skills to | Савјауапе е _ “ 02:98 1576 [Legend а | 0988 $79. "Donkey Kon; Cy МОМУ 314. оде Battie NOW $12 | survive. Multiple weapons to use, from nunchucks Clayfighter 3 NOW $76 Lost World 1297 $76 Doom 64 NOW $10 Quake 64 1297 510 to double sticks. Fight arenas modeled from actual Conker's Quest 11/97 $69 Масе: Dark Ages МОМ $79 — DukeNukm3D 12/97 S10 Resident Evl2 01/98 59 ШАП САДЫП. Contra 64 0288 574 Ріш Wings 64 NOW $69 Dynasty Warriors NOW $12 Secret of Evermore NOW 512 Sega (Kick/Punch) F-Zero 64 02/98 $76 Star Fox 64 NOW $69 Final Fantasy Tactics 01/98 $12 Secret of Mana МОМ 512 Release Date: NOW SAT $49 FIFA Intl Soccer NOW $75 Super Mario 64 МОМ $66 Hexen 64 NOW $12 Temo Deception NOW $12 be EI NOM NL ad NONO E а МОМ SS iS Tom Fait коа ‘DRAGON DICE KICKER SET #2' contains new dice Joust Epic 11/97 S76 Маме Race NOW $72 Legacy of Kain NOW $13 Warcraft 2: Drk Saga NOW 512 ПЕ О ОПО ПИСЕ Ог, fall мезо OARD GAMES COMPUTER GAMES Firewalkers and Monsters of stunning mottled red Air Baron NOW Knightmare Chess NOW $13 — Daikatana 1297 $49 Prey 04/08 $50 us pd тоору Axis & Allies NOW Lunch Money NOW $15 Dark Frces Jedi Knght NOW 553 Profiteer 03/98 545 TSR (Board game) Battletech 4th Ed. МОМ Pain Doctor NOW $25 Dark Vengeance МОМУ $45 — Quake NOW $42 Release Date: NOW BG $6 Car Wars Deluxe — NOW Rats NOW $24 Defiance NOW $40 — Quake? NOW $52 Civilization NOW Robo Rally NOW 533 Hexen 2 NOW $52 SpecOps NOW 548 ‘MAGIC THE GATHERING STH EDITION’ This deck Dragon Lords Now Samurai Swords НОМ $35 Mageslayer NOW $39 Тоть Raider 2 NOW S49 contains 60 tradable game cards, randomly assorted Empire Builder NOW $25 Setters of Catan NOW $20 Postal NOW $48 Unreal NOW 548 E rule book Each player must Rave a. deck, This Grand Prix NOW S19 Space Chess 30 NOW $35 Postal Level Editor НОМ $48 Curse of Monkey Isle NOW 529 deck may be enhanced with more cards sold in Hobbit Adventure NOW $29 Stratego NOW 514 Powerslave NOW $39 — Myst2 NOW 552 booster packs COLLECTIBLE CARD GAMES ROLE PLAYING GAMES АИ АЕ бате) Blech BP Merc NOW $3 MTG Mirage SD NOW 58 AD&D OM Guide NOW 516 Heavy Gear NOW $25 610458:0:16: Battletech Booster NOW $3 MTG Тетрез ВР NOW $3 AD&D Mnstr Man! NOW $20 — Mechwarrior NOW $13 “STAR WARS’ This roleplaying game plunges you into. | Battletech Starter NOW $8 МТС TempestSD NOW $8 AD&D Players HE NOW $20 Once UponaTime NOW 514 the breakneck thrills and pulse-pounding excitement Dr Who Booster NOW $3 МТС Visions NOW $3 Ars Magica 4th Ed NOW $26 Rifts NOW 521 of the greatest space fantasy of all time! Face Dr Who Starter NOW $8 MTG Weatherlight NOW $3 Call of Cthulhu NOW $18 Shadowrun NOW $20 overwhelming odds and impossible challenges. May Great Dalmuti NOW $5 Star Wars BP NOW $3 Conspiracy X NOW $20 Traveller NOW $24 the force be with you! MTG 5th Ed BP NOW 53 Star Wars SD NOW 57 Earthdawn NOW $18 Vampire 2nd Ed. NOW $24 West End Games (Pen/Paper Roleplaying) MTG Chronicle BP NOW $2 X-files Booster © NOW $3 Fading Suns NOW $22 Warhamr Fantasy NOW $19 Release Date: NOW RPG $25 MTG Mirage ВР NOW $3 X-Files Starter NOW $9 GURPS Rulebook NOW $20 Werewolf NOW $24 Visa, MC and Discover accepted. Checks held 4 weeks. MONEY ORDERS UNDER 5200 SAME AS CASH. COD $8. Price, availability, offer subject to change at any time. Standard Priority Mall To Release schedules and shipping times are approximate, not guaranteed, and subject to change at any time. Hardware orders may require additional shipping and han- fies ASB зра pis dling charges. Defectives replaced with same product. All sales final. Call for details. Shipping and handling charges calculated on a per order, per shipment, and per Per Order si^ Qu' 00 200 item basis. The "per order" charge is charged once per order placed and the "per item" charge is charged once for each item ordered and the "per shipment" charge Per Shipment $125 $1 $3.00 $2.00 is charged once for each shipment we make to you ES Per Item PA А ne TED > TT FU Zero are invisible until they attack you? Did you know that PaRappa the Rapper greatest fear is that his dad will bite h PaRappa The Rapper Fresh And Phat...Its All That What It’s All About... PaRappa the Rapper takes you through six chapters of a young hip-hop puppy’s life. The gameplay consists of pressing the right but- tons at the right time (it doesn’t sound too challenging, but you just wait). Each button is a word in a rap song, and PaRappa must sing