Issue 11 (September 2001)

Issue 11, September 2001

Editor’s letter

“If you’ve played videogames for anything more than a nanosecond, you’ll know the future’s not a pretty place. The hourly threat of thermo-nuclear apocalypse, bone-smelting diseases lurking around every corner, a somewhat dubious style fascism that makes the wearing of either Meatloaf’s cast-off biker jackets or a dog-infested suit of trampy rags mandatory… Nope, the future ain’t pretty at all.

Why do videogame developers have a preoccupation with blowing the living daylights out of generations to come? Because it makes for bloody exciting games is the obvious answer – who wants some fluffy-bunny game full of Logan’s Run extras chatting idly about their laser-powered wind chimes when you can have tentacle-waving vigilantes hurling space grenades from the 257^th floor of the GammaTech Building at the assembled muties, freaks, droids and perps who lurk below? The future is a great playground for great videogames but given this is the Playstation 2 – with its Emotion Engine an’ all – shouldn’t developers’ visions of tomorrow be a little bit more, well, involving? Post-apocalyptic cyberpunk backgrounds are all well and good but given we’re all a little, let’s say, familiar with such scenarios, don’t we at least deserve a couple of extra twists when we buckle up for the ride this time round?

We give you Deus Ex. True, its dystopian view of a neon-splattered Hong Kong will be somewhat familiar to those who’ve ever dreamt of electric sheep but it’s the sheer thought that’s gone into Ion Storm’s BAFTA-winning first-person shooter that makes it worthy of the PS2. Here is no find-key-open-door-disengage-brain experience – the Texas-based developer is offering you the chance to almost direct the game for yourself, with a true choice in what you do and, most importantly, how you do it. Take a spacewalk to page 96 to see how Deus Ex will rewrite the PS2’s future (and then take a look at our feature starting on page 84 to see what the future would probably not be like if the Playstation 2 had its way.)

So what does the future hold for the world of Playstation? Hopefully it’ll be full of games exhibiting the same intelligence and nous as Deus Ex and fellow sci-fi shooter Project Eden (previewed on page 22), but even if the Playstation 54 charts of 2164AD are full of sequels, if they’re sequels displaying the same reupholstered stylings as this issue’s returning stars WWF Smackdown!, Tekken, Virtua Fighter, Final Fantasy and FIFA are currently showing, then tomorrow’s gamers will be in for a blast.

Of course, we’ll all be working as mindless drones in Penal Colony X-12A orbiting the planet Motorbooty by then but…”

Mike Goldsmith, Senior Editor

Features

OPS2 Interview: Jason Rubin

The Big Kickoff – FIFA 2002

King of the Ring – WWF Smackdown! Just Bring It

The Future According to Playstation 2 – A timeline of the PS2’s many futuristic games and what such a world would look like. It starts with unsold copies of Space Ace shot into the sun, through prime minister Lara Croft re-nationalising the railways, and ends with a self-aware PS2 taking over the planet with a troupe of monkey jesters.

Battle of the Beat-‘em-ups! – Pitting Tekken 4 and Virtua Fighter 4 head-to-head to see which comes out on top. At this pre-release stage, Tekken 4 is deemed the winner in a close fight.

God from the Machine – Deus Ex

Monthly Articles

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

Pocket Heroes – This month’s cards are Parappa the Rapper, and JC Denton from Deus Ex.

30 Days in Tokyo – This month, a McDonalds demo disc with custom McDonalds themed levels for Parappa the Rapper 2 and Ape Escape 2001.

5X5 – Asking 5 questions to 5 industry figures. This month’s theme: videogame movies.

Designer Genes – Readers write in with their game ideas and pitches. This month, Sphere Warriors, a futuristic spin on Twisted Metal in which the contestants roll around in spheres which are armed to the teeth, with the prize of securing a place in Paradise.

