Hgzine Issue 13
NAV I G AT E | 01 HandheldNEW! Gamer Magazine Issue 13 | February 2007 FULL REVIEWS!
HGFree Magazine For Handheld Gamers.Zine Read it, Print it, Send it to your mates… Mario & Sonic at the Olympics EXCLUSIVE PLAYTEST! Going for gold
Advance Wars: HARD CORE UPROAR Days of Ruin We’ve played it and it’s looking stunning! The battle continues on DS (And if you like this cover, hover Crisis Core Final your mouse over here to see it in full!) PLUS 27 DS AND Fantasy VII PSP GAMES Exclusive preview inside INSIDE! Final Fantasy I SHAZAM! The classic RPG comes to PSP! Making Magic PLUS! News and reviews of HGZine The most original DS title ever? the latest mobile games CO N T R O L WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 02
QUICK FINDER DON’T Every game’s just a click away! MISS! SONY PSP NINTENDO DS Thingys! This month’s FlatOut: Head On Final Fantasy Mario & Sonic at Crisis Core: Crystal Chronicles: the Olympic highlights Final Fantasy VII Ring of Fates Games HGZine The Fast and the Making Magic Advance Wars: Furious Assassin’s Creed Days of Ruin Harvey Birdman: Altair’s Chronicles DS News Roundup We’ve heard rumours of a DS version of FlatOut: Head On Attorney at Law Asterix at the Assassin’s Creed for some time now, but it Final Fantasy I Olympic Games MOBILE PHONE Could this be a surprise hit Final Fantasy II Teenage Zombies: News was only on the 15th of January that Ubisoft on the PSP? Very possibly PSP News Invasion of the Reviews officially announced that Assassin’s Creed Altair’s Roundup Alien Brain Chronicles was bound for the DS – and sooner than we could have hoped, too. MORE FREE MAGAZINES! LATEST ISSUES! Naturally, we were straight on the phone to Ubisoft and the results of that conversation are ASSASSIN’S CREED here for you to see, as we’ve got the shots, the ALTAIR’S CHRONICLES interview and the first playtest for you. The best-selling next generation game of Those with different tastes will still find last year is now DS bound. Find out all plenty to entertain you though, as we’ve also about it in our exclusive feature had a closer look at the new Final Fantasy VII game and the usual bumper crop of reviews, previews for your DS, PSP or mobile phone. CRISIS CORE: DON’T MISS ISSUE 14 SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE! Enjoy the issue and, as always, keep writing FINAL FANTASY VII in to share your gaming thoughts with us. The classic role-playing game gets an update and a polish WARNING! MULTIMEDIA DISABLED! and is heading to the PSP If you are reading this, then you didn’t choose “Play” Dean Mortlock, Editor when Adobe Reader asked you about multimedia when [email protected] you opened the magazine. Without the multimedia playing, the magazine will look correct, but you will MEET THE TEAM be missing out on all of the extra content built into each issue, like videos, They play games for a animated screenshots, annotations, quizzes, competitions and more. living, drive around in Kath Brice Dave Perrett Chris Schilling Mark Damien fancy sports cars and live This month we gave Kath Dave’s been playing The This man has played Ramshaw McFerran We recommend you close and re-open the magazine and select “Play” when Jackass to review and Fast and the Furious. four (FOUR!) Final It’s all Gauls and zombies Looking for a game for in castles made of gold – we’re still apologising. And yes, he is both fast Fantasy games this for Mark this issue. your mobile phone? asked about the multimedia to enjoy the magazine as intended. they are… the writers. Sorry, Kath. and furious. month. Envy him. Which kinda suits him. This is the man to ask. PLAYING THIS MONTH: PLAYING THIS MONTH: PLAYING THIS MONTH: PLAYING THIS MONTH: PLAYING THIS MONTH: Jackass the Game The Fast and the Furious Lots of Final Fantasy Asterix at the Olympics Devil May Cry (mobile) CONTROL The planet’s most intensely fast arcade shooter ALL-NEW MULTIPLAYER MODES hits warp speed exclusively for Wii and DS. DELIVER TWICE THE CHAOS
SET A COURSE TO MORE THAN 60 PLANETS WITH NEW AND CLASSIC GAMEPLAY MODES TO MASTER
ASTEROIDSOSOSO ON STEROIDSS OUT NOW IN YOUR GALAXY
EARN BRAGGING RIGHTS WITH EXTENSIVE ONLINE LEADERBOARDS
geometrywarsgalaxies.com sierra.com
© 2007 Bizarre Creations Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Vivendi Games, Inc. under license from Bizarre Creations Ltd. Geometry Wars: Galaxies and Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved are trademarks of Bizarre Creations Ltd. Nintendo DS, Wii and the Wii logo are trademarks of Nintendo. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
CONTROL W W W.G A M E R Z I N E S .C O M NAVIGATE | 04 PREVIEWS
W ith e v erything tha t’s going on, y ou’d assume the FlatOut: Head On framera t e w ould come t o a juddering halt , but it all B e tt e r t o b u r n o u t t h a n f a d e a w a y LATEST runs r emarkably smoothly Publisher: Empire NEWS Interactive W h a t’ s th e st ory ? Developer: Bugbear Th e F l a tOu t s e r i e s h a s a l w a y s bee n u n fa i r l y l a be l l ed ‘t h e poo r m a n ’ s Entertainment B u r n o u t’ , b u t i ts m o st r ec e n t i n c a rn a t i o n o n t h e X bo x 3 60 , F l a tOu t : U l t i m a t e Heritage: FlatOut, C a r n a g e, c a u s ed m a n y c r i t i cs t o e a t t h e i r w o r d s. H e a d On i s e s s e n t i a l l y a Sega Rally (PSP) po rt a b l e r e t r e a d , w h i c h r e a l l y l oo ks t o be p u s h i n g t h e P S P t o i ts l i m i ts … Link: www. empireinteractive.com W h a t do w e kn o w ? ETA: 14th March Th i s i s o n e f o r t h e g ra p h i cs w h o r e s o u t t h e r e . Wi t h S o n y ki n d l y u n l oc ki n g t h e fu l l p r oc e s s o r s peed o f P S P, H e a d On n o t o n l y m a i n t a i n s t h e l e v e l o f d e st r u ct i v e m a yh e m o f t h e o r i g i n a l , b u t m o v e s s o s m oo t h l y a n d q u i c kl y It’s not just about t h a t y o u ’ d s w e a r y o u w e r e p l a y i n g o n s o m e k i n d o f h a n d h e l d s u p e r - m a c h i n e . PREVIEW contr olling your “Thanks to the I ts c ra s h t a st i c ra c i n g i s b l e n d ed be a u t i fu l l y w i t h l a u g h-o u t -l o u d st u n ts – FEEDBACK! car – fling your w h i c h s ee y o u r d r i v e r h u r l ed i n t o t h e a i r a n d t h r o u g h r i n g s o f fi r e , be f o r e driver thr ough the amazing physics, your Click here to tell driver’s pain is wince- g e tt i n g a fa c e fu l l o f pa v e m e n t. Th a n ks t o t h e a m az i n g p h y s i cs , y o u r us what you windscr een and d r i v e r’ s pa i n i s w i n c e-i n d u c i n g l y r e a l i st i c . I t’ s g l o r i o u s l y s i l l y st u ff t oo , a n d grab some serious inducingly realistic” w e c a n ’ t w a i t t o p l a y m o r e o f i t. think of FlatOut: air f or big points Head On W h en do w e g et m ore ? A n d w e ’ l l g e t m o r e i n a r o u n d a m o n t h ’ s t i m e . M a r c h 1 4 t h i s t h e d a t e t o p u t i n y o u r d i a r i e s. A n ythin g else t o de clare ? Th e r e ’ s a n e w m od e t o a d d t o t h e d e st ru ct i o n d e r b y a r e n a s , ba s ed o n a t ra d i t i o n a l ‘ d e a t h m a t c h ’ f o rm a t , w i t h a h o st o f po w e r - u p s t o h e l p t o t a l t h e T he particle eff ects , lik e this o p po s i t i o n . S m o ki n ’! flying glass , ar e seriously impr essive in motion
CONTROL 22/01/08 www.piratesoftheburningsea.com
© 2007 Flying Lab Software, LLC. Flying Lab Software and Pirates of the Burning Sea are trademarks or registered trademarks of Flying Lab Software, LLC. Platform Publishing and the Platform Publishing logo are trademarks of Sony Online Entertainment LLC in the US and/or other countries. All other trademarks or trade names are properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved. CONTROL W W W.G A M E R Z I N E S .C O M NAVIGATE | 06 PREVIEWS LATEST You can combine magics “There are missions NEWS to make more powerful Final Fantasy spells – just align the seeing players battle cursors and get casting! for the most loot” Publisher: Square-Enix Developer: Square-Enix Cr ystal Chronicles: Heritage: Children of Mana, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker Link: www.square-enix. co.jp/ffcc Ring of Fates ETA: 21st March Y o u ’ l l g e t b y w i t h a l i tt l e h e l p f r o m y o u r f r i e n d s PREVIEW FEEDBACK! Certain obstacles require all four W h a t’ s th e st ory ? Click here to tell characters to work as a team to get Th e o r i g i n a l c o n c e p t f o r C ry s t a l C h r o n i c l e s w a s a n e w c o m e r -fr i e n d l y us what you past. Though there are just as many m u l t i p l a y e r F i n a l F a n t a s y ex pe r i e n c e . T r o u b l e w a s , t h e G a m eC u be o r i g i n a l think of Final opportunities for competitive mischief r eq u i r ed a l o t o f h a s s l e , ex pe n s e a n d t i m e t o p l a y ‘ p r o pe r l y’ , w h i l e t h e s i n g l e- Fantasy Crystal p l a y e r w a s n o w h e r e n e a r a s e n t e rt a i n i n g . On D S , t h e a ct i o n-pa c k ed Chronicles d u n g eo n c ra w l f o r f o u r m a k e s a w h o l e l o t m o r e s e n s e , w h i l e t h e s o l o st o ry m od e h a s bee n fl e s h ed o u t. W h a t do w e kn o w ? I t l oo ks g o r g eo u s , f o r st a rt e r s – i f a n y o n e o t h e r t h a n N i n t e n d o kn o w s h o w t o s q u eez e t h e m o st o u t o f t h e D S , i t’ s S q u a r e-E n ix. Wi t h s o m e be a u t i fu l st o ry s eq u e n c e s s u p p l e m e n t i n g t h e a ct i o n , t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n i s r e m a r ka b l e . Th e g a m e i ts e l f i s a n a ct i o n-ba s ed R P G, w h e r e f o u r ra c e s ( S e l ki e , Y u k e , L i l ty a n d Boss battles in the GameCube original were C l a va t ) c o m b i n e t h e i r po w e r s t o g e t t h r o u g h i n c r e a s i n g l y t o u g h d u n g eo n s often tedious wars of attrition – the po p u l a t ed b y m o n st e r s a n d a h u g e bo s s a t t h e e n d . Th e r e a r e c o m pe t i t i v e difficulty has been tweaked slightly here, though they’re still tough customers e l e m e n ts t h r o u g h o u t , w i t h m i s s i o n s s ee i n g p l a y e r s ba tt l e f o r t h e m o st l oo t. W h en do w e g et m ore ? I t’ s d u e o u t o n t h e 2 1 st M a r c h o v e r h e r e i n E u r o pe , a n d w e s h o u l d h a v e a r e v i e w f o r y o u n ext m o n t h . A n ythin g else t o de clare ? I t’ s po s s i b l e t o c a rry a r i va l o n y o u r h e a d t o p r e v e n t t h e m fr o m g e tt i n g t h e be st po w e r -u p s – t h o u g h y o u r pa l c a n t a p a k e y ra p i d l y t o st o m p o n y o u r h e a d a n d e s c a p e . I t l e a d s t o s o m e v e ry f u n n y m o m e n t s i n m u l t i p l a y e r g a m e s .