the correct lines with a minimum of mistakes. Why It’s Dan’s Pick... We'd all crowd around the TV and OK, l'll admit, if you strip away the fight to be the next person to cartoons, the dialogue, the music and ш rap. Chances аге, you’d be the story, you’d have one of the the most popular person on lamest game premises in the his- the block if you owned this tory of lame game premises. But game. Friends and family will that’s not what PaRappa’s be stopping by to play. about. The cartoons are a blast 1 сап go on forever about to watch. The dialogue is how cool PaRappa is. In fact, | goofy The music is good once suggested to a Sony (| mean, really representative that the lov- good). The story able pup should replace Crash is simple, well- as Sony's spokesperson and crafted, twisted, mascot. She didn't appreciate far-fetched, that comment very much... funny, etc. Everyone here was hooked the first time we saw PaRappa. Enemy Zero In Space, No Üne Can Hear You Pee Your Pants What It's АП About... Enemy Zero is the second game from popular Japanese developer WARP (creators of D for the 3DO, Saturn and PlayStation). Similar to D, Enemy Zero is nearly all FMV-based and stars the lavishing, young, blond, polygonal actress Laura Lewis (who was the star of D, as well). The story behind Enemy Zero is strikingly similar to a certain movie series that Rancher for the PlayStation. | English version of the game (fortunately the provided the inspiration for ended up picking Enemy Zero for Japanese one isn't too dependent on text), but our hardly original sub- several reasons: One, it's a Saturn I'm happy with what I’ve played of the import head. Awakened from a game, and lately the games for and | was a big fan of D. My only concern is Cold Sleep Capsule on a this system haven’t been getting that, like D, Enemy Zero may end up being a spacecraft returning to enough attention. Two, it’s an FMV “play it once” affair and recommendable as a Earth, Laura finds that the game. Everybody knows FMV is just rental. Still, if you’re into these types of games, members of her crew are being plain evil 95 percent of the time, but Enemy Zero will be well worth checking out. killed one by one. In typical in rare cases (like this Interactive Movie style, your job is to one), it can be used to pro- guide Laura throughout the ship, picking vide an atmosphere as chilling up items, defeating aliens and searching for clues as a great horror movie. And toward revealing the gruesome mystery at hand. three: | like it. I’ve yet to play an Why Its John’s Pick... Release Date (EGM\ For me, it came down to either this or Monster "МЕТ $10.00 OFF” ATHLETIC DEPT. mmm ш инни ШШШ ШШШ ШЕШ ШШШ НЕ ШШШ ШШ шын ОШ ПШ 10 OFF jjj; 810 OF 98 or TLL a І К5770131%1000 Good for $10 off Sears Funtronics Dept. regular purchase price. Valid 10/1/97-12/31/97 only. Offer not good on layaway balances, gift certificates or credit card payments. Not redeemable for cash. Not valid with any other coupons or offers. Limit one coupon per transaction, one per customer. Void where prohibited by law. Cash value 1/20¢. © 1997 Sears, Roebuck and Co. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. Sony Computer Entertainment logo is a trademark of Sony Corporation. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. NHL Face Off is a trademark of the National Hockey League. NHL, National Hockey League, the NHL Shield and the Stanely Cup are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL Team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. © 1997 NHL. Officially licensed product of the National Hockey League. National Hockey League Players’ Association, NHLPA and NHLPA logo are Trademarks of i the NHLPA and are used, under license, by Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. © NHLPA. Officially Licensed Product of the National Hockey League Players’ Association. Designed and developed by Killer Game. © 1997 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. тту д 1 TRAVEL a Race circuit that spans 5 Worlds * == 4 (24 TRACKS!!), and the We Pass J ULTIMATE showdown in the ы B. BN 2 | ARENA o£ DEATH! у 3 SER p Демо» seys —— » چک‎ ы 7 “NITRO 7 MU LE | RAGE. on р аай іп 6 CUSTOMIZABLE machines of war. N r TAAM ERADICATE your opponents with eee у \ N NAPALM LIQUID DEATH, ANTI- i Y MATTER Projectiles, Nuclear ? | к ge” PLASMA Cannons, "WRATH of God" iue 52 ИН Beams, and