Issue 4 (February 2001)

Issue 4, February 2001

Editor’s letter

“Whether you’ve been gleaning your PS2 infofix from us, a rival mag, XFM or SuperGoGoYOW!! web site, you’ll have noticed a few regular faces each and every month. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, Metal Gear Solid 2, Unreal Tournament… Great games that we’ve been playing to death (See this issue for exclusive hands-on info on all these) and can’t wait to turn into grist for our reviewing mill. But while telling the world about these games’ freshly unveiled modes, characters, cars and those now-inevitable Matrix timeslice spinny-round bits twists our proverbial melons, there’s a feeling round these parts that we’re in need of a few new heroes. Not existing franchises, not brand extensions, not games that – let’s face it – we’ve been reading about for over a year and are in danger of being hyped to death before they’ve even left their developers’ brains, let alone hit the shop shelves.

And so hello Internal Affair. And hello Winback. And similar greetings go to Silent Hill 2, Legion: Legend of Excalibur, Mafia, Soldier of Fortune, Shiny Red Car, Baldur’s Gate, Shadow of Memories, Extermination, Seven, Arctic Thunder… Sure, some of those games are sequels or PS2 versions of existing PC titles but the thing is they’re brand-spanking new. True, not all will stay the course or even see the light of day before the end of 2001 but in this collection of boy racers, arcade thrillers, epic adventures and horror chillers exists a brave whole world of promise. New avenues to head down, old envelopes to stretch, fresh technologies to explore and dated genres to rejuvenate.

These titles are just the start of a flood that will wash over the year like a tsunami with a killer migraine – and in doing so they’ll stretch the Playstation 2, utilise the forthcoming online and Hard Disk Drive, silence any remaining critics out there and raise the bar for any new developers who throw their hat into the PS2 ring. The snowball’s finally rolling and, as with this issue and the next and the next, we’ll be here to show you what’s cool and what’s wilting.

And until those games turn up? Then we’ll just have to be satisfied with such tired old racers as Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, the dated deathmatches of this issue’s cover star, Unreal Tournament, and trawling through tedious demos of Metal Gear Solid 2.

Damn, there’s my point ruined.”

Mike Goldsmith, Senior Editor

Features

OPS2 Interview: Shinji Mikami

Techno Babble – Games that use voice recognition technology, including Dreamcast favourite Seaman and football game Greatest Striker. SHOOTO!

First Among Sequels – A big list of every single PSone game to reach the top of the sales charts as of December 2000. It’s cool and all, but shouldn’t this article have been in the Official Playstation 1 Magazine instead?

The Croft Machine – An update on the Tomb Raider movie, this time coming from the set at Pinewood Studio. Also includes a breakdown of the film’s trailer.

Rouge Racer – Burnout

Natural Born Chillers – Silent Hill 2 and Shadow of Memories. The Hill needs no introduction, of course, but Shadow of Memories goes for a more eerie atmosphere than the sheer terror of the other game.

Welcome to the House of Fun – An article on Midway and several of their classic games being remade on PS2, most notably Spyhunter.

Monthly Articles

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

30 Days in Tokyo – This month, Super Galdelic Hour, which looks to be a swimming game where the swimmers wear elaborate carnival outfits.

The Grid – A head-to-head comparison of multiple upcoming games of a similar genre or theme. This month, real-time strategy games.

5X5 – Asking 5 questions to 5 industry figures. This month’s theme: women in the games industry.

The Ladder of Lust – Resident Evil’s Jill Valentine is at the top of this month’s reader-submitted list. Must resist obvious pun relating to her surname…

Designer Genes – Readers write in with their game ideas and pitches. This month, Deception. Your task is to lie convincingly enough to get out of a series of compromising situations.

Game Over – SSX. The initial descent onto the secret course, Untracked.

Previews

The Bouncer – “Supremely stylish, but is it the genre-busting classic many are expecting from the Square stable?” (With the benefit of hindsight, I can answer this question!)

 Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec – “With Yamauchi’s eye for detail GT3: A-Spec elevates the racing genre to a dizzying new level.”

Kengo: Master of Bushido – “With the exception of the odd reappearance of the energy bar, Kengo looks like it’s going to satisfy people’s expectations in all areas.”

NBA Live 2001 – “Competent and certainly comprehensive iteration of basketball, with a genuinely authentic feel. Some may feel it lacks vitality.”

Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil – “Solid and animated with razor precision, Klonoa 2 is looking extremely accomplished already. It’s bright, breezy and instantly likeable.”

Cool Boarders: Code Alien – “Code Alien is about the fearless ability to gleam sky-high air off of anything that lies in your path. But are the tracks challenging enough?”