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CONTROL W W W.G A M E R Z I N E S .C O M NAVIGATE | 08 PREVIEWS LATEST E v er seen an elephant NEWS disappear? W a t ch and learn… Making Magic Y o u ’ l l l i k e t h i s – n o t a l o t – b u t y o u ’ l l l i k e i t Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Tenyo Heritage: It’s their W h a t’ s th e st ory ? first game Th i s i s a n o t h e r n o n-g a m e fr o m N i n t e n d o Link: www. t h a t’ s d e s i g n ed t o a p pe a l o u ts i d e t h e “The DS teaches masterofillusion.net t ra d i t i o n a l g a m e r d e m og ra p h i c . B u t be f o r e you how to pull ETA: 14th March a l l y o u B r a i n T r a i n i n g h a t e r s r u n t o t h e h i l l s , j u st w a i t a m i n u t e – t h i s o n e ’ s a ct u a l l y off some pretty p r e tty e n t e rt a i n i n g fa r e a n d c e rt a i n l y fa r effective sleights PREVIEW fr o m Ka w a s h i m a ’ s c e r e b ra l c h a l l e n g e s. of hand” FEEDBACK! Click here to tell W h a t do w e kn o w ? us what you think Th e U S v e r s i o n – w h i c h w e ’ v e bee n p l a yi n g – c o m e s w i t h a pa c k o f c a r d s , of Making Magic w h i c h a r e u s ed a s a p r o p f o r a g r e a t m a n y t r i c ks. Th e D S t e a c h e s y o u h o w t o p u l l o ff s o m e p r e tty e ff ect i v e s l e i g h ts o f h a n d , t h o u g h m o st o f t h e t a s ks If only girls in r eal lif e w er e r eq u i r e s o m e ki n d o f styl u s o r m i c -ba s ed i n t e ra ct i o n w i t h t h e c o n s o l e i ts e l f , tha t easily impr essed . Making ra t h e r t h a n j u st f o l l o w i n g i n st ru ct i o n s. S o m e o f i t i s s e r i o u s l y c l e v e r st u ff – Magic is fun, but it w on ’ t help o n e o r tw o t r i c ks w e t r i ed o u t o n w i l l i n g y our chances with the ladies g u i n e a p i g s w e r e m e t w i t h g e n u i n e s h oc k. H o w t o g e t y o u r c o n s o l e t o o n l y r ec og n i s e y o u r o w n c l a p s ? A h , n o w t h a t w o u l d be t e l l i n g , a n d w e d o n ’ t r e v e a l t ra d e s ec r e ts … W h en do w e g et m ore ? 1 4 t h M a r c h i s t h e d a t e N i n t e n d o U K g e ts ki c k ed o u t o f t h e M a g i c C i r c l e , s o i t’ s fa i r t o sa y t h e w e m i g h t w e l l h a v e a r e v i e w f o r y o u i n t h e n ext i s s u e o f H G Z i n e . A n ythin g else t o de clare ? Th e g a m e w a s t i t l ed M a s t e r o f I l l u s i o n i n t h e T his cr eep y mo ving hand U S , a n d M a g i c T a i s e n i n J a pa n . By t h e t i m e will r each f or wha t e v er y our y o u r e a d t h i s , t h e t i t l e w i l l h a v e p r o ba b l y ‘audience member’ is think ing c h a n g ed a g a i n – w e ’ v e h e a r d a ru m o u r i t of. N o w tha t is magic T he pr esenta tion isn ’ t m i g h t bec o m e M a g i c M a d e F u n. particularly sho wy, but it mak es learning and perf orming the tricks clear t o understand
CONTROL WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 09 PREVIEWS
Coming soon to your handheld MX vs ATV Untamed Publisher: THQ | Release date: March 2008 D r a g o n e e r’s A r i a t doesn’t take a genius to know that P u b l i s h e r : K oei | R e l e a s e d a t e : F ebr uary 2008 Iriding a fast motorbike through o m i n g fr o m t h e sa m e d e v e l o pe r a s t h e ra t h e r stinking mud and over big hills is rather Cu n d e rw h e l m i n g B l a d e Da n c e r, t h i s t u rn-ba s ed R P G good fun. Boasting all manner of off-road i s s h a p i n g u p t o be s o m e t h i n g v e ry s pec i a l i n d eed . vehicular transport and the ability to perform S u m p t u o u s a rtw o r k c o u p l ed w i t h h i g h p r od u ct i o n some quite frankly ‘radical’ stunts, MX vs ATV va l u e s a n d a w o n d e rfu l s o u n d t ra c k s h o u l d eq u a l a Untamed intends to bring this outrageous n e a r -e s s e n t i a l p u r c h a s e – b u t a s a l w a y s w e ’ r e r e s e rv i n g outdoor pursuit to the small screen of your j u d g e m e n t u n t i l w e ’ v e h a d c h a n c e t o r e a l l y g e t PSP. We have our fingers firmly crossed that a c q u a i n t ed w i t h t h i s i m p r e s s i v e l y e p i c q u e st. Th e P S P i s the game is as fun as it sounds. h a r d l y o v e rfl o w i n g w i t h q u a l i ty r o l e-p l a yi n g g a m e s a t t h e m o m e n t , s o t h i s c o u l d be j u st w h a t w e ’ r e l oo ki n g f o r . Off Road WALL•E Publisher: Xplosiv | Release date: March 2008 Publisher: THQ | Release date: July 2008 longside MX vs ATV Untamed, Xplosiv’s ixar’s latest cinematic masterpiece is AOff Road is also fo cuse d on the art of Pstill a few months off yet but even so driving f as t machines on less than ideal we’re still getting pretty excited. Poor road conditions . However, with this game little WALL•E is the last robot on Earth, left the vehicles are a little more subs tantial, to clean up the terrible mess the human with the legendary L and Rover making a race has left. He promptly falls in love r are video game app earance. Driving with probe droid EVE, and this year’s most e xp ensive 4x4 SUVs at f as t sp e e ds might unlikely love story is born. Details on the b e something you dream about when PSP version are scare at present but THQ you’re s tuck in rush - hour traffic in your has confirmed that you will have the unimpressive Europ ean compact, but will it opportunity to play as both WALL•E b e entertaining enough in digital form to and EVE while traversing the harsh warrant a purchase? Time will tell… environment of a ravaged Earth. COMING F i n a l F a n t a s y I ( F e b r u a ry 2 0 0 8 )… F i n a l F a n t a s y I I (F e b r u a ry 2 0 0 8 )… N e e d f o r S p e e d P r o S t r e e t ( F e b r u a ry 2 0 0 8 )… T h e F a s t a n d t h e F u r i o u s ( M a r c h 2 0 0 8 )… W a r r i o rs o f t h e L o s t SOON E m p i r e ( F e b r u a ry 2 0 0 8 )… F l a t o u t : H e a d O n ( F e b r u a ry 2 0 0 8 )… B o u l d e r d a s h R o c ks ( M a r c h 2 0 0 8 )… I r o n M a n ( M a y 2 0 0 8 )… H a r d R o c k C a s i n o ( F e b r u a ry 2 0 0 8 ) CONTROL WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 10 PREVIEWS Namco Museum Publisher: Atari | Release date: February 2008 amco is never reluctant to charge money for old rope, Nhaving release d what se ems like millions of retro compilations over the last few years . Guess what? There’s another on the way and Coming to a dualscreen near you! Ninja Reflex the usual suspe cts like Publisher: EA | Release date: March 2008 Pac-Man, Galaga, Brain Assist t’s common knowledge Gala xian and Xevious are Publisher: Sega | Release date: Spring 2008 Ithat there are few things in all included, with the iven the high volume of software that b oasts this world co oler than being r ather less essential Gthe ability to give your grey matter a a ninja. Sadly not everyone has the opportunity to achieve Mappy, Tower of D uruga workout, it’s a wonder we’re not all super-smart this tantalising dream, but EA’s re cently announce d Ninja and Dig D ug 2 following b offins with gigantic cr aniums . However, Se ga Reflex is surely going to be the next best thing for up the rear. The biggest obviously fe els that there’s ro om for one more prospe ctive ass assins . Built around sever al martial arts selling p oint is the and is preparing to release Brain Assist, which not mini -games (think Wario Ware), this title aims to gr ant the inclusion of the Wi -Fi only promises to gr ant intellectual e xercise but player r a zor-sharp refle xes as well as being thoroughly enabled multiplayer also purp orts to be good fun at the same time. entertaining to b o ot. Pac-Man VS, though.
Sonic Chronicles: Draglade Zoo Tycoon 2 Publisher: 505 Games | Release date: March 2008 Publisher: THQ | Release date: February 2008 The Dark Brotherhood o oking very much like some kind he original Zoo Tycoon was a massive success Publisher: Sega | Release date: Fall 2008 (US) Lof weird fusion of Yu-Gi-O h and Tand it’s unsurprising that a sequel is inbound. ioware’s latest RPG opus has been on Elite Beat Agents, Draglade is certainly Taking the key ingredients that made the first Bthe radar for a few months now but one of the more original DS titles game so appealing, Zoo Tycoon 2 adds some neat fresh information has recently surfaced, we’ll be clapping eyes on in extras – the most interesting being the Zookeeper including a smattering of artwork and 200 8 . Facing off against various mode, which uses the touchscreen for various some gameplay details. The game opponents, your aim is to string tasks, such as promises to be a little less dark than to gether rhythm- base d attacks treating animals. Bioware’s usual output and early using spe cial moves known as For those of you impressions would suggest this is ‘bullets’. You can also create custom that like the idea of heading for the same market that comb os to dish out even more getting up close and Nintendo so successfully tapped into punishment on your hapless fo e. An personal with exotic with Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time. RPG-style plot promises to underpin beasts, this is surely a Needless to say, this is one to watch. all of this innov ative action. dream ticket.
