Game Informer Issue 138

Features:

• Letter From the Editor: The Small Text (Andy McNamara discusses Microsoft’s current efforts to bring hype and developer support for their next XBOX system)
• Dear GI (Reader Letters, Responses and Artwork)
• XBOX 2 Launch Titles Uncovered? (Leaks indicate possible games to be released with the next XBOX system)
• “Murdered By PlayStation”? (Article on recent controversy surrounding the murder of a 14-year-old and the supposed links to the PS2 game Manhunt)
• GBA Goes to Liberty City (GBA to get GTA in style of original two games)
• The Unreal Deal (Midway signs on to publish Epic’s Unreal series)
• Ryo to Go Online (Sega announces Shenmue-based MMO)
• The Duke of the Dunk (Overview on the various basketball games releasing this year)
• Creature Keeper (A look at the creation of the Nemesis costume for upcoming Resident Evil movie)
• Interview: Alex Garden (Interview with one of the co-founders of Relic Entertainment)
• Classic GI (Overview of James Bond games)

Cover Story: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (XBOX 2, PS2, PC)(With the last game, Morrowind, Bethesda took it’s very first steps into the console world. With that experience under their belt, they now aim to go bigger and better with their next game, salted to appear on both the next XBOX console and the PlayStation 3)

The Top 25 Most Influential Games of All Time: (GI’s picks for the 25 games that have had the biggest impact on gaming as a whole)

• Computer Space (Arcade)
• Dungeons & Dragons (Tabletop)
• FSI Flight Simulator (Apple II)
• Zork (TRS-80)
• Pac-Man (Arcade)
• Adventure (2600)
• Gauntlet (Arcade)
• Super Mario Bros. (NES)
• Tetris (PC)
• OutRun (Arcade)
• The Legend of Zelda (NES)
• Tecmo Bowl (NES)
• Prince of Persia (PC)
• SimCity (PC)
• Sid Meier’s Civilization (PC)
• Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (Arcade)
• Alone in the Dark (PC)
• Doom (PC)
• Road Rash (3DO)
• Command & Conquer (PC)
• Super Mario 64 (N64)
• Final Fantasy VII (PS)
• Ultima Online (PC)
• Metal Gear Solid (PS)
• Grand Theft Auto III (PS)

Mercenaries (PS2, XBOX)(Having proved themselves more than capable to LucasArts with their two Star Wars titles, Pandemic has been given the opportunity to work on their own game, free on the constraint of working within another company’s fiction. For this opportunity, Pandemic plans to allow gamers the opportunity to blow up whatever they could possible want as soldiers-for-hire)

Previews:

• GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (PS2, XBOX, GC)
• Resident Evil 4 (GC)
• Dead or Alive Ultimate (XBOX)
• The Getaway: Black Monday (PS2)
• Kessen III (PS2)
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2)
• Star Wars: Republic Commando (XBOX)
• Killzone (PS2)
• Tony Hawk’s Underground 2: World Destruction Tour (PS2, XBOX, GC)
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (PC)
• The Bard’s Tale (PS2, XBOX, PC)
• Dungeons & Dragons Online (PC)
• Dragonshard (PC)
• Ape Escape: Pumped and Primed (PS2)
• Call of Duty: United Offensive (PC)
• Blinx 2: Masters of Time and Space (XBOX)
• Alien Hominid (PS2, GC)
• Rome: Total War (PC)

Multiplatform Reviews:

• Mortal Kombat: Deception (PS2, XBOX)
• Star Wars: Battlefront (PS2, XBOX)
• Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2, XBOX)
• Street Racing Syndicate (PS2, XBOX, GC)
• Test Drive: Eve of Destruction (PS2, XBOX)
• The Red Star (PS2, XBOX)*
• Outlaw Golf 2 (PS2, XBOX)
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 (PS2, XBOX, GC)
• Def Jam: Fight for NY (PS2, XBOX, GC)
• Terminator 3: Redemption (PS2, XBOX, GC)
• Robotech: Invasion (PS2, XBOX)
• Mega Man X Command Mission (PS2, GC)
• Conflict: Vietnam (PS2, XBOX)

PlayStation 2 Reviews:

• Sly 2: Band of Thieves
• Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
• Shadow Hearts: Covenant
• Spy Fiction
• Katamari Damacy
• Gallop Racer 2004
• Gradius V

Gamecube Review:

• WWE: Day of Reckoning

XBOX Reviews:

• Fable
• Colin McRae Rally 2005
• Yager
• Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors

PC Reviews:

• Doom 3
• Kohan II: Kings of War

Game Boy Advance Reviews:

• Star Wars Trilogy: Apprentice of the Force
• Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
• Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green
• Mario Pinball Land

Quickie Reviews (Short, one paragraph reviews):

• The Dukes of Hazzard: Return of the General Lee (PS2, XBOX)
• The Guy game (PS2, XBOX)
• Juiced (PS2, XBOX)
• Midway Arcade Treasures 2 (PS2, XBOX, GC)
• Cabela’s Deer Hunt 2005 (PS2, XBOX)
• ShellShock: Nam ’67 (PS2, XBOX)
• Funkmaster Flex’s Digital Hitz Factory (PS2)
• Under the Skin (PS2)
• Rapala Pro Fishing (PS2)
• Headhunter: Redemption (PS2)
• Dance Dance Revolution Extreme (PS2)
• ChoroQ (PS2)
• Army Men: Sarge’s War (XBOX)
• Pure Pinball (XBOX)
• Galleon (XBOX)
• Mega Man Zero 3 (GBA)
• Dragon Ball Z: Buu’s Fury (GBA)
• Thunderbirds (GBA)

Secret Access (Cheat codes and strategy guides):

• Mortal Kombat: Deception (PS2, XBOX)
• Funkmaster Flex’s Digital Hitz Factory (PS2)
• Future Tactics: The Uprising (PS2)
• MLB 2005 (PS2)
• Doom 3 (PC)
• Demon Stone (PS2, XBOX)
• Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow (XBOX)
• Silent Hill 4 (PS2, XBOX)
• Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (GBA)

Retro Reviews:

• X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (SNES)
• Fantastic Four (PS)
• Spawn (SNES)

*Although Reviewed in This Issue, the Collapse of Acclaim Would Prevent the Game From Hitting Retail Until 2007 and the XBOX Version was Never Released