Back To The Noughties
Nick jumps through the infinite schism to a time where a Nuon game got 9/10
The fallout continued from Sega’s console market exit, with Edge providing a blow-by-blow account of the week of the announcement, beginning with an oddly lavish preview event for Shenmue: The Movie and Shenmue II, where the expected announcement of a release date for the latter didn’t actually materialise. The final announcement of leaving the hardware market was then made, with most parties warmly welcoming the move.
Criterion’s Alex Ward described it as “just fantastic news” and Free Radical’s Steve Ellis was “glad to see that Sega intend to continue developing software”. However, not everyone was thrilled. In particular, Edge noted that, “Some perceive Sega Japan’s manoeuvrings as a stab in the back to its overseas representatives,” and that the feeling amongst third-party PS2 developers was that “as a software-only company Sega is a new danger”. Japanese TV journalists framed the issue as being about a lack of great games on the Dreamcast, as compared to the PS2. Interestingly, Chris Kingsley of Rebellion said that he “wouldn’t be at all surprised if they have some new, cool console waiting in the wings”.
Space Channel 5 and its forthcoming sequel, a new Sakura Taisen and Virtua Fighter 4 were all announced as being Ps2-bound, and vague rumblings of cheap Playstation releases were also being heard. Sonic Advance was confirmed for Game Boy Advance, with Sonic Team in general considered to be Nintendo-oriented. No projects were yet announced for the Gamecube or Xbox, but with no exclusivity deals announced, it could only be a matter of time.
Of course, the Dreamcast still had some life left in it, as the phenomenal Phantasy Star Online proved. It was a groundbreaking moment for console gaming – a full 3D co-op RPG, playable online via the humble dial-up modem. Edge praised the game with a 9/10 review and stated that, “Atmospherically, Phantasy Star Online is without rival.” CVG awarded it the full five stars, noting that, “Our only concern is that players may be put off by the call charges.”
Less impressive was the month’s other major Dreamcast release, Vanishing Point. Clockwork Games’ racer scored an average three stars from CVG and a damning 3/10 from Edge.
The most notable PS2 release of the month was Konami’s Shadow Of Memories, an adventure puzzle game in which you control Eike Kusch, who
travels through time in order to prevent his own murder and unmask the culprit. The game garnered widespread critical acclaim, including scores of 8/10 from the Official Playstation 2 Magazine and 85% from Play. CVG’S Johnny Minkley gave a five-star review, saying that it was “genuinely refreshing to see a title with such an intelligent, involving and beautifully structured storyline”. Edge wasn’t as impressed however, giving it just 4/10 and describing it as, “A puppet show that offers little audience interaction.” Other notable PS2 games for the month included Oni (72% Play, 7/10 Official PS2) and 7 Blades (6/10 Official PS2, 4/10 Edge).
On the older Playstation, Fear
Effect 2: Retro Helix was the flavour of the month. Like the original, it offered stylish visuals and a compelling adventure. Unlike the original, it had a major emphasis on the sexual appeal of protagonists Hana and Rain, whose intimate interactions were heavily touted in adverts. Play felt that the game’s content “may not be beneficial to females, and totally manipulative of males”, while Edge noted that the sexualised scenes were “less intrusive than expected” and that “in terms of a relatively sympathetic portrayal of a homosexual lead character, Retro Helix may be something of a first.” Though overshadowed by this debate, the game was actually an improvement on its predecessor, earning five stars from CVG, 85% from Play and 6/10 from Edge. Elsewhere, ISS Pro Evolution 2 continued Konami’s fine football series, earning 10/10 from Official
PS2 Magazine and five stars from
CVG. Additionally, Point Blank 3 (82% Play, 6/10 Official PS2) and C-12: Final Resistance (5/10 Edge) hit the shelves.
Over on the PC, the big news was the launch of Quake III: Team Arena, an expansion with new team-focused modes, a few new weapons and some additional maps. CVG felt that it “doesn’t offer enough to justify the £20 price tag” and gave it three stars, a sentiment PC Zone agreed with – the 61% review in that magazine claiming that the expansion “does nothing to enrich the lives of existing Quake players”. And it was a torrid time to be a Nintendo fan – the only UK N64 releases of note were Pokémon Puzzle League, a Panel De Pon update (89% N64) and the dreadful Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue (9% N64). On the Game Boy Color, the only standout was Mr Driller (3/5, N64).
The most unexpected high scorer of the month wasn’t released on any of the usual suspects, though – it was exclusive to Nuon-equipped
DVD players. Tempest 3000 was Jeff Minter’s latest take on the classic Atari coin-op, and Edge was thrilled with it, awarding it 9/10 and saying that, “It’s not uncommon to find a couple of hours have suddenly elapsed over what seemed like only a few minutes.” However, in a feature on the Nuon technology, Edge noted that other software “doesn’t look too enticing” and concluded its analysis on the
Nuon by saying that it “wouldn’t try to convince you that the Nuon is a viable gaming platform”. Ouch.