FREE! NAV I G AT E | 01 Issue 14 | March 20 07

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HGFree Magazine For Handheld Gamers.ZineRead it, Print it, Send it to your mates… PLUS Off Road WHICH NEW Check out this PSP GAME Ford focused EXCLUSIVE! SCORES A new PSP driver PERFECT 10?

Is this the most original PSP driving game yet? Interview, tips and review inside! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW Race FIRST LOOK God of War Asterix at the Apollo Justice: Heaven or Hell? Olympic Games Ace Attorney Driver: GRID Sonic Get the verdict from First off the grid with Roman running these hot newshots! Chronicles and jumping... our ace jury Sonic goes RPG CON TROL WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 02

QUICK FINDER DON’T Every game’s just a click away! MISS! SONY PSP NINTENDO DS and the Curious This month’s Cid the Dummy Race Driver: GRID Village R-Type Command Cid the Dummy Apollo Justice: highlights Off Road Sonic Chronicles: Ace Attorney HGZine FlatOut Head On The Dark Magic Made Fun God of War Brotherhood DS News Roundup Chains of Olympus The Spiderwick It’s always a pleasant surprise when a game Sonic Chronicles PSP News Chronicles MOBILE PHONE suddenly appears with little or no build-up and Sonic without the speed? Roundup Asterix at the News Can it possibly work? Olympic Games Reviews turns out to be far more impressive than the Professor Layton lack of hype would suggest. FlatOut Head On is one such game this month. We thought it was one of the most playable, time-consuming and MORE FREE MAGAZINES! LATEST ISSUES! detailed driving games we’d seen for quite some time. Let us know what you think of it. We’ve also got a big review in the form of FLATOUT HEAD ON God of War Chains of Olympus for the PSP, and Review, developer interview and tips, too. we think (correction: we know) that it’s good We give you the verdict on the PSP’s most enough to get the perfect 10 out of 10 score. intriguing racer yet As ever though, there’s much more lurking under the surface of this magazine than that pair of big-hitters, so dally no longer on this THE SPIDERWICK DON’T MISS ISSUE 15 SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE! waffly introduction and get stuck in to all the CHRONICLES juicy stuff on the other side of this page. Enjoy! The game of the film of the book comes to the DS. Review WARNING! MULTIMEDIA DISABLED! and exclusive interview inside 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 Kath may be scared of Surprising as it may What this man doesn’t Ramshaw McFerran We recommend you close and re-open the magazine and select “Play” when spiders, but what about seem, Dave is a natural know about games We reunited ex Sega Mobile guru Damien in castles made of gold – wicks? Or licensed games athlete and perfect to really isn’t worth Power editor Mark to is the man to talk to asked about the multimedia to enjoy the magazine as intended. they are… the writers. based on movies? play Asterix this month. knowing at all. Fact. Sonic for this issue. about gaming on the go. PLAYING THIS MONTH: PLAYING THIS MONTH: PLAYING THIS MONTH: PLAYING THIS MONTH: PLAYING THIS MONTH: The Spiderwick Chronicles Asterix at the Olympics Everything Sonic Chronicles Tower Bloxx (mobile) CONTROL • REALISTIC BOWLING EXPERIENCE • UNIQUE MINI GAMES • FULL USE OF Wii REMOTE™ • COLORFUL PARTY ATMOSPHERE • MULTIPLAYER FUN • EIGHT PLAYABLE CHARACTERS

AMF Bowling: Pinbusters! allows you to experience the excitement of the lanes alone or with up to three players. Utilizing the Wii Remote™, Pinbusters! caters to any gamer looking for pick up and play action in a festive, party atmosphere.

PLAYBACK OPTIONS:

AMF® Bowling: Pinbusters!™ © 2007 ZeniMax Media Inc. Published by Bethesda Softworks LLC and distributed by ZeniMax Europe Ltd. Under license from QubicaAMF Worldwide, Inc. AMF logos, marks and designs are registered trademarks or trademarks of QubicaAMF Worldwide, LLC. Pinbusters, ZeniMax, Mud Duck, Bethesda Softworks and related logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of ZeniMax Media Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Developed in association with Atomic Planet Entertainment Ltd. (UK). APE and APE logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Atomic Planet Entertainment Ltd. (UK). All Rights Reserved. Wii AND THE Wii LOGO ARE TRADEMARKS OF NINTENDO. All Rights Reserverd.

CONTROL WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAV I G AT E | 04 PREVIEWS T he track cr ea t or is fle xible enough t o allo w players t o spend time adjusting their track t o the nth detail , or just t o F r ee Graphically, Race Driver: Draw one with the stylus f or a quick race GRID should be another Race Driver: GRID high point for the DS Driving with stylus LATEST Pu b l i s h e r : Codemast ers NEWS D eve l o p e r : Firebr and W h a t’s th e st ory? Games R a ce D r i ve r : Cre ate & R a ce w a s o n e o f t h e su rp r is e h i ts o f l a st yea r. Th e DS He r i t a g e : S tar Wars: Jedi g a m e n ot o n l y f eat u red s o m e g e nu i n e l y g aw p-wo rt hy 3D g ra p h i cs , b u t A rena (Mobile), Rac e Driv er : a ls o a q u i te a maz i n g t ra c k c reat i o n too l, too. We ll n ow Cod e ma ste r s a re C rea t e & Rac e ba c k, w i t h a spec ia l ed i t i o n DS g a m e t hat’s to be re l ea s ed a l o n gsi d e t h e L i n k : www.c odemast ers. h o m e co ns o l e ve r si o ns t h is su m m e r. c o.uk/games/ ?gameid=2613 W h a t do we kn o w? E TA : Summer 2008 I t st i ll l oo ks g reat , fo r st a rte r s. Cod e ma ste r s a re li v i n g u p to t h e i r na m e w i t h s o m e o f t h e fa ste st , sm oot h e st 3D o n t h e co ns o l e, a n d t h e v isu a ls a re w e ll u p to s c ratc h h e re. R a ce s have m o re va r i e ty too – ra n g i n g PREVIEW “The fantastic track fro m ma rq u ee e ve nts i n Eu ro pe to st ree t ra ce s i n To kyo. Yo u FEEDBACK! editor from Create c a n co m pe te a g a i nst ot h e r DS ow n e r s v ia Wi-Fi, o r si m p l y Click here to tell & Race is back with atte m p t to to p t h e ma ny o n li n e s co re boa rds. Th e fa nt a st i c us what you a vengeance” t ra c k ed i to r fro m Cre ate & R a ce is ba c k w i t h a ve n g ea n ce, think of Race tw ea ked to p rov i d e e ve n m o re o p t i o ns. A n d – b r i llia nt l y – Driver: GRID yo u c a n u p l oa d yo u r s e l f- If you create a track that you’re ma d e t ra c ks to t h e GR I D particularly proud of then you s e rve r s , o r d ow n l oa d s o m e can upload it to the GRID website o f t h e be st o n e s c reated b y ot h e r us e r s. W h en do we g et m ore ? I t’s n ot o u t u nt i l t h e su m m e r, b u t w i t h a b i t o f l u c k w e ’ ll g e t s o m e t i m e w i t h t h e g a m e be fo re t h e n . A nythin g else t o de clare ? Yo u c a n n ow c reate yo u r ow n d e si g ns fo r t ra c ksi d e h oa rd i n gs a n d a d ve rt isi n g b i llboa rds , A comprehensive The ability to download new tracks ma ki n g i t o n e o f t h e m o st Career mode joins the should give the game longevity, pe r s o na l ra c i n g ex pe r i e n ce s quick-fix challenges while the leaderboards will give the and time trial events very best racers something to aim for e ve r. Wo n d e rfu l st u ff.

CO N T R O L Coming February 2008 for Wii™ and PlayStation® 2

 Strategy game set in the STAR TREK: The Next Generation® era  Real-time Starship combat  Resource Management  Six Playable Races

STAR TREK®:AR Conquest TREK®: Conquest© 2007 Bethesda © 2007 BethesdaSoftworks Softworks LLC, a ZeniMax LLC, a MedZeniMaxia compan Media company. ™, ® & © 2007 CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved. S

STAR TREK®: Conquest © 2007 Bethesda Softworks LLC, a ZeniMax Media company. Published by Bethesda Softworks LLC and distributed by ZeniMax Europe Ltd. ® & © 2007 CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved. STAR TREK and Related Marks are Trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. CBS, the CBS EYE logo, and related marks are trademarks of CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. ™ & © 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Developed in association with 4J Studios Ltd. Bethesda Softworks, ZeniMax and related logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of ZeniMax Media Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All Rights Reserved. Wii AND THE Wii LOGO ARE TRADEMARKS OF NINTENDO. “ ” and “PlayStation” are registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PLAYBACK OPTIONS:

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Na turally , ther e ar e boss ba ttles a t the end of the le v els . W e ’d Cid the Dummy w ager tha t this v olcano boss could do with an icy blast or tw o M a n n e q u i n : T h e R e t u r n LATEST t o damage him… Publisher: Oxygen NEWS Developer: Twelve W h a t’ s th e st ory ? Interactive I n a fu t u r e w h e r e c o m pe n sa t i o n c u l t u r e i s r i f e , a n d sa f e ty i s o f pa ra m o u n t Heritage: N/A i m po rt a n c e , C ra s h I m pa ct Du m m i e s (C I D s f o r s h o rt ) h a v e bec o m e a r e a l Link: www.cidthe m o n e y s p i n n e r f o r p r o f e s s o r B.M. W e r k e n ( w e ’ r e s u r e t h e r e ’ s a j o k e i n t h e r e dummy.com s o m e w h e r e ) . S a d d e n ed b y t h e l o s s o f h i s d a u g h t e r , t h e p r o f e s s o r c r e a t e s ETA: Q2 2008 a n a rt i fi c i a l r e p l a c e m e n t , M I A, w h o i s p r o m p t l y ki d n a p ped b y a n e v i l m eg a l o m a n i a c . I m b u i n g o n e o f t h e o t h e r d u m m i e s w i t h h u m a n e m o t i o n s , W e r k e n s e n d s t h i s C I D o u t t o r e s c u e M I A … W h a t do w e kn o w ? Th e g a m e p l a y i s s o m e w h a t l e s s b i za rr e t h a n t h e p r e m i s e , w i t h t h e b u l k o f t h e g a m e r e l i a n t o n t h i r d-pe r s o n p l a tf o rm i n g a ct i o n f o r i ts t h r i l l s. As w e l l a s h i s fi sts , C I D c a n r e l y o n h i s baz oo ka i n c o m ba t – i t c a n fi r e n o n-fa t a l ru b be r “The bulk of the game is b u l l e ts , o r fr eez e o r b u rn e n e m i e s. Th e r e ’ s a fa i r a m o u n t o f p u zz l i n g t oo , PREVIEW w i t h C I D ’ s u n i q u e a b i l i t i e s p u t t o t h e t e st i n a s e r i e s o f u n u s u a l reliant on third-person c o n u n d ru m s. S h a m e t h e n , FEEDBACK! platforming action” Click here to tell t h a t t h e e n v i r o n m e n ts a r e us what you st ra i g h t o u t o f t h e think of Cid E n cy c l o ped i a Ge n e r i c a , the Dummy w i t h s e w e r s , c a st l e s a n d v o l c a n o s a m o n g t h e l e v e l s. W h en do w e g et m ore ? I t’ s o u t s o m e t i m e be tw ee n A p r i l a n d J u n e , s o ex pect m o r e n e w s i n t h e n ext m o n t h o r s o . A n ythin g else t o de clare ? Bo n u s l e v e l s f e a t u r e C ra s h T e sts – d r i v e a c a r a t fu l l Smash against the crash barrier at s peed i n a n a tt e m p t t o high speed, and CID will hurtle c ra s h t h r o u g h a l l t h e t e st through the windscreen – and hopefully through those walls. Ouch! a r e a w a l l s. N i c e .

