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riticuttie one and wekome all to the new look MEAN MA(HINES. S(ary. isn't it? After a good six years of a faithful format we thought it was time for a (hange.

You should find you (an now read the mag without your eyeballs bleeding: there's more info and less waffle on more of the games you want to read about.

C ON TE N T S

I

H I G H L I G H T S

=up

DAYTONA USA CCE

TOMB RAIDER Every so often a game comes together to be a powerful experience. Tomb Raider is an excellent example of the craft.

AM2's much loved racer becomes even more loveable. with some SGL cosmetic surgery.

Reviewed exclusively.

VIRTLIA FIGHTER 3

STREET FIGHTER ZERO 2 Just how much better can Zero 2 be over Zero. We analyse the differences in the minutest detail.

The power of CG Model 3 from Sega, harnessed by the creative genius of AM2.

GRANDIA

COMMAND AND CONQUER

This is the first Western magazine feature on Game Arts epic RPG for t on.

Westwood Studios is a Mecca for grown-up PC strategy garners, on the strength CSC. Now they're attempting to indoctrinate you.

Alma.

p p r e VIRTUA FI G HTE R 2 M D B R E A K P O I N T O S HI P 4 DE N URA M Y S TA R I A 2 B R E A K P O I N T • e rCO MMAND AND C O N Q U E R ' S CO RCHE R • JO HN MADDE N NFL '9 7 - M R BO NE S m .

PREVIEWb bECTION 8 2 ItiP a

MEAN 1 6 137: INTERACTIVE PULLOUT A brand new section dedicated to game help and reader interaction. A nononsense Tips section and detailed guides to the most popular games of the moment. A new letters page formal. a Directory of the finest Saturn releases you. Get thinking. . a n d the best Q&A pages in the business. Anything else in MEAN 16 is up to 2

REGULARS1101, ( 39 'TIPS 4MEAN0 MAIL 4 8 5 2 • nffiu3OIttnRIu1 uopped op. MoanMachffies'

MEGAMART NEXT MONTH

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MEGADRIVE

HARDCORE 4 X4 34 STREET RACER 56 CHAOS CONTROL 60 AMOK 62 R0130 PIT 70 EARTHWORM J IM 2 _ 7 1 DARIUS 2 7 2 CRIME WAVE 1 3

PREMIER MANAGER '9 7 MICRO MACHINES MILITARY FIFA SOCCER '9 7 NBA LIVE '9 7 NHL HOCKEY ' 9 7

74 76 78 79

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M l i s l

F MANAGINGEDITOR Steve 'stevely' Merrett EDITOR Angus 'QC Swan DEPUTYEDITOR Matt 'convert Yap DESIGNER Nick 'wee va le winkle' Paterson STAFFWRITER

MACHINE

Stephen 'Otaku' Fulliames

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ERN rF uO uU r t A M NIIMM i & g'•11 EIr l I • t A; M R he people that make this magazine the way it is. Now you know who to blame. This month; what they watch on a Sunday morning:

G US SWAN but III do wake up, I tune in to the disturbing Sunday Show on 1 i BBC, like studying the back ofKatie my eyelids until especially now that Puckrik hasSunday got theafternoon, boot.

FAVE GAMES:Wortwide Soccer '97; Tomb Raider

MAT T T EO Being a Channel 4 type, I watch the Waltons, as part of my Domestic American lifestyles module for my Open University degree. The practical part of the exam involves making Mom's i h FAVE GAMES:Street Fighter Zero 2; Daytona CCE m t i l I - IMAM; mST E Shooting Stars is my choice viewing, being the sort of mad Vic and o t Bob-Ulrika lusting-Loaded reading lad I am. Secretly, though, I A love to flick over and catch some politics on On the Record as p George Dawes is doing the scores p FAVE GAMES:Tomb Raider; VF3 l e P i I'm a bit lazy on Sunday mornings, so usually I watch the sun go down and get out of bed very late. Sometimes I do get to e see Sunday tely, but that's when i get in late on a Saturday .

night, 'cos I'm crazy like that.

FAVEGAMES:Tomb Raider; Sega Rally (still..?)

CONTRIBUTORS TomCOX Radion Automatic Helen Denbo , Rob Bright Edideruk / Lomas

In time everything mus (hange. Were no exception. you are now holding a reborn MEAN MACHINES, and I hope you enjoy it. It's the end product of ceyeral months of hard thinking and hard graft, not, b e honest, without its problems, but at the end of it all something everyone on the team is quite proud of. This is also a fitting juncture to introduce two new members of the editorial team. Matt Yeo has a background in game journalism almost as illustrious as my own, and we cynical old hacks love to get together and discuss the good old days. Hopefully, better days for Sega are around the corner once again, as the quality of Saturn software steadily improves and people see through the hype of that blasted PlayStation. Sega have made it clear they plan to supply the garners' appetite for excellent arcade conversions and RPGs, an area Sony appear to have no great i review shows how far they have come in a n year.

Please drop me a line with your t thoughts on what is rather a radical new e look. How MEAN MACHINES develops is rLargely up to you. Don't touch that dial! e Gus s t i n .

T h i s m o n t h ' s e x c l u s i v e D a y t o n a

PUBLISHER Andy McVittle GROUPADMANAGER Lisa Merrett A4)MANAGER Chris Pvera MARKETINGMANAGER AlexG00114,1 MARKETINGEXECUTIVE Claire Matthews PRODUCTMANAGER Kirstin Ritchens GROUPPRODUCOON MANAGER ina Gem TYPESETTING/ AD DESIGN Ryan Eloundy Special thanks to Dorian Bloch at Chart-Track, Susan Gaulter and Yaz tor lip translation. a two finpred salute (from stew) to tharnesank for nievet funning on tune. Nick Malaperiman for the EAfoone bash and. as always. Mark at Sega EDITORIAL OETICEIMAP images Ltd. More Court.30-.32 Earringdon Lane, London ECM 3 All TELEPHONE o t zt 972 6zoo EDITORIAL FAX.0171-9726701 ADVERTISING AND PRODUCTION FildUitzt-zo66219 PRINTING BY Cooper Clegg COLOUR.Sarah-lane Leavey arid Sarah Best DISTRIBUTION:BBC Frontline PRINTED IN THE UK A

CIEINAR lesiges 1996 • SUBSCRIPTION & BALKISSUES ENQUIRIES TOWER PUBLISHING TOWER HOUSE SOVEREIGN PARK 1ATHKILL ST MARKETHARBORO' LEICESTER LEHI 9ET TEL•(ot858) 468888 SUBSCitiPtiON RATES I tz ISSUESINC Pa n United Kingdom and BEM : CIO ONOWIVASsurface malt E Airmail Europe & E 4 2 Airmail Zones Az : £66 AirmailZone 3: £69 Back Issues UK- f 3 so each Back issues Rest of World:14.99 each MEAN MACHINES Sega isThe excluswe copyright of (MAP I m p s. M y dupacation. transmisMon or use attest or pictures contained within these pages without prior permission of the publisher will result 'Illegal action.

The logos of Se p Enterprises and Sega Saturn and related 'Miele EDSega Enterprises1996_ We regret that covermounted gilts are not available lo overseas readers. Although we take care in ensuring the accuracy of the Information contained in this magazine, the publishers cannot be held responsible for anyOPPiSliOr15 and errors that occur.

COMPETITON RULES Be warned Employees. their families and suppIicr o f Ermr I nitric5 try mat eligible ler entry in competitions. There is no cash alternative to

the prizesoffered The Edltoesdecisionis nut.

MEAN MACHINES uses Dolby Surround Sound Oftwpmortt to test all featured software

NEWS

Here is the news. We've scoured the four corners of the globe this issue to bring MEANMACHINES readers the very latest Sega information as it breaks. Read it and weep!

You may have noticed by now that were the business when it comes to giving away free shill Who can forget that huge packet of Monster Munch a couple of years ago? ut we'v e denged Mat tasty A

enough, gift-wise. , n e a free t D a s eSodthat's why you've probably already found the S exclusive n a cSaturn 4 sdemo (Don the front of this issue. Besides looking l u really s coolt on the cover, it lets you play snippets of the top Saturn of a rreleases e n the' moment. fOr free t

BUT HOW DOU IT WORK? It really is all perfectly straightforward. Simply load the disc according to your Saturn's operating instructions and switch on your machine. Once the disc has loaded, you'll see a menu screen where you can pick which title vOu want to play and read instructions on how to play it. Are we great to you Or what?

It really is all perfectly straightforward. Simply load the disc according to your Saturn's operating instructions and switch on your machine. Once the disc has loaded, you'll see a menu screen where you can pick which title you want to play and read instructions on how to play it. Are we great to you or what?

ALIENTRILOGY t's like Doom, but with big scary aliens in. In this demo you have ve minutes to waste as many of the xenomorph critters as you can Ind. You also have mission blectives to accomplish and the rendered intro from the full game is included.

Weapons available in this demo include a 9mm automatic and a nice meaty shot-

gun, Alien Trilogy received 9t% when it was reviewed in MEAN MACHINES.

L • 1 ; EXHUMED 1 1 1 .

y a r t i e n e d operative sent to 'sort out' a load vaded Egypt and are trying to harness the power of Rameses II for their own nefarious ends. But it is the CIA or MI6 that hired you?

No, it's the spirit of Rameses himself. Minks! The rolling

[ 1

It's another excuse for gratuitous ult ,Loaded. Your task In this five minuti. all and sundry with a multitude of wwill enable your escape. The plot to ing out of a high security prison and then going after the unpleasant character who sent you there in the first place. And why not.

Loaded also got 94% (notice a pattern emerging here?), because it's l op

we're not too bright. al ai And despair not. MegadrIve owning readers. if none of your friends has a Saturn. you can always use the disc as a stylish silver coffee coaster.

Inience with Gremlin's • to is, apart from wasting ory, to find the lift that game involves break-

lence here, but in a kind of legal sort of lash Ice hockey, America's excuse for a good ruck. a plot, but in this demo you can play one period of an exhibition match but try not to start any fights. okay?

MEAN MACHINES awarded NHI. Powerplay '96 not inconsiderable 86%.

Explore lost civilisations and nick their prized artifacts with bad gal explorer Lara Croft. In this rolling demo, you'll see our heroine battling wild animals and going for a swim.

Vurr.

Check out the review in this issue to see what we really think of Core's Tomb Raider.

n Exhu of aliens

LOADED

In the unlikely event that you have a defective disc, call Kirstin Ritchens on 0171 972 67oo for more assistance. Oh, and please don't pester the MEAN MACHINES team with tricky technical questions 'cos

demo teaturec exciting

Footage from this first person shoot-'em-up.

We gave Lahumod a whop ping 94% when we reviewed

it. Ws great.

rKelo Plying Sauadron 2 Keit) Flying Squadron gives you all the best in la the full, and slightly twisted, cartoon intro and a level from the game that features psychotic racc walking statues and a girl in a bonny cocilime Keen taking

that medicineyoucrazymadbonkersJapaneseprogrammers!

When wo reviewed Mein in

Issue 48, we decided to give it 75%. Because we're like that.

ISICV 1 W P t tie 0 1N1W I d ilwam a m • •111•0 111 11s et w i t h M s

ChristmasNIGHTS Yuji Naka has one more surprise for Saturn owners this year.

Christmas NIGHTS is a unique idea, Sega's 'Christmas present' to new and existing Saturn owners. The disc will feature a redesigned version of the Claris' Spring Valley course. spectacularly dressed up as a winter wonderland, with falling snow, fir trees and loops decked with houghs of holly_ Beyond that there is new music, and an ingenious system of secrets found by 'opening your presents' after you play, including a link attack mode on another of the original NIGHTS levels.

MEAN MACHINES knows what some of these twenty-odd modes do. but is sworn to secrecy by Sega for the time being. We wouldn't want to ruin the surprise anyway, but suffice to say, many are a dream come true for NiGHT5 fanatics.

Christmas NiGHTS has been designed to build up to the Christmas season by revealing more of itself throughout the advent period. What you get at the beginning of the month is not what you see at the end. How will you get this fantastic concept? Sega have not finalised plans for distribution. but Christmas NIGHTS will be a promotion in December. available when you buy a Saturn through leading retailers, or when you buy any of the following games; NIGHTS, Worldwide Soccer .

Daytona USA CCE, Virtua Cop 2. The exact 97, details next month, when we F i g hwill t ibe n known g gear up for the festive season with a feature V i p e r s on Christmas NIGHTS. ,

Christmas NIGHTS. available lat e November 1 9 6 . Sega promotion.

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k-ICE .•,e play loads of games every mon' i . t here's the top rnie titles the Mean Machines Sega team really rates:

I (I ) NIGHTS (Sega)

After the dismal Chaos Control this month, Virtua faun owners might think Virtua Cop 18,2 are their only options. But Sega are stepping in with Mighty Hits next month, a wholly different selection of gun-based mini-garnes. Mighty Hits is unbelievably cute, in the same vein as Puzzle and Action we featured in news some months back. The sub-games vary from bouncing balls into toy trains, to shooting balloons to guide an airborne man onto a raft, adding an element of strategy that goes beyond a steady aim. There are 2o odd challenges in the package, for one or two players, and some gorgeous rendering. An intriguing review next month,

Mighty Hits. Offi cial UK Sat urn release December. RRP £29.99. Compatible with Virtua Gun. Developer Sega

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DOD Is a new Japanese rendered adventure that probably brings Warp's D to mind.

Funnily ennugh, there is no connection between Warp and this new game as, you may probably be aware, Warp are working exclusively on the four-disc Enemy Zero for release in japan this December. However Takara's ODD takes a distinct nod in the same direction, being one of these lavish suspense adventureas with grutacrima ronderc and limited intot.

action. Whether DOD will attract a European publisher is unclear (Sega have recently handled Takata products) but the import version of the game will probably be fairly playable.

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Krazy Ivan After the success of both Wipeout and Destruction Derby on Saturn, it was inevitable that Psygnosis would continue to convert its most popular PlayStation titles to Sega's 32 bit marvel. Next up for an imminent release is the explosive mechanoid shoot.'em-up, Krary Ivan. Set in a variety of global hotspets, players take control of a towering metallic battlesuit and must attempt to stop an invading alien horde. The Saturn version is said to be a variation on the basic PlayStation engine with the possibility of new missions and enemies. Guns. violence and cheesy FMV come as standard. There's actually some confusion over who will actually be handling the distribution of Wr y Ivan though as both developer Psygnosis and Sega themselves are said to be in the running.

•S u re B Club a SATURN • t t l e

If you're a Ian of RPGs you'll no doubt be frothing at the mouth to team that Ogre Rattle is on its way to Saturn, Japanese software giants. Enix. have been responsible for a handful of quality SPIES RPGs in the past (including the legendary Dragon Quest series) and have now turned their attention to producing a quality next generation questing experience. Ogre Battle features plenty of turn-based combat, spectacular magical spells and an epic storyline guaranteed to keep all you dungeons and dragons types occupied for ages. There's no word on a PAL version being released just yet but with the Saturn being a sale haven for RPGs. expect more news over the next few months.

SALES CHART: , A D R I V E The top five best selling Megadrive games this month as compiled by Chart Track.

1 (1) BRIAN L A CRICKET '9 6 (Codentestersj 2 (2) MICRO MACHINES 2 (Codernasters) 3 (3) WORMS (Oosantlearn 17) 4 (t) FIFA SOCCER '9 6 (Electronic Arts) • • • •

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In a bid to steal some of the PlayStation's trendy, clubbing audience. Sega have t e a m e d dance label. Suburban Base Records, to release an , exclusive remixed game up w i compilation t h c oof oclassic l music. Included on the disc are such familiar 'thoons• as the themes from NIGHTS, Daytona USA, Virtua Fighter and Fighting Vipers plus It other mas sive hits. If you're into that crazy drum 'n' bass type thang you may recognise such remtx masters as Duderella. D'Crure and Marshell Jefferson. Saturn owners also receive an added bonus as playable demos of Worldwide Soccer '97, Baku Baku, Panzer Dragoon II. NIGHTS and Athlete Kings are included on the disc. The Club Saturn CD will be on sale at the end of the month and should be available from cool. er record shops up and down the country.

Sega's very own onsectold hero makes a welcome return to the 3D platforming world that spawned him_ Bug Too is being finished as you read this and sega are hoping that the final ptoduu wilt mule than surpass its welt received predecessor. Saturn owners can expect so levels (Bug had just 18). secrets galore and plenty ot tongue•in-cheek humour, We'll have a full Bug too preview next month.

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NI11117 If ice hockey is your kind of sport then get your skates on 'cos EA are about to unleash NHL '97 on Saturn. Going head-to-head with Virgin's own NHL Powerplay, EA's offering features updated team stats, motion-captured player animation and the kind of bone•crunching, puck-smashing excitement we've come to expect from this sport. MEAN MACHINES will bring you a hill NHL '97 preview next month so hold onto your stick until then.

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t & A W The recent Associated Leisure Preview (see Arcadia page 82) feaN tured more than lust the usual glut of high-tech arcade machines. : Also on display at the show were a handful of Sega branded pinball a tables due For release over the next couple of months. First upl is l Independence Day, based on the multi-million dollar mega-blocka

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buster movie. With alien fighter craft, hidden bonuses and actual digitised speech from the likes of Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith. this is one pinball machine to keep an eye out for.

Next up is Batman Forever featuring the Val Kilmer version of the (aped Crusader and his new mate in tights, Robin. Players race aRiddler and the table features amazing artwork, cool models of the gBatwing and Batcave and even a multi-player mode! aFinally. Sega are releasing a Goideneye pinball machine this month.

Following the incredible success of the movie, with Pierce Brosnan i inheriting the 007 mantle. Bond fever is at an all-time high. The n pinball machine features many of the film's climactic moments sincluding super-secret satellite dish that captures your balls! To tcoincide with the release of the game, MEAN MACHINES is offering tyou a chance to win a copy of Goldeneye on video. Recently hreleased on sell-thru, the film features all manner of daredevil estunts as well as the usual winning Bond formula or girls, guns and cgadgets. Thanks to our top mates at MGM/UA Home Video, we'vlgot ten copies of Goldeneye up for grabs and all you pesky kids have to do to win one Is answer this ever-so easy question: o cWhat does James k Bond have a t olicence to do?

S A. To own a colour portable TV. t oB. To kill. p C. To own a dog/cat. t h Put your answer on a postcard or on the back of a sealed-down e envelope and send into the usual editorial address. Double agents need not apply! n e f a r i , 6 0 U0 , o With the release of the Saturn u modem in lapan, an online sers vice called X-Band has been set p up to allow players to compete l over the Internet gpecially a adapted versions of popular two n player games have been released s to coincide with this service, the most recent title o is Sega Rally Championship Plus. On top of this. you f can use X-Band to send and receive e-mail.

To T use X-Band you need, as well as a modem, a prepaid w 'media card' which allows access to the network.

The standard card costs V2000 (around 12. so) and o contains too units. The card is Only used to initially set - the connection; after it has been established, you up F pay for the phone call. lust a service offers the opportunity for two player This action c for people who live in remote areas or who .e is that after an intense onlineRally session. vou dback a could end up with a hefty phone Will on nd 'T th h e

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Chart Track: Sega)

2 (3) DESTRUCTKIN DERBY (Psygnosia) 3 (2) ALIEN TRILOGY (Acclaim) 4(4) ATHLETE KINGS (Sega) 5 (-) EXHUMED (Sega)

-. 4 0 6 • • • •

6 (7) SEGA RALLY (Seem) 7 (5) BUST-A-MOVE 2 (Acclaim) 8 (8) VIRTUA COP (Saga)

9 (9) LOADED (Gremlin) 10 (11) DISCWORILD (Paygnosis) Official chaffs coovriRht LLSPA

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3 0 ALL NEW COMBAT RACE CIRCUITS.

30 VICIOUS BATTLE ARENAS. S O 1 0 COMBAT VEHICLES

T2LCELLEN1r WAN MACHINES SEGA. 92%

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MEGA DRIVE

J R L D CHAt The too , a i n - t r-u z z l e t s at Sega's premiere amusement i centre this month are:

DAYTONA USA

2 (1 SEGA RALLY 3 (-) GUNBLADE N.Y. 4 (-) VIRTUA Cop 2 5 (-) VIRTUAL ON

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FREEFor ALL! I S M / W O R L D

As you probably know, Segawodd opened its massive chrome-plated doors early last month and has since been packed to bursting point with garners of all ages. We've had a few phone calls from irate readers this month though complaining about the long queues and high entry fee. We have to agree that I t z seems to be an awful lot of money to pay for a few mediocre VR rides and a handful of quality coin-ups but there is some good news Apparently Sega have put all their arcade machines on free play for a limited period. So if you fancy a blast at the likes of Manx TT, Touring Car and Virtua Fighter 3 and don't wani carry a pocketful of loose change then get down to Segaworld while this nifty offer is still running.

Kizuna Encounter Can't get enough of naff beat-'ern-ups? Worry no more 'cos good old SNK are back in fine form once again with the recent release of a new arcade bruiser, Kizuna Encounter: Super lag Battle. Taking its cues from the likes of King of Fighters '95, KE features tag team fights and multi-player mayhem. Other lea• tures include Super Finishing moves, high speed 'Rush' attacks. multi-hit combos and at least ten playable characters. Kliuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle should be Saturn bound sometime in '97 so keep reading these pages for updates.

Now in its new 'diet' format.

GossipShorts scans the world for tidbits and scandal...

AMERICAN BOOB •Sega America are twisting their knickers over Fighting Viper Candy's (Honey) bare bosom. One of the renders that rewards the player who corn. pletes the game has a picture of the ample 16year old in a faintly suggestive pose. The controversy has been fuelled by stores unwilling to stock the title, perhaps causing a delay in the US release. This is after all the other dubious stuff, like school uniforms were stripped from the US game (but not the UK version, huzzah). Hands off {,ur games. er... Brussels.

AMALGAMATION Recently, nine of Japan's smaller software houses banded together to form 'GDNET*; Games Designers Network, a network which will give them more clout amongst the big publishers.

Significant names abound, including; Treasure and Game Arts, with the lesser known Sting.

Baroque (who produced some of Enix's top SNES titles), Quintet. JAM. Never Land, CRI and Bits Laboratory. The group seems heavily orientated towards RPGs.

POWER OF THE PRESS Our congratulations to Nick. PR Executive at JVC, who picked up an award from the snooty 'Face' magazine for worst press release of the month. for his sea Bass Fishing directive, It was probably the quote from Sea Bass fan, 'our Marcus* that led to its shaming.

HOT CAKE SYNDROME Our sister magazine. Sega Saturn Magazine, experienced a sell out of its recent demo disc issue after phenomenal demand. MEAN MACHINES anticipated a similar high demand and produced discs for every one of this month's UK issues.

That's forward planning for yal

TORICO CANNED The Japanese rendered adventure. Torlco. featured in a previous news item, will not be released here after all. As Sega America have passed on the project, Sega Europe have decided not to translate the speech heavy game on their own.

Ir p's big project. Enemy Zero has enlisted the lents of Michael Nyman. a respected composer of film and chamber music whose CV includes the oscar-winning 'The Plano' and Peter Greenaway's movies (obscure and rather filthy-minded British film-making bloke).

1ED (Red) ••••

• • •

•

A POSH MUSICIAN WRITES

Wanna know what's hut and what's not in the land or the rising sun Our Japanese Chart gives you the lowdown on the top selling Saturn games in lapan:

2( 3- (-) GUNDAM (DID) ) 4 (-) SNATCHER (Kenem') S 5T ( R ) E R E O

•

4 , 4 *

•••••

MICRO CRASHES uncharacteristically, Codomastort have failion behind schedule with their Micro Machines V3 !le on Saturn (damn). The much-awaited pro,• A Sega version sometime In the new year (snigthe ger). h a s o l

•

HELPING HAND

iEADL RS CHART 14 ' o2.$'47 .

C o m p i l e d w i t h t h e h e l Although known for their extensive p back catalogue of 2D beaCem-ups,o SNK have also released a few ratherf smart sports games in their time o including the legendary Super u Sidekicks. Keen to expand upon the r , existing line•up, SNK have just l .debuted The Ultimate it, a silky o smooth footie coin-op that takes pl.!, ers on a whistlestop tour world toury where they get the chance to play a against the best teams on the planet. l Unusually, for a soccer game, The r Ultimate it offers gameplay hints and e tips duririe a match, informing players a when an ideal shot has been lined-up d or if there's an opening in the opposie tion's defence. Hopefully SNK will pror duce a Saturn version soon to complis ment the likes of Fatal Fury: Real Bout and King of Fighters 'cos. w e

need YOUR vote for this chart so fill in the coupon below and you might win a nifty prize!