What If? – Replacing Game Over as the backpage feature, What If? imagines various scenarios of gaming having an extreme impact on the real world. This month, what if wars were replaced by gaming tournaments between the leaders of the warring countries?

Previews

Silent Hill 2 – “This frightening sequel to the original PSOne Silent Hill could just set a new benchmark in psychological horror gaming.”

Project Eden – “Will Core’s adventures in the Underworld prove to be a sparkling gold mine or a rank pit of despair?”

Giants: Citizen Kabuto – “There’s plenty of gaming on offer here, but does the mixture of styles survive the PS2 transition?”

Spyhunter – “Will Spyhunter turn out to be the James Bond or the David Shayler of old skool espionage?”

Rayman M – “Rayman M is not going to revolutionise videogaming. However, it should turn out to be a full-on party game, and we like that.”

Soul Reaver 2 – “Promises to deliver everything you loved about Soul Reaver plus loads more weapons, creatures, skills, puzzles and locations.”

Thunderhawk: Operation Phoenix – “Like a re-run of lost telly classics Blue Thunder and Airwolf, TOP is back to prove oldies mean goodies.”

G Surfers – “Wipeout-style future racing backed up with comprehensive and highly promising track editor. Could this be the start of a DIY boom?”

Motor Mayhem – “Explosive, brainless yet never less than hugely entertaining.”

This is Football 2002 – “Hundreds of teams, dozens of tournaments and a plethora of moves are mixed together in Team Soho’s football challenger.”

NHL 2002 – “Despite aesthetic similarities to the 2001 edition, NHL 2002 looks to be the ultimate ice hockey title.”

Reviews

Dark Cloud – “A traditional RPG buoyed spectacularly by a fascinating world-building aspect. One of the best PS2 RPGs available so far.” 7/10

World Championship Snooker 2002 – “Encapsulates everything about snooker – both good and bad – and is thus incredibly playable.” 8/10

Modern Groove: Ministry of Sound Edition – “As an interactive lightshow it’s hard to beat, but you might well just turn it on and let it do its own thing after about half an hour.” 6/10

Victorious Boxers – “A brave attempt to be different, but Ready 2 Rumble: Round 2 and Knockout Kings already have the boxing game market sewn up.” 4/10

Rune: Viking Warlord – “Lacks originality, good looks and a believable game world. Rune should be left where it belongs, in the Dark Ages of gaming.” 4/10

Extreme G3 – “A souped-up neon beast of a bike racer that requires skill, brains and will not flatter mediocre gamers. Strictly for the hardcore and not for the faint-hearted.” 8/10

Tokyo Xtreme Racer – “Safe and solid, but at the expense of any real racing performance. Oh dear.” 4/10

The Flintstones: Viva Rock Vegas – “You should not care less about this game. Oddly, it seems, neither did the developer.” 2/10

PSOne Reviews

Digimon World – “A likeable variation on the Tamagotchi theme. That said, the routine may start to grate after a while…” 7/10

Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legends – “Another cartoon licence that should have never been allowed to escape from the satellite TV schedules.” 3/10

Tintin: Destination Adventure – “A tragic waste of a perfectly decent licence. Despicably shallow and far, far too easy. Terrible.” 3/10

The Little Mermaid 2 – “A reasonable sub-aquatic platformer in the traditional Disney mould of bright, friendly graphics and mucho collecting of gold coins.” 5/10

Hardcore

Part 1 of the walkthroughs for Red Faction and Escape From Monkey Island, plus Army Men Air Attack: Blade’s Revenge, Zone of the Enders, Onimusha Warlords, Sky Odyssey, Fur Fighters, Crazy Taxi and Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing.