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Squad positioning is k e y , as certain a ttacks can only R-Type Command be perf ormed b y facing y our opponent dir ectly Publisher: Atlus T h e f a m o u s 2 D s h o o t e r t u r n s t a ct i c a l LATEST Developer: Irem NEWS Heritage: R-Type series, Disaster Report W h a t’ s th e st ory ? Link: www.atlus.com/ Th e o r i g i n a l R - T y pe h a s t o be o n e o f t h e m o st c e l e b ra t ed 2 D s i d e- s c r o l l i n g r-type s h oo t - ’ e m-u p s e v e r m a d e – a n d o n e o f t h e m o st d i ffi c u l t t oo . Th o u g h t h e ETA: Summer 2008 s e r i e s h a s s ee n s e v e ra l q u a l i ty s eq u e l s , I r e m h a s t a k e n t h e t i t l e o f 2 004 ’ s R - T y pe F i n a l fa i r l y l i t e ra l l y , a ba n d o n i n g t h e g a m e ’ s r oo ts a n d m o v i n g t h e s e r i e s i n a ra t h e r n e w d i r ect i o n . PREVIEW FEEDBACK! W h a t do w e kn o w ? Click here to tell R e l e a s ed i n J a pa n l a st S e p t e m be r , t h e g a m e f o rm e r l y kn o w n a s R - T y pe us what you T a ct i c s a rr i v ed t o a w a rm c r i t i c a l r ec e p t i o n , t h o u g h i ts fa i r l y n i c h e t u rn- think of R-Type ba s ed st ra t egy g a m e p l a y m e a n t i t d i d n ’ t ex a ct l y s e l l l i k e h o t c a k e s. Y o u p l a y Command t h r o u g h a s e r i e s o f 2 D m i s s i o n s t h a t m a k e u p tw o s e pa ra t e c a m pa i g n s – o n e fi g h t i n g a s E a rt h ’ s f o r c e s a g a i n st t h e a l i e n By d o , t h e o t h e r w i t h t h e r o l e s r e v e r s ed . Th i s be i n g a t a ct i c a l r o l e-p l a y e r , i t a l l t a k e s p l a c e o n a T his must sur ely be one of h ex a g o n a l g r i d , t h e m a i n q u i r k be i n g t h a t , i n a n od t o t h e o r i g i n a l , a l l u n i ts the most famous spaceships Some of the series’ most famous fa c e t o t h e r i g h t. Th e r e a r e o v e r 1 00 u n i ts a va i l a b l e i n t h e g a m e , m a ki n g t h i s in videogame hist ory bosses mak e a triumphant r eturn a t a d m o r e c o m p l ex t h a n t h e l i k e s o f A d v a n c e W a r s o n t h e D S. – y ou’ll need t o ha v e plenty of spar e ships t o bea t them, though W h en do w e g et m ore ? I t’ s d u e t o be r e l e a s ed i n t h e S t a t e s i n M a y , w i t h a U K r e l e a s e t o f o l l o w s h o rt l y t h e r e a ft e r . A n ythin g else t o de clare ? Th e s e r i e s ’ F o r c e U n i ts p l a y a n i m po rt a n t pa rt , a ct i n g a s a st r o n g , t a n k - l i k e u n i t a l o n e , o r “This being a tactical fu n ct i o n i n g a s a s h i e l d role-player, all the a n d a n a tt a c k boo st e r action takes place w h e n a tt a c h ed t o o n e T her e ar e some nice short on a hexagonal grid” o f t h e R 9 s h i p s. anima tions t o accompan y a ttacks on your enemies C O N T R O L WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 09 PREVIEWS UEFA Euro 2008 Publisher: EA Sports | ETA: 18th April e’re look ing forward to E A WSp ort s’ take on this year’s tournament, which s tart s in June. Coming soon to your handheld T here’s a new Battle of the Nations online mode, and the ability to choose N+ your own celebrations. Perhaps most interesting is the Captain Your Country Publisher: Atari | ETA: May option, where you have to earn the his retro-themed ninja platform-puzzler S u p e r H I N D P u b l i s h e r : V ir gin PLA Y | E T A : 5th Ma y chance to lead your team to the final Thas already been released on Xbox 360’s and lift the trophy. Live Arcade service, but it’s also due to hit PSP h e o l d e r r e a d e r s a m o n g y o u m a y r ec a l l a t e rr i fi c o l d this Spring. The game’s minimalist graphics TMeg a D r i v e g a m e fr o m EA n a m ed De s e rt S t r i k e, a n hide a game of surprising complexity, with i s o m e t r i c s h oo t - ’ e m-u p w h e r e y o u c o m m a n d ee r ed a its hundreds of levels often deceptively tricky h e l i c o p t e r t o b l o w u p t e rr o r i sts a n d r e s c u e h o st a g e s. S o to get through. With plenty of enemies to w h e n t h e M a n a g i n g D i r ect o r o f S u pe r H I N D d e v e l o pe r – avoid and many death-defying leaps to t h e fa n t a st i c a l l y -n a m ed M o u n t a i n S h ee p – r e f e r e n c ed t h e make, this is one hell of an addictive game g a m e a s a n i n fl u e n c e , o u r e a r s i m m ed i a t e l y p r i c k ed u p . and perfect for playing on the move. Y o u ’ l l g e t t h e c h a n c e t o t a k e t h e h e l m o f ‘t h e w o r l d’ s d e a d l i e st a s sa u l t c h o p pe r’ i n a c o u p l e o f m o n t h s ’ t i m e . Lego Indiana Jones Warriors Orochi Publisher: LucasArts | ETA: 1st J une Publisher: Koei | ETA: April f you’re anything like us, you’re eudal Japan, whopping great Ihumming that theme tune Fswords, tons of characters and already. T he potent mix of thousands of enemies. The Warriors adventuring and brick-assembling series doesn’t ever stray too far from that made Lego Star Wars such a joy the basic template, but if hacking is in abundance here, e xcept there’s hundreds of onscreen foes to ribbons more of an e xploration theme to is your thing, then you can’t go far the gameplay than b efore. W ith wrong with Warriors Orochi. We’ve no Force p owers, Indy has to rely on played the Xbox 360 version and liked his ingenuity to get him through it a lot, despite its slightly repetitive situations . W ith all the charm of LSW gameplay. From what we’ve seen, the mixe d with the thrills of the Indy PSP version loses little in the transition films, June can’t come so on enough. to the smaller screen. COMING C o d e d A r m s : C o n t a g i o n ( 2 8 t h M a r c h )… D o w n s t r e a m P a n i c ! (A p r i l )… G o! Ex p l o r e ( M a y )… S B K 0 8 S u p e r b i k e W o r l d C h a m p i o n s h i p ( M a y )… D e ca t h l e t e s ( 2 3 r d M a y )… SOON S e cr e t A g e n t C l a n k ( J u n e )… L e g o B a t m a n : T h e V i d e o g a m e ( Q 3 2 0 0 8 )… C r a s h : I n v a s i o n o f t h e B a n d i c o o t S n a t c h e rs ( O ct o b e r ) CONTROL WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 10 PREVIEWS Mysterious Dr Reiner Knizia’s Brainbenders Dungeon: Shiren Publisher: Eidos | ETA: 10th April s if Kawashima wasn’t quite enough, here comes another The Wanderer Adoctor and another brain-e xpanding DS game. All the Publisher: Sega | ETA: April puzzles have be en designed by the titular b offin himself, a Coming to a dualscreen near you! n update of a SNE S RPG man with over 300 b oard Awhose reputation has grown games and b o oks behind significantly over the years, this is a him – so e xpe ct some High School Musical: hardcore dungeon-cr awler that’s truly tricky conundrums . not for the faint-hearte d. An The various riddles are set Work This Out adventure set in feudal Japan, you over a series of global Publisher: Disney | ETA: April 2008 play a Ronin who sets out to find a locations, r anging from he game of the se cond High Scho ol Musical film is se cret land. It’s from the makers of Sydney O per a House to Tcoming very so on, promising a mix of rhythm- Pokémon Mystery D ungeon, so the the Rio Carnival and action and adventuring. With Troy, Gabriella and developer has some expertise in taking in Azte c ruins in chums all making an appear ance, and all ten songs this field. If you fancy a bit of an old- betwe en. This globe- from the movie se quel feature d, this is perfe ct school challenge then it looks likely trotting adventure hits handheld fodder for fans of the Disney phenomenon. to hit the UK around Easter. DS scre ens next month. Ninja Gaiden: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Hannah Montana Dragon Sword Caspian Music Jam Publisher: Tecmo | ETA: March/April Publisher: Disney Publisher: Disney | ETA: 25th April omonobu Itagaki’s legendary tough ETA: 20th J une isney’s other music game is Tconsole scrapper makes its handheld ase d on the film Dquite a different beast. Music debut with a stylus-based control Bof arguably the Jam has a fairly basic adventure method and some absolutely stunning best b o ok in the mode which will appeal to its graphics. Ryu Hayabusa returns to slice Narnia series (and young female fanbase, but it also and dice his way through some arriving just before offers a flexible music creation ludicrously skilled opponents and a the movie), this DS tie- in is going to be somewhat different tool, with the ability to play lead, series of screen-filling bosses. With from the home console versions, adopting a fairly simple rhythm and bass guitars and popular moves like the Cicada Slash and role- playing approach, and showcasing some effe ctive drums. Unlike, say, Jam Sessions, Izuna Drop available with simple swipes storyb o ok se quences with the DS held like a novel, Hotel you can pick individual strings of the stylus, this could be the most D usk-style. W ith stylus- base d attack controls and some of the guitars with your stylus, accessible (although extremely difficult) interesting mic us age, this should be a cut ab ove your allowing you to create interesting Ninja Gaiden yet. aver age license d game. songs which you can then save. COMING Hurry Up Hedgehog! (28th March)… George of the Jungle(28th March)… Draglade (11th April)… Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution(6th June)… SOON Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness(April-June) … New International Track & Field(April-June) … SPORE (5th September)… Ghostbusters (Autumn) CONTROL WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 11 MOBILE MOBILENEWS

