Official U.S. Playstation Magazine Issue 47

Cover Stories:

• Metal Gear Solid 2 - There's a ton of stuff you may not have noticed while playing the demo, but the OPM crew will spoil it all for you here.
• Final Fantasy - A deep-dive historical article covering the entire franchise, from its original 8-bit days up to the forthcoming movie and Final Fantasy X.
• Twisted Metal: Black - The original bad boys of car combat are back, with a darker coat of paint.
• Gran Turismo 3 - Handle those curves like a champ with a short strategy guide.

Contributors:

• John Scalzi
• Zoe Flower
• Ryan Lockhart
• Penny Arcade
• Shuji Kobayashi

Departments:

• Demo Disc (stream from Internet Archive) - A Final Fantasy extravaganza featuring a playable demo of Final Fantasy VIII, along with non-interactive video previews and trailers for:
  • Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
  • Final Fantasy IX
  • Final Fantasy VII
  • Final Fantasy Tactics
  • Final Fantasy Chronicles
  • Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil
  • Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing
• Input - Reader letters, editor responses.
• Spin - Square teams up with Disney to make Kingdom Hearts, Sony's online plans, info on the new Spider-Man movie, Sony's got a PS2 DVD remote on the way, see pics of Angelina Jolie at the Tomb Raider movie premiere, learn what to expect when you're expecting Tekken 4, E3 In Brief, see why WWF Smackdown: Just Bring It is a big deal, learn why the World Trade Organization is not happy with Rockstar Games over their forthcoming State of Emergency, take your very own PlayStation Aptitude Test, get ready for the RPG Invasion, John Scalzi's got some music CD and DVD reviews for you, Zoe Flower is mega-hyped about Majestic, and a few juicy Hollywood rumours to lather up the gossip mill over.
• Top Secrets - Smash your games wide open with strategy guides and cheat codes for:
  • Gran Turismo 3
  • Gauntlet: Dark Legacy
  • All-Star Baseball 2002
  • ATV Offroad Fury
  • Danger Girl
  • Dynasty Warriors 2
  • Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix
  • Knockout Kings 2001
  • Mega Man X5
  • Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Trial Edition)
  • Red Faction
  • NASCAR 2001
  • NBA Hoopz
  • Power Strike: Pro Beach Volleyball
  • Rayman 2: Revolution
  • Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
  • Ridge Racer 5
  • Smuggler's Run
  • Spider-Man
  • SSX
  • Star Wars: Starfighter
  • Matt Hoffman's Pro BMX
  • NBA Street
  • Tomb Raider Chronicles
  • Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
  • Twisted Metal 4
  • DVD Easter Eggs:
    • The Matrix
    • The Sixth Sense
    • Army of Darkness: Director's Cut
    • Edward Scissorhands: 10th Anniversary Edition
• PS - Postcards From E3: Every editor's report card on the best, worst, most disappointing, and weirdest stuff they saw at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo.
• Next Month - Some hands-on time with the drop-dead gorgeous Ico, plus new info on Dragon Warrior VII, Spider-Man: The Movie, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. And expect continuing coverage of Gran Turismo 3 and a Resident Evil Code: Veronica X review in there somewhere.

Previews:

• Madden NFL 2002
• F1 2002
• NBA 2K2
• TimeSplitters 2
• Arctic Thunder
• Spy Hunter
• Casper: Spirit Dimensions
• Drakan II (released as Drakan: The Ancients' Gate)
• Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix
• Deus Ex
• Downforce
• Devil May Cry
• Silent Scope 2: Dark Silhouette
• ESPN International Winter Sports 2002
• Pirates of Skull Cove (canceled)
• Supercar Street Challenge
• Evil Twin (released as Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles)
• Maximo: Ghosts to Glory
• Legends of Wrestling
• Kinetica
• Barbarian
• Tenchu 3
• Salt Lake 2002
• Monster Rancher 3
• Wave Rally
• Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
• Trophy Bass
• FIFA 2002
• Gallop Racer 2001
• ESPN NFL Prime Time 2002
• Shadow Man: 2econd Coming
• SOCOM: US Navy SEALs
• Frequency
• NHL 2002
• Dynasty Warriors 3
• Antz Racing
• NCAA Football 2002
• NFL 2K2
• USHRA Monster Jam (released as Monster Jam)
• Minigolf Maniacs (canceled)
• Jeremy McGrath's Supercross World
• Police 911 (Japan-only)
• Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2
• Jurassic Park: Survival (canceled)
• Maelstrom (canceled)
• Hype: The Time Quest (Europe only)
• ESPN National Hockey Night 2002
• Airblade
• Giants: Citizen Kabuto
• 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker
• Extreme-G 3
• ESPN X Games Skateboarding
• Tribes 2
• Conflict Zone
• Ephemeral Fantasia
• The Mummy Returns
• NHL Hitz 20-02
• Darkened Skye (PS2 version canceled; released on PC and GameCube)
• NFL Quarterback Club 2002
• Legion: The Legend of Excalibur
• Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2
• Grandia II
• MXrider (released as MX Rider)
• Spider-Man 2 Enter: Electro
• Atlantis: The Lost Empire (released as Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire)
• The Powerpuff Girls (released as The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction)
• Virtual Kasparov
• Mary-Kate and Ashley: Crush Course
• Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase
• Madden NFL 2002 (PS1)
• Twisted Metal: Small Brawl
• Sesame Street Sports
• Goofy's Fun House
• Hot Wheels Extreme Racing