Rage Software are toiling hard to bring the Sativr version of Doom up to scratch, after early vet sionS with low frame rates and detail, Rumour has it someone from GT took up a copy of Exhumed to Liverpool for them.

I (I ) SEGA RALLY (Sega)

OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN LONDON

2 (-) NIGHTS (Sego) 3 (-) DAYTONA USA (Sega) 4 (2) VIRTU'S FIGHTER 2 (Sega)

5( ) F I F A ' 9 6 ( E l e c t r o n i c A r t s Aselection of the mostenterestong ) software now

The Ultimate

The founder of Atari, and by virtue of it, home video games, Nolan Bushnell, was in London recently at a conference for Developers, aptly called Develop '96. Nolan's speech on new forms of digital entertainment for the next century headlined the event.

NEW ADS Sega's two new Saturn ads will be Daytona USA CCE and Virtua Cop 2, to air in November and rember, A special Christmas NIGHTS ad may fl• added to this schedule.

HISTORY LESSON he last 30 years worth ol video gaming culture will be on display at the Museum of the Moving Image from 29 November 1996 to ts May 1997.

The exhibition, entitled Re-Play, offers visitors a chance to play both old and new video games as well as discover some of the history behind the world of electronic entertainment. For more Information, contact MOMI direct on out aot 2636.

20 GOTO 10 Some wag is producing 'Basic for Saturn' in Japan, to take advantage of the new keyboard peripheral. Looks like a return to the days of programming the Spectrum in WH Smith's to print your name down the side of the screen. Huzzah!

OY, MEANMACHINES!WADOYA THINK OF NY CHART THEN?

OUTNOW

MY TOP THREE SATURN GAMES ARE:

rm GAGGING TO GET MY MITTS ON:

within yourgrasp.

I RECKON THE MOST POPULAR GAME WILL BE:

AMA GOSP GREMLIN Continuing the high quality 'Actua' series. Gremlin's latest release is a fantastically competitive game with a standard of realism and attention to detail that's brought this UK software house plenty of acclaim

OVERALL 9 2

NAME: ADDRESS:

Send to: Readers Chart, MEAN MACHINES SEGA, EMAP Images Ltd. Priory Court. 30-32 Farringdon Lane, London ECIR

KAN MAGISIONIAD CON

WORLDWIDESOCCER'91 SEGA

TORN UNITYDWARVES SIGA

FRUITINGVIPERS SEGA

Modifying the game p , lay engine that powered Thunderhawk and Shelishock was a smart move by Core Design. Set in a bizarre apocalyptic wasteland this futuristic shoot-'em-up combines smooth 3D polygon visuals with trigger-pumpin' action.

The finest footle game so far arrives in a blaze of glory and, surprisingly. it's from Sega themselves! Graphically outstanding and featuring perfect cotayability, Worldwide Soccer '9/ Is a sporting fans dream come true.

A strange little title best described as Streets of Rage meets Monty Python. If scrolling 2D beat-'em-ups are your cup of tea then Three Dirty Dwarves offers cute animation and plenty of humorous scrapping.

Just when you though Sega couldn't possibly top themselves, along comes an amazing 3D beatem-up to topple even the mighty Vidua

OVERALL 9 3

OVUM

SMALL O a

OVERALL 8 9

Fighter at With coot Lha r e n -den fighters and tons of secrets FV is te a r smust , h buy. i d -

Don'tforgeto filin R e th rs d a e C rtc a h ! n p u o

COVER S TO RY,

sogood, baby when you're at the wheel/ I can't believe the way I fed, it's such a rush just being with you./ we're driving in the rush hour.

Alk

Not, as you may be thinking. William Shakespeare. but Jane Weldlin from her one-hit wonder.

SEGA NOVEMBER L o a f49.99 DRIVING LAW 1111 Rion Joypodionlo9ue/wheel lin enhanced version of a142 ottede race- N 1095 release.

The poetic embodiment of Daytona USA. the greatest arcade racing game yet devised. AM2 are the masters of racing games — they were making Outrun and Power Drift coin•ops when the Wipeout programmers were still getting hot milk in heir breakfast cornflakes. It has been a matter of pride and honour for Yu Sukuki's men, sorry persons, to return to the Saturn version of Daytona. add new features and rectify faults that were caused principally by the demand to have the original game eady for an April 1st launch last year. Their work has produced Daytona USA [ hampion Circuit Edition. A title, granted, that doesn't trip of the lips but does it. more importantly, tickle the palate?

CHAMPIONSHIPCIRCUIT OLD GIL-0.1 Assuming that you know nothing of this game, Saturn acolytes, this is the essence of Daytona. It was released in 1994, the first AM2 coin-op to use the newer Model 2 board, which offered full texturemapping and more polygons than the CG Model a board used for Virtua Racing, 18 months previously. Daytona broke away from the Formula formula, with turbo-charged saloons for vehicles. an Indy-style 'bowl' track and two sprawling urban circuits.

777 SPEEDWAY Daytona's 'easy' track, the place to get acquainted with the handling and powersliding, as it feature; only two major bends. But highly-skilled drivers come back to it for two reasons. First, you have the incredible opposition of 39 other cars, creating a packed field and a claustrophobic Indy feel that no other racing games has ever created. Secondly, 777 Speedway Is the perfect setting for chasing record times, as you push the car to maximum speeds for almost the entire circuit. attempting to shave hundredths of seconds off recorded times.

DINOSAUR CANYON Deemed 'medium' difficulty, but many think Dinosaur Canyon is the most difficult of the three to master, as braking on its huge curves is a copout to 'powersliding', the high-risk. Starsky and Hutch-style technique that allows you to go into a culitiolied skid, taking Lunial 5 at the ! d e a l t IJV

ble speed. The circuit is excellently balanced, with a

glorious pedal to the metal opening straight leading

into a tunnel sethon,mule tne seionu nalt to we illcult has you tussling amongst thirty cars for advantage on two massive bends.

SEASIDE STREET GALAXY The original Daytona 's auvanced track, with few opportunities for outright at eration. Seaside requires control and discipline and a faultless knowledge of 1 layout Is the only way you're going to w i t h i n the fastest times. Seaside also has the most memorable scenery in Mr ona . a spare shuttle on the launch pad. a majestic sailing ship in dock, a towering bridge modelled on New York's Brooklyn bridge, and a w.i - , e n i c b o u l e v a r d d e s c e n d i n g t v e h i l l t o s e a .

The Championship Circuit Edition has two new tracks, extensions of the Daytona ideal, but perhaps designed to be more suited to the Saturn's processing limitations. ' s d This sits neatly between the outright simplicity of 777 Speedway and a the trickiness of Dinosaur Canyon. It's quite a bit bigger than the Indy k track, but with fewer bends and wider lanes, allowing more flat-out \ is a roadside theme park with racing. The visual accompaniement * roltercoaster — Watch out for that rotating Ferris Wheel and gleaming A in operation b A l t A i b '

NATIONAL PARK SPEEDWAY

DESERT CITY Being frank, this track was not quite complete in our review version.

The layout is all there, but elements of detail are not all added. What is present, however, is a stunning freight train, which follows a track the runs along, then intersects the road via a series of tunnels. The circuit is about the length of Dinosaur canyon, but packs more troublesome corners within that, including a particularly sticky right•hander .

1

NOW IT TAKES TWO The most lamented facet of Daytona. tOos-style was the lack of a twoplayer competitive option_ After all, the coin-op allows up to eight players to interact, via the Championship eight-seater cabinet.

A tot of earlier speculation was banking on this new Daytona using the linkplay cable, but Sega have yet to get fully behind that concept_ Instead, we have a split-screen option. Strangely, this seems to be faster, if anything, than the one-player mode, although the races are 'duels' with no other cars on track. The payoff is scenery dipping which is significantly more noticeable than solo mode. It's still great fun though. The twoplayer mode also offers the options for handicapping one player and the booster which makes the secondplaced car go faster.

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THE CLIPPING ISSUE

There's no mystery In t o t Daytona being Sego's t• I Ai( cessful all rounder evei II a clas sic game. All the be elements of other racing games, but different enough to be unlike any other racer What other 32 bit game packs 40 cars into your field of vision with the level of speed and detail here? With the CCE edition improvements it looks like Sega have listened to their cntics! the two player mode is there the options are more comprehensive. the sound I both FlIUSK and R I are much improved and the clipping. Yes. its better. Not perfect mond but not aggravating as before, and not bringing down the overall quality of the game. Except that is. on the split screen option. The tinkering on details, new animations like seagulls and the blessed moving reflections on the car windows are welcome and dispel the slight feeling of shoddiness that accompanied old Daytona. A year on from the original Daytona CCE has stiffer opposition from better qualtty third party racers. but ot comes Out of the pits and the is still there.

Daytona USA provoked many comments about *clipping' a grai that , , is supposed to hide objects out of view to aid the processt_ game speed. Daytona's 'clipping' was less than satisfactory in I L Sega . became well aware of. and they made it a priority for the update.

Tneir success is clearly visible in certain key cases that raised the most comments. First of hn!

1 these is the Sonic Wall section of 777 Speedway. This awesome roadside rock carving used to be spoiled by appearing in ugly chunks only when the car was close. Now it appears in full much further back. The same goes for the rock overhang on Dinosaur Canyon. the shuttle and most impressively, the sailing ship on Seaside Street. But in other areas the improvements have not been able to eliminate scenery 'popping up' compietely, which may continue to disappoint some, but they should accept the fact the phenomenon is part of ;2-bit performance on all gaming formats and not limited to Daytona,

Think about what could havi: oet ter in the onginal version of Daytona. The clipping was uslY, the music was cheesy there were only three (muses and there was no two player mode. Now imagine a version of Daytona where all this has been sorted out and you ve got C(E. Admittedly the dipping is still not perfect. but its a darn sight better than in the original game_ The music and Fit have been improved too. although the commentator's voice started to grate pretty quickly. Add to this smart new pre sentanon. two all new tracks AND a split screen

MATT

two player mode and you get what Saturn

Daytona should have been all along. If you haven I got the original then a I why not? and b I get this. If yuu love and nitric a seitiAo los me nut. CIE is still worth the cash.

The hugely popular Ghost Mode, imported from Sega Rally, improves the Time Attack mode no end. With It. your previ• 9 , cold Lap and thetkpul ti t splits let m formance throughout the race. t e T i m e A

i

you niunito, your time per-

STAR CARS A new approach has been taken to the car choice in this version. The Hornet and Gallop cars remain as the standard vehicle, but a group of eight other cars are selectable from the beginning, each now with the benefit of a name, and a star-driven rating system for grip, .1 ,: I e r t ! r j r i d • T 1 d ) ( s p e e d .

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TAKING SOUNDINGS Another gripe win • o 777 Speedway was acceptable, but the deranged J-Pop war,pop• accompaniemt-; a n a ablingss of 'Sky High' and 'Let's go away' were frankly not. Music has been composed on two continents for Daytona CCE in a bid to atone for this shame. Three of them, we're w a s happy to say come from Sega Europe in Chiswick: attempting to educate the wider , population in Drum and Bass (what? — the entire USA) with Race to the Bass, funking w a up the fairground track and remixing King of Speed to have a more techno edge. Sadly. sthe Miller Lite-and-Baywatch tendency based in California insist on having a couple of ttheir own h sad-rock café renditions in there, with a AOR Daytona title track sung by esome bloke from Mr Big (who? — the respectable music buyers of Britain). Who needs lFire o u s y m u s i c .

K i n g o f S p Thelayout si its liss Na OM N I Calves vi Imo Ailed hotlywee Me merle torbest Do pentane= e loeshag - loseandshortchicanesNe tiorlp , P a t h d , S e t e O r i t a l h l e / e o n t e l o e c m o d e t r o -

GRAPHICS

The improve merits are not that hard to find — better colounng and textunng overall, and a serious stab has been made sorting out the problems of scenery dipping where a matters most. Still a stunner. visually.

The old pap r has been cast though the King of Speed Saside. remix is a sort of perverse highlight. and better than the Drum anJ Bass The commentary is a little to Otrack. repetitive, though, telling us to Uconstantly go easy on those tyres.

N new PLAYABILITY The tracks a Dpretty good. but not quite as clever

r _dos.

1 / 4 1 4 .

-

as the old ones. Daytona is a unique driving game. far more subtle than Ridge Racer. yet more robust and violent. A rater for risk taking Escort dnvers.

LASTABILITY

Lessened If you have the original. but a vast army of new Daytona fans will be striving relemlessly to break the 771 sound Owner. The new modes including a Passable split screen game. aid the longen ty too.

PLAY IT AGAIN A little matter, we know, but now there are proper race replays on offer, with a selection of camera angler

A smarcened up Daytona * huh makes it easier to appreciate its huge strengths nut spo by nt bride nesses.

93

FIRST LOOK mot war GamePlaine

Muse

virtu() fighter 3 Sego RH2 arcade attw; Saturn 17

MeanMachines is going its own way with a new section that brings you detailed information on games that are worth it. This month ST3 and Grandia.

At last! Virtua Fighter 3 is at the arcades!

This means the Saturn version will be on its way soon enough. Before you start dribbling deliriously at the prospect, take a look at the all-new interactive backgrounds and the two new faces entering the fray.

Arcades are starting to fill out with loads of Virtua Fighter fans, eager to get to grips with Virtua Fighter 3, the latest in Model 3 technology. It's not only the improvements to the VF2 characters that's putting coins in slots, but the chance to try out two all•new characters in this third VF instalment. This isn't the only flash new thing about VF3 either. The backgrounds have been improved to make them more interactive, what with variations in the height of fighting platforms and the new escape button to counter what were previously unstoppable combos_ So what are we waiting for? Let's go see if we can start a fight!

VIRTU/id, 1GHTERIO unlike any othef ds. Rather than con sense ot freedom. hting arena is rest ers moving all across Stages are now more into

and uneven fighting surf .ments in your fighting stra

SARAH STAGE: Subway Station Taking in the s set in a disused subway train c behind the cha get run over steps lea to their over an I I k i c k to tetalts board adverts and tattered posters.

WHAT'S NEW?: After A • auLat

de m o

all that brainwashing. Sarah's been recovering remarkably welt. So well in fact that she's got more kicks and and TRY: F-P-Of-P punch-kick moves at her B-K+G disposal. She's also a D-P+A-K

,

LION STAGE: The Playground he mo • i r tg t A is the plat. i n the ape of stairs eunken Ins to r part of t corroding the . weeds abs. If you walk ove sition.. More impre tech. when disturbe oat into the air only owards the ground a

HAT'S NEW? TRY: BF•P4-1K+E DI-K+G B•F•P-s-IC

I O W t o u s e

8-P-14 (throw)

Hon with.

EFFRY STAGE:

Caribbean Island 7

1 ,../k_. i "Ilg- M I

ns • singitsdestly e faded out. Further irt minnocuous bulklin more indistinct sc i AT'S NEW?: The Fre t with more than a urns hr than he was in VF2 eas being a touch er. Lion has also b e new throws It

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WHAT'S NEW?: Jeffry hasa TRY: OF-PitiG (throw) F-P4i6 (thane) F-F-K-K B-P-P-K

I aing on his Carib t the Escape button a means he's more c with Oa t of dealing who use a lot of d s e , a l s

TRY: F-13-P+6 (throw) 0 Pil-G (throw) K-K-P / F-B-P

WOLF STAGE: Underground Cavern is appropriate for an with a name Wolf, his stage an underground ern (rather than aring on diators or some ng). , The only t on this stage corn lance. This makes f ys on the wall as the as well. There are s •distance, and the r overall atmosphere fighters huddled AT'S NEW? racters in

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The Kage stage quite simple. desert. Howe be seen in the vanishes into t with footprints fie about. and deck. There's no

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SHUN STAGE:

Chinatown

LIF-P+G (throw) D-P+K LIF-K+G

LAU STAGE: The Library 's nothing the ng down with a .limbs. This is especially set in a library. The openi camera zooming Kress a •on : the characters. The • d i a l in the cent . ght outside this with lush vel iose appeal.

• T ' S NEW?: _er losing to ' , i n the second mament. Lau s out for revenge.

I t e C o m b o s a r e n o w

impressive ever, and he begun to master floating attack. iy to suffer from sion of the new non thou

Ok. who out there kn made object visible fro this stage should gi Wall of China. Pa re just how im Great Wall stre ou can move up' to gain a tacti • (lent. There are at sla den roof of 1 p an opponent again nd pummelling. thi variety of Chinese T'S NEW?: Pai is s the• nd also from the hod ters in the wh I themselves as the me, and this. a curved roof might that off is more than like pled with her bo attacks. fence saves the lighters from in ke her more what they inflict on each other of WHAT'S NEW?: Good ole• n turn down a drink, but . •Her abilities holic fighting techniqu a tually greater control He's ing established the mImproved, and when TRY t OF-P+G (throw) TRY: DF-P+G (throw) rovements to the est also developed more F-K+E F-F-P+K sais used In conjuncto concentr versatility in terms of K-K-D-P nt with the Escape butOF-P•P-F-P ombos and has a few Virtua ligh K-K-P D-K-K Ir stagesc ' a dly . il h i f s o BASIC MOVES: t r F-F-P+K t B-B-P+A ucould probably guess for yoursei h P-P-P / CIF-P Arashi fights in a sumo ring. But r DF-P4-1( rOne of the two new characters. Aoi, has an especially pic. turesque stage featuring both snow and a waterfall all play his techniques in front of thousan F-K-K / P-P-K oshrouded in a light mist. The surface is uneven due to er fights in the cerebral atmosphere of a I D-K+G w sion from the mountain stream, affecting the grip and St ted at the top of a cliff with various P-P-P-D-K ,ty of the fighters. The attention to detail is exemplified b' d away from it. The sense of space P-P-P-K nt induces should be balanced ag .snowflakes which are rendered in painstaking 3D. As you THROWS: moving towards the fighters the closer snowflakes enlar fin DB-P+G Draw away from the fighters and the snow becomes an i• arena.

D-F-P+G linct mist. The waterfall flows convincingly as well, the water P+G / 0-P-PG said this. I splashing and rippling away downstream. Quite divine. out for the FIGHTING STYLE: In keeping with the idyllic setting Ac4 resides lively sha style is based primarily on repelling attacks rather than initiatin drop to a I she uses a variation on aikido, t from on defence. Having said this, !NG more aggressive. She has ex 1.1e551 •potential Counted with a tang.

Taka But her greatest skill is the ab a , s hardly going to invo, and any attack by simply usin t. Sumo is Arashrs soecia it me nationsand directing thelog 'arena and he physicaihr domin opponent is approaching fro tier. he is at his best whe Po opponent on the deck and vious weight and muscles to overp blows. Add to this the f en using him potentiat• t as a fighter, on I tell.

T u i r P A E A01 UMENOKOJI:: Snowing Waterfall

1

TRY: B-DB-D-DF-F-K+G F•P+G (throw) OF-P+K 13-B-P-K+G

THE NEW 4 CHARACTERS

BASIC MOVES: OF-P+K F-F-P / P+K OF-OF-P DF-P+K B-P+K DB-P+K D-11-F-P D-P+K THROWS: F-F-P+G P+G / F-P+G DF-P+G

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'GRAND 1 No one can lecture Game Arts about polygons. Softcos working across the world on 32 bit projects are employing polygon technol ogyand becoming confident with it. but Game Arts can put their work into perspective, having started fiddling around with 3D computer geometry ten years back! They even worked against the odds and brought true polygon action to the Mega CD with the amazing Silpheed. Although the gameplay of that title was limited. the visual achievement was stunning.

They were at it again eadior this year with GunGriffon — polygons employed for a 30 robot battler. But it's Grandia, their latest project, that has grabbed the attention of the Japanese press.

This title promises to be an epic RPG in the style of Squares Final Fantasy or Sega's Phantasy Star series. But Grandia is set apart from them all by using polygons throughout. The player benefits from having an amazingly detailed 30 world, where every minor object can be manipulated. The player characters are animated from sprites, but the game can interact both sprites and polygon objects perfectly. Much of the last two years has gone into creating the bizarre world of Grandia, which seems beyond even the imagination of previous outlandish Japanese RPGs. The finest CG artists and programmers have been drafted onto this project that will most certainly be converted for British systems. The two CD game set should be available on import in early 4 97.

7.11 9CI NC t A

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Ihe land ol Injuul is undergoing an Industrial revolution. Its capital and main port.

Paam, is thriving and bustling with the new steam inventions, and colonists leave daily to explore the new continents. Amidst this society is Justin, a dreaming lad who looks back to the ancient days of Enjuurs civilisation and spends hours in the ruins that surround Paarn. He lives with his mother after his adventurer father disappeared years previously. One day, while at the Saluto ruins, a strange thing happens. A spirit stone, given to him by his lost father suddenly speaks. Startled.

Justin decides to understand the reason for its calling. Meanwhile the heavy-handed military have forbi,filen aciess to the ruins outside Paarn...

' S4 1 , 911 1$

d r The three i Game Arts staff headlining the massive Grandia team have years k of experience behind them — not al! in video games:

MIYAMI T AKESHI He's the top programming genius at Game Arts, respected throughout the industry for his knowledge of technical matters.

TAKU KIM URA He's a CG (Computer Generated visuals) artist at the Links agency, who has made his name outside games by cre-

ating popular TV commercials, includmg one for a Japanese train company.

TOM M EYERS He's a top music producer with exper h a w ts A gate lei W W I OS M t d art o n in t o a dd l ti L i tti tl a ill

diegangtact Lowly'iclogrotto toot am el Wu Inkhasuniskly

ence of Hollywood movies of the caii bre of Terminator 2 and Mksion•Impnralp, and 11P% handl;ng Grandia's soundtrack through

'Skywalker Sounds'.

Grandia isn't content to be the best, it wants to be the biggest as well. The scale of the opening section in the city of Paam is a good Illustration_ Paam's 3D model covers the equivalent of too screens, about ten times that found in a normal RPG 'town'. Also, RPG players are used

to finding theseplacesscarce

re a i illt it d e •

ters and normally are able to search them without any hassle. In Grandia, Paam has lots of minor characters to interact with, and you muct be invited into their homes before you can go ocorching for woeful itcmel Overall, it's planned to have 30 *dungeons' In the game, and link them in sets of three to the ten major settlements.

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He's a simple lad, g o d him, who wants to follow in il his t fi efather's s s adventuring footsteps by travelling to Elencia, a newly discovered continent. His main flaw is having a one-sided view of life, unable to see it from anyone else's perspective.

( She hails from the Etencian 1 1 city of New Pawn, where she's i the most experienced member 0 of g the Adventurer's guild, and rthe most popular gal around t r(the notes say this is due to her being pretty, which goes to a lprove the universal rule). .

7 K S )

A at t c .

LEN

4

'Naps, 180cm, 9/

Ar extremely handsome young soldier! His father is a ruthless Shogun warrior of the Baal army, but Meulen is not impressed with his methods. He meets up with Justin at the Saluto Ruins (where the stone speaks).

I

F a t F She9 e c t l y unfitS Meuieri's commanc i t h e °dal army, and is not really paid much attention due to her quiet and pleasant character.

UE rt9Ef rs, 1 20cm, literdity the 'girl next door' to

Justin. Sue thinks she can be his guardian, and she doesn't mind a rumble. She has a little pet, Pool. given to her by Justin's father which can understand but not communicate except by whimpers. Bit pathetic, really,

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CEREMONIOUSLY CRYSTALLISED

BY HIS TRIBE AFTER AN UNFORTUNATE HEAD-HUNTING ACCIDENT, KING SIODES• SKULL WAS MEANT AS A Symoot, OF FORGIVENESS TO ERROR5 OF JUDGEMENT_

RAIDER

REQUIRED TO REMOVE IT...

THE OLA55 WALLS OF THE CHAMBER ARE SAID TO BE SUPPORTED t3Y THE FORCE OF HIS CONSCIENCE ALONE.

WITH THE SKULL BEING CENTRALLY LOCATED. EQUAL FORCE IS EXERTED ON EACH SURFACE...

1 P R E C I S I O N O F J U D 6 E M E N T 1 5 H O W E V E R

To EARN THIS SKULL AS YOUR OWN 15 SAID TO BRING ETERNAL PROTECTION.- PP RISK MY LIFE FOR IT I!

I DIDN'T MEAN UNNECESSARILY YOU'LL UPSET THE BALANCE OF..

THE CEILING mat_ IMPLODE, AND THE FLOOR WILL-

To SURVIVE, ONE NEEDS—. THE SPEW OF A CHEETAH._

THE PROFESSOR f5 LEFT WITH ETERNAL

PROTECTION...

CUP OF TEA...