Speed Racer Publisher: G lu | ETA: Summer 2008 his ‘so bad it’s goo d ’ Tanimate d series is Bioshock getting a Hollywo o d Publisher: IG Fun | ETA: TBC make over courtesy ioshock surely ranks as one of the finest firs t- p erson Magnum PI of the Wachowsk i Publisher: Ojam | ETA: Spring 2008 Bshooters of re cent memory, and it should come as no Brothers (of the Matrix surprise to hear that a mobile iteration is on it s way. Given trilog y f ame), hence the esplendent in a garish Castlevania: the graphical splendour of the original, it’s unlikely that floo d of video game adaptations that have b e en announce d. RHawaiian shirt and Aria of Sorrow we’ll be se eing anything quite as breathtaking on our tiny sporting a tache that Pre dictably, a mobile version is on it s way to o, although there’s Publisher: G lu | ETA: TBC handset displays, but if the develop er takes care to pre cious little information av ailable at present. T he film has the would put Mario himself incorporate the wonderf ul plot and ambiguous moral p otential to b e jolly goo d p opcorn fo dder, so fingers are firmly to shame, Magnum PI will eading mobile develop er Glu is backdrop, then this could very easily end up being a crosse d that the interactive interpretations prove to b e worthy so on b e snooping around Lputting it s partnership with game that’s well worth waiting for. of purchase, to o. your mobile phone thanks Japanese giant Konami to goo d use to those thoughtf ul chaps with it s promising 200 8 line- up. Not at Ojam. T he TV series may only do we have Metal Gear Acid on the b e unfamiliar to all but the way, but there’s also this p ort of the most crus ty of gamers (or e xcellent Gameboy Advance title. Prison Break those with a passion for T he original feature d hours of Publisher: Vivendi | ETA: Spring 2008 old shows on cable or gameplay, bags of depth and plenty of urrently battling it out with Lost and Hero es is Prison Break, the hit US TV s atellite), but the potential bloo d -curdling action, so here’s hoping Cseries that focuses on… well, the title k ind of gives the game away, for a successf ul video game that Glu can replicate this for our mobile doesn’t it? Like Hero es b efore it, this p opular series is now getting it s own version is huge – here’s phones – Castlevania deserves so much mobile game, and develop er V ivendi Games promises that it will contain hoping they remember to more than the re cent (and thoroughly plenty of action, suspense and puzzle solving. Presumably the puzzles will include the iconic Ferrari lamentable) Castlevania: O rder of involve how to get out of locke d cells? 308 G TS... Shadows mobile game.

CONTROL WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAV I G AT E | 12 FEATURE T he arr o w s abo v e the cars giv e y ou “He ad On has a clear indica tion of the amount of damage the y’v e sustained a very strong emphasis on Appetite for g amepl a y” T he Destruction Derb y Destruction e v ents ar e huge fun FlatOut reaches the PSP, and somehow driving games will never be the same again…

hat kin d o f min ds create a Der b i es , mul tip layer party m od e an d p l aye r s to co m pe te i n t h e R a g d o ll dr i v in g gam e like FlatOut? th e bo n e-crun chin g R a g d o ll st unt st u nts , t a ki n g t u rns o n a si n g l e PSP. WCur i osi ty g ot th e better o f us , m od e. Th e grap hi cs l oo k awes o m e too! A t ra d i t i o na l Fl atOut C a ree r m od e s o we spo ke to Emp ire’s Steve Hi ckman (w i t h b uyi n g , s e lli n g a n d u pg ra d i n g abo u t th e m ost interestin g PSP dr i v in g How similar is FlatOut Head On on c a r s) is a ls o t h e re fo r p l aye r s w h o w a nt gam e we’d s een fo r qui te s o m e tim e… P SP t o FlatOut Ultimate Car nage to g e t a m o re i n-d e p t h ex pe r i e n ce o f on the Xbox 360? t h e Fl atOut u n i ve r s e. In a sen t enc e, can you descr ibe It’s similar in terms o f hav in g p retty FlatOut t o someone who ’s never mu ch all o f th e gam e m od es , We love the S tun t e ven ts, but is It’s not all off -r oad heard of it before ? env iro nm ents an d vehi cl es that yo u there any tha t you’d have lik ed t o though, as some courses Hi gh oct an e m oto r is ed anarchy, c an fin d in Ultimate Carnag e, an d in have included but simply c ouldn ’ t ? tak e place in the city boastin g th e m ost d est ru cti ve fo ur- that i t has very larg e number s o f A nd can you give us any Bugbear Is there anything else you’re w h eel ed mayh em ever s een o n PSP. d est r u ctib l e o bj ects o n every t ra ck, offic e high sc ores t o try and bea t ? cur ren tly w or king on tha t you T his is one of the It’s g ot nin e di fferent gam e m od es peer l ess p hy si cs an d very sm ooth, We a l w ay s have l oa ds o f i d ea s fo r St u nt can t ell us about ? bett er Stunt e vents – the object being (in clu din g 36 C arna g e chall en g es) , a fast grap hi cs too. e ve nts a n d te st l ots o f t h e s e to s ee We a re wo r ki n g o n a P C ve r si o n o f t o get your driver full c areer champ i o nship, Dest r u cti o n w h i c h a re t h e m o st fu n . We a re p re tty Ultim ate Ca r n a g e. A pa rt fro m t hat , a ll I thr ough as many So wha t ha s been added for ha p p y w i t h t h e 12 w e have ma na g ed c a n say is t hat t h e tea m a re ext re m e l y rings as possible the P SP version? to g e t i n t h e g a m e, t h o u g h . b usy o n ot h e r p ro j ects. H ea d On has a very st ro n g emp hasis He re a re s o m e h i g h s co re s to be o n gam ep lay that wo r ks well o n a g e tt i n g o n w i t h: han dh el d co ns o l e, s o C arna g e m od e (FlatOut’s ‘p i ck up an d p lay’ arc a d e High Jump: 173 .8m Flip the page for some chall en g e) is th e main gam e m od e fo r S t one Skipping: 1,080 poin ts exclusive tips straight th e fir st tim e. We have als o in clu d ed Ba sk etball: 5 8 poin ts Party m od e, that all ow s up to ei ght Soc c er: 3 98 poin ts from the developers!

CO 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 3 FEATURE “Fire up the Carnage mode and get the mayhem on!”

FlatOut Head On: Read the tips below for some expert advice on the best way Getting Started to tackle the High Jump Stunt Who better to give you the most authentic tips on this new PSP driving game than the developers themselves? Over to you, guys…

ime for some bone-crunching to open up the next opportunity. FlatOut action! Launch yourself Repeat this method of jostling and Tstraight into the thick of it by harassing at incredibly high speeds, firing up the Carnage mode and gaining huge air and smashing into getting the mayhem on! Start off by the scenery to obtain optimum points. selecting the Carnage mode and then Remember to brake before corners or the first Carnage race, which should powerslide around them by using the give a pretty decent taster of the handbrake, letting go of the accelerator, Hit a car right on the destruction to come. turning and then accelerating off. corner and it’ll spin uncontrollably, and straighten up the car while maintaining Things to remember: When you’ll remain in C ar na ge r a ce Taking a breather from the maximum speed and launch the turning around barrels you should ease control of your vehicle When the race starts, go full throttle to hectic race pace, we now move on character – before the launch line – off the accelerator a little bit so you gain the best air time and sector time to a stunt event… by pressing and holding the Right maintain control of the vehicle and bonus, as well as keeping up with the shoulder button. While holding the R launch the character before the launch pack. This incredible speed also allows S tun t e v en t button, the launch angle indicator in line, as it takes a second to adjust the the player to smash straight into the The first Carnage mode stunt is the the bottom left of the screen will go character’s trajectory. Nudge early and competition with much greater force. High Jump, and the aim of this one is up. Wait until the angle is around 63 do not use Aerobatics – don’t steer the While passing through checkpoints to launch the driver as high as possible degrees before letting go of the button. character – as this causes the character it’s a good idea to try and keep behind onto the net. Drive the car down the After launching, quickly hit the R to lose distance. the lead racers so that you can crush ramp as fast as possible and steer the button again to gain the best nudge them into the wall at the earliest vehicle left then right, left then right possible. The player is given three Okay, so now that you’ve had a opportunity, and if you find yourself in again past the barrels. As soon as the attempts to achieve a high score with chance to get your breath back it’s front then cheekily allow them to pass vehicle is past them, attempt to the best score counting. time for the Destruction Derby…

C O N T R O L WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAV I G AT E | 14 FEATURE C oming first is important , but “With a bomb ther e ar e man y mor e points av ailable f or spectacular crashes strapped to your back there’s no time to waste”

You w ant t o get an angle of ar ound 63 degr ees f or the FlatOut guidecontinued perf ect High Jump Dea thma tch Der by Wh e n t h e ra ce st a rts i t w i ll be a fu ll h ea d-o n c ru n c h, w i t h a ll t h e ve h i c l e s are the sides and back. Try to pick off Single ra ces Human baseball on fa c i n g ea c h ot h e r, s o yo u n eed to g a i n vehicles which are critical – these have Go ba c k o u t o f t h e C a rna g e m od e Career mode, w hich is 2 0 hours of the PSP? FlatOut a s mu c h speed a s po s si b l e a n d ra m a red arrow above them. to t h e M a i n Me nu a n d s e l ect Si n g l e n o n- s t o p ra c i ng a g a i n s t i n cr e a s i ng l y H ead On has it all yo u r ve h i c l e i nto t h e si d e o f a n ot h e r s o Eve nts , w h i c h l e ts yo u p ra ct i ce a ra ce, competitive AI play ers… t hat t h e y sust a i n m o re d a ma g e t ha n Now for a solo pursuit to recover St u nt o r De r b y o n a ll o f t h e t ra c ks a n d yo u . Us e t h e ma p i n t h e botto m-l e ft o f from the Derby annihilation… co u r s e s a g a i nst s e ve n A I p l aye r s. C ar eer mode t h e s c ree n to l oc ate t h e ot h e r c a r s , t ry T he Care er mo de compris es of over 100 a n d g e t a s mu c h o f a ru n u p a s po s si b l e Beat the Bomb It feels lik e no w is the perfect r aces split over thre e r ace c ate gories: w h i l e b u i l d i n g u p yo u r speed a n d i f With a bomb strapped to your back time for some multiplay er party D erby, Stre et and Race. Initially you’ll yo u have a ny n i t ro t h e n us e i t ! and only a few seconds on the clock, action with y our mates… only b e able to enter the D erby r aces, Loo k a ro u n d fo r p i c k-u p s a s t h e y there’s absolutely no time to waste. Go but ear n some more p oint s and you’ll a p pea r to max i m is e t h e d e st ru ct i o n . flat out from the start and try to find Party mode b e able to purchas e vehicles f rom the A n d i f yo u fli p yo u r ve h i c l e ove r t h e n the optimal driving line to pass through I n pa rty m od e yo u c a n p l ay w i t h u p to other r ace class es and change f rom yo u c a n p re s s t h e Tr ia n g l e b u tto n to as many checkpoints as possible. Each e i g ht o f yo u r fr i e n ds o n a si n g l e PSP. one r ace class to another without losing re s e t , b u t i t’s wo rt h re m e m be r i n g t hat checkpoint gives a certain amount of Fi r st s e l ect t h e pa rt i c i pa nts a n d t h e your pro gress in the other ones . yo u ’ ll l o s e po i nts fo r d o i n g t h is. additional time, so earn extra nitro by ve h i c l e s t h e y w ish to p l ay w i t h a n d smashing into scenery objects and t h e n c h oo s e t h e St u nt e ve nts t hat a re Things t o remember: Yo u c a n gaining maximum air time. to be p l ayed – yo u c a n e ve n s e l ect o n l y co ll ect o n e pow e r u p at a t i m e s o mu l t i p l e st u nts o f t h e sa m e type. Check out page 19 wo r k o u t j ust w h i c h o n e is t h e m o st Things to remember: Try not to for the full review be n e fi c ia l fo r yo u be fo re yo u g e t i t. Th e crash, as resetting your car results in a No w w hen y ou have some free m o st vu ln e ra b l e spots o n yo u r ve h i c l e huge amount of time lost. time to y ourself, tak e a hold of the of FlatOut Head On

