Electronic Gaming Monthly Issue 87

Cover Story:

• Tomb Raider - EGM's two-page preview of Lara Croft's initial outing on PlayStation and Saturn.

Features:

• Here Come the RPGs - PlayStation is serving up a mega-dose of Role-Playing action:
  • Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
  • Arc the Lad I & II
  • Suikoden
  • Breath of Fire III
  • King's Field II
  • Ark of Time (Europe-only release)
  • Final Fantasy Tactics
  • Final Fantasy VII
  • Beyond the Beyond
  • Tecmo's Deception
• Sega Gamer's Day - EGM got a front-row seat to this "press only" show, and brought back info on the following games:
  • Krazy Ivan (SAT)
  • Mr. Bones (SAT)
  • Sonic X-Treme (SAT)
  • Bug Too! (SAT)
  • Virtual On (SAT)
  • X-Women (GEN) (canceled)
  • SCUD (SAT)
  • Mechwarrior 2 (SAT)
  • VectorMan 2 (GEN)
  • Mass Destruction (SAT)
  • Herc's Adventure (SAT)
  • World Series Baseball II (SAT)
  • Swagman (SAT)
  • Tempest 2000 (SAT)
  • PTO II (SAT)
  • ID4: Independence Day (SAT)
  • Waterworld (SAT) (canceled)
  • Hexen (SAT)
  • Lunar: Silver Star Story (SAT) (released only in Japan)
  • Mega Man 8 (SAT)
  • Doom (SAT)
  • Street Racer (SAT)
  • Black Dawn (SAT)
• Virtua Fighter 3 Special - What to look forward to in Sega's latest addition to the 3D fighting franchise
• Exclusive Interview: Face to Face With John Madden - Todd Mowatt and Joe Rybicki talk football games with the guy best known for talking about football.

Departments:

• Insert Coin - Ed Semrad looks at what's coming for the 1996 holiday season.
• Press Start - All the news that's fit to print in the world of gaming.
  • N64 $199 price point
  • More M2 console info
  • Gumpei Yokoi leaves Nintendo
  • Samsung GXTV earns high marks
  • Having A Ball? - Spacetec and ASCII have a new 3D controller in the works for the PlayStation
• Gaming Gossip - Quarterman dishes all the juicy rumors.
  • N64 sales slow in Japan
  • Street Fighter Alpha 2 coming to Xband on SNES?
  • PS add-on for Tekken 3?
  • Enix, Tecmo join N64 ranks
  • Bomberman for PS, N64
  • Kutaragi's Dino-mite project (Jurassic Park and PlayStation 2 rumors)
• Interface - Letters from readers, responses from editors.
  • Top 5 Reasons Shigeru Miyamoto Is So Darn Creative
  • Top 5 Scariest Games
    • #5: Doom (Multi)
    • #4: The 7th Guest (PC)
    • #3: Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (PS1)
    • #2: D (Multi)
    • #1: Resident Evil (PS1)
• EMG Letter Art
  • Dallas Ragon of Naples, Italy (Winner)
  • Chad Lacher of Alliance, OH
  • Adam Sturch of Cimarron, NM
  • Bill Elder of Bellmont, WV
  • Uzzette Landaverde of San Luis, Mexico
• Next Month - What to expect in 30 days in the pages of EGM and EGM2.

Protos (hands-on previews of prototype software):

• Re-Loaded (PS1)
• Mega Man 8 (PS1)
• Necrodome (PS1)
• Tobal No. 1 (PS1)
• Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (PS1/SAT)
• Cruis'n USA (N64)
• Shadoan (PS1)* --See 'Notable Stuff' below
• Wipeout XL (PS1)
• Wild 9 (PS1)
• Herc's Adventures (PS1)
• Down in the Dumps (PS1)* --See 'Notable Stuff' below
• Major Damage (PS1) (canceled)
• Rev Limit (N64) (canceled)
• Wild Choppers (N64) (released as Chopper Attack)
• TigerShark (PS1)
• Star Wars: Rebel Assault 2 (PS1)
• Broken Helix (PS1)
• Ballblazer Champions (PS1)
• Final Doom (PS1)
• Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat (PS1)
• Seta Open Golf (N64) (released only in Japan as Eikou no St. Andrews)
• Werewolf (SAT) (canceled)
• Tenka (PS1) (released as Codename: Tenka)

