ISSUE: 3Content
Departments:
-
From the Editor: EiC Wataru Maruyama reminds readers that the hardware you use to view and hear your favorite games may be offering a sub-optimal experience. The OPM staff put together a massive guide to monitors, sound systems, and other add-ons to bring your gaming experience fully in line with the developers' expectations for this issue, so don't miss it.
-
PS News: Samsung's gxTV hardware gets a major price drop to $229, T*HQ has scooped up the Rugrats license, Midway titles Mace: The Dark Age, San Francisco Rush, and Wayne Gretzky Hockey all slip their deadlines, and Bandai's going to distribute the new Gex and Pandemonium games!
-
Letters: For those times when you could be playing video games, or reading the magazine, but wanted to talk about them instead. Writers praise Ghost in the Shell, ask "What's the deal with Resident Evil: Director's Cut being, uh, cut?", and would love to see the Japan-only Baby Universe get a North American release.
-
The PlayStation Top 20: According to retailers, these are the twenty best-selling titles for the month of September, 1997:
-
Final Fantasy VII
-
NFL GameDay 98
-
Madden NFL 98
-
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
-
NASCAR 98
-
Crash Bandicoot
-
NCAA Football 98
-
Jet Moto
-
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
-
Resident Evil: Director's Cut
-
NHL 98
-
Twisted Metal
-
Triple Play 98
-
Tekken 2
-
Twisted Metal 2
-
MLB 98
-
Need For Speed II
-
Jampack Vol. 1
-
Tekken
-
Test Drive: Off-Road
-
Demo Disc: Get the run-down on the playable demos included on this month's disc, including...
-
Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi
-
Bushido Blade
-
Vs.
-
Jet Moto 2
-
Cardinal Syn
-
Ghost in the Shell
-
Moto Racer
-
Test Drive 4
-
One
-
g.e.a.r.: The hottest hardware just in time for the holiday shopping season has arrived, including a Limited Edition GMC Suburban that re-defines the concept of "fully loaded", a Lara Croft action figure, a new light gun, the anime Blue Seed, and a 32" Samsung television for the same price the other guys are charging for their 27-inch models.
-
Next Issue: Could you even ask for a better double-hitter to start off 1998 than a look at Capcom's Resident Evil 2 and Core Design's Tomb Raider 2? Probably not, but we're throwing in a demo disc with Final Fantasy Tactics, Gex: Enter the Gecko, CART World Series, Spawn: The Eternal, and a bunch of other stuff.
Features:
-
Cardinal Syn: Sony and Kronos have a new fighting game on the streets, and producer Chad Okuta wants to tell everyone about it.
-
Shipwreckers! PlayStation lid sticker
-
Build a Better System: Who better than a home theater expert like Brent Butterworth of Home Theater Magazine to walk you through the top-of-the-line A/V goodies that will make your PlayStation games look and sound their best?
-
PS Strategy: Dave Malec tears open Cool Boarders 2 to reveal every last secret, including all three hidden characters, along with well over one hundred different tricks and moves to add to your repertoire.
Previews:
-
Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown
-
Spawn: The Eternal
-
Crime Killer
-
Tennis Arena
-
FIFA 98
-
Diablo
-
Alundra
-
Cardinal Syn
-
Beast Wars: Transformers
-
Lode Runner
-
Rapid Racer (released as Turbo Prop Racing)
-
NCAA GameBreaker 98
-
NBA ShootOut 98
-
Frogger
-
International:
-
Polygon Magic: The OPM Japanese correspondent takes a trip to Polygon Magic studios to talk about the development of T*HQ's newest fighting game, Vs..
