Issue 21 (June 2002)

Issue 21, June 2002

Editor’s letter

Online. When mentioned in conjunction with Playstation 2, It’s a word that spreads excitement and trepidation in roughly equal measures. Round OPS2’s way, we’re definitely in the ‘excited’ camp, but I can understand those of you with misgivings about taking the headlong leap into the online gaming era. For a start, many of you have written to us concerned about the cost of the additional hardware required to take your PS2s online. A similar number of you have wondered whether or not you will be able to install a Broadband internet connection where you live. If there is a common thread, it seems to be the worry that the PS2 will suddenly become an online console and those of you without the funds to invest in new hardware, or the good fortune to have a piece of cable running under your road will get left behind.

Let’s lay that one to rest once and for all. The PS2 is a disc-based console and will remain that way for the rest of its lifetime. The practice of going into a shop, purchasing a game and playing it at home – offline – will remain the primary method of consumption for many years to come. That’s how Sony wants it, that’s how the publishers want it, that’s how you want it. Any tentative steps into the online world made by Sony Computer Entertainment are only to enhance that existing experience, not replace it. That’s why SCE has been very, very careful in formulating and revealing its online plans. While online gaming via PS2 is an invigorating prospect, SCE understands that it will only be a hardcore concern to begin with. It knows that a high-speed internet connection is only available to a limited number of gamers, so it is concentrating on making the offline elements of its games more compelling than ever, while working with network specialists (such as Telewest and BT in the UK) to help expand Broadband systems to a wider audience. Six billion players worldwide? SCE is more realistic.

Take a look at SOCOM: US Navy SEALS. I was privileged enough to be one of the first people to play this squad-based shooter over a proper nationwide network (albeit in the States) along with 15 other wannabe gunslingers. It was a genuinely thrilling experience, and one I hope that many of you will be able to sample yourselves when the UK eventually gets online. Yet SOCOM’s single-player game appeared deep enough to be a thoroughly satisfying offline experience. It’s two games in one, double the value.

Online plans for PS2 in the UK will be announced soon. We’ll be answering all your queries (and allaying all your fears) when that happens.

Sam Richards, Editor

Features

OPS2 Interview: A group interview with Kazushige Nojima, Nobuo Uematsu, Shinji Hashimoto and Yoshinori Kitase.

Here’s Looking At You – Eyetoy. We saw this a couple times in the earliest issues, but now it’s closer to the final version.

WWIII On The WWW – SOCOM US Navy SEALS, and Hardware, a more action-based vehicular spin-off.

What’s Your Game Then? – Take this quiz to figure out which genre of game you should play next!

Raising the Platform – Ratchet and Clank and Sly Cooper. We already saw Ratchet last month, and Sly makes his debut here.

Monthly Articles

Character Assassination – Creating Frankenstein’s Monster as a videogame character. This month, the perfect war game grunt – A 50ft Hillary Clinton wearing tanks as roller skates and carrying a blowpipe almost as big as she is.

Pocket Heroes – Two football themed cards this month to tie in with the World Cup, David Beckham and Sven Goran Eriksson.

30 Days in Tokyo – This month, Sega’s GameJam 2 event, and Surveillance, a game where you operate CCTV cameras. A bit like Five Nights at Freddy’s, but without the jump scares.

The Burning Question – Asking 5 questions to 3 industry figures. This month’s question: Are events like E3 important to the videogame world?

Designer Genes – Readers write in with their game ideas and pitches. This month, Patient Pandemonium. Race your patients through the hospital before they die, while avoiding hazards including distracted nurses, syringes and bodily fluids.

What If? – This month, what if the PS2 took over the world? Someone’s watched Wargames one time too many, I think. Skynet eat your heart out!

Previews

Tekken 4 – “The beat-‘em-up is an increasingly crowded genre. Has Tekken 4 got the strength to hold on to its title?”

TOCA Race Driver – “As kitchen sink-like in its completist approach as previous franchise titles. Throw in any more and they’ll have to give a car away as well.”

Prisoner of War – “Hatching escape plans takes real ingenuity. Prisoner of War is certainly different, but will its slow gameplay appeal to PS2 gamers?”

V Rally 3 – “The V Rally series has a distinguished history on the PSOne. But is Eden doing enough to push the boundaries of racing on PS2?”

Project Zero – “Having gained some good scores in the US (where it’s known as Fatal Frame) the prospects for Project Zero should be good.”

David Beckham Soccer – “Can the most famous footballer in the world transfer his silky skills to PS2?”