Reviews (Shawn Smith, Dan Hsu, Crispin Boyer, and Sushi-X rate the games):

• Crash Bandicoot (PS1) - Game of the Month
• Robo Pit (SAT)
• Grid Runner (SAT)
• Tetris Plus (SAT)
• Three Dirty Dwarves (SAT)
• Beyond the Beyond (PS1)
• Project Overkill (PS1)
• Spot Goes to Hollywood (PS1)
• Ms. Pac-Man (SNES)
• Battlezone / Super Breakout (GB)
• X-Men 3 (GG)

Tricks of the Trade (aka: Cheating 101):

• Gunship (PS1)
• Super Mario 64 (N64)
• Need For Speed (PS1)
• Bladeforce (3DO)
• Gun Griffon (SAT)
• Tetris Attack (SNES)
• Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (SAT)
• International Track and Field (PS1)
• Skeleton Warriors (PS1)
• Pilotwings 64 (N64)
• Golden Axe: The Duel (SAT)
• Clockwork Knight 2 (SAT)
• Worms (PS1)
• Resident Evil (PS1)
• Game Shark Codes:
  • Bogey: Dead 6 (PS1)
  • Gunship (PS1)
  • The Hive (PS1)
  • Tokyo Highway Battle (PS1)
  • Top Gun (PS1)
  • Worms (PS1)
  • Ghen War (SAT)
  • Legend of Oasis (SAT)
  • Primal Rage (SAT)

Next Wave (previews of games closer to release than those in the 'Protos' section):

• Turok the Dinosaur Hunter (N64) (released as Turok: Dinosaur Hunter)
• Fighting Vipers (SAT)
• Area 51 (SAT)
• Three Dirty Dwarves (SAT)
• Machinehead (SAT)
• Robo Pit (SAT)
• Tetris Plus (SAT)
• Alien Trilogy (SAT)
• Twisted Metal 2 (PS1)
• Contra: Legacy of War (PS1)
• Disruptor (PS1)
• Pandemonium (PS1)
• Spot Goes to Hollywood (PS1)
• Perfect Weapon (PS1)
• Black Dawn (PS1)
• Star Gladiator (PS1)

Team EGM Sports (all the sports game coverage in one place):

• Madden NFL '97 (SAT)
• PS World Stadium X (PS1) (Japan-only release)
• PGA Tour '97 (PS1/SAT)
• Highway 2000 (PS1)
• Power Move Pro Wrestling (PS1)
• Madden NFL '97 strategy
• Ten Pin Alley (PS1)
• NHL '97 (GEN)
• Cool Boarders (PS1)
• Waverace 64 (N64)
• Box Scores (sporting game reviews):
  • Madden NFL '97 (PS1)
  • NFL Quarterback Club '97 (PS1)
  • NCAA GameBreaker (PS1)
  • Andretti Racing (PS1)

Ads (in order of appearance):