WHILE LARA HEADS OFF FOR A NICE i l i A i t y p i k

1

wHERF HER REAL

ADVENTURES WIL SEGIN

OrEVIEWS SaneNanw Tomb Raider Publisher Core Reteese Out Now P r e f 4 4 , 9 9 GameStyle 3-0 adventure Wean' Lwow! h o g s Sobel Joypod rectioncolty pioneering • portmontou of gem* styles

For a girl who doesn I have to get up and go to work the options are limited. bra Croft found herself in that predicament: a man sion in the country and time on her hands.

But rather than live the life of a country gentlewoman, Lara laid plans of becoming an adventurer, not for financial gain but to *play for sport'. Her travels took her to Calcutta, where the mysterious figure at the head of the shady Natla Technologies made contact. The challenge she set was in a whole new ball park to Lard's previous escapades: locating a mythical treasure, the Atlantean Scion, lying somewhere in the ruined Incan city Pqr of Qualopet. one of the most inaccessible ancient wonders of the world. Lara next phone call was to Air Peru — first class. non-smokine.„

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This month's reviews start with the sublime and end up with the ridiculous. Cores epic Tomb Raider receives the attention it deserves. Lookout for Scavenger's very long-awaited AMOK and an exclusive on Minot is kart fest. Street Racer.

adventure take her to remnants of triree documented lions of the ancient world; the Incan. Roman and o gyptlan. She makes her way through scenes of decaying grandeur, the architectural excesses of past millenia's master builders. She will not find it easy to reach the inner areas, which have been protected by traps and puzzles, doors and switches. Locating the three shards of the Scion will also Involve feats of awesome athieticiSm as she swims, leaps and climbs her way through the landscape.

a"

The only way to control lara effectively is to practice. lara's mansion has been converted Into a custom gym, selectable from the main menu. There is equipment j her e to test all her functions. so vou can begin lei gn af i m ed pe rn ot pl iy -.

, 1 1 1 •••

Although the rdrige of Laia's action make her a handful, the control method is designed with precision. A standing or running jump will always travel the Same distance, and the play area is subtly divided into quads to make distances easier to budge. As the game vogreSiiik.S, vOu will be required to String several control commands together in se

Big leap ',

anging tough

For the most part, you will encounter hostile animals in Tomb Raider. All constructed from polygons, animal classes begin with lowly bats and wolves, before lions, baboons and crocoappear. which make tougher opponents. The animals show a remarklevel of intelligence. Not only will they hunt Lora. they will back off from gunfire, or wait in ambush. A dying animal will writhe in agony. You have human predators too, out to recover the Scion themselves, who will engage you in fierce gun battles often at the most inopportune moments.

MAGIC B Lira Is adept with several weapons but. pistols apart, she must locate them. Tomb Raider is not like Doom, there Is less to kill but ammo is very scarce, with only a couple f precious bullets found at a time. All but a w of these are hidden in 'secret* places. wil r how many of these cubby after a levei is complete.

0 A T MY 0

AND S P I

No game has ever created interiors on the scale of Tomb Raider. The game starts in reasonabr , ,rifined areas, but soon opens out Onto full-scale collosseums and imposing temples which lara must scale to vertiginous heights. It can take an hour just to run around some levels! The camera function is a clever way of letting you survey a scene from lara's 'eyes without moving. A prime example of Tomb Raider scale is the aqueduct from the Palace of Midas. A huge pool is supported a hundred feet above ground level by an elaborate Sequence of arches.

You are now deep tir Jungle has invaded ground level, shrouu its dangers.

GEAR

MECHANISM This contrap tion is the key to finding your way Out of the lost Valley. Sadly, It's busted.

'h the Andes. of this under, is secrets, and

i ROPE BRIDGE A moment of truth as you and both test jumping to the At this t, the d for failIs death.

WATERFALL

THE VALLEY

The current from the erground sweeps

Descending from a vantage point, you come • face . 4 .to face with an ancient coldblooded evil.

A deathly hush blan els this preserved part of incan culturi ence of long•dead minds aim to protect the Scion at all cor,1 SPIKES You go up against the cunning of the incan trap archi• ' tett& STAI RWAY This eerie setting uS t y .cal of the Ins sections the game. Is'. there some. thong more?

ANIMAL DOORS The decorative symbols are one way of keeping your bearing in this bewildering level.

Nownsok hC S' FOLLY

Amor The Folly is a huge vertical design hundreds of feet high. One slip is probably fatal. Four tasks. with mythological codes hold the keys to the exit.

NEPTUNE

THOR

Be swept Gown a huge well backed with swilling music. You may gently drown before ever seeing light again.

The p ro p e rlie S

of the God of lightning and his legendary hammer both feature in this quirky subquest.

ATLAS

DAMOCLES

A trick borrowed from Indiana Jones, but Lara must have t nerve to ind danger, and skill to outrun

A deathly hush descends over this delapidat1ed chamber, almost waiting for you to steal elect and exact its ge.

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Make no mistake this game is state of the art. The amount of time the programmers must have spent putting this together leaves N ATr u wondering ether they are now all mud trig in menial hospitals under the dellusion of actually existing in the very world Tomb Raider creates. Come to thmk of n, so might you when yotive been playing it for a while. such are its addic tive and immerse,* quoit ties. At the outset you II need patience, the con trols being complicated initially. But once you're used to how Lara moves you can really begin to appre (late the games epic ambience he . moments of suspense as you ander through eerie caves. the drenaline rush of beating off tiacking dinosaurs, and the omplicated puzzles. II you're

Playing Tomb Raider puts a lot of exist ong Saturn fodder into perspective.

Here is a game which strives to create a new gam mg expenerKe G U S with programmers who are obviously not intimidat ed with the percented limas of the machine. The 3O world of Tomb Raider is a wonder in itself, but it soon takes a back seat to the imagination. creativity and intelligence which is seen in the game design, The creators have thought your way through the game with their ovules and challenges They know when you will be elated at your achieve ments and caught off guard and when to bring you from claustro phobic spaces into awesome vauhed chambers of unfeasible intricacy, Nathan McCrees score is beautifully haunting• stirring and unsettling: a range of emo lions not norrnally associated with video game music. The whole affair is 'directed' like a

till lacking in faith Tomb Raider

movie. to dazzling effect. There

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GRAPHICS

aommow THE COLL SEUM

An abaft p i t w carnage h r i l l e d battle against the wily

COLLOSEUM

LAKE Getting your feet wat here is obligatory, but inspect the shadows movg in the water closely.

The seating for thou• sands of people huge empty es and makes spectacular

glad iatori al fights t.

; tie realisation of 30 world is spectacular with incredible level designs.

Somenmes the texture mapping is over done making itungs Indistinct. Lara how ever, moves hke a dream. with fluid wholly convincing animation.

SOUND

Tomb Raider is a game that uses silence to atmospheric effect! The superb music occurs incidentallt like a film score. and is a selection of hugely effective orchestral and choral arrangements.. The sound effects are badly sampled though.

PLAYABILITY emote Iron •ilt into the comes a series •, g e s raverse.

EMPERORS ONY highest point :within the collo is the sumplious • apartment from where the guest of honour offered his life or death Ye

most challenging level in St of the game, which is a puz*s delight. Three rooms conceal attic prizes in a manner of elabo, e guises. The final puzzle which has taxed Alc tunes. be Romans expertise in engi water forms the basis of a sir. uan level re manipung vast itiantites of ,stuff is puzzle

The character control is excellent. alter practice and the puzzles are more sophisticated than any previous Saturn 'adventure" game being both lost cal and cryptic. There is a strong element of compul Sion to sit and play for long sessions

LASTABILITY

Initially seem ong too easy the levels expand to unbelievable propor lions and even SegaS own testers have found it heavy going uncovenng all the secrets. There is also the unusual facet of later levels offering genuinely different garneplav

This ts unarguably the best thing Core have ever done. The tech nical achievements are balanced by excellent game design and a well-crafted plot. If you any interest in adven t u r e t. y o u

must hay T o m b ,

P3 1

94

litmut t o e Name 11111 Gam Stile

1Cietroi Beckyound

Hordc pre 4X41 Gremlin Interactive Price

Jaypod

Ever felt the urge to jump in a Land Rover and hurtle through forests at breakneck speeds? Ever considered plunging over huge drop-offs in a pumped up pick-up?

Well now you can, thanks to Gremlin's frantic off•road racer. Hardcore 04. You no Longer need concern yourself with power slides or even trying to stay on the track; with the customised badass mud-pluggers in Hardcore, you can just drive over any thing that gets in your way, Like mountains, for instance.

oo,,goott off-toed tiCe4 him lamer lIcksterit St 11‘ooth teuters,

le Itaticare , u , a . b Itwitter beway a fun n f r/o toe hod the idle to hat tooth p a r a ' 1 p a c k h i • 1 — Weather plays an important part in , ! , Hardcore. ,to ChampionshT Mode the con1 a ditions are random; but for a single race t you can select The'. 'overcast' or 'stomiy'. r Overcast means grey skies and light drizI zle, but stormy is enough to make even. t he Sun Baked Canyon look like North m Wales on a wet Tuesday afternoon. u c Blizzards, churned•up mud and swirling h ash clouds also c o n s ' -• re make your lit

c IMATICALL) CNN! Air

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Hardcore 4x4 is initially almost Impossible to play.. , Your truck is prone to bouncing about all over the , place, t i e ( and tips over quite easily too. The fact that the circuits are littered with potholes and chop•offs doesn't a u make life any easier, and loose gravel surfaces mean that s e good traction is not a commonly observed phenomenon. Whilst o this may be off-putting to novice garners, It does mean that the game offers fisting chalfterige and once you've mastered the game's controls; you'll find that there are certain t 'racing lines that avoid the worst of h the potholes. Whether you can stick to them as you tangle with the other e c ompet it o n , a s i s t a u d i f f r e r e n e t o m a f t t t e r h e c o u r s

• ! Time I i n g I e fRi 1,• available I n d in Hardcor Extreme , C h a msetti p i nro exi ' c o r the Time Trial which is an' Y matira ily set p l a y b lPro level. Every mode, except for Novice. n s h i p a on offers a stiff challenge, and even the easiest level is no e m o d O pushover as you struggle to retain control of your vehi • ei sn de. The 'real woiici physics' mean that it's quite easy to N your o rv U a flip trucki over on the outrageous cambers. and c e . e loose or icy track surfaces offer precious little traction Kfor P r your All Terrain Radials. In addition, players olirLij,,. o select manual or automatic transmission; with all the Na n I l dl at gear btu if you wart to get anywhere.

O t iW o ol T d d H i p F s lC o C p e O c i P r c ,

u i t s , y o u ' l l h a v Yourebadass truck comes complete with all mod cons including independent suspension, a classy stereo and. e t Snigger not though. because this rapid stop. ,a handbrake. o pingbpower can be harnessed to slide your vehicle round the tighter hairpin bends. it's also useful on courses like e the ice stage, where severe lack of steering response p requires careful use of the hand brake tp get round mist of r the bends in one piece. Unfortunately the stereo seems to e be tuned to a dodgy soft rock station, but there is one t surf/punk number which shines out through the musical mediocrity. t y n i f t y

SLuANE RANGER down wet! with Land Rover fans. Each has it's i ,own e strengths and weaknes , best h on a particular course_ , aa n d p l e SH r fM oA r S mTE s R DUST DEVIL 1 f Gohd grip. not quite so , all areas and is age in good d top speed and also u useful for vacuumdifferent o suspension. ing the s stairs.

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D s r e a n ] v a v i p e l p h i e i s a l c a i n l v g e e l s r i o

ICE BREAKER

SIDE WINDER

BRIMSTONE

ROCK HOPPER

I Acelleti ; i i d good suspension, but the Ice Breaker has a lousy top speed.

kdht cind with good r u t i holding, the Side Winder also has very taut suspension so you're in for a rough ride.

The h a s awesome suspension and above average grip but doesn't go very fast.

The fastest truck hd decent suspension 5 b not with u t much grip you'll be all over the place when tackling bends.

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six ( each , ar, J,.-- , ; • orescent Ware a good! kicking. There is often a good 'racrig line' to eat.h circuit ;which : , 4 avoids the worst potholes, , but there are no distinct s 2 in thP , 1; t o racks. g SU i v Ne BAKED HIGH CAMBER !ilIN IZON E y o u PASS A desert based course, GULCH r A riqatively simple This sun-drenched complete with camels fl trackuis set in a nat course to ease you and Arabian style vilinto the game. High - row canyon which lages. With a hint of Camber Pass does twists and turns past topicality, tanks can have a couple of rick- deserted mine workalso be seen nestling ety bridges over a ings and strange rock amongst the patrn tress. deep gorge. formations.

: TH E DEVIL's KITCHEN

D U N N E .,•) FOREST

PACK ICE SCRAMBLE

Make sure you don't 'burst your tyres on the

large areas of sheet ice on this course require delicate use of the hot lava as you slide around on the loose ash handbrake, as your surface of this track. In steering becomes next to useless! A few stiff stormy conditions, this dimbs add to the choos. one's a real pain.

Like the RAC Rally. t Forest circuit includ short road sections as well as enough bumps and dips to seriously knacker your truck's suspension.

•' •

-.

4 0 1 4 4 : 1 4 P

GRAPHICS

Highly detailed textures with a low level of clipping. The frame rote is slightly

sluggish and some of the wentliPt effects are bit

84

pixeleted.

SOUND

Nocecrashing and bonging effects, and okay music. Apart from the surf/punk ditty, which Is ace.

•5 PLAYABILITY

Hordcote is

extremely hard to get in to. so novice gainers may find it virtually unployable. Once you've mastered it though, its a top lough

82

IP al e g b

The hma diens you'll notice about Hardcore 4x4 that its blinkin rock and! There seems to be little control of your careenng mud plugger. but once you can tame it the game is actually a top laugh. The land stapes are varied and nicely detailed, but the music is a bit too AOR for my liking. The only areas where Hardcore falls down are a lack of a two player option I although its hard to see how the same level of detail could be sustained in a split screen set up I and the fact that the difficulty level may deter novice garners from what is otherwise a pretty much unique Saturn game

GUS

To Indy simulate thi full - on off road driving experience that is Hardcore 4x4. I d suggest playing the game with a couple ol redneck mates in the room. a shotgun. a roll bar wrapped around your seat and Bryan Adams blasting out of every speaker in the house. As it stands the Gremlin boys have managed to producea truly tough racing challenge that should take hours to master.

Unfortunately the extremely pow Owed appearance of each level and poor vehicle handling result in a less than polished product.

On the plus side t ill probably

LASTABILITY 1Du zilch ri Inc than

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Because of the extreme handling of the vehicles, you'll have to play Hardcore for ages to master it. No two player mode

MATT

sell by the truck load in the good old US of A.

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IT'S DIRTY AND DANGEROUS... ...OPPONENTS DON'T CARE HOW THEYFORCE YOU OFF_ ...THE ADRENALIN PUMPS AS YOU UTILE AGAINST SIX OF THE DIREST OFF-ROAD TERRAINS... ...THE SOUNDTRACK THUMPS

•t

AS YOU SWEAT AND SLIDE THROUGH IMPOSSIBLE TURNS AND AXLE-BUSTING DROPS... ...ONLY EXTREMESKILL AND CONCENTRATION CAN KEEP YOU IN THE GAME NOW... ...BECAUSE YOU'RE HAVING THETOUGHEST, DIRTIEST EXPERIENCE OF YOUR LIFE. -

s

v IT'S DA I ND G st rti ,t : „ , i l l e BUTYOU'VE GOT TO PLAY1111 .G A M E O ki • L F PlayStatIon

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Gremlin IENAL CT IVI — —

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Revolutionary 8 player simultaneous split screen a o r Playstation & Saturn (with multi-taps) 4 pla or. for PC CD •o fl ing . i'afc rounds Superb gameplay.op ons in r o mode, ull multiple angle playbacks 4 levels of d i f f I y vary from easy to crazy ideal for both learners and masters • The essential rac g and figh 41

- Vantage House -1 Weir Road - Wimbledon - London SW19 8UX - Tel: 0181 944 9000 - http://wwwubisoft

GAME 80Y 1 : 1 -

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•reserved Publashed by V el O f f ntenairs•PrellVovrd Hamm Developed by Vrend Image • • la • P i e v , trederneets S e g e E nie fr ite s Ltd lefroloodolt Gang toy o l e r n a r e e se ra. ,,, a r e I . l e S e l b y C o m p u t e E n i e s t e o r e b e r a

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CTOPA• fl A t t • Q b t A •It's Tall Ichange P S this • month. Out goes Dan and in comes new kid on the block. Steve. Being the complete slavvering games monster that he is, our man Steve is desperate to get his grubby 4 mitts 1 on4the latest I Ptips, hints E and codes to test out. If you've discovered a truly cool cheat and want to see your name in lights (or print at least) then get scribbling to: Mean Machines Sega.

S Priory •Court, 1 30-32 7 Farringdon 1 Lane, London ECIR 3AU. Truly original cheats may just win a stun fling prize from our goodies cupboard but more likely than not we'll just send you some piece of - old tat that's been lying around the office for months. Ia. tat 1 2 , E C T O R N • giant bear in the background. If you're lucky, Kuma Chan will be added to your playable characters, M A where you'll discover that he plays just like Sanmart.

I t UKELELECANDY • This special Candy L „stume is accessed by corn• Q b r pleting the game as Candy A • T on Normal Mode. She can I POFSECRETS! S LOADS perform all of • are all of the cheats currently known for both regular Here the Japanese import and official UK versions of Candy's moves 4 L L the gate. Most of them require quite a bit of skill- as well as ful Rakers guitar I playing,Vso be prepared E to work for these excellent rewards! smash (F, F+P).

S • P I R E SCH0011111R1CANDY

SATURNTIPS

(FIGHTING VIPERS)

Another Candy costume is made available in the multi-player modes by finishing the game as Candy on Hard Mode. All of her moves are the same as usual.

I

MAHLER Simply finish the game once with any character to get Mahler added to your list of playable characters. All of his moves are displayed in Training Mode, so you can learn to play as him properly.

MI To have BM as a selectable two player character (only the first three secret characters can be used in A t , MIKA (MAN ;, -This is slightly obscure. When playing on one of 1 0 Armstone Town stages, win a round by knockthe k o ing your opponent through the railings at the l o r i n )

II you don't happen to like the name "Honey", yot. can change the on-screen messages and announc er's voice so that they say "Candy" instead, just like the UK version. Just hold the Z button when selecting Honey, and her name will be changed.

OPTION+ The Option+ menu is gained when you complete the game once. It has options to view all of the ending artwork for all the characters you've finished the game with, as well as a stage select and invincibility options. On top of this, there are two ' 7Here's how...

7 7 7This option is added once you've finished the game as every character (including the secret 7 ones).

It makes all of the fighters' heads and feet 7 bigger, making them look like trolls ' , o p t i o n s w h i c h n e ePta flhtInt Y*11•• Virtu Ito•resSe Mot a Sloth WE Suds' d t o This option is added once you've put an "OK to b - all n eofxthe t moves for at least three characters in Training e Mode. This means that you have to go through every single move, performing each one u perfectly.

The n option makes c the walls inviso ible, making v characters the e slightly bigger than r usual and stopping e any of d the occasional slow. down.

SIG HEADS

WALL D P OFF

PEPSINAN (JAPANESE ONLY) When playing a one player Arcade game, lose the first round with a Perfect and do badly in the second. With a bit of luck, a new challenger will enter just in time to save you, and you'll have to take on Pepsiman. Defeat him, go on to complete the game and you'll be able to play as him from then

CHANGEHONEY TO CANDY (JAPANESEONLY)

VieVSorisonLaois Cadyis ether hogschooled ten et Aerator Who?

UNDERWEARCANDY To make Candy fight in just her underwear, finish the game on Very Hard in Hyper Mode. Now, on your next fight, lose your armour to see that she's lust wearing a small pair of pants and a bra! from now on, you can select Candy in this mode by holding the X button when you select her,

STREET FIGHTER ZE1141102 SECRETCHARACTERSAND TRAINING MATS HeN aro tt' secret manc e W m enabling you to play as fighters not included in the PlayStation version of the game! Once any of these cheats have been entered In Arcade Mode, the characters

can be selected in Versus Mode by highlighting their name and holding Start while selecting your fighter.

To play as original Chun-Li. highlight standard ChunLi and hold Start. Keep it held for five seconds and press any button to select her, The only real difference is that her costume is changed and her fireball now needs to be charged like in SF Zero, rather than the Yoga Flame motion of Zero 2.

To play as Evil Ryu. go to the character select screen and highlight Ryu Now hold Start and move to Adon, Gouki, Adon. then back to Ryu. Now select him with any button while still holding Start. lie can do all of Ryu's moves, plus a level 3 "firecracker" like Gook' and a Super Dragon Punch (double fireball and kick).

0 1 0 t 1

To play as Shin-Gouki, go to the player select screen and highlight Gould. Now hold Start and press Down, Down, Right, Down, Right, Down, Down, Down. Left.

Down, Left, Down, then select him with any button. lie can perform double air fireballs and is much faster and harder than any other fighter!

To play as original Zangief. highlight standard Zangiel and hold Start, then move to Sagat. Sodom, Rose, Birdie. Nash. Dhalsim, Ryu, Adon. Guy, Ken, then back to Zangiel. Now select him with any button while still holding Start. He has no super combo bar and ca'a only perform the spinning piledriver and standard lariat moves, but is much more powerful than his SF Zero 2 counterpart.

--i ll yi ng na —

1

W a t t l e '

the R button and Start, then choose your character.

Now, you'll see that you can punch or kick incredibly rapidly by lust holding the button.

You can perform both of these Training Mode cheats at the same time by holding 1, R and Start on the character select screen, making it really easy to do very impressive custom combos.

DESTRUCTION j)ERBY

To play as origi nal Dhalsim, highlight stan• dard Dhalsim and hold Start, then move to Zangiel, Sagat, Nash, then batic to Dhalsim. Now select him with any button while s ill holding Start. He has no super combo bar and can only perform his original moves.

You also don't need to choose long or short-range attacks, as it's all done for you.

wards and lump. This lets you get up to 99 hit combos!

To give yourself rapid-fire attacks in Training Mode. go to the Training character select screen and hold

ONE-TWO Press Inc K and B buttons together at the same time to pass the ball to a nearby teammate, who'll tap it straight back to your player. Once you've passed the ball, you can run in any direction and the return pass will fall just in front of your player.

••• : 1 1 1 . . 1 1 _ _ L I E N = ••• •

.

To access the secret track. Ruined Monastery without winning the tournament, simply select Wreckin• Racing Championship Mode and enter your name as 'REFLECT!". Now go back to the menu, choose Practice and cycle through the tracks until you see the question mark.

To make your car invincible, select Wreckin' Racing Championship Mode and enter your name as 'DAMAGE!". Now play and you'll receive no damage!

WMthin Seta WOO* Soma 11/ Milt Mi s k ne n G r a n u l a r '

SPECIALSNOT

BUST-A-MOVE 2 ) SECRETNODS @ B O DY you'll know about this cheat. If you haven't completed T EitXyet, T : I here's what you've been missing. On the start screen press X. Left. Right, X. This will let you f watch the end sequence and play the puzzle game on y o u different backgrounds. ' v e fi n i s h e d t h e g a m OBODYTEXT:If you've bought a copy of Sega's awee some new footle game you'll know that t he instruca manual doesn't reveal how to perform the exceltion l lent special moves. So we're going to instead! r e Simply press backwards and B at the same time to a hit d the ball behind you.

7SEGAWORLDWIDE -40CCER '97 2 SPECIALMOVES

y t Tap h the D-Pad forwards, backwards, forwards, and press the B button. Your player will nick the ball with e his berd I nd right over his head n

OVENBIRD PUCK

When in the penalty area, tap the A button twice to perform a special low shot.

INSTANTCROSS uet tJ s i d e 01 the penalty area and press the C button to cross the ball right into the middle every time.

ULTIMATEPIORTAID KONBAT 3 SECRETENDURANCEFIGHT James Jackson from Buxton, Derbyshire has discovered a way of fighting Ermac and Mileena in an endurance battle.

Fight through the game as usual, and in the final round before the endurance match, don't use Block, Run or Low Kick and avoid using your combos. Then. when the 'Finish Him/Her!" message has disappeared and your opponent is on the floor, press and hold B+C+R. After a ten second delay the "Loading" screen should appear and you'll battle with the hidden characters above the pit! That'll be really good if you can manage to get it to work!

Mark Stacey from Bath says that if you fight as Shang Tsung and morph into Kung Lao to finish your opponent with a standard hat throw special move (B. F. LP), a blue image will come out of your enemy when you morph back to Shang Isung!

