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CONTENTS 2 Introduction 5 Editorial
8 Specials 9 Marketing 12 Contacts
Average distribution
Cover Price
Average Pagination
30,000 copies
$8.95
100 Pages
Introduction
Video gaming is the biggest entertainment medium
on the planet. Not only does it bring in more cash than
contemporaries such as Film and Music, but it is also the
fastest growing, moving exponentially forward with the
growth of technology and the continuing movement of
consoles towards complete multimedia centres. With the
release of the next-generation of Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii
and PlayStation 3 console, the industry will be booming
for the next 18 months. In 2006, the Australian video
game market will consume well over $1billion from
the game hungry public. This hungry public gets all the
information it needs from the country’s premier multiformat publication, Australian GamePro Magazine.
02
SO, HOW IS GAMEPRO DIFFERENT?
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with many owning two or more. The majority are heavy Internet
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and by nature tend to be very active games buyers.
➔ The average age of the Aussie gamer is 24.
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➔ 55% expect to be gaming in ten years
➔ 62% of gamers shop for leisure and 47% play sports
➔ 66% of parents play video games with their children
➔ 38% of gamers are female
➔ 85% of gamers have an online connection
➔ 35% of gamers play games online
➔ 66% of gamers intend to buy a new machine or upgrade their PC in
the next year.
03
Australian GamePro is multi-format in every sense of the word. We run
detailed features, previews, reviews and interviews across the entire gambit
of gaming consoles — Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, PC, PS2,
Xbox, GameCube, GBA, DS, PSP and Mobile — ensuring that those with
a single machine or multiple are well catered for. Throw in cheats, news,
competitions, cover-mounts and more and you have everything you could
ever want to know about gaming, conveniently packaged in one attractive
magazine.
READERSHIP STATS
(In issue 15 of Australian GamePro we conducted a survey: here are the results)
➔ The average age of our reader is 22, ranging from 12-50 yrs.
➔ 98% loved the redesign, giving it an average 9 out of 10.
➔ Over 70% intend to buy a next-gen console.
➔ 52% buy peripherals for their PC and consoles.
➔ Our readers spend $500 a year on PC upgrades.
➔ 66% intend to upgrade their home entertainment by mid 2007.
➔ 92% of readers say a GamePro review influences their purchases.
➔ 41% of readers purchases are influenced by mag advertisements.
➔ 81% of readers share their copy and 70% have kept every issue.
➔ Over 70% have kept every issue they have bought.
➔ 40% intend to upgrade to broadband and 51% currently play online.
➔ 60% buy five games a year and play for more than 10hrs a week.
04
Editorial
EDITORIAL
Australian GamePro is the best served magazine in
the country with some of the country’s most respected
journalists on board. Not only do we have strong
relationships and product access with all the local video
game distributors, but also the PC hardware, home
entertainment, mobile and peripheral companies. In
addition, IDG Communication’s global presence means
we have free access to all the text generated by our
sister publication, including the hugely successful US and
German GamePros. This ensures that we not only have
the finest content from Australia, but also the latest and
greatest from the USA, Asia and Europe
SECTIONS
PRONEWS
ProNews
X360 + HD-DVD Cheaper Than PS3?
Keeping you up-to-date
Extra! Extra! Read All About It! All The Hottest Goss
with all the latest gossip,
facts and PR propaganda.
This includes interviews
with developers and Hot
Topic, where we peer into
the political underbelly of
QUICKIES
Microsoft announced their plans to release
the Xbox 360’s HD-DVD drive add-on during
their press conference at this year’s Electronic
Entertainment Expo. The exact details are yet to be
announced but there is speculation that Microsoft
may be planning to undercut Sony’s PlayStation
3 console (which itself will retail for AU$999)
by releasing the HD-DVD drive at a price that
would make buying it together with the Xbox 360
console cheaper than buying a single PS3.
Prior to this rumour surfacing it was expected
that the HD-DVD drive would be quite expensive,
possibly costing even as much as the Xbox 360
itself. A cheaper pricing strategy would certainly
work in Microsoft’s favour, and would be a shrewd
business move, but whether or not it eventuates is
yet to be seen.
The release date too remains a mystery, with
Microsoft only confirming that it will be ready by
the holiday season 2006.
Wii Less Than $300?
Scott Steinberg, vice president of
marketing for Sega, has claimed that
Nintendo’s Wii will retail for less than
US$200 (~ AU$260). Though it sounds
far-fetched, with the Wii having less
expensive technology inside the box, a
price this low is entirely possible. This
won’t just be good for gamers however,
but also for game publishers who will
benefit from the larger user base a
cheaper price-tag would create.
Kojima Denies X360
Assassin’s Creed Not PS3 Exclusive?
Four Big Name
No Shows
s you can see from our comprehensive
coverage, this year’s Electronic
Entertainment Expo had its share of
blockbuster games on show, but there
were a few notable omissions. Four of the industry’s
biggest titles, which we know are currently in
development, were either shown very briefly or not
shown at all.
Resident Evil 5 for example, which was shown at
last year’s expo was nowhere to be seen. Metal Gear
Solid 4 was shown but only in teaser trailer form, and
we were only given a little bit more than what we
A
saw from the Tokyo Game Show trailer. We do know
that several old characters including Raiden, Meryl
and Otacon will return to the game, and a surprising
twist at the end of the trailer suggested that this may
be Snake’s last mission, still no gameplay footage or
release information, however.
Halo 3 was another game that was shown only
in a teaser, although its appearance was even briefer.
From the looks of the trailer, in Halo 3 the Earth has
been completely conquered by the Covenant, and
it ends with Master Chief looking over a cliff into
a massive crater where a glowing object is being
unearthed. The trailer ends with the words “Finish
the Fight — 2007”.
Grand Theft Auto IV, the biggest game of
them all did get a mention, thanks to Peter Moore,
Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of Interactive
Entertainment, who had the game’s logo tattooed on
his right bicep especially for the show. With his sleeve
rolled up he announced that the game will be coming
to both Xbox 360 and PS3 on the same day, October
17th 2007. Unfortunately though, we may have to
wait until next year’s E3 to actually see the game, as
not even a screenshot has been released.
DS Dominates Japan, 360 Sinks
Sony and Microsoft Want Wii
In what may seem like a surprising move,
Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of
Interactive Entertainment, Peter Moore
has been quoted as saying that after
buying an Xbox 360 he thinks gamers
should get Nintendo’s Wii console, while
ridiculing the PlayStation 3’s high price
tag at the same time.
“Tell me why you would buy a $600
(AU$999) PS3?” said Moore. “People
are going to buy two (consoles.) They’re
going to buy an Xbox and they’re going
to buy a Wii ... for the price of one PS3.”
Moore went on to state that he
thinks Nintendo’s expected lower price tag, innovative
new controller design and the strength of their
intellectual properties such as Mario, Zelda and Metroid
will attract a great audience. And he’s not the only one
who thinks so…
The PlayStation 3 exclusivity of one of the highlights of this year’s E3, Assassins Creed, is in doubt after rumours have
emerged that the game may also be set to appear on other platforms. Ubisoft has declined to either confirm or deny the
rumours that their innovative stealth action title will only appear on Sony’s PS3, as it has previously been announced.
In the past Ubisoft have always made
their most popular franchises for multiple
platforms, including Tom Clancy’s Spinter
Cell and the Rainbow Six games, and their
unwillingness to respond to the rumours
could be seen as a sign that the company
is at least considering bringing Assassin’s
Creed to Xbox 360 or PC.
From the playtest that we had at this
year’s E3, Assassin’s Creed looks like the
next logical evolution of the stealth/action
genre (it was among our top five games of
this year’s E3). We’d hate to see any gamer
miss out on it, so we’re hoping that there’s
at least a little truth to the speculation.
It would certainly appear that the
current Xbox 360 and PC technology can
match it with the PlayStation 3.
In an another interview the Executive Vice President of
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Phil Harrison,
has been the second of Nintendo’s competitors to praise
the new direction the company is taking. Responding to
comments made by Microsoft’s Peter Moore, Harrison
has stated that anyone who buys a next-generation
console should also buy Nintendo’s Wii system.
“I think Peter Moore is exactly right,” Harrison said.
“I think Nintendo will be the second system consumers
purchase after PlayStation 3…”
As unbelievable as it may be to hear both of
Nintendo’s competitors tell consumers to buy the
Wii console, there could be another motive behind
Moore and Harrison’s uncharacteristic generosity. One
explanation could be that these two opposing executives
are using Wii’s radically different approach to gaming as
a way to discourage consumers from buying either an
Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, which are direct competitors
with similar features and higher price tags.
6
According to recent Japanese
sales figures Nintendo’s DS
now accounts for more than 70
percent of all hardware sales
in the country, a staggering
amount for the little handheld.
According to the report
Nintendo sold as many as
828,000 DS consoles during the
month of April, accounting for
72.2% of the console market.
No other gaming hardware
could come close with the
PSP coming in second with a
comparatively small share of
11.34%.