Disc Content

Playable Demos

Lotus Challenge

World Championship Snooker 2002

Footage

Final Fantasy X

Devil May Cry

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Resident Evil: Code Veronica X

Time Crisis 2

Spyhunter

ESPN X-Games Skateboarding

ESPN X-Games Snowboarding

ESPN Winter Sports 2002

MX 2002

Twisted Metal: Black

Trivia

·         I played the demo for the Tintin game on a PSOne demo disc, and it was a terrible demo! You had to fly a plane and collect coins to top up your plane’s fuel. The problem is that your plane ate through fuel so fast that the tank is practically empty before you even get to the first coin, so the demo’s over in seconds and you barely got to do anything. I assume the developers made the fuel consumption faster for the demo so that you couldn’t use the demo as a substitute for the full game, because I shudder to think of the alternative.

·        The Formula One 2001 controversy from the previous issue continues, with two whole pages devoted to a Q and A with the developers on the various issues readers had written in about.

·         There’s a report of the licence for a Hannibal Lecter game being acquired. How would you even go about making a Hannibal Lecter game? I’m imagining a more gruesome version of Cooking Mama.

·         The number of this issue, combined with the publication months makes for an eerie and unfortunate coincidence.

 

Quote of the Month: “Tom is the cat. Jerry is the rat. Tom is bad. Tom chases Jerry.” How dare Jason Rubin say Tom is bad! Jerry is the real menace! I do approve of him calling Jerry a rat though. #TomDidNothingWrong

Cover price: £4.99

Page Count: 146

Issue 10 (August 2001)

Issue 10, August 2001

Editor’s letter

“Summer then. Usually a quiet time of year for people who work on videogames mags. Yes, our journalistic interest is piqued by a Japanese website here or a stray press release there, but the rule is that if you’re sneezing your face off with hayfever, then it’s the season where the videogames industry has a bit of downtime. “Yes, well, we’d love to send you a copy of Javelin Man Attack Attack 12 but it’s not out until some time around October…”

This issue makes a mockery of that truism. First off, and gorgeously bearing all on page 82, is our massive 14-page summer preview. It’s bright, it’s bouncy, it’s based around the 50 reasons why the coming year will be fantastic for Playstation 2 and it rocks like no other massive 14-page summer preview ever written or designed or subbed ever. The reason? Just take a look. In our Top 50 are the real reasons you bought your console – life-changing games, bizarro gadgets, bone-crunching sports, the darkest of horses, emerging stars, wide-eyed visionaries, four-coloured heroism and some damn cool games. Not wanting to give said game away too much, I’ve managed to describe what’s in it without actually describing what’s in it but suffice to say, this feature will leave you with a warm feeling somewhere nice. And that feeling will be a helluva lot warmer if you win the massive compo at the end.

So not much else going on then as the development community swaps its sleeping bags for speedos? Nah, not really. Well, there’s the announcement of Tekken 4 over in Spy, plus a little game by the name of Onimusha 2. A few similarly low-key summer titles you’ll find floating around this month’s issue include the G-Con 2-touting Time Crisis 2, lush Resi rival Alone in the Dark, the very promising Lotus Challenge and a small game that we’ve exclusively reviewed by the name of Resident Evil: Code Veronica X. So, yeah, nothing much going on.

And the point of this nothing-much-happens-in-summer gimmick? To big up a few things in this issue, of course, but also to show you that only nine months into its shelf life, the Playstation 2 has such a momentum behind it that not only have we had to expand the release date listings in what is already an expanded Spy section, but that things show no sign of ever slowing down. Ever.

All of which leaves three questions. [1] How thick is this magazine going to get? [2] When do we get a holiday? [3] Can anyone imagine how big next year’s summer preview is going to have to be?

Mike Goldsmith, Senior Editor

Features

OPS2 Interview: Sam Houser

Network Heaven – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe vice-president Phil Harrison gives an explanation of how PS2 online will work.

Mission: Impossible? – Spyhunter

Extreme Team – Tony Hawk, Matt Hoffman, Shaun Palmer, Kelly Slater and Shaun Murray all discuss the games of their respective sports. This article must have been written outdoors, because no single room could contain that much extreme sports radness!

50 Reasons to Own a PS2 – Self-explanatory, this one. It’s the 14-page summer preview referred to in the Editor’s Letter.