MEGADRIVE TIPS MORTALKOHBAT 3)

This cheat allows you to have infinite custom combo time in Training Mode. Go to the Training character select screen and hold the L button and Start. Now choose your character and perform a custom combo at any level. You'll notice that the shadows stay with you for the whole round and you can als o MOW hArk

lap the D-Pad twice to either side when running to perform a quick shimmy, which is often enough to vvrongfoot someone.

SECRETTRACK AND INVINCIBILITY

BACKHELL rainGerais noratital att lashes art tin let in ratan

FAKETURN

SECRETTURBO NODE At., Simms m ullion us l a r v a O w testa i I k ,r , rtto r h e a s h i p i d 7 b e e .

LIGHT CND

• Tap the C button twice to chip the ball lightly in front ; of your player.

Peter White from -,;,ith Ockenden, Essex. says that he's discovered a new cheat for Mortal Kombat 3. Use the cheat to access Smoke on the title screen (A. B.

B, A, Down, A, B, B, A, Down, Up, Up) and let the demo run through. When the title screen reappears, do the came (-heat again and you'll hear "Smoke Wins". Now you can play the game in extra hard : T u rb o m o d e l

tiered and full of springs. Ignore the switch at present_ Keep going up.

a h e a n t e b o o m t o t h e D a r k n e s s b o s s c o n t a i n s s i x h o l e s u n d e r O w

MEAN MACHI NES. So we N done another one, for the rather ace Thor on Saturn. o o n e d o thorns to be remov ed by Shade, e each taking you to a different location, You will use this room frequently as a means of jumping between s areas of the map.

R B O T T O M RI G HT P Water shrine. Summon brass G f rom the switch and break the g crystal_ the earth gem means that u Bawu can now create earth eneri gy directly for you. There is a d switch shade can pull near the e exit to the t own. s l TO P RI G HT Sound shrine_ Summon brass to i shatter the crystals on t he left k and take a rod scroll. e

1 1 1 1 E W A R I P R O VALLEY OF TI-If 11Eikt3 O M V. . • •

TO P MI DDLE Point above the abyss, fire shrine. Us e the air spirit to reach the robot across on the right.

BO TTO M MI DDLE On the bridge. outside Aquaria t own TO P LE FT Outside valley of dead

Cl e a r t h e t h o r n s w i t h y o u r n e w l y a c qui e r e c i spi r i t.

B O T T O M LE FT O u t s i d e D a r k n e s s s hr i ne .

er wt h Shade and travel to the far left, where there is a switch to pull. No w s ummon Dytto and have her freeze the small wat er jet into an icicle step. Summon Bawu using the brown coloured reeds and create spirit energy so your s word can break through the stone pillars at the bot t om of the screen, allowing y ou to collect a scroll. Use this spirit energy to break the stone switch near the three trees at the t op right of the valley.

Summon Shade f rom the crystals bot t om left and use him to destroy the small thorn at ground level, Use the green spirit energy to smash the large rock behind the crystals, revealing a highly useful recharge point. Remov e the large t horn f rom top right and head north. The next area contains a strange frozen 'Tokipin' under a bush. Charge your rod and use it to release a treasure spirit. You can use him to attack the other chests and break the large stone pillar. If you clear all enemies

On the next level, ride the platforms to a bush hiding an earth energy. This will break the stone t o open the doors, but if you keep travelling right, you'll find a s mall switch that drops a chest containing a scroll to the level below. In the top left of this room, on the grass triangle, is a hidden elixir!

The fi rst couple of rooms are s imple enough. Take bombs into the room wit h the torch raised on the platf orm and jump and bomb to light the torch and start the mechanism. To the tight of this is the first of three switches you need to trip wit h Shade. Mov ing north, the way splits. Go left first, lighting the torch. Travel on platforms until you see the one in the corner. Take the chest out wit h an arrow revealing a switch. No w you can retrieve a key front soldiers behind a door. On the way back, use a bomb to ignite the plat f orm torch, whic h will bring the chest containing an onyx wit hin reach. You may have to jump into the thorns to reach wit h your bomb. Use your key t o open the door and pull the switch. The third switch, to the right hand side, is easy to get.

Then ret urn to the furthest right point, where a platf orm is wait ing to take y ou into the sky. Leave the bott om of the screen after saving your position.

The sky walk way s are treacherous, but wit h Shade as your spirit you need never fall off. The switches y ou activate drop warpholes down to ground level, so it's easy to get back up.

Whenever you drop a chest, fall to the ground to retrieve its contents. In the next area, there are fi ve torches whic h create stepping stones. All five must be let for the steps to f orm the correct shape. Approac h the statue of Behar!, then obey his instruction to wait. Your reward is a scroll.

Travel left where a darkness orb is revealed. The scroll used in conjunction with this and the bow is on the top right of this screen, past three sparks. Summon brass and use his sound wave to neutralise these as

w i thout enter i ng the pit, a bonus scroll

you j um p over. Wal k now onto the hal f-com pl ete

is yours. You s hould be able to collect a

bridge and remov e the thorn by shooting high arrows.

fourth ruby, enabling Efreet to create

The next screen has a key hidden on a sky island and

uiie ctieigy. C u i i ui tl i e nd U30 thc al l ude

tyre door * . 19neto the one e n the left. The w eeder ,

to pull the switch. The next c hamber is

100111 0 1 m o v i n g p l d i f U l I ttb - T V d tA i V d te i

these you will have to shoot the thorn wit h darkness arrows, but a single shot won't do. You must fi re a wide shot by pressing right, left, right then fire. On the next screen, go to the t op and open the door that connects you to the beginning of the sky shrine. No w have all t he cylinders s wallowed by Bawu and light the torches to create a bridge to the left. In the next room use bawu on the crack, but there's also a hidden chest!

3. Sky Shrine puppet.

Ride nort h f rom the puppet to find a secret diamond.

4. Abov e Sound Shrine.

In the 'c ollos eum' area ride to a centrally located platform, 5. Abov e Fire Shrine.

Across the large black area to the rear of the shrine to fi nd a puppet.

6. Earth Shrine.

The open space west of the river wit h a puppet. Fly north to the unreachable hilt

You will arrive at six switches. The legend on the sign is confusing, this is the sequence; bot t om middle top middle, top right, bot t om left. bot t om right, top left. Make sure the robots are facing t owards the switches bef ore c omplet ing the sequence. Behind the door, there's a darkness gem hidden in the left waterfall. The next c hamber requires you to j ump on a switch in the bot t om right corner to open a door. Blow out the torch to remov e the fl ame barn.. e r on t he bridge. Fight to uncover a green orb whic h lets your s word destroy all fi ve grey pillars whic h seal the main door north.

Remember to take the mov ing plat f orm across the sky top right — there's a hidden chest on the island. In this area, t he creatures will all s uc c umb to the rod of purifi cation.

Not as difficult as first appears. First, be tooled up wit h the earth s word — and hav e Bawu wit h you for top ups. Av oid the boss in its fl ying phase, wait until it lands. Then strike, reducing the size of the rock until the vulnerable part — a pulsing red core.• is exposed. As it nears death, this core will spark int o electric life, creating an added problem.

Under the bush in the square wit h the 'wait ' statue is a switch whic h will drop a green chest whic h contains t wo shrinking herbs. Wit h these you can duck through the mous ehole to the right. It's difficult, as you start to grow quickly. Take a powerf ul spirit like Efreet down wit h you. Don't try to enter the hole until one mouse has emerged. Inside the hole, kill every mous e to reveal a chest, and every mous e in the pool area. Take Dytto and snuff Out the torch for more enemies. There's little more in here.

With Airl, you will be able to reach certain point previously inaccessible, like.

1. Chamber before Sky Boss There is an island on the left hand side reached by riding on Airl f rom the left mos t platform in the room.

2. Valley of Death. The unreachable platform wit h the thorn can now be by riding f rom the bridge platform.

Airl's electrical attack is the only thing to destroy iron boxes. These are dotted all over the landscape, including.

1. Sky shrine, in waterfall; 2. Entrance to Sound Shrine; 3. On roof of village hit 4; On terrace near Fire Shrine; 5_ Sky Shrine, far right at second save point. 6. Earth Shrine. On the plat f orm near the bridge made of three tiles. 7. Darkness Shrine, eletrical room.

There is a series of caves located at the source of the river, whic h you may only enter by having Aid light the electric bulbs at the entrance. Proceed t hrough the first c hamber by breaking the stone pillars on the bot t om right. At the lower level go to the left and you will fi nd a 'herb garden'. Pick the shrinking herbs and go through the gap to the north

ii

This 'extra' room can only be entered once you have the wind rod. It requires you to backtrack, using the warp hole just outside the village whic h takes you to the sound shrine. There is a thorn on the south side of the room filled wit h electric sparks. Beyond it. a short c orridor ending in a steel wall and a pot, whic h the rod can push ont o a switch, opening the way t o the assault course. The object is to propel a rock through the course in the least possible time, res ult ing in a performance-related bonus. The best policy is to \ft ri de t h e You have the six spirits, you are ready to face Agito_ Use the r warp pad to take y ou to the room in the wat er shrine wit h the o thorn. Us e the crystal to s ummon shade and remov e the thorn. In the c next screen s ummon the air spirit to cross the gap. In the f ollowing k screen Shade can help you locate a hidden chest. The next screen , has you jumping a wide chasm, collecting a key and taking it t o a u door to the lower level. Below, head straight for the screen to t he right, accessible f rom the stairs. Fill up your energy bars and sums mon airl (there is a gas fissure to the right of the energy spot). The i annoying tentacle creatures can be remov ed wit h a single arrow of n darkness, No w light all the bulbs using Airl's electric dash attack. g With the chest concealed behind the torch, s ummon Efreet and use t his fire breath to blow Out the flame. At the top of the screen the h door will open into a room wit h a thorn that holds tho key. e Walk back to the initial room on this level. There is a bulb on the left w i (also a ledge on the t op of the screen wit h good power up goodies. io h t in g t riab u l b ro rro v A q the n have to propel the large robot, using Airrn electric attacks to power , fi r c t d o o r d T o r i m p o y o u r d k p v t y o u w

i

l

the scroll of the wind rod — excellent! Return to the room with doors on left and right.

The right side first, using the wind rod. Push the sleeping mouse onto the door pressu pad. In the next room, a key will retrieve a scroWpearl.

There's another pearl in the screen after that, plus Bawu can find a key from the crack. screen into Your wind rod can push the sparks in the fo to a room the robot. It will also push the iron balls. You with five orbs, Use the orb of darkness to power your arrows, and select Dytto as a spirit. Your arrows quickly disperse the initial wave of tentacles in the next room, and Dytto deals well with much else, Return to the left hand side of the big room which leads to imprisoned villagers, well worth freeing. The warp takes you to the stairway to this level

it. Once t hrough the door, power up your bow with the orb in the chest, Ignore the thorn in next room. Take Airl instead into the spike room.

Sidestep the _heavies in the hallway and jump across the islands to the step in the , m i d d l e of the room. Use Airl to take you to the bush. Summon Bawu and have .. i m empower your sword. You can break the stone pillars. Summon Brass

0 0 01 4,1 tals. Go down and immediately left to a ( with several thorns on a mezzanine. You f screen can summon Shade from the dead spirits. r You'll find a gas jet. Summon Airl and take her o back to the mortar room, then left to a room m with a puppet. Ignore that, just get on the t cloud and fly north. There's the most powerh ful rod (level 3) within your grasp. Summon e Brass from the puppet on the way out. Go m ' r i ght, down and right where there are two passages leading off the top of the screen. o r The right hand one has crystals, one hiding a useful save point, Return to the thorn room. t Now cross to the opposite mezzanine on a Airl and have her light the bulb. Summon r Bawu and climb on the robot. There's a b crack that Bawu can open, creating a water a jet. Before you dispense with Bawu, have him empowee your sword. Use Dytto r to remove the fire and then use Dytto's vortex to r the the stone with your sword. Thr ough the - knight and break e door you need to m l push a stone to get access to the platform with the bombers. Near here is the most powerful sword of all. a s Return to the room with the thorns. On the large mezzanine is a k t jumpgrass which e leads to a scroll.oAlso, s b get Bawu to empower h your sword. Gorto the o right — a new area. e r There is a gold pillar a you can now destroy t k for w a key. Summon t left oDytto and take the h hand passage. You r e can reach the higher klevel by freezingc a rat o and jumping onrit f y t X Once again backs to t exit.

You have a- key to take you down. On the lower floor.I Dytto Ih e I c o rinnhandy by freezing enemies allowing you to reach I the icomes the keys. Now Summon Brass and shatter I rghigher o olevel. m Collect , the crystals bottom right. Ignore the bushes — go for the Angel a Lbow einstead! a v(level 3), Now take out the third bush down on the r e right side. Electrify the robot and get a key. There's a switch on g b the right y side creating a bridge to a scroll. Next screen there is to h powerful Hell Bomb locked up. The key is hidden on the most y central stone platform you will need to jump to. Use your e the l empowered b o trod on the 'Koh' which frees a treasure spirit, who can from chests and will add his defensive powte beo summoned m s — ers to your other s p a . . .

I n t h e n e x t r o o m s i d e

Now remove the thorns from the leftmost part of this level.

Use the wind rod to push the iron ball in the next screen, as ! a means to the higher plat. forms on the right. There is a jumpgrass taking you to the further reaches of this room. I n , the wall near the crystal is a gap. Go through this, there is a pearl nearby. Blow out the torches. In the next screen, stand on the rock with the wi nd rod and use it to propel the rock leftward.

The next set of screens pose big monsters, be prepared. In the final screen before the tower, look for two small cracks that Bawu can exploit.

Before you confront Agito, a series of boss encounters, each of which has a tactical weakness. First is Bluearm, easily overcome with Efreet and a flame sword on your sword. Next is the fat Red Demon, who unsurprisingly is weak against Dytto who can easily freeze his large bulk. On the next level up, use your rod on all the zombies to open a bonus room with an elixir. Select Brass before entering Darkwill's lair. As he uses electrical attacks, he's very susceptible to the sound spirit's microwave attacks. After Darkwill you can fall from the floor above into a room with two extra scrolls. When you reach the next room, Brass will become a new knife, one which you must use against Myra in a series of well-timed circular attacks.

Nothing now stops you from taking on Agito for the final conflict. And what an anti-climax that is. Agi t° throws all kinds of spirit attack at you, but the key to beating him is using the magic power symbol he carelessly has placed in his lair. Every so often he releases a blue water dragon, you can summon Dytto from it and replenish your health. You must vary your attacks or he will construct a shield for that spirit type — indicated by its colour. Once he's dead you're treated to an story epilogue, and then a ranking for your perfor-

Return to the first room on this level. Leave by the top exit.

In the next room a key stands on a central pillar.

Leave by the top exit, destroy all

the guards,

freeze the water spouts and take key. North again, to find \, :l l a t

mance — and a k i t h sco re t a b l o l P l a y

5

(FIGHTING VIPERS MOVES AND SECRET') This is one of the biggest titles to be imported over to the Saturn this year. Mean Machines Sega thought that a handy moves guide would come in handy for all you combateers out there, KEY: BREAK OFF ARMOUR: = guard Crouch: When crouching p = punch Back: I f facing the opponent's back, Every character has the ability to break off their own armour by k - kick Toward: Facing toward an opponent. pressing (I, b, I I = forward Air: W h e n in the air , b of + start each match This will give b = back Wall: N e a r a wail.

P + opponent G your an excellent handl -- up + Kthis ) is only advised to executed cap, d down a t by experienced player's only + = press buttons simutanecously t. h (When an UPPER case letter is listed, this indicates that the position must be held) e

RAXEL

BANN

Stage: THE CITY TOWER

Stage: OW ARMSTONE CITY

— M1-2 Punch OPunch Combo VPunch & Kick EUppercut Double Upper SElbow LEl bow Light Hand I .Elbow Side-Kick & Side-K & Knuckle SElbow P u Elbow Death Spin Kick TnElbow c Low Death Spin h Double Spin Kick Rising Spin Kick Side-Kick Side Kick Knuckle Death Spin Combo Low Death Spin Combo Hammer Kick Sommersault Kick V. – n a 19, Kirk l ARMOUR BREAKER K Guitar Trust i c Guitar Swing k Guitar Swing Down Death Spin Kick Double Death Spin Triple Death Spin COUNTER MOVES Block Baster Guard & Uppercut Combo Block Baster

CONTROL METHOD

DAMAGE

MOVES LIST

CONTROLMETHOD

DAMAGE

PP PPP PK

34 52 32 35 45 to 41 6o 44 50 82 79 45 3 35 0 4 6o 2 5R 39 50 42 36

Kenkaka Sway Elbow Iron Elbow Running Elbow Combo Elbow Rising Uppercut Rising Upper Combo Yakuza Kick Hi-Kick Head Attack

13/FP bP 1P rr P I Pt P Id P d dir Pr d di f P d/ f K K P+K+G

36 30 28 45 50 48 too 30 35 45

ARMOUR BREAKER lingi Gekitouha Super Straight Body Check Elbow & Body Check

01) D/F P F+P bf I NK f t Pb r Ps-K

33 35 50 6o

COUNTER MOVES Guard & Elbow Guard & Uppercut Guard & Rising Upper

bP bd/ r d d/ bP bd/ r dd/ bP P M

30 so 45

RUNNING MOVES Running Straight Shoulder Tackle Run & Body Check Running Knee Sliding Kick

(RUN)P (RUN)P+G (RUN)P+K (RUN)K (RUN)d or d/1 K

45 50 48 40 35

THROWS Wall Throw Throw Down Head Butt Atomic Drop

P+G b P+G b f P+K+G (Back)P+G Back

3 30 0 50

u+P d+K d+PP

4 20 0

dff P (14PP P f PP f PPP PK I PKP F PKPK+G I PKPd K+G KK (Crouch)K dir K dir KP dir KPf K+G dll KPd K+G rK u/b K K+G d K+G

P Of P O W PP K+G K+Gd dfl f K K+Gd clif Kd dir r K bK bP PPK

5 34 0 6o 50 68 too

30 20 40

RUNNING MOVES Running Straight Shoulder Tackle Running Knee Sliding Kick

(RLIN)P (RUN)P+G (RUN)K (RUN)d or dir K

35 4 838 40

THROWS Wall I Neck h r o Fold Neck Throw w Mexican Typhoon Back Drop

P+G b I P+G ft P+G u d P+G (Back)P+G

35 50 3 6o 0 70

DOWNED OPPONENT Stepping on Guitar (rash Double Handed Guitar Soccer Ball Kick

u+P d+P d d+P d+K

WHEN OPPONENT IS DOWN Stepping on Soccer Ball Kick , 1 6 0 P u n c h i n g D o w n

•

100

3 0

Ayd e

GRACE

TOKIO

S t a g e : B;1/4.3 I - A C I O W (

Stage: ARMs ot, L Ai RPORT

MOVES LIST

CONTROL METHOD

DAMAGE

MOVES LIST

CONTROL METHOD I DAMAGE

Single Beat Duel Beat Quad Beat Vulcan Beat Punch & Kick Punch Crouch Spin Punch Double Kick Low Punch & Kick Hi-Kick Straight KP & Hi-Kick KP & Double Kick KP & Crouch Spin Double Kick Vulcan Leg Camel Spin Camel Spin Cutter Somersault Kick Front Roll Kick Jumping Front Roll Vertical Kick Blade Cutter Right HI-Kick Right Hi-Kick Left Right Hi-Kick Combo Crouch Spin Crouch Sion Combo Bit Kick Ballerina Kick Level Back Chop

P PP PPPP PPPPP PK Pd K PKK d PK KP KPK KPKK KPd K KK bKK d/IKK d/f KKK LOD K uK Of K dif clif K udK K+G K+GK _ K+GKK d K+G d K+GKKKK I K+G I K+GK P+K

12

1-2 Punch Open Arm

PP PPP PPK PK d/f P f PP f PPP (Crouch)K K d/f KK O f KOK K UK WI) K ud K K•G 1(44K K+GKK K+Gd K d K+GK d1C+GKK D K+GKK clif K+G d/IK+GIK f K+GK I(+Gd K KPK KPI KPPb K 3 KPPPK 1( KPPPd K KPPPb K d K+GPK d K+GPPK d K+GPPb K d K+GPPPK d K+GPPPd K d K+GPPPb K f d P+K+G d P+K+GK ?bi b P+K+G

3 40 0 38 36 35 35 48 25 35 45 50 30 35 45 40 42 45 60 50 45 55 58 38 48 55 60 25 36 48 50 55 55 48 55 55 65 70 68 35 46 54o

bK

4 0

(RUN)P (RUN)P+G (RUN)K ° M i d or d/IK

38 45 40 48

Wall Throw Arm Crytch Slam Neck Grab & Throw Rolling Throw Clinch Knee Back Drop

P+G b P4•G b P+G b P+K+G (rVall)b I K (Elack)P+G Back

50 6o 45 50 45 8o

WHEN OPPONENT IS DOWN Stepping on Soccer Bali Kick

u+P d+K

30

20

36 44 32 32 45 35 42 50 6o 45 45 45 26 46 5o 30 30 35 30 20

41 76 20

86 35 73 28

ARMOUR BREAKER ICOUNTER MOVES lBlock.Baster p Guard & Tip Slap S Combo Block Baster L Kick Combo Block Baster a p

If P

35

bK bP PPK KPKK

25 30 35 45

(RUN)P (RUN)P+G (RUN)K (RUN)d K (RUN)K+G

65 40 40 40 40

P+G d b P+G f b P*K+G (Air)d P+1(44 (13ack)P+G

so 50 55 35 80

u+P

30

RUNNING MOVES Straight Punch Shoulder Tackle Diving Kick Sliding Kick Diving Front Roll Kick

THROWS Wall Throw I nd Cross Arm Crutch Slam Frankensteiner Back Drop

WHEN OPPONENT IS DOWN Stepping on Soccer Ball Kick

t hl i ( r i l dw a hm k . 1 5

1-2 & Kick

Punch & Kick Uppercut Open Arm Blow Open Arm Blow Toe Kick Middle Kick Double Middle Kick Triple Middle Kick Knee Kick Hi-Kick Looping Kick Heel Attack Spin Kick Spin-K & Side Spin Float Spin Cossack Low Spin Hi Low Spin Float Triple Low Spin Middle Kick Middle Kick Combo Catapult Hi Catapult Low Hi-K Punch & Kick Hi•K 1•2 & Kick HI•1( 1•2 & Loop Kick Hi-K PPP Hi-K Hi-K PPP Low-K Hi-K PPP Loop-K Low Low-K 1-2 & Kick , Low-K 1-2 & Loop Kick K Low•K PPP Hi-K P Low-K PPP Low-K u Low-K PPP Loop-K n Crouch down c Crouch Down 8i Kick h Tokio Flash & ARMOUR BREAKER K See Counter Move i c COUNTER MOVES k Block Baster RUNNING MOVES Running Straight Shoulder Tackle Drop Kick Sliding Kick

THROWS

20

I MP

SANMAN

JANE

Stage. OLD ARMSTONE TOWN

Stage: OBSERVATION DECK

MOVES LIST

CONTROL METHOD

DAMAGE

MOVES LIST

CONTROL METHOD

1-2 Punch 1-2 Hammer Jab Uppercut lab Upper & Kick Punch & Kick Uppercut Double Upper Chop Double Chop Triple Chop Generator Generator Generator Generator Punch Body Press Reverse Sledge Hammer Leg Through Peach Bomber Double Peach Bomber Hammer Down Double Hammer Down Hammer & Reverse Sledge

PP PPP Pd/f P Pd/f PK PK rill P d/I PP b IP b t PP b I PPP t PP t PPP I PPPP I PPPPP U/B or U or LI/I P clit P+G d K•G P+K+G P•K+GP+K+G d P*1(+6 d P+K+Gd P d P+K+Gd P+G

28 58 40 48 28 3o 40

Double Bash Low Spin Combo Low Spin & Uppercut Low Spin & Double Hand Knee Kick Combo Triple Bash Punch & Kick Punch Kick & Uppercut Crouch lab & Kick Uppercut Body Blow Body Blow & Punch Double Hand Attack Rising Kick Rising Knee Low Spin Up Low Spin Down

PP PPd K PPd Kdif P PPd Kr P PPf K PPP PK PKP d PK dif P fP f PP d d/1 f P(d/b I P) (Crouch)K (Crouch)f k d K+GK D K+GK