The rest of the pie is divided
between the other current
generation consoles, although
Microsoft’s Xbox is struggling noticeably to secure a foothold in Japan’s notoriously hard to crack market. All up 10,701
Xbox 360 consoles were sold in Japan during April this year, accounting for just 0.93 per cent of Japanese hardware sales.
Bad news for Xbox 360 owning Metal
Gear fans, it seems that series creator
Hideo Kojima has no plans to bring
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
to the X360. Kojima has been quoted as
saying that he feels the Metal Gear series
is “made for the PlayStation platform.”
While his development studio, Kojima
Productions, may still develop Xbox 360
titles, these will be all-new games and
not a new Metal Gear.
15 Games For PS3 Launch
Sony Computer Entertainment of
America head Kaz Hirai has claimed
that the PlayStation 3 will launch with
15 titles this November. This compares
well with Sony’s competition. The Xbox
360 had 18 titles on its American launch
day, and had only 15 for its Australian
launch while Nintendo has tentatively
announced that they hope to have
twenty titles ready for the Wii’s launch
later in the year.
More Origami Unfolding
Following up on our Microsoft Origami
news piece from last issue, more info
has come to light. It turns out that
the promotional video showing the
Widows-based mini tablet PC may have
been exaggerated by the company,
with confirmation that it wouldn’t be
able to play Xbox games like Halo, as
it had been shown doing. Microsoft
has said that the Halo footage was for
demonstration purposes only
Be a Car Designer
To promote their upcoming MMO car
game (you heard right!), Test Drive
Unlimited, Atari have announced one of
the coolest competitions the GamePro
team has seen. In the “Be a Car
Designer” competition one lucky winner
will get to design their dream car and
have it included in the final retail edition
of Test Drive Unlimited as well as
receive a cool wad of $2,500 big ones.
Full details are available at
www.TestDriveUnlimited.com
7
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Australian Gaming.
We help our readers
set up their household
for the perfect gaming
experience: this includes
HD TVs, headphones,
Surround Sound speakers,
keyboards and more. In
GamePro,s Guide to Setting Up Your Gaming Experience.
ProSetUp
16
PROSETUP
Plasma Televisons
While LCD screens may be preferable for gaming they can still be prohibitively
expensive in the largest sizes. When it comes to getting the biggest screened television
for a comparitively cheaper price, Plasma is still a real contender. GamePro takes you
through some of the best sets we’ve seen over the past couple of months.
Here at GamePro we know that the technology you use to play your games can have just as much
of an impact on your gaming experience as the games themselves. This month in ProSetup we’ll
walk you through some of the latest and greatest in hardware and peripheral equipment.
PC GamePads
Samsung PS42S5H
Featuring a full 42-inch screen, a
bright, great-looking picture, excellent
contrast ratio and some accurate colour
reproduction, the Samsung PS42S5H is
among the best plasmas we’ve seen. The
one flaw we could find was that it is slow
when switching between multiple video
input sources, but that aside, this set is an excelllent solution.
$4999, www.samsung.com.au
Sanyo PDP-42XS1
While this plasma is an
aesthetically beautiful unit, its
flawed picture quality prevents
it from being a truly great
television. The main problem
is the screen’s dot pitch (the
distance between each pixel)
which is far too noticeable, even
at a distance. Blacks are also often mottled and noisy, meaning that you should
really only choose the Sanyo PDP-42XS1 based on its cheap price.
Choosing the right gamepad for your PC is a significantly more difficult decision to make than getting the
same peripheral for a console. With a console there’s always one easy choice, since the standard first-party
pad is invariably the best. For the PC there are no such standards, with several manufacturers vying for your
attention. Let GamePro show you the best way to spend your PC control pad dollars.
$2999, www.sanyo.com.au
PROS
Logitech
Dual Action Joypad
Logitech
Cordless Rumblepad 2
Xbox 360
USB Controller
Joytech
Neo S PC Gamepad
This pad is a favourite of the GamePro
team, having had many hours of
game time with the Playstation-styled
controller. It’s been out for a while and it
doesn’t include vibration feedback, but
it’s still just as good now as it ever was.
Although Logitech still list its retail price
as being $49.95, you should be able
to pick it up cheaper with some smart
shopping around.
Logitech’s latest iteration of their
PS2-style controller, only this time
the Rumblepad has gone completely
wireless. This pad retains all of the
ergonomics of the Dual Action, but
eliminates the cords and adds vibration
feedback, with the battery life claimed to
be as high as 100 hours. It’s pricey, but if
you hate cords the Rumblepad 2 should
be top of your list.
The Xbox 360 controller must surely
be amongst the most comfortable
and functional of the past few console
generations, and the fact that we can
finally get true console-quality pads on
our PC is enough to make this controller
very special indeed. Plus, if you have this
controller you can use it on both your
X360 and PC, making it among the best
PC controllers available today.
The Neo S is the cheapest gamepad
on our list, but that doesn’t mean
it’s any less capable than the others.
Aesthetically it resembles Microsoft’s
original Xbox controller with a similar
shape and identical button layout. It is
just as bulky as its Xbox counterpart, but
thankfully it’s not unwieldy. Other pads
may do it better, but for the price the
Neo S is good value.
Excellent HD
image, large
screen, HDMI
input.
Optima
42 Inch Plasma
CONS
Limited image
controls.
Panasonic Viera TH-42PV500
With superb high-definition image quality, HDMI inputs and a fantastic 42-inch screen the
Panasonic Viera TH-42PV500 would make a marvellous addition to any games room or home
cinema. The set could have done with more in-depth image controls, but overall this TV is one of
the best plasma units we have seen and represents fantastic value for money.
There are a few occasions when
we get a screen that just isn’t
that good. The Optima 42 inch
display is one such screen. Despite
some nice aesthetics and a large
variety of inputs there are a
few unfortunate image issues.
The screen holds a residual image far too easily, has a massive dot pitch,
a generally noisy image and doesn’t render colours accurately, failing in
almost all the most important criteria.
$4999, www.panasonic.com.au
$49.95
$79.95
$59.95
$34.95
www.logitech.com
www.logitech.com
www.xbox.com.au
www.joytech.net
Know Your Cables
cables over composite or S-video wherever possible. The reason for
this is that composite delivers both chrominance (colour) and
luminance (greyscale) information along the same pipeline,
resulting in less accurate picture reproduction. Although
So you’ve set up your gaming room with a brand new widescreen TV, and
S-video has chrominance and luminance on two separate
you’ve got yourself a few consoles or a gaming PC, now what do you
cables, the picture isn’t significantly better on a modern
do with them? The answer to that question is hook them up! And for
TV. Component video gives the best results because,
that you’ll need an essential, if often overlooked component of your
true to its name, it separates the signal into its individual
audio-visual experience — cables.
components for a less muddled signal transport.
If you’re planning on using your PC on your TV, or
hen setting up your gaming room there are many
want to prepare for the next-generation of consoles, then
different types of cables to consider. At the moment
both your video card and and television will have to have the
all available consoles, including the high-definition
appropriate DVI or HDMI input/outputs. These digital formats
enabled Xbox 360, output video and audio signals
provide (theoretically) lossless transmission of digital images and audio.
in the old analogue signal format. In the future we can
In comparison the older analogue signals aren’t nearly as accurate.
expect consoles to upgrade to digital connections such
Another important issue to consider when selecting your connections
as DVI and HDMI, but for now you’ll be looking into
is that of price and quality. Cables can range from standard rubber insulated
getting some good composite, S-video or component
copper that you can pick up on the cheap to silver or gold-plated cords that
cables to get the best visual quality.
will set you back hundreds. Generally, you should expect expensive cables to
Although they became old news ages ago,
perform better than something you picked up for less than a tenner, but usually the
the humble composite cable, commonly called
degree of difference between the two is smaller than you may think. Cheap cables that
the AV connection, is still what most people
have been badly manufactured can often seriously hurt your audio and video quality, washing
use to connect their games consoles,
out or blurring colours and distorting the image in the case of analogue formats or losing pixel
DVD players and other accessories
information for digital signals, leaving you with a “speckled” image. A reliable cable brand however,
to their televisions. However, you
regardless of the price, will provide you with a consistently great picture whether you’re gaming, watching
should try to use component
DVDs or using your multimedia PC on your television.
W
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PC 2.1 Speakers
$129.95
www.tdk.com.au
$5699, www.optima.com.au
If you think PCs are all about graphics, think again. Sound has developed almost as impressively as its
visual counterpart over the last few years and an essential part of your audio experience is your speaker
selection. Let us guide your choice…
TDK Tremor xa60
Klipsch ProMedia GMX A-2.1
The TDK Tremor xa60 delivers a
competitively priced audio setup for
your desktop PC. The speakers are light,
take up little space, have a slightly retrolooking design and the sound quality is
good. The bass levels could be higher,
and the power button is inconveniently
located at the back of the subwoofer,
but flaws aside the Tremor xa60s are still
a solid choice.
Klipsch is a company that promises power,
detail and emotion from their audio
products, so it’s no surprise that this set of
PC speakers is some of their best work yet.
With an attractive design, excellent sound
quality across the entire audio spectrum
and a high volume, the Klipsch ProMedia
GMX is one of the best 2.1 speakers money
can buy.