Evergrace – “Behind the catwalk styling lurks an average RPG. Fashion-conscious adventurers might find it an aesthetic heaven, though.”

Reviews

Unreal Tournament – “Unreal Tournament is a hugely playable, brilliantly designed, ultraviolent 3D shoot-‘em-up, despite needlessly having PS2 frame rate problems.” 8/10

Summoner – “The best RPG for PS2 so far. A little too ugly for its own good but a veritable gem underneath.” 8/10

Kessen – “It won’t appeal to everyone, but those who do like it will soon become obsessives.” 7/10

Sky Surfer – “Sky Surfer is barely a game at all. Average graphics are buried under unvaried settings. The utter lack of depth is astonishing bearing in mind PS2’s capabilities.” 3/10

Armoured Core 2 – “Definitely one for mech-heads that like tampering with the intricacies of their craft. They will drool over the amount of customizable body parts on offer.” 7/10

Donald Duck: Quack Attack – “Stone-age gameplay and limited graphics combine to create a very poor PS2 game. A complete waste of your swanky 128 bit super console.” 4/10

Space Ace – “Experts in the art of torture could not have found a better way to sap your will to live.” 1/10

PSOne Reviews

Blade – “Good comic, good film, but sadly a forgettable licence of either. Could’ve done better with more thought.” 6/10

Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes – “Unrefined controls, looks and basic puzzling let down an otherwise decent action adventure. Yet it’s still not the merciless killing spree you’d expect.” 7/10

K-1 Grand Prix – “It’s better than Prince Naseem Boxing, but lacks the pace and tactical edge needed to make it a truly good title. And it coulda been a contender…” 5/10

Danger Girl – “Decent balance of blasting and sneaking about with three ridiculously attractive heroines. It’s hardly cutting edge stuff, but fun nonetheless.” 7/10

Hardcore

A moves list for SSX, and hints and tips for Smuggler’s Run, Silpheed: The Lost Planet, Armoured Core 2, Madden NFL 2001 and Tekken Tag Tournament.

 

Disc Content

Playable Demos

Moto GP

Wild Wild Racing

International Superstar Soccer

Dynasty Warriors 2

NHL 2001

Footage

Orphen: Scion of Sorcery

Dead or Alive 2

Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec

EA Sports Medley (Includes Madden NFL 2001, NHL 2001, F1 Championship Season 2000, FIFA 2001, Knockout Kings 2001, NBA Live 2001 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 2001)

Emotion: Wonder – The first in a series of sizzle reels themed around a certain emotion. This one includes Wipeout Fusion, Orphen: Scion of Sorcery, Dark Cloud, International Superstar Soccer and maybe a couple others I don’t recognize at first glance. Watch it here.

Trivia

·         On the letters page, Ben Waterworth writes in with the idea for a game based on The Weakest Link. Either he can see the future or someone at the BBC was reading OPS2 at the time, as The Weakest Link was given a game adaptation in late 2001.

·         This month’s demo disc is an odd one, as aside from the new Moto GP demo, the other demos are all reused from the discs for issues 1 and 3. Previous issues mentioned that Fantavision and Rayman Revolution were meant to have demos, but they never did. Maybe they were meant for this disc, and the plans fell through for whatever reason?

·         Despite the name, Cool Boarders: Code Alien does not appear to have any aliens in it. It was also never released outside Japan. The developers of Dark Summit must have breathed a sigh of relief at both of these things.

·         An early article on Final Fantasy X speculates that the plot involves a war between the water goddess Yuna and the fire gods. Sounds a bit like Avatar: The Last Airbender, doesn’t it?

·         Unreal Tournament is arguably the first game to be given an overly lenient score. The underlying game is a good one, but the PS2 port is terrible, with a particularly poor frame rate. “After playing a copy of UT on a two-year-old P266 PC with a rubbishy 3D card we found it still runs smoother - not what you want to hear if you’re the owner of a shiny new PS2.” Subsequent issues lay into it for numerous delays that don’t fix the frame rate, then Quake III arrives out of nowhere and wipes the floor with it. Luckily, re-scores are few and far between, otherwise Unreal Tournament could well have dropped to a 6/10.

·         The highlight of this month’s Spy section is a story on a conspiracy theory that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling PS2s with the intention of using their chips in nuclear missiles. That’s something I can imagine the South Park version of Saddam doing, and when asked about it, answering with “Hey, relax guy! You need a rest.”

·         A top-secret game from Naughty Dog is also mentioned, which we now know to be Jak and Daxter.

Quote of the Month: “A snarling Jim Davidson suddenly lurches forward clutching a chainsaw and wearing what appears to be a butcher’s apron made from jagged plate metal.” Unreal Tournament would have gotten an extra point on the score if this was real.

Cover price: £4.99

Page Count: 146