Wall Climbing

(Wall, Air)u u P

ARMOUR BREAKER Elbow Smash

ffP

35

ARMOUR BREAKER Power Smash Tornado Punch Ground Tornado lumping Heel Drop

fP bd/ bdd/ I I P f d di? P (lop of Wall)u P

35 65 60 45

COUNTER MOVES Block Bomber Combo Block Bomber

bK PPK

35 45

COUNTER MOVES Block Straight Combo Block Straight

bP PPb P

38 48

RUNNING MOVES Body Attack Peach Press Sliding Kick

(RUN)P (RUN)K (RUN)d or Of K

30 35 45

RUNNING MOVES Running Straight Shoulder Tackle Running Knee Sliding Kick

(RUN)P (RUN)P+G (RUN)K (RUN)d or (tit K

30 42 30 48

THROWS Clinch Punch Clinch Punch Brain Baster Front Back Breaker Clinch Knee Clinch Knee Clinch Knee Neck Fold Tiger Suprex

P+G P+GP b P+G d P+G K+G b d/b d clif K+G (Wall)K+GK+G (Back)P+G Back (Back)P+K+G Back

35 40 48 so 35 45 58 70 75

WHEN OPPONENT IS DOWN Jumping Punch Soccer Ball Kick Punching Down

u+P cl+K d+P

35

THROWS P•G Sanman Nice Can bd/ bdd/ I I P Giant Swing f di, d d/b b P+G Neck Hanging Tree I d/ I d d/b b P+Gr b P+G Triple Neck Hang Sanman Typhoon f dild dt b b P•Gr b P+Gldif d d/b b u/b u uil f P+G l b P+G Bear Hug l b P+Gb b P+G Bear Hug & Press Canadian Back Breaker l b f WI P+G Pile Driver d/ P (WalOt b f P+G Super Power Bomb o Iron Claw (Wall)d/b or d P+G . dbfP+G Double Neck Hang K * (Back)P+G Back Back Drop

20

40 6o 36 56 7 2 92 60 27

30 40 80 45 50 6

30 so 50 6o too so 68 70 8o 40 48 55 So

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WHEN OPPONENT IS DOWN u+P Raiden Woo d+K _Shiko Quake

35 20

I

DAMAGE 34 64 7o 78 45 40 35 45 35 28 36 40 45 2s 36 too

25

•

•••••••. . •-

CANDY

PICKY

Stage: BAY SIDE

Stage: UFO DINER

MOVES UST

CONTROL METHOD

DAMAGE

MOVES LIST

CONTROL METHOD

DAMAGE

Cat Punch Punch & Kick Cat Scratch Combo Upper Kick Combo Low Kick Crouch lab & Kick Cat Uppercut Honey Single Honey Double Honey Triple Rising Cat Upper Toe Kick Toe Kick & Scorpion Toe Kick & Somersault Toe Kick & Heel Down Crouch Kick Leg Beat Crouch Kick & Punch Middle Kick Middle Kick & High triple Low Kick Scorpion Attack Somersault Kick Jack Knife Kick Horse Kick Honey Peach Honey Peach a Peach wall Climbing

PP PK PPP PPPK PPPd K d PK dif P fP

1•2 Punch , 1-2 Side Kick Combo Toe Kick Hi Combo Upper Spin Combo Knee Kick Board Bash Punch Side Kick Punch Low Kick Crouch lab & kick Uppercut Upper Hi•Spin Knee Kick High Toe Kick Toe Kick High Middle Kick Heel Attack Knee Kick Rising Knee

PP PRI( PPd KK PPf PK PP(' KK PPP PK Pd K d PK Of P O f PK KK dK d KK d/f K ud K E.G ( Cm ch)f K+G

36 56 66 66 55 6o 58 43 40 35 45 40 38 46 45 42 46 so

Rocke• ! e Wall , n g

(Back to Wal0d/b KK (Wall, Air)u u P

45 o

u/b K K+G f f K+G P+K+G P+K+GP+K+G (Wall, Air)u u P

28 32 44 79 62 40 33 24 35 45 40 23 3 42 1 55 29 38 49 24 35 48 30 45 40 42 so 59 o

ARMOUR BREAKER Cat Slap Cat Diving Cat Heel Drop

UP Of dif P (Top of WalOu P

35 35 40

RUNNING MOVES

COUNTER MOVES Block Bomber Guard & Cat Slap

bK bP

35 35

f PP f PPP f d dif P (Crouch)K (Crouch)KK (Crouch)Ku/b K (Crouch)KK+G (lib KK d/b KKK dtb KKd P dK d KK D KKK

cill K

RUNNING MOVES Running Straight Shoulder Tackle Peach Press Sliding Kick

(RUN)P (RUN)P+G (RUN)K (RUN)d or dif K

42 5 45 0

P+G d/b f P+G d b P+G u/f P d P+K+G (Air)b P+K+G (Bac k) P+G Back (Back)P+K+G

42 80 46 35 40 60 70 Bo

u+P d+K d+PPPPP

30

30

THROWS Wall Throw Peach Press Cat Flip Hopping Leg Through Honey Aerial Back Drop Knee Trap

WHEN OPPONENT IS DOWN Stepping on Soccer Bail Kick Cat Play

20

35

ARMOUR BREAKER Board Slap Jumping Heel Drop

b I fP (Top of WalOu P

so 42

bK bP

35 35

BoardSlap Shoulder Tackle Running Air Running Knee Sliding Kick

(RUN)P (RUN)P+G (RUN)P+K+G (RUN)K (RUN)d or clif K

40 52 6o 35 42

THROWS Wall Throw Neck Throw Hopping Leg Through Leg Through & Horse Kick Clinch Knee Air Grab Frankensteiner Back Drop

P+G f f P+G ti/f P d P+K+G d P+K+Gb K (Wall)b f K (Air)b P+K+G (Air)d P+K+G

(Bac k)P•G Back

30 45 42 0 30 30 45 50 6o

u+P d+P d+KKK

35 30 45

COUNTER MOVES Block Knee Sway Uppercut

WHEN OPPONENT IS DOWN Diving Board Stamp Triple Stamp a

d

IM O C O

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Everyone gets a chance to have their say in MEAN MAIL. Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!

Write to; MENACING NAIL MEAN MACHINES SEGA. PRIORY COURT. 30 3? FARRINGDON LANE. LONDON ECIR 3AU 41k

aPafr I EAT RPG FOR BREAKFAST Dear Mean Mail.

I d o n ' t knoor dbout you but I wa s a Oil dis appoint ed

with Shining Wisdom. I thought it was a top notch title but I'd completed it within seven days without any help from mags with 85% of items. So I went down to Electronics Boutique (where I'd bought the game) and the dudes and dudettes let me exchange It for Rally. What is your fastest time in Championship Arcade Mode?

Yours, *.

Mat England, Romsey MATT:What's my fastest time in arcade mode?

Something completely unbelievable that no one could ever match.

STEPHEN:Shining Wisdom's an RPG I know that much. I only play Sega Rally in pubs and I'm too pissed to know what my time is.

GUS:WelL I've played both, and I was distinctly let down by the lack of magical Items in Sega Rally. MI impressed by your knowledge of Saturn RPGs, Steve. Bit of a crash course needed there. I think.

MATT:Can I leave you guys to answer the letters.

GLISMO. the point is that everyone does it,

THE VOICE O F

Fy h t,, mi s j.

D

I'm a PSX owner, you might wonder why I'm writing to a stinking Sega mag then. just to tell you lot to get down to the job centre pronto, because Sega and the Saturn are finished. Look at the facts - there are three times as many of us (PSX owners) than you rejects (Saturn owners) and our ranks are growing daily. The PlayStation mags say the shops are selling 8 PlayStations for every Saturn, and that people bring back their Sega machines in a few weeks and beg the shop to exchange them for a PlayStation. In my sixth form, a few of the lads have P5X's but only one has a Saturn. and strangely enough, he's the one who smells and always seems to have dog cack on his shoes. Anyway, Sega will get creamed this Christmas, dump the Saturn and leave you guys looking for employment in 1997_ Happy hunting. yours,

PSX lover, Worthing SI T PH F

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i

h n t h M AC h in PS a n d I t h in k t h a y r a

both great, what's the problem?

GUS:The problem is not PlayStations, but

5 PlayStation owners. They are a particular 7 breed.

They all had Amigas once and were ashamed to admit it. Now they can buy games like Worms with t dignity. Matt. you came from a PlayStation mag, didn't you?

MATT:Yeah. I just think it's really sad. You e should buy the machine because you love the games, not because you're some sort of corporate arse-licker, k PSX is a great 3-D machine, Saturn's a great 2.D machine, best of both worlds.

GUS:Er, the views expressed are not thosee of Sega and all that. Matt you've got to toe the party line here. There's nothing wrong with corporate arse-lick, ing, as long as the bum belongs to Sonic.

STEPHEN:1 refuse to get drawn into this pointless debate.

TECHNICAL HITCH My mate and I were debating Sony vs Saturn, and after a heated discussion, he would only settle for him and I writ ing to our fave mags to confirm our argument_ I was in a certain Dixon shop and over-

Mcit heara a Sony PS owner really cheesed off_ To cut a long story short, he complained that his Sony (and a lot of others) would freeze during a game_ This is the second time, he said, and this was a reconditioned one. I am certain that this guy is going to the Saturn side of life. My friend does not believe me and said if he had phoned Sony themselves he would get a brand new one within days. yours.

James McIntosh, Greenock.

MATT:Well. Ft has come to mind for me. The game is horrendously bugged — Psygnosis have had loads of calls about it crashing during games. As for freezing, well that's just shoddy manufacturing, heh heh.

GUS:See you've got into the arse-licking quite easily Matt. It must be that new Saturn that's just arrived.

STEPHEN:I've had no trouble with my second-hand PlayStation. but I must admit loading times are slow.

GUS:Yes, when you compare the likes of Alien Trilogy, or Space Hulk. The loading time is like 30 seconds.

• STEPHEN:And Street Fighter Alpha,

MEAN ART

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CAPCOM CONSPIRACY Dear Mean Mail.

a

l

"Flogging a dead horse edition" in them you will l y mark t hegamesdown, I'vec omet o the conclusion that either the Capcom PR girlie is doing her job too well or the SNK PR girlie isn't giving in to your sick demands.

I hope you will re-review King of Fighters '95 and Fatal Fury Real Bout without the Capcom PR girlie kneeling under your desk, to give the games a fairer and better review.

Why, oh why, oh why, oh why. etc. etc. do you continue to give all the SNK beat•'em-ups bad Yours. reviews? Granted all the CD only games are pretty poor and should never have reached the Ryoga, Woking Saturn but King of Fighters '95 and Fatal Fury Real Bout are excellent beat-'em•ups that every MATT:Well SNK have always played second fiddle fighting fan should have. Both are more original to Capcom, and I am a big fan of their games. King and better in terms of Fighters '95 is betof gameplay than ter than '94, but so Street Fighter Zero many of the characever was. The multi ters are copies of character abilities of each other that they King of Fighters, the bring it down, and sheer number of difDear Mean Malt, 7 7 now Capcom have ferent characters it I will get straight to the point and say why drown shown what they can has as well as do with SF Zero 2, the out the Mega-CD. it Is a great console and you can stakes have been arcade players get some decent games for it so why let the whole raised. I did think gameplay make it a project go just because a few people complained. If Samurai Shodown 2 classic beat-'em'up. a few people complained about the Saturn. will you All my Saturn poke fun and ignore it, the answer is (SURPRISE, was amazing, with friends have a copy SURPRISE) no.

Lots of new gameplay of King of Fighters twists, but SNK seem You can also play music on it, I am very angry at stuck in a rut at the '95 and a few have Ils as lawn a Mega-CD, true, some games don't moment.

Fatal Fury Real Bout the system at all as they are upgraded as well and we all .1egadrive games, the graphics on these games STEPHEN:I know your play them to death .main the same but, Some of them have very goou real name is Barry, and erm... none of GUS:Address? ,idk) and this is sometimes produced jail mutlich us have the sad STEPHEN:He works , instead of criticising, try to produce a cartridge looking SF Zero or Xat Otaku, I must say I nat would allow the Mega-CD owier to hlt e acres-, Men. Granted to films. The machine Is able to produce some yid didn't enjoy KOF '95 that much. If he Vampire Hunter and ,on its own, so it should be no problem. The result SF Zero a r e good , agrees not to have games but you mag said, "we now bring Sonic Spinbalt on the ° l a ms over SNK i shouldn't have Megadrive".

That was great but another said 'The beat 'em ups we g won't do the same orgasms over them.

Megadrive had Sonic SpInball and its only latural h It seems to me that that its little brother should play with I over Capcom's. t if the game doesn't toys". The Saturn has a video cart ridg n l y GLIS:i'm sorry, but I b that the Mega-CD has one. have the magic fair think there is so r words Capcom or much more to game., i than either of these Street Fighter Anonymous, Timewarpsville n companies offer. gI EPHEN:I think I've fallen asleep and woken In Capcom at least havp some variation in I99Sm MATT:The Mega-CD is NOT a next-generation their portfolio, but o SNK have been machine.

You shouldn't be disappointed, you r should get some good deals on old games, but chucking Out none start living in the now. sense for years and s someone has to taktGUS:What did you think of it when you worked or a a stand! Do either Sega Pro? l '(OF or Real Bout MATT:When it first came out, and I saw the preview video, e that was on MEAN MACHINES actually, It , looked s amazing. But then reality sunk in with load.; ously original? Niet. l of feel o crap games, but saying that Sonic CD is still a ' sorry for NW really cool game.

GEO f e owners, I really do.

GUS:Sega sort of made us all pretend for a while t r,•EPHEN:1 know that is was the coolest thing. Remember. 'turn your h s megadrive into a monster'? i x t y is quite proud e STEPHEN:lalways thought, God that's a lot of ofo his Wondermega. m m bet he thinks G1JS:1 money! a we MATT:You wanted to be impressed, you wanted e underrated think c of huge sprawling games and amazing graph Wonderdog.

He t Ics. should speak to h h 'i Anonymous, i Timewarpsville. ,InUS:Those were the days.. n Te g E, s Pa e Hn r Ed i Na :s Hi. I'm Sandra. San to me mates and I'm trapped BO In the NET. It's not so bad If you send me your 1un mails and I'll pass them onto the lads to answer. te We're using Gus' mailbox at the moment, (Gust meansegaKlmall.U•net•CoM) so arop Lis a one. NO h filth mind, unless he orderett It hum you. rr W E I F Pln e VIPpembilLiiiviagnik pit. n I w a

BEST LETTER

H SOME OF THE I DISGUSTING G CORRESPONDENCE I H L WE'VE RECEIVED ITHIS MONTH. G oH ...seriously your mechanical swerved marital are you aidswith and 3D arse cork accompanied by T women's knickers...

John Collier, Surrey S Yob: No, seriously swerved are you, O wasting a stamp to send me this complete drivel. I get more sense out of the F inmates of the local happy house, somewhere I'm sure you're familiar with.

•

_I f I ever come across you I'll deck you and kick you ***less. I'm not including my name and address because then you might think that you've got a friend and never stop asking me to boft you.

"Scot of the Anarchic", Glasgow Yob: Are you sure you didn't include your address because you're scared that I'd come and punch your teeth so far down your throat that you'd have to gargle through your arse if you did?

O

...Our aretown...

Jazz and Funk. the 'ardestnames boys in

Yob: Just stop it, it's not big and it's not clever. think people would have a bet• ter time writing into the turd on your beach picture, since it probably has more of an I.Q. than you and a better dress sense...

C,P and I A no fixed abode.

SANDRA BOLLOCKS HERE...

:Yob: Write to the turd if you feel that way inclined. At least then you'd be writing to something that communicates on the same intellectual level as you. He's history anyway, now that I have this huge new erection to write

t f r o t A f

A

D I R F 1 7 0

lat__IightWarriors Stunninglyshale 20 beat 'on sofromCadmus'

This is The Directory. Its what we see as the Top 50 garneS available tor your console, all worth getting These are not the only worthy titles for the Saturn, but staying on this chart has an element of prestige.

The Directory will evolve with new releases whichwill force the lower echelons to drop oft the end into gamingobscurity. Come hack eachmonth to see the effect of improvingsoftware. There will, of course, always be a place for classic games — titles like Sega Rally andNIGHTS should stay on the Directory for years to come Youmay notice changes in the ratings from back issues, and indeed the directory ratings may change. We make no apology tor this — games are rated relatively, and noreviewer can quite tell after a week or sohow a game will age. We've assessed all the directory titles as harshly and as realistically as we can. Sometimes we've made mistakes - wer e human — and the directory is the place to rectify them. It's also a court of appeal for the oiderrated.

VirtuaFighter 2 ByAM2 The sloe qua non of 30 fightinggames

Reviewed: M I A N Tipped : M M

Abreathtakingly original piece et action gamingfrom Sonic Team.

I W o r l VirtuaCop d w i Reviewed: MM Tipd ped e M M t l E 1 S ActuaGolf Everythinga golf gamer would o want it to he c c MM Upe ped r Bust-a-Move2 ' Incurably infectious simple lux/le gameplay for two 9 7

93

Reviewed: R 1 3 8 Tipped : MM4 9 /5 0

Itnexquisite drivinggame and an awesomeAM3 conversion.

Reviewed: MIA 3 8 Tipped : W 4 2 / 4 3 9 5

FightingVipers AM2's no holds barred saucy brawl 'tin up

95

Exhumed 30 EgyptianDoom lest DI exceptionally richgame design,

Reviewed: M M G lipped : M M

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Never has my pleasure been greater in answering

your letters than now. in black and white. Now I can pretend to be in a Sixties TV programme. like Z-Cars. Join me with your retro enquiries at *DEAR SIR.OR IS IT MADAM...? OA. MEANMACHINES SEGA. 30 31 FARRINGDONLANE.LONDON EMI 3AU.

6. Because Mean Machines is such a good magazine when will you bring out the next Saturn demo-disk freebie?

Dear Gus, I don't have any 'put in order from best to worst' questions (I know how much you hate them) but I do have a few question for , you? t. Will Daytona CCE really be running at 6oFPS? 2. Have Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Island and Hi Ten Bomberman been signed up for a UK release this year? And how about New Zealand Story, do you know if an Cers's b d o r enhanced version of that will ever appear on the Saturn?

3. Will there ever be a Mystaria 2, the first one was goqd while it lasted but It was too easy to complete.

4. Are Technosoft making any games for the Saturn?

All of their Thunderforce games were ace on the MD. 5. What do you think of Killer Instinct land 2? I myself think they are utter crap, you need more skill to pull off a 5 hit combo with Akira Out of VF2 than you need to do an Elos hit combo in KIL 6, Do you need a widescreen TV to play ten player at Bomberman?

7. What football team do you support?..,Scottish team that is...

Gary Cormack,, Scotland 6LIS: 1. Yes, see the review. 2. Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands are an excellent two-game pack from Acclaim. Bomberman has yet to receive a UK publisher, though Sega have expressed interest.

New Zealand Story - there's no news, but Tait° seem to be steadily going through their back catalogue. 3. Yes, I believe we have a preview this ish. 4.

Two separate Thunderforce compilations are available on import currently. 5. Killer Instinct is the saddest lohnny-come-lately Kombat wannabe I can think of. 6. Yes. 7. When I was young I was taken to St. Mirren matches in Paisley, but they are so crap I can't go on supporting them. I have to pay respect to the Rangers juggernaut.

ar us , Because you know absolutely everthing could you answer these questions for me: t. Which games do you think I should buy next for my Saturn out of: Doom. Tomb Raider or FIFA 97?

2. is it true that s...ega are bringing out a keyboard, a floppy disk drive and a hard disk drive for the Saturn?

3. If so when will they be out. how much do you think they would cost and would they be worth buying?

4. I Vilth wondering whethel lu save up arid buy a PC or to wait for the keyboard and disk drives and get them for my Saturn instead?

5. Will the Saturn's CD work like a CD-ROM with the keyboard and disk drives attached?

Cheers.

John Bovey, Newton Abbot GUS: 1 Isn't that entirely dependent on what you want to play? All will be good, but Tomb Raider is the most original to my mind. 2. This is conjecture based on how Saturn would naturally evolve with the Netlink. Only the keyboard is a definite intention of Sega. to make net browsing more practical. 3. No figures have been suggested for the possible , k ey board. 4. There will be lots of things a Saturn will never be able f advise getting a PC. 5. You've got an obsessionr with this Saturn PC thing - it's not going to happen!

6. I can't honestly say. we'll see t how you all respond to this one o d o t Dear Gus. h Hi there, I'm aa first time writer - long time reader._ could you please answer some questions. thanks! t t. When will the Internet package for the Saturn be a UK? released in the P is it, or is it not being released on 2. Resident Evil, the Saturn? IfCso when?

3. Are import cperipherals usable on a UK Saturn. or are UK add-ons a the only ones which would work?

4. You mentioned in issue 47 that you had a black n Virtua Cop gun, are there any import shops in the ' country whicht may stock them? If so which one?

5. I have heard that some shops have stopped sup, plying Saturns and Saturn games, does this indicate poor sales ons the Saturn's part?

6. If so is thisosomething to worry about?

7. Which two ISaturn racing games would you recommend as essential ' purchases? d Thanks for your h time...

Paul Dennet.oBlackpool n US ; 1. At the September ECTS, Andy Mee, e Marketing Manager for Saturn in Europe said. 'we will bring thisspiece of technology to the European market, but itt may take some time'. I interpret that l '97. 2. The most coherent reports to mean Spring suggest a version of RE 2 some time middle of next y year. 3. There are few compatibility problems. though some UK Saturns don't like Japanese joy. pads being removed while the machine is on (?).

Virtua Guns work fine. 4. It's very difficult to get import guns as they are virtually (I) illegal, due to UK rules on toys which do not allow 'replica' weapons. I brought my Virtua Gun through customs personally, and we even had to contact Narita airport in Tokyo beforehand. 5. Oh. you heard the Our Price story, saying they were only taking PSX. Well. that story is bull, Sega have sold in all their allocation of Saturn from japan for Christmas. 6. I wouldn't say so, 7, Sega Rally and Daytona ( CI

Dear (An)Gus, 1. What is the most popular game in the MMS office for the Saturn, the Megadrive and the Game Gear?

2- What are the age ratings for Exhumed and Tomb Raider if any?

3. Is 3D Lemmings for the Saturn any good?

4. What is Dungeon Keeper about and is it a good game to play? What about Fade to Black?

5. Is it really a must to get Baku Baku Animal?

6. Is there an age rating for Alien Trilogy?

7. What will the sequel to Soviet Strike be called?

S. Roughly how many titles are there for the Saturn?

Jodie Masson. London GUS: 1. A quick poll would say Sega Rally or Street Fighter Zero 2, Micro Machines and Pete Sampras.

Or maybe it wouldn't... 2. Exhumed is for it+. I've yet to know of Tomb Raider's rating, I'd guess all ages. 3. It's rather anoraky, more complex but not as much fun as old 2D Lemmings. 4. Dungeon Keeper is a typical Bullfrog strategy game, and the PC version is great, Fade to Black is very cool but only on PSX at present. 5. if you like Tetris games, I'd say so. 6. 15+. but who cares? 7. Soviet Strike 2?

Only kidding. I've no idea. Let them finish the First game forchrisN,ike. 8. 20n 0,11 by Christmas.

EPTO6 ANP SON Die& Gust Answer my questions or I'll burn your town down with my hard mates and set my pet Mexican onto you (?!) Anyway, here's question 1: 1. I have just bought NIGHTS. Why is there that weird connector socket thingy on the analogue control pad?

2. Have you got any cheats for this yet? Otherwise, have you got any cheats for Donkey Kong land on the Gameboy?

3. When is Independence Day coming out on the Saturn?

4. What is the point of those pathetic little PlayStation cases which Sega include with their game and add-on range? Eg. Virtua Cop, NiGHTS. Tim Horsfall, Derbyshire GUS:Please, less YOB stuff. t• The controller discori. nects to allow additional expansion. 2. We've run a two-part guide on NiGHTS. 3. ID 4 has slipped slightly, but should be early next year, 4. Some per). ple think those boxes are cool.

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INCLUDESPLAYABLEDEMOSOF: NIGHTS, S O C C E R , ATHLETEKINGS, PANZERDRAGOONII &BAKUBAKU

NO MUSIC, WAFFLE & TIME WASTING, JUST STRAIGHT TO THE HELP. PLEASE HAVE PEN & PAPER READY FOR I NFO SEE U SE O N T H E I N T E R N E T AT H T T PU / WWW, GAT T S- C OL T I C IF W U A l l 1 1 4 1 1 1 11 F k t t / . 1 t M O A N * /1 T i' LAE T i e ; • • Firvm I I A U . S 0.16T

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-.0After last month%-general guide to the opening six leveks. here's a more detailed look Aube most demanding lien Tw eSseds and Wizeman.

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PLAIrEIV3 GUIDE

Yo should boost from tile start, grabbir i; the bo s b r i d heading through the • e t d i • mediately alte • • w ldestmying it parti peswous time and ruins t through the hoops and in collection of star an s . e t series of hoops there are balls thi three els of hoops. The pattern is mid• e, • l i d h i g h .