COMING Solitaire: Ultimate Collection(February 2008)… Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends(February 2008)… Godzilla Unleashed(February 2008)… Bleach: Blade of Fate(February 2008)… SOON Pro Evolution Soccer 2008(March 2008)… Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker(March 2008)… Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fate(March 2008)… Sega Superstars Tennis(March 2008) CONTROL WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 11 MOBILE MOBILENEWS
Asterix: The Official Mobile Townsmen 5 Game of Publisher: D isney Mobile Studios s the numb er at the end of the title may suggest, the the Movie Publisher: EA Mobile WALL•E ATownsmen series has b e en going for some time now. Publisher: THQ Each version has s teadily improve d on the las t and this ay what you will ab out Europ ean humour, but we’re big fans fifth iter ation promises to b e the mos t accomplished yet – Sof Asterix here at HGZine. The plucky Gaul is ab out to s tar in ALL•E: remember that not jus t visually, but in terms of depth and challenge as yet another amusing movie outing and EA Mobile has was te d Wname, because well. Considering the solid gold reputation of the no time in snapping up the mobile video game rights . The you’re going to hear a lot of f r anchise, it would b e naive to e xp e ct anything less than a game fo cuses on the Olympic Games, so e xp e ct some form of it in 20 08. It ’s the monicker Double Dragon II: classic, and with Disney’s consider able marketing clout sp orting action replete with a fair dose of Roman - bashing. It of Pixar ’s upcoming CGI b ehind it, Townsmen 5 should definitely reach even more would also b e fair to anticipate p o or old Ob elix b eing the brunt epic and will no doubt rake The Revenge p e ople this time around. of some ty pically cutting gags as p er usual. in millions at the box office. Publisher: Elite THQ has stepped in to t may b e older than the hills but produce the official game ID ouble Dragon is arguably one of the of the film, which is mos t influential fighting games of all expected to see the light time, providing the inspir ation for genre Mobile Battles: Reign of Swords of day when the film is classics such as Final Fight and Streets of Publisher: Punch Entertainment released in July.WALL•E Rage. This se quel improve d on the aking more than a little inspiration from Nintendo’sAdvanced Wars, this represents one of the more original in many ways and it’s nice to Tturn-based strategy title is shaping up very nicely indeed. The visuals are interesting concepts to se e it getting a new lease of life on colourful and attractive, with the developer borrowing copious amounts of come out of the talented mobile phones . Graphically it’s looking visual touches from the aforementioned game. The inclusion of online play is movie studio, so hopefully incre dibly faithf ul at this s tage – time undoubtedly the most interesting aspect of the package, however. We’ll see the game will be worth will tell if the classic, coin - munching how well it all gels together when the game is published in February. investigating, too. gameplay is also retained, though.
CONTROL W W W . G A M E R Z I N E S . C O M NAVIGATE | 0212 PREVIEW T H E K I LLE R TO U C H H A N D S O N T h e m i n i-g a m e s ex p l a i n e d … T her e ar e tw o mini-games tha t pop up a t salien t poin ts in the gamepla y . One allo w y ou t o pick pock ets b y Publisher: Ubisoft guiding an object thr ough a maz e of others in the Developer: Gameloft o wner’ s bag – get it out of the bag in time and it’ s Heritage: Splinter Cell Assassin’s Creed y ours . T he other has y ou tapping on pr essur e poin ts on Chaos Theory a human body t o in t err oga t e y our victim. Hit the spots Link: www.assassins a t e xactly the righ t time and the y’ll t ell y ou e v erything creedgame.com y ou need t o k no w … ETA: 29th February Altair’s Chronicles “It’s the shine and polish F u l l o f E a s t e r n p r o m i s e … that tells you Altair’s l t a i r i s bo t h a n a s sa s s i n a n d t h e s h a rp g a m e p l a y a n d a c l e v e r u s e o f m a i n d i s p l a y , w h i l e t h e bo tt o m o n e Chronicles is going to st a r o f o n e o f t h e m o st v i s u a l l y t h e D S ’ s o b v i o u s n a t u ra l a b i l i t i e s. g i v e s y o u a m a p a n d fi n e r d e t a i l f o r be something special” PREVIEW st u n n i n g n ext g e n e ra t i o n Th e r e ’ s p l e n ty o f s n e a ki n g a r o u n d t h e t o u c h s c r ee n m i n i-g a m e s ( s ee ‘Th e FEEDBACK! A g a m e s w e ’ v e y e t s ee n . Th i s fr e s h l y ( a s y o u ’ d ex pect ) i n t h e g a m e ’ s f o u r Ki l l e r T o u c h ’ bo x o u t ) . As y o u p r og r e s s , Click here to tell a n n o u n c ed D S p r eq u e l c o u l d w e l l be M i d d l e E a st e rn c i t i e s b u t a l s o p l e n ty y o u l e a rn n e w m o v e s a n d po w e r -u p You’ll need to look out us what you t h e pe rf ect a c c o m pa n i m e n t t h o u g h , o f c o m ba t , t oo . A l t a i r w i l l h a v e 11 y o u r w e a po n s b y c o l l ect i n g b l u e o r b s for swinging ropes and think of a s w h a t i t o b v i o u s l y l a c ks i n g ra p h i c a l w e a po n s t o c h oo s e fr o m , i n c l u d i n g d o tt ed t h r o u g h t h e c i t i e s. falling platforms, too Assassin’s s h i n e i s m o r e t h a n c o m pe n sa t ed b y fi v e sw o r d s , d a g g e r s , ex p l o s i v e s a n d a I t’ s t h e g e n e ra l s h i n e a n d po l i s h t h a t Creed: AC g ra p p l i n g h oo k. Th e r e a r e a l s o t e l l s y o u A l t a i r’ s C h r o n i c l e s i s g o i n g t o be You spend a lot of time on p l e n ty o f u n i q u e m o v e s , w h i c h s o m e t h i n g s pec i a l . Th e g ra p h i cs a r e the roof tops, as you can remain relatively unseen a r e r e v e a l ed a s y o u w o r k st u n n i n g w i t h o u t t h e ex pe n s e o f t h r o u g h t h e g a m e . s l o w d o w n o r c l a r i ty – y o u n e v e r l o s e The map on the y o u r c h a ra ct e r i s a w a l l o f ba c k g r o u n d bottom screen shows W e ’ v e pl a y ed i t! p ix e l s – a n d bo t h t h e i n-g a m e you the movements S o , w e ’ v e h a d t h e p r e v i e w s o u n d t ra c k a n d s po t e ff ects a r e of the guards v e r s i o n o f t h e g a m e i n o u r D S a t m o s p h e r i c a n d pe rf ect l y p l a c ed . f o r s o m e d a y s n o w , a n d w e ’ r e A n d , be st o f a l l , y o u ’ r e n o t g o i n g p l e a s ed t o sa y t h a t i t’ s l oo ki n g t o h a v e t o w a i t t oo l o n g t o p l a y i t f o r h u g e l y i m p r e s s i v e . Th e g a m e y o u r s e l f , a s t h e g a m e w i l l h o pe fu l l y be st a rts w i t h a sw ee p i n g pa n o ra m a s n e a ki n g i n t o a g a m e st o r e n e a r y o u o v e r s o m e be a u t i fu l l y d ra w n 3 D a t t h e e n d o f t h e m o n t h . c i ty s c a pe s a n d t h e n y o u ’ r e i n t o The cut-scenes are t h e g a m e i ts e l f . all done with the G ra p h i c a l l y , A l t a i r’ s C h r o n i c l e s i s HGZ ine H O W C O M P L E T E ? F I R S T I M P R E S S I O N S impressive in- game a l m o st pe rf ect. Th e c i t i e s a r e w e l l- graphics engine 9 5% 9 5% d e fi n ed a n d pa c k ed w i t h d e t a i l . Th e t o p s c r ee n i s u s ed f o r t h e S a y h e l l o t o t h e fi r s t b i g D S g a m e o f 2 0 0 8
CONTROL W W W . G A M E R Z I N E S . C O M N A V I G A T E | 1 3
INTERVIEW To make life easier for you, Altair will “The biggest automatically cling to the edge of a building when you jump towards it challenge was creating a 3D Assassin’s Creed world on the DS” So how do you go about translating a mammoth next-generation epic to the DS? This – and many other questions – will now be answered by Julien Fournials, VP of Production at Gameloft, the game’s developers
hat’s the biggest challenge facing a Wdeveloper when it comes to bringing a cutting-edge next generation game like Assassin’s Creed to a much smaller console like the DS? Probably the biggest challenge was creating a believable, realistic 3D world on the DS – we wanted to make sure that the cities and dungeons we created felt like they could fit inside a world that would T he comba t is sophistica t ed and have been inhabited by Altair. e xtr emely w ell done – e v en when Developers tend to make 2D the scr een is full of enemies games on the Nintendo DS because they think that Mostly y ou head fr om Creatin g fluid an d d y namic 3D objectives into successful the console is not left t o right , but ther e movement for a char ac ter on the DS achievements on the DS game. powerful enough ar e e x ceptions … w as definitel y not an eas y t ask . We to support an ha d a top - n otch animatio n team that Does the storyline in Altair’s ambitious 3D As sa s s in ’ s Cr eed on Xb ox 36 0 and reall y p u t th eir h ear t into c aptur in g Chronicles link in with the 360 game. We Play Statio n 3 features s o m e o f th e the gr ace an d dea dliness of a and PS3 versions at all? wanted to mos t det aile d env ironment s an d the me diev al ass assin . An d we als o Assassin’s Creed on the DS is basically prove this wrong m os t realis tic animatio ns yo u c an fin d worked c onsiderably on the a prequel to the Xbox 360/PlayStation and show that this on cons o les, s o our main challenge backgr ounds t o keep the c or e arti stic 3 game because we see Altair as a console could feature for Alt air’ s Chr onicles w as to refle c t this dire c tion that got p e op le e xcite d young assassin. The game will help one of the most ambitious 3D games game’s innov ation an d creati v it y on a ab out the ne x t- gen ver sion. We people understand more about created for the portable consoles. m o re limi te d d ev i ce. wo r ke d reall y hard to tur n all th es e Altair himself, including who he
C O N T R O L W W W . G A M E R Z I N E S . C O M N A V I G A T E | 1 4 INTERVIEW “Each city has I n t e r v i e w c o n t i n u e d its own unique was before he undertook his quest for T h e Touchs cre en is mainl y us e d in architectural redemption and how he came to the v ar ious mini - games . For e xamp le, style” have descendants like Desmond. in the pressure - p oint mini - game, you force a s o ldier to gi ve you the And with that in mind, have any infor mation you ne e d by p lay ing a locations from the original been r hy thm - b as e d challenge game. reproduced for the DS game? You als o have to us e th e There are some cities that are in microp hone in s ome sp ot s, b ut we’ll common with the next generation l et yo u dis cover i t fo r yo ur s el f… version – Jerusalem and Acre for instance – but also other cities that I s t he re any hop e of a PS P ve r sion are exclusive to the DS version such o f A ss ass i n’s Cr e e d? as Alep and Tyre. A PSP ver sion is not p lanne d for Each city features its own unique the moment . architectural style, which is something that we really wanted to keep for this What asp e c t (or asp e c t s) of t he DS version. game are you most prou d of ? With Alt air’ s Chr onicles we p rove d How does the game use the DS’s con clusi vel y that th e Ninten d o DS unique feature (touchscreen, c an also b e considere d a ne x t- gen microphone, etc)? cons o l e. We re create d realis ti c an d beautiful environments, true-to-life s e quences at fir s t , b ut we animations, and used the unique p u t s o many oth er thin gs features of the DS console to make in the game that we ha d one of the most ambitious games to l eave th em o u t . We als o on this platform. ha d to re duce the si ze of the We are also proud to show that ci ti es comp are d to th os e in Assassin’s Creed has the capacity to the ne x t- gen ver sion, but excite all types of players, from d o n’t wo r r y, as that p ure, hardcore gamers to casual players. uninhibite d f re e dom is s till With its beautiful environments, p res ent in th e gam e. charismatic characters, and user- friendly but in-depth controls, all A s sa s s i n’s Cre ed A lt a i r ’s players will love this game. Chronicles will be re lease d on 28 t h M arc h, and , Is there anything you would like final code pe rmit t ing , to have included but couldn’t we ’re ho p i ng to g e t a because of hardware limitations? review o f t he game We wanted to include horseriding for you ne x t mont h.