CO N T R O L WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAV I G AT E | 15 PREVIEWS T hough the t extur e work isn ’t T he ice tracks ar en ’t as slippery as you’d brilliant, the out door locations think, and ther e ar e invisible walls featur e impr essive draw distance – pr e venting you falling in the drink HANDS ON and it all runs very smoothly indeed

Pu b l i s h e r : X plosiv D eve l o p e r : E mpire In t er activ e Off Road He r i t a g e : Fla tOut, Mashed L i n k : N/A G e tting down and dirty with this ne w race r E TA : 20th March o rd c a r s a re s o l i d , re l i a b l e c a r s. Th e re ’s ce rt a i n l y a g ood s e nsat i o n o f A n d O ff R oa d – a g a m e f eat u r i n g speed , w h i l e e ve ryt h i n g is re ma r ka b l y FFo rd c a r s (a n d La n d R ove r s , fo r sm oot h g i ve n t h e i m p re s si ve d raw PREVIEW t h e sa ke o f co m p l e te n e s s) – is a ve ry d ist a n ce – t h e s e st a g e s a re b i g , l o n g FEEDBACK! s o l i d , re l i a b l e g a m e. I t m ay n ot be t h e ra ce s , w i t h p l e nty o f o p po rt u n i t i e s to Click here to m o st spect a c u l a r ra ce r w e ’ ve p l ayed , ove rt a ke. Th is isn’ t a n F1 p roce s si o n o f tell us what b u t w e ’ ve e nj o yed o u r h a n ds-o n t i m e c a r s b y a ny st re tc h, a s A I ra ce r s reg u l a r l y T her e ar e thr ee differ ent you think of w i t h t h is p re v i e w ve r si o n . j o st l e fo r po si t i o n a n d p rov i d e a rea l It’s a pity mor e options ar en ’t instantly available Off Road off-r oad envir onments – Th o u g h t ra c k n a m e s a re a l i tt l e te st to yo u r d r i v i n g ski lls. fr om the main menu – players will have t o be Wat er, I ce and Desert, u n i nsp i red – R oc ky Fl ats , De s e rt Du n e s , Yo u have a c h o i ce o f Qu i c k R a ce, patient and unlock them in Car eer mode requires yo u to p ick up repair pods comprising 24 tracks in t otal Wi l d C a nyo n – t h e l e ve ls t h e ms e l ve s C a ree r, To u rna m e nt a n d A rc a d e m od e s. to keep yo ur vehicl e bel ow a cert ain sh o w m u c h m o re i m a g i n at i o n, w i t h Th e fir st d oe s w hat i t say s to t h e l e tte r, th e Arc a d e m enu, o nl y th e o ptio ns fo r l evel o f dama g e. p l e nty o f h u m p s , b u m p s a n d c h i c a n e s i m m ed iate l y p i c ki n g a ra n d o m t ra c k R a ce an d Tim e Att a ck are ini tiall y Tra ck d esign is g en erall y imp ressi ve to fli n g yo u r c h o s e n ve h i c l e a ro u n d . a n d ve h i c l e to s e t yo u o n yo u r w ay. I n availab l e fro m th e hu g e s el ectio n o f w i th s everal ro u tes thro u gh ea ch st a g e. di fferent events – until yo u’ve unl ocked M ost have var io us fo r ks in th e roa d, an d th em in C areer m od e, anyw ay. Th ere i t’s up to yo u to figure o u t w hich is th e Roll o ver scr een f or annota tions are twel ve types in all, w i th t ra di tio nal best ro u te. Above th e E asy di fficul ty, point- to-point ra ces join ed by th e AI o p po n ents p res ent a d ecent interestin g var iatio ns like Go l d Rush chall en g e, w hil e th e var i ety o f events an d Dama g e Co nt ro l – th e latter keeps thin gs fresh . It runs p retty well too, al th o u gh th e grap hics are slightl y “AI racers provide un d er-par – in d eed th e dusty d es ert l evels l oo k like yo u’re dr i v in g o n a sh eet a real test to your o f TV st atic . Fin g er s cross ed th e finish ed driving skills” ver sio n is a li ttl e m o re po lish ed . HGZine HOW COMPLETE? FIRST IMPRESSIONS 95% 80% Good license, but the game still needs work

CO N T R O L WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 16 PREVIEWS

HANDS ON INTO THE BLUE Chronicling Sonic’s RPG exploits

Publisher: S ega Developer: B ioware Team Heritage: B aldur’s Gate Sonic Chronicles: Bonding Link: www.sega.com/ We love the hand-drawn gamesite/sonicchronicles look of S onic Chronicles ETA: TBC Special The Dark Ability Quick Brotherhood Fight Sonic sidesteps his mid- life crisis with a game that reinvents Sega’s favourite hedgehog as an RPG hero The early stages may onic? In an RPG? While the very What Bioware has cleverly done is to bear all the c andy idea of giving Sega’s speedy re -imagine classicSonic charac ters and coloured hallmarks of mascot such an extreme makeover locations, and used them to weave an classic S onic gaming, S is enough to strike fear into the hearts of immersive adventure that quite literally but as S onic Chronicles QuickSpecialTeam BondingFight Ability progresses to its any self-respecting fan of 90’s console blends the light and the dark. Split into CombatEachIn time playable -honoured in S onic character Chronicles fashion, has takesgamers unique place have abilities in thereal-time, thatopportunit make so a it yquick topossible build use upofto thetheirtackle second act, things gaming, there’s one very t wo ac ts, the game begins in Sonic’s stchallengesown ylus team is required of and adventurers combat when handingin andunique then out ways. develop orders For to example,the as strength, many Knuckles as fourexperience adventurers. is adept and at take on a darker hue good reason to trust Sega’s world, complete with familiar areas such judgement on this one. And as the Green Hill Zone and Mystic Ruins, their edge-of-the-seat antics, Bioware Aclimbingequipment s well as and special variables gliding, combo for while eachattacks Amy as they foris a each bit progress of individual a devil through with hero, thethe team hammergame’s members t wo– ideal that reason is Bioware. before heading off into darker territory has made the most of the s tylus cfordistinctly an bashing work togetherdifferent meanies toacts. when create fighting special multi-characteras well as smashing moves. up the environment. Having risen to for a second ac t that takes place in an controller to add a real sense of spe e d prominence with PC titles alternate dimension. – even throwing in some classic loop- suggest Bioware hasn’t so much put the like Baldur’s Gate and T here’s also the opportunity to put the- loop action for goo d measure. final nail in Sonic’s coffin as given him a Neverwinter Knights, Bioware to gether a whole band of adventurers, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood shot in the arm, a spot of Botox, and has become one of the including K nuckles, Amy and Tails . may not initially seem like a natural side- even a cheeky shot of spike -reviving leading lights of the RPG While RPGs aren’t exactly renowned for step for Sonic, but all the signs so far Viagra for good measure. genre. It’s hard to imagine a safer pair of hands ensuring that Sonic’s “Bioware has made the HGZine HOW COMPLETE? FIRST IMPRESSIONS transition is smooth, and most of the stylus to add 75% 90% far from the quick cash-in a real sense of speed” it could have been. Sonic does Zelda? Count us in

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 7

INTERVIEW T her e ’ s some cle v er use of the t ouchscr een in the “The characters game – and the mic, t oo are such an H e start ed off spinning pla t es on poles and important part The Spiderwick gr e w fr om ther e … of the story” Chronicles Just how easy is it to produce a licensed game? This and many other questions answered in our second top interview this month

nother exclusive interview found in the Care and Feeding of Sprites now, as we talk to Catherine book can be found in the game, too. ADinh and Eric Heitman of r eq u i r e s a l o t o f d i s c i p l i n e o n Backbone Entertainment about Is it easier to develop a licensed t h e pa rt o f t h e t e a m i n o r d e r the development of the latest product or an original one? t o k ee p t h e f oc u s o n c a p t u r i n g t h e Are there any movie license to hit the DS… EH: There are some ways in which be st q u a l i t i e s o f t h e l i c e n s e . elements of the licensed games are more challenging game that use What can fans of the books expect to develop, as time is always an issue. Is it ea sy t o pick up and pla y the the DS’s unique Cheer up , it’ s to find in the game? That’s not unique to licensed games, game e v en if y ou ha v en ’ t heard features (touch only a game CD: Spiderwick fans can look forward but licensed game deadlines tend to of the st ory before? screen, etc.)? T her e ar e plenty of to collecting a wide variety of hidden be shorter and less flexible. E H: Th a t’ s c ertainly the in t en tion. Ju st CD: The player can choose to control ba ttles in the game fairies and trading them with their Having to meet a ship date to l ik e with a mo vie adap ta tion , a s s um ing the character using the stylus and plenty of friends via Wi-Fi. Many of the sprites coincide with a movie launch definitely that th e au di en ce alread y k n ows th e throughout the entire game. There are chances t o upgrade s tor y makes the e xp er ience wor s e, environmental items that the player y our party Y ou can pick fr om se v eral ev en f or those who do . Wh i le our goal can interact with – such as bushes and diff er ent contr ol methods with the s tor y element s w as to get rocks – to reveal sprites or items for f or y our charact er pla y ers in t o the game a s quic kly a s your inventory. Also, some sprites can w e c ould, the c h aract ers ar e s uc h an be collected by blowing into the im portan t part of The Spid er wick microphone, or even closing the DS. C h r on ic les. W e wan t ed t o m ak e s ur e th a t the ir person al ities came th r ough EH: Sprites can be traded wirelessly to in the game , and th a t the adv en tur e complete sets and unlock optional th ey g o o n is comp ellin g, even bonus abilities (i.e. trading to get all of without prior k nowle dge of the the Skate Sprites will speed up your b o ok s or movie. characters in the main game).

