Issue 65, November 2005
Editor’s letter
Since being given the OPS2 captain’s hat (navy blue with gold trim) my proudest moment is seeing a sack-faced madman swinging a chainsaw around on our cover. Confession time: I’m a total Resident Evil geek. I’ve been in love with it ever since that rotting dog bounced through the window on PSone, I’ve completed every game since and my sleep is ravaged by terrifying dreams of the coming zombie apocalypse. Which actually isn’t so cool. But even the most ardent corpse-fancier had to admit that the series had lost its way. In fact, it was starting to stink like a bag of meat left in the sun. Then this. Resident Evil 4 doesn’t so much reinvent the survival horror genre as stick a grenade in its mouth, mutter something sarcastic and pull the pin. It’s a struggle to think of any other game this generation with such relentlessly inventive big-fisted action. The only problem is, it’s started to ruin us for other games – throwing their flaws into sharper relief with the light of its brilliance. I could tell you the team struggled for ages haggling over the score, but the truth is we’ve rarely been so sure. The review kicks off on page 104, and to celebrate we’ve got five chainsaw controllers to give away. To stand a chance of getting one, email chainsaw@futurenet.co.uk with the most terrifying thing that’s ever happened to you. Rules apply. Otherwise, this month’s been all about the PSP, which as I tap this out has just enjoyed the most successful console launch in British history. This issue we’ve got the very latest on Liberty City Stories, the world first review of Sony’s cracking Pursuit Force and that glossy PSP guidebook you’re doubtless fingering right now. (Hey, don’t smudge it.) Oh, and there’s also the not inconsiderable matter of this month’s kickass demo disc, which lets you play the likes of Pro Evo 5, NFS Most Wanted and Soul Calibur III yonks before they’re out. Enjoy.
Tim Clark, Associate Editor
Features
What the Hell Happened Here? – Black
It’ll all be over by Christmas – A war game round-up, including Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood, Commandos Strike Force and more.
From Gangster to Game Star – 50 Cent Bulletproof
Monthly Articles
Funny Nicknames – This month, what’s the most disgusting thing you’ve eaten?
Could be a Classic – This month, Rogue Galaxy, the JRPG featuring space pirates.
Replay – Online reviews for MX VS ATV Unleashed, Outlaw Golf 2 and Conflict: Global Storm, and what the other mags said about Heroes of the Pacific and 187 Ride or Die.
OPS2 Investigates – This month, What did we do wrong? When great games fail to sell.
Monitor
Star Wars Battlefront II – “This isn’t just for Star Wars fanatics. The huge battles, different characters, vehicles and settings should please any armchair warrior. But if you are a fan then think about this: you can play as Yoda…” Boiling
Need for Speed Most Wanted – “NFS is as fast as ever, but add the heat from the law and it becomes survival racing. Varied objectives and locations mix things up but is that going to be enough to separate this from the many other street racers out there?” Hot
The Matrix: Path of Neo – “There’s a lack of pace and simplicity in The Matrix: Path of Neo that prevents any of the films’ balletic action really kicking off. But with a slightly finger-friendlier control system, this could be a lot of fun.” Warm
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones – “Rather than radically alter the formula, it looks like Ubisoft has wisely chosen to just add a few new tricks. Some new moves, more open environments and you now get two Princes for the price of one.” Boiling
Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows – “Four-player online action that may be surprisingly good.” Warm
TOCA Race Driver 3 – “The story element that used to progress your race career has taken a back seat, allowing TOCA to become a more accessible experience, and giving you more freedom to choose what you want to race.” Hot
Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence – “Perhaps we’ve been tricked up by Hideo Kojima’s theatrics again, but the potential horseplay that an online Metal Gear offers is too much to resist.” Boiling
S.L.A.I – “Solid, if unremarkable, robot war-porn.” Warm