C O N T R O L W W W . G A M E R Z I N E S . C O M NAVIGATE | 15 PREVIEWS T he lo w er scr een and stylus Pla y ers get t o ent er pr o vide the k e y t o building the ar ena as both up speed and timing trick y H A N D S O N Ast erix and Obelix, mo v ements during each e v ent with the option t o swit ch charact ers a t an y point during the Publisher: Atari Olympic antics Developer: Etranges Asterix At The Libellules Heritage: Arthur and the Minimoys Link: www.atari.com/asterix ETA: March Olympic Games G e t a fi x o f o l d- s c h o o l s p o rt i n g e v e n t s a s G a u l s a n d R o m a n s t a k e t o t r a c k a n d fi e l d o u ’ v e g o t t o h a n d i t t o t h e fi l m i c s u b j e ct m a tt e r t h a t m e r i t s v i d e o PREVIEW Ast erix goes 3D, with sw ooping camera F r e n c h . O n l y t h e y c o u l d c o m e u p g a m e t r e a t m e n t t h e n i t’ s t h e O l y m p i c s . “Incredibly, some mo v es tha t f ollo w the action thr ough FEEDBACK! w i t h a t a l l t a l e t h a t r e w r i t e s W h a t’ s m o r e , t h i s i s a g a m e t h a t c l e v e r l y Click here to tell Y 100 events have o v er 100 diff er ent sporting mini-games h i s t o ry t o r e c a s t G r e e c e ’ s O l y m p i c p r o v i d e s n o t o n e , b u t tw o t r i p s b a c k i n been crammed in” us what you G a m e s a s a n a n c i e n t e v e n t c o n q u e r e d t i m e . O b v i o u s l y t h e r e ’ s t h e v e r s i o n o f l i f e think of Asterix b y t h e G a u l s . A b e s t - s e l l i n g c o m i c s i n c e i n E u r o p e a t t u r n o f t h e fi r s t m i l l e n n i u m . at the Olympic t h e l a t e 6 0 s , A s t e r i x a t t h e O l y m p i c G a m e s B u t t h e n t h e r e ’ s a l s o t h e f a ct t h a t A s t e r i x c a s e o f t h e s h a k e s , p l a y e r s i n st e a d ASTERIX AT THE MOVIES Games i s n o w a l s o t h e t h i r d l i v e- a ct i o n o u t i n g a t t h e O l y m p i c s o ff e r s a s p i r i t u a l j o u r n e y w a g g l e t h e styl u s fr o m s i d e t o s i d e o n B i g s c r e e n e n te rta i n m e n t f o r t h e d i m i n u t i v e b a c k t o t h e 1 9 8 0 s , a t i m e w h e n T r a c k & t h e l o w e r s c r ee n , w i t h t h e r e s u l t i n g p i g t a i l e d h e r o a n d F i e l d, D a l e y T h o m p s o n ’ s D e c a t h l o n a n d a ct i o n u n f o l d i n g o n t h e d i s p l a y a bo v e . You ma y not find it sitting a t the h i s m o n o l i t h i c b e s t o t h e r o l d - s c h o o l m u l t i -e v e n t s p o rt i n g A n d m i ra c u l o u s l y , t h e d e v e l o pe r s t op of the UK bo x offic e an y time soon, y et Ast erix at the Olympic f r i e n d O b e l i x . A n d g a m e s r u l e d s u p r e m e . h a v e s o m e h o w c ra m m ed a n e n t i r e Games (the film) is the most w h e r e t h e r e ’ s a Ol ym p i c st a d i u m o n t o t h e D S s c r ee n . e xpensiv e E ur opean mo vie e v er f a m i l y - f r i e n d l y Ga u l o f d u ty N o t l i t e ra l l y o b v i o u s l y , b u t t h e w a y made . Lik e the pr e vious tw o m o v i e t h e r e ’ s J a v e l i n , h a m m e r t h r o w i n g , s p r i n t , t u g t h e c a m e ra s n a k e s t h r o u g h t h e 3 D films , it’s a liv e-action affair. A tari i n e v i t a b l y a v i d e o o f w a r , a n d e r , t oa d ba l l – a l l t h e o l d e n v i r o n m e n t a n d t ra c ks t h e c a rt oo n has wisely chosen t o model the g a m e s p i n -o ff … fa v o u r i t e s a r e h e r e . I n c r ed i b l y , s o m e a ct i o n u n d e n i a b l y m a k e s t h i s l oo k v e ry game ’s visuals on the original c omic-strip art b y Albert U derz o ra ther than the mo vie , though. A wise As e v er, the intr epid A n d y e t , c o l o u r 1 00 e v e n ts h a v e bee n c ra m m ed i n , c oo l . Wh i c h , i f w e ’ r e be i n g c o m p l e t e l y mo v e , as the y’d ne v er ha v e squee z ed Gerar d Depar dieu ’s r endition of Gauls must face off u s e x c i t e d a b o u t w i t h p u zz l e s a n d a h e a l t h y d o s e o f h o n e st , i s n ’ t s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n be Obelix on t o the DS displa y. against Julius Caesar t h i s p i x e l a t e d R o m a n s o l d i e r ba s h i n g a l l t h r o w n i n t o sa i d f o r t h e m o v i e i ts e l f . and his mighty minions i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . I f t h e m i x. A n d j u st t o k ee p t h i n g s u p- t o- t h e r e ’ s o n e t h i n g d a t e , t h e a g e-o l d c o n t r o l m e t h od u s ed t h a t w o r ks w e l l o n f o r s po rt i n g g a m e s h a s bee n m od i fi ed HGZ ine H O W C O M P L E T E ? F I R S T I M P R E S S I O N S t h e d i n ky D S s c r e e n , t o m a k e t h e m o st o f t h e D S. R a t h e r 9 5% 8 5% i t’ s c a rt o o n c a p e ry . t h a n a l t e rn a t e l y h a m m e r i n g tw o A n d i f t h e r e ’ s a n y b u tt o n s l i k e a m a d l oo n w i t h a s e v e r e L o o k s a n y t h i n g b u t G a u l l i n g
CONTROL WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 16 PREVIEWS
HANDS ON
Publisher: Atari/Ignition The platform-based Developer: InLight gameplay may look Heritage: D isney ’s Teenage Zombies: Invasion familiar enough, but Little Einsteins when was the last Link: www.teenage time you completed zombiesgame.com levels using the ETA: March unique abilities of a of the Alien Brain Thingys!trio of zombies? D ead teens breathe new life into the alien invasion B - movie concept 1950s-style alien invasions aren’t what PREVIEW his is one of those games that it s f avour however, not least the f act battle with an alien called T he Big they used to be, thanks to a team of FEEDBACK! arrives armed with an arched that by adding zombies to the mix, Brain and his Brain Thingy Army? heroes – Fins, Lefty and Half-Pipe – Click here to Teyebrow as well as a raygun. Ever gamers effectively get paro dies of two T he game is set for a launch this with an insatiable taste for brains… tell us what since Tim Burton turned kitschy 50’s sci- genres for the prices of one. T here’s Easter. Cadbury’s Cream Eggs are you think fi into comedy gold with Mars At tacks!, also the f act that the DS isn’t ty pically a traditional, of course, but this year Atari of Teenage there’s b e en a rash of sci-fi s tories with s tomping ground for either zombie or clearly hop es we’ll all be chowing Zombies a grimly fiendish, camp sense of f un dayglo alien- base d action. And finally, down on something else with a crispy cropping up in print, on the silver there’s no denying that Inlight se em shell and goo ey centre. Nice. scre en and in video game form. to have a real handle on how best to Teenage Zombies: Invasion Of The bring such ridiculous hijinks to life. Alien Brain Thingys! has several things in “You have to do battle with an alien called The Big Brain The main action is liable Pass the cheese to be interrupted at any T his is a game that p ositively revels in and his Brain Thingy Army” point for a spot of mini- BODY POPPING the use of cheesy voiceovers, comic-strip game puzzle solving The grateful dead panels and dialogue boxes, nee dlessly over the top expositions and outlandish Look beyond all the campy sci-fi and the key scenarios. And for once, the obligatory Teenage Zombies’ appeal is a control p epp ering of s tylus- base d mini-games, Interactive comic book mechanism that allows switching between puzzle quest s and double scre en three very distinct zombie characters at any presentation drives the battles feel wholly appropriate, r ather madc ap horror-meets- time. Only by learning to make the most of than a desperate attempt to hide a their individual abilities c an players hope to science fiction action make it through the game. First up there’s lack of real content. And let’s f ace it, what other game Fins, whose tentacles allow for some pretty HOW COMPLETE? FIRST IMPRESSIONS cool shimmying. Then there’s Left y, a female offers the opportunity to return f rom HGZine b eyond the grave and cast aside the basketballer whose one good arm is handy for climbing. And finally there’s 100% 85% Half-Pipe, a zombie with a skateboard where his lower torso should be. usual ins tinct to go chomping on human cerebellum and ins tead do Original and fun – could be a hit
CONTROL W W W . G A M E R Z I N E S . C O M NAVIGATE | 17 PREVIEWS Zack and – alw a y s nice t o see a familiar face – Cloud compet e f or the game ’ s H A N D S O N Spik iest Hair a w ar d
Publisher: Square-Enix Developer: Square-Enix Heritage: The Final Fantasy Crisis Core: series, Dragon Quest Link: www.crisiscore.com ETA: Spring Final Fantasy VII C o r e b l i m e y! I s t h i s t h e b e s t p o rt a b l e F F e v e r ? PREVIEW Y ou’ll meet plenty of beasties who FEEDBACK! t c a n ’ t be e a sy m a ki n g a p r eq u e l t o S e t s e v e n y e a r s be f o r e t h e “This is no turn-based role- dw arf Zack. In these situa tions a Click here to tell t h e m o st po p u l a r g a m e i n o n e o f P l a yS t a t i o n c l a s s i c , C r i s i s C o r e t e l l s t h e player, as Square have mor e tactical appr oach is us what you It h e m o st fa m o u s s e r i e s o f a l l t i m e . st o ry o f Z a c k, a S ec o n d C l a s s c o m ba t given it a modern spin” pr ef erable , with magic a ttacks a think of Crisis Th e p r e s s u r e ’ s o n , n o t o n l y t o c r e a t e o pe ra t i v e i n a n e l i t e g r o u p n a m ed k e y part of y our armoury Core: Final s o m e t h i n g t h a t l i v e s u p t o s u c h a n S O L D I E R ( t h e y w o r k ed o u t t h e n a m e Fantasy VII i n c r ed i b l e h e r i t a g e , b u t w h i c h c a n a l s o be f o r e t h e c o n v o l u t ed a c r o n ym , e n e m i e s w h o r eq u i r e a l o t m o r e b r i n g i n a h o st o f n e w fa n s t o t h e c l e a r l y ) . A ft e r a n u m be r o f f e l l o w t h o u g h t. P r e s s i n g t h e s h o u l d e r b u tt o n s u n i v e r s e o f F FV I I. A m az i n g l y , i t’ s l oo ki n g o pe ra t i v e