Issue 77, October 2006
Editor’s letter
So, we had a PS3 in the office this month. Well, a solid resin mock-up of one. Don’t worry, we checked, the slots were very much painted on. It was a teasing look at the successor to PS2. You know, the one that’s launched in just ten weeks. And while it sat there on my desk reeking of promise and unexplored next-generation dreams, the shiny Piano Black surface reflected back an image of one of our writers playing a PS2 game behind me. It was a symbolic moment.
Because, while the world’s media goes into hyperdrive in the coming weeks over PS3, it will be all too easy to forget that PS2 still has loads of major league games on the way – right into the depths of 2007. Hopefully this issue of OPS2 will serve to remind you of that. Games like Just Cause, our exclusive cover game, The Sims 2 Pets, Scarface, The Sopranos, Need for Speed Carbon (enjoying the demo?), FIFA 07, God of War II and the new Lego Star Wars. Games that in no way suggest a console that’s on its last legs. It’s alive and kicking. Hard. But back to that PS3 on my lap. Cutting to the chase, forget what else you’ve read or heard, it can’t fail to be amazing. We’ve just sent a journalist to Chicago to play John Woo’s Stranglehold – it was his first go on a real, working PS3 dev kit – read his feature to see just how blown away he was. On another note I must point you to some first images from a future next-gen Star Wars game on page 30 – they sort of speak for themselves. And finally, yes, this isn’t the face you normally see on here. And okay, I made up that bit about the PS3 reflection. Give me a break, it’s my first go.
George Walter, Acting Editor
Features
“Give the guy a gun and he’s Superman. Give him two and he’s God.” – Stranglehold
7 reasons why The Sims 2 Pets will make your real pet obsolete – The Sims 2 Pets. This feature also includes a quiz to determine what kind of pet owner you are.
Taking Care of Business – The Sopranos: Road to Respect
Monthly Articles
Funny Nicknames – This month, who or what would you like to be stranded on a desert island with?
Could be a Classic – This month, Jeanne d’Arc. A strategy RPG based on a fantasy version of Joan of Arc.
Replay – Online reviews for Outlaw Volleyball Remixed and Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, and what the other mags said about Formula One 2006, Singstar Anthems, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.
So, you think you can beat us? – Readers take on the team in 2V2 multiplayer games. This month, Virtua Tennis 2.
OPS2 Investigates – This month, “Okay Chris, I definitely know the answer to this…”. A feature on video game voice acting, as OPS2 record one of the phone a friend voices for the new Who Wants to be a Millionaire? game, and also interview David Bateson, the voice of Agent 47.
Endgame – Game endings. This month, Hitman: Blood Money.
Monitor
Scarface: The World is Yours – “Like a bullet to the stones, this is a startling if bloody surprise that might do justice to the movie after all – so long as the dodgy driving is fixed.” Boiling
The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning – “This retelling of the Spyro story looks very familiar.” Warm
Kingdom Hearts II – “New worlds to explore and fresh characters to meet mean this is looking like a quality sequel. Fingers crossed they haven’t bust the combat though with the new fighting options.” Boiling
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon – “Slight worries about kart racing aside, Armageddon is shaping up well, with a comprehensive round-up of the series’ best features, plus a handful of cool innovations.” Hot
NHL 2007 – “Sticks at the ready gents; it’s looking ace.” Boiling
Killzone: Liberation – “A genuinely exciting prospect on PSP with big budget production values. This is shaping up to be a unique and gripping explosion of warfare, flawlessly designed for handheld play.” Meltdown
Eragon – “If the whole game was built around the dragon levels, we’d be more excited about this. But with bland combat, it’s shaping up to be yet another solid yet uninspiring movie tie-in.” Warm
Tony Hawk’s Project 8 – “Taking the game back to its roots but still making giant leaps forward, THP8 looks and feels like real skating and could be the most groundbreaking Hawk’s game since Pro Skater on PSOne.” Boiling
Freerunning – “A bit of originality goes a long way – especially when you can jump as far as a freerunner – so we’re very intrigued to see how this turns out.” Hot
God of War II – “So far, so similar, but this is God of War with the volume turned up to the max. We’ve got our fingers crossed for some sort of Aphrodite-related powers for, y’know, the ladies…” Meltdown
Half-Life 2 – “Justifiably hailed as the best first-person-shooter ever on PC, Half-Life 2 is now heading to PS3 with loads of bonus content and graphical improvements. Prepare to get very excited.” Meltdown
PS2 Reviews
Just Cause – “A jaw-dropping adventure that disappoints slightly thanks to a short central plot padded out with repetitive objectives.” 8/10
FIFA 2007 – “It’s been a long wait, but FIFA has finally managed to meld both style and substance. The result is a football game with stacks to offer.” 9/10
Curious George – “Curious George has none of the double-layered humour of other animated films. Likewise, the game only works if you’re under six.” 5/10
Steambot Chronicles – “Steambot isn’t as polished or as deep as Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy, but it’s still a charming curiosity laden with fresh ideas.” 7/10
B-Boy – “We like new gaming concepts and B-Boy is both unusual and innovative – but it’s not deep enough to sustain your interest.” 7/10
Ace Combat: The Belkan War – “A cracking surprise, The Belkan War is hardcore plane porn tuned for maximum thrills and money shots.” 8/10
Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition – “Having to unlock the best new addition is annoying, but it’s an otherwise decent expansion of the original, excellent DMC3.” 8/10
Madden NFL 2007 – “A very occasional lack of realism aside, this is one of the most comprehensive yet accessible sports games ever to grace PS2.” 9/10
LMA Manager 2007 – “Remains the premier management sim on PS2 but just too similar to last year’s outing to make it a compulsory purchase.” 7/10
Dance Factory – “A clever idea that’s a laugh with the right kind of music, but is too random to be anything other than an occasional curiosity.” 6/10