Hitman: Blood Money – “Hitman has always been about taking your time and executing the perfect ‘hit’. With enhanced skills and the ability to build a custom arsenal, we think baldy’s new game really is ‘the money’.” Hot
Starcraft: Ghost – “It’s hard not to conclude that Starcraft: Ghost’s elephantine gestation period is the result of a muddled game that’s way past its sell by date in terms of relevance. For once we really hope we’re wrong.” Warm
PS2 Reviews
Resident Evil 4 – “All the style of the series so far plus a maelstrom of new shocks, twists and challenges makes this the best survival horror game ever.” 10/10
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat – “Battlefield 2 uses the best of PS2’s capabilities to fashion an unashamedly entertaining, surprisingly strategic shooter.” 9/10
Singstar 80s – “Themed editions are definitely the way forward. Roll on the Bond songs edition and hundreds of tracks on a PS3 hard drive.” 8/10
Sonic Gems Collection – “Sega hasn’t made this for you, it’s made it for people who still have their Mega Drives in the original box. And they’ve probably already got all these games. Ignore.” 4/10
Nascar 2006: Total Team Control – “More niche than ostrich-whispering and not half as exciting – a beautiful rendition of a sport we can’t bring ourselves to care about one little bit.” 4/10
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006 – “There are no massive revolutions since last year but this still easily retains its ‘king of the swingers’ crown.” 8/10
Darkwatch – “Darkwatch has a few neat ideas but wins us over by doing solid shooting well. Fast-paced with cool guns, what’s not to like?” 8/10
Buzz! The Music Quiz – “A deceptively simple idea that’s well executed and bags of fun. See mum, not all games are about murdering men with guns.” 7/10
Golden Age of Racing – “Mindless, ugly and all but unplayable. We suffered it so you don’t have to. Do yourself a favour and pick up a decent racer on Platinum instead.” 1/10
International Super Karts – “A hopeful opening ten minutes fades into a frustrating but familiar rollercoaster of tedium. The only real selling point is that it isn’t Golden Age of Racing.” 3/10
Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome – “What could have been an engaging effort is spoiled by bland presentation, a cliched story and tedious gameplay.” 5/10
NHL 2006 – “Near identical gameplay to its 05 counterpart and a more intricate management aspect – if that floats your boat them hop on board.” 7/10
Genji – “It’s a strange and giant leap back to restrictive, basic gaming that becomes joyless rather quickly. Play Onimusha instead.” 4/10
Rainbow Six: Lockdown – “Dull, lifeless, unexciting and other words for ‘boring’, Rainbow Six: Lockdown is uninspired and not worth your cash.” 6/10
Psychonauts – “Hugely inventive, charming and funny. Psychonauts is a surprise hit and this year’s star platformer.” 9/10
Digimon World 4 – “A frustrating slog of an action RPG for solo gamers, Digimon World 4 gains a little pep in four-way multiplayer mode. But only just.” 5/10
Outlaw Volleyball Remixed – “If ‘remix’ actually meant ‘radically re-worked and altered in every possible way’ then this might be okay. But it’s not. A lazy rehash.” 4/10
FIFA 2006 – “FIFA has grown up a bit and learnt that it has to do the dirty work first before it can get fancy. Competent, entertaining but far from faultless.” 7/10
Everybody’s Golf – “It looks like it’s ‘for kids’ but this is, indeed, for everyone. Not as straight-laced as Tiger Woods, but a consistently enjoyable sport sim.” 8/10
Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit – “Begs, borrows and steals ideas and blends them perfectly into a highly original environment – one of the best movie tie-ins you’ll play.” 8/10
Sniper Elite – “There’s not quite enough freedom in the levels to find that perfect shot, but this is still a rewarding and enjoyably fresh sniper sim.” 7/10
WRC Rally Evolved – “Challenging but accessible, WRC is a brilliant rally sim, and the random events that spice up every race make it a seriously good ride.” 9/10
LA Rush – “Not an exceptional racer but enjoyable all the same, and certainly the least juvenile of the current crop of G-riders.” 7/10
Spytoy – “A solid attempt at eking some more life out of the Eyetoy, but not as successful as, say, Eyetoy Play or Eyetoy Antigrav.” 5/10
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks – “Reinventing Mortal Kombat was risky, but Shaolin Monks rams home the action with style, guts and excitement to spare.” 8/10