s u n d e r t h e c o m m a n d o f a cy c l e s be tw ee n s pe l l s , a n d t h e r e ’ s t h e l i k e S q u a r e-E n ix h a s m a n a g ed t o c r e a t e F i r st C l a s s o ffi c e r g o m i s s i n g – a l o n g i n n o va t i v e D i g i t a l M i n d W a v e sy st e m a g a m e t h a t s o m e h o w m a n a g e s t o d o w i t h t h e m a n h i m s e l f – Z a c k i s s e n t t o t h a t c o n t i n u o u s l y s p i n s t h r ee fru i t j u st i c e t o i ts p r ed ec e s s o r – a n d o u r i n v e st i g a t e t h e s i t u a t i o n , t a g g i n g a l o n g m a c h i n e- styl e r ee l s – w h i c h y o u h a v e h a n d s -o n t i m e w i t h t h e J a pa n e s e w i t h a c e rt a i n F i r st C l a s s s o l d i e r n a m ed t o m a t c h u p f o r s pec i a l L i m i t B r e a k v e r s i o n r e v e a l s i t t o be a l i tt l e d i ff e r e n t – y e p – S e p h i r o t h . a tt a c ks. Th i s a d d s a g r e a t d e a l o f va r i e ty T her e ’ s a startling v ariety fr o m t h e t ra d i t i o n a l R P G t e m p l a t e . Th e h i st o ry o f s u c h a n i c o n i c t o w h a t c o u l d e a s i l y h a v e t u rn ed i n t o of enemies , and the y’ r e c h a ra ct e r i s bo u n d t o ex c i t e t h o s e w h o e n d l e s s m o n o t o n o u s b ra w l i n g . I t’ s s u r e all beautifully dra wn and ba tt l ed t h r o u g h t h e o r i g i n a l , a n d t o b r i n g a m a s s i v e g r i n t o y o u r fa c e anima t ed . T his is one As y ou start the game , Sephir oth e xpensiv e-look ing game is y our commanding officer – the i n d eed t h i s i s o n e o f t h e d r i v i n g f o r c e s w h e n Z a c k c a l l s i n a h e l i c o p t e r t o t a k e game ’ s plot details his pa th t o be h i n d t h e st o ry . B u t t h i s i s n o t u rn- o u t a g r o u p o f ba d d i e s. the dark side … ba s ed , m e n u-d r i v e n r o l e-p l a y e r , a s S q u a r e h a s g i v e n F FV I I a m od e rn s p i n F a m i l i a r g r o u n d w i t h a n i n t r i g u i n g c o m ba t sy st e m . Wh i l e a l l t h i s m i g h t c o m e a s a s h oc k t o Th o u g h i n i t i a l l y i t s ee m s a l i tt l e F F v e t e ra n s , t h e r e ’ s p l e n ty o f fa m i l i a r s i m p l i st i c – n o t t o m e n t i o n a w kw a r d – st u ff f o r h a r d e n ed R P G-e r s t o s i n k t h e i r Z a c k’ s a tt a c ks a r e l e s s i m m ed i a t e t h a n a t ee t h i n t o . F a n s o f t h e o r i g i n a l w i l l be t ra d i t i o n a l t h i r d-pe r s o n fi g h t e r , y e t t h e p l e a s ed t o kn o w t h a t M a t e r i a i s a n g a m e a p pe a r s t o r e w a r d b u tt o n- i m po rt a n t fa ct o r i n t h e g a m e p l a y . F o r m a s h i n g – s oo n y o u ’ l l be t a ki n g o n t h e u n i n i t i a t ed , t h e s e a r e e l e m e n ts
CONTROL W W W.GAMER ZINES.COM N AV I G AT E | 18 PREVIEWS T he game ’s st ory leads dir ectly int o F inal Fantasy Previewcontinued VII – ther e ’s no cliffhanger ending her e (unless y ou’v e w h i c h co m e i n d i ff e r e nt co l o u r s , e a c h ne v er pla y ed the original) w i t h t h e i r o w n e ff ect o n y o u r c h a ra cte r – p u rp l e f o r st a t u pg ra d e s , g r ee n f o r m a g i c . S u m m o n s m a k e a r e t u rn too, ex ce p t t h i s t i m e t h e y f o rm pa rt o f t h e D M W – e a c h n e w o n e i s a cco m pa n i ed b y a d azz l i n g c u t- s ce n e w h e n y o u l i n e t h e r ee l s u p s u cce s sfu l l y. I t’s bee n o u t i n J a pa n s i n ce l a st S e p te m be r – r e l e a s ed a l o n g s i d e a T he music – b y Vagr ant St ory composer Tak eharu Ishimot o – “You’ve probably never lends a w onderful sense of RECIPE FOR SUCCESS seen anything quite so ur gency and t ension t o the ba ttles T h e v i ta l i n g re d i e nt s to a tas ty Fi n a l impressive on PSP” Fa ntas y s p i n-o ff l i m i ted-ed i t i o n P SP t h a t sa d l y w e ’r e u n l i k e l y to s ee o n t h e s e s h o r e s. Th e r e a s o n f o r t h e d e l a y i s t h a t S q u a r e h a s i nv e sted s e r i o u s t i m e i n g e tt i n g t h e t ra n s l a t i o n j u st r i g ht f o r i ts g ro w i n g We ste rn a u d i e n ce . Fro m w h a t w e ’ v e s ee n s o fa r, t h e l oc a l i sa t i o n te a m h a s d o n e a v e ry g ood j o b, t h o u g h m o st o f t h e t i m e y o u ’ l l be too b u sy g a w p i n g i n a m az e m e nt a t t h e a b s o l u te l y st u n n i n g c u t- s ce n e s to w o rry a bo u t t h e d i a l og u e . We ’r e n o t ex a g g e ra t i n g CGI Jackpot ! Story time w h e n w e sa y y o u ’ v e p ro ba b l y n e v e r Overload s ee n a nyt h i n g q u i te s o i m p r e s s i v e o n P SP, w i t h a ct i o n s eq u e n ce s s o c i n e m a t i c t h e y s h o u l d be i n y o u r l oc a l A erith is another CGIJackpotStory Overload time ! fl e a p i t ra t h e r t h a n o n a h a n d h e l d . famous charact er HTAs his o wthe is the thegame y doDigital deit w v elops e Mind ’ll ne , vtherWa er k v e eno ’s syst w.a r ealT em, he sense Squarwhich of e-Enix allo f or wseboding t eamy ou thas ot oenhanc esome v en ts eof –y ourthe rmost eal- M a r k o u r w o r d s : t h e w a i t w i l l be fr om VII mak ing a timeparticularly a ttacks if with y ou ’rsummons e a w ar e of tha the t can plot add f or aF inalbit of Fantasy e xtra bit VII e. Tto hough y our blothe ws f ocus , or w o rt h i t. A n d w i t h a n a sto u n d i n g t h r ee v ery w elcome talen t ed 3D artists in the business and the cut-sc enes ar e their time t o shine HOW COMPLETE? FIRST IMPRESSIONS –tis o oron soft ra a entherr ela the tivt o elyimpactsho unk w off. noof wnenemBlist charact ering y r etalia action er this tion. sequenctime It’s ,not so esy easy ou and ’ll tstill epic o ma be cinema t ch in the f ort thrplen ograph ee ty y h u n d r ed s i d e m i s s i o n s , a n d a H a r d HGZine r eappearance her e . arrof eels esurprises the up, or but der and whenof thetwists y da ou y indo her the y eou . stSome ’r ory. e in Expectfsc or enes a tr eathewill t . dialogue Somegenuinely memorable t o mak mak e e y lots ourcharact ofja w ers m od e ex c l u s i v e to We ste rn g a m e r s , Crisis C or e has plenty 95% 95% drfrk no om op. wing theA w esomeoriginalnods t ostuff. itsmak inspira e an appearanc tion thr oughout e her e. , t oo. w e ’ v e g o t j u st t h r ee w o r d s f o r y o u: of moments which ar e pur e fan service Do . N o t. M i s s. The best PSP RPG so far? It’s looking very likely…
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REVIEWS Cycling requires you to pace yourself – and it’s wise to stay in an opponent’s slipstream to Mario and Sonic at conserve stamina
Publisher: S ega Developer: S ega Heritage: S onic series, Virtua Tennis, Sega R ally the Olympic Games Link: www.sega.com/ Ready, steady, scrub! gamesite/marioandsonic/ irs t things firs t: if you’re DS in re cord time. We’re not k idding – simple case of sliding rapidly from side to index.php Knuckles and W ario ar e both O U T N O W considering buying this game, particularly in multiplayer when things side, copying different movements for P o w er pla y ers , giving their F then you nee d to head down to get competitive, you’ll b e amaze d how trampoline trick s is a neat idea, while table t ennis smashes a bit your local game s tore and invest in a much pressure you’re putting on. You’ll events like the javelin and long jump mor e mea t scre en prote ctor pronto. Mario and thank us in the long run. Honest. require well-timed, precision lines to get Sonic re quires such repeate d abuse of Vigorous scrubbing aside,Mario and the best results. It might be a lit tle easy T rampolining r equir es the touchscre en that without any form Sonic is per fect handheld fodder. It’s to achieve a world record, but that just incr easingly comple x of shield, you’re going to k nacker your unfor tunate it couldn’t have been shows how simple and effective the manoeuvr es as y ou THREE CHEERS released alongside the Wii game, as controls are – and then you’ve got online pr ogr ess – y ou might Going for gold anyone who’s played that will feel a leaderboards to compete with once need t o tap and flick T he gr ea t er pr ecision of six or se v en times pang of over familiarit y – you’ve beaten the computer opposition. It always makes us happy to see developers the stylus giv es it the come up with innovative ideas that make bef or e y ou land edge o v er the W ii game and the physical nature of the DS’s motion G roup event s good use of the DS’s features. Clapping to in certain e v ents – raise cheers from the crowd whose particularly if y ou’ r e controls seems more Characters are split into spe cialise d appropriate for spor ting cate gories, so Sonic ’s a spe e d merchant encouragement gives you a boost in the long trying t o br eak a r ecor d jump is a genius idea. Meanwhile, skeet events. Still, the st ylus is while Mario is a goo d all- rounder, and shooting requires a shout to set the clay an effective substitute, their strengths really can make the targets in motion. with some occasionally difference – for example, highly skilled inspired use of the characters b enefit from a larger target touchscreen inter face. in the archery game. Though running is a W ith a fairly generous single-cart Just shy of gold status – an multiplayer alongside a more f ully- HGZine impressive silver medal “Highly skilled feature d wireless option for f riends who also own a copy, it’s as a competitive Verdictperformance characters benefit pursuit that this really shines. And with Terrific 3D graphics from a larger plenty of unlockables for the solo target in the player, there’s enough here to ke ep Online stats add replay value archery game” every DS owner happy. Result! A few weak events Chris Schil l i ng 8 C O N T R O L WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 21 REVIEWS Advance Wars: Dark Conflict Nintendo’s amazing strategy series goes all emo on us ... The characters are deep and The new battle