THE RETRIEVER WEEKLY FOCUS October 17, 2000 PAGE 17

Playstation 2 Comes to America

ALYSON SPURGAS Retriever Weekly Editorial Staff console in April, and the National Security Agency questioned its import -here for the Playstation 2, the newest piece of game same reason. console technology right now, is scheduled A plethora of new games will be to hit electronic stores all over the country released once PS2 is available in America. on Oct. 26. The mouths of video game One of the first games to be available is junkies everywhere are sure to water over Star Wars.: Starfighter, which will be this delectable home system. Everyone's released the same day as PS2 . Starfighter, been wondering where the North American produced by George Lucas, is a space corn­ shipment of the system has been since it bat game that follows the basic storyline of was released in Japan last spring. We're Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace. The still ahead of Europe, which originally World Is Not Enough, produced by EA wasn't expecting the system until late Publishing, is based on the James Bond November. The European release date movie. This stealth-oriented game, which recently moved up to Oct. 28. promises to include plenty of carnage, Sony's Playstation 2 is certainly a new should be released around Christmas. Jeremy Wustner-Brown I Retriever Weekly Staff and much-improved version of its last, Onirnusha Warlords, a Resident Evil-esque Quake 3 Arena: A recent first-person shooter game that takes advantage of recent extremely lucrative endeavor, the original game, should be released this winter as graphic technology. Playstation, . and is sure to draw in even more profit (at least until Sony comes up Online Gaming: Playing with something to make it obsolete). The accessories that Games ....Online will come with the system include Dual RAY O'NEIL Shock 2 analog con­ Retriever Weekly Staff Writer connection, your low ping gives you a troller, a high capac­ slight advantage in laying it down in online ity eight megabyte You have yourself a decent personal melees. Ping is the response time from memory card, a computer or maybe you just got a nice mid­ what you do to what is actually in the Playstation 2 demo dle- or high.-end system for school, in addi­ game, determined by your online speed. disc, AV multi-use tion to having a highspeed dorm Ethernet Where to start if one has the desire to cable and an AC connection. Maybe you just have one or the get into online gaming? The obvious first power cord. Also other. Sure, having the computer is nice to decision would be to find a game that you included will be an type last minute reports in Word and down­ enjoy, supports Internet play and runs w.ell original Playstation loading the latest Dude Mowrey MP3 off of on your computer (sometimes easier said CD-ROM, a DVD­ Napster is highly entertaining, but an area then done). Then get online and go at it. If ROM, a Playstation of computing_ that most people consider you have the technical know-how, you can 2 CD-ROM and an when faced with a high-speed Internet con­ even set up an internal networking game audio CD player. nection is online gaming. with two or more people where pings are This means that the In an industry where revenues are rival­ almost non-exist~nt and games are much PS2 will not only be ing the American film industry, there are smoother. Internet game utilities such as able to play all the massive amounts of PC games being GameSpy allow users to find servers run­ new PS2 games, but played and developed that have strong rnul­ ning their games of choice with the lowest all the old tiplayer content and options. Main genres pings easily. · Playstation games, bf games played online include the real­ If you grow tired of the seemingly any regular audio time strategy games such as Command & repetitive gameplay and the shoot-first­ CD and all DVDs Conquer and Ground Control, where play­ shoot-later-don't-ask-questions action, from the same ers control an army of mechanized fighters don't ditch the game, but look to Web sites region. and battle until there is nothing left but bar­ and resources that allow downloads of The console also ren wargrounds and the cold stench of user-created add-on content to the game. features a 128-bit defeat. There are also the highly accepted Custom built 3-D levels allow new battle­ Emotion Engine, Jeremy Wustner-Brown I Retrtiever Weekly Staff first person shooter games, made popular grounds for you to roam and modifications the first chip of its Super Fun: Sony's newest home video gaming offer, the by Id Software's Doorn and Quake series, like TeamFortress for Quake and Half-Life kind and the most Playstation 2. which put the player in the eyes of a soldier adapt garneplay into something entifely powerful form of with a bad attitude. The third popular genre different from the norm, give loads of mass-marketed of games played online would be the role­ replay value to FPS games, and to a lesser computer technology on the market. The well. This game is set in feudal Japan and playing game, including games such as extent RTS games. If you've got the cre­ PS2 processes all physics and mathematics features full 3-D settings and characters EverQuest and Baldur's Gate, which are ative desire, you can download free pro­ calculations, and at one point the same with fluid-like movement. It was supposed based on character building and expansive grams like Quake3Radiant or WorldCraft technology was even classified as a super to be released first for and exploration. in order to build 3-D levels for popular computer. For the main memory, PS2 uses then for the original Playstation, but both It's relatively debatable which genre is games. Source development kits are avail­ Dynamic RAM, which is preferred over fell through. Capcom fans expect the com­ played more online, as each type of game able for many games; they let users code Static RAM because it is capable of storing pany's first game released for PS2 to be attracts different kinds of players and their own net gameplay into something data while transferring other data, making truly exceptional. requires different amounts of time to be they and others can enjoy. Some modifica­ it twice as fast as SRAM. It also has 32 Sony has high hopes for the new sys­ played ~ell , but the popular mainstay of tion makers have even been hired by pro­ megabytes of main memory (more than any tem. The vice president announced last online gaming is the first person shooter. fessional game development companies to other console), and MPEG 2 support mean­ spring that PS2 will eventually become an The reason is simple: People like to blow do this for a living. ing that DVDs will look extra clear. The all-purpose horne entertainment system and stuff up. Playing a shooter-based game Provided you have the resources, and suggested retail is $299. computer. The Japanese company and such as Quake 3: Arena online consists of more importantly the free time, online The Playstation 2 almost didn't make it Microsoft seem to be competing for a much each player having a small arsenal ·of gaming can be a nice and relatively easy to American markets because of its extraor­ larger market, the eventual goal being a weapons, running around vivid 3-D worlds way to relieve some after-class stress or kill dinary technology. Basically PS2's graphic home multi-use machine that has Internet in search of each other in order to· shoot, some· time between reruns of BattleBots. processing technology is fast enough to access, plays games and movies, and maim and kill. With that nice 3-D graphics Either way, there's something for everyone control missiles that need to "see" to hit downloads and uploads movies, music and capable computer and that nice Internet in play.ing games online. their targets. Japan halted the export of the games.