$249.95
www.klipsch.com
Logitech X-230
$99.95
www.logitech.com
With a sleek and attractive black design
and a small price tag, the Logitech
X-230s are a relatively low cost audio
alternative. The sound quality from this
2.1 set is passable, but not close to the
standard of the more expensive products
in this category, there is even some
distortion at higher volumes. Not a bad
choice by any means, but you can get
better for some extra $$$.
Bose Companion 3
$449
www.bose.com.au
Bose has a reputation as a producer of
audio equipment of the highest quality,
and if the price of the Companion 3
set is any indication, they can afford
to charge for it. However, although
this set looks the business, its sound
reproduction is surprisingly flawed. The
treble sounds flat, the bass muddy and
the mid-tones fail to perform like an
expensive set of speakers should.
WWW.GAMEPRO.COM.AU
17
addition we do an exposé
on how to choose and install PC hardware and provide the latest and best
hardware price deals.
05
PRONEWS
ProMobile
Your trusty phone need not waste away as
Mobile Gaming at E3
O
QUICKIES
Dante Gets Special Edition
ne aspect of this year’s Electronic Entertainment
Expo that we really must touch on is how far
mobile phone gaming has come in such a short
time. It wasn’t so long ago that we were lucky
to be able to play a game of Snake on our phone, but
the games on display at this year’s E3 really showed that
the humble mobile phone handset may yet turn into a
legitimate gaming platform.
The most impressive mobile game of the show, titled
Orcs and Elves, was surprisingly co-developed by id
Software, creators of the Doom series. The company’s cofounder John Carmack conceptualised and helped design
the turn-based sword and scorcery role-playing game.
The game renders the fantasy world in three dimensions
and looks similar to id Software’s Doom when it
originally release in 1993.
Other fantastic looking announcements
included a Final Fantasy VII spin-off game,
called Dirge of Cerberus: Lost Episode
that will feature Vincent Valentine
in the lead role as well as a mobile
version of the forthcoming Final
Fantasy XIII, which will
be subtitled “Agito”.
According to Square
Enix the mobile
version
of the
game
Capcom have announced the impending
release of a Devil May Cry 3: Special
Edition on the PlayStation 2. This special
edition adds a new playable character,
Dante’s evil twin brother Vergil, who has
his own unique “Dark Slayer” fighting
style, new boss characters, a turbo
option that boosts the game’s speed by
20 percent and more. The game will be
out on September 29, 2006.
merely a talking device there are plenty of
Xbox 360 Hacked
It didn’t take too long for hackers to
crack the Xbox 360 security system,
with a modification emerging that
allows the system to play burned DVDs,
leaving the console vulnerable to piracy.
So far the hack is unreliable and is just
as likely to destroy your Xbox 360
as to grant it new powers. Microsoft
also warns users to not use the hack,
as modified consoles are “not eligible
for technical support and the user’s
warranty will be voided.”
cool games to choose from as well.
Sony Rival Offers Rumble
Sony cited hardware conflicts as the
reason they won’t be including vibration
feedback in the PS3 controller, but we
suspect it was because they recently
lost a court case for infringing on a
patent owned by Immersion corp. Now
Immersion president, Victor Viegas, has
offered to help the company include
the rumble feature if Sony drops its
court appeal against the decision. No
word yet on whether or not Sony is
considering the offer — they should!
will be completely different to its PlayStation 3 counterpart,
but will feature the same themes and visual design as its far
bigger brother.
And tragically, social parasite Paris Hilton seems to have
traded in making entertainment with her camcorder for
making it on her mobile phone with Paris Hilton’s Diamond
Quest, which is a puzzle game. Thankfully you don’t have
to play the entire thing in night-vision mode!
N-Gage Still Standing
Windows Vista Specs
Just as we went to print Microsoft
announced the official system
requirements for Windows Vista and it
seems you’ll need a reasonably good
computer to be able to run it. According
to Microsoft the minimum requirements
will including a “modern processor”
of at least 800MHz, 512MB of RAM,
and a DirectX 9 compatible graphics
processor. For optimal performance
however you’ll require what Microsoft
calls a “premium” PC, running a least a
1GHz processor with 1GB of RAM.
It’s funny, but we though that the Nokia N-Gage died a dishonourable death quite a few years ago. It seems we have
been proven wrong, as Nokia were at E3 showing off quite a few new games for their little handheld that couldn’t.
Just a few of the titles on display included an update of Space Impact, a game that users of some older Nokia
phones may remember as a primitive side scrolling shooter. This time the game is not quite as primitive, and is a
vertical scrolling sci-fi theme shooter.
Also of note were Creatures of the Deep, a fishing game, Pocket Aces: Texas Hold ’Em, a Poker game and System
Rush: Evolution, the sequel to the N-Gage’s original futuristic racing game.
We doubt any of these will improve Nokia’s chances of cracking the handheld market with the N-Gage, but it’s
good to see that they haven’t given up in the face of insurmountable odds.
10
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Features
In-depth looks at the biggest hardware updates and software of the month,
I
n comparison to Nintendo’s charismatic, play-filled
presentation and Microsoft’s tattoo antics, Sony’s
E3 conference was a more business-like affair. From
the outset, the company’s ultimate goal was to
really drive home the point that the PS3 is the next
leap in home console technology.
The President of Sony Computer Entertainment
America, Kaz Hirai, took to the stage and without
delay announced the company’s intentions, describing
the console as “an arsenal of media compatibility”,
featuring not just PS3 games, but also Psone and
PS2 compatibility, Audio CD, DVD and Blu-Ray disc
playback as well as Wi-Fi internet capabilities. In
brief the PlayStation 3 wants to be your complete
entertainment system in a single box.
Looking Good?
Don’t Believe the Hype By Chirs Stead and Maurice Branscombe
Just before we went
to
started to make their print a few more details about the
PS3 launch
way out into the wider
games are expected
world. First of all,
to be available at
launch, which stands 15
short of Nintendo’s
expected 20. However,
just
titles will hit the PS3
many more cross-format
than the Wii in the
following months,
like Microsoft, intend
Also, Sony
to harbour independent
executive Izumi Kawanishi
developers, with Sony
saying “we’d like
participate in content
creation for the PS3” to see various individuals
— quite a change
in tact!
alive, but overall Sony’s press conference left us feeling
a little cheated. In the long-term the PS3 will inevitably
manage to look better than the competition: but the
short-term suggests visuals identical to the X360’s.
PlayStation Live
One announcement that we were all waiting for was
exactly how the PS3 was going to compete with
Microsoft’s Xbox Live service in terms of online gaming
and downloadable content distribution.
As we had anticipated, Kaz Hirai announced that
the PlayStation 3 Network would use many of the
features already familiar to X360 players, including
Gamertags and a Live-like Marketplace. Sony have
even gone so far as to copy Xbox Live’s “Microsoft
Points” idea, with Sony adopting a similar method of
allowing users to purchase downloadable content by
first buying prepaid cards.
The PS3’s version of the marketplace will allow users
to buy new games content including new weapons,
levels, vehicles and also new songs for games like
Singstar with their prepaid credits, and the PS3 network
profiles will also be used in the exact same way as Xbox
Live’s Gamertags, storing user information, score tallies
and providing an online identity for each PS3 player.
Whether or not Sony’s online strategy will be more
than just an Xbox Live copy is to be seen, but either
way it looks promising.
There was also some exciting online news for PSP
owners, with Kaz Hirai revealing that you’ll be able to
use your PSP to wirelessly connect to your PS3 via WiFi and download full versions of original PSone games
directly to your memory stick. Kaz even demonstrated
the feature by playing a few laps of the original Ridge
Racer in all its retro glory.
Not only can the PSP be used to download content
from the PS3, but it can also be used as an actual
controller with the system. Hirai showed the PSP being
used to display the rear vision mirror in Gran Turismo
HD, in case you wanted to hang it from the ceiling...
or something... This led into even more interesting
controller announcements…
Screw the krauts, they couldn’t host a party during World War II and
they can’t host one now. If you’re too damned poor to get to the World
Cup, then the next best thing is to host your own using the recently
released 2006 FIFA World Cup! We did, and this is our story on how we
took Australia, to World Cup glory… By: Mitchell Bingemann
I
PSWii-mote?
Almost two hours into Sony’s press conference came
possibly the biggest revelation about the PlayStation
3 hardware this year, and who better to deliver such
important news than the man credited with being the
father of the PlayStation, Ken Kutaragi.
Mr Kutaragi took to the stage and reaching into his
jacket pocket he pulled out the thing that we will be
spending the most quality time with when we finally
do get the PS3 — the system’s official controller. Unlike
the prototype they had shown one year previously (the
ergonomic nightmare that was “the boomerang”) this
design couldn’t have been more familiar — looking
exactly like a standard PS2 Dual Shock.
The Rules
1.
IT IS COMPULSORY TO PLAY AS THE SOCCEROOS If more than one player wishes to take charge of the
mighty Roos it will be decided by a penalty shootout in your backyard. If you are eliminated in the first
round or disgrace the Socceroos in any way, shape or form (we are looking at you Viduka), you will be
forever banned from donning the green and gold.
