Issue 29 (January 2003)

                                                                    Issue 29, January 2003

Editor’s letter
       A split second after this photo was taken, I felt as if I’d ruptured a tendon. Although I guess that’s nothing compared to having your spine ripped out. Just ask cover star Sub-Zero, who regularly suffers that kind of punishment as contribution to the gloriously sick pantomime that is Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.
       I’ve got to admit that we were sceptical about this game at first. Mortal Kombat was one of the world’s biggest game franchises in the pre-Playstation era, but time can often be cruel to series that outstay their welcome. Thankfully, Midway has rebuilt Mortal Kombat from scratch and satiated our appetite for a more instantly gratifying, flamboyant beat-‘em-up – compared to the straight-laced stylings of Tekken and Virtua Fighter – in the process.
       Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is also the first great game of 2003 in what is poised to be the best year yet for Playstation 2. Our calendar feature starting on page 68 leads you, month-by-month, through all the biggest games of 2003, including those which are yet to be confirmed by their cagey publishers. With the Network Adaptor changing the face of gaming forever, it’s an exciting time.
Sam Richards, Editor

Features
Bling in the Ring – Def Jam Vendetta.

Casting the Net – More information on the imminent arrival of online multiplayer for PS2, including what you’ll need to set up, and the upcoming online games.

Welcome to 2003 – The annual look at the next 12 months for PS2.

Monthly Articles
The Money Shot – Each month’s greatest gaming moment immortalised in a photo or illustration. This month, Tim Clark is dead! He’s taken Kung Lao’s razor-brimmed hat to the forehead. Oh, the humanity!

OPS2 Interview – Chun Wah Kong

From Zero to Hero – The minor characters of PS2 are given a day in the limelight. This month, Father Vittorio from Hitman 2 must tidy the evidence of his new friend Agent 47’s line of work before a visit from the Pope in Heavens Above, 47! This would have been a great episode of Father Ted.

To the Death – A bloody battle to prove what’s better. This month, Accurate Reality VS Fantasy Future. A running tally is added this month, and Fantasy Future wins 4-1.

30 Days in Tokyo – This month, Ocha Ken, the dog with tea leaves for ears. Choose from herbal tea, coffee or oolong tea!

The Big Issue – Answering a question that’s been on readers’ minds. This month’s question: Does shock advertising sell games?

Designer Genes – Readers write in with their game ideas and pitches. This month, Learner Driver. A game to help you practice for your driving test.

The Butcher – Tearing into gaming clichés. This month, stealth.

Mash-Up – Combining two games. This month, Tekken 4X4 Evolution. The Tekken crew battle transforming vehicles. This must have been the inspiration for Nancy in Tekken 6.

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

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, Platformers. Ratchet and Clank and Jak and Daxter are Essential. Herdy Gerdy, Maximo and Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex are Excellent. Ape Escape 2, Klonoa 2, Freakout, Treasure Planet and Taz Wanted are Good. Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, Monsters Inc. and Scooby Doo: Night of 100 Frights are Average. Frogger: The Great Quest, Peter Pan: Return to Neverland, Evil Twin and Stitch: Experiment 626 are Poor, and Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee is the PSOne Alternative.

What If? – This month, what if videogame characters fell on hard times? Turns out an unexpected bonus of the modern trend towards constant remakes, remasters and ports of everything (Hands up who genuinely believed Destroy All Humans! and Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom, to name two recent examples, needed remakes) is that they keep game characters in work and stop them from becoming homeless.

Previews
Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance – “Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance, as these screenshots can attest, is set to raise the already established franchise’s game in fine style. Bring on those gigantic guards!” Boiling

Shinobi – “Shinobi boasts a simple premise, exquisitely presented. With no defend button, this game’s ethos is spelt out plain and simple. Cut, thrust and dodge through a storm of sensibility-shaking gut-splat.” Hot

Devil May Cry 2 – “Devil May Cry 2 will need some hands-on play before we can tell whether Lucia is as enjoyable to control as Dante, but for now this she-devil certainly looks the part.” Boiling

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – “Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner looks to be delivering just what we hoped for: an emphasis on action and style and not quite so many cut-scenes.” Hot

Primal – “Primal looks fantastic and although we’ve barely scraped the surface, it’s shaping up to be an epic adventure. Our only concern is if it falls into the same aimless wandering trap as Soul Reaver 2.” Hot