-
Baby Universe
Reviews:
-
Crash Bandicoot 2 (4/5)
-
Fighting Force (3/5)
-
Pandemonium 2 (3.5/5)
-
G-Police (4.5/5)
-
Jet Moto 2 (3.5/5)
-
Armored Core (3.5/5)
-
Nightmare Creatures (3.5/5)
-
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero (2.5/5)
-
NASCAR 98 (4/5)
-
CART World Series (3.5/5)
-
NBA Live 98 (4.5/5)
-
MDK (2.5/5)
-
Poy Poy (3/5)
-
Nuclear Strike (4.5/5)
-
Moto Racer (5/5)
-
Test Drive 4 (3.5/5)
-
Cool Boarders 2 (4/5)
-
Bug Riders (2/5)
-
Fantastic Four (2/5)
-
Mass Destruction (2.5/5)
-
Critical Depth (3/5)
-
Shipwreckers! (3/5)
-
Need For Speed: V-Rally (1.5/5)
-
Vs. (1/5)
-
Reel Fishing (3/5)
-
PGA Tour 98 (3/5)
-
Red Asphalt (1.5/5)
Tricks of the Trade:
-
Madden NFL 98
-
Fantastic Four
-
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
-
Excalibur 2555 AD
-
NFL GameDay 98
-
Time Crisis
-
NHL Powerplay 98
-
Triple Play 98
-
Blast Chamber
-
Final Doom
-
Bogey: Dead 6
-
King of Fighters '95
-
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
-
NFL Quarterback Club 97
-
Project Overkill
-
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Ads (in order of appearance):
-
Jet Moto 2
-
Mad Catz Wheel controller (PS1/N64)
-
Timeshock! Pro Pinball
-
Critical Depth
-
EGM/EGM2's 1-900-PRE-VIEW line
-
Monster Rancher
-
InterAct GameShark accessory
-
Armored Core
-
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
-
Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi
-
Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Midway Collection 2
-
Frogger
-
Pepsi $5 PlayStation coupon
-
Samsung gxTV
-
Vs.
-
ASCIIware controllers and accessories
-
NBA Fastbreak '98
-
Colony Wars
-
Sears Funtronics $10 off Colony Wars coupon
-
Excalibur 2555 AD
-
NCAA GameBreaker 98
-
Sony SA-VA7 Personal Surround Sound System speakers
-
Dead or Alive / Tecmo Stackers
-
Street Fighter Collection
-
Street Fighter EX plus Alpha
-
Resident Evil 2
-
Namco Museum Vol. 5
-
Rayman Greatest Hits release
-
Maximum Force
-
Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown / Duke Nukem 64
-
San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing
-
RayStorm
-
Tekken 2 / Soul Blade
-
Courier Crisis
-
Pandemonium 2
-
Alps Interactive GamePad controller
-
Gex: Enter the Gecko
-
Mace: The Dark Age
-
Sears Funtronics $10 off Jet Moto II coupon
-
Riven
-
Herc's Adventures
-
Win the Ultimate Gaming Rig contest
-
Cool Boarders 2
-
Sears Funtronics $10 off NFL GameBreaker 98 coupon
-
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
-
Jimmy Johnson's VR Football '98
-
Sears Funtronics $10 off Crash Bandicoot 2: The Wrath of Cortex coupon
-
Ghost in the Shell
-
Test Drive 4
-
Beast Wars: Transformers
-
Felony 11-79
-
PlayStation Underground
-
Treasures of the Deep
-
Video Game Control Glove controller
-
G-Police
-
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos
-
Tomb Raider 2 / Deathtrap Dungeon / Fighting Force
Interesting Stuff:
-
Don Koym of Katy, Texas seems to not understand that the PlayStation demo disc included with the magazine is intended for use on a PlayStation.
-
Massive full-page ad for Vs., a playable demo, and an article on the development studio all in the same issue where reviewer Joe Rybicki gave the game a 1/5? Talk about your burns...!
-
Getting the full experience from your games sounds incredible, but the base price of getting something that simply checks all the boxes would have run you $2,000 in 1997.
-
As the g.e.a.r. piece states, that limited edition Suburban (and it is truly limited, since they only made 100 of them and you had to buy them directly from Neiman Marcus) comes with much more than what their short write-up describes. Want to know literally everything about it? Head over to this article from Motor Trend, or this one from the Chicago Tribune, which explain exactly what you get for your $72,975 (nearly $125,000 in 2021, adjusted for inflation). I think I'm in love!