амеб, much Em Ye {Ў (ШЕ your Fate. | 6 unique characters with UPGRADEABLE Abilities ,and each With a DESTINY of their OWN. NDS To ADULTS Í CONTENT RATED BY ESRB PlayStation z ©1997 Interplay Production Asphalt and Interplay are trademarks of Interplay Productions. PlayStation logo are trademark iinment America. Allrights reserved. All Mo "аи and кадет Editors’ Choice R Gold Awards go to games (ЕСИ ) whose average score Жо equals 9.0 or higher. (ER Games that average (econ) # at least an 8.0 receive HER JJ EZ Silver Awards. Rating Scale 10-Perfection 5-Average An absolutely flawless experi- Not great, not crap. A ho-hum ence. It doesn't get any better title that isn't for everybody 4-Rent First We have problems here. Definitely try before you buy 3-Time Waster Playing it for more than 10 minutes gives you a migraine 2-Don't Even Rent The only point in playing this garbage is to make fun of it 1-Flush It Run for your life if you see it, or use it for a coaster 9-Virtually Flawless Drop what you're doing and buy this nearly perfect game 8-Splendid Delivers everything you'd want in a game, despite minor flaws. T-Worthy A solid title that you won't regret buying 6-Good, Not Great Sure, it has its problems, but it’s still fun to play Guest Reviewer Steve Harris EGM Founder А world-record holder in The Guinness Book for his astronomically high scores on Congo Bongo and Popeye, Steve Harris has been a gamer since the era of Space Invaders. In the late 805, he felt something was missing from the gaming scene- namely a magazine that catered to the needs of die-hard game enthusiasts like himself. He started a newsletter called Electronic Gaming Monthly, which in 1989 turned into a full-fledged magazine written by gamers, for gamers. Harris sold EGM to Ziff-Davis in 1996 and is now president of MVP Media Group. He still remains an avid gamer. Current Favorites Doom 64 Final Fantasy VII Madden 98 Williams Arcade Classics гем Our Philosophy Welcome to the new Crew, which is packed with more reviewers, games and-for the first time-peripherals. Each reviewer gives a game an overall score, which is displayed behind the review and based on how the game compares to other titles for the same system. In addition, the reviewers rate each game's graphics, sound, ingenuity and replay value. The averages of these scores are listed at the bottom. Shawn Smith ] Treasures of the Deep Phantasy Star II Nuclear Strike Faxanadu Shawn can hardly believe he's working оп EGM's 100th issue. Sure, he works for the mag and all, but it's a trip to actually be part of the video game mag he has read for so long. We've actually caught him caressing the pages before they were sent off to the printer (we hope they won't mind), but it's good that he's so damn excited about the new look. _ Current Favorites Dan "Shoe" Hsu's mind is slowly deteriorating from long deadline hours. He asked us today, "Is video games one or two words?" But one thing's for sure, working on the 100 Best Games list has brought back some fond memo- ries for Shoe. He's secretly playing 16-Bit classics when- ever the bosses look away. He thinks his secret's safe... Saturn Bomberman GoldenEye 007 Super Metroid SF2 Turbo (Super NES) Castlevania: SotN Saturn Bomberman Point Blank Tetris issue of EGM, the game mag he's been reading since he was а wee lad (or at least a wee high school senior). Still, despite his excitement, this issue wasn't easy. Не kept challenging coworkers to bare-knuckle brawls to defend his picks for the Top 100 list. In the end, he was the one with the black eyes. Current Favorites Madden NFL 98 GoldenEye 007 Castlevania: SotN NBA Live 98 When he wasn't fighting to get sports games into the Top 100 list and sweating out this issue’s deadline, Kraig sat back and played GoldenEye in addition to his Madden 98 season. Kraig feels honored to write for this momentous issue as he used to stare at EGMs of years past, and think about how cool it would be to work there. Current Favorites GoldenEye 007 Castlevania: SotN Marvel Super Heroes Thunder Force V John's been slaving away almost 16 hours a day for the past few weeks to get all of his work done before his grand trip to Japan to visit Konami and check out the Tokyo Game Show. Despite being completely worn out from all the chaos of issue 100'5 deadline, he still finds time each day to get his butt whooped at four-player GoldenEye. What