• Super Mario 64 (N64)
• Ridge Racer Revolution (PS1)
• Bubble Bobble also featuring Rainbow Islands (PS1/SAT/PC)
• Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (PS1)
• NiGHTS into Dreams (SAT)
• Crash Bandicoot (PS1)
• Blast Chamber (PS1/SAT/PC)
• Ms. Pac-Man (SNES)
• Samsung GXTV
• RobotronX (PS1)
• Power Rangers Zeo Full Tilt Battle Pinball (PS1)
• Madden '97 (PS1/SAT)
• Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (SNES/GEN)
• Loaded (SAT)
• Area 51 (PS1/SAT)
• Wild 9 (PS1)
• Burning Road (PS1)
• Powerslave (PS1/SAT/PC)
• VMX Racing (PS1/SAT)
• NFL Quarterback Club 97 (PS1/SAT/PC)
• Street Fighter Alpha 2 (PS1/SAT)
• NCAA GameBreaker (PS1)
• Virtua Fighter PC (PC)
• Platinum Sound Per4mer Turbo Wheel controller
• Robo Pit (PS1/SAT)
• Andretti Racing (PS1/SAT)
• Adidas Power Soccer (PS1)
• Formula 1 (PS1)
• King's Field II (PS1)
• Mortal Kombat Trilogy (PS1/N64)
• Dragon Force (SAT)
• Shining Wisdom (SAT)
• DragonHeart: Fire and Steel (PS1/SAT/PC)
• Time Commando (PS1/PC)
• Wipeout XL (PS1)
• Tomb Raider (PS1/SAT/PC)
• Machinehead (PS1/SAT)
• Incredible Hulk: The Pantheon Saga (PS1/SAT/PC)* --See 'Notable Stuff' below
• Project Overkill (PS1)
• The Divide: Enemies Within (PS1/PC)
• AD&D Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft (PS1/PC)
• Tekken 2 (PS1)
• Die Hard Trilogy (PS1/SAT/PC)
• Perfect Weapon (PS1/PC)
• TNN Motorsports Hardcore 4x4 (PS1/SAT)
• Tecmo's Deception: Invitation to Darkness (PS1)
• Battle Monsters (SAT)
• Killing Zone (PS1)
• Slamscape (PS1/PC)
• Impact Racing (PS1/SAT)
• Capcom Original Screen Saver (PC)
• ActLabs Psycho Pad K.O. multi-system controller
• Steel Harbinger (PS1)
• Bubsy 3D (PS1/SAT)
• Street Racer (PS1/SAT/GB)
• Pitball (PS1)
• Disruptor (PS1)
• Prehistorik Man (SNES)
• Ardy Lightfoot (SNES)
• Power Piggs of the Dark Age (SNES)
• Strike Point (PS1)
• Cleaning Kit for Sega Saturn
• NBA Jam Extreme arcade sweepstakes
• Formula 1 "Race to Win" sweepstakes
• World Series Baseball II (SAT/GEN)
• Sega Worldwide Soccer '97 (SAT)
• F1 Challenge (SAT)
• Tecmo Super Bowl (PS1)
• Bottom of the Ninth (PS1/SAT)
• Power Move Pro Wrestling (PS1)
• MVP College Football '97 (PS1/SAT)
• NUKE.com website
• Shining Wisdom contest
• Crave mail order ad
• 1-900-PRO-HINT game hint line
• BRE Software mail order ad
• Japan Video Games mail order ad
• Tommo mail order ad
• Video Game Discounters mail order ad
• Game Express Inc. mail order ad
• InterAct Game Shark peripheral (PS1/SAT)
• Marvel Super Heroes in: War of the Gems (SNES)

Notable Stuff:

• The cover of this issue features a pre-placed holographic Super Mario 64 sticker.
• The three-page ad for King's Field II is laid out just like a gaming magazine article. Sneaky, sneaky, ASCII Entertainment.
• Incredible Hulk: The Pantheon Saga is advertised as coming soon for the PC, but this version of the game was cancelled.
• The Psycho Pad K.O. was a programmable joystick controller built to work with the Super Nintendo, PlayStation, and Saturn.
• While Shadoan was teased for the PS1, it was never released on that console. Versions were released for the PC, Saturn, CD-i, and DVD however.
• Down in the Dumps was also teased for the PS1, but only came out on PC and Macintosh.
• Werewolf for the Saturn was later renamed Werewolf: The Apocalypse to tie in with the White Wolf pen-and-paper RPG of the same name, before being canceled.
• There are a total of 11 different hints, tips, and cheats for Super Mario 64 in this month's 'Tricks of the Trade' column.
• X-Women was an all-female beat 'em up based on Marvel's X-Men property, which was cancelled before release.
• According to David Kline, president of ASC, the final boss fight in Perfect Weapon is "the longest fight in video game history", taking anywhere from 20 to 35 minutes or more to defeat, depending on whether or not the player shuts down the computer allowing the boss to regenerate its health. Of course, current players have figured out how to down him in about 3 minutes, so...
• Rodney Herrera wins an Acclaim Dual Turbo controller for writing the Letter of the Month! Rodney, if you're out there, let us know if the controller was any good.
• Likewise, US serviceman Dallas Ragon won an ASCII Specialized Control Pad for the PlayStation. Thank you for your service, Dallas, and if you're out there, let us know if the controller was any good.
• Adam Sturch's letter art features an angry, pantsed Calvin (of Calvin & Hobbes), with a 'censored' patch over his junk, and a thought balloon above his head picturing a hung-from-the-neck Hobbes. Dude, Adam, WTF?