Monthly Articles

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

Pocket Warriors – A new monthly feature starts this month! Each month, readers are given two cut-out-and-keep (or photocopy, if you’re an intellectual) cards to build a Top Trumps deck of Playstation characters. Categories include looks, attack, defence, and special, all rated out of 100. We start off with Claire Redfield and a zombie, both from Resident Evil.

30 Days in Tokyo – This month, the Parappa the Rapper anime. I gotta believe that there’ll be an English dub someday! Any minute now…

5X5 – Asking 5 questions to 5 industry figures. This month’s theme: online gaming.

Designer Genes – Readers write in with their game ideas and pitches. This month, Barmy Bunnies. Rabbits have declared war on their human owners and created an army of mutant clone rabbits, but one rabbit quite likes things as they are and opposes the bad rabbits. The expert says this is a great idea, expect for the rabbits. They’re dumb because games aren’t funny, and they should be replaced with human soldiers. I disagree, because rabbits would make the game stand out more, whereas going with human enemies like everyone else would be generic.

Game Over – Onimusha Warlords. Samanosuke shows off his new panda onesie.

Previews

Time Crisis 2 – “Huge entertaining gunplay, with the cleverly plotted levels and fast pace more than making up for any lack of varied content.”

Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare – “Can Alone in the Dark disembowel Resident Evil and leave it to die slowly in the gutter?”

MX Rider – “It’s set to be the most realistic motocross racer on PS2, but can that translate into an entertaining game?”

Twisted Metal: Black – “Combining triumphs of the past with the power of the future looks like a heady Molotov cocktail, but is Twisted Metal: Black really up for it?”

Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 – “Essentially an update of the PSOne’s Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX, this PS2 incarnation should be a massive improvement.”

Silent Scope 2: Dark Silhouette – “Aside from the extra weapons and sniper views, this latest Scope is a straight sequel – but where’s the problem with that?”

Lotus Challenge – “Sporting a big-name licence and a plethora of classic sports cars, this could well prove a popular rival to PS2’s other big racers.”

MX 2002 featuring Ricky Carmichael – Everything you could want for a motocross game but a wee bit rough around the edges at present.”

Reviews

Resident Evil: Code Veronica X – “A detailed postmortem reveals this is the pinnacle of survival horror. Get the game, get the shotgun, get messy.” 9/10

Gift – “A highly original and amusing take on the old 3D platformer but one that lets its riotous imagination get in the way of providing good, solid fun.” 6/10

NBA Street – “Looks acceptable but the Nineties arcade-style gameplay doesn’t offer enough to really grab the attention.” 6/10

City Crisis – “A rare combination of innovation, tight challenges and a superior control system that’s let down by a sadly inferior lack of game. It simply runs out on you.” 6/10

UEFA Challenge – “A football game so terrible it’s almost an admirable achievement. Buy ISS or wait for Pro Evolution Soccer. Do NOT buy this game.” 2/10

Emphemeral Fantasia – “For RPG nuts, and those willing to experiment (and get past some of the genre’s boring conventions) this makes a refreshing change.” 7/10

ATV Offroad Fury – “There’s a lot of genuine promise in what’s on offer here. If the developer gets the chance to do a sequel it’ll be one to watch out for. This one doesn’t quite cut the mustard though.” 6/10

World Destruction League: War Jetz – “It’s unfortunate that a title like this has been so badly executed. It could have been an enjoyable game. But instead it’s just awful.” 2/10

CART Fury Racing Championship – “Big crashes, unrealistic physics and faster than Speedy Gonzalez on, well, speed, CART Fury is Midway to the core.” 6/10

International League Soccer – “It wants to be ISS so badly but fails miserably on all accounts. One of the worst footie games in living memory.” 2/10

PSOne Reviews

World’s Scariest Police Chases – “Takes the best elements of PSOne’s favourite maverick cop and spins it on its bonnet to great effect.” 9/10