Publisher: Nintendo believable, meaning that you’ll animations look a little Developer: Intelligent vidently My Chemical Romance magic so on s tart s to worm it s way soon grow attached to them rough, but everything Systems have b e en on heavy rotation on under your sk in. It’s a f ar cry f rom the the Nintendo office r adio of late. k itchen-sink approach of Advance moves that little bit Heritage: Fire Emblem, E quicker for a faster- Dark Conflict – as it s name suggest s – is Wars: D ual Strike, where the ro ck-solid Paper Mario, Wario paced experience Ware Touched! about as bleak as it gets for a firs t- party ruleset was tweake d once to o often. Link: http://advance game. It’s coloure d in the greys and Dark Conflict is essentially a series wars.com browns of a post-apo calyptic landscape rebo ot; a s tripp e d -down, leaner, O U T N O W where 9 0 p er cent of Earth’s p opulation meaner Advance Wars, where each are dead. Cheerf ul stuff, eh? It gets sk irmish is not jus t a Tonka Toy war, but worse, as the remaining survivors are a genuine fight for survival. A s the s tory dying f rom s tarv ation and parasitic deepens, you’ll grow attached to unit s diseases, while also under attack from and characters, and the well - r ationed HGZine ins ane megalomaniac s hell - b ent on CO p owers are r are welcome bo ost s to wiping out the last 10 p er cent. your deplete d f rontline. Yet if at firs t the pitch- black plot and doom - laden dialogue feel a little Command and conquer depressing, that old Advance Wars You can ally your Commanding O fficer to a particular unit – with enhance d s tat s for all those within a certain radius “This is the best – which adds an extra layer of s trate g y, in the series since Units c an now level up depending on how FLARE PLAYER while the new WarTank and Bike unit s the GBA original” All will be revealed… long you keep them for. An extra stats are welcome additions to the formula. boost c an make the difference between O ne of the most useful additions Sea battles are more important than damaging an enemy and destroying it is the new Flare unit, which fires ever before, with Battleships now able a light which reveals a thirteen to move and fire on a single turn, and square area in Fog of War. It’s not the new Dus ter air unit s are hugely Deep, dark and devilishly much cop against most units effe ctive for scouting runs . HGZine difficult – Advance Wars (infantry aside) but this is T he loss of the War Ro om is a pain, absolutely invaluable in unveiling is back in style hidden enemies and sc uppering though the unlockable Trial Maps are Verdict their plans. It’s further proof that an fine replacement. Throw in the ability More balanced than ever Nintendo has worked hard on to finally battle your mates online, and you’ve got the b est in the series since At first we missed the Online battles at last! perfecting the strategy rather than primary colours of old, throwing out a limp sequel. the GBA original. High praise indee d. but the grim storyline Some rough presentation Chris Schil l i ng is gripping stuff 9 CONTROL W W W.G A M ER Z INE S.CO M N AV I G AT E | 2 2 REVIEWS “It’s the car modification that gives the The Fast and the Furiousgame its charm” Ca tc h t h e d r i ft a s y o u s p e e d a l o n g t h e h i g h wa y s o f To ky o T his game does a gr ea t Other driv ers will get h i l e m o st o t h e r ra c e r s c h u g job of capturing the mood cock y, and the only w a y a l o n g a t a S u n d a y d r i v i n g and f eeling of the films t o stick it t o them is t o W pa c e , Th e F a s t a n d t h e F u r i o u s thrash them in a race P u b l i s h e r : Namc o Bandai bo m b s a l o n g a n d h a s a f ee l i n g o f D e v e l o p e r : E ut echn yx s peed t h a t i s o n l y r i va l l ed b y t h e H e r i t a g e : Ridge Rac er 2 B u r n o u t s e r i e s. B u t a l t h o u g h i t’ s pa c k ed (Namc o Bandai), P imp My w i t h s l i c k t o u c h e s , i t d oe s n ’ t q u i t e Ride (E ut echn yx) kn oc k t h e l i k e s o f Th e N e e d f o r S pe e d L i n k : www.namc o a n d R i d g e R a c e r o ff t h e P S P pod i u m . bandaigames .c om/games/ Th e g a m e i s ba s ed o n t h e t h i r d fi l m fastfurious i n t h e s e r i e s – To ky o D r i ft – a n d a s a ET A: 7th Mar ch r e s u l t y o u h a v e t o c ru i s e a l o n g t h e c i ty’ s W a n g a n H i g h w a y l oo ki n g f o r r i va l s t o ra c e a g a i n st t o w i n c a s h . Th e r e a r e l oa d s o f d i ff e r e n t ex i ts a l o n g t h e be st c ru i s e r i n t h e c i ty. Th e ra c e s a r e h i g h w a y, s o m e o f w h i c h a r e g a ra g e s o n e-o n-o n e a ffa i r s , a n d w h i l e t h i s c a n w h e r e y o u c a n b uy o n e o f t h e 100 o r g e t a r e pe t i t i v e a t t i m e s , t h e r e a r e s o l i c e n s ed c a r s o r b l i n g u p y o u r m o t o r, p l e n ty o f va r i ed c h a l l e n g e s t o k ee p y o u w h i l e o t h e r s o ff e r ra c e c h a l l e n g e s e n t e rt a i n ed . Th e m o r e ra c e s y o u w i n , a g a i n st o t h e r c a r s t o p r o v e y o u ’ r e t h e t h e m o r e c a s h y o u ’ l l g e t t o t u n e u p W ith mor e than 300 y o u r c a r, a n d t h e r e a r e st a c ks o f diff er ent body k its , it’s d i ff e r e n t pa rts t o t u rn y o u r r i d e fr o m not t oo har d t o mak e Once y ou get y our hands on a decent car, a n a v e ra g e m o t o r i n t o a m e a n st r ee t y our car look y our o wn the f eeling of speed is truly superb ra c i n g m a c h i n e . N o t o n l y t h a t b u t y o u c a n a l s o b l i n g u p y o u r w h ee l s w i t h A t fi r st t h e ra c i n g i s t r i c ky t o m a st e r ext ra s l i k e pa i n t j o b s , s po i l e r s a n d n eo n – i n va r i a b l y y o u r c a r’s n o t u p t o m u c h Speedy and slick street l i g h ts , s o i t l oo ks a s g ood a s i t pe rf o rm s. a n d t h e h a n d l i n g ’s t r i c ky, b u t o n c e y o u HGZine racing, though it can get I t’ s t h i s c a r m od i fi c a t i o n t h a t g i v e s st a rt w i n n i n g ra c e s a n d i m p r o v i n g y o u r Th e F a s t a n d t h e F u r i o u s i ts c h a r m – c a r, t h e g a m e bec o m e s bo t h r e w a r d i n g Verdicta bit repetitive y o u ’ l l g e t a ki c k fr o m w i n n i n g ra c e s a n d a n d a d d i ct i v e . A l t h o u g h i t’s n o t s l i c k Rock in’ soundtrack ba g g i n g c a s h t o b uy c a r s a n d u pg ra d e e n o u g h t o l e a d t h e P S P ra c i n g pa c k, t h e m , a n d w a t c h i n g t h e c a r y o u b u i l t T h e Fas t a n d t h e Fu r i o us i s e n j o y a b l e Slick drif ting t u rn fr o m a ba n g e r i n t o a b l i n g e r i s a e n o u g h to b e w o rt h t a k i n g f o r a s p i n . No crashes sa t i sfyi n g f ee l i n g . Da v e P er r ett 7 CO N T R O L WWW.GAMERZINES.COM N AV I G AT E | 2 3 REVIEWS CASE DISMISSED Flying high with the legal eagles T he opening le v el is o v er and done with v ery quickly indeed , though it’ s mer ely an appetiser f or the mor e Harvey Birdman:substan tial cases t o f ollo w , with no in v estiga t ory stages . T he game ’ s surr eal humour is e x emplified b y y our opening def enc e – y our clien t c ouldn ’ t ha v e lit a Attorney at Law ma t ch t o start a fir e because he has no fingers … P u b l i s h e r : C apc om D e v e l o p e r : High C a p c o m e n t e r t h e c o u rt r o o m o n c e m o r e V oltage Softw ar e H e r i t a g e : L eisur e Suit ny PSP owners hoping for a This is thanks to the series’ L arry: Magna C um L aude , serious rival to the DS’s Ace trademark humour, which – while it F amil y Guy A Attorney series should cancel might polarise tastes – we happen to L i n k : www . those thoughts now. Harvey Birdman: find highly amusing. Certainly, if you’re harv eybir dman the Attorney at Law isn’t so much a game as familiar with the Adult Swim cartoon game .c om an interactive cartoon, with as much on which the game is based, you’ll ET A: Mar ch time spent watching than playing. It’s know to expect one-liners zinged back the sort of title where you answer a and forth like a game of verbal tennis, multiple-choice question just to be while there’s plenty of surreal comedy presented with a silly, brief snippet of moments. Its five cases are generally story. But as long as you’re happy to easy to figure out, with just the T he sho w’s self -r ef er ential wit accept Harvey Birdman as little more occasional head-scratcher that’s mostly carries o v er t o the game , with a Gigi, Harv e y’s than a series of extended episodes, just thrown in for daftness’ sake. certain Str eet F ight er charact er one philandering wif e , punctuated by moments of player of se v eral nods t o other games “It’s low on interactivity is something of a interaction, then you’ll have a great time. Fast romp hindrance – it It’s a fast-paced romp, which sees the and depth, but high on doesn ’ t help tha t she titular superhero playing detective as show, like a collec tion featuring entertainment value” can ’ t r emember our well as lawyer by investigating the Har vey ’s enthusiastic “ I ’ll take the case ! ” her o ’s name , either crime scene before entering the catchphrase. You’ll bree ze through courtroom. All this will sound familiar them all fairly quickly though, and N o o b j e c t i o n s f r o m u s , to DS owners, but there’s not the same there’s lit tle to bring you back once HGZ ine b u t t h i s i s o n e c a s e t h a t ’ s level of depth as in Capcom’s other the credit s have rolled. It ’s a slight lawyer sim – however, all the dialogue e xp erience, low on interac tivit y and Ve r d i c t o v e r t o o s o o n is fully voice-acted, with many of the depth, but high on enter tainment V e r y f u n n y i n p l a c e s cartoon’s cast contributing. v alue. If that sounds like your cup of tea, Each case is packed with likeably silly then Har vey Birdman’s insane antics S o m e n i c e t w i s t s moments – certain incorrect dialogue make for a wor