X-Men: Wolverine’s Revenge – “X-Men: Wolverine’s Revenge looks set to be one of the few comic book games to excel on PS2. By concentrating on gameplay and atmosphere this game could slice and dice the opposition.” Hot

Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter – “Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter looks to be a strong addition to the world of space shooters. It’ll need to blend its gameplay elements effectively to convince hardened gamers, though.” Hot

SOS: The Final Escape – “SOS: The Final Escape reveals an exciting RPG/puzzle/action hybrid. There’s some strange slowdown in places but the first 60 minutes of the game are a memorable tour de force.” Hot

Updates for Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, The Sims, True Crime: Streets of LA, Pride FC, Midnight Club 2, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Silent Scope 3, Warhammer 40K: Fire Warrior and Contra: Shattered Soldier.

Reviews
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance – “A triumphant return. A truly individual and spectacular-looking game, only held back by its specialist appeal and lack of depth.” 8/10

Ape Escape 2 – “Daft and delirious, but not enough scope for free-roaming platform-heads. Games have evolved, monkeys haven’t.” 7/10

Battle Engine Aquila – “A novel spin on the FPS genre, and extremely well-executed. A few flaws, but overall, it’s well worth a look.” 7/10

Sly Cooper and the terrible generic European title which makes him sound like one of Sonic’s shitty friends so I refuse to use it on principle, especially since no-one even calls him by that name in-game anyway – “Visually stunning and boasts hugely varied platform gameplay – even if all of its best ideas are second-hand.” 7/10

Virtua Cop Elite Edition – “Fond arcade memories, neatly repackaged. But now this seems repetitive and dated.” 5/10

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – “Really does the source material justice, but some sections will have you shouting coarser words than ‘Flipendo!’” 7/10

Defender – “Classic gameplay revamped and 3D-ified. Different, but not better.” 6/10

X-Men: Next Dimension – “Mutton-dressed-as-lamb gameplay. Great characters and environments, but this mutant needs to evolve again.” 5/10

Big Mutha Truckers – “Once the thrill of driving a large lorry wears off (and it won’t take long) BMT is slightly less entertaining than hoovering.” 5/10

Lego Drome Racers – “Another pointless license, another pointless racer.” 4/10

ATV 2 Quad Power Racing – “Decently playable ATV effort, but one that’s more likely to frustrate than truly excite.” 5/10

Minority Report – “A decent fighting game for those who love to brawl, but considering the source material, it’s a missed opportunity.” 5/10

Dragon Ball Z Budokai – “Not for everyone’s taste, but a plucky scrapper that will tickle DBZ fans and astound everybody else.” 6/10

NBA Live 2003 – “A superbly balanced basketball sim that’s laced with some truly innovative touches.” 8/10

BMX XXX – “Surprisingly, we hoped this might’ve been a laugh. We didn’t even smile once.” 4/10

Total Immersion Racing – “Super cars and impressive AI, but a middle-of-the-road racer.” 6/10

The Powerpuff Girls: Relish Rampage – “It’s sufficiently cute, but you’ll complete it in a day and wish you hadn’t wasted your time.” 4/10

Hardcore
Part 1 of the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City walkthrough, plus The Getaway, Resident Evil: Code Veronica X, Rocky, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003, Timesplitters 2 and Scooby Doo: Night of 100 Frights.

Disc Content
Playable Demos
FIFA 2003
Pro Evolution Soccer 2
Rocky
Formula One 2002
Ape Escape 2
Eggo Mania

Footage
Devil May Cry 2
Midnight Club 2
War of the Monsters
Sly Cooper
Space Channel 5 2
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4
Primal
The Mark of Kri
The Making of Kingdom Hearts

Trivia
* The first murmurings of Killzone emerge in this issue, and the phrase “Halo beater” is already being bandied about with reckless abandon, much to developer Guerrilla’s chagrin.
* The story of Mortal Kombat comes in for criticism in its review, which is ironic considering that the later games would be praised for their stories, to the extent that every other fighting game would copy Mortal Kombat’s approach.
* Games that would never be made today #5: BMX XXX. Do I really need to explain this one?

Quote of the Month: “It’s as close as you can get to killing someone without being arrested or really killing someone.” Should we be concerned for anyone who buys Vice City for this reason?

Cover price: £5.49
Page Count: 146