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HGZine THE FALL GUY FlatOut Head On ThreeT hre e oof f the b est stuntstunts s in the game H u m a n b a s e b a l l ? W h a t m a d n e s s i s t h i s? t’s hard to know where to start Here you begin by with a game like FlatOut Head On. purchasing a car I A reviewer far lazier than myself before entering a P u b l i s h e r : E mpir e would probably sum it up by saying career-style mode D e v e l o p e r : Bugbear that it’s like Burnout on off-road courses. that rewards your H e r i t a g e : Sega Rall y, And, while that statement is true to driving prowess with F la tOut some extent, there’s more than enough cold, hard cash. Every collision is rewarded L i n k : www.fla t out depth and quality to FlatOut to make Bored of that? with an explosion of game .c om you want to investigate further. Then why not enter graphical excess OUT NOW the single events, You’re telling us – Head-on collision where you can take look at the state REVIEW Need proof? Thankfully, that’s easy. part in a Destruction of your car… High Jump Ring of Fire Baseball FEEDBACK! The variety starts off on the title screen, Derby or a range of 12 Click here to tell when you’re given the choice of stunt events that see the us what you Carnage mode, FlatOut mode, the driver catapulted through think of FlatOut chance to participate in a single event the windscreen in a series Head On or one of the multiplayer options. It’s of bizarre Track & Field HighBaseballRing ofJump Fire baffling at the start, but it soon makes style events. AsStartIf you straightforward off suspect b y launching tha t hurlingas ityour sounds, ahuman virtual except out human of that the out you’re car of and a catapulting car then isn’t aim bad him a enough, ‘ragdoll’ t o w ar ds “The graphics engine thethen c enyou tr emay of the well tar curl get the on thec orners enormous of your baseball mouth in ba a t deheading vilish grin t o w o ar ver ds youthis . sense, as Carnage mode is made up of It’s common for novelty human out through a car windscreen and up through the air to stick on a thunders along at an massiveTone he .closer T he vertical object you get her net. t e o isWe’rethe t o csee en sure tr ho e wofthat manthe this tar y rings get,violates theyou furthersomecan lob basic youryour law humanperson of human ‘ball’ individual events (and perfect for the features to be put into a game to make impressive pace” rights,isthr ba ough. tt ed but outAnd, we of nacan’t the turally, park.figure the You out y’ve need which been t o one. avoid set alighActually, the t. glo Psychological vesit’s dottprobably ed ar r eports oundall of thethem. on PSP’s short and sharp style of play), up for shortcomings in other areas, but playingF latOut’s ar de ea, velopers and you ar get e , appar bonus en poin tly, tspending… if you manage t o sc or e a ‘home run’. Turbo boost into while FlatOut mode is more in-depth. we’re happy to say that Head On is very another car and you get a Power Hit bonus well done throughout. The graphics e n g i n e t h u n d e r s a l o n g a t a n i m p r e s s i v e pa c e a n d t h e g e n e ra l s h i n e a n d po l i s h Hit something with a bit of i s e v i d e n t i n e v e ry s i n g l e c o rn e r o f t h e force and you can really make g a m e ’s m a s s i v e ra n g e o f o p t i o n s a n d This is classic PSP racing a mess of the opposition g a m e m od e s o n o ff e r. HGZine and huge amount s of F l a tOu t H e a d On t i c ks a l l t h e u s u a l d r i v i n g g a m e bo x e s a n d a d d s a f e w Verdictfun, too m o r e t h a t y o u w o u l d n ’ t ex pect. I f Tons of game mo des y o u ’r e l oo ki n g f o r a h a r d c o r e ra c e r t h a t d oe s n ’ t t a k e i ts e l f t oo s e r i o u s l y, t h e n Sup er f as t and smo oth t h i s i s a bo u t a s g ood a s i t g e ts. Endless gamep lay Dean Mort loc k 9 CO 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 | 2 0 REVIEWS

Bosses are large and HGZine strong, but all have a God of War: clearly defined weak spot Chains of Olympus A t r u e g o d a m o n g s t g a m e s This is Kratos. Mess My money’s on P u b l i s h e r : Son y with him at your peril the little guy… D e v e l o p e r : Read y a t e don’t dish out 10 scores to but, miraculously, the developers have D a wn S tudios reviews very often, so does done all that we could have hoped for, H e r i t a g e : D axt er W that mean that God of War: and, quite possibly, a bit more, too. L i n k : www .us .pla ysta tion. Chains of Olympus is the perfect game? c om/godofw ar_ In a word, yes. Obviously there’s a small Heavenly beauty chainsofol ympus minority of gamers who simply don’t The first thing that impresses with this ET A: L a t e Mar ch get their portable gaming kicks from game are the graphics, as if there’s “God of War is a game third-person action games, but for the been any corners cut in the graphics that’s impossible not majority of us, it’s pure gaming gold engine then they’re impossible to spot. t h e l a t e r o n e s. Or b s a r e c o l l ect a b l e b y REVIEW and faultless in every respect. The massive levels feature an incredible ki l l i n g e n e m i e s a n d o pe n i n g c h e sts , to worship” FEEDBACK! Kratos is the muscular hero of the amount of detail, and the lighting a n d t h e s e a d d u p t o e a rn y o u n e w Click here to tell previous two God of War games on the effects are simply stunning. m o v e s , c o m bo s a n d g r e a t e r po w e r i n us what you PS2. Games which were universally But there’s also plenty of brain in y o u r m a g i c a l a tt a c ks. think of God revered for their intelligent combat this beauty though, as the gameplay is A n d w e h a v e n ’ t e v e n st a rt ed t a l ki n g of War: Chains system, stunning graphics and screen- perfectly weighted to lead you gently a bo u t t h e bo s s e s. S o m e c o m p l e t e l y fi l l of Olympus sized bosses. Squeezing all that down through the early stages and then t h e s c r ee n a n d n eed a d e fi n i t e r o u t i n e Your weapon has a to a PSP was never going to be easy ruthlessly punish any complacency in t o d e st r o y . Be st o f a l l , w h e n t h e i r long range, so you can easily use this e n e r gy l e v e l i s c l o s e t o z e r o , a b u tt o n to your advantage i n d i c a t o r w i l l fl a s h u p , i n f o rm i n g y o u A HISTORY t h a t y o u ’ r e t h e n a b l e t o fi n i s h t h e m o ff w i t h a d e va st a t i n g ki l l e r m o v e . I f t h e r e ’ s a b e t t e r g a m e OF VIOLENCE S o y e s , C h a i n s o f O l y m p u s i s p e rf e ct . HGZ ine Kratos’ back story is a blo ody one o n P S P t h e n w e ’ v e y e t t o T h e l o a d i n g t i m e s a r e n o n -e x i s t e n t , t h e s e e i t . B u y i t n o w We don’t have the space to go into Krato’s full backstory here, but we c o n t r o l m e t h o d h a s b e e n i n t e l l i g e n t l y Ve r d i c t can summarise it by telling you that Kratos has pledged himself to p o rt e d o v e r f r o m t h e P S 2 a n d i t ’ s G r a p h i c a l l y o u t s t a n d i n g the Gods of Olympus and, in Chains of Olympus, he has to journey g u a r a n t e e d t o t a k e y o u m o r e t h a n a f e w through 10 years of servitude. This means he gets to wander through h o u r s t o fi n i s h i t . S i m p l y p u t , t h i s i s a W o n d e r f u l l y b a l a n c e d c o m b a t unexplainable locations, killing ridiculously large monsters. Nice. g a m e t h a t ’ s i m p o s s i b l e n o t t o w o r s h i p . H o u r s o f g a m e p l a y Dean Mort loc k 10 C O N T R O L WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 21 REVIEWS The Spiderwick Chronicles Fog c an be cleared by blowing into M agic al sprites c an help in a range of Publisher: Vivendi Get taken away with the faeries… the DS microphone and of ten ways. There are Healing S prites to heal Developer: Stormfront reveals hidden sprites to collec t your charac ters and Lifter S prites, which Studios f you ever need a reason not to go turn-based way similar to the sort of move large objec ts out of your path Heritage: Eragon, The Lord poking around in creepy attics, then RPG -lite system in the DS gameMario & of the R ings: The Two Towers Iforget what your parents told you Luigi: Par tners in Time. If you bump into Link: www.spiderwick about falling through the ceiling and an enemy while exploring, the children game.com learn from the mistakes of the children in take turns to attack it – or them, as there O U T N O W this game. For while poking about in the are often three or more enemies to fight attic of their new house (think creepy old at a time. Each has strengths and mansion and not Barratt Homes) they weaknesses – so, for instance, Simon REVIEW discover a ‘field guide to faeries’ written isn’t very strong but is good at using FEEDBACK! by the house’s previous owner Arthur magic – and all sorts of items, magical Click here to Spiderwick, and end up being deluged sprites and shields found throughout tell us what by all sorts of bad goblins, ogres and the game can be used by them in turn. you think of pixies wanting it back. The Spiderwick Based on the book and film of the Neat and tidy Chronicles same name, The Spiderwick Chronicles It’s a neat s ys tem, made all the b etter gives you control of the three children for using interactive s tylus movement s that feature in them – Jared, Simon and that determine the effe ctiveness of “The Spiderwick Mallory. The game contains two simple your attacks . And although it’s clearly Chronicles packs a lot in Fights offer lots of options. elements (exploring aimed at younger gamers so isn’t to o For instance, you c an move and battling), and the challenging, there’s surprising depth to for a children’s game” charac ters to the back row latter is dealt with in a fight s . T he visuals in the game are basic if they’re low on health and cut corners but the control s ys tem is very intuitive, using a similar one to NO GHOSTS BUT Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and the music is suitably atmospheric, to o. A good film translation LOTS OF GOBLINS Trudging about the forest alternately HGZine And boggarts, pixies and trolls, too that will please young foraging through bushes then fighting fans no end At the start of the game your enemies are no more powerful than boggarts, trolls might get a bit repetitive, but Verdict which are easily won over by handing them some honey, but they get bigger and overall, The Spiderwick Chronicles packs Clever combat and system stronger. Fortunately, winning goblin teeth from battles lets you buy new skills, a lot in for a children’s game. It ’s simple while you can regularly level up each character too, giving them extra health, but s till smart and that makes it a rare Lots of magical exploring magical skills and power. treat among games of it s ty p e. Battles get a bit repetitive Ka th Brice 8 CONTROL N A V I G A T E | 2 2 REVIEWS Asterix at the Olympics P u b l i s h e r : A tari S ty l u s e s a t t h e r e a d y – t h i s F r e n c h m a n ’ s g o t s o m e G a u l t ry i n g t o t a k e o n M a r i o a n d S o n i c … D e v e l o p e r : Smack do wn A t first the events P r oductions amous as he undoubtedly is, ar e easy and French comic book hero Asterix In the comic books, Ast erix can H e r i t a g e : N/A drink potions t o give him super you’ll zoom doesn’t have the same pulling L i n k : www .a tari. F powers. H e can ’t in this game Roll over screen for annotations thr ough the first c om/ast erix power as videogame legends Mario though, as he wouldn ’t pass few stages, but OUT NOW and Sonic. But despite its lack of blue the drug t ests… they soon get spikes and plumbing skills, Asterix at much t ougher the Olympics is still a fine take on the REVIEW ultimate sporting event. FEEDBACK! In days of old it was written by the Click here to tell gaming gods that any sports game us what you with even the slightest hint of track and think of Asterix field events in it had to be controlled at the Olympics by a frantic bashing of the buttons. Many joypads and keyboards were wrecked in the name of trying to set a new world record. These days though it’s the touchscreen that gets a workout. So, to run faster you have to For every event you successfully quickly move the stylus from left to “To run faster you have finish you’ll earn cash t o spend on to quickly move the right on the touchscreen, or to spin on new it ems that will boost your the high bars you have pump your charact er and help you set r ecor ds stylus from left to right” stylus in a circular motion. The Asterix at the Olympics concept Each event requires a new screen- be tt e r y o u r c h a n c e s t o t a k e g o l d . A n d started out as a comic book and has rubbing skill, and although setting i t’ s t h e p r og r e s s i o n a n d c h a l l e n g e t o since been made into a film, and as records and progressing through the i m p r o v e t h a t m a k e s t h i s g a m e s o T h i s s t y l u s - s w i p i n g such there are several events that you events is dead simple at first, they soon a d d i ct i v e . J u st l i k e t h e r e a l Ol ym p i cs , HGZ ine a c t i o n d e s e r v e s a p l a c e won’t find anywhere near this year’s get tricky. Fortunately, the better you t h e r e ’ s a l w a y s a n e w e v e n t t o m a st e r , a real Olympiad in Beijing. Events range do, the more cash you’ll earn (who said r ec o r d t o b r e a k o r a t i m e t o be a t. I t’ s Ve r d i c t o n t h e p o d i u m from the plain old 100m sprint, to the the Olympics was for amateurs only?) n o t q u i t e M a r i o a n d S o n i c, b u t o n c e S t a c k s o f e v e n t s slightly different take on a modern and you can spend this in the shop. On y o u ’ v e st a rt ed o n y o u r styl u s -d r i v e n event, such as the menhir (big stone) sale are stacks of different bonus items r i s e t o g r e a t n e s s , y o u w o n ’ t w a n t t o A d d i c t i v e l e a r n i n g c u r v e tossing, to the plain odd – such as hula to help you run, jump and throw faster, st o p u n t i l g o l d i s y o u r s. T h e v i s u a l s n e e d m o r e p o l i s h hoop twirling, yo-yo or the sack race. and the better the items you buy, the Da v e P er r ett 8 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 | 2 3 REVIEWS