thwhile buy. T h e r e ’ s n o t e n o u g h o f i t choices unlock secret clips from the Chris Schil l i ng 7 CO N T R O L WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 24 REVIEWS Final Fantasy A l e g e n d b e g i n s. . . ere’s a fact that might shock deemed worthy of a European release some people: this is called Final for half of its twenty-year history, but H Fantasy: Anniversary Edition in it’s true. The only time we’ve seen this P u b l i s h e r : Squar e-E nix the US and Japan. So why do we get game before was as part of the Dawn D e v e l o p e r : Squar e-E nix the simpler name? Because neither of Souls Gameboy Advance double- H e r i t a g e : V agr an t S t ory , the original NES Final Fantasy nor the pack a little over three years ago. As C risis C or e: FFVII PlayStation remake ever made it to UK such, this represents not only a remake Battles aren’t particularly L i n k : h ttp://na.squar e- shores. It’s amazing to think that one of of the game that kicked off one of dynamic, but there’s some enix.c om/ffanniv ersary gaming’s best-known names wasn’t gaming’s most enduring series but an impressive 2D art – the OUT NOW invaluable history lesson, too. bosses look especially good You’ll spend plenty “Its lack of handholding You’re history of time questing in makes it an experience But we don’t buy games purely for your airship, though for true gaming experts” rose-tinted nostalgia, do we? Which is WHAT’S THE STORY? be prepared for unfortunate in the case of Final Fantasy, plenty of those Back to where it all began… random encounters as its mechanics are rooted in a bygone age where games made demands of It’ s clear tha t the F inal F antasy of t oda y is a far cry fr om players most modern gamers would ho w the series start ed . T hese da ys , the games ha v e find unfair. Thankfully, its graphical lab yrin thine plotting and charact ers with c omple x makeover – including some wonderfully emotions and dubious motiv es . H er e , it’ s simply a t eam remade cut-scenes – makes it worth on a quest t o fulfil an ancien t pr ophecy and sa v e the ploughing through, even after the w orld . T he dialogue has been tw eak ed t o add humour , but it’ s about as simple as game st ories get . umpteenth random battle in a row. Yep, the staple of many a Japanese RPG is in full effect here, with your team didn’t exist, so prepare to settle down of four characters barely able to walk a with a pad and pen to piece together I t ’ s t i m e t o g r i n d y o u r few steps without bumping into a the plot and figure out where on earth HGZ ine w a y t h r o u g h t h e o r i g i n a l goblin or three. It’s your typical turn- you’re meant to be going next. based combat that you’ll already know Its refreshing lack of handholding Ve r d i c t d u n g e o n m a s t e r whether you love and loathe. makes it an experience for true gaming C r i s p n e w v i s u a l s Final Fantasy’s hardcore nature is likely experts, so if you’re up to the challenge to split its potential audience right down then a crisp £20 note will net you a D e c i d e d l y o l d - s c h o o l i n f e e l … the middle. This game comes from the piece of gaming history. … b u t t h a t ’ s n o t a l w a y s g o o d Your default team contains a warrior, thief, white days when luxuries like in-game journals Chris Schilling mage and black mage – though you can change 7 character types and names at the outset CONTROL WWW.GAMERZINES.COM N A V I G A T E | 2 5 REVIEWS I T ’ S G O O D TO TA LK H o w t o m a k e f r i e n d s i n F F I I One of FFII’ s most notable ideas c omes thr ough talk ing t o the v arious c omput er-c on tr olled charact ers . As y ou pr ogr ess , y ou ’ll notic e c ertain k e y w or ds or phrases Final Fantasy IIcr opping up in c on v ersa tion. Repea ting these w or ds back C o m e b a c k t o w h a t y o u k n o w t o other charact ers then allo ws the plot t o pr ogr ess . It ma y all seem unsophistica t ed b y t oda y’ s standar ds , but case of ‘second verse, same as approach to managing your party – back in the da y this w ould ha v e been fairly unique . the first’? Not really. Final Fantasy allowing you to customise their skillset AII represents a departure from in a greater level of detail. While this P u b l i s h e r : Squar e-E nix the original in several areas, but overall sounds like a worthwhile addition (and D e v e l o p e r : Squar e-E nix it’s not as enjoyable an experience. It’s similar mechanics have worked well in H e r i t a g e : F inal F an tasy arguably the least significant entry in RPGs since), it just becomes confusing, T actics , V alkyrie P r ofile: the series in many ways, and while it particularly as the best way to gain HP L enneth works reasonably well as a companion is by getting hit. The random nature of L i n k : h ttp://na.squar e- piece to the PSP remake of the original, enemy attacks means that your party enix.c om/ffanniv ersary if you only pick up one of the two, this members can often be completely OUT NOW is the one we’d advise you to avoid. unbalanced. You’ll often need to The main problem with the game is wander off the beaten track to locate the new levelling-up system, which foes in an attempt to re-align your stats. gets rid of the simple character types and replaces it with a more flexible Visual inspiration It seems a notch harder than Final Fantasy, and while its locations are a Monst er design is “Final Fantasy II represents r eliably solid , with little more visually inspired, it’s a shame some e x ceptional a departure from the Square-Enix didn’t attempt to original in several areas” compensate for the original game’s models f or the boss T he game ’ s visuals ar e v ery faithful t o the Pla ySta tion cr ea tur es . Nice cut- issues. It’s a faithful conversion, but in v ersion, but ob viously look sharper on the PSP scenes , t oo this case a little less reverence would scr een. It’ s a nice blend of the ne w and the old have worked wonders.
I t’ s n o t a l l ba d , t h o u g h . Th e st o ry a n d d i a l og u e a r e s u pe r i o r t o t h e o r i g i n a l , Tw o s t e p s f o r w a r d , b u t a n d i t’ s st i l l a fa s c i n a t i n g l e s s o n i n h o w HGZ ine t h r e e b a c k – b u y t h e t h e g e n r e e v o l v ed . A n d i ts o n e a d d i t i o n a l d u n g eo n , t h e t r i c ksy A r c a n e Ve r d i c t o r i g i n a l i n s t e a d A c a d e m y , i s a n i c e ext ra. B u t w i t h t oo T o u g h - a s - o l d - b o o t s b a t t l i n g m a n y a n n o ya n c e s a d d ed t o i ts a l r e a dy Ba ttles ar e essentially v ery similar t o fa i r l y n i c h e a p pe a l , i t’ s n o t a g a m e w e W o n k y s t a t u p g r a d i n g those in the first game . Unf ortuna t ely , c a n w h o l e h e a rt ed l y r ec o m m e n d . N o t a s g o o d a s t h e o r i g i n a l the unpr edictable r esults can fa tally C h r is S c h illin g unbalance y our t eam, though 6 C O N T R O L WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 26 REVIEWS REVIEW ROUND-UP Cooking Mama 2 Bleach: The Dragon Quest Recommended Publisher: 505 Games | Release date: 15th February t’s eas y to dismiss Co oking Mama as a game for Blade Of Fate Monsters: Joker DS Releases Iyoung girls, but that would b e to ignore it s Publisher: S ega | Release date: 29th February Publisher: S quare-Enix | Release date: 14th March Recent unmissable goodies many qualities – it s terrific use of the DS’s ave e xp ert develop ers Treasure ever made a okémon for older kids’ is the basic idea capabilities for one, it s unshakeable charm for Hbad game? Well, they’ve certainly not here, ‘Pb ehind Joker, the firs t in a long- running Mystery another, and it s undeniably accessible approach. with a 2D scrapp er that’s the b est of it s k ind on DS. Japanese RPG series to make the UK, following the Detective 2 (505 Games) It all makes for a game that anyone – of any sk ill Bleach is based on the popular Japanese manga, success of the PS2’s Dragon Quest VIII. It certainly Madder than a box of f ro gs, an level – can pick up and play. and while its story will baffle those unfamiliar with looks a lot sharper than Nintendo’s mons ter- amusing adventure that’s terrifically T hankf ully the se quel improves on the original the series, the ac tion is accessible enough for battler, with cel-shaded 3D visuals which b ear an warpe d, old-school f un. in many ways. T here are more Western re cipes for anyone to enjoy. Large, well-animated charac ters uncanny resemblance to the aforementioned those who wondere d about some of the s trange battle it out on the top screen, while special attacks Play Station hit. It’s a little to o wordy in places, Geometry Wars: conco ctions in the firs t game, while the niggles – and power-ups are handled by pressing cards on while it s W i -Fi online scraps are unfriendly. like the near- imp ossible p e eling – have b e en all the touchscreen with your thumb. It works Its most glaring weakness is a lack of longevity Galaxies (Sierra) but eradicate d. surprisingly well, – it doesn’t take Addictive like a b ox of Celebrations, And with a greater and with a large list long to finish, this shooter has brilliant controls and v ariety of tasks to of charac ters, and there’s never a f antas tic multiplayer mo de. p erform, all with modes and quite the same simple and options, there’s compulsion to Mario Party DS(Nintendo) effe ctive s tylus enough to keep ‘catch ‘em all ’ as in Top- notch movement s, it’s fighting fans busy Pokémon. Pity, as multiplayer surprisingly for a good few here is a p olished entertainment, enjoy able to months at least. take on the genre with plenty of pro duce that Online brawls that doesn’t quite mini -game p erfe ct meal for sweeten the deal, have the charm of mayhem. Best your pals . Perhaps making this one of Nintendo’s critters, Mario Party you should buy it the best value for but more than in years . for your sis ter, then money packages makes up for it in play it in se cret. on the console. the combat.