BEING BRAZIL IS FOR PANSIES You may only choose Brazil if you are of Brazilian heritage. Choosing
them under any other pretence will demonstrate your weak grasp of footballing skill and result in
incessant heckling from fellow players.
FORMATION SLUTS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED Only three changes of your team’s formation will be
permitted outside actual game time.
A QUICK GAME IS A GOOD GAME For the sanity of everyone, game times will be restricted to five minute
halves in the group and round of 16 stages, ten minutes for the quarters and semis, and 20 minutes for
the all important final.
WINNERS ARE GRINNERS The eventual cup holder receives gloating rights, first choice of team, praise
and adoring/submissive fans from the opposite sex*.
2.
3.
4.
Japanese gifting Timmy Cahill with two easy goals.
The Socceroos aggression proved too much for the
placid whale-hunters and the Aussies won through and
onward with high spirits to the next game against the
mighty Brazilians.
With Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Robinho lining
up, it felt as if we were going up against a Brazilian
rendition of Ro Ro Ro your boat, instead of the
footballing royalty they rightly are. Ronaldinho and
his donkey-face dominated midfield but we countered
with a powerhouse performance from Vincenzo Grella.
Despite only managing a scoreless draw, it was a well
earned point and one of the highlights of the Cup.
We travelled back to Stuttgart for the vital last
group game against the picnic-blanket-wearing
Croatians. With three born and bred Aussies in
the Croat’s squad, we knew this would be a tough
battle for our boys and decided there was only one
acceptable outcome; to hack down the traitorous
bastards who defected to Croatia. We managed
another scoreless draw but succeeded in seeing Seric
and Simunic stretched off with career-ending injuries.
As a bonus, the result was enough to scrape through
to the final 16.
The following couple games were virtual non-affairs.
Although we drew the Czechs in the next round, the
game ended up being the disappointment of our tour,
with a lucky win from Viduka after he climbed to head
home from a corner. Meeting Tunisia in the quarters was
as much of a surprise as being there, but we trounced
the Africans 2-0 in revenge for our disappointing
Confederations Cup campaign in the previous year.
What You Need
Come mid-June, the Socceroos will take on Japan,
Brazil and Croatia on the world’s biggest stage
in front of a billion viewers. And in the face of
global pessimism, we reckon we’ll play a few
other teams as well! It’s going to be a cracker of a
tournament, but if you’re like us and too damned
impatient to sit around waiting to see how the
action unfolds, or if you want to rewrite any
results post-event, then it’s time to host your own
World Cup! You’ll need a few meagre supplies to
get your World Cup up and running:
• 2006 FIFA WORLD CUP GAME The world cup
isn’t much fun without umm the world cup.
Check out our review on page 82.
• SOME FRIENDS Face it, no matter how cool
you think she is, playing games with your
incontinent Grandma is more trouble than it’s
worth — get your soccer buddies over!
• YOUR CONSOLE OF CHOICE Any will do,
although for the best visual experience, the
X360 is unparalleled.
• TEAM JERSEYS If you got ‘em, flaunt ‘em. Face
painting is optional, as are streakers.
• THE WORLD CUP TROPHY Replica or cheap
substitutes will suffice.
• A CASE OF THE FINEST IMPORTED GERMAN
BEER For the authentic and flavoursome taste of
Germany and football culture.
We met Holland in the semis and showed them that
training in an Amsterdam cafe was not the best way
to prepare for World Cups. Their sluggish performance
was contrasted by our commanding control of the
midfield and Kewell’s brace steered us to the final in
Berlin against the whinging, girly-haired Italians.
After only 12 minutes, the prima donna (read
prima-ture ejaculating) Italian party fell flat as a Nesta
slip let Kewell in for the easiest goal of the tournament.
Our joy barely lasted five minutes though, as a clumsy
Popovic challenge gave Pirlo the chance to step up to
the penalty stop for a duel with Scwharzer. However,
the power of the Schwarz went AWOL as Pirlo’s
screamer rocketed into the top of the net uncontested
for the equaliser.
At the half time interval I replaced the lacklustre
Emerton with Archie “the terrier” Thompson and let
him run wild up front. The substitution paid off after a
quick interchange between Kewell and Thompson, which
released Culina down the flank who found Bresciano
lurking on the edge of the area. Without a moment’s
hesitation, Bresciano latched onto the driven cross and
blasted the ball through a sea of bodies into the back
of the net to grab the lead, sending the Azurri to their
knees — yee haw!
We held on for the remainder of the game and danced
in jubilation as the final whistle blew. We had reduced
our opponents to mere passengers on our ride to World
Cup glory and lifted the cup in front of the disbelieving
spectators. It was definitely a World Cup of shocks, but at
the time of writing, we believe our FIFA video game led
prediction will endure in the real tournament if we have
the right direction. Move over Guus, there’s a new sheriff
in town…
5.
*Disclaimer: GamePro will not supply adoring/submissive fans from the opposite sex.
46
23
Previews
First looks and hands
on impressions of
upcoming games for all
the systems.
EX
CL
US
IV
E
WWW.GAMEPRO.COM.AU
SNEAKPREVIEWS
WWW.GAMEPRO.COM.AU
Own World Cup
t’s not often that Australia makes it to the
World Cup, once every 32 years in fact.
After their last foray onto the world stage
in 1974, the hapless Socceroos could only
scramble one measly point from their three games, so it
was with mixed expectations that Australian GamePro
donned the green and gold and took on responsibility
as the Socceroos’ gaffer.
With 32 of the best football teams in the world
spanning Munich to Hamburg, this was sure to be a
World Cup full of the usual stars, glories, culturally
insensitive insults and phenomenal upsets.
With favourites Brazil to contend with, the
ever solid Japanese and the traitorous
Croatians, it was the upsets we
were praying for in the difficult
group stages.
Our first port of call was
to Kaiserslautern to meet the
Japanese. It wasn’t much
of a game, with the friendly
Sony strutted into E3 2006 as all but the next-gen king set
to claim its rightful throne, but was helped out on trembling
legs a clear third place. For the first time in a decade, Sony
are in trouble. Lacklustre and unimaginative software, a poor
online system and a gimmick-laden controller all contributed
to the pain of a $999 asking price. When it came to backing
up the hype of E3 2005, Sony were found wanting...
22
AUSTRALIA WINS!!!!!!!!
How to Host Your
9 June
12 June
13 June
14 June
18 June
20 June
21 June
21 June
22 June
22 June
24 June – 27 June
30 June – 1 July
4 July – 5 July
9 July
GROUP A
Germany vs. Costa Rica
Aus vs. Japan
GROUP G
France vs. Switzerland
GROUP H
Spain vs. Ukraine
GROUP F
Australia vs. Brazil
GROUP B
England vs. Sweden
GROUP C
Nederlands vs. Argentina
GROUP D
Portugal vs. Mexico
Australia vs. Croatia
GROUP E
Czech Republic vs. Italy
ROUND OF 16
QUARTER FINALS
SEMI FINALS
FINAL
MATCHES TO LOOK OUT FOR
Test Drive: Unlimited
Aloha Test Drive Hawaii
Oahu: postcard perfect and where we want
to be!
Massively Online Open Racing Anyone?
,
You won’t have to fly 3000 miles to find an island paradise
with an open road, just take your Xbox 360 for a spin
ONLINE with Test Drive: Unlimited. By Undercover Lover
FOR FANS OF
60
X3
Sexy Cars / Kicking Worldwide Ass / Getting Lei -ed
Up to eight drivers at a time can get into serious fender banging, but no vehicle damage allowed.
2
PS
PC
’m not going to lie. There is nowhere
we’d rather be than right now than
on the island of Oahu cruising by the
PUBLISHER
waterfront behind the wheel of our
Atari
Ferrari Testarossas — convertibles of course
— top down… cool breeze blowing… ocean
RELEASE DATE
view… beaches… hell yeah! We might even
Sept 2006
settle for Hawaii Interstate H2 and a Shelby
Cobra Concept… maybe. But we — and
about 10,000 other video game motorheads
out there — would freak to be in that
position, right? Soon, thanks to Test Drive:
This games looks
Unlimited, we all can!
fantastic and plays
TDU for the X360 (and other next-gen
very well. The world
systems-to-be-identified), PC, PS2 and PSP
is mind-blowing in
is the latest revival of that storied driving
scope and thrashing
through it with other
franchise by Atari. But at the hands of
humans sounds rad!
developer Eden Games in Lyon, France, the
only things that connect this game with its
past are the first two words in the title.
Eden seeks to take Test Drive out onto
fresh open roads with a brand new type
of gameplay, which it’s calling massively
open online racing (or MOOR). By
embracing online, the game will open up a
unique “Unlimited” free-roaming driving
environment alongside other humans.
