Issue 7 (May 2001)

Issue 7, May 2001

Editor’s letter

“As our canary yellow cover proudly wails like a banshee, things are a bit more bright and breezy round these parts this month. Why? Because of that cover game – the mighty Crazy Taxi. Not only is this issue laden with the world exclusive review, but Acclaim’s game signifies a few things. See, things are changing on PS2.

The Playstation 2 is – depending on which side up you put the thing – a tall black monolith. It stands proud and erect next to your telly and it looks right suave like. It has sophisticated games and sophisticated titles to match – music generators, racing simulators, otaku-pleasing mech games, harrowing sci-fi adventures. These are serious games for serious gamers who might not be the black polo-neck-wearing pseuds that we were once accused of being in a review of our magazine (Editor replies by holding up handbag Vic and Bob style), but who do indeed give their games the degree of respect they so rightly deserve.

And like us, they also like neon-splattered, dumb-assed, retina-scorching fun as much as they dig realistic rally sims. Yes, we all like trowelling the torque bars (or something) on one of Gran Turismo’s Dodge Vipers, be we also like broadsliding a knackered Cadillac through a shop window and stuffing the contents down our voluminous trousers. While the PSOne has had the years under its belt to provide its audience with the breadth of games to allow this kind of schizophrenic game-buying, the PS2 has until recently had possibly more than its fair share of cyberpunk simulations overloaded with real-world statistics.

No more. Yes, serious gamers will still have their sophisticated games and sophisticated themes (and thank the Lord for that), but we’ll increasingly have the choice to temper these temperate times with the PS2 equivalent of a fart gag. See Crazy Taxi, CART Fury, MDK 2: Armageddon, Giants: Citizen Kabuto (take a look at the trailer on our DVD)… These games might not affect your waking and sleeping hours a la Resident Evil, Gran Turismo 3 and the like, but they will have you laughing like a drain, which everyone needs to do. PS2 will soon have the choice that PSOne gamers have had at their fingertips for years and if Crazy Taxi is the first true example of that, then bring it on.

Serious and funny. Light and shade. Murder and mirth. Sim and simple. Looks like this Playstation 2 has got some real depth after all.

Now, pull my finger…”

Mike Goldsmith, Senior Editor

Features

OPS2 Interview: Simon Jeffery

Morales Boost: MTV Music Generator 2

Holidays from Hell: Giants robots in New York, zombie mutants in Antarctica, gun-toting Triad chefs in Beijing… These are the holiday locations to stay away from because of game-related chaos.

War Games: As the title suggests, this feature covers various World War 2 games, with Commandos 2 leading the charge.

Zombie Nation: Resident Evil: Code Veronica X, featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry series. The Devil May Cry demo bundled with the game, to be exact.

A Day at the Races: Le Mans 24 Hours

Yokel Hero: Herdy Gerdy

Monthly Articles

The Beautiful Game – Stealing bits from other games and mashing them together to make the ultimate super-game. This month, RPGs.

30 Days in Tokyo – We’ve had robot dogs and robot jellyfish, and this month we’ve got robot cats. It’s called BN-1 and has 250 patterns of expression.

The Grid – A head-to-head comparison of multiple upcoming games of a similar genre or theme. This month, games based on cartoons.

5X5 – Asking 5 questions to 5 industry figures. This month’s theme: sex in videogames.

Designer Genes – Readers write in with their game ideas and pitches. This month, Gunners. Explore the universe in the distant future while doin battle with the Bartak, a race of highly advanced space insects who are masters of natural weaponry.

Game Over – Star Wars: Starfighter. The four heroes go their separate ways, with Nym getting the focus because he’s the artist’s favourite character.

Previews

Fur Fighters – “A varied and challenging action / adventure with bags of style and humour. Fur will definitely be back in fashion this summer.”

MTV Music Generator 2 – “Hear’Say better start to get worried. This could make stars out of a few other nobodies...”

Dark Cloud – “Already doing the numbers in Japan, this RPG needs a damned good tweaking before it’ll suit the less adventurous Western palate.”

Gauntlet: Dark Legacy – “Can Gauntlet: Dark Legacy be ‘it’ or will the series die of starvation after shooting the food?

Rugby – “Braving foot and mouth, Rugby is puffing and panting to the line. Will it touch down or not though?”

Red Faction – “Red Faction could put some of the Playstation 2’s better first-person shooters to shame. Already impressive, the future beckon...”

NBA Street – “It’s still limbering up at court-side but NBA Street is well on track to hit a tasty three-pointer from downtown.”

The Jungle Book: Groove Party – “It’s for kids, it’s for kidults, it’s guaranteed to get you frugging – but for how long does the appeal of dancing monkeys hold up?”

