Issue 27 (December 2002)

 Issue 27, December 2002

Editor’s letter
       For months now we’ve been listening to Hall and Oates and wearing pastel jackets with the sleeves rolled up in anticipation of Grand Theft Auto’s Eighties-themed update, Vice City. Thankfully, as our UK exclusive review proves, the embarrassment at our big hair and shoulder pads predicament is soon eclipsed by the thrill of nicking cop cars and bludgeoning bystanders with baseball bats. Vice City is easily the biggest PS2 game of 2002, and the fervour with which we’re anticipating its arrival makes you wonder exactly how Rockstar has managed to concoct a gaming formula that’s so much more appealing than its rivals. I think the main attraction has to be the open-ended gameplay and the fact that in a recognisably real-world scenario, you can do things that in real life would have you arrested, imprisoned, sectioned, or at the very least, vilified by the media and disowned by your family. Not that the game objectives force you into mowing down pedestrians and sniping students, but do you know anyone who’s ever played GTA responsibly?
Sam Richards, Editor

Features
The Hard Cel – A feature on cel-shading, which was everywhere at the time, as the big list of upcoming cel-shaded games attests.

Big in Japan? – A look at some of the Japan-only games that fall squarely into the category of Weird Japanese Things. The highlight is Bad Magistrate, a game which involves Danny Devito’s Japanese counterpart running away from assassins trying to get him to give tax money back to the peasants he exploits. Really, you can’t go wrong when the word magistrate is in the title.

Monthly Articles
The Money Shot – Each month’s greatest gaming moment immortalised in a photo or illustration. This month, hijacking a police helicopter in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

OPS2 Interview – Martin Kenwright, returning from Issue 14.

To the Death – A bloody battle to prove what’s better. This month, Solo gaming VS Multiplayer gaming. Multiplayer wins, but at least single player pretends to put up a fight.

30 Days in Tokyo – This month, a man dressed as a bowling pin. The green guy from a few issues ago be like:

The Big Issue – Answering a question that’s been on readers’ minds. This month’s question: Why do violent games sell so well?

Designer Genes – Readers write in with their game ideas and pitches. This month, Wise Guys, AKA Grand Theft Mafia.

From Zero to Hero – A supporting character gets their day in the limelight. This month, a Resident Evil zombie in Stop the Rot! You’ve got a taste for flesh, and the more you eat, the slower you decompose.

The Butcher – Tearing into gaming clichés. This month, effeminate villains.

Mash-Up – Combining two games. This month, NBA Street Fighter. I’m imagining Zangief doing a spinning piledriver slam dunk to score.

Hideo Kojima at the Movies – The creator of Metal Gear gets his own monthly column celebrating the films that inspired his game. This month, The Guns of Navarone.

Buyers Guide – Listing a selection of PS2 games from each genre, tiered under Essential, Excellent, Good, Average and Poor, and providing a PSOne Alternative. This month, First-Person Shooters. Timesplitters 2 and Deus Ex are Essential. Medal of Honor: Frontline, Timesplitters, Half Life and Quake 3: Revolution are Excellent. Red Faction, Unreal Tournament and James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire are Good. Turok Evolution, Vampire Night, Ninja Assault and Dino Stalker are Average. Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force and Soldier of Fortune Gold are Poor, and Alien Resurrection is the PSOne Alternative.

What If? – This month, what if the Emotion Engine really was emotional? Machine learning isn’t such a good idea after all if it leads to your PS2 erasing your save data for not playing games as much as you used to.