“Imagine you’re driving on Oahu with
1000 miles of actual Hawaiian road that’s
SPECOMETER
yours to explore any way you like,” says
At this stage Atari haven’t
Eden’s Ahmed Boukhelifa, producer. “Not
released the minimum
requirements for this title
only that but thousands of other drivers are
but you can expect them
also there, and you can challenge them to
to be pretty high. The
races or hook up with them to form clubs.”
graphics look great and
In fact, Eden mapped out every inch of
the world is not only huge,
but needs to be drawn
Oahu’s highway system and recreated all
quickly at high-speeds.
the luscious tropical scenery and beaches to
Obviously, broadband or
scale. The goal is to enable online Test Drivers
better internet is wise.
to visit all the actual
locales on the island.
“Offline mode is great,
of course,” Boukhelifa
says, “but all this
game’s features have
MMOs are the in-genre at the moment and it was only a
matter of time before someone had the forethought and
been designed with
skill to take the concept beyond the RPG and into more
online in mind first and
mainstream friendly genres. Step up to the plate Eden
foremost.”
Games and blow us away with an MOOR!
DEVELOPER
P
PS
Eden Games
I
HOT
OR NOT
WHY?
Naturally, you’ll ride in style. There will
be 125 licenced vehicles from top-flight
international manufacturers including
Lamborghini, Ducati, Aston Martin,
Mercedes, Saleen, Shelby and Jaguar. And at
press time, Atari was still in negotiation with
Japanese automakers. However, all your car
choices will be decidedly high-end with the
Audi A4 as the least expensive car you can
own! Ninety will be selectable at the start of
your journey. As in other driving games, you
can purchase new cars with cash you earn by
winning races.
TDU isn’t going to overlook motorcycle
aficionados either. Six bike manufacturers
will also be onboard by the time the game
launches. And, yes, bikes and cars will be able
to race each other, too.
In Unlimited’s MOOR world, online drivers
will be able to find dealerships and body
shops where they can purchase new rides
or customise their existing ones with either
actual factory add-ons or name brand parts.
Atari also plans to post new downloadable
cars and parts to online servers over time.
Even more fun, you can trade cars with other
online players and race for pink slips, too. If
you really need an edge to get ahead, you’ll
also be able to rent hot cars. Earn enough
dinero with a rental and you can purchase
your own dream machine.
Whether you prefer to be a lone road
wolf or the member of a pack, Test Drive will
accommodate you. Any time you encounter
another vehicle you’d like to race, just honk
your horn. If they flash their headlights in
return — it’s on!
You can both display an overhead view
map of Oahu, then select the waypoints to
create a route for your race. Once you agree,
all you need to do is say, “Go!” Up to eight
cars can race at a time. The Oahu terrain is so
extensively detailed that you can even drive
off-road to find shortcuts.
If you and your pals form a club, you
can notify each other of races and establish
a meeting place via (in our demo) Live’s
PROHANDHELD
52
ProHandheld
The latest news,
previews and reviews
for Nintendo’s DS
and GBA and Sony’s
dynamite PSP.
47
WWW.GAMEPRO.COM.AU
DEVELOPER
Nintendo
PUBLISHER
Metroid Prime Hunters
FOR FANS OF
CLASSIFICATION
M
$69.95
9.0
The numerous wrist and
finger cramps that you’ll
sustain from playing
Metroid Prime Hunters
will be worth it. It’s what
most DS players have
been waiting for since
we were given that first
taste on launch day, and
it’s everything we had
hoped for.
DEVELOPER
Nintendo
PUBLISHER
CLASSIFICATION
PG
PRICE
$69.95
9.5
64
Shopping for a brand new car at the local Mercedes dealership is no
big deal — not!
Although the game
will be primarily positioned
have since stated
for X360 and PC, Atari
that
with, unbelievably, the game will also find its way to PS2
all
and PSP
graphics will not quite the cool features intact. While we’re
sure the
match the next-gen
this will mark the
PSP’s first MMO outing gameplay we have seen,
excited about. Furthermore,
which is something
to be
‘Aussie as’ developer
will be looking after
Melbourne House
the ports to the PS2
can trust an Aussie
and PSP. And as we
to know a good car
know, you
game when they see
one!
53
WWW.GAMEPRO.COM.AU
Daxter
Metroid / Finger Gymnastics
FOR FANS OF
DEVELOPER
Ready At Dawn
PUBLISHER
Jak Games / Fur Coats
Sony
t was one of the first games announced
for the DS, and a demo of it even
came bundled with the system
hardware on launch day. Little did we
know that it would take more than a year
of delays (and the release of Metroid Prime
Pinball) before we’d see the real thing.
Samus fans should be jumping up and down
with glee at the prospect of once again taking
control of the armour-suited heroine, the latest in
the Metroid series really is everything Nintendo
promised, although it isn’t without its problems.
Graphically this is the most advanced
game available on the DS, capturing the exact
same visual style that made the last two Prime
games on the Gamecube such amazing visual
experiences. The resolution is lower of course,
the textures slightly pixellated, and overall the
game is rendered in less polygons but that
hardly diminishes its visual impact.
In terms of gameplay, Hunters replicate the
style of the two previous Metroid Prime games
perfectly, featuring a first-person perspective
and all the exploring, suit-upgrading and
morph-ball rolling of its home-console siblings,
as well as some Wi-Fi multiplayer thrown in for
good measure. This time Samus has to contend
with a crew of six other bounty hunters, all
looking for the same mystical artefacts. To help
her in her battles you’ll have to find and equip
axter has never before been seen
without his slightly more humanoid
counterpart Jak, but on the quality of
his self-titled PSP debut, the pint-sized Ottsel
(half otter, half weasel) may be better off
without that deadweight.
The first thing to know about this game is
that it is riddled with bugs, although thankfully
not the software kind. Insects of all shapes
and sizes are Daxter’s nemesis throughout his
platform adventure. Armed with an electric fly
swatter and a canister full of toxic bug spray,
Daxter is challenged to rid Haven city of the
pest infestation.
There are approximately 15 levels of
platform-jumping, bug-exterminating
excitement spread throughout the city, and
Daxter is given free reign over how he gets to
each of them. Incorporating some elements of
I
a variety of suits,
missiles, beams,
bombs, morph-ball
upgrades and many
other indispensable
and cool gadgets.
If there is one thing
we have to complain about,
and it really is a big thing, it’s that the
control system doesn’t work particularly well.
Using the stylus to aim and the D-pad and
L-button to walk and shoot is a cramp-inducing
experience that takes far too long to get used
to. We’d be lying if we said it wasn’t worth
fighting through however, as Metroid Prime
Hunters is easily one of the most impressive
DS games we’ve ever seen.
Maurice Branscombe
We haven’t had the pleasure
of playing a 2D platformer
this good in so many years,
we almost forgot how much
fun they can be. A classic in
every respect it will remind
you why you started gaming
at all. Poor touch-screen
use and length issues keep
it from a perfect ten.
T
PRICE
$79.95
9.0
the open-world genre, Daxter is free to roam
where he pleases, and even has a very cool
hover-scooter to help him get about faster.
The graphics are cartoony, but they actually
manage to feature a lot of detail and some
great looking lighting effects — simply put,
they look fantastic, and every bit as impressive
as the Playstation 2 games in the series.
There are only a few frustrating moments
of trial-and-error gameplay and the frame
rate does occasionally drop during graphically
intense sequences, but overall Daxter is
funny, fun and is easily the prettiest and most
playable platform game thus far released on
Sony’s handheld. ‘Nuf said!
Maurice Branscombe
little cute dudes. You have no direct control
over your critter, but instead can tilt the world
left or right using the shoulder buttons. In
addition to this, you can press both shoulder
buttons at once to jump. So your goal is to
navigate from one side of the level through to
the other without dying and collecting as many
LocoRocos as you can.
Simple, right? Well here comes the hit:
the level design is off the charts with kooky
old-school sonic-like pipes, crazy beasties,
vegetation of the third kind and a host of
industrial-like obstacles (such as windmills).
Gameplay is so seamlessly fluid you glide and
hop your way through these evermore bizarre,
mind-altering level designs in rapid succession,
thus keeping you transfixed from start to
finish. There are some truly innovative ideas
here, such as: tiny half-pipes, hidden rooms,
conveyor belts and small snaking passages
that require you to break into your component
LocoRocos to get through, then reform on the
other side.
The presentation is designed to heighten
the outer-body level design and although it
dabbles in bland-ish textures and minimalist
model variation, it works a treat. And the
physics engine is spot on with our truffleshuffling hero bending, flexing and, well,
generally blobbing as you would expect.
It sure is a tough game to dislike. Perhaps
some sort of multiplayer race mode would’ve
increased the game’s depth and the SFX are
a little too Nintendo for our liking, plus a
range of power-ups could’ve heightened the
experience but hey, lets not get glutinous.
Chris Stead
FOR FANS OF
Kirby / Lemmings /Acid
e don’t know what they’re smoking
over there at Sony, but share the
wealth! As simple as it is psychedelic,
this trippy puzzle/platformer sits alongside
Mercury and Lumines as an ultra-addictive
PSP treasure. For the record, a LocoRoco is a
smiley little blob creature that is half Pokemon
and half one of those slippery things filled
with shampoo that are impossible to hold on
to… you know the ones...