Breath of Fire IV – “A mammoth RPG that is charming, engaging and frustrating (multiple random encounters ahoy!) The game should be clearly labelled, “If you loved Final Fantasy, you’ll love this”.” 8/10

Technomage – “A nice try at breaking into the Japanese dominated RPG scene that falls flat on its face due to the awful graphics. However it offers hours of play and for RPG fans is worth a look.” 6/10

Nicktoons Racing – “A tired, hateful, seen-it-all-before kart racer with little merit other than a few decent cartoon characters. Badly drawn, confusing tracks and zero originality make for a two-fingered salute.” 2/10

Hardcore

Part 2 of the MDK 2: Armageddon walkthrough and a guide to the challenges and bonus missions in Crazy Taxi, plus FIFA 2001, ISS, CART Fury Championship Racing, Red Faction, All-Star Baseball 2002 and Gun Griffon Blaze.

Disc Content

Playable Demos

Le Mans 24 Hours

Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing

Gauntlet: Dark Legacy

Footage

Drakan: The Ancients’ Gates

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

Extreme G-3

Hidden Invasion

E3 Showreel (Includes Ace Combat 4, Wipeout Fusion, Dropship: United Peace Force, ATV Offroad Fury, Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil, Dark Cloud, Formula One 2001, This is Football 2002, Twisted Metal: Black, Airblade and World Rally Championship)

The Making of Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec

Aibo advertisement

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within film trailer

Trivia

·         This month’s Resident Evil: Code Veronica X cover may not be much to write home about at first glance, but if you look closely, you can see zombies reflected in the irises of Claire’s eyes as they’re coming towards her to eat her brains. In fact, Capcom liked this cover so much, they asked if they could use it as the box art for the game’s European release!

·         I’m starting a new occasional segment this month: Games that would never be made today! This month’s entry: football games other than FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer, as represented here by UEFA Challenge and International League Soccer. Why not? Because the two big names have dibs on all the licences between them, and the gameplay and production values have been polished to such an extent that no other studio could come close. International League Soccer in particular lost its voice control gimmick from the Japanese release for the Western version. Keeping that would have at least set it apart somewhat. SHOOTO!

·         Hot take while I’m on the subject: the seemingly limitless goodwill generated during the PS2 era is the only reason Pro Evo is still around today and was able to survive falling apart in the PS3/Xbox 360/Wii generation while FIFA stepped up its game.

·         There’s controversy this month, as Formula One 2001, which received 8/10 in issue 7, is the subject of multiple letters from disgruntled readers complaining about issues with the game, including poor compatibility with steering wheel peripherals, poor commentary and AI, bugs and features from previous years that were removed this year. OPS2 state in their defence that these issues weren’t present in their review code. I’m wondering, how could bugs have appeared in the retail version that weren’t in the review code, since surely the review code is the finished version of the game? Perhaps I’m mistaken and review code isn’t 100% finished, rather it’s more or less done but with the possibility of minor last-minute changes. Maybe someone better informed can clarify this for me?

·         Escape from Monkey Island has already lost the title of best game advert after only one issue. This month there’s a lovely double page spread from Onimusha Warlords done in the style of a film poster, complete with credits along the bottom!

·         Technomage is a kickass name for a game. Sounds a bit like a character class from Warhammer 40K.

·         Resident Evil aside, this month’s review section has a recurring theme of otherwise good games ruined by a single fatal flaw. NBA Street is too simple and shallow to offer lasting appeal, City Crisis is too short and relies on repeating the same few levels multiple times to pad out the game length, and Gift is way too hard with utterly hideous character designs. Okay, that’s two fatal flaws for Gift, but you get the idea. We could have tolerated a difficult game, but not if it also stars this hateful little imp!

Quote of the Month: “We could create a fat player whose stomach nudged balls as he leaned over.” Has there ever been a pool game that has this feature?

Cover price: £4.99

Page Count: 146