“Curious Village is ARE YOU ALL easily one of the best PUZZLED OUT? games on the DS” There are testing times Professor Layton ahead for you then… Besides the main puzzles in the game, you can unlock further tests by collecting P u b l i s h e r : Nin t endo painting scraps, tiny gizmos and items for D e v e l o p e r : L ev el 5 Layton’s and Luke’s rooms – it pays to check H e r i t a g e : Jeanne D’ A r c , every nook and cranny. Once you’ve seen Rogue Galaxy and the Curious Villageeverything the game has to offer, you can L i n k : www .pr ofessor H a m l e t t h e b r a i n even download new puzzles each week via la yt onds .c om Wi-Fi. Marvellous. ET A: A pril ake one look at Professor Layton, and you could be forgiven for T thinking it was an old-school adventure game – a bit like the point- and-clicks of yore, but with more of a HGZine puzzle-based bent. And you’d actually Certain tasks allow be completely wrong, as it’s basically a you to use your stylus series of short brainteasers with a story as a pen, scribbling linking everything together. Not that your workings-out these mindbenders have anything to on the touchscreen do with the plot – occasionally linked in the most tenuous manner, the vast There’s already a second Layton majority have no association with the game out in Japan, which was story whatsoever. Thus, when a even more successful than the Some of the puzzles may be character shockingly vanishes, the first best-selling original variants on old favourites, person you come to will yell something but the vast majority feel like “Oh no! But more importantly, can there’s kidnap, murder, intrigue and fresh and interesting you solve this puzzle for me?” plenty of comedy – and a cast of If all this sounds a wee bit rubbish, memorable characters which are o u t t h e r i g h t s o l u t i o n w i t h o u t h e l p i s then you’ve been fooled once more, drawn in a beautiful cartoon style. The i n c r ed i b l y sa t i sfyi n g . A n d t h e g a m e because Curious Village is easily one of few cut-scenes are nicely done, and sa v e s a r g u a b l y i ts be st t r i c k f o r t h e e n d , A c e r e b r a l d e l i g h t w i t h a REVIEW the best games on the DS. The puzzles while the dodgy English accent of w h e r e s u d d e n l y t h e i n a p p r o p r i a t e n e s s FEEDBACK! HGZ ine m a g i c a l s t o r y – a n o t h e r are often masterfully constructed, Layton’s young sidekick Luke has a faint o f a l l t h e s e q u e st i o n s s u d d e n l y m a k e s Click here to teasing you towards answers before whiff of Mary Poppins, it all adds to the g l o r i o u s s e n s e . I t’ s a d e l i g h tfu l t o u c h i n Ve r d i c t D S t r e a s u r e tell us what pulling the rug from under you, with charm, particularly contrasted with the a g a m e fu l l o f t h e m , w i t h t i n y l i tt l e F a n t a s t i c p r e s e n t a t i o n you think of some lateral thinking frequently likeable Prof’s plummy tones. r e w a r d s s p r e a d t h r o u g h o u t i ts 1 3 0-p l u s Professor required. And the story is utterly Solving puzzles might occasionally r i d d l e s a n d a b r eezy , a m i a b l e a i r t h a t L a u g h - o u t - l o u d f u n n y Layton and the charming. Centring on a strange be a bit too easy, thanks to the y o u j u st m i g h t fa l l i n l o v e w i t h . Curious Village W o n d e r f u l p u z z l e s European hamlet named St. Mystere, abundance of hint coins, but figuring C h r is S c h illin g 9 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 | 2 4 REVIEWS MAKING HIS DEUTSCHMARK Putting the pro in prosecutor Sticking to tradition, Capcom have crafted a prosecutor who’s Apollo Justice: arguably more interesting than the game’s protagonist. Though he doesn’t quite rival the uber-cool Godot, German rockstar-cum-lawyer P u b l i s h e r : C apc om Klavier Gavin is so hip it hurts. His signature animation sees him play D e v e l o p e r : C apc om a riff on an air guitar as he challenges Apollo from the prosecution H e r i t a g e : A c e A tt orney box. Silly? Perhaps, but you won’t be able to stop smiling… series , Residen t E vil series Ace Attorney L i n k : www .ac e- a tt orney .c om T a k e t h a t! N e w l a wy e r fi l l s P h oe n i x’ s b o o t s a d m i r a b l y The supporting cast are the ET A: 11th A pril usual motley crew of weirdos. t was a brave decision for Capcom various contradictions. The admittedly Gangster’s son Wocky Kitaki is the to say ‘sayonara’ to Phoenix Wright slightly silly Psyche-Lock idea from accused in the game’s second case I and introduce a fresh-faced new earlier games has been abandoned lawyer into the fold for the fourth game for a new system where Apollo can HGZine in the Ace Attorney series. It’s a move ‘perceive’ when a witness is lying. that’s paid off handsomely, as Apollo While it’s underused a little, it’s Justice somehow manages to live up to definitely an improvement, and the brilliance of the previous games, spotting tiny giveaway animations in despite its unfamiliar hero. close-up is a spine-tingling thrill. REVIEW Apollo himself struggles at times to FEEDBACK! emerge from the shadow of Phoenix, Apollo landing Click here to tell but that’s partly down to the fondness It almost goes without saying that the people have for the earlier Ace Attorney stories are the most important things, us what you Magician Trucy is an able Character models and think of Apollo himself, not to mention Capcom’s and Apollo gets off to a great start with refusal to completely abandon all ties the best opening case of the series to substitute for the lovely animations are slightly Justice: Ace sharper, while cut-scenes with the earlier games here. One story date. Despite anti-climactic finishes, Maya Fey – and she has a Attorney surprising connection to and 3D crime scenes arc will definitely have a greater the second and third stages are both “There’s a new more than one character… improve the presentation significance to series fans, and there’s a hugely entertaining. It’s the last case system where Apollo drip feed of info tidbits throughout the that puts this up alongside Trials and can ‘perceive when a four cases until several big revelations Tribulations, though – an epic closer J u s t i c e i s s e r v e d – witness is lying” in the concluding turnabout. with too many twists to count. HGZ ine C a p c o m p u l l o ff a n o t h e r The mechanics haven’t changed Dialogue is – as always – tremendously too much either – it’s still a case of witty, with pop culture references even a ft e r a w h i l e y o u r e a l i s e h o w m u c h Ve r d i c t D S c l a s s i c investigating crime scenes, more frequent than before. t h e y c o m b i n e t o a d d t o t h e ex pe r i e n c e . ‘ P e r c e i v e ’ w o r k s b r i l l i a n t l y interviewing witnesses and significant Though the DS-specific additions – A c e A tt o r n ey g a m e s h a v e a l w a y s bee n a others, before your day in court where fingerprinting, footprint moulds and j o y t o ex pe r i e n c e , b u t n o w t h e y p l a y T e r r i fi c c h a r a c t e r s a n d c a s e s you need to press testimonies or the ability to view items in 3D – don’t be tt e r t h a n e v e r . Gl o r i o u s. S o m e t u r n a b o u t s a r e t o o s h o r t present evidence to sort out the immediately strike you as important, C h r is S c h illin g 9 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 | 2 5 REVIEWS SLEIGHT OF HAND Our pick of the tricks The clear and friendly illustrations ensure Magic Made Funthat learning all the tricks is child’s play Mystic P u b l i s h e r : Nin t endo P e n e t r a t e t h e M a g i c C i r c l e w i t h t h i s s p e l l-b i n d i n g p a c k a g e Hand D e v e l o p e r : T en y o sually we’d worry H e r i t a g e : N/A This mystifying mutt can even L i n k : www . about anything sniff out an object chosen by a Two mast er ofillusion.net U carrying the title ‘… spectator from their pocket Candles ET A: Out no w (US) Made Fun’ – it implies that whatever it is can’t be inherently entertaining, like REVIEW Finger ‘Knitting Made Fun’ or Yoga FEEDBACK! ‘Sewage Treatment Made Click here to tell Fun’. But put all your us what you concerns aside, as this is think of Magic a corker. While having a Made Fun suite of magic tricks inside your DS stretches the definition of ‘game’ a little Some of the far, this has to be one of mathematical One of the only the most innovative titles puzzles have less downsides to the on the format and an entertaining way impact, though MysticTwoFinger Candles YogaHand game is that “Your DS can become of bamboozling your friends for hours can still be baffling your very own pocket MysticOneThis ofis aHandthe mystifying simplest is a clever solobut and mosttrick very thateffective startling could tricks. fool example members A red ofand an of blue animation the candleMagic trick.Circle.can be First everything has to be – or until they demand the secrets. youseenFive mustfinger burning, ask poses your and are spectatorif adisplayed spectator to ondraw blows the a DShand.at screenthe OnceDS andthen they’ve you they select completedboth just go out. one their of meticulously unlocked There are three modes: with predicting and revealing cards in David Blaine” workHowever,them. of Without art, when three any you gems kind relight willof fishing the appear candles or in voice the you topinput, ask screen the the spectator representingDS will predict to merely Wealth, exactly point Solo Magic, Magic Show startling ways (a pack of trick cards is Loveatwhich a candle or finger a Dream. without pose As you sayingsoon are as adopting… which they say one which or every touching one time. they the What’s desire screen. the the When secret? hand they moves Sorry, andblowbut wegrabs again, are the sworn only correct the to the candle gem. Tenyo they magician’s are pointing oath. at gets extinguished. and Magic Training. Solo supplied), the DS will also read the t h e v e ry c a r d t h e y s e l ect ed . I t a l l serves up a number of mind of a spectator, respond to voice s o u n d s i m po s s i b l e b u t w i t h c l e v e r clever tricks to try on input and even perform spooky and s i g n a l l i n g , y o u r D S bec o m e s y o u r v e ry yourself, Magic Show allows surprising animations. o w n poc k e t D a v i d B l a i n e . C h a r m i n g , s o p h i s t i c a t e d you to perform feats on Imagine getting a friend to draw a S u r e , t h e r e a r e o n e o r tw o d u ff e r s HGZ ine a n d h e a r t - w a r m i n g – others and Magic Training is face on the touchscreen then asking b u t t h e st r o n g o n e s m o r e t h a n a curious mix of cute card them to place an object above, below c o m pe n sa t e . I f y o u h a t e m a g i c t h e n Ve r d i c t a n o t h e r D S g e m games and skill-based tests. or to the side of the DS – the eyes will t h i s w o n ’ t c h a n g e a t h i n g , b u t a n y o n e S p o o k y a n i m a t i o n s Developed by magic then animate and look right at the w h o a p p r ec i a t e s a b i t o f w o n d e rm e n t specialists Tenyo, this object! Or asking them to choose a w i l l l o v e M a g i c M a d e F u n’ s c l e v e r fu s i o n G r e a t v a r i e t y package is surprisingly card (without showing you) and the o f t ec h n o l ogy a n d p sy c h o l ogy . S o m e o b v i o u s t r i c k s varied and strong. Along face on the DS comes to life and names Mar k W alban k 8 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 | 2 6 REVIEWS “Patapon is one of the most original games you’ll REVIEW ROUND -UP ever see on your PSP” D r a g o n e e r’s A r i a R i v i e r a : T h e MX vs AT V Untamed Recommended I n f o r m a t i o n : K oei | E T A : Out no w P u b l i s h e r : THQ | R e l e a s e d a t e : Out no w r a g o n e e r’ s A r i a i s t h e l a t e st i n a l o n g l i n e o f P r o m i s e d L a n d l l t h e fu n , t h r i l l s a n d s p i l l s o f m o t oc r o s s ra c i n g , PSP Releases Dd ra g o n g a m e s t h a t c o m p l e t e l y fa i l t o d o P u b l i s h e r : 505 Games | E T A : 28th Mar ch Ab u t w i t h o u t t h e m u d dy pa n ts a n d t h e s o r e Recent stuff you should try j u st i c e t o t h e m a j e sty o f t h e m yt h i c a l fi r e- s a r e m a k e o f a tw o- y e a r -o l d G B A g a m e , ba c ks i d e . Th a t’ s w h a t M X V s A TV U n t a m e d p r o m i s e s , Patapon (Sony) b r e a t h e r s , t h i s t i m e w i t h a n R P G t h a t’ s s o f o rm u l a i c AR i v i e r a d oe s n ’ t r e a l l y d o e n o u g h d i ff e r e n t t o b u t u n f o rt u n a t e l y d oe s n ’ t q u i t e d e l i v e r t o a a n d s o t ra d i t i o n a l t h a t w e t h o u g h t t h e U M D h a d w oo t h o s e w h o p l a y ed t h r o u g h t h e o r i g i n a l . As a sa t i sfyi n g d eg r ee . I t’ s a s o l i d ra c e r , w i t h s e v e ra l Weird, wonderful rhythm-action d i s ru p t ed t h e s pa c e- t i m e c o n t i n u u m a n d t a k e n u s g a m e i n i ts o w n r i g h t t h o u g h , i t’ s t e rr i fi c . I t h a s a d i ff e r e n t e v e n t type s – ra n g i n g fr o m ba s i c ra c e s t o strategy that’s one of the most ba c k t o t h e N i n e t i e s. I t l oo ks n i c e e n o u g h , a n d t h e t r e m e n d o u s st o ry , l o v e a b l e c h a ra ct e r s a n d s o m e st u n t c h a l l e n g e s – b u t n o n e o f t h e s e r e a l l y l i v e u p original games on PSP. s o u n d t ra c k i s p r e tty ex c e l l e n t , b u t bo y i s i t a g r i n d . l u s c i o u s v i s u a l s t h a t s i m u l t a n eo u s l y pa y h o m a g e t o t h e c raz i n e s s t h a t’ s s u g g e st ed b y t h e ‘ o ff t h e E v e n i n t h e g a m e ’ s fi r st c o u p l e o f d u n g eo n s y o u ’ l l t o t h e G B A t i t l e a n d f o r g e a n i d e n t i ty o f t h e i r o w n . h oo k’ n a m e . I n i ts fa v o u r t h o u g h , i t o ff e r s s o m e Medal Of Honor g e t e n e m i e s t h a t r e m o v e h a l f y o u r e n e r gy i n o n e A w o n d e rfu l s o u n d t ra c k, s o m e d ec e n t v o i c e i m p r e s s i v e l y l a r g e e n v i r o n m e n ts , w h i c h ru n w e l l h i t , s o t h e o n l y w a y t o p r og r e s s i s t o r e pe a t ba tt l e s a ct i n g a n d a r i p p i n g ya r n s u rr o u n d t h e e n j o ya b l y o n t h e w h o l e , a n d t h e g a m e ’ s g u i t a r -h e a vy Heroes 2 (EA) o v e r a n d o v e r u n t i l y o u ’ r e po w e rfu l e n o u g h t o t a k e st ra t eg i c c o m ba t t h a t m a k e s u p t h e b u l k o f t h e s o u n d t ra c k i s a l s o p ra i s e w o rt h y . Tremendous handheld FPS, with o u t t h e bo s s e s i n tw o o r t h r ee t u rn s. g a m e p l a y . Th i s P r o m i s e d L a n d i s n ’ t q u i t e t h e Th e d i ffi c u l ty i n g e n e ra l c a n be fa i r l y e rra t i c , tons of Nazi-shooting action and an I t’ s t ee t h-g r i n d i n g l y s l o w , t oo . I f y o u ’ r e a ft e r g a m i n g n i rva n a i ts n a m e w o u l d s u g g e st , b u t w i t h t h e F l a g C h a l l e n g e s f o r ex a m p l e p r o v i n g amazing online multiplayer mode. a n o t h e r R P G a n d y o u ’ v e s o m e h o w ex h a u st ed t h e t h e r e ’ s a l o t t o l o v e h e r e , n o t l e a st a n i n t r i g u i n g m u c h h a r d e r t h a n t h e Ti m e A tt a c ks. Th e r e a r e P S P’ s a l r e a dy p l e n t i fu l s u p p l y , t h e n t h i s m i g h t j u st d a t i n g e l e m e n t w h i c h a l l o w s t h e p r o t a g o n i st t o be tt e r ra c e r s o n P S P, b u t f e w a r e q u i t e t h i s d i rty . I f Silent Hill Origins (Konami) be w o rt h w h i l e . Ot h e rw i s e , a v o i d . t a k e h i s p i c k fr o m a n a rra y o f f e m a l e s i d e ki c ks. o ff - r o a d i n g ’ s y o u r t h i n g , t h e n g o n u t s w i t h U n t a m e d. Turn the lights down, plug your headphones in and prepare to be scared by this chilling horror.