More variety than the first game Terrific presentation Stunning visuals Charming and amusing throughout Perfectly balanced brawling Inspired battling Still a little slight for long-term thrills Too hardcore for some? Too many tiny niggles A tasty treat for younger gamers 7 A beat-’em-up to Treasure 8 Pokémon Senior ? Well, almost 7
CONTROL W W W. G A M E R Z I N E S . C O M N A V I G AT E | 2 7 REVIEWS G o t h i c 3 : T h e B e g i n n i n g MOBILEREVIEWS Publisher: HandyGames All the latest from the world of mobile phone gaming our mobile phone may Ynot seem like the ideal platform for an immersive and H GZ in e T h e S i m s 2 engaging role-playing epic, but Gothic 3 proves otherwise. C a s t a w a y This is a sprawling fantasy yarn Publisher: EA Mobile with plenty of orcs and elves to hatever your viewpoint do battle with. There are also Won the Sims franchise, it’s plenty of silly names like hard to deny the sheer amount D e s t r o y a l l ‘Kohrinis’ and ‘Xardas’. It’s all M r D r i l l e r of effort that has gone into this pretty uniform stuff for RPG iteration. Practically all the H u m a n s ! C ry p t o fans, but considering this is a D e l u x e content from the console D o e s V e g a s mobile phone release, you R E C O M M E N D E D Publisher: Namco Bandai version is intact and although can’t help but be impressed by F our mobile games oor old Mr Driller. He’s Publisher: THQ Wireless y ou m us t o w n the visuals have taken a step the amount of playtime that is never really found the nti-hero Crypto the alien is P back, everything looks packed into Gothic 3. If you’re a audience he deserves, despite back in his third mobile G o d o f Wa r : D e v i l M a y C ry : perfectly acceptable. Think Lost A fan of the genre then this will possessing some frighteningly but with less peril and more phone outing and this time B e t ra y a l addictive gameplay. The hope come in handy the next time (Son y Online E n t ertainmen t) materialistic castaways and he’s decided to descend on is that this latest mobile edition D a n t e ’ s you’re stuck on the bus. M o b i l e p h o n e g a m i n g you’re pretty close. the hive of scum and villainy will go some way to changing t h a t’ s fi t f o r God s A w a k e n i n g that is Las Vegas. The that, because it effortlessly Publisher: Capcom developer has clearly taken the manages to convey the his mobile action title is so criticisms levelled at the G o o d N i g h t M r brilliance of the home console Tgood it makes you forget previous titles to heart, but S n o o z l e b e rg originals in your phone. you’re playing it on your although the game looks (IG F un) The idea is to simply drill humble phone. The 3D visuals wonderful, the rather simplistic I m p r e s s i v e s l e e p w a l k i n g downwards while collecting are sumptuous, and the action gameplay is something of a p u zz l e fu n oxygen capsules and avoiding is fast-paced and varied, thanks step backwards. You can only falling blocks. It sounds to a surprisingly diverse control control the direction in which H o t B a l l o o n R a ce straightforward enough in Crypto shoots and the game system that works with the (Digital C hoc ola t e) theory but is devilishly hard in limitations of the phone’s quickly falls into bland T o p h e l i u m-po w e r ed practice. In short, this is nearly keypad rather than against it. repetitiveness as a result. ra c i n g a ct i o n perfect mobile entertainment.
Wonderful visuals Detailed graphics Fantastic presentation Astonishing depth S n o o p D o g C r u is i n ’ Faithful to the original games Killer gameplay Plenty to see and do Limited gameplay Decent storyline Lo s A n g e l e s Likeable visuals Loads of replayability Hate The Sims? You’ll hate this Controls are too restrictive Not exactly action-packed (Son y Online E n t ertainmen t) Possibly too limited for some D a ft c o n c e p t b u t There’s no tears here 9 Another fine Sims game 7 Viva Las Vegas? Not quite 5 A great RPG for your phone 7 s u r p r i s i n g l y e n t e rt a i n i n g Dig deep for puzzle fun 8
C O N T R O L WWW.GAMERZINES.COM N A V I G A T E | 2 8
LETTERS significantly more playing time than the original one did when it was new. GAME MATTERS There are plenty of websites This month everyone wants selling new PSP batteries, but we to talk about GTA… recommend that you start with www.pspworld.co.uk. I’VE PLAYED BOTH GTA GAMES on the PSP and now I want to play MY SON WANTS TO PLAY an 18- San Andreas Stories. Can you tell certificate game on his PSP, but he’s me when is it coming out? only 14. Some of his mates play them James Slater, Dudley >Inbox and I’m not sure whether there’s any V iolent games ar e harm in them or whether I should just ra t ed highly f or a >> Bad news James, as it Your questions answered and your fears r eason, so mak e sur e stick to my guns and get him A nd sor ry , bu t n o a moun t o f fla tt ery tha t y ou only buy doesn’t look like San Andreas put to rest, courtesy of HGZine! something more suitable for his age w i l l a l lo w y ou a c c es s t o ou r bloa t ed games tha t ar e will be making it to the PSP. group. What’s your advice on this? h igh sec ur i ty ga mes st or a ge fa c i l i ty . suitable f or y our age The problem is that the game I HAVE HAD MY PSP for a couple of Sally Hancock, Belfast engine is significantly more READER years now and I really enjoys playing it, I W AS L OO KI N G O N L I N E a t S o n y’ s advanced than the previous two FEEDBACK! but I’m getting less and less play out of >> Ratings on games should be r e l e a s e s c h ed u l e f o r t h e P S P t h i s y e a r games and it just wouldn’t be Click here to it as the battery doesn’t last as long as treated like any other (films, etc.). a n d t h e r e ’ s h a r d l y a n yt h i n g o n i t. Wh a t possible to port it to PSP. Sorry. send us a it once did – I used to get about four We’re sure that you wouldn’t be c h a n c e d oe s t h e P S P h a v e i f e v e n S o n y letter now! hours charge from it and now I get happy for your son to watch an 18- a r e n ’ t r e l e a s i n g g a m e s f o r i t ? GRAND THEFT AUTO IV is looking around one. Can I replace the battery certificate film, and the same rule C ar l P ar ry , Sheffield like being the best one yet. Any or do I have to buy a new PSP? applies to games. chance of a PSP version? Adam Green, London Adult games feature mature > > Don ’ t w or ry C a r l, a s Son y w i l l be Tim Williams, Bournemouth content that isn’t suitable for anyone r elea s in g plen ty o f P SP ga mes t h i s >> You can indeed buy a new under the recommended age. y ea r , t h e y j ust h a v en ’ t a n n oun c ed Son y will be >> Absolutely not. If Rockstar battery for your PSP Adam, and the Thankfully there are plenty of t h em y et. W a t ch t h i s s pa c e … r eleasing plenty of can’t do San Andreas Stories good news is that it probably won’t excellent games for PSP, so finding PSP games this y ear , (See above), then there’s no way including God of W ar: cost you as much as you’d think it something more appropriate for Chains of Olympus they’ll be able to do GTA IV. will. There’s more good news your son’s age shouldn’t be difficult. though, as you’ll probably find that I’VE RECENTLY PLAYED one of the the battery you buy will offer him JUST A QUICK ONE to say that although really old 2D Grand Theft Auto I’m a new reader of HGZine, I just want games (on PSone) and I was to congratulate you all for producing thinking that they’d work really Don’t the most original computer magazine I well on the DS. What do you think? Out think I’ve ever seen. And if you’ve got Chrissy Boy, Manchester miss some free games lying around then March 13 you can always send them to me! >> We think you’re completely Liam French, Thornbury right about that, but sadly Issue 14 Rockstar have no plans to >> Glad you like the mag, Liam. It release any more GTA games Sign up would appear that many thousands on the handheld consoles. now! of happy readers agree with you. C O N T R O L NAVIGATE | 29 NEXT MONTH In Issue 14 Out Mar 13th! HGZine Issue 14 MORE FREE MAGAZINES! LATEST ISSUES!
DON’T MISS ISSUE 16 SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE! WARNING! MULTIMEDIA DISABLED! If you are reading this, then you didn’t choose “Play” when Adobe Reader asked you abou t mu ltimedia when you o p ened the magazine. Without the multimed ia playing, the magazine will look correct, but you will CHRONICLESTHE THE be missing out on all of the extra content built into each issue, like videos, ASTERIX animated screenshot s, annotations, quizzes, compe titions and more. OF NARNIA: INCREDIBLE AT THE HULK We recommend you close and re -open the magazine and select “Play” when PRINCE WALL.E OLYMPIC asked a bout the multimed ia to enjoy the magazine as intended. CASPIAN IRON GAMES MAN Cranberry Publishing Limited Dave Perrett, Mark Ramshaw www.cranberrypublishing.com All rights reserved. This publication may be copied in its entirety without Publishing Director: Dave Taylor modification for non-commercial purposes, for example but not limited to copying PREVIEWS REVIEWS Email: [email protected] to CD-R for a friend, but it may not be offered for download from any website or similar without the prior permission of the copyright holder. You are Editorial Director: Dan Hutchinson free to, and encouraged to, link to the original file for download from our website High School Musical: Assassin’s Creed Email: [email protected] and you can find help on doing so here. While the greatest care is taken in producing this guide, we do not accept responsibility for the loss of any data or any other Commercial Director: Duncan Ferguson damage caused by following the instructions in this publication. We always Work This Out Altaïr’s Chronicles Email: [email protected] recommend that you keep a backup of your hard disk data and ensure that you check all files for viruses before installing or using any new software. None of the Telephone: 07770 648500 information in this guide is intended as legal advice. All articles are for information Ferrari Challenge FlatOut: Head On Call Duncan to discover how e-publications can work for you! purposes only. Websites mentioned in this publication are not affiliated to or controlled by the publisher. We are not responsible for the contents of these sites or Editor: Dean Mortlock any changes made to them. Ninja Reflex Need for Speed ProStreet Design: InkCap Design All contents © Cranberry Publishing Ltd 2008 Contributors: Kath Brice, Chris Schilling, Darren McFerran, Company registration number: 4987058 CONTROL NAVIGATE | 30 Sadly, you’ve reached the end of this issue. What would you like to do now? Exit this issue and go and download another issue?
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News 4 Gamers is a news website written by platforms including PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, gamers for gamers. Each story is submitted Wii, PC, DS, PSP and more. by a member of the community and ranked When you read a story on N4G, you can by popularity. You can comment on each click to go straight out to the full story article, and even if you’re not a fully fledged source, making this the ultimate gaming writer, you can submit news tips for items news site, because it gives you access to the you’ve seen elsewhere on the web! stories from all the games sites on the web, The site has sections for all gaming rather than just its own.
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