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the yseven tactics for each course are th t h e e ent with the kids, there is no paraloopi l touch each item to pick it up. The principl a balls to release the ldeya is the same, b y o time y to make one pass of each course to get o u t o f •rt. are ' • s s at loops at the Ma (J O th top right and boo' uut to t Ih e following re V create bigpaw links er itfltEhes. o w nThese through. both e switches releases double the 'tars. After tills niere cag f b a l l s ndwiched between t w f avo• he a n d fly in to bre i t kiihrt the • io e. uu rcoi nt h- es biggest . b I storing t ' swilen t he is br circle t ofuballs su au nding a booster, tf . g •ubble to picking the bonus ballairst, the, bgpet int t I the t right. i t it hard enoughil will zoom of laying a to open the borwititait: You must h will zig zag attbe imposs s

Aft rc.ur e n d e d h e r i i V distance s o m è to e Ideya claw. You can bridge it by hitting the star switch which is just above you. Linking the billowing bonus ball is difficult, and needs a boost just as you pick up the three balls. When the claw appears, dodge underneath it The next segment has two 'slopes of loops'. one up. the other down. Accelerate through these and keep the boost pressed, as it allows you to burst through the row of balloons (e o f wh d s a ball). Boost the rest ay k i e y a claw.

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Wizeman will c h a l l e n g e s to you. To defeat each one you must reach him thelfwait for yo r t r Ni g r a b hold of him. Each time he rocks, loop through him to speed up his next attack and get b t e r •me.

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R O C K S ) NiGHTS should fly abow or below these tows. atch the first one, which lways at mid height very close. 1 P .

SNOWBA Getting stuck to on means score mutilat low for half the dist aim starts to track you. then fly sharply up and 4 1 1 1 1 0 2 r ds , There is only one safe point of passage at the centre of these vortexes, and it's * t o o easy to get caught up. Use boosclo speed your way outilly boosting all the way toward him, you will give him only o :chance to launc r h i r '. d .

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We're putting aside space each month for the ultimate scorers on the ultimate score game. Send in your scores or links for the whole game or your best level. We want some form of proof, but please don't send memory carts. For now, here's the office best:

0

SPRING VALLEY COURSE I COURSE 2 COURSE 3 COURSE 4

This course presen s two options tor ball collect ng. The easiest involve; up high set of hoops, diving down through them, then followto colleiel log an d rc ome to a nOt et of hoops. Go up through this, keeping the boost pressed.

Arty additional balls yop need an be t 1ind in Anions.

A emote* go straight to the balloons and power vou way through twenty of them.

OVERALL

SCORE:6362o SCORE:43730 SCORE:55900 SCORE:38790

Dan Jevons Dan Jevons Dan Jevons Dan Jevons

LINK:28 Dan Jevons LINK:39 Dan Jevons LINK:25 Dan Jevons LINK:29Gus Swan

349010 Dan Jevons

0

SPLASH GARDEN COURSE1 COURSE2 COURSE3 COURSE4

SCORE:61490 SCORE:3o82o SCORE:34890 SCORE:23010

Dan Jevons Gus Swan Dan Jevons Dan Jevons

OVERALL: 2 6 4 4 0 0

LINK:41Dan Jevons LINK:17Gus Swan LINK:24Dan Jevons LINK:14Gus Swan

Dan Jevons

MYSTIC FOREST COURSE* COURSE2 COURSE3 COURSE4

SCORE:6475o SCORE:3143o SCORE4o7zo SCORE:1713o

Dan Jevons Dan Jevons Dan Jevons Dan Jevons

1OVERALL 2 4 6 0 3 0

FROZEN BELL couRsEl scoRE:81270

COURSE2 COURSE3 COURSE4

SCORE:41590 SCORE:3117o SCORE:39010

OVERALL:

LINK:32Dan Jevons LINK:t6Gus Swan LINK:216us Swan LINK:15 Dan Jevons

Dan Jevons

Dan Jevons Dan Jevons Dan Jevons Dan Jevons

LI NK:147Dan Jevons LINK:48Dan Jevons LINK:3oGus Swan LINK:is Dan Jevons

294450

Dan Jevons

Gus Swan Dan Jevons Gus Swan Dan Jevons

LINK:ooDan Jevons LINK:27Gus Swan LINK:29Gus Swan LINK:28Dan Jevons

SOFT MUSEUM COURSEt COURSE2 COURSE3 COURSE4

SCORE:7375o SCORE:4037o SCORE:35610 SCORE:31.17o

OVERALL:

330440 Dan Jevons

STICK CANYON COURSE1 COURSE2 COURSE3 COURSE4

SCORE:3946o SCORE:2236o SCORE:2742o SCORE:2744o

OVERALL:

Gus Swan Dan Jevons Gus Swan Dan Jevons

LINK:3tGus Swan LINK:31Gus Swan LINK:toGus Swan s LINK:4oDan Jevons

156120 Dan Jevons

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Wouldn't it be great to go Go-karting and. for once. not have that guy there always shouting at you not to bash the other cars?

Street Racer is the only Saturn Go-kart simulator and positively demands irresponsible behaviour behind the wheel. No kart game can ignore the huge contribution to gaming made by Nintendo's Mario Kart, which set the standard way back in saua with its awesome control and nefarious tactics, and that must always be seen in the background, moving the hand of Street Racer, Mev Dint's home-grown Street Racer has matured from SNES and Megadrive cart form to a Saturn game created using custom effects that show Sega hardware is not short of a few tricks of its own.

PIECES F EIGHT •

libiSoft is promoting Street Racer as the first eight-play' er racing game, an undeniably correct fact. This feat is acheived by splitting the screen into eight boxes. Although your view is restricted, the game still runs at 6o frames per second (another first), in multi-player mode. But Street Racer fans would testify that the full eight-man monty is too confusing unless you really know your way around the courses. Best then to stick to the alternative 'Micro Mode' that comes perilously close to nicking the game design of Codemasters' celebrated machines. ALL eight cars are visible on the course tracked from a high camera angle. The fighting elements are stripped out of Micro Mode to make it a pure contest of speed. _

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Z a p L Combat is half the challenge. Each player has threeI forms of attack that stun opponents for a few seconds and give youPthe advantage.

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The basic attack is a sideways swipe at adjacent cars. The characters, also have two comic special attacks each, which have various effects!

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His genie grapple snatches opponents.

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Spears spike passing cars on L u s t o m suspension allows either side I him to extend his axle!

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His in•ar stereo sends 'ern spinning.

Cars nearby are bewitched by her sweet kisses.

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SUMO The latest electronic stunner zaps the competition.

he championship game is split into three cup races; Bronze, Silver and Gold. These are formed from a selection of 'home' tracks for the characters (who each have three). The Bronze competition is characterised by short. simple. layouts, but the second and third tracks are progressively more sophisticated, with crossovers. You may only access the later cups by winning the previous class. You can also create a 'custom' cup but only from tracks you have revealed in the cham pionship races.

Street Racer caters for all skill levels by design. There are two driving 'models*, the simplistic easy mode, and a more challenging ride from 'expert'. The skill level also ranks from a pacey 'easy' to a totally 'crazy', and the level of your opponents Al changes accordingly.

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Street Racer Saturn's strengths and weaknesses are suronsingly close to those of the 16 bit game, The G U S graphics and game engine are lust like a souped up SNES. which may sound a little unkind when the garne is work mg out with eight separate play er windows!. Technically. the game is very impressive and smart looking. although the sprite based cars use rather rudi mentary animation. The meat of the game t h e single player mode - is pretty complex with lighting pick ups and steenng all to be considered. but the tracks are sometimes too crowded and the collision detection between the karts not too distinct, My main gripe is ohe weapons much the same as the first game and just as ineffective. What's the point of taking time out to tap an enemy when he recovers almost without slowing most of the time? The multi player game can be appreciated for what a I A for mates the Rumble mode is a great extra, the options are detailed. but some niggly gameplay asoc Iron being a true r t• % ! o p t h i s

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RUMBLINGS The Rumble option is a 'bonus' game, also for up to eight players. The objective is simply to elect all other cars from the arena, by first knocking down the walls. It's also a place to practice fighting techniques, including the block mode, which protects you from damage,

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The music suits the game but it doesn't have any kind of edge.

But then it es French. The FX are

You cant help but feel sympathetic towards Street Racer. Permanently in the shadow of Nimendos Super Mano Kart, 1.161Solt has had a constant uphill struggle to give us very own driving title a chs

tinct identity of its own. This has meant a multitude of optional extras such as improved mulit player modes and secrets galore yet the basic game itself retains its 16 bit roots. That's not to say that Saturn owners will feel cheated with the quality or simplistic styling of this game. On the con nary, tibiSoft has once again pro duced a clever. cartoony racing game that deserves a place in every 32 bit collection.

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BOMBARDIER! The unsavoury practice of blowing your mates off is standard in Street Racer. Tho tracks are littered with dynamite devices that stick to your cars and countdown tk. detonation. But they can be passed, parcel-stylee before the inevitable bang.

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The mo fun is tc, be found in the multi player modes but they seem to miss some of the to Kart magic

STABILITY

Street Racer is strong on options, prong the longevi ty for single players a leg up.

lot of effort has gone into producing an accessible and fun racing title. A well craft ed WI nut quite magical f elt ,

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Owners of the Virtua Gun have probably noticed that there s little else you can do with it other than play Virtua Cop and its up-coming sequel. Unless you want to try and rob a bank or something. But now you can play Chaos Control as well sostop !flubbing. Then again.Aliens are everywhere you know. There are currently about five billion of them floating about on a small blue-green planet. whirling through a vast galaxy at thousands of miles an hour.

Then there's us of course, and there's nothing weirder than people after all.

But strange and Martian-like as we may be, we're not half as good at invading planets as other advanced species seem to be.

This time the perpetrators go under the catchy title of the Kesh Rhai. Having begun their invasion in New York, probably to pick up some bagels or something, this is the destination you confront them on first.

Chaos Control is a first-person perspective shoot 'em up in the Virtua Cop style, except of course it's aliens rather than cromagnon criminals. This means you spend all of your time flying about rather than moving on foot (or car) and it even means you venture into outer space...

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shadow old doubt. a truly abominable game. Now I know what you might be thinking. You're looking at the screenshots thinking some of the graphics don't look too bad. I'm willing to concede this (although you could never excuse the hilarious smoke explosions as the aliens are destroyed) but as soon as you start playing you realise what a shambles Chaos Control is. The action is frenetic but involves shooting indiscriminately at the screen because there are so many enemies there's no time to target them. Not only does this obliterate the sense of tension you get in a game like Virtua Cop, but after half an hour

%CIof Such 'chaos' the game is .er. The only shot Chaos Control has left to fire is into its own foot.

Chaos Control has two parts so to speak. The first of them sees you piloting flew York harbour, circling the Statue of Liberty a few times, and then heading into Manhattan.

Here you cruise along the avenues with skyscrapers looming either side. attacks coming from both the ground and the air in the shape of tanks, stationary cannons, and a variety of flying enemies, The roistPc velst take th,o,tigh the. hi illtiings arc deckled for you which is a good thing because you'll want to concentrate on taking aim.

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After 41 years, the programming came to an end...

— 11typical Scavenger some C r a ne d ° V III th r e e y e a s .

Actually, the plot according to A.M.O.K states that the War came to an end, but we know better, considering how long the Saturn has waited to receive Scavenger's first 32-bit shoot•'em-up. The Scavenger name first came to the lore with two exceptional Megadrive games. Subterrania and Red Zone, created by its Zyrinx team, A separate team, Lemon, started on 32-bit projects in 1994.

A.M.O.K being a 32X demo at that stage! The project has matured into a fullyfledged 3D shooter with multiple objective missions strung together with a plot that charges you with causing havoc on an island that houses the future weapons development of the shadowy A.T.Z.K Corporation. Your sole piece of equipment is the remarkable Bird Walker prototype, a formidably adaptable and controllable amphibious vehicle. Lie back. it's going to be a bumpy ride.

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AMOK is unique in its two-player, work-together option. A well arranged split-screen option allows both to cooperate over the same missions as the single-player game. As the game works as a series of tasks, the two can split and tackle different areas simultaneously.

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ARMED AND DANGEROUS The Bird Walker is a curious engine of war. On land, it uses a bi-pedal propulsion system which gives it the speed to outrun most wheeled transport. As well as an inexhaustible chain gun weapon, it can carry 40 additional standard missiles, ao super missiles and 30 mines with far greater destructive power, The Bird Walker is just as useful in deep water, where its legs convert into twin propellers, and its armaments are just as effective in that environment.

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FULLY BRIEFED A.M.0.1Cs action flows in a complex mission structure. Each of these is laid out in a comput. erised briefing which pinpoints the task areas on a dropzone map. Each task must be tackled in turn, as the effect of completing one task is usually necessary to achieve the next. Failure to comply with any one part renders the mission a complete failure and must be reattempted, even if the Bird Walker is able to reach the rendezvous point.

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.I.K's facilities rely on a constant power supply. Generators are se defenses become more elaborate, with fixed missile batteries

CLEAR MINE FIELD

• • • -• • • • • • •

Mines are ubiquitous on these battlefields, but occa, a l l y they must be removed and not lust avoided. One example of this is when an allied supply colnmn is waiting for you to clear a minestrewn road.

RESCUE PRISONERS A.Z.I.K. holds a number of allied prisoners in electrified pens. If they are able to escape, you can collect them easily with the Bird Walker. Their information helps you penetrate other defenses more easily.

INTERCEPT CRAFT An A.Z.T.K. operative is attempting to take vital weapons plans back to his superiors_ You must intercept and annihilate his craft before it is able to leave the mission area.

DESTROY INSTALLATION I ner ati ng the depots and labs within A.Z.I.K. territory is a prior. he your digital compass to locate these areas and create a 1e 'torm. as many buildings will only succumb to your special weapons. These are also places to stock up on your own weapon-

ry.

CLEAR MONORAIL An example of using the enemy's infrastructure against them. The monorail will allow you to transport a bomb deep into their installation, but it must be cleared of obstructions along us length first.

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SECRET ARMY A.M.0.1Cs playfields are large. but there is more for the dogged explorer to find. Many walls can be blown away to reveal secret areas sometimes stuffed with power•ups, especially the more precious full energy and hull improvement icons. Your tatty of secret finds are revealed in the mission debriefing.

ENEMY LINES A.Z.T.K has no shortage of fanatical followers willing to defend the cause. Not all are human:

INFANTRY

SHARKS

Pathetic cannon-fodder, you can even stamp them into the ground with the Bird Walker.

The most terrifying organic predator, trained to attack on sight. One bite from these jaws and you're a gonna!

Patrol the area around the prison level. They use ramps to speed up.

FRO Lw i t i l LI N Water-based equivalent of infantry petrol in large 'shoats'. Fast and packed with firepower.

MINI-SUBS

BATTERIES

TANKS

IRA, P O R T

The most maneouvreable and dead iy underwater class of enemy. Watch your back for these guys.

fixed missile sites become more

Slow and ineffective at gaining a lock•on target, but heavily armed.

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effective and resilient later on. Blast them with your own rockets.

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which shouldn't be underestimated.

GRAPHICS

The function ts more important than the cosmetic effect but AMOK still manages to have a stylish gloomy look. The speed and smoothness of the 3D is not in question.

SOUND

The music Is a selection of excellent techno cuts ambient soundscapes. deep bass and trance. with is own distinct Scavenger groove_ The effects convey the may - • hem and carnage .v-ith bossy explosions.

Scavenger ate unmistakably part of the hardcore gaming fraternity. and for all Its tech-

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Scavenger have made a name for themselves without releasing any of their promising games over the last two years Now AMOK puts their money firmly where their mouth has been with a bnlhant marriage of slick programming . e culture attitude I chiefly •' r in the music I and gameJ relentless. merciless •, • AMOK could so easily have ,me a high carnage free for aI. but its structure tildes a strong strategic thinking. Perhaps the amount of secret areas Is exces SIVC and the process of scouring the levels a little tedious when the urge is to push onward. However. the contingent of garners saturat ed with the likes of Blaml Machinetiead have a new hero.

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nical slickness. game design ofits the G U S AMOK that makes it as good as it is. Lemons approach to creating a fast. complex 3D world is novel. theyve chosen to go for game elements rather than fancy scenery. At first_ that makes AMOK appear barren and lifeless. as well as dark and sinister, As the levels progress the amount of movement and extent of the enemy puts this Into perspective, You soon find yourself the target for dozens of enemies without any slowing in the game pace.

Not that the visual engine isn't effective, the stylised chunky graphic algorithms work particu larly well undewater which is a suitably murky environment. The typically Scavenger multiple mis Stan Structure points to a wellthought out game. but doesn't quite dispel the monotony that develops by playing this over any extended penod. Nevertheless_ AMOK is in the same mode and to the same standard as the likes of Ellaml Mathinehead and Thunderhawk 2.

PLAYABILITY

Very much a Scavenger game with freedom to go mental within a mission structure.

The later levels show the amount of sprnes the engine can handle. The twoplayer option us unex peced and welcome.

8

USABILITY

The games main flaw is the feeling of repel freeness that sinks in. despite the variation in the tasks wt and fewer weapons than is healthy. But the action is mini nonetheless.

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Beat'lm U BOK Joyeed stunningly perfect VerSIOn of the arcade update with more SI characters.

As Streetfighter has developed from the relatively primitive origins of Sh, the level of technical knowledge required to play it well has increased exponentially. Its not Just newcomers who could have trouble Learning the controls any more.

Established hands may be foxed by the new characters, new move types and new commands thrown up by each successive Street. To help eveyone out. Capcom have introduced an excellent training mode to Alpha 2. The player picks a dummy opponent and commands them to position themselves standing. kneeling or lumping. They now have infinite time to beat up their foe, practising special moves and combos to their heart's content. It even tells you how much damage your newly-developed combos

The Streetfighter series of games has been going on for so long it now seems like a soap opera.

And if it were a soap opera, it'd be Dallas.

It started years completely unprepared for such rampant success, and has had to cobble its many plotlines together on the fly ever since.

Hardcore followers of the Streetfighter mythos (and they do exist, believe us) must have a really tough time keeping up with the con• stant stream of plot re-amendments engineered to facilitate the next sequel in the line. SF Alpha 2, for those of you not genned-up on the story, is the tournament which occurs just after that of Streedighter Alpha (which is just after Streetfighter 1) and just before Streetfighter 2.

The life stories of the many central characters. which are so intricately entwined, now have so many footnotes explaining mysterious histories that never happened they make absolutely no sense at all. It's really going to hit the fan when the forthcoming Streetfighter V X-Men hits the arcades. I can tell you.

Still, players don't tackle this sort of game for the storylines (although that means the endings are gettng pretty weak). They play Streedighter for the martial arts ultraviolence, startling visual effects and stunning measure of skill potential. Luckily. SE Alpha 2 possesses sufficient quanitities of these to justify its existence once more.

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Super combos aren't exactly the newest thing in the Streetfighter series, but Alpha 2 certainly does them best. you pedonn special moves, land blows and successfully yourself a Super Meter at the bottom of the screen fills it Once this is full you officially have enough energy to pull o Super Combo - an enhanced version Of a normal special move complete with a lovely tracer effect. If this connects. it's top damage city. Even more damage can be done if you're patient and allow the bar to fill up twice. or even three times over (the maximum possible power). But don't waste your chance - the meter drops to zero again at the start of each fresh bout.

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Once everyone started getting all intricate about the mechanics of Streetlight's, methods of winning have ben the cause of a billion arcade arguments. To end all the bitching Capcom have categorised victo• ries by awarding each one a different winning icon. Winning with a combo or supercombo claims the most desirous symbols Throws have a neat little lasso. Weakpower regular kicks and punches earn an inexplicable pair of cherrieS (which are good for humiliating your foe) and cheap shots which finish off a weak opponent get a stinky slice of cheese. Now your brit Hance (or lack of it) is immortalised for everyone to see.

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Alter playing Streeifighter 2 and its many sequels for about five years now. it would be only reasonable to expect myself to be bored snit of the thing by now. But so Fyn eternal surprise as fm easily bored. I dont find i nn any way dull. In fact. it lust gets better. Ainght so squeezing another Alpha in before the launch of SF3 is stretching a a bit, but when a game is as polished. well thought out and per fectly converted as this my gaming Juices flow like Niagara Falls.

Those of you already in possession of Saturn Alpha might have to give thus a go before buying it as ils not massively different. If you re without a beat 'em up. though, or you're an avid fan of hitting people in the mouth Alpha 2 should hit the lop of your Things I Should Buy list The graphics and sound are superb the playabilty is sub lime and the depth it offers almost unrivalled.

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I Bnlham as T Alpha 2 is, there's E not r SO quids i worth t of new lea 1 lures over a game • that came out as • recently as April.

That's not to say Capcom don r improve the formula each time b) constantly adding new features. If you want the arcade experience. especially. you II love the full animation option and the presenta nom which is surprisingly much cooler than Alpha. If you are not part of the Streetfighter 'thing wont it's the balance - y ounderstand u of the game and it's exquisite resporne which is key. as well as being a game that rewards player skill with excellent performance.

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•

•

It's long been noted that no matter how superb a SF player you are there are some combos it's impossible to avoid. Well, that all changes right now. It's possible to be as good in defence as you are at attacking, thanks to the new Alpha Counters. A quick special movement performs this attack reversal which blocks all damage and actually causes some to the character on the offensive, They're rock hard to time, and you have to have learnt the movement to the point of instinct to ever use it properly. But once this part of yaur Streetfighting arsenal it's an invaluable tactic.

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11111111UOL Think you're hard. eh? Reckon that it Streetfighter was real life you'd be wrestling with Spartan psyths In your spare time? Well m SF Alpha 2 offers you the t opportunity to prove your hitude. Survival Mode is the e. and it's dead hard. You're cted to battle your way through the ranks of the Stteetfighters with only one energy bar' At the end of each round the CPU calculates how good your performance was, how much time It took you and how badly damaged you were and repletes the health bar accordingly. So if you were crap you're in trouble in the next fight.

The object is to defeat all the other characters before any of them successfully win a single round against you. Now that's hard.

GRAPHICS

sprites shi't around on detailed backdrops. all awash with loads of colour. More animation frames per character than ilss previous game too. A glonous marriage of detail and delicacy.

Hem hem.

SOUND

Hardly likely to pick up and Ivor Novell°, but professional and an improvement on the orris ous renditions. The effects are well sampled and surprisingly vaned for a combat game.

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PLAYABILITY

Therei stacks to this game Capcom utilising the longevity tricks associated with Sega games: training and ranking mode. _and you'll love it unless maybe you dont have a second player to fight against.

_LASTABILITY

For thosew

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Robots - we all love 'em really don't we? Ok so they might put thousands of people out of jobs and in a sudden flash of independent consciousness try to destroy their human creators, but we love 'em all the same. Here's some in Robo Pit...

One of the main reasons for having robots around is to get them to do those things that we decadent humans can't be bothered with. Stuff like cleaning the house, cooking meals, and of course, fighting to the death. In Robo Pit, it's the later that concerns us with cute Japanese style robot warriors taking each other on in a variety of arenas.But before you can start fighting you'll need to construct your robot. This involves selecting a body, legs (of a sort), arms and those all important eyes. Once that's out of the way its into battle against a hundred other meth-types. Obviously you don't fight them all at once - all of the battles are one•on-one affairs with the victor acquiring the other robots' most useful parts, be that its gun arms, spring legs or whatever else might be valuable.

These are then converted into power points which make your robot a more awesome warrior and thus more capable of moving up the rankings chart.

E WILL REBUILD HIM So there you are. c.ameone who probably couldn't put a BeaCI bookcase together. and you're being charged with constructing your own robot?! Well, fear not because irs all very easy. To start with a player chooses the body from a range of shapes and weights, heavier bodies being more durable but slower with it. Then it's a choice of eyes which, to be honest, are included for aesthetic reasons only. Then it's the faithful arms there are gun arms, swords, lances, shields or simple boxing fists - and finally on to the legs. which aren't really legs at all, but anything from a spring to caterpillar tracks. Once you're happy with all t . and have given your robot

P r i n .

To call Robo Pit's gameplay shallow would be an understatement at the very least. At times it feels shallow to the point of evaporating into thin air. The nov elty of putting together your robot seems like fun at first, as does the principle of picking up the spoils of victory from your foe, but the combat itself is dire. Moving about an arena seems largely pointless because all it comes down to is confronting your opponent head•on and bashing each other until one of the robot% power bars is sucked dry. Add to this the fact that moving up the ranking is ridiculously easy and you're left with a game that's as dull as it is pointless

MAT1

Frank, you can enter the fray.