W e l l , t h e m u s i c i s t e r r i fi c B e a u t i f u l a u d i o v i s u a l p r e s e n t a t i o n D e c e n t g r a p h i c s a n d s o u n d U n f o r t u n a t e l y i t’ s w a y t o o t o u g h f o r m o s t A d d i c t i v e b a t t l i n g P l e n t y o f e v e n t s t o p l a y t h r o u g h L a n g u i d p a c i n g T o o s i m i l a r t o t h e o r i g i n a l N o o n l i n e m u l t i p l a y e r t h o u g h A r i a o f s o r r o w 5 N o t h i n g w r o n g w i t h a b i t o f b u m p a n d g r i n d 7 W i l d a t h e a r t , b u t n o t i n e x e c u t i o n 6

C O N T R O L WWW.GAMERZINES.COM NAVIGATE | 27 REVIEWS “Advance Wars: Dark Conflict is a slice of REVIEW ROUND-UP portable strategy heaven” Final Fantasy Ratatouille: Miami Nights: FIFA Street 3 Recommended Publisher: EA Sports | ETA: O ut now Crystal Food Frenzy Singles in he return of the game that’s DS Releases Chronicles: Information: THQ | ETA: O ut now the City Tmore like basketball than the Recent unmissable goodies o o d Frenzy is made up of a series sp ort it suppose dly represent s . FIFA Publisher: Ubisof t | ETA: O ut now Ring of Fates Fof mini -games that r ange f rom Street is s adly dis appointing, from Advance Wars: Publisher: S quare-Enix | ETA: 14th March chuck ing sp onges at snails in a iami Nights re creates a lifestyle the rough character mo dels to the Dark Conflict (Nintendo) k itchen to flipping fish b etwe en Mthat’s utterly vacuous, but this delay b etwe en controller input and A slice of portable strategy heaven. ing of Fates is a dungeon-based pans and eventually onto plates lite Sims clone is mo derately f un – in player action. You can choose f rom Be warned though, as it’s evening- Rhack and slash which sees you once they’re co oke d. To take these very small doses, though. T he only touchscre en or button controls, but eatingly addictive. collec ting treasure, bashing monsters two e xamples as cases in point, the way to get anywhere is to fo cus on b oth are e qually flawe d, while at and solving puzzles – none of these former biz arrely s tops halfway your app earance, chat about trivial times it’s near- imp ossible to score are done spec tacularly, but all are through and asks you to do the topics, and act in a morally dubious thanks to your hop eless AI team- Bleach: The solid and combine to produce some s ame laborious task again, while the manner. T he occasional pervy mates, who se em to b e playing a Blade of Fate (Sega) thoroughly enjoyable gameplay. latter’s touchscre en controls jus t moment s fe el out of place though, different game where the object is One of the best handheld scrappers It ’s not the longest single -player plainly do not f unction prop erly. while it s characters are even more to avoid the ball alto gether. around – this 2D beauty from experience but it ’s the multiplayer Sadly, the presentation could dis turbing, resembling polygonate d Chaining tricks eventually gets Treasure will last you ages. game that will have you coming back b e considerably b etter, to o. Quite serial killers with weird, staring eyes you a Gamebreaker, where you have for more, as you hijack loot from simply, it all fe els like a p o or spin-off and rictus grins . If the basic game to tap the scre en when commands under your mates’ noses, or hoist a r ather than a worthy addition to the engine was well done then we’d b e p op up in order to grab a certain Mario & Sonic rival above your head to prevent Ratatouille game library and really happier about re commending it, but goal – except the CPU counters it at the Olympic them collec ting precious gems. should b e avoided at all cost s . it all fe els rushed and half-finished. nearly every time. Stick to FIFA or PES. Games (Sega) Clapping to warm up the crowd is just one of the many genius touches in this pocket- sized DS sportathon. Fantastic graphics and soundtrack Er, well there’s a nice style to the graphics The occasional flash of inspiration The music’s not bad Multiplayer is a hoot Dull mini-games Dubious morals The controls could be better Players disappear behind scenery Weak presentation and controls Poor graphics Slow and unresponsive What a gem 8 A culinary mistake 4 Not a good look 4 A good idea badly executed 4