The gameplay is so simple it makes Forest
Gump look like Sir Isaac Newton — chocolates
swapped for apples of course. At the beginning
of a level, you start off as a single little
LocoRoco and as you collect fruit, you swell
with other LocoRocos, eventually becoming
this big fat thing stuffed with all these tiny
W
The Super Mario Bros. / Two and a Half Dimensions
he release of New Super Mario Bros
marks almost fifteen years since the last
time Mario side-scrolled his way into
a brand new 2D adventure with Super Mario
World on the SNES. So was it worth the wait?
The answer to that question is a resounding yes.
From the moment the game begins, you
know you are in classic Nintendo territory.
True to form, the Princess is kidnapped
within seconds of the game’s opening and as
Mario, you must make your way through the
Mushroom Kingdom in eight worlds of running,
jumping and Koopa-crushing to make it to a
final showdown with Bowser.
From here on in, New Super Mario Bros is
the perfect balance between old-school cool
and current-gen sophistication. While all the
action takes place in two dimensions, the world
is rendered with some beautiful cartoon-like
3D graphics.
Mario himself has rarely been so dynamic.
The game’s 3D visuals lend him more
animation and character than was ever possible
with one less dimension. Plus his new powerups, like a suit that lets him wear a Koopa’s
shell and mushrooms that either make Mario
grow to massive screen-filling size or shrink him
to only a few pixels high makes the otherwise
familiar gameplay entirely fresh.
Nintendo have even included wireless
multiplayer, with Luigi making an appearance
PG
LocoRoco
New Super Mario Bros.
FOR FANS OF
CLASSIFICATION
D
Nintendo
DS
Test Drive rolls out the classics, too, like this sweet Mercedes-Benz
300SL Gullwing.
Nintendo
PRICE
DS
standard interface. Club activities can be
posted to appear as soon as they enter the
Live lobby. Unlimited will feature a frequently
updated News feature as well where
individuals can issue island-wide challenges,
and Atari will announce periodic public races,
too. For person-to-person communication
you’ll be able to find certain spots on the
island where you can use head-sets.
As a complete virtual world, Test Drive
isn’t going to restrict your Unlimited lifestyle
to automobile interiors. The first thing you’ll
do in the game is create an avatar from 20
basic characters. Atari is lining up branded
clothing and driving gear so you can dress
your driver in style, too.
With your race winnings, you’ll purchase
spectacular homes all over the island. These
cribs are key to your long-term goals as driver
and collector because the garages are where
you’ll store your stable of cars. Depending on
which car or motorcycles you want to use,
you’ll then drive to that house to pick them
up. The larger the house, the more vehicles
you can park there.
The lifestyle purchases extend to music
and art. Test Drive will feature actual
Hawaiian radio stations airing on car radios,
and you’ll be able to download certain songs
and playlists that Atari will offer via Xbox Live.
To decorate your pad, you can take snapshots
of key race encounters or scenic views you
experience, which you can frame and hang
on the walls.
We’ve played TDU and it is living up to
the hype with stunning graphics, unsurpassed
map detail and realistic, intuitive controls. But
what do the Eden engineers say is the games
gift? “Just being behind the wheel,” says
Boukhelifa. “This is the most difficult feeling
to convey about TDU until you actually play
it, but driving in this island paradise’s huge
network of open roads with your friends is
still as amazing to us now as it was on the
first day we tried it.”
Well we had our first day trying it, and we
cannot wait for another!
PS2 & PSP
PlayStation 3
LATE GOSS
Hardware shmardware, what
will make or break a console are games that
can marry mass-market appeal with engaging, gamerfriendly action. Sony’s software display at its major pre-E3
conference was boring and hollow, void of imagination and
flair. Showgoers left the conference feeling ripped-off: expecting
to be blown away with gameplay versions of last year’s awesome
videos. We want to be fully immersed in a single player world
or duking it out with ease in intense multiplayer action:
Sony provided evidence of neither and a whopping
price for the privilege of playing.
When Sony showed footage of games like Killzone 2 and
Motorstorm at last year’s E3 all that could be heard was
the sound of thousands of journalist’s chins hitting the
floor. The games looked so good that they even sparked
controversy as to whether or not the footage was taken
from actual gameplay, or was a pre-rendered CG movie.
Sony never answered the controversy directly, but
at this year’s E3 they let their games do the talking for
them — and they didn’t have too much to say. Formula
One 06, whose video shone at E3 2005, turned out to
be a gameplay experience on par, at best, with Project
Gotham Racing 3. Gameplay from Killzone 2 and
Motorstorm were conspicuously missing, suggesting
that they too couldn’t match the mind-blowing videos
that we were shown at E3 2005.
In fact, for a console that looks on paper to be twice
as powerful as Microsoft’s console, the PS3’s graphical
output at this year’s E3 seemed to be far closer to that
of the Xbox 360 than they may like to admit. Still,
that’s not to suggest that the PS3 doesn’t look amazing.
With beautiful looking (and hopefully beautiful-playing)
games like Metal Gear Solid 4, Final Fantasy XIII, Gran
Turismo HD (formerly called Vision Gran Turismo), Call
of Duty 3, Tekken 6 and more in the works, Sony looks
to have most of your old favourites covered.
Surprisingly one of the most revealing tech demos
that Sony made this year was not from any of these
big-name titles. Instead the graphical highlight of
Sony’s presentation came in the form of a smiling Tiger
Woods. Showing off EA Sport’s latest motion capture
technology, Woods was presented in real-time running
on actual PS3 hardware, and was almost impossible to
tell apart from the real thing.
The popular athlete grinned, frowned and talked
to the crowd with all the emotion and expression of a
human being, truly showing off the PS3’s capacity for
near-photorealistic graphics in future games.
With promising moments like this, coupled with
the fact that the PS3 still has those better-on-paper
specifications in hand, we kept a shred of our optimism
YOUR OWN WORLD CUP
PLAYSTATION 3
often involving exclusive play-tests of games all around the world.
to compete head-to-head
against his sibling, and there are also some
extra mini-games included, although
disappointingly they are the exact same ones
that were supplied with Mario 64 at the
system’s launch.
If we were being really picky we’d have to
concede that the touch screen is underutilised,
only being used to activate stored power-ups, but
overall New Super Mario Bros feels exactly like
a classic Mario game should — and it’s precisely
this that makes it the best original platformer
available for the DS, and furthermore, the best
2D platform game in a decade.
Maurice Branscombe
World Tour Soccer 2
FOR FANS OF
The World Cup / Big Goals / No midfield battles
le! Ole! Oh whatever. We get it ok,
soccer is cool in 2006 and all other
sports suck. And inevitably, this means
plenty of soccer games miraculously finding a
release date in and around the month of June.
With Mario Smash Football, 2006 FIFA World
Cup and Sensible Soccer 2 already kicking
goals, what can World Tour Soccer 2 bring to
the virtual paddock?
The core concept of WTS2 is indeed intriguing.
It aims to apply arcade-like controls and gameplay
mechanics to the real game. This is no Sim by any
stretch of the imagination and Evo addicts might
as well switch off now, but it is 11-on-11 on a
proper sized pitch with official rules: you will not
be collecting red shells, going “on-fire” nor staring
bewildered at your out-of-proportion character
models here. The arcade element of this game
comes instead from its game modes.
O
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There are eleven game modes in total (with
more downloadable in the future) and they
spice up the action by asking you to compete
within real-world guidelines to unrealistic rules.
For example, in one mode you cannot score
until every player on your team has touched the
ball once. In another, only your midfielders are
allowed to score, while a third example pits you
with a ten-second shot clock. And while kicking
goals will definitely help your cause, it is not
your primary means of winning a game. Instead,
you receive points for well-timed tackles, good
passes and successful challenge: on the flip, you
loose points for playing like a chump.
It’s reasonably good fun, and both the
controls and A.I have been far improved on the
original game which is arguably the WTS2’s
most important success. Where the previous
game had you labouring to put together plays,
the action is far more intuitive now. The A.I is
still no match for a human opponent (the game
supports an entertaining Wi-Fi service), but
puts up enough of a challenge to make scoring
big goals rewarding.
One point of concern is the speed of the
gameplay. Perhaps in an attempt to heighten the
quick-play mentality of the PSP and the arcade
nature of the game modes, the action whizzes by
at a breathtaking pace, almost too fast. Would
the game modes have worked with a more
realistic pace? It’s hard to say, but it is a shame
that the option to play a normal speed, normal
game is not included, restricting the potential
audience. In the end, despite the fact it offers a
different experience to Evo, it still isn’t as fun.
Chris Stead
Daxter really makes the
most out of breaking away
from his sidekick role and
with this fantastic game,
he finally becomes a star.
Anyone looking for a quality
platformer on the move
need look no further.
P
PS
DEVELOPER
Sony
PUBLISHER
Sony
CLASSIFICATION
G
PRICE
$79.95
9.0
An awesomely addictive
mix of puzzle ideals in a
platform environment that
is almost impossible to
dislike. Check it out.