Super-Bikes Riding Challenges – “A likeable enough bike racer that’s simply too po-faced to stay interesting over the long run. You’re better off with Moto GP.” 6/10
Reservoir Dogs – “A bad idea executed only slightly better. When will companies learn that great films don’t necessarily make great games?” 5/10
Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny – “Iris 2 isn’t a landmark game by any stretch. But with a couple of novel features, it’s certainly engaging enough to be a good toe-dipper into the world of RPGs.” 6/10
Premier Manager 2006-2007 – “Reasonable management sim that will satisfy those looking for some light-hearted dugout action, but isn’t fit to fetch the ball for its big-name contemporaries.” 6/10
Homura – “It won’t drag you away from Black in the long term, but Homura is a surprisingly accessible shooter that’s available at a good price.” 6/10
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy – “Combine the first game’s addictive gameplay with Lucas’ classic trilogy, and you’ve got a supremely entertaining slice of sci-fi escapism.” 9/10
Street Golfer – “A potentially crowd-pleasing idea that’s horribly marred by half-hearted execution and woefully dull environments. Tiger’s still the king of this particular jungle.” 4/10
Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories – “Restrictive and ponderous in places but more often immense and rewarding, Disgaea 2 is an underrated RPG with surprisingly commendable depth.” 7/10
Raiden III – “A purebred ‘80s throwback, Raiden III hasn’t a chance of competing with exciting modern shooters – or even the classics of yesteryear. Look elsewhere for your shoot-‘em-up thrills.” 3/10
Monster House – “An upbeat adventure that, while simple, throws up enough laughs and child-friendly horror thrills to entertain its intended early teens audience.” 6/10
Zoocube – “This inventive puzzler is one of few budget offerings out there that you can rescue from the bargain bin without fearing for your sanity.” 5/10
Urban Extreme – “Possibly the worst driving game to ever grace not only the PS2, but every other console in history. Yes, it’s that bad.” 1/10
Rig Racer 2 – “A fairly likeable premise that’s wrecked beyond all hope of recovery by some awful, unforgivable bugs.” 2/10
Hamster Heroes – “Tedious puzzler that’s fun for around three minutes, before you tire of its awkward controls and repetitive, one-note gameplay.” 3/10
PSP Reviews
Ultimate Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins – “A beautiful, but hard-as-nails remastering of the 1988 original that sadly still plays like an 18-year-old game. Exasperating.” 5/10
Gradius Collection – “An enjoyable collection of shooters that haven’t dulled with age, but are still very much of their time.” 7/10
Cars – “Although Cars is no real match for the all-conquering Ridge Racer, its unexpectedly speedy action makes it well worth a test drive nonetheless.” 7/10
Madden NFL 2007 – “Better than last year’s handheld Madden game, but NFL nuts will notice the return of a few niggling flaws.” 7/10
Pocket Racers – “A very ordinary racing game with a wrong-headed storyline tacked on. Stick with Micro Machines for your diddy-driving kicks.” 5/10
Disc Content
Playable Demos
Need for Speed Carbon
Ace Combat: The Belkan War
Prostroke Golf World Tour 2007
Bionicle Heroes
Lemmings
Yakuza
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Formula One 2006
B-Boy
Footage
Kingdom Hearts II
Rogue Galaxy
Game Saves
Primal
The Mark of Kri
Jak II
Amplitude
Metal Gear Solid 2
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
Timesplitters 2
Zone of the Enders 2
Auto Modellista
Enter the Matrix
007 Nightfire
Silent Hill 3
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Chaos Legion
Ford Racing 2
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
Beyond Good and Evil
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Trivia
* The Half Life 2 preview expresses slight disappointment that Episode 3 will not be included in the package. So, is Half Life 2 Episode 3 still happening or what?
* Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition gets a lower score than the original because playable Vergil has to be unlocked, “A footnote that’s up there with ‘batteries not included’ in the ‘wish I’d known that earlier’ stakes.” This is also the first in the series to get an updated re-release, which all future games in the series also received.
* Dance Factory punishes the player for missing notes by attacking their self-esteem with messages like ‘Getting flabby!’ or ‘Porky!’ No modern game could possibly get away with doing that, and even at the time the reviewer thought this was in bad taste.
* The aforementioned wrong-headed storyline of Pocket Racers is as follows: You have been transformed into a toy car by the Soul Stealer, and are made to race in order to eventually be turned back to normal, but for every race you finish in last place, the Soul Stealer will eat one of your friends. Note to the developers: there was no need to go so hard on the story! Sonic settles for racing tournaments, Crash Bandicoot has aliens or theme parks (Crash Nitro Kart took a page out of Space Jam’s book and had both), and Mario doesn’t even bother justifying why he’s racing go-karts with his various friends and foes. Are you gonna ask Mario to justify himself? He doesn’t have to, he went racing first!
* There’s an article in this issue on online multiplayer server shutdowns, specifically that EA were closing the servers for older sports games. Owing to their annual nature, the servers for sports games don’t tend to stay active for long (around 2 years or so, and they’re virtual ghost towns after the first year and everyone's upgraded to the following year's version), but it’s still interesting to see it highlighted in the magazine like this, especially as online multiplayer wasn’t nearly as ubiquitous as it is today.
Quote of the Month: “He killed 16 Czechoslovakians. The guy was an interior decorator.” A classic Sopranos quote gets mangled by Chinese whispers purple monkey dishwasher.
Cover price: £5.99
Page Count: 130
ABC sales figures: This drop is less than the one from the same period last year, so the decline is slowing. Still pretty big, though.
Jul-Dec 2005 – 132,069
Jan-Jun 2006 – 100,117 (Down 31,952)
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