GRAPHICS SOUND.m PLAYABILITY litalAKITY

80 78 52 47

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Given the amount of success enjoyed by Shiny Entertainment since their inception ifs surprising how unproductive they've been in the games creation department. In fact. I'm beginning to suspect that Shiny is actual ly run by Earthworm Jim, in a roboti( business suit which makes him really good at management. and Dave Perry is In fact merely a (haracter Ite*s knocked up You can imagine the scene in the boardroom, as the narcissilk invertebrate draws up development sketches of Dave meeting lournos, writing games about jim's heroics and diriving his nice car. Then these are handed over to the producers who create the convincing and interactive Dave Perry software with which to fox the gameplaying public. In the meantime our slithering, garden. aerating pal rakes in the cash on the back of platform games about himself.

If this is true, Jim obviously hasn't been very busy saving the universe recently, as his debut Saturn appearance is merely a re-run of his last Megadrive outing.

But with all-new 32-BIT enhaned graphics and sound, along with a nice rendered picture to go with the load. ing screen between levels. So is it worth the price of admission, of what?

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I'MALVM k, wacky Shiny guys just don't kt.uw when to stop putting anmi mats in their games. lirn 2 stars a collection of critters, some, like Jim and his enemy Psy-Crow, are of the funny cartoon talking variety.

Others are just regular cows and pigs. They always play a part in the gameplay, no matter how obscure it is. Slide pigs down chutes! Stop cows from being kidnapped by UFOs! Free hamsters from their little wheels! The larmyward fun never or ,, ! , ;

4 toox

I really liked Earthworm Jim when it was first released on the Megadrive over a year ago. I can't help thinking. though, that Shiny could have done more with both the character and the console for the Saturn. Whilst the graphics are highly detailed and beautifully shaded, many of the sprites appear small and unclear and the colour schemes for most of the levels are pretty similar, which gives things a samey look.

Whislt there's planty of variation in the gameplay, it still eSsentially looks and plays like a 16-BIT game. It's okay - certainly more fun than some of the crock that's disgraced the Saturn, but I wich Shiny would have pulled their collective finger out and dein,/ ered ihe masterpiece they're doubtless capable of.

scores GRAPHICS 67 SOUND PLAYABILITY LASTABILITY

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Of all the creatures in the world to fear, nothing inspire less terror than the fish.

Let's face it, aside from notable exceptions such as the shark, fish aren't very scary. The old Mafia threat of "sleeping with the fishes" has always confused me. What's so scary about finding a cluster of halibut in your bed. exactly? Unless, of course, the fish in question are the giant robot fish monsters from Darius. Twenty stories high and armed with laser cannons, these piscine denizens of the deep are substantially more frightening than the common or garden goldfish, armed only with a five-second memory.

And a good job too, because it'd be a pretty poor shoot 'em up which asks the player to gun down shoals of innocent fishies. No. Darius 2 puts you up against legions of flying cods with guns, which are far more challenging. Many stages of gill-stuffed slaughter await the lucky Darius 2 owner, and a friend if one feels like joining in. Go on. It'll only take half as long to complete then. And you car take it to the games exchange straight away.

ZONE OFFENCE Like Darius. the game is split into a series of spacehopping (not the rubber toy) zones graced with one particularly massive finny boss. finishing each zone gives you a choice between two following areas, making for multiple paths through the game.

The first Will us title, whilst anachroniol ,For the Satur

ilo GRAPHICS 38 SOUND PLAYABILITY 41 LASTABILITY 29

,least justified existence by being a Frenetic old-school blaster featuring enormous enemies and loads of excellent

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visual effects. Sadly the program-

mets seem to have ditched this concept for the sequel, saddling us instead with a slow-moving battle against about two enemies at a time. The challenge comes mainly from the pointless zoom Function, which displays the corn. bat in either Too Sig or Too Small modes. When a console is capable of Panzer Dragoon Zwei it's disappointing to see it pootling along with a limp and unexciting slice of dulidom like Darius 2. No more

like this. please.

Alt OUT, M A N rius 2 differs from the original in one major respect. This title • atures a zoom function, which allows you to close in on the action, or pull out if you want to see the big pictur o f what's going on in "widescreen" (ie - letterbox). The id a t this enables the player to avoid loas of bullets On close-up) and kill tonnes of enemies (in far-out). But it doesn't. It just means you can't see anything on screen except your ship (in close-up) or you can nly see microscopic dots which e themselves in the hackund (in far-out). Another vi ry for common sense.

ove A truly setond rate game that shoula be avoided at all costs.

Save your sash omit Team 7 ' s X/ appears.

36

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Drava''' . shoot' ' ' all three . worlds ' n • in this explosive 3D isometric ram raider.

Crime v• (all thek copli i l fides With 'Road Rage' lit a l l the rage these days, it waft probably inevitable that some bright kh November E m i l nproduce ' . a game allowing frustrated car owners to fully vent their pent-up aggresspark would Dr ivi n /Shoo t- 'em u sion.

Well, thanks cheery folks at Eidos Interactive, all you Travis Bickle types can ,now take toSthe streets. ato those WOW fully tooled-up and ready to tear up that asphalt.

Crime Wavet is set Joypad uin the futuristic city of Mekee where the level of violence has reached such an extreme level that even taxi drivers are earning extra bucks from bumping off bad guys.

Comork's on•house team delerer dangerous Wiwi, Employed as r an n Enforcer, you drive through eight dangerous locations in search of potential victims. Locate your target, home in on 'em then blow 'em to pieces. Eat lead sucker! o w n e r s g e t t Forget whiplash aerials, leopard skin seat covers a a s t e r s t r i p e s , * in Crime Wave packs more optional extras than thh F o r d Cortina yourtnate Barry drives. from the standard short-ranged mac • players car upgrade their cars by adding rockets, homing missiles andelet t r i n e s . Once a targy • is been vaporised, simply pick up the ev t b , e a F i r e p o w e r , f u e l s a n d t a t m o t . . . i p t i l , lonnonc r o f

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fi r Players need to keep ti ,••• eyes peeled for rival bbefity hunting cars and even crazy, law-abiding citizens. These flammin' Sunday drivers often swerve all over the road and seem completely unaware of traffic lights and even other vehicles. Taking out opponents ts fair game but blow up the locals and you'll be 7enalised vital cr w h i c h allow passage to furrier stages.

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minty sound enough but unfor turiattly once you've seen one mangled. twisted car wreck. you've seen em all h certainly lakes a while to master the - f o n d l i n g of your missile mount0.1 motor but each hit soon becomes increasingly repetitive. However, for those of you thinking this game is basically Micro Machines with guns then think again. The addition of the two play er mode cenainly gores Crime Wave the added longevity of needs and there are enough wheel spinning. action pocked moments to keep you glued to the screens for a while at least A less sluggish frame rate the ability to damage the local scenery and tighter controls would hove undoubtedIty made this Saturn tide a real winner.

MATT

After I , t the I actu. : ocontrols t ally u squite e entoyed Cnme Wave. The d action does get a bit t o repetitive. but alter a stressful trip home during rush hour it s lun to vem your anger on the hap less outdated camper vans that get to your way. The graphics are highly detailed and have a convincing futuristic look but the musc is appalling: three repeated chords dont really count as a tune wi my book. There are a couple of niggling control points too: it would be me if you were able to do handbrake turns when your target suddenly changes direction but otherwise I reckon this is the best car based shoot em up on ihe Saturn.

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Football. It's a funny old game. A game of two halves. The beautiful game. Twenty two men run ning around on a cold. muddy field. Fouls, injuries. drugs. lager. lager. lager. shouting. lager. lager.

Wouldn't it be so much more convenient for the budding virtual player if, instead of risking life and limb on the pitch, they could stand on the touch line wearing the sheepskin coat and shouting lads" k e e at p thei defence? t t o Well g egood t hnews e r for all aspiring 16-bit Alex Fergusons, because Premier Manager is back or the Megadrive and it's got a '97 after it.

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PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

ron to manage. Do well and either your teamr will be promoted Premier-wards or you'il be offered a shiny new contract with a better S club,t or maybe a 'bung'. Either way, your eventual goal S (sorry) is the Premiership and FA CLD e a N s O o P

OPTION T O O W N From the main screen you can access, in no particular order, transfer lists, ground improvements, club finances. squad line up. league details, sponsorship opportunities. the lob centre, division rankings, save to memo ry, options, the teleprinter and the all

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From the transfer lists, you can buy and sell piar is to your heart's content. Be warned though., use if another manager has his eye on a • r, you're in for a bidding war.

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GET THE BUILDERS IN At the ground improvement screen, you can elect to upgrade you' lowly stadium to an au, seater masterpiece. need to to play in the Premiership anyway.

Supporter's clubs and car parks can be just Important as unde r pitch heating if want to keep the fans coming.

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S P O N S 0 111 6 SILENCE On the sponsorship screen. you ca choose which multi-national corpo., rations advertise around your touch Line. Expect silliness as ads for cheese drinks and nut colleoll services vie for space.

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JOB SEEKER'S ALLOWANCE At the job centre you can hire ark: fire your coaches and physios plus set training regimes for your player and check on the progress - • - of your talent scout and youth team.

PIEl t f f ! it i FR::: f . : f 1 Iv t I t : 1 u • •• , . v T.r:r, „it'r1- 1-tt 4:tlii t Erg:Ehnr r ., i[l•::•=-...,.... r. „ . f 1 • t " P • 3 1 L 4 people get a Some real kick out of • management games. I should know • several of my mends have lost many . nights to ofthe .

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LEAGUES TABLES From the division ranking screen, you can see how you're doing in your league, as as seeing how your players are • doing individually.

machine g of results and fixtures, used as a means of comm between you and your staff. Anc your bank manager.

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sounds terrible, and the whole thing is weighed down in near pointless statistics and setting the price of hoo dogs on the support e n club- The game is so hard to gee into and it seems as of what ever you do has little or no effect on the progress of your team. If you want a manage ment game you II love thos but the other 95% of the populanon probably won't give a toss, Mark McGee does a reasonable lob managing the Wolves, so leave him to it.

THE USUAL SUSPECTS The squad line up sueen is where you Lag seiect which eleven players you want to use next game. You can also set your formation and tactics from here.

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Jtyo l e v e r play1 p e c t r u m you k n o w of all ol l i o u s tun that - , ps football manage ment f r ogames, as Kevin Toms semi m nal work on the subiett was the best game for the system There's no logic to st. really. The simplest of interfaces, the gnmoem of graphics, a bewoldenng array of options that seem quickly super fluous. but Premier Manager somehow manages to capture 97 the drama involved on raising a struggling side to straddle the greatest league in the land and make II excellent fun in the process. You should note that there is not a great deal of dit ference between this and last year's version, bar some updating although Shearer still plays at Blackburntl.

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YOU'LL NEVER WALK AGAIN ii rriatcnes are displayed by a fairly sil rIpie ,ylich shows where the ball is on the pitch, ...Hi as what the player with possession is doing what the last three major actions caused by, or fl i c lakes t e d a shot on goal, a short animated se r i c e is 3layed.

You can set the speed of the game o •oery n , O W to *ultra' and access the substitutas :rein with a tdo of the 8 batton. e a c h t e a m w e r e .

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36

SOUND

Virtually no music in a t a r e that doesn't lend itself to sound but the effects dunng the matches are authentic. But that s your lot.

24 PLAYABILITY 1 80' The games complexity makes it initially oft putting y o u don ing ' much diem But in the longer term depth t f eoreoffers l and a unique man y o u agenal shie of game a r e plat h a ,

LASTABILITY

You will love or hate this kind of game. Lovers will be absorbed into its action for a very long lime. Repulsion for the hirers should be life long.

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Aword of warning, gentle reader... If you enjoy socialising. meeting new people and generally getting out of the house, don't buy this game.

As with its predecessors. Micro Machines Military is one of the most fiendishly addictive games to ever grace the Megadrive. As the earlier Micro Machines games made Codemasters a fortune, it would have been tempting to release another straight sequel. However, this new game adds a vital element to the classic Micro Machines formula: guns. It is now possible to shoot your opponents in the back as they speed off into the distance or leave mines in your tracks to blast vehicles which are bringing up the rear.

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e options screen allows garners to race against three other human players, against the CPU, in Time Challenges. Battle Arenas or Pro Races. The Battle . • Arenas dump players on a variety of islands where the only rule is to knock your opponents off the edge using any means necessary. This section can be fun against the CPU, but in multi-player mode it is one of the most enjoyable challenges on the 16-bit,

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The in new race zones in Micro Machines Military, which are sub-divided into three sections. are undoubt• edly the best in the series. The course markers them• selves are not as well defined as in the Tournament Edition, making the races more challenging as you speed in the wrong direction only to see your oppo• nents disappearing off the screen. The courses also feature a wealth of interactive elements such as birds, bees, frogs, spud guns and sanders which are all intent ,on pushing you out of the race.

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As with earlier MM games, players are given a w choice of options. As well as CPU and four player action (the cart still features two extra loypad ports). you can choose Party Play where you have the choice of 4-8 players sharing loyPads or a massive Knockout table where up to 16 players can compete against each other. These options, more than any other aspect of the game, are the reason why MM Military will offer you months of fun. i m b

* 11 Coches has left the Megacirwe in line form with the best all round .

Micro Machines of them all. The Tournament Edition courses may have been better overall.

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but adding pr o, into the mil creates a genuine gameplay ,

innovation. plus the battle mode • more than worth the time spent on it. There are few games

thesedays that drag me away

from my Saturn but Micro Machines Military is one of them.

Micro Machines Military is sadly the last game vs the Megadnve sent's, Codemasters instead 'Liming its attention to the G US Saturn platform. However. MM Military is an excellent way to close this chapter. While retain mg all the best elements of earl, er Micro Machines games the ability to use guns and mines to foil your opponents is a twist of genius which will have MM tans slobbenne with anticipation, Ihr Battle Arenas are also an lintel mime touch. allowing player, take a break from racing and simply batter the hell out of each otheri Micro Machines Military is an essential purchase but now I lust can wait to see what Supersonic and

Codemasiers canachieve with 32 bus.

Nothing much has changed to the simple. traditional Micro Machines style visual but still as effective. The scrolling is v.••••• smooth. Overall not quite up to the image native standard of Turbo Tournament.

SOUND

Very similar to the previous games, a selection of rocky sound tracks. engine noises that a respectable vespa would produce I but not a Sherman tank! land a military feel to the menu screen choons.

PLAYABILITY

The gameplay is so Instinctive this is possibly the most fun you can have on a Megadme. Not easy by any manner of means with the later courses requiring plenty of memory work.

LASTABILITY

The range of multi player options means the game could last you forever, Micro Machines comes into its own with three Or four players.

The special military optiom are cake icing.

92

Arriving in good time to cash-in on the new football season, the latest FIFA game from Electronic Arts is Irving to store on the Megadrive.

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Fifa '97 Gold Edition

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Plug in the FIFA '97 Gold Edition cart, and, aside from a new title screen, there is little obvious difference from Its predecessors. All the normal pie-match options are there - fouls. injuries, off-sides and so on • as well as the same match types (Friendly. Leagues, you know the rest). The main difference in this edition is the option to play indoors. As well as the rolling green pitches, you can hold matches in a wooden gymnasium where the crowd is separated from the action by perSpest shields. When playing indoor FIFA, the main feature to master Is how the ball bounces higher than on outdoor pitches. However, even though these indoor games are a novel touch, they're hardly enough to class FIFA '97 Gotd Edition as a classic amongst football sims.

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HONESTLY, I MEANT TO DO THAT! One problem that has plagued all the FIFA games so far is dodgy ball control. I have lost count of the number of times that I have shot from the halfway line, then witnessed the look of horror on my flat mate's face as their goalie fumbles the save. And what about that strange out-of-control feeling as you watch your team members perform stunts you most certainly haven't instructed? This random element is, sadly. still present in the new version of FIFA and will leave players feeling just as frustrated as ever.

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Megadrere games need to be differ en' tact. With an abundance of plat forms that promise better graphics and enhanced gameplay Megadrwe develop . ers must be on the lookout for twists that will enhance their games above and beyond their nvals. While the indoor arena in FIFA 97 Gold Edition goes some way towards this the basic options and gameplay on oiler

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And I elusl say I tend to agree...

HARDER, HARDER' FASTER, FASTER!

One significant difference in FIFA*97 Gold Edition is the speed of game play • it is sign& cantly faster than its previous incarnations Also, whereas in the past it was very easy to steal the ball from your opponents, It Is now much more difficult to get possession without Atli. Alas, rather than making the game more appealing and realistic, it just makes it frustrating.

This game is 'moor tam to you - FIFA 96 and FIFA '95 were last years top selling titles. But the addition of an indoor arena is hard ly a reason to extend your cc4lec ton of FIFAs any further. It's fair to say that EA has taken the game as far as it can reasonably go in terms ol appearance and the tokenng with game mechan

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It's that time of the year again when the sports games get wheeled out for their annual update. EiPre comes another one; it's NBA Live '91 and it looks distressingly familiar.

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Invented by some Americans some time ago, basketball follows the Stateside tradition of borrowing an English sport and changing it a bit, then selling the TV rights for ludicrous amounts of money. Hence, basketball is like netball but with lots of hard black men instead of school girls. There also seems to be a real obsession with stats 'over the pond', so, in this latest offering from EA, players can expect to find Shaquille O'Neal's shoe size and what Scottie Pippen had for breakfast last Thursday.

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ivy there waseit really much hope Far thrs game. The graphics are starting to show their age a bit now, and on occasion, the players appear to be 'floating -above the court But the thing that really gets on my wick about NBA Live '97 is that its the same as every NBA Live game ever and as such offers no incentive to purchase it wharso ever. If you must have 1 1 - game look for a ball ,m s1k (e t r v e r

tt's u l i r i c l i u i l i r looro a Oho to on son ol 1 or ol a i t o M o pNBA Live '97 uses the isometric Oiewpoint last seen in, well. NBA f lye '96 actually. So what's new in Ahis edition? At half time, trivia s uestions appear and you have t next godlier to think about them oefore the answer comes up. And, apart from that not entirely earth shaltering addition, updated teams oor the current season are all this sew upgrdril. '1.1s to offer over previ i us warp , , is o f

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we've come to expect from this renowned soft ware company. With the likes of NBA lam proving that basketball games still sell on home consoles. this annual upgrade should have received more than just a lick of paint. Maybe it's time the series leapt to Saturn and enioyed an iniertinn of 32 bit power?

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$ the O opportunity to create your own . custom teams and players. n Obviously there is plenty of potent he tial for hilarity here as you are able o to create teams populated by p t midgets called Frank.

30olb iAssembling o custom teams from the existing s NBA league players is a hit of s gamble because. unless you have an encyclopaedic knowledge c of r buts, you UMW quite easily lellIO up with a *dream team worse than e many of the top real teams. e n y o

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75

Saturn owners have been well served with ice hockey sims recently. But what about us poor. loyal. Megadrive owners?

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Although limited by the tfi•bit platform, EA has made a stunning job of capturing the atmosphere, speed and violence of the teal game. As the teams face-off, an expectant silence falls over the crowd and you find your finger twitching as you wait for the puck to hit the ice, The game itself moves at a breakneck speed and it is sometimes hard to follow the movement of the puck, just like the real thing. Plus the great 'Doe's and 'ahhh!'s uttered by the players as they get a smack in the mouth are a constant reminder of the thrills and dangers of the sport... _

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The most impressive ele ment of NHL •97 is the range of options offered.

Game types include 1= 4 4 • . 4 1 4. . . e m o Transactions where you t a i n s o t h can trade players, sign T tree agents or even create .

1 a player of your own. The 1 Skills Challenge allows .

• you to practice puck con• big lot pm MUNI Sotors kola wtt na nese Sok buillogo Rol around a series of cones, accuracy shooting by hitting the puck at a range of targets or goal skills against rapid CPU fire, Shoolouts can also be played, as well as New 50 i r l s . New Playoffs and Regular Games. IC-, h n r in EA sport., car- 1 ly,

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co •.ports games Limes down to ,ability. and .L 91 has as It h of it as any Juan disc. or Playstation for that matter. But many of you will have previous versions of this game and EA are hardly &sews ing it as an update of the old engine. Still you (an buy it in the knowledge of getting an excel km sports simulation.

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91 is definitely ie of the most entertaining sports sums on the Megadrwe at the moment. Instead of simply producing a basic ice hockey game. EA has made the effort to provide new options such as Transactions which give you a wider view of how the sport operates and a Practice mode to hone your skills to perfection.

Chances are that you will come away thinking that you have team' something about the sport and how it is run rather than the disappointment you get with so many sims that have not man aged to capture the thrills of the real game. A worthy Mal to the 32 bit wonders,

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The action of the players in NHL '97 is ultra convinc ing. In fad, it takes lime to get used to skatine on the slippery surface and you may find yourself Lair severe beating from the CPU teams before you get up to speed. However, once you have mastered the game, get some mates around and watch them flail around the arena as you run rings around

their players...

An intelligent and enjoyable sports woo with enough options keep fans of • h . T o r e mud shoo tome r.)

SMOM M a i W a d i Armin Um m e n

85

r S E G A MEGADRIVE, 13 Top games.

32X, 6 games, Doom. Mor tal Kom bat Acti on Replay. 3 pads boxed will split 1160 ono (01708) 452317 FOR SALE: GAME GEAR With 13 games. wide scr een a nd A.C. a da ptor O nl y 170 Plus car r y case Ca l l (0181) 9790493 WANTED ETERNAL Cham pions Zer o Tolerance, Sonic b Knuckles and Lemminghs Tribes fr o MD pay upto 1.10 each. Phone Michael (01843) 824005 SEGA SATURN GAMES For sale.

Sega Rally. Victory Boxing. Both 125 or will sw ap ei ther for G uar di an Heroes. (01222) 731300 MEGADRIVE2• 32X. 2 0 Megadrive, 3 32X games. including Virtu() Fighter. Racing a nd Mg!. 2 joypads, 1 six pod. all pe r fe c t condition, all boxed. Sell for 1300 Ask for Mike on : (01253) 822079 a fte r 4pm.

FOR SALE MASTER System a nd 20 games. joypad. joystick. l i ghtphaser Al l boxed 140. Tel (01253) 822079 ask for Mike a fte r 4pm ANYONE OUT THERE GOT Rock 'N' Roll Racer s for the Megadr i ve Will 7 pa y good money P l ease anyone contact Em on (01748) 811515 Help Mel MEGADRIVE FOR SALE. SIX gam es inc M M 9 6 . SSM Wor m s, Sensible, Fever Pitch. Premier Manager , Thr ee ioypads (One 6 button) All boxed with i nstr ucbons. Wor th 1300. will sell for 1180. All offer s consider ed.

Excellent condition P hone James on : (01737) 222185 a fte r 4pm MEGADRiVE, 12 GAMES. 3 Controllers. Micr om achines 2 tur bo edition. Jurassic Ram page edition 1165 (01803) 712611 Devon, Totnes ask for Ben. All Boxed MD AND GAMES MK2. MK3. Fifa 95, Sonic Ear thw or m Jim. Ecco The Dolphin. X-Men, Micr o Machines. Micr o Machines 96. two contr oller s, a r c a de joystick.

Every item boxed with i nstr uctions O nl y 1.130 w or th 1370_ Please call a fte r 3 30pm , Call Mel on (0151) 4234381 WANTED: A SEGA SATURN on good condi ti on with any games if possible.

Call (01497) 781690 MEGADRIVE AND 32X Both w i th box, but no Megadr ive i nstr uctions. 14 games inc D o o m . MK3, MM96 and ENVJ. 5 i oypods (3 six button) only 1 missing i nstr ucskim j j i k e t o s s e steertlests _ be Hetweiter le yew k l i e r s i ti ,

bon (EW-I) Will sell for 1200 ovno Call Rory a fte r 5pm a t : (01292) 316059 MEGADRIVE 1.1 WITH 3 gam es in excellent condition, all gam es boxed, w or th 1200 sell for 11.00 Tel (01344) 762851 MEGADRIVE 5 GAMES including Megabom ber m an. Fifa 96.

MicroM96. Pr em ier Manager . 3 contr oller s I six button. Plus extras U 5 0 I f i nter ested call (01754) 881365 MEGA CD FOR SALE G ood condttion. includes 10 gam es such as Thunder hawk a nd Rebel Assault.