a guy! Kelly Rickards West Coast Editor Kelly Rickards is like EGM's prodigal i son. He'd call us from California once in a while but would rarely come and visit. Now that we've expanded the Review Crew to include him, we expect to see a lot more of the guy. In fact, we're flying him in once a month to review a few games and to party Chicago-style. Current Favorites Castlevania: SotN GoldenEye 007 Street Fighter Alpha 2 Treasures of the Deep ————— Sushi's all broken up over the 100th issue. He's been seen reminiscing about "the good ol' days" for a while now. Luckily, Gem Fighter captured his attention, so now the rest of us can get some work done. We also think he's been spend- ing way too much time in Ultima Online, the new computer online world...the traitor!! He should be playing video games! Gem Fighter Final Fantasy VII GoldenEye 007 Castlevania: SotN Developer: EA Sports i Madden 64 is almost identical to this year’s 32-Bit games, except for the fancy 3-D graph- ics. The player models are absolutely incredi- ble, as they are detailed right down to the black paint on the players’ faces. They look so realistic that EA was able to make a respectable intro to the game with them. Needless to say, it makes for some awesome instant replays. The only blemish is that the players still don’t wrap tackle like in real life (and in GameDay). Instead, they still hit each other like ping-pong balls. The great motion- captured animations hide some of it, but there’s room for improvement. The polygons also control a little more sluggish than the 32- Bit versions, which play a tad better. The field conditions, on the other hand, are near per- fect. The snow-covered fields, complete with a white haze, are breathtaking. Complementing these great graphics is worthy gameplay. The Al in Madden 64 is realistic, and the game's control'is as.good as a football,game сап, ре, in spite of the Nintendo controller, The yellow buttons make things more confusing than they should be, but continued practice helps. The most glaring flaw in M64 is the lack ofan NFL license, which means no logos or team names. Although M64 is great, | enjoy the 32-Bit ver- sionswmore because:they. play faster, have the NFU license and control better: Kraig Like Shawn, | ain’t exactly a sports guy (the more sports-savvy staffers ћад о explainyto me that Madden 64's “Monster Blitz” does not summon monsters to pound the quarterback). But this is one of those sports games that appeals to all gamers. It packs incredible ani- mation and even better gameplay. Madden 64 can be ай е tough on novices, but that’s why | prefér playing against human opponents, especially fellow sports newbies. Crispin First let me say that I’m no sports fan. It's not that despise.sports— I'll watcha game if it's оп but l'don't get into it. With that said, here goes nothin’: Although it seems complicated at first, it's still fun to take оп а friend (com- рШег5 tough): After some consultation from a peer, | learned about the different plays, and actually started scoring with cool-looking dives and jumps. On top of this, the graphics and replays are awesome. This game looks very rushed, and for being on the'N64, the graphics look verydull and: dloudy. The only other major problem is that it doesn't have an official NFL league license, but that is ап easy one to forget because of the incredible gameplay. A word of advice though, don't throw into double or triple coverage or you will be in trouble. Die-hard Madden fans will enjoy the advanced Al, especially on offense. The N64 needs this game. Kelly vl E 1d JO TequinN deag q-¢ :aunyeay 3598 СО 'MMM Шо02'5310' ЕШЕШЕТ ОМ :24nzeaq 3510M Publisher: Sega Developer: Hudson Featured In: EGM #98 I've been waiting for this one for a long, long time. It was always out there: "Coming soon: 10-player Bomberman." Now finally, it has arrived: the long-overdue, long-awaited Saturn Bomberman. For those of you who are oblivi- ous to the fun that is Bomberman, here's a quick summary: It's a mediocre one-player game. It's a fantastic multiplayer game. And that's all you really need to know. Bomberman is one of the best party games ever invented... period. It's frantic, competitive and addicting. It's also so easy to learn, anyone can pick it up within moments. Saturn Bomberman, obvious- ly, is the best version yet. It 1-Ups the competi- tion by offering 10-player