P
PS
DEVELOPER
Sony
PUBLISHER
Sony
CLASSIFICATION
G
PRICE
$79.95
7.5
WTS2 is a definite
improvement on the
previous version in the
series and thus offers a
harmless secondary option
to the big genre guns.
P
PS
65
06
PROREVIEWS
ProReviews
The latest games reviewed
60
X3
on all formats written by
OX
XB
PC
trustyworthy and wellknown writers.
DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS
Blood Money
FOR FANS OF
2
PS
W
based in the US. The new graphics engine
renders the featured locales in rich detail and
in usual Hitman style the elaborately designed
levels offer more routes of penetration and the
consequential unloading of your weapon than
a two-headed Paris Hilton blow-up doll.
Agent 47 is up to his old tricks again and
can stalk, slit throats, garrotte, drag hapless
flesh bags around and make better use of
found objects than a crack-infused MacGyver
ever could. His repertoire of moves has been
expanded to include head-butting, disarming
tactics and the ability to use ill-fated enemies
as meaty shields. They’re all intuitive additions
that add extra depth to 47’s killing skills.
Blood Money’s tagline, “Money Talks,
Silence Pays,” sums up the essence of the
game perfectly, it’s just a shame that 47 didn’t
cotton on earlier. A ruthless killer he is but a
shrewd accountant he ain’t and that’s probably
why it’s taken 47 until the fourth instalment
to start charging for his services. Cash rewards
are on offer at the completion of each level
with the biggest payouts going to the sneakiest
assassins. You can then
splurge your cash reserves
on weapon upgrades and,
if need be, bribes to get
the authorities off your back.
Your overall performance
will affect your monetary reward so
it’s advisable to be as crafty and imaginative
as possible. The biggest cash bonanzas are
handed out to agents who can sneakily go about
their business, making hits look as natural or
accidental as possible. Storming in cowboy-style
with guns blazing is never the smartest or easiest
option and is a sure-fire way of getting 47
noticed and notorious.
Notoriety is another measure that’s been
thrown in. It’s accumulated by acting like
Charles Bronson and indiscriminately shooting
targets and pregnant bystanders’ for no
apparent reason. Sure it can be fun to do, but
it is definitely not befitting of a skilled assassin
and is reprimanded accordingly as civilians
become weary of your actions as the game
progresses. However, if you find your notoriety
climbing to worrying peaks, you can make
amends by spending your hard earned cash on
bribes, local harassment and even plastic surgery
GAMEPLAY
KA-CHING
Blood Money controls
and plays just
as rewardingly as the
rest of the
series. Played from
the
perspective it is quite third-person
similar to the
Splinter Cell games
except it is your
task to get through
every level killing
only your target and
not
but you can just choose being noticed,
to kill everyone.
If only Agent 47 had taken Economics 101 at uni,
instead of that garrotting class at community
college, he would have enough dough by now
for that cosy little retreat in the Bahamas. But
he didn’t and instead lives the life of a pauper
assassin. Until you help him save enough dough,
47 will just have to amuse himself by burning his
hard earned cash on bling. But in 47’s case, it’s
not about what you wear around your neck but
rather what you attach to your gat.
Agent 47 has four custom weapons that
can be upgraded in between levels. His super
Silverballers, the sporadic SMP, the shuddering
shotgun and the sneaky sniper make up
his upgradeable arsenal and feature more
modifications than a post-op drag queen.
Each weapon has between ten and 15 mods
that you can purchase such as scopes, silenced
ammo, weight reduction, clip enlargements and
scopes. It’s the best and most rewarding way to
spend your hard earned cash and will transform
your timid looking weapons into Frankensteinlike abominations by the game’s end.
expansions packs and
downloads for your favourite
games to ensure their life
continues well beyond
beating the bad guy.
By Maurice Branscombe
out about all the patches,
Keeping Your Favourite Games Updated.
This is where you’ll find
PROUPDATE
70
ProUpdate
94
Blood Money is about the hits, but how they are executed is
entirely up to you, the gamer. For instance, there is a level based
in a Parisian theatre where 47 is required to kill an opera singer
and his paedophilic partner in crime, the ambassador to the
United States. Upon starting the mission it’s clear there are a
number of ways to go about your task. Perhaps you’d like to swap
a replicate WW2 pistol for the real thing and let the Opera singer’s
fellow actor take him out? Maybe it’s more your style to steal
the actor’s clothes and do the dirty work yourself? Or perhaps
it would be more fun to rig the stage lights with explosives and
take out the target from afar? These are just a few of the methods
available. Each level presents a variety of methods leaving it up
to you, your imagination and resources to decide how to eliminate
your target — no series does it better.
Assassins / Stealth / The Follicley Challenged
hat do you think of when you hear
the words “bald-headed killer clone”?
If Mini-me came to your head, then
go to the corner junior. There’s only
room for one bald-headed killer clone and
that’s everyone’s favourite hired hitman, Agent
47. The world’s greatest assassin is back doing
what he does best; hired hits, kicking arse and
collecting cash in the latest Hitman instalment
from developer IO Interactive. With an all new
graphics engine that improves the visceral thrill
of the game and enhancements to 47’s killing
prowess, this is Hitman at its very best.
This time around the narrative opens with
our beloved bar-coded baldie finding himself
on a long, but dwindling list of targeted ICA
assassins. Not one to turn down a challenge or
ever let the mission get in the way of his pay,
47 systematically goes after his enemies and
picks up his cash along the way.
Without giving too much away, the story
harkens back to 47’s past, the perennial battle
over the ethics of cloning and the formation
of a rival agency of super assassins set on
eliminating our beloved hitman. It’s pretty
much a case of the hunter becoming the
hunted becoming the hunter again. The good
news is there’s no one more prepared than 47
to handle what unfolds.
In all, there are 13 missions that feature a
few Euorpean stopovers, but are predominantly
Despite being a very
attractive game, Hitman
doesn’t require too much
juice — A P3 800MHz with
32MB Graphics Card and
256MB of RAM will cut it.
DEVELOPER
IO Interactive
PUBLISHER
Eidos
CLASSIFICATION
MA15+
PRICE
$89.95
THEY
SAY
he new Xbox 360 Live network is
finally starting to come through with
its promise of downloadable content
that will enhance both your games and your
Xbox Live experience, the only problem is
you’ll end up paying through the nose for
the privilege. Available now at the Xbox
Live Marketplace are theme packs that will
customise your Xbox Live dashboard, gamer
pictures that act as your avatar when playing
online, game demos and trailers, and most
impressively of all, real game content.
A few examples include a set of three
upgrades for Rare’s Kameo Elements of
T
PSP Firms
Up For First
Demo
It may surprise some gamers that it took
them this long, but Sony has just released
their first ever PSP game demo that can
be downloaded via the internet. A sample
level of the cute, slightly psychedelic and
irrepressibly fun eat-em-up, LocoRoco,
is being offered on the game’s Japanese
website. The file only weighs in at 8MB
and features an entire level of the game’s
particular brand of wackiness for you to
enjoy straight off your memory stick. To
download simply go to: www.jp.playstation.
com/scej/title/locoroco.
In order to start the demo, players will
have to update their firmware to the newly
released 2.70 edition. This firmware update
includes a number of additional features apart
from the ability to play demos, including
support for Macromedia Flash player in the
PSP’s internet browser, the ability to play ACC
audio files (the format preferred by Apple’s
iPod) as well as eliminating some bugs that
can sometimes be experienced when using
memory sticks that have more than two
Gigabytes of memory. The 2.70 update can
be downloaded from Sony’s US website:
www.us.playstation.com.
Power. The upgrades include a
Co-Op Pack which unlocks an
online cooperative multiplayer
mode and two costume sets,
including the Masquerade Pack
which features the costumes of
famous Rare characters and the
Fright Warrior Pack which includes some
scary clothes for Kameo to wear. Another
quite cool (and free) download is the free
cars available for Burnout Revenge. Although
why the cars are free becomes immediately
obvious, as they are cunningly disguised
product placement advertisements for,
among others, Alienware, Dolby, Plantronics
and Spike TV.
A few other downloads are free, but most
will set you back a little of your hard-earned,
in the form of “Microsoft Points”, which are
purchased from Microsoft directly and used
over the service as currency.
We were a bit worried about the future of Hitman after the previous sequel Contracts
— it focused on being controversial rather than intelligent. However, it is great to
see Blood Money bring the series back to its strengths as played in Silent Assassin.
71
Xbox 360
Gets COD 2
Updates
Last month Blizzard entertainment launched patch 1.10 for their
world–beating massively multiplayer online RPG. The appropriately
subtitled Storms of Azeroth added much anticipated weather
effects such as snow, rain and dust storms to many areas of the
world, among numerous other improvements.
The update went off almost without a hitch, if it wasn’t for
some extended server downtime due to essential maintenance,
that is. The problem was quickly remedied and WOW addicts were
allowed back into their natural habitat.
The next patch on the horizon, 1.11, looks to have even more
in store for residents of Azeroth. Subtitled the Shadow of the
Necropolis, this patch will include a talent review for the Mage
class and an entirely new high-level dungeon called Naxxramas.