Previews
The Getaway – “The Getaway’s coming up for parole and the outside is looking tastier by the day. A slight problem with the game camera aside, it’s both looking and playing like a total diamond. Sorted? Almost, my son.” Meltdown

SOCOM US Navy SEALs – “SOCOM US Navy SEALs is a great blast made better by voice communication features. This opens up all manner of new opportunities for strategy. It’s going to set PS2 gaming alight next year.” Meltdown

Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance – “MGS2 Substance, just like the Special Missions on PSOne, gives the full game an extended life. The VR missions are just one great aspect of a package that looks to be pure Metal Gear, pure action and pure fun.” Boiling

Devil May Cry 2 – “Devil May Cry 2 still has its plot under wraps, but the acrobatic, bullet ballet action alone is exhilarating. If it delivers all of the enhanced features promised, this baby has ‘Hit’ stamped all over it.” Boiling

Judge Dredd: Dredd VS Death – “Judge Dredd VS Death is still a way off but it looks like Rebellion is staying true to what made the comics so good. We’ll keep you posted on its development, just to make sure.” Hot

Batman: Dark Tomorrow – “Batman: Dark Tomorrow is set in a comic book world that’s been recreated with admirable care. But issues, such as awkward, fixed viewpoints and clumsy combat could undermine the experience.” Warm

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 – “Tiger Woods 2003 is an example of EA Sports pushing the boundaries, something it is attempting with each yearly sports title update. Can this really become the ultimate golf game on PS2?” Hot

Silent Hill 3 – “Silent Hill 3 ups the combat quotient with automatic weapons and more nightmarish creatures (not to mention foreboding atmosphere) than before, without resorting to a complete Resi-style makeover.” Hot

XIII – “XIII boasts a number of innovative features and neat touches that suggest this will truly be a first-person shooter to reckon with. Roll on March 2003.” Boiling

Updates for Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Alter Echo, James Bond 007: Nightfire, Reign of Fire, Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner, BMX XXX, Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, Big Mutha Truckers and Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc.

Reviews
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – “This is undeniably the best thing ever to come out of the Eighties, and it’s one of the greatest console games ever.” 10/10

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – “Even if the mention of orcs and goblins normally gives you the fear, if you like action games, you’ll love this.” 8/10

World Rally Championship 2 Extreme – “A really full-bodied sim, with a satisfying learning curve for those who can hang on for the ride.” 9/10

Colin McRae Rally 3 – “Perfectly playable and constantly challenging, Colin McRae motors effortlessly into the PS2 hall of fame.” 9/10

Red Faction 2 – “If you have a destructive streak then you’ll love Red Faction 2. Get it, if only for the Geo-Mod madness.” 8/10

Formula One 2002 – “A great game for F1 fans and serious race game lovers. The best of its kind on Playstation 2.” 8/10

Pro Evolution Soccer 2 – “Better than the original, better than all its rivals, if you’re into football games it’s time to shell out another £40.” 9/10

FIFA 2003 – “For fully-licensed footy you should feel no shame in buying this. There’s still work to be done, but it’s hugely enjoyable.” 8/10

Gungrave – “Gungrave is a short-but-sweet, ultraviolent, super-stylish, manga-inspired blastathon. Oh yes.” 7/10

LMA Manager 2003 – “If you think you can do a better job than Fergie and Wenger, here’s your chance to prove it.” 7/10

Haven: Call of the King – “Lots of fun and packed with brilliant ideas. Would be a landmark game, if not for the superior Ratchet and Clank.” 8/10

Rocky – “If boxing’s your thing, you really shouldn’t be without this. And it’s actually a really accurate and entertaining film adaptation.” 8/10

Kingdom Hearts – “An enticing and hugely entertaining collaboration between Disney fantasy and Final Fantasy.” 8/10

Summoner 2 – “An RPG-cum-action-adventure that, while initially rather basic, eventually reveals levels of much deeper complexity.” 7/10

The Sum of All Fears – “You’ll be enthralled in the early missions. After that, the repetitive format starts to hurt.” 5/10

Shox – “The gimmicks aren’t enough to compensate for this being a rather simplistic rally game.” 5/10

Superman: Shadow of Apokalips – “Stunning graphics, but the gameplay makes Activision’s Spider-Man game look like a work of genius.” 5/10

Blade 2 – “Enjoyable at first, but the mowing down of endless waves of creatures will have you fumbling for the hammer and stake.” 5/10