Wacky Races – The DC version was greatly loved, this enhanced PS2 version could be the cartoon equivalent of Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec? Well, maybe.

ATV Offroad Fury – “Impressive physics, huge landscapes, buckets of fun to play… Can the US-flavoured thrills of ATV offroad make a dent in the UK charts?”

Reviews

Crazy Taxi – “Arcade action doesn’t come purer but the game is inevitably looking old, especially with no new features. But if you want speed? Buy this now!” 8/10

Formula One 2001 – “The best F1 game out there and inevitably, perfect for fans – and fans only. Plenty of depth, but, for less committed boy racers, it’ll feel too ‘simmy’.” 8/10

Operation Winback – “Severely lacking in variety but it’s an enjoyable enough stealth shooter to pass the time until Metal Gear Solid 2 arrives.” 6/10

MDK 2: Armageddon – “A unique, challenging adventure with ideas bursting out of its Coil Suit. Destined to become a true cult classic.” 8/10

Kengo: Master of Bushido – “Training mode is padding to make up for the limited nature of the fast-paced bouts. Nevertheless, Kengo’s energetic action is clever enough to warrant continued play.” 6/10

Ring of Red – “A great, highly original and engaging title. A must for those in search of something different.” 8/10

Warriors of Might and Magic – “You bought a PS2 so you’d never again have to play a game this bad. Make sure you don’t.” 3/10

All-Star Baseball 2002 – “Easy to dive into, but with plenty of hidden depth. A sensibly designed, all-round game of baseball. Of course, it helps if baseball is, like, your thing….” 7/10

Kuri Kuri Mix – “A bizarre blend of two player co-operation and bloody-minded greed. Kuri Kuri is a worthwhile add to any collection.” 7/10

Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes 2 – “If 3DO focused on quality over quantity, bagging a significant victory should have been easy. This poorly realised shooter will recruit few gamers.” 3/10

PSOne Reviews

Time Crisis: Project Titan – “With a light gun it’s certainly fun, but it’s too short, repetitive and lacks all-important two-player fun.” 6/10

Rugrats in Paris – “The graphics are neat enough and some of the sub-games are worth the entrance fee alone. But with cumbersome controls and irritating samples this will ultimately make you ratty.” 6/10

The Lion King: Simba’s Mighty Adventure – “Nothing new or original here, just the same old platform-by-numbers formula that has bored us senseless for years. The controls are dire and even the shift to 3D does nothing for the cause.” 3/10

The Simpsons Wrestling – “A sad cash-in on The Simpsons’ good name and the current wave of wrestlemania that fails to deliver. It’s bad to watch, unresponsive to control and a complete waste of time and energy.” 4/10

Hardcore

A Quake III walkthrough, and cheats and hints for Star Wars: Starfighter and NBA Hoopz.

Disc Content

Playable Demos

Star Wars: Starfighter

Sky Odyssey

Warriors of Might and Magic

Footage

Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing

Formula One 2001

MDK 2: Armageddon

Gun Griffon Blaze

Zone of the Enders

Bloody Roar 3

Red Faction

Giants: Citizen Kabuto

Shadow Man: 2econd Coming

SSX

Voyage of Emotion: Adrenaline – Some of the games included this time are SSX, Ridge Racer V, Wipeout Fusion and Dropship: United Peace Force, among others. Watch it here.

Trivia

·         Kuri Kuri Mix was developed by From Software. Yes, that From Software, of Dark Souls fame, made a cartoony puzzle game starring two primary coloured rabbits. Chestnut and Cream could take Ornstein and Smough any day.

·         The results for the Oni model competition from Issue 5 are announced this month, and the winner was Garz with 36% of the vote. Salliya was a close second with 33%, Sophie scored 17%, and Zoe scored 14%.

·         This month’s unreleased game that sounds so bad it’s good: A Darkened Sky. A game themed around Skittles sweets, in which your task is to find five pieces of a magic talisman to defeat the forces of evil. 1. How do Skittles tie into this? 2. It’s a missed opportunity that the magic amulet doesn’t have seven pieces instead to make a taste the rainbow reference.

·         You’ll notice that, as of this month, the Ladder of Lust is no more. It’s for the best, as the “this is stupid, why are we doing it?” joke was getting old by now, and would have worn out its welcome entirely had the article stuck around for much longer.

·         The enthusiasm for a Battle of the Planets game in this issue is genuinely adorable. I bet the writers were crushed when no publisher picked it up, possibly due to the licence being too niche.

Quote of the Month: “People are capable of finding pretty much anything sexy.” Dan Mayers of Eidos invokes Rule 34 for his contribution to this month’s 5X5.

Cover price: £4.99

Page Count: 146