Reviews

Spider-Man – “If our expectations were on the 123^rd floor of a skyscraper, Spider-Man clings to the side of the building at the 95^th floor.” 7/10

Medal of Honor: Frontline – “A brilliantly executed first-person shooter, and the D-Day prologue mission will blow you away.” 9/10

2002 FIFA World Cup – “Yet again this game repeats the flaws of the last FIFA incarnation. EA needs to rip the game apart and rebuild it from scratch to challenge PES.” 6/10

Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament – “Plays almost flawlessly and looks, ahem, ace. Without doubt, the definitive PS2 tennis experience, but there’s still room in the game for improvement.” 8/10

Commandos 2: Men of Courage – “A daunting but ultimately rewarding strategy game, it’s an isometric Metal Gear Solid set in World War II. What more could you want?” 8/10

Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing – “Fight fans won’t be disappointed but lack of Tyson from the outset means the game’s punching below its weight.” 7/10

Gitaroo Man – “Every PS2 collection should have at least one game that offers something different. There aren’t many better games in that undefined space than Gitaroo Man.” 8/10

Red Card – “Red Card provides an enjoyable and welcome distraction from serious football, but ultimately it’s little more than an amusing diversion.” 6/10

Test Drive Overdrive – “Enjoyable, formulaic racer with attractive rides and canny CPU challengers.” 6/10

Tetris Worlds – “It’s old, but you’ll keep coming back for more. You can’t help it.” 7/10

Frequency – “Quite simply, Frequency is one of the most euphoric, compulsively addictive, magnificently quirky titles to appear on any videogame hardware anywhere. Go and buy it.” 8/10

Downforce – “A good if unspectacular spin on F1 racing. There’s plenty to like but, spectacular crashes aside, there’s little to make Downforce stand out from the crowd.” 6/10

Pro Rally 2002 – “Unless you’re terribly impatient or really do have only £20 to spare, there are better rally titles on their way soon.” 5/10

Frogger: The Great Quest – “Not quite the worst PS2 game ever, but this platformer comes mighty close.” 2/10

Jet Ion GP – “Give us £15, we’ll call you rude names. You’ll have just as much fun…” 1/10

Rayman Rush (PSOne review) – “A good, original idea, but let down by poor design and some very frustrating flaws.” 6/10

Hardcore

The final part of the Metal Gear Solid 2 walkthrough, and part 1 of the Deus Ex walkthrough, plus Silent Hill 2, Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, Ico, Mister Moskeeto and Maximo.

Disc Content

Playable Demos

Medal of Honor: Frontline

Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament

Red Card

Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002

Frequency

Super Trucks

Peter Pan: Return to Neverland

This is Football 2002

Footage

Spider-Man

Auto Modellista

Britney’s Dance Beat

Commandos 2: Men of Courage

2002 FIFA World Cup

Turok Evolution
Pac-Man World 2

Taz Wanted

The Making of Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness

Trivia

·         Isn’t it a bit early for Eidos to have made a making of video for a game that wouldn’t be released for another year? Admittedly, it was probably meant to be out around this time, if it weren’t for the development hell Tomb Raider went through.

·         There are lots of superhero games in this issue, with the likes of Spider-Man, X-Men, the Punisher, Blade and Batman all getting new games. Unfortunately, Batman: Dark Tomorrow was released on Gamecube first, and ended up being so bad that the PS2 version was cancelled as a result.

·         Not content with a generic kart racer, Akira: Psycho Ball is instead a pinball game licensed from the iconic anime movie. Is this the biggest waste of a license on PS2?

·         This issue includes the first appearance of another new franchise, Splinter Cell. Solid Snake finally has a rival in the sneaking stakes!

·         Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing makes a very strange choice, in that Iron Mike himself, the guy whose name and face are on the box, is an unlockable character, and the last one you get at that. It doesn’t help that he’s by far the biggest name on the roster.

·         This is a slow month for new DVD releases, as Predator is re-reviewed (it was previously reviewed in Issue 8 as a vanilla release, whereas this is a shiny new special edition with more bonus features), and there’s also Ultimate Fights from the Movies, a collection of action movie fight scenes, and the sort of thing that became obsolete as soon as Youtube was invented.

·         After my moan about last month’s cover, I’m going to praise this month’s cover, for having a dynamic Spider-Man picture, combined with the blue, red and yellow aesthetics all playing off each other well to really bounce off the page and catch your eye.

Quote of the Month: “Jimmy Saville’s back on TV you say? Quick, hide in the cupboard!” Oof. Talk about Harsher in Hindsight.

Cover price: £5.49

Page Count: 146