Top Spin – “Aside from the shockingly ropey visuals Top Spin equips itself pretty well. It just can’t match the polish of Sony’s Smash Court.” 6/10
Stuart Little 3: Big Photo Adventure – “As kiddie-friendly games go this is quality stuff. If most ‘grown-up’ titles lavished this much attention on entertainment we’d all be laughing.” 7/10
Taito Legends – “Yes, Rainbow Islands, Bubble Bobble and New Zealand Story are actually still quite good. That’ll be two-thirds of a mark apiece, then.” 2/10
Total Overdose – “Addictive and action-packed, racking up combo kills creates a twist that will keep pulling you back in for just one more go.” 8/10
Without Warning – “You can actually feel your IQ drop as you play. A pretty-looking but otherwise feeble attempt at a political thriller.” 4/10
PSP Reviews
Pursuit Force – “This is extraordinary stuff. Our excitement is only slightly dampened by inconsistent driving and sudden difficulty spikes.” 8/10
World Rally Championship – “Rallying is tight and awkward on the PSP’s small screen, and though WRC has plenty going for it, it’s just not as much fun as other PSP racing games.” 6/10
Twisted Metal: Head-On – “This looks and sounds great. But flaws such as button layout, poor targeting and matches that go on forever make this disappointingly average.” 5/10
Disc Content
Playable Demos
Pro Evolution Soccer 5
Soul Calibur III
Need for Speed Most Wanted
Darkwatch
Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood
WRC Rally Evolved
Delta Force: Black Hawk Down
Rainbow Six: Lockdown
Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit
NHL 2006
Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance
Trivia
* In issue 62, someone managed to get butter on the inside of their envelope. The next issue, someone sent in a tub of the stuff. This month, the deliveries escalate to a loaf of bread to spread all that butter on! “No more food, okay?”
* This issue has the first news on Yakuza. Given that it’s only recently that the series has broken through into mainstream popularity, it can be easy to forget that it started on PS2.
* 2 fun peripheral stories: The first involves custom PSP hardware such as an external battery pack converted from an Atari 2600 joystick, and the second is possibly the worst peripheral ever, the Game Guardian. This thing was a clamp that you put your PS2 inside, and it would automatically turn the console off once a set time limit had passed.
* Remember Issue 63’s feature on how to make great games even better? Specifically, the bit about a Metal Gear Solid multiplayer mode where a team of guards have to catch one player who is using Snake? That’s exactly what Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence did for its multiplayer!
* The Starcraft: Ghost preview is pretty funny for translating the game producer’s answers. For example, a description of the game’s turbulent development history to this point is summarised as “It’s been an utter balls-up from start to finish, whenever that may be. But we’re back on track!”
* The Resident Evil 4 review includes a timeline of the entire series lore up to this point. Very cool!
* Stage 4 of the 5 Stages of Tomb Raider Grief: Depression. When the Without Warning review brings up the Angel of Darkness connection, it’s followed up with “You’re right to be worried.”
* Is it just me, or does Coach Oleander from Psychonauts look like a human version of Mr Krabs?
* With all the family films from the 1990s and 2000s that have become memes in recent years (for example, Space Jam, Shrek, Ice Age, Robots and Kung Fu Panda), I’m surprised Stuart Little hasn’t gone viral yet. Maybe the meme arbiters need a little reminder…
Quote of the Month: “Look at me, I’m a millipede! Look at me!” The reason why I’ve never been scared of Bitores Mendez’s boss form. At least, not the first part. When he splits in half, that’s another thing entirely!
Cover price: £5.99
Page Count: 178
ABC sales figures: Major oof! This is by far the biggest drop we’ve seen. This was part of a wider drop in sales of videogame magazines in general, which industry insiders blamed on a lack of blockbusters with massive appeal (in other words, no new GTA), as well as the rise of websites for gaming news.
Jul-Dec 2004 – 172,593
Jan-Jun 2005 – 133,242 (down 39,351)
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