This necropolis floats about the Plaguelands and is the hideout
of one of the Lich King’s most powerful henchmen the lich
Kel’Thuzad. Naxxramas will be a 40-man raid dungeon that
promises to give even experienced players an epic challenge.
Anyone who has picked up a copy of Call of
Duty 2 for your Xbox 360 over the past couple
of months (at the time of writing, around 7,000
of you!), will be pleased to find out that even
more COD 2 goodness is on its way courtesy
of developer Infinity Ward.
The release of three different sets of new
multiplayer maps has been announced, with
two sets debuting on Microsoft’s Xbox Live
Marketplace during autumn. The first set,
called the Bonus Mission Pack will be available
for free download and will feature two new
multiplayer levels located in Vossenack and
Wallendar, Germany.
The second set, the Skirmish Map
Pack, will be sold for 400 Microsoft Points
(approximately AU$6.60) over the Xbox Live
Marketplace and will include maps based in
Kalach, Russia and Beaumont-Hague, France.
In July, the third set, called the Invasion
Pack, will be released and will feature an extra
five maps for 900 Microsoft Points (approx
AU$14.85). The maps included in this final
release will take place in varied locales such
as Antoville, St. Louet and Amaye sur Seulles
in France as well as Alam Halfa, Egypt and
Rostov, Russia.
The Elder Scolls IV: Oblivion Expands
T
WE SAY 9.0
Hitman: Blood Money is bloody fantastic. It fuses stealth,
action and an intriguing story like no other in the series, and
will delight wannabe assassins the world over. A definite
return to form after the lacklustre Contracts.,
WWW.GAMEPRO.COM.AU
World of Warcraft:
Storm passes,
Shadow Looms
he Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has been one of the
hottest pieces of software on the market since it
launched in March, now the game’s developer,
Bethesda Softworks, is offering a number of additional
content downloads for both the Xbox 360 and PC versions
of the game.
There are three updates available, and each of them
unlocks a new feature in the game, or even a whole new
quest. The first of these is the Horse Armour pack, which
true to its name unlocks the ability to fit your steed with
some fancy-looking and potentially life-saving armour
plating. At only 6.2MB this update is the smallest of the
three.
Next in line is the Orrery update, which includes a
new, fully-featured quest. In it you’ll be helping the Mages
Guild of Cyrodiil repair the Imperial Orrery, a machine with
mystical properties. The update includes journals, dialogue
and rewards as well as access to an entirely new area, the
Orrery itself.
spine-cracking brutality and visceral satisfaction.
The graphics engine has been completely rebuilt
from the ground up and it shows. There’s
nothing quite like the explosive red mural that
adorns a wall after popping a cap in the back of
some unsuspecting fool’s skull.
The rebuilt graphics engine tops off the
entire Blood Money package. With its intuitive
stealth-styled gameplay, incredibly imaginative
level designs and varied objectives, Hitman is in
the best shape of its life. If only those cloning
scientists could find a cure for baldness…
Mitchell Bingemann
Agent 47 is back and this
time he’s paid in cold, hard
cash. How the money is
spent will affect his passage
through the game and the
weapons at his disposal,
resulting in a unique
gameplay experience for
each player.
WWW.GAMEPRO.COM.AU
X360 Live Update Blowout
in extreme cases. These don’t come
cheap though.
The monetary reward and notoriety
system ties in with IO’s new level summary
that keeps track of your stats, and rewards
you for seamless executions. Aside from the
standard summary menu which details kills,
number of shots fired and witnesses, there is
also the addition of newspapers that chronicle
your dastardly ways. The main news story is
dynamically generated after each level and gives
a run down of your actions and subtle killing
mechanics if deployed. The newspaper also
features other smaller stories that relate to your
killing sprees and act as great story filler for the
interesting narrative.
Visually, the game looks better than ever.
Bald is definitely beautiful when it comes to 47
and he’s damn aware of it. With chiseled facial
expressions, fluid movements and excellent
execution animations, Blood Money oozes
SPECOMETER
Finally there is the Wizard’s Tower. This update lets you
enter the previously inaccessible Frostcrag Spire, otherwise
known as the Wizard’s Tower located high in the Jeral
Mountains of Cyrodiil. Once inside the tower you’ll find
a botanical garden with over 130 different plants and
herbs, you’ll have the ability to summon Atronach Familiars
that obey your commands, instant teleports to every
Mages Guild in Cyrodiil, a fully functional Enchanting and
Spellmaking station and more. Frostcrag Spire also happens
to be the highest point in all of Tamriel, giving you a
breathtaking view of the surrounding lands.
These updates aren’t free however and you will have
to spend a bit more than just your hard-earned Tamriel
currency to get them, you’ll have to put down some
real money for these babies. Luckily, the updates aren’t
particularly expensive, coming in at approximately US$1.99
(AU$2.65) each for the PC downloads and about US$2.50
(AU$3.30) for the Xbox 360 ones. PC gamers should go to
http://obliviondownloads.com for more information.
NEWS
Quake 4 Patch 1.2
The latest patch for id software and
Raven Game’s Quake 4 has been
released, although it comes with some
drawbacks. Although the update
includes seven new multiplayer maps
and a number of beneficial bug fixes the
problem is that none of your old save
game files or multiplayer friend lists will
be compatible with Quake 4 version
1.2, meaning that you’ll have to make a
big decision before making this upgrade.
F.E.A.R. SDK Released
The SDK (Software Development Kit)
for one of last year’s best first-person
shooters, F.E.A.R., has just been
released to the public by developer
Monolith Productions. What this means
for gamers is that with a little coding
skill of your own, and some imagination,
you can create your own game creations
using the F.E.A.R. engine.
Prospective modders should check out
www.sierra.com or the download.
COD2 Busts Punks
In more Call of Duty 2 news, thanks to
the release of the PC game’s 1.2 patch,
cheaters will now find it a lot more
difficult to get their unfair advantage.
Support for the most widely used anticheating software, Punkbuster, has been
worked into the latest version of the
game, as well as the amazing bonus of
two new multiplayer maps, Rhine and
long-time favourite Harbor, from the
original Call of Duty.
Civilisation IV Expands
This month an expansion for Sid Meier’s
Civilisation IV has been announced,
subtitled Warlords. The expansion will
give players many new features including
six new scenarios to play through, as
well as adding the feature that gives
the pack its name — the ability to
create “warlord” characters. Firaxis
have already release renders of a few
of these warlords, all historical leaders
such as Julius Ceasar, Winston Churchill
and Joseph Stalin, and we can probably
expect even more from the final release.
The Outfit Gets Fitted Out
The past month has seen THQ release
their first multiplayer map pack for
their hit WWII squad-based actioner
The Outfit. The pack, called Collateral
Damage, includes three all-new
multiplayer maps titled Luftwaffe Finale,
Bleak Mile and Eagle’s Nest which
aim to build upon the game’s already
fast-paced, explosive online gameplay.
The pack is available for purchase over
Microsoft’s Xbox Live Marketplace and
sells for 500 Microsoft Points (~ $8.25).
WWW.GAMEPRO.COM.AU
WWW.GAMEPRO.COM.AU
95
07
Australian GamePro is a bi-monthly production which gives us the opportunity
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x 460 mm W
149 mm D
x 230 mm W
Type area
262 mm D
x 202 mm W
262 mm D
x 431 mm W
130 mm D
x 202 mm W
Bleed size
5 mm on all sides
Gutter
allowance
16 mm
Column widths
1 col = 55 mm
2 col = 114 mm
3 col = 173 mm
DATES AND DEADLINES 2006
Issue
Booking
Deadline
Final Ad
Material
On Sale
February/March
5 December
13 December
9 January
April/May
14 February
22 February
15 March
June/July
10 April
10 May
31 May
August/
September
4 July
12 July
2 August
October/
November
5 September
13 September
4 October
December/
January
24 October
1 November
22 November
11
PRESIDENT PC/CHANNEL DIVISION
Susan Searle
Email: susan_searle@idg.com.au
Phone: (02) 9902 2718
EDITORIAL CONTACTS
EDITOR
Chris Stead
Email: chris_stead@idg.com.au
Phone: (02) 9902 2721
STAFF WRITER
Maurice Branscombe
Email: maurice_branscombe@idg.com.au
Phone: (02) 9902 2731
SALES CONTACTS
GROUP ADVERTISING MANAGER
Andrew Brain
Email: andrew_brain@idg.com.au
Phone: (02) 9902 2759
ACCOUNT MANAGERS
Linda Bertolissio
Email: linda_bertolissio@idg.com.au
Phone: (02) 9902 2739
Contacts
MANAGEMENT CONTACTS
Stephen Keens
Email: stephen_keens@idg.com.au
Phone: (02) 9902 2771
CLASSIFIED SALES
Nicola Halpin
Email: nicola_halpin@idg.com.au
Phone: (02) 9902 2725
PRODUCTION CONTACTS
WORKFLOW MANAGER
Cheryl Podda
Email: cheryl_podda@idg.com.au
Phone: (02) 9902 2757
Production fax: (02) 9906 3232
12