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f’JPEAl/lC/«ST PHANTASY STAR ONLINE
Regal $39.9"; 0.0..
On tne face of rt. tors I, a gear . rf derr‘.’atr'.'e. roe- rrlayrng adrenture ’jéjll‘h‘. The story. a Barr/estar Galacfrca rlpoff, ls rnterestrng enough but Suffers front terrrble lrnearrty ‘.‘.’lIfl levels unrrhaglnatrvely called ‘Forest 1' and 'Forest 2'. But peek behrnd the face and PSO has the potentral to revolutronrse how gar'nes wlll evolve.
l rnk the Dreamcast to the phone llne and a whole new experrence awalts. Thls rs a multr— player adventure where organisation and co« operatlon are para— mount, brrnglng up to fOur gamers together In a way that zvrll play havoc wrth the phone IN“.
Three ladleally drfferent character cl; sses prov vlde an rnfrnrte amount of lnteractron between player‘s. A few battles rn and complrcated tactlcs emerge naturally be— tween players, glvrng a clear and rmportant role to everyone. Creatlng a party ls srmple and fun. and such ls the Joy of each new party dynamrc that the adventures can be played over and over agarn wrth boredom a talnt memory.
Phantasy Star Online
104 THE LIST 75x9 Ma' Q ‘
sEVERANCE
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Sen/acne s esserr‘. a I. a rJeat—e”‘-..r, set r‘. a fantasy ran/r, C'eature after creature approach- es. eager to he t’lrr‘ apart by your n‘erclless hand. Ant torn apart they are. Severance regels rn blcodlettlng. gore—st‘latterlng n‘ay « 'zerr‘ .‘Jlff‘. hacked—cff llrr‘l)s becornlng weapons shot ld your trusty sword become lodged rn some spurtrng carcz ss. Unfortunater the noxmty of all thls carnage soon wears off leavrng Severance devold of any other attractlons. The control system Is clumsy. though not as harhflsted as the Artrflr lntellrgenr:e prograrr;— rnlng or the collrslon detectron or the auto lock feature or the level deslgn. As you may have guessed there ls so much wrong wrth the gameplay that If borders on the unplayable. Severance rs ster over content rn the extreme and though son‘e may be sated by the stunnlng vrsuals. anyone looklng for a r'e‘«.‘.rardrng combat adventure wrll fgel hard done by.
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DREAMCAST VANISHING POINT (Acclarml €39.99 O
Drlvrng games look t‘leceptlvely easy to produce. One car, one road track. some comp— etrtlon and much, much speed seems to do It for most. But there Is so much more to rt than that. Car handlrng for example rs paramount. lf the car feels yarong. doggedly holdlng corners or skatlng llke Bambr on Ice. all the fancy graphlcs rn the world can't help. The leyel of competltron Is also pretty Important. Make a game too easy. too hard or Just plarn unfalr and watch the unlts steadfastly refuse to move from the shelves. Acclarms Vanrshrng Pol/rt Suffers frOm all these faults.
Severance revels in gore-splattering may-hem
Sure 't looks great and has an Interesting t‘.‘.'!st on the flrst-past-the- post ‘.'.'rrl.'llrtg condltlons but merythrng else =s so rong that when you get ran‘n‘ed off the road by one of the on-ralls cort‘petrtors the last thrng you ‘~.'.'ant to do If; start agaln.
DF thAMCASl FIGHTING VIPERS 2 tSegal $739.99 0..
Due to Sega's declsron to pack ln console productlon and con- centrate on software Frghtrng Vrpers 2 MN he your last chance to play a V/r‘tua Frg/rter trtle on a Sega machrne. OK. If rnrght not say Vrr‘tua rn the trtle but make no nustake. F/gntrng Vrper's 2 rs l/rr'tua Frg/rter wlth hells on. There are some wackler characters and a rather redundant armour system to draw you off the scent but the flurd anlmatlon and frghtrng style ls un- mlstakable. Whrch rs no bad thrng. The balance of defence and attack rs almost perfectly werght— ed wlth super combos as spectacularly pleas- rng as always. There are no ~.-.~rlst-breakrng button con‘blnatrons to remem- ber and everythrng
no. es at pace. If only that naggrng sensat:0n of 'been there done that' would go away Frgr'rfrng l/loers 2 would be ‘-.‘.'ell worth a purchase for all.
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'n ss.re systems a”: .‘.'.".at do we (re f" 'f Prograrr‘me t 1:: re create haf's t><:t.".<:rr‘;; axolxvr a tape. l .l’w, Poor .‘tfasfer s (Lute r:‘. of ‘uh st: Is "(it a corrlprete .vaste of PS) technology. Although t'wr; game ls slfgrttly l:gn’. i" the extras departmer‘vt. the hassle ewnrlet't s easy to play and r‘as a nice steady curye. Tracke", r:a" be
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fancy Pee-y‘xork and el.’erythlr‘.g feels sort: a'”: belre‘.anie. Bat rte-Tenet lovely .1 looks 't .s s'..i: It pool game ar‘.<r new“ taxes bra r‘. r::>" ‘r‘ge", e><lst;ng ust to fl; 1.“- '. 'r‘e betyr-reer‘ KlfitZ‘f' t em. I‘ you can't be arse': y'ralkrng to the pub Posr t'w’t'rsfer and ESCE'l‘nI,‘ alcohollc beyer acres come a close seee'vz
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ALSO RELEASED Duke Nukem Land of Babes IPlayStatlon lake 2 5.29.99 Nudlt‘, and blg brg guns. Freestyle Scooter rPlayStatron UblSolt £729.99 Trrcklng on Mrs wheeled toys. Worms World Party :PC DC Vrrgrrl $124.99 $34.99r More rnvertebrate rnsanrty. Unreal Tournament lPSZ‘ lnfograrhes $9999 Quake lll's hlggest anal arrryes on P82. Battle For Naboo PC ctly'slcn @2999 Has to be better tr‘ar: Phantorr‘ tvler‘tace.
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