Departments:
- From the Editor: EiC Wataru Maruyama reminds readers that the hardware you use to view and hear your favorite games may be offering a sub-optimal experience. The OPM staff put together a massive guide to monitors, sound systems, and other add-ons to bring your gaming experience fully in line with the developers' expectations for this issue, so don't miss it.
- PS News: Samsung's gxTV hardware gets a major price drop to $229, T*HQ has scooped up the Rugrats license, Midway titles Mace: The Dark Age, San Francisco Rush, and Wayne Gretzky Hockey all slip their deadlines, and Bandai's going to distribute the new Gex and Pandemonium games!
- Letters: For those times when you could be playing video games, or reading the magazine, but wanted to talk about them instead. Writers praise Ghost in the Shell, ask "What's the deal with Resident Evil: Director's Cut being, uh, cut?", and would love to see the Japan-only Baby Universe get a North American release.
-
The PlayStation Top 20: According to retailers, these are the twenty best-selling titles for the month of September, 1997:
- Final Fantasy VII
- NFL GameDay 98
- Madden NFL 98
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park
- NASCAR 98
- Crash Bandicoot
- NCAA Football 98
- Jet Moto
- Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
- Resident Evil: Director's Cut
- NHL 98
- Twisted Metal
- Triple Play 98
- Tekken 2
- Twisted Metal 2
- MLB 98
- Need For Speed II
- Jampack Vol. 1
- Tekken
- Test Drive: Off-Road
-
Demo Disc: Get the run-down on the playable demos included on this month's disc, including...
- Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi
- Bushido Blade
- Vs.
- Jet Moto 2
- Cardinal Syn
- Ghost in the Shell
- Moto Racer
- Test Drive 4
- One
- g.e.a.r.: The hottest hardware just in time for the holiday shopping season has arrived, including a Limited Edition GMC Suburban that re-defines the concept of "fully loaded", a Lara Croft action figure, a new light gun, the anime Blue Seed, and a 32" Samsung television for the same price the other guys are charging for their 27-inch models.
- Next Issue: Could you even ask for a better double-hitter to start off 1998 than a look at Capcom's Resident Evil 2 and Core Design's Tomb Raider 2? Probably not, but we're throwing in a demo disc with Final Fantasy Tactics, Gex: Enter the Gecko, CART World Series, Spawn: The Eternal, and a bunch of other stuff.
Features:
- Cardinal Syn: Sony and Kronos have a new fighting game on the streets, and producer Chad Okuta wants to tell everyone about it.
- Shipwreckers! PlayStation lid sticker
- Build a Better System: Who better than a home theater expert like Brent Butterworth of Home Theater Magazine to walk you through the top-of-the-line A/V goodies that will make your PlayStation games look and sound their best?
- PS Strategy: Dave Malec tears open Cool Boarders 2 to reveal every last secret, including all three hidden characters, along with well over one hundred different tricks and moves to add to your repertoire.
Previews:
- Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown
- Spawn: The Eternal
- Crime Killer
- Tennis Arena
- FIFA 98
- Diablo
- Alundra
- Cardinal Syn
- Beast Wars: Transformers
- Lode Runner
- Rapid Racer (released as Turbo Prop Racing)
- NCAA GameBreaker 98
- NBA ShootOut 98
- Frogger
International:
- Polygon Magic: The OPM Japanese correspondent takes a trip to Polygon Magic studios to talk about the development of T*HQ's newest fighting game, Vs..