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 8 REVIEWS M o b i l e B a t t l e s : R e i g n o f MOBILEREVIEWS H GZ in e All the latest from the world of mobile phone gaming S w o r d s Publisher: Punch Entertainment he connectivity aspect To w e r B l o x x Tof mobile phone handsets is something that the games D e l u x e developers have been Publisher: Digital Chocolate traditionally reluctant to he original Tower Bloxx investigate, but Mobile Battles: Toffered addictive gameplay Reign of Swords proves once that was perfectly suited to To m b R a i d e r and for all that it is certainly an S . T.A . L . K . E . R : mobile play. Now Digital area worth exploring. Playing Chocolate has updated the A n n i v e r s a ry like a medieval version of S h a d o w o f concept with this Deluxe Publisher: Eidos Nintendo’s popular Advance R E C O M M E N D E D version. The graphics have ara Croft is a videogame Wars series, this strategy title F our mobile games C h e r n o b y l y ou m us t o w n been given a facelift but little Licon that surely needs no showcases a pleasing visual Publisher: Nomoc else is altered, and this is no introduction by now, and hook, plenty of depth and a oosely based on the P a n g R e t u r n s bad thing when you’re talking merely placing her in a mobile wonderfully robust multiplayer Devil May Cr y: Dante’sL critically acclaimed PC Publisher: TopGam about one of the best game is likely to cause it to sell mode. Rarely are games of this Awakening 3D game of the same name, he latest arcade classic to mobile games of the by the bucket load. Sadly, as type so comprehensive and ( C apc om) S.T.A.L.K.E.R. sees you infiltrating Treceive a mobile update, past few years. this latest instalment so fully formed. H a c k a n d s l a s h the radioactive wasteland of perfectly proves, that often m a yh e m t h a t’ s w e l l Chernobyl and facing off Pang is thoroughly enjoyable H GZ in e retro fun. The idea is to clear means the actual gameplay w o rt h dy i n g f o r . against all manner of mutated the screen of bubbles by suffers. While Anniversary does nasties. As you might expect, harpooning them. Doing so a commendable job of A m p e d some corners have been cut causes larger bubbles to divide replicating Miss Croft’s diverse (Pla y er One Sports) in order to scale down the PC into smaller ones until they range of movements in a 2D P e rf ect s n o w boa r d i n g experience for the mobile eventually disappear. The format, the lacklustre level a ct i o n f o r y o u r m o b i l e . version – the game is in 3D but concept is basic but it’s bags of design and unforgiving you have little in the way of fun. While it could be argued difficulty level ironically S u p e r Co l l a p s e freedom. Sadly this impacts on that a little more innovation prevent her from scaling the (RealA r c ade) the gameplay and things get would have helped, Pang heights she’s previously been M o r e c l a s sy po rt a b l e boring quickly, regardless of Returns remains a solid title. famous for. p u zz l e a ct i o n . how pretty it looks. Addictive fun Lovely graphics Pleasing control Attractive visuals B o b b y C a r r o t 5 : Stunning 3D graphics Eye-catching visuals Compulsive gameplay Harsh challenge Excellent multiplayer mode B o b b y F o r e v e r Too restrictive Lacking in originality Hours of enjoyment Disappointing gameplay Bags of depth (FDG Mobile) Gets dull fast Y o u j u st c a n ’ t k ee p a As enjoyable as it ever was 8 The best just got better 9 Lara fails to get pulses racing 5 Mobile strategy at its best 9 g ood ra b b i t d o w n . An ambitious failure 4 C O N T R O L W W W.GAMER ZINES.COM N AV I G AT E | 2 9 COMPETITION

WIN! A COPY OF ASTERIX AT THE OLYMPICit’s an original and GAMES! highly playable take on the standard Olympics. With over 100 events and tons The good thing about sports games is of game modes, it’s the perfect game to play while that you can pretend that you’re doing a full you’re waiting for the real Olympics to start in June. workout on your console, but what makes Asterix at the Olympic Games so great is not only that To enter the competition, just answer the it’s great fun, but if you enter our latest HGZine amazingly simple question to the right and email competition then you stand a chance of getting it to [email protected] before the 30th of hold of a copy on DS for free as we’ve got five April, putting ‘Asterix competition’ in the subject copies of the game to give away! line of your email. Good luck! Asterix at the Olympic Games scored a respectable 8 out of 10 in this issue’s review and C ompetition closes 10th April 2008. See w ebsit e for full T&Cs . CO 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 | 3 0

LETTERS games you’ll see on DS this year, but it’s also a worthy DS version of the GAME MATTERS next generation best seller. Your thoughts on the games you really want to play… I WANT TO USE MY DS AS AN MP3 PLAYER (as I can’t afford an iPod) and I I THINK THAT THE DS is the know that you can play music on a PSP, brainiest console ever made. How? but can you do the same on a DS? And Because not only can it play games if so, how do you do it then? and test your brain skill, but now it Lee Munday, Stoke can also do magic tricks, too! >Inbox Rubes, via email Your questions answered and your fears >> You can buy several MP3 add-on devices for the DS. The main one is Assassin ’ s Cr eed on >> I know, clever isn’t it? We’ve put to rest, courtesy of HGZine! the official Nintendo MP3 Player, the DS – mor e than t o pi ck u p a 1 GB ( en ough f or a bou t played Magic Made Fun loads which will cost you around £30 – a ma t ch f or the Xbo x 3 00 son g s ) f or a r ound £ 1 0 . and we still can’t work out YOU SEEMED TO SUGGEST that and you’ll need to buy a SD memory and PS3 v ersions? where the DS is hiding the cards. Assassin’s Creed really is something card, too. They’re not too expensive Y O U G U Y S ( A N D G I R LS ) R OC K! Th i s i s special on the DS, but having played it though, and you should be able o n e o f t h e be st g a m i n g m a g s I’ v e r e a d I LOVE SPORTS GAMES and want to on the Xbox 360, I can’t see how the f o r y e a r s! A n d i t’ s fr ee! I c a n ’ t be l i e v e i t. buy an athletics game for my DS, people that make it can ever hope to H o w l o n g d o y o u p l a y A m I d r e a m i n g ? K ee p u p t h i s ex c e l l e n t but should I get Mario & Sonic or make a game that’s anywhere near as a g a m e f o r be f o r e STAR ‘ p r o j ect’! I’ m r e a l l y l oo ki n g f o rw a r d t o wait for a bit? impressive on the next generation y o u ’ r e a b l e t o r e v i e w LETTER y o u r n ext m a g s. James Milne, Belfast consoles – as the DS obviously can’t i t ? M y fr i e n d sa y s i t’ s This month the A r nst ein A a s, via email create something that looks as good. o n l y a bo u t a n h o u r , star letter gets a >> Mario & Sonic at the Olympics Alan Bree, Newcastle b u t I r ec k o n y o u copy of FlatOut > > No A r n st ein, y ou’ r e n o t is a great game (as is Asterix at Head On for dr ea m in g, bu t w e’ r e glad t h a t y ou the Olympic Games), but m u st p l a y i t f o r l o t the PSP! >> Well Alan, that’s the classic trap l o n g e r . P l e a s e c a n y o u l i k e our m a g s – pr a i se fr om people Decathletes and a new Track & to fall into, as it’s really all about the a n sw e r t h i s q u e st i o n a s l i k e y ou m a k es i t a l l w ort h w h i le . Field game are both coming out gameplay at the end of the day. w e h a v e a be t o n t h e fairly soon, so you might want Having played Assassin’s Creed on r e s u l t ! Th a n ks. I’VE G O T E N O U G H M O N EY f o r e i t h e r to see what they’re like before the DS for hours, we’re happy to say Mar k Thoma s, Br ist ol | a P S P o r D S a n d I d o n ’ t kn o w w h i c h you shell out. that not only is it one of the better o n e t o b uy . I r e a l l y l i k e R P G s a n d > > Th e s im ple a n sw er Ma r k i s st ra t egy g a m e s , s o w h i c h o n e d o SO WHAT IS IT WITH all these t h a t w e pla y our r e vie w ga mes y o u r ec o m m e n d t h a t I b uy ? blooming courtroom drama Out f or a s lon g a s po s s ible . Th e S imon Lo w e, Br igh t on games? I can’t believe that the Don’t lon ger w e ca n pla y i t, t h e m or e developers actually think that April 10 s ur e w e a r e o f t h e sc or e w e’ r e > > Bo t h c on soles h a v e a good r a n ge we’d want to play something miss goin g t o giv e i t. In m o st ca ses, o f r ole-pla yin g a n d st r a t egy ga mes that’s as boring as that. w e t ry a nd c om plet e t h e ga mes, ( t h e P SP, es pec ia l ly , h a s h ad a f e w Neil Slater, Wokingham Issue 15 w h i ch i s t h e on ly r ea l w a y o f good on es r elea sed r ec en tly ), bu t Sign up a c c ur a t ely w or kin g ou t ex a ctly w i t h Z el d a a nd Adv an c e W ars bo t h >> They’re a lot more fun than h o w big i t a ct ua l ly i s. a ppea r in g on t h e D S, t h en w e’ d you’d think. No, really. now! pr oba bly go f or t h a t. C O N T R O L N A V I G A T E | 3 1 NEXT MONTH Issue 15 Out Apr 10th! M O R E F R E E M AG A Z I N E S ! L AT E S T I S S U E S !

In HGZine Issue 15 THE SONIC BOOMD O N ’ T M I S S I S S U E 15 S U B S C R I B E F O R F R E E ! W A RNIN G! M ULT IMEDI A DIS A BL ED! Sonic is about to star in his first ever RPG, and we’re If y o u ar e r ea din g th is, th en y o u di dn ’ t ch o o s e “P l a y” planning on bringing you an exclusive feature on w h en A d o be R ea d er ask e d y o u ab o ut m ultim e di a w h en y o u open e d th e m a g azin e. exactly how the developers aim to do it. Find out W i t h o u t t h e m ul t im edi a p l a y in g , t h e m a g a z in e w il l l o o k c o r r e ct , b u t y o u w il l the full story next month b e m i s s in g o u t o n al l o f t h e ext r a c o n t en t b u il t in t o e a c h i s s u e , l ik e v i d e o s , an im at ed s c r e en s h o ts , an n o t at i o n s , q u i zz e s , c o m p et i t i o n s an d m o r e . W e r e c o m m en d y o u c l o s e an d r e-o p en t h e m a g a z in e an d s el e ct “P l a y” w h en a s k ed ab o u t t h e m ul t im edi a t o en j o y t h e m a g a z in e a s in t en d ed .

Cranberry Publishing Limited Dave Perrett, Mark Ramshaw, Mark Walbank 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 REVIEWS Email: [email protected] to CD-R for a friend, but it may not be offered for download from Editorial Director: Dan Hutchinson any website or similar without the prior permission of the copyright holder. You are free to, and encouraged to, link to the original file for download from our website PREVIEWS Assassin’s Creed Email: [email protected] and you can find help on doing so here. While the greatest care is taken in producing Commercial Director: Duncan Ferguson this guide, we do not accept responsibility for the loss of any data or any other damage caused by following the instructions in this publication. We always Buzz! Altair’s Chronicles Email: [email protected] recommend that you keep a backup of your hard disk data and ensure that you check Telephone: 07770 648500 all files for viruses before installing or using any new software. None of the information in this guide is intended as legal advice. All articles are for information Iron Man Sega Superstars Tennis 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. Off Road Design: InkCap Design All contents © Cranberry Publishing Ltd 2008 Lego Indiana Jones Contributors: Kath Brice, Chris Schilling, Darren McFerran, Company registration number: 4987058

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