Comes with instr uction You pay KW U 2 0 ono (also includes 2 classic Megadr ive games for Free. Call (01656) 872053 a fte r 4pm MEGADRIVE AND 32X FOR Sale including tw o pads and ei ght games (6 gam es r a te d over 90%) Everything boxed in or iginal boxes Very good condition Original value 1450 selling for 1175 Conta c t Chris on (01327) 830376 FEMALE PENPALS WANTED over 18 i nter ested in Satur ns wr ite to Paul a t 556 Abbey Road, Basingstoke. Hants R024 9ER WANTED MK AND STREETS OF RAGE for Master System I L Will pay 10 pounds * doh G om e t must have books Ca l l (0181) 9415967 MD2 FOR SALE WITH 9 GAMES Including Worms. Fifa 96 Mi c r o I.E. w i th 1 hand contr ol l er Wor th 1210 will sell for 1160 Contact Alex on : (0181) 466 2375 a fte r Spm_ O ffer s accepted 6 months old.

MEGADRiVE FOR SALE. GOOD Condition (no box) 3 contr ol pads (one 6 button). 11 gam es (including Fifa Soccer. Sonic a nd Knuckles. Ear thwor m Jim). Som e games with no instr uction m a nuals Will sell for 1200 ono Col l Patrick on (0101) 698 3419 I DESPERATELY WANT MEGA 6 Games. 2 please. i f you do. I will swap it for my Micr o Machines 2 for the Megadr ivo Tel (01977) 556250 PHANTASY STAR I O R I I I Wanted will pay r easonabl e prices or swap for othe r games Phone Johnothan on - (01705) 644036 a fte r 5 30pm For m at Megadrive. Sellers m ust collect FOR SALE VIRTUA COP ((25) aria Daytona USA ((15) P e r fe c t Condition. Tel : (0181) 459 4152 ask for David.

MEGADRIVE 32X including 2 pads

(its button) and 16 games including Vir tua Fighter. Virtue!

Racing, Fifa 96. Metal Head for 32X and 12 Megadr i ve games including T o y Story. MM96. Fifa 96 Mor ta l Kom bat I. 2b3. Sonic 1.2 63. Sonic b Knuckles. Them e Park. All for 1270 Phone Ma tthe w : (01837) 52363 a fte r 7pm SELL 32X DOOM/METAL Head L14 or swap for Shining Force CD. Megadr ive im m or tal /Talmots t9.

Robocod 16 S w a p Willy Bearnish (Sega CD) For Lunar 1-2/ Popful Mail/Vay/Dungeon Master (Skuilkeep) or Monkey island (all CD) Tel (0 1 2 0 3 ) 257683

1

MD GAMES FOR SALE P i t fi ght • r Et Golden Axe 15 each. MK1 ((0 ) MK2 (115). 32X ((40). Vir tua Fighter (32)() ((25). 32X * vr ((6 0 ) Phone ( 0 1 2 2 3 ) 369379

1

rf i n t e r n FOR t e a SALE

M K S MAGAZINES issues 5 to 30 120 Also gam es : PGA LU. Subter r oni a. Flashback, Boltz MK11. Ecco 11 plus contr ol pa d Pl us Monacer Gun 180.

Please phone Wayne on _ (01883) 743776 6pm onw ar ds WANTED CANNON FODDER for Megodr ive Willing to pay up to 135 Also 10-12 year old pen-pal .

Phone (01491) 573083 ask for Richard MEGADRIVE FOR SALE Tw o 6 but ton pods with 14 games includes Bom ber m an. MK3.

Earthworm 162. Ballz, Str eets of Rag. 3 S tr e e tfi ghte r 2 a nd Zombies a te my Neighbour s 1.150 Tel (012770 653399 ask for Stephen AMIGA 5 0 0 1MG With pr i nter and stond with 50 discs and mouse 1150 ono. Phone (01296) 435732 a fte r 4 30pm MEGADRIVE 2 AND I I gam es inc.

Vortua Racing. Str eets Rage 2.

Robocop v Ter m inator . 2 i nbr e d pads. 1 ioystick Tel: Jim (01227) 369752 1250 FOR SALE MEGA DRIVE 3 contr ol pads. 8 good gam es including Micro Machines 96 and Fib a 96 cost 1325 will take 1200 Ovn0 Al l boxed as new. Ask for Edwar d on ( 0 1 7 1 0 ) 752005 WANTED. PUTTY SQUAD for Megadrive G ood condition. Will pay any r easonabl e pr ice Tel : (0117) 9552618 a fte r 5pm and ask for Tom FOR SALE , games.

Game Genie, Battery G A M pack. wide screen, car a da ptor and car r y case 160 or swap for E Megadrive.

Tel (0 1 9 3 2 ) 867172 G E

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PREVIEWS

VIRTUA FIGHTER ,smetnos

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MIKDEED The version previewed here needed a good burst of extra speed, and Sega are aiming to do this, by 'optimising' a Megadrive game for the first time. This procen, now standard for Saturn titles, involves working through the code getting the most out of the processor. Hopefully VF2 will run at a fair luck after this procedure.

Aneclectic selection of forthcoming games this month to kick off the new 'rolling preview sec non. Look ahead for Command and Conquer.RPG antics in Riglord Saga Z. the umpteenth Scorcher update and the strangest game concept for many ayear. Mr Bones.

It looks magnificent, doesn't it? The quality of these screenshots may shock, but to be fair, they are only part of the story. To give Sega their due, they've brought Virtue Fighter as dose to the Megadrive as is reasonably possible, and without the aid of any extra cartridge power.

Sega have dithered over the name since they announced the project at El, back in May, first calling it Virtue Fighter. The transition to Virtua Fighter 2 was meant to herald the addition of the two extra fighters in that edition. Shun Di and LiOn Rafale. However, due to memory restrictions, this has not happened. and Virtua Fighter 2 has, somewhat confusingly, the original line•up of c harac t e ,ietailed characters, So. as that Irish twat would say, How Did They Do That? Well, the s. H o w e v e r , game is most definitely a zD beat 'em up. with no scaling backt h e grounds or changing camera views, like the 32X version, The benefit g a r n e ' s of this is that the programmers have been able to produce lavish l o o k environments and excellent character animation, and most of the i s 700 plus VF2 moves. v e r The game mechanics are exactly as they always were, with multiple combos, ring outs and custom versus mode, and plays very much y like the 'real' VI d e fi n At - this time, there was no evidence of a ranking mode or Dural i t e l y cheat, but this may appear in Lime for next month's review.

2, V F w h e r e 2 . t h e w i of cartridge has meant limiting the range of backaThecrestrictions t i t h drops, but the programmers have got around this by doing multiple o n s t u n versions of the same scene using different colour palletes. thurthere i s n i n g Is a 'daytime' and 'evening* version of leffry's tropical island stage. a l w l y a y s a c c o u r a n t e t b a w c k o d r p l o p a n s e s a a n n y w d a y .

COLOUR SCENE

Nt - 4 0 1 0 e Welcome to Arcadia. Mean Machines Sega's very own upto-the-minute coin op section. If you're looking for the very latest, accurate information on state-of-the-art arcade machines then you've come to the right place.

This month we visited the Associated Leisure Preview in Hammersmith and tested out the hottest new c o releases c o m i n g l a t a n arid, n

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MYSTARIA 2 Sego's continuing commitment to its RPG audience is underlined by their plan to convert the second Riglord Saga game, to be released here as Mystaria 2. The original Mystaria is almost a year old, and won fans with its Shining Force-style battle RPG gameplay. This is adventuring mixed with war gaming, as characters are move" 1111111 like chess pieces across a grid laid on varying battle D w e l l e r landscapes. h i l e n In common with the first game, the second has dozens I M P of characters and literally hundreds of special weapon and magical attacks. The adventure is driven by a cons, ventional kind of Sword and Sorcery plot — lands under 10 S threat from ancient evils risen from alternate dimensions —that kind of stuff.

Fans of the original will notice the subtle reworking of tht• game's mechanics and a new style of graphics, with less cartoony characters. The isometric 30, which is used to create all the in-game landscapes is more sophisticated than the first game (though still prone to some jerkiness and the poor excuses for towns in the first game have been replaced by fully•fledged settlement environments.

Also, a lot of the character utterances have been recorded by voice actors, an aspect that may delay the translation into English further. However, Sega are still aiming for a pre-Christmas release.

SEGATOURING (AR We took a quick look at Sega's amazing new arcade racer last issue and the more we've played Touring Car, the more we're impressed. The actual programming and development of this title has been undertaken by ANL4 (a new division within Sega's coin-op department) and their initial efforts are certainly a wonder to behold. Touring Car manages to combine the smooth visual style of Sega Rally with the overall vehicle handling of Daytona. Currently. only two player link-up machines are being produced but if the success of Sega's other racers is anything to go by we can expect lour and eight player cabinets to appear in

thenot too distant future.

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MYSTARIA 2 DRAWING ON INSPIRATION Like the previous Mystaria, the artwork dis• played in this game is of exceptionally high quality. All the characters make an apperance as abstract loading screens,

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Tired old fussier or fresh-faced fighter?

Yet another 3D Saturn beatem-up arrives later this month but this one's frightening ly familiar.

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Toshinden uRR Sego Takata November

ROUSE Valk The lukewarm response Takara's first fighter generated would usually be enough to put off even the bravest software compao, 1 7 2 1 nies. Unperturbed by snide comments and cruel jibes, those plucky Toshinden development types have gone back to the drawing board and given their bouncing baby a bit of a spitand-polish. The result is a relined version of the game that now runs in the Saturn's high-res mode, with a handful of exclusive extras included to silence those cries of 'You're really milking this game, aren't you?"

Players can expect Toshinden URA (that's Ultimate Revenge Attack to you and me) to deliver improved character visuals, a bevy of extra moves and the addition of two brand-spanking new S m a s h a n d A ro fu la e sw punches and kicks, each combatants. Ripper and lighter boasts many special moves -.

Ronron. If you were a pyrotechnic fireballs to complicated throws. If that's not fan of the original then . Iun gg ihn gto satisfy this game will no f r oyour m insatiable blocteost then check erdr we Gauge.

Located a! the bottom of the doubt keep you occu• scr I s super meter fills up as dltacks are pied until Takata unle e d . A fully powered-up bar q gets round to ults to be delivered. , releasing a true sequel and not nables merely a simple s p e c t a c u l a r TWOrlire cast of Toshinden make a welcome return and upgrade. Lucky old Mean tip i m p around they're joined by two new fares. Ripper Machines reada revenge driven nutter keen to dish out maximum punishment with his lethal blades. Ronron, on the other ers can look torwara to a h a n d , i s a s p e c t a c l e • • • ,..ko JAsn 5s c h o o l g I r l d e c k e d n i i t i n a n outfit that leaves very little to the imagination! full review next issue.

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Command and Conquer __ Ver on Westw000d Studios Dec ember

COMMAND AND CONQUER,

like to interject. It's quite good for creating jolly fun strategy games, actually. And to W ar.

What it good tor? Before you Studios say 'absolutely nothing, I'll own say itPC again', prove theispoint, here's Westwood conversion of their game.we would Command and Conquer. In fact you'd be hard pressed to find a bigger hit computer game from last year. as C&C swept the boards garnering both critical and commercial acclaim_ This faithful translation to Saturn has players marshalling troops and equipment in a realtime armed snug gle between two opposing forces; the GDI and the infamous Brotherhood of NOD, which is run by a shifty bloke with a beard and a temper. No. his name is not Gus. Virgin have taken a novel and generous approach Co picking sides by putting the game onto two discs, one letting you play a series of missions as GDI, the other as NOD. CBC has a rabid following of fans who love its stress•inducing gameplay. and feelings of empowerment as your tanks roll on to victory. Experience it for yourself next month.

Breokpoin Ocean Smart Dog December

• • • •

WHAT_THE EXPERTS ...Then you conquer

First you command...

c&C was originally played with a mouse, and the cursor-baced interface reflects this Your forces on the ground; infantrymen, grenadiers, tanks and APV5 await your commano, Simple button clicks have them move, attack or guard. Some units have specialised functions. Units may be grouped to attack en masse• Although they will respond imrno• diately. your units have a certain amount of intelligence to operate when you're busy elsewhere.

You control your forces by means of a bar. That's a menu bar. not a liquor inducement. The menu bar reveals your building options. However, first you must establish a base with your mobile command vehicle. A base starts as a basic construction yard. but by using the bar you can channel your monetary resources into power plants. Tiberium refineries, vehicle plants. communications centres and more. These will provide the forces you need to go forth, bur h a s e must be protected at all Costs' -

•

Never has so much been put on a disc for so many, or something. Yes, this takes me back to the old days. Tommy Atkins, Vera Lynn. You could leave your back door open, you know,

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Breakpoint ries and cream. So quite why those crazy chaps at Ocean have decided to T release their new simulation of the sport in December is beyond us, Anyhow. n 3reakpoint offers motion captured players, various court surfaces and all the other paraphernalia associated with tennis games. n i s .

T There are eight competitors to choose from, although for some h reason the British entrant is ranked as 'excellent'. All the playa ers also display individual, and horrendously cliched. personalities; the American 'pumps his list' a lot while the French t contender can be seen attending to his coiffeur. As in most w tennis games; clay, grass, asphalt and indoor courts are also o available, each in it's own distinctive stadium. r d c o n laito's Puzzle Bobble 3 was also on j display at the AL Preview and proved u to be every bit as popular as its predecessor. This updated game now r includes over 30 stages, new player e techniques (such as bouncing bob. s hies off the ceiling), eight selectable u characters to choose from, and a p host of exciting new features. There i are also special bubbles that can m cause chain reactions, colour-changa ing bubbles and even a Metal Bubble that destroys everything in its path! g e s o f s u

Competitive spirit

••••-•

I like this game, jal Anyone snigger at my moustache, I just send in the tanks.

Blitzkrieg, that's my strategy. Ein game! Ein Saturn! Ein Virgin!

Oh la. la. As you know we I- ench are the greatest military nation in the world. We just like to give the other side a bit of a start.

The sands of time Command and Conquer actually evolved from an earlier game Westwood Studios created called Dune 2: Battle for Arrakis, which was one of the best ever Megadrive games. The evidence? Well. the control system is much the same and there is a similar way of gaining new fiscal resources • through 'harvesting*. In Dune 2, you sent out large • vehicles to harvest the 'Spice' which was then • converted into credits. C&C has you sending o harvesters to collect Tiberidm crystals, a vaitta global commodity. Spice; libetium, the effect is the same — dosh. Needles say, your production must protected at nit Cents.

Dasvodanya, ,omrades_ In my experience there's nothing the proletariat likes more than a good old fashioned war. Except for potatoes maybe. Mmm. potatoes...

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SCORCHER r o A LOAD OF BALLS ,

ut the door, along comes another one. Scavenger's latA O st creation, Scorcher, is packed full of the decaying urban landscapes that are practically compulsory with the post s Wipeout s o o n set, but what new features can it offer to lift it above the a scorn petition? o n e u t The vehicles in Scorcher are not exactlyf what u r i you'd call conventional. Looking like a cross between a motorbike and those Atlasphere s t i things out of Gladiators. their spherical configuc ration means they are great for bouncing p offo walls and for driving o f tunnels s tand stuff. a p o c a l y p s e As it's set in a decaying post-apocalyptic landr scape, the courses In Scorcher don't always stick a to the beaten track. Expect the tarmac to disapc pear from under you at any moment as you i bounce down into sewers and subway tunnels. On the roads that remain intact, rubble and twisted n 7 . T rr, fI rc h a 7 a r d c g g a Despite being quite a lot like Wipe° A. Scorcher m doesn't offer anything in the way of weapons; e It's just you and your Attasphere thing against i the other competitors. Power-ups are available, s however, in the form of progressive speed boosts. These come in hand* as you are also racing against the Clock, 01 3 arcade style. Whether it all comes A l together or not will be revealed ir 3 t 64 5 l i .0 4 .

• January when the game is finally t released. i o j r °

ROAD WORKS

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ALL JUICED UP

Up for the cup

At the title screen you can choose from several play options. Practice mode pits you against a random CPU opponent, whilst singles and double, matches enable you to select which competitors take part and allow for up to four human players to compete. On top of this there are Super Cup and Tournament modes which offer multi-player knockout competitions. With a wealth of options and nicely animated motion captured graphics.

Breakpoint looks like one to watch.

It's all under control Breakpoint uses a fairly conventional control system; the A, 8 • C buttons are used for the regular shots while the X, V + 2 button access lobs and other tricky shots that I couldn't quite get the hang of at school. Pressing the 1. P. buttons together cycles through the three viewpoints available; two TV style views from above and behind your player and the old Super Tennis 'Over 61 Shoulder' view. .r

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co Driving games were everywhere at the show but it wasn't just Sega that boasted some of the finest racing coin. ops. Taito's Side By Side is a four player link-up machine that features incredibly realistic vehicle handling, smooth texture-mapped visuals and a choice of three driving viewpoints. The cars in Side By Side are in fact based on actual marketed vehicles produced by the likes of Toyota. Nissan. Honda and Mazda. How's that for product endorsement?

CD •••• 7 CD t• e+ ;

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Bones Sego Angel Studios 7ricer-be•

ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT Mr Bones starts the game six feet underground, a shadow of his former living self, but a strange power brings him back to afterlife, and he spends the rest of the game journeying towards each locatios, evading the redeyed legions of darkness and trying to keep his skeletal figure in one piece.

Whenever Mr Bones goes to pieces. he's finished. Mr Bones is a rather mellow individual who finds his salvation in music and by chilling out the various denizens who confront him with the mystical powers of his blues guitar.

• • •

previ en '97 Electronic Arts Electronic Arts December

NES

Saturn launch, Mr Bones is the only one yet to be released. In S many ways it's Sega*s Heart of Darkness (the muchtroubled.oft-delayed Virgin game) and has been a 'bone of contention e for some time.

It's only natural, though, looking at a near-complete g version of one of the most complex productions ever undertaken on a the machine.

T Where as you could say Virtual On is a typical Sega of Japan game, Mr r Bones is the epitome of Sega of America's direction over the last three M years. With movie production values and a lot of plot sequences. it a delights in using all the new CG (computer generation) techniques for F stunning visual effects. It's team also have a bizarre sense of humour, seen in many of the weird sub-games that form the overall quest of its a skeleton hero who indulges in that most American of pastimes; playc ing the blues.

The project is the work, through Segasoft. of Angel t Studios who have been at the forefront of computer We still don't know what : to make of this massive animation using Silicon Graphics and other high-end o CG machines in recent years. Rendered graphics are undertaking, covering two f used throughout, not just for sprites or FMV discs, but we'll let you in a on it next month, when sequences, but integrated with gameplay to create l some stunning high-resolution scenarios, like the we review the finished l version of Mr Bones. guardian of the Dry Moat, seen here. l o m t h e g a m e s p u b l i c i s e d tom dollar that there will be annual Madden's Football update a EA's sports titles have always been superbly produced A for as long as the potato-headed yank is with us. this year's t and presentation is usually second-to-none- Of course s offering, John Madden NFL '97, takes the winning formula of previJohn Madden NFL'97 is no exception and boasts a superb t ous games in the series and attempts to offer fans a few new features to s intro sequence featuring rendered stadiums, players and h sustainu the games ever increasing popularity. even an appearance from the big guy himself. e For a start, players can now expect a flashy, and completely over-the-top ro rendered intro sequence to get them in the mood before launching into e r itself. Team stats have always played an important part in the game a Madden i titles and EA's latest outing now requires players to keep a close eye ons gtheir team's performance as nackered quarterbacks and tired n defenders will actually affect the entire game. John Madden PIFI. '97 has i been available in on import for a about a month now but UK Saturn owners can expect to receive this transatlantic treat later this month. g a h l t f o making a welcome return to the arcade scene were Konami with their own l ',ling game, Winding Heal. Unlike traditional racers, this gas-guzzling racer feal tures on-screen obstacles, such as oncoming drivers, and appears to have taken o much of its inspiration from Electronic Arts' Need for Speed. Gameplay is fast and furious with a multi-player link-up option adding to the excitement. 0y, Konamil w How t giving us loyal Saturn owners a decent Saturn conversion then? s d a y , A c i o r n s o l e o

CHOIR OF ANGELS

MADDEN 97

ENTER THE MADDEN

WINDING HEAT

THE TWILIGHT LAW ZONE AIrr

KEEPING IT TOGETHER His leg bone's connected to his knee bone, his knee bones connected to his shin bone.., you get the picture.

But Mr Bones often struggles to maintain his bodily structure, which starts to fall apart from all kinds of attack. Then he has a special power which allows his twitching limbs to miraculously reform.

Mr Bones' weird gameplay forms a portmanteau game — one made up of separate gamestyle sections linked by stories. It's a kind of undead Alice in Wonderland. Some of these are seriously weird, er... stuff, along with more conventional platform and shooting sequences.

BLUES GUITAR The strange task ne• , 70 play a series of blinding riffs on your blues guitar that keep step with the rhythm guitar in the background, with each joypad button choosing a new riff. If you're successful, the eyes of the skeleton army in the background should gradually change from red to blue.

DRUM SOLO ROLLING LOGS A lavish working of a simple gameplay idea — avoid logs as they roll down the hill after you.

The background and logs, however, are stunningly rendered.

HALL OF PANE

LITTLE PEOPLE VILLAGE

A flying section set in a cavernous series of cathedrals, where the aim is to collect the tokens before smashing through the stained glass windows at the end. Pretty breathtaking.

Dtte reworking of the old _r•ender concept. Mr Bones has befriended a town of Ill. liputians and he must stop them from biting dragged off by the sPidirs.

BIG BONES Mr Bones plays keep-it-up with his own head — on his own head. You must bounce his small skull through a series of obstacles. then his larger skull will zoom out to become the small skull on a larger head. Looks freaky.

A 'panic game' where you work four sets of bongo drums linked to electrical generators. You must play the sets in response to current surges flowing along a series of wires.

FUNNY BONES To our Knowledge toe only video game where telling jokes is part of the gameplay (apart from that bit in Monkey island). Mr Bones must amuse his skeletal audience by stringing together gags split into a series of recorded sections. Very weird, and the joke Uma Thurman tells in Pulp Fiction is in there too.

• •

THE DREAM TEAM It's often very tempting for players to skip over the team stats and jump straight into the plays. While there's still plenty of on-screen action to be had, closer attention must be paid to how your particular team is performing. Exhausted players can mean a weaker defence, shorter passes and victory for the opposition.

VIRTUA COP 2 level, available on the latest build. This final stage W ere updating VC2 to coverage with pics of the third forms a fittingour climax the game with a stunning train shoot-out en route to the terrorists* base. Also revealed is the 'secret enhancement' AM2 have been talking about in relation to the conversion: it's an extra sub-stage slotted in after the train ride! In the coin•op. stage three did not offer the choke of routes found on the other levels.

The Saturn version does, with an *arcade line' option that takes you along the conventional underground train route, and the 's it e of a c _ - . 'red woolly jumper effect spoiling the . - stage• one. This part - is far fro• screen at present.

• • • hence no pictures. VC2 , ' is on schedule to w h i o appear just around Our ' . next issue, so stay a t u r e s sharp shooters. a c a r r i d e Of course no arcade round-up would be complete s iat leastmone beaVem-up i without being menl tioned. aThe recent r IAMMA show in Japan saw the first playable version of SNK's Samurai Shodown t making a long overdue appearance. The latest o game in the long-running series includes every t h single character that's appeared to date as well as e a few familiar faces. There's no word on the exact e a powering this beauty but hardware that's r l Improved visuals and sound would seem to hint y SNK is playing with some mighty powerful that p toys.

We'll bringa you more on this 2D extravaganza next issue. r t

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Next month we'll be celebrating the coming of a fat old bloke who breaks into your house and eats your cake. Yes it's Christmas, when the little baby Jesus arranges for presents for all.

To mark this once-a-year-day, and exploit the over-commercialisation of this quasi-religious midwinter festival to our advantage, we're doing a special Christmas and New Year issue. What's on the ca rd s. . . W. A S dAt a M O E ttella me a taxge bowl o6 fi t u it w ith a t i t candlean behind i t , 6o x atmosphete.

You could atbo hat6-peet oxange and p u t a i n t h e 6otegtound. Then g et some-

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Matt

FAXTHFUL

Deat Fathex Chtistmas Please, p lease, p lease bting mesome xeviews 6ox.

ChtiAtmas A L t kinds o6 xeviews 6tom CommaAd and Convex t o John Madden Football ' 9 7 . 1 6 you could also 6in d toom t o put Steakpoint, I SS Soccex Deluxe and Vit t u a Fightex 2 o n t h e Megadtive, 1 ptomise t o clean my desk. a l l yeax. Honest.

Love Stephen

DeaA Santa What I dleam coo. 1f04

CuElotiv-s 9ot Chniztinad AtiGHrs.

6 a and Et t i o t c tfoetatiz p in u t t y coztumez you y an d t ot s co' know, o pteAentd l f den t o open.

I t i l e p4e4ents me.

XXX G44

CYNICAL XMAS-XPLOITATIO S U E WILL BE OUT 6TH DECEMBER.

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