Dynasty Tactics – “All-too-rare on PS2, this is a strategy title with real depth and charm to boot.” 8/10

Ty the Tasmanian Tiger – “Weaker than watered-down Fosters, this uninspired platformer fails to impress.” 4/10

Rally Fusion: Race of Champions – “This is by no means poor, but we can’t recommend a hamburger when fillet steak costs the same.” 6/10

Treasure Planet – “Shameless platforming clone it may be, but it’s an enjoyably shameless clone.” 6/10

Legaia 2: Duel Saga – “A surprisingly approachable RPG. It’s not Final Fantasy, but it’s plenty of fun.” 7/10

Marvel VS Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes – “Lacks the depth of Tekken, but for sheer ‘pow’ factor, this will bowl you over.” 7/10

Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions – “A pick-up-and-play experience that’s great in half-hour bursts. Ideal for a quick, brainless blast late on a Friday night.” 7/10

Gumball 3000 – “One of the worst driving games for ages. Poor on almost every level.” 3/10

The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian – “Tasty graphics, but the dull gameplay stands out like a snapped arrow shaft in the thigh.” 4/10

Knight Rider – “Only hardcore devotees of the Eighties TV show should look closer.” 4/10

Micro Machines – “We can’t justify a higher score than this – it’s just not a big enough step up from the PSOne game.” 6/10

Hardcore
A walkthrough for Onimusha 2, plus The Thing, Tekken 4, Grand Theft Auto 3, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, MX Superfly, Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX 2, Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer, Blade 2 and Pro Rally 2002.

Disc Content
Playable Demos
Colin McRae Rally 3
World Rally Championship 2 Extreme
Alpine Racer 3
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger
Haven: Call of the King
Reign of Fire
Twin Caliber

Footage
The Getaway
James Bond 007: Nightfire
Kingdom Hearts
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc
Activision 02 compilation (Includes Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4, Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX 2, Wakeboarding Unleashed and Shaun Palmer’s Pro Snowboarder)
Zapper
Way of the Samurai
Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly
Spider-Man film trailer

Trivia
* The infamous Starcraft Ghost makes its debut in this issue. This was meant to be a more action-based spin-off of the South Korean PC favourite, but it became a permanent resident of Development Hell before the third set of developers finally called it quits and put the game on indefinite hold in 2006, quietly cancelling it later. There was a somewhat happy ending though, as an in-development build of the Xbox version leaked earlier this year.
* This month’s great one-and-done game: Criminalympics, both a great pun and the title of a minigame collection that’s a sports competition that’s been gangsta-fied – think drive-by skeet shooting, for instance. Presumably, this game was unreleased because the novelty of the comedy concept would quickly wear off, but that pun is too good to waste!
* The biggest criticism of Pro Evolution Soccer 2 in its preview a few issues ago was the use of Queen on the soundtrack, but come review time, and it’s grown on them, described as “Dramatic, bombastic and, dare we say it, camper than a window box… the perfect intro.”
* Games that would never be made today #4: Haven: Call of the King. Why not? Variety was a big thing in games at the time; the more different things you could do and styles of gameplay you had, the better. Not so much nowadays, as games that do one or two things really well are more valued today than games that let you play a million and one different genres at once, but don’t excel at any of them.
* On the letters page, David Williams writes in to raise the issue of lacking racial diversity in game characters. This quote from OPS2’s response, specifically the second part “The lack of non-white (and non-Japanese) characters in videogames is a serious issue, and one that is raised regularly without ever being properly addressed” is telling in how it’s still the case today, almost two decades later, with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas remaining the highest-profile example of a black lead character who isn’t part of an ensemble playable roster, a licensed game, or player-created. Ethnic diversity in game characters doesn’t seem to have had the same push behind it that female characters have gotten, so let’s hope it comes soon.

Quote of the Month: “To avoid bringing shame on our employer, we crank up the juice and avoid all stop signs.” OPS2 actually get quite into Let’s Go By Train! Ryoji Hen, to their pleasant surprise.

Cover price: £5.49
Page Count: 178