Back To The Noughties
Nick has successfully pushed through the time vortex to end up in January 2001
With Christmas having been and gone, things were quiet in January 2001, with few highprofile launches to speak of. The first Playstation 2 numbers were in – Sony had shipped 300,000 across Europe for launch day. The UK received just 80,000 of the 165,000 units that had been preordered by customers, and 93,000 games were sold in the first two days. Tekken Tag Tournament was the most popular game, clocking up 19,500 sales during the launch weekend. The somewhat overblown big news for the month was another Playstation 2 story – this time concerning DVD playback. If players tried to achieve the best audiovisual quality from their consoles by using RGB SCART cables, they wouldn’t be able to watch DVD movies properly, instead being confronted with a green picture. Sony claimed that this intentional behaviour was an anti-piracy measure, designed to stop people copying movies to VHS. Many players wouldn’t have noticed, as the machine was bundled with adequate composite cables.
The best new Playstation 2 game of the month was Theme Park World, the sequel to the classic strategy game. This was a more faithful version of the game that had been rather limited in its original Playstation conversion. This was something Play noted in its 85% review, with Mark Crawley stating that it would “properly introduce a new generation of players to a game that everyone should try at least once”. However, Paul Fitzpatrick felt that “if you have the earlier version, this is not an overwhelming argument for shelling out again”, and awarded the game 7/10 in the Official Playstation 2 Magazine.
Playstation owners had a good Christmas, and a low-profile January followed. Alex Ferguson’s Player Manager 2001 received 88% from Play and 3/5 from CVG, with the former declaring it “slow but rewarding.” The rest of the month’s fare was relatively mediocre, with the likes of Ducati World hardly setting the world on fire, and the system also gave us the month’s biggest stinker. Players hoping for another slice of wrestling action after the excellent WWF Smackdown! 2 were in for a disappointment, as the bizarre WCW Backstage Assault invited players to wrestle everywhere except a wrestling ring. CVG judged the game “a lame, cack-handed effort that’s just not fun”, and Play suggested that EA was “banking on the blind spending of a horde of gullible WCW fans”.
Dreamcast owners should scarcely have been looking for anything new after the Christmas they had, but Worms World Party was a good shout for those that were. CVG’S Les Ellis gave the game 4/5, and claimed that it was “set to take over from Chu Chu Rocket as the number one online DC puzzle game”. Less brilliant was Sega GT, a Gran Turismo competitor which came under criticism from CVG’S Johnny Minkley for its slow and rigid structure. “Even
when you begin to unlock cars and fiddle around under the bonnet, you can’t participate in half the races because of one rule or another,” he complained, awarding the game 3/5.
PC gamers received their first encounter with an enigmatic assassin in IO Interactive’s Hitman: Codename 47. This stealth action game involved carefully plotting schemes to take out designated targets, utilising careful observation, cover and even disguises. PC Zone was fond of the game, awarding it 85% and stating that it “more than makes up in style for what it lacks in moral integrity”. CVG was similarly enamoured, giving it 4/5, but Edge wasn’t so keen, giving the game 5/10 due to “poor level design and clumsy controls”, though it did encourage the developer to “take its good ideas back to the drawing board”. Also available for the PC this month was American Mcgee’s Alice, a darker take on Lewis Carroll’s tales from the former id Software level designer. The game was praised for its variety and storytelling, but poor controls marred the experience. PC Zone gave it 75% and commented that it was “expecting a little bit more than a ‘darker’ Rayman 2”, meanwhile Edge’s 4/10 review suggested that level design and playability “seem to have played second fiddle to some admittedly impressive visuals.”
Nintendo fans had a rather lean month on their hands. Mickey’s Speedway USA was the only new UK game reviewed in N64 Magazine, receiving 80% from Mark Green. The game was good but suffered from competing with more established games – as the reviewer noted, “Neither the multiplayer nor the time trial come close to Mario Kart, and the cart will be gathering dust well before Easter.” On the Game Boy, the Pokémon Trading
Card Game was the biggest deal of the month – CVG judged it, “Challenging and rewarding, but not as sparkly as the other Pokémon games,” and gave it a commendable 4/5 score, while
N64 Magazine gave it 5/5 and lauded it as “one of the finest in-depth strategy experiences ever”.
Next month, a bombshell drops and the industry will never be the same again. What could it be? Well, tune in next time to find out what happens…