- Baby Universe
Reviews:
- Crash Bandicoot 2 (4/5)
- Fighting Force (3/5)
- Pandemonium 2 (3.5/5)
- G-Police (4.5/5)
- Jet Moto 2 (3.5/5)
- Armored Core (3.5/5)
- Nightmare Creatures (3.5/5)
- Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero (2.5/5)
- NASCAR 98 (4/5)
- CART World Series (3.5/5)
- NBA Live 98 (4.5/5)
- MDK (2.5/5)
- Poy Poy (3/5)
- Nuclear Strike (4.5/5)
- Moto Racer (5/5)
- Test Drive 4 (3.5/5)
- Cool Boarders 2 (4/5)
- Bug Riders (2/5)
- Fantastic Four (2/5)
- Mass Destruction (2.5/5)
- Critical Depth (3/5)
- Shipwreckers! (3/5)
- Need For Speed: V-Rally (1.5/5)
- Vs. (1/5)
- Reel Fishing (3/5)
- PGA Tour 98 (3/5)
- Red Asphalt (1.5/5)
Tricks of the Trade:
- Madden NFL 98
- Fantastic Four
- Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
- Excalibur 2555 AD
- NFL GameDay 98
- Time Crisis
- NHL Powerplay 98
- Triple Play 98
- Blast Chamber
- Final Doom
- Bogey: Dead 6
- King of Fighters '95
- Mortal Kombat Trilogy
- NFL Quarterback Club 97
- Project Overkill
- Street Fighter Alpha 2
Ads (in order of appearance):
- Jet Moto 2
- Mad Catz Wheel controller (PS1/N64)
- Timeshock! Pro Pinball
- Critical Depth
- EGM/EGM2's 1-900-PRE-VIEW line
- Monster Rancher
- InterAct GameShark accessory
- Armored Core
- Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
- Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi
- Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Midway Collection 2
- Frogger
- Pepsi $5 PlayStation coupon
- Samsung gxTV
- Vs.
- ASCIIware controllers and accessories
- NBA Fastbreak '98
- Colony Wars
- Sears Funtronics $10 off Colony Wars coupon
- Excalibur 2555 AD
- NCAA GameBreaker 98
- Sony SA-VA7 Personal Surround Sound System speakers
- Dead or Alive / Tecmo Stackers
- Street Fighter Collection
- Street Fighter EX plus Alpha
- Resident Evil 2
- Namco Museum Vol. 5
- Rayman Greatest Hits release
- Maximum Force
- Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown / Duke Nukem 64
- San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing
- RayStorm
- Tekken 2 / Soul Blade
- Courier Crisis
- Pandemonium 2
- Alps Interactive GamePad controller
- Gex: Enter the Gecko
- Mace: The Dark Age
- Sears Funtronics $10 off Jet Moto II coupon
- Riven
- Herc's Adventures
- Win the Ultimate Gaming Rig contest
- Cool Boarders 2
- Sears Funtronics $10 off NFL GameBreaker 98 coupon
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert
- Jimmy Johnson's VR Football '98
- Sears Funtronics $10 off Crash Bandicoot 2: The Wrath of Cortex coupon
- Ghost in the Shell
- Test Drive 4
- Beast Wars: Transformers
- Felony 11-79
- PlayStation Underground
- Treasures of the Deep
- Video Game Control Glove controller
- G-Police
- Croc: Legend of the Gobbos
- Tomb Raider 2 / Deathtrap Dungeon / Fighting Force
Interesting Stuff:
- Don Koym of Katy, Texas seems to not understand that the PlayStation demo disc included with the magazine is intended for use on a PlayStation.
- Massive full-page ad for Vs., a playable demo, and an article on the development studio all in the same issue where reviewer Joe Rybicki gave the game a 1/5? Talk about your burns...!
- Getting the full experience from your games sounds incredible, but the base price of getting something that simply checks all the boxes would have run you $2,000 in 1997.
-
As the g.e.a.r. piece states, that limited edition Suburban (and it is truly limited, since they only made 100 of them and you had to buy them directly from Neiman Marcus) comes with much more than what their short write-up describes. Want to know literally everything about it? Head over to this article from Motor Trend, or this one from the Chicago Tribune, which explain exactly what you get for your $72,975 (nearly $125,000 in 2021, adjusted for inflation). I think I'm in love!
-
2
Report Issue
