Issue 16 (January 2002)

Issue 16, January 2002

Editor’s letter

Given that a considerable chunk of this issue is taken up with our annual preview of what’s coming up next year, it’s a good time for a spot of reflection on the 12 months that’ve just flashed by. It’s also a predictable time for a spot of reflection on the 12 months that have just flashed by, so I’ll keep the nostalgia to a minimum. Ish.

Well, it’s been a bit on the tough side, to be honest. We’ve had the odd month with nothing but a mech shooter and a golf sim to review. We’ve had hardcore cynics banging relentlessly on about how Microsoft is going to rule the videogaming cosmos with a Quake clone and a goblin sim. We’ve also had too many games missing their projected release dates, which has lead to more than a few dismayed gamers. Us too.

And guess what? It’s been ace. The first year in a console’s life is always tough – indeed, the original Playstation only had the odd decent title until the development snowball really got rolling. So what did we poor, poor PS2 owners have to endure last year? Oh, just a neverending tsunami of disappointment including the announcement of Sega coming to PS2, the excitement of that Metal Gear Solid 2 demo, allowing Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec to take over our waking (and sleeping) hours, typing in insults to our American buddies via Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3’s online capabilities, doing the wobbly old lady’s head thing thanks to Quake III, unleashing our criminal tendencies with Grand Theft Auto 3, digging out our shiny applecatchers for a spot of WWF Smackdown! and, probably not last and definitely not least, playing Pro Evolution Soccer every spare second that we can. Early days for PS2? Just read that last but one sentence again – it’s possibly been the best year ever for killer games that this wizened journo can remember, and if our preview is anything to go by, then next year is going to crush 2001 like the insignificant ant that it is. You know what I mean.

Enough. 2001 was a good year but 2002 will see the PS2 speed away. This issue’s games more than show this – Headhunter, Judge Dredd: Dredd VS Death, Maximo, Colin McRae Rally 3, Deus Ex, Timesplitters 2… There’s so much sheer class on its way, it’s staggering. Oh, and there’s the small matter of a little game called Metal Gear Solid 2. What’s that you say? Stick it on the cover and give us a playable demo to go with the review? Our and hopefully your pleasure next month. But until then? Until then…

Happy new year!

Mike Goldsmith, Senior Editor

Features

OPS2 Interview: Teiyu Goto

It’s Like Mr Benn With Guns! Timesplitters 2. For the benefit of those of you too young to get the reference, Mr Benn would visit the fancy-dress shop, and he would be transported to another time period befitting his outfit.

Rebel Yell – Judge Dredd: Dredd VS Death. Also including comic strips of other 2000AD characters, such as Rogue Trooper, the Banzai Battalion and Strontium Dog auditioning to get their own games. Rogue Trooper was lucky enough to get his own game later on.

2002 Preview – A run-down of all the major games coming to PS2 in 2002.

Monthly Articles

Character Assassination – Creating Frankenstein’s Monster as a videogame character. This month, the perfect platformer hero.

Pocket Heroes – This month’s cards are Daxter, and Jack Wade from Headhunter.

30 Days in Tokyo – This month, not content with Parappa the Rapper having his own restaurant, fellow Playstation mascot Toro has opened a restaurant too.

The Burning Question – Asking 5 questions to 3 industry figures. This month’s theme: Will voice recognition improve PS2?

Designer Genes – Readers write in with their game ideas and pitches. This month, Charioteer, a chariot racing game. This idea must have been onto something, as a chariot racing game, Circus Maximus: Chariot Wars, was released later that year!

What If? – This month, what if PS2 characters lived together? To make that scenario more entertaining, they don’t live just anywhere, but in the Big Brother house. Snake’s paranoid war veteran shtick marks him out as the producer’s favourite to win.

Previews

Maximo – “Shamelessly old school, but with some unquestionably modern design philosophies, Maximo is on course to be an unpretentious, thoroughly enjoyable romp.”

Vampire Night – “The shooting leaves the arcade cabinet to enter your home. A deft genre-leap, or just another lite light gun game?”

Kessen II – “Real-time strategy might not be everybody’s idea of fun, but Kessen II is shaping up to be enjoyably bombastic.”

No-one Lives Forever – “The Sixties spy movie charm is irresistible, and Cate will no doubt steal your heart. Shame there’s no multiplayer though.”

Parappa the Rapper 2 – “Dazzlingly bright graphics and some half-decent tunes make this a fun alternative to racing and killing, but the longevity is questionable.”

Shadow Man 2: 2econd Coming – “Atmospheric graphics and a creepily absorbing story line give Mike Leroi’s second outing a good foundation on which to build.”

NASCAR Heat 2002 – “The PS2 is short of driving games, and the NASCAR sub-genre is a two-car race. Which will come out on top?”

Monsters Inc. – “It might not redefine the boundaries of the genre, but it looks every bit a successful conversion of a prestigious license.”

