Volume 2 Issue 5 November 2006 Grand Theft Auto - Hardcore Gamer

MULTI
Snoopy and the Red Baron have been battling things out
in the skies for years now, and soon they’ll be doing
so on your PlayStation 2. The game’s design owes a
lot to Rogue Squadron, but with a slower pace and
a presentation faithful to the “Peanuts” comics. If
the team can do proper justice to the license and
can iron out some of the sluggishness and unclear
objectives that marred the preview build, then
this could be a game to watch. How can you go
wrong with birds for wingmen?
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Smart Bomb Interactive
Release Date: October 2006
Platform: PS2, PSP, PC
Genre(s): Flight
Category: Action
# of Players: 1-2
After a poorly-received PSP port, Legend should nally be
done justice on a portable. Crystal Dynamics worked hard
to bring the core gameplay intact on the DS, and wisely
continued the trend of basically making the GBA games
into Prince of Persia with a female lead. The DS version
uses the touch screen to allow you to quickly shoot enemies
and cycle through your weapons and health quickly, while
the GBA version