GamePro Issue 101

Features:

• Head 2 Head (The GamePros do some spleen-venting about the forthcoming M2 console, while readers like 'Gxuxixdxax' prove their fortune-telling credentials by claiming it's nothing to be excited about.)
• Buyers Beware (The Watchdog hounds companies who deliver shoddy products and answers hardware-related questions from readers)
• ProNews (None of this 'amateur' stuff 'round these parts, no sir. Professional industry news only!)
• NetPro (This month, the multiplayer gaming service TEN gets the spotlight.
• Resident Evil 2: The Horror Continues (Interview with game director Shinji Mikami of Capcom on the second installment of the RE franchise on the PS1)
• Special Feature: SCUD: The Disposable Assassin (Sega's all-out comical gunplay action game on the Saturn started life as a comic book series by Rob Schrab).
• Overseas ProSpects (What's going on in Nippon)
• Special Strategy Section: Mortal Kombat Trilogy (PS1/N64) (FINISH HIM! with this killer moves list for both platforms)

Sneak Previews:

• Soul Blade (PS1)
• Spider (PS1)
• City of Lost Children (PS1)
• WCW vs. The World (PS1)
• K-1 The Arena Fighters (PS1)
• Professional Underground League of Pain (PS1) (shown here as 'League of Pain')
• Carmageddon (PS1)
• Rush Hour (PS1)
• Peak Performance (PS1)
• Test Drive: Off-Road (PS1/PC)

PC GamePro:

• Command & Conquer: Red Alert (PC)
• Duke Nukem 3D: Plutonium Pak (PC)
• SkyNET (PC)
• MDK (PC)

Hot at the Arcades:

• Mace: The Dark Ages (ARC)

Nintendo 64 Pro Reviews:

• Killer Instinct Gold (N64)
• Cruis'n USA (N64)

PlayStation Pro Reviews:

• Tomb Raider (PS1)
• Star Wars: Dark Forces (PS1)
• Ten Pin Alley (PS1)
• Power Slave (PS1)
• Pitball (PS1)
• Burning Road (PS1)
• Robotron X (PS1)
• TNN Motorsports Hardcore 4x4 (PS1)

Quick Hits (short reviews):

• The King of Fighters '95 (PS1)
• Dare Devil Derby (PS1)
• Starwinder (PS1)
• Iron & Blood (PS1)
• Samurai Shodown III (PS1)
• Tempest (PS1)
• Machine Head (PS1)
• Tunnel B1 (PS1)

Saturn Pro Reviews:

• Bug, Too! (SAT)
• Crusader: No Remorse (SAT)
• Virtua Cop 2 (SAT)
• Area 51 (SAT)
• Virtual On: Cybertroopers (SAT)
• Batman Forever (SAT)
• Spot Goes Hollywood (SAT)
• Crime Wave (SAT)

The 16-Bit Gamer's Survival Guide (Reviews for 16-bit games):

• Street Fighter Alpha 2 (SNES)
• Prince of Persia 2 (SNES)
• Incantation (SNES)
• Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits (GEN)
• War 3010: The Revolution (SNES)
• 16-Bit Hall of Fame (The best RPGs for 16-bit systems)

Sports Pages (The only section your dad is interested in reading):

• NFL GameDay '97 (PS1)
• NBA Hangtime (N64)
• Andretti Racing (SAT)
• Daytona USA Championship Circuit Edition (SAT)
• NBA In the Zone 2 (PS1)
• NFL '97 (SAT)
• NHL '97 (SAT)
• NBA Hangtime (GEN)
• NBA Shoot Out '97 (PS1)
• FIFA Soccer '97 (N64)

Role Players' Realm (RPGs ranked, rated, and reviewed):

• Dragon Force (PS1)
• Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat (PS1)
• Revelations: Persona (PS1)

The Fighter's Edge (Kickin' some one-on-one butt):

• Virtua Fighter 3 (ARC) moves list

S.W.A.T. Bonus Section:

• Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey (ARC) (All the cheats, tricks, and moves to be found in this extreme NHL sim)
• Madden '97 (PS1) (Plays to confound the strongest offense and defense)

S.W.A.T. Pro (Cheaters never prosper? Yeah, right!):

• Tomb Raider (PS1/SAT)
• Twisted Metal 2 (PS1)
• Wipeout XL (PS1)
• Machine Head (PS1)
• Cruis'n USA (N64)
• Mortal Kombat Trilogy (N64)
• Project Overkill (PS1)
• Tokyo Highway Battle (PS1)
• Final Doom (PS1)
• International Track and Field (PS1)
• Worms (SAT)
• Duke Nukem 3D (PC)
• Quake (PC)
• Warcraft II (PC)
• Star Gladiator (PS1)
• Time Commando (PS1)
• Battle Arena Toshinden URA (SAT)

Notable Stuff:

• See that 'Resident Evil 2' logo on the cover? It should say 'Resident Evil 1.5'. This preview took place before Shinji Mikami and his team scrapped the nearly-complete version they had and started over, making it one of the few in-print resources to talk about this lost piece of gaming history.
• Virtual Boy's demise is made official as of this issue, with Nintendo killing the machine after it's abysmal showing in the US.
• Jack Brothers is the final piece of software released for the Virtual Boy in the US. Two others, Bound High and Dragon Hopper, were slated for release but never made it to shelves.
• We take multiplayer capability for granted today, but in the late 90s, it wasn't uncommon to have to use a (paid!) third-party service, like TEN, Microsoft Gaming Zone, or Sega's Heat.net, to connect with other people who wanted to (virtually) rip out your eyeballs and piss in their sockets.
• Areala's Hall of Shame award this issue goes to Samurai Shodown III for PS1, with a 1.0 rating in both Controls and Fun Factor.
• The Top 10 16-Bit RPGs were decided by a fan vote, and it's a damn good list: Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy II, Phantasy Star IV, Super Mario RPG, Phantasy Star 2, Secret of Mana, Shadowrun (SNES), Shining Force II, and Landstalker are all great games. We'd swap the Genesis version of Shadowrun for its SNES brother, but otherwise? These are some of the best 16-bit games you could ever enjoy.
• That said, we're seeing the death knell of 16-bit gaming here too. Four games total released in January/February of 1997, and two of them are re-issues of Super Empire Strikes Back and Super Return of the Jedi to coincide with the theatrical releases of the Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition films.
• Art Angel's review of Revelations: Persona gives it such incredibly high praise. It's sad to see this game ignored by gamers in favour of other titles, especially when Angel claims it "...may even challenge the upcoming Final Fantasy VII as the season's best RPG." Sorry, no stopping that behemoth.