Salt Lake 2002 – “Will Attention to Detail’s wintry effort be a case of Citius, Altius, Fortius, or will it fall victim to British indifference?”

Reviews

Headhunter – “There’s a great game hidden in this city somewhere, but we only got tantalising glimpses of it through alleyways. Decent fun, but not enough of it.” 7/10

Wipeout Fusion – “Together at last – style AND substance. The most fully realised Wipeout experience yet. As sharp and extreme as gaming gets: fast, aggressive, tough, sinfully addictive.” 9/10

Rez – “As much a sensually overloading experience as it is a game, Rez provides distilled gameplay for those whose idea of state of the art doesn’t stall around photo realism.” 9/10

UEFA Champions League Season 2001/2002 – “All the right elements are there but the balance of fluid play with precise animation isn’t quite defined enough and as such the two conflict to mar what would otherwise be a great game.” 7/10

Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future – “An original, charming and expansive game that delights and frustrates in equal measure. Twisted Metal fans however need not apply.” 8/10

Dropship: United Peace Force – “An impressive combat sim that rewards commitment with densely paced and varied gameplay. Want a combat sim with depth? Welcome to Dropship.” 8/10

Polaroid Pete – “A scrolling shooter coated in syrupy Japanese weirdness and a brave attempt at something different which almost works.” 7/10

Guilty Gear X – “Breaking bones is one thing, pushing boundaries quite another. This does both. It’s brilliant, and deserves recognition, praise and success.” 8/10

Jeremy McGrath Supercross World – “It tries to be something it isn’t and the result is that it doesn’t play like a motocross game, more like Arctic Thunder after a thaw-out. And that’s bad.” 3/10

Tarzan Freeride – “Frankly, after half an hour, you’ll enjoy nothing more than embarking on a spot of waterfall bungee, and deliberately cracking Tarzan’s skull on every outcrop of rock on the way down.” 4/10

PSOne Reviews

David Beckham Soccer – “Some great Beckham-style moves, but lacks a world-class touch.” 7/10

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 – “Not as polished as previous PSOne efforts but challenging, big and cracking fun.” 8/10

NBA Live 2002 – “Another annual update, with little in the way of new stuff. One for ball-and-hoop completists only.” 6/10

Popstar Maker – “A big let down. And we were expecting so much more…” 5/10

Hardcore

Part one of the Jak and Daxter walkthrough and the final part of the Devil May Cry walkthrough, plus Silent Hill 2, WWF Smackdown!: Just Bring It!, Lego Racers 2, Spyhunter, Motor Mayhem, Grand Theft Auto 3, 18 Wheeler, Batman: Vengeance, Half Life, Smuggler’s Run 2, NHL Hitz 2002 and Ace Combat: Distant Thunder.

Disc Content

Playable Demos

Headhunter

Pro Evolution Soccer

FIFA 2002

Ace Combat: Distant Thunder

Moto GP 2

Twisted Metal: Black

Shaun Palmer’s Pro Snowboarder

Wipeout Fusion

Dropship: United Peace Force

Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future

Footage

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Herdy Gerdy

Parappa the Rapper 2

Maximo

Moto GP 2

Rez

Burnout

Soul Reaver 2

PS2 website advert

Trivia

·         The Quake clone in the editor’s letter is obviously a shot at Halo, but I’m clueless as to what the goblin sim could be. Any suggestions? Was Warcraft on Xbox?

·         A couple errors this issue, as the summary blurbs for the Maximo preview and Tarzan review are re-used from the previous issue’s preview and review of Metal Gear Solid 2 and Giants: Citizen Kabuto respectively. Therefore, for the purposes of the blog, I have chosen another quote for those two games. Granted, it’s not 100% accurate, so I hope you will forgive me for this.

·         This issue features the Game-Trak, a device placed on the floor with wires attached to another object (in this case, a pair of boxing gloves), and your movements with the object corresponds to the movement in-game. Game-Trak is in its development phase right now, but we’ll be seeing more of it later.

·         NASCAR Heat 2002 doesn’t appear to have been released in the UK. Unsurprising, since NASCAR is a distinctly American sport that hasn’t really caught on here in Blighty.

·         Another, more interesting, unreleased game is Polaroid Pete. This game was never released outside Japan because the publisher for the localised version shut down at the last minute, just when the retail copies were meant to be printed. The English version was thought lost, but it recently resurfaced and has now been archived. Frankly, it’s a such a Weird Japanese Thing (the localisation was heavily censored, and yet there’s still plenty of nudity and toilet humour), that it’s surprising that a localisation was ever considered in the first place.

Quote of the Month: “Practice? I have practiced. I AM PRACTICE!!!” One of the competitors at a Pro Evolution Soccer tournament gets really fired up.

Cover price: £4.99

Page Count: 146