Reviews:

• Bloody Roar 3 (3.5/5)
• CART Fury (1/5)
• Twisted Metal: Black (5/5)
• Motor Mayhem (3/5)
• MX 2002 featuring Ricky Carmichael (4/5)
• Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (4.5/5)
• NBA Street (5/5)
• NASCAR Heat (4/5)
• Stretch Panic (3.5/5)
• Army Men: Green Rogue (1.5/5)
• The Bombing Islands (2.5/5)
• Final Fantasy Chronicles (4/5)
• Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX: Maximum Remix (2.5/5)
• Saiyuki: Journey West (3.5/5)
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: 3rd Edition (1.5/5)
• World's Scariest Police Chases (2/5)
• Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (4/5)
• Red Faction: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (2.5/5)
• Dark Cloud: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (3.5/5)
• Crazy Taxi: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (1.5/5)
• Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (3.5/5)

Ads (in order of appearance):

• Twisted Metal: Black
• Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix
• Test Drive Off-Road Wide Open
• Saiyuki: Journey West
• NCAA Football 2002
• Monkeybone VHS/DVD
• Toonami on Cartoon Network
• MX 2002 featuring Ricky Carmichael
• Escape From Monkey Island
• Zoo York clothing
• Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
• Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX Maximum Remix
• Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil
• Digimon Digital Card Battle
• Batman: Vengeance
• DC Shoe Co. shoes
• Bloody Roar 3
• Dude, Where's My Car VHS/DVD
• Gadget Racers
• Soul Reaver 2
• Fur Fighters
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, 3rd Edition
• City Crisis
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey of Jaburo
• Marc Ecko footwear
• Stretch Panic
• Le Mans 24 Hours
• Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within original motion picture soundtrack
• Get Caught Reading literacy campaign - Sammy Sosa
• GameSpot.com
• EBGames.com
• Resident Evil Code: Veronica X

Notable Stuff:

• No matter your feelings on the games or the movie, the massive Final Fantasy feature is a phenomenal article, well worth reading today.
• Anyone else annoyed at seeing non-gaming ads in their video game magazines? If one is looking at a PlayStation magazine, it stands to reason one is interested in video games, not clothing lines, men's shoes, or whatever crap comedy just came out on home video, yes?
• According to an OPM reader poll, a whopping 81% of respondents indicated they would use the forthcoming online feature of the PS2. How'd that work out for you?
• According to another OPM reader poll, 1% of respondents, when asked if they consulted their parents before buying a game, responded with "Don't know." Unless you have multiple personalities or the worst memory in the world, how do you "not know" if you asked your parents' permission before picking up a game? Like, WTF?
• Star Wars Galaxies, LucasArts' massive MMO developed by Verant, was rumored to receive a port/offshoot on the PS2. Given that Sony owned Verant, this wasn't as bizarre as it might sound, but it still never happened...something for which PS2 owners should be eternally grateful.
• At one point, Hollywood was threatening a big-budget production of The A-Team starring Brendan Fraser as Face, Taye Diggs as B.A. Baracus, and Owen Wilson as Murdock. Presumably, Mr. T pitied it so hard they pulled the plug.
• The top-selling PS2 game in mid-May, 2001 was Gauntlet: Dark Legacy. On the PS1, it was Spec Ops: Ranger Elite. But it was Nintendo who had the last laugh in the sales game, with the first six of the top-selling games across all systems out of ten thanks to the triple-threat of Mario (Mario Party), Zelda (Oracle of Seasons/Oracle of Ages), and Pokemon (Stadium 2/Pokemon Silver/Pokemon Gold).
• At one point, according to producer Jun Aida, Square wanted to create a PS2-only special interactive DVD version of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, which would allow gamers to render different scenes in real-time, change camera angles, and edit the film to fit your own ideals. Given most gamers would probably prefer to forget the movie ever happened, this is probably for the best.
• Twisted Metal: Black still looks and plays beautifully today. Sony, if you're looking for an excellent choice for your next HD remaster, this one's a prime candidate.
• Massive shout-out to the developers behind NBA Street for remembering that women also play video games, and including tons of unlockable female outfits, hairstyles, and body types for those of us lacking in the Y-chromosome department.
• Everyone's unanimous pick for "Least Interesting" at E3 was Microsoft's Xbox console. Gosh, what a shock to see that from a bunch of PlayStation magazine editors...