Issue 100 (July 2008)

                                                            Issue 100, July 2008

Editor’s letter
       I’ve got some good news and some bad news for you this month. You want to hear the bad news first? Ok. This will be the last ever issue of Official PS2 Magazine.
       Yup, with 100 issues under its belt and over 12.2 million copies sold, the biggest and best selling games mag the UK has ever seen is coming to an end. It’s a sad day for us all.
       Now the good news. It’s our 100th issue, and as a big send off for you – our loyal readers who have stuck with us through thick and thin – we’ve put together a seriously special mag.
       Sonic Unleashed, Guitar Hero World Tour, Lego Indy, Harry Potter: they’re all in these centennial pages.
       Plus, we’ve got a whole host of retrospective features, including a look back at the greatest OPS2 moments, to help you remember the good times gone by.
       It’s been a fantastic 100 issues. We hope you’ve had as much fun reading them as we have making them.
                                                            Andy Hartup, Acting Editor

Features
OPS2 is 100! – Replacing the News section this month is this retrospective feature, in which the team name their favourite covers (Issues 35, 45, 52, 57, 58 and 98), and issues (2, 32, 59, 65 and 81), and more.

It’s a Kind of Magic – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

He’s Back – Sonic Unleashed

Monthly Articles
Your Game in Lights – Readers submit their own game ideas. This month, The Selected Force, in which killer robots take over a school, Plague, in which Florida falls victim to a zombie outbreak, Blades of Creation, an RPG with a character creation mode, and King Drummer, a music game where you play the drums.

The PS2 Games you Should Own – PS2 cult classics. This month, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

The Greatest – This month, OPS2 moments to celebrate the 100th issue.

OPS2-O-Meter – Measuring games along a certain theme. This month, ladyboys, or androgynous to use a more politically correct term.

Scene Stealer – PS2’s best scenes. This month, shunting a rival into oncoming traffic in Burnout Revenge.

Where the Hell is? – Honourable mentions for the Hall of Fame. This month, Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy.

Brief History – This month, Need for Speed.

Collector’s Item – Gaming merchandise. This month, the Resident Evil chainsaw controller.

Great Game Ingredients – What goes into the best games? This month, The Sims.

Top 10 – This month, OPS2 conversation topics.

Playstation Workout – Get into a gaming genre through four games of increasing difficulty. This month, horror. Easy – Obscure II. Medium – Silent Hill 2. Hard – Resident Evil 4. Killer – Forbidden Siren 2.

Top Chumps – PS2’s worst characters. This month, Lance Vance from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

The Year in Playstation – This month, 2005. The Best – Resident Evil 4. The Worst – Crazy Frog Racer. Underrated – Soul Calibur III. Overhyped – Tenchu: Fatal Shadows. Forgotten – Everybody’s Golf. Never Again! – Pink Pong.

Playstation Education – Demonstrating various examples of a certain item in PS2 games. This month, gadgets.

Split Screen – No games for the last one. Instead, how we wish OPS2 was made (parties and recreational alcoholism) VS how it’s actually made (lots of hard work and waiting on publishers).

Previews
Guitar Hero World Tour
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Crash: Mind Over Mutant
Killzone 2
Lord of the Rings: Conquest
This is Vegas
R-Type Command
Endwar
N+

PS2 Reviews
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures – “It’s not perfect – but the humour, drama and pure fun of Lego Indy will keep you hooked to the end.” 8/10

Aline in the Dark – “Flawed, scruffy and inconsistent, but the small moments of magic go some way to make up for the lack of overall polish.” 7/10

SBK-08 Superbike World Championship – “Functional and deep but wrapped in a package inaccessible to all but the most ardent petrol heads.” 7/10

Guitar Hero Rocks the 80s – 7/10

PSP Reviews
Warriors Orochi – “Hopelessly repetitive and only offers the same amount of cheap thrills as every other Dynasty Warriors type game.” 6/10

Boulder Dash Rocks! – “There’s little here except nostalgia and a chance to use your favourite swear words.” 5/10

Dungeon Explorer – “A repetitive RPG-by-numbers. Only grind veterans will find a vague sense of enjoyment.” 5/10

Iron Man – 5/10

PS3 Reviews
Haze – “No amount of sharp gunplay can redeem Haze’s cliched script and patchy execution.” 6/10

Overlord: Raising Hell – “A non-offensive god-sim packed full of laughs and originality. Buy it.” 7/10

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars – “Ugly as sin, with clunky mechanics to boot. Not great value compared to other PS3 shooters.” 5/10

Disc Content
Playable Demos
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Burnout Revenge
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
Rogue Galaxy
Tomb Raider: Legend
Final Fantasy X
Timesplitters 2
Shadow of the Colossus
Okami

Trivia
* Sonic is holding a copy of the magazine on the cover, which has a picture of Sonic holding the magazine, which has a picture of Sonic holding the magazine… Oh lord, it’s one of those images that goes on forever! I’m sure there’s a name for this, but I couldn’t for the life of me tell you what it is.
* The Gaydar pings for the last time as Daniel expresses interest in playing as characters from diverse backgrounds.
* Big well done to Freedom Fighters, Ico, Music 3000 and Timesplitters 2 for being the only four games to appear in the Hot 100 and Hall of Fame without missing a single month.
* There is actually one last demo disc, which was released alongside Issue 80 of the Official PS2 Magazine Netherlands. That disc has 16 playable demos, finally beating the record set by Issue 38’s disc, and seems to have a theme of hidden gems and cult classics.
* The biggest selling issue is Issue 29, which sold 260,000 copies.
* If I had to guess, the magazine ended with this issue partly due to sales (not that I can find any sales figures to back this up), and partly due to wanting to consolidate everything in the new Official Playstation Magazine. Looking at the upcoming schedules, there are still enough worthwhile games being released that, under different circumstances, the magazine could have lasted to the end of 2008. 2009 would have been tricky though, with Persona 4 as the only notable release.
* Despite ending 8 issues sooner than the old Official Playstation Magazine, OPS2 hadn’t yet gotten to the point where there was absolutely nothing left to write about, which meant the magazine was given free rein to do whatever it wanted because hardly anyone was reading anyway, until Future Publishing noticed they’d forgotten to shut it down. That description sums up the last 18 months or so of OPM, which ran until 2004 despite PSOne releases having dwindled to virtually nothing by the middle of 2002. The continued growth of gaming news websites ensured such a scenario could not happen again.
* I’m glad that OPS2 reached its 100th issue, but I’m also sad that it ended on a celebratory milestone. It gives the issue a bittersweet feeling.

Quote of the Month: “Have you got a favourite mission you’d like us to feature here? Well, to be honest, you’ve left it a little late to tell us about it. These are the last few words in the mag, so from all the team: thanks for everything. We’ve been great… Next issue on sale NEVER.” What better choice than the final paragraph of the magazine?

Cover price: £5.99
Page Count: 98

On that note, this project is finally complete! Thank you to everyone who has read along, and gotten in touch with words of encouragement. I hope that I’ve been able to reawaken some fond memories for you, or taught you a little something new for those of you who didn’t read the magazine during its run. This project may have had a niche audience, but I am honoured to have any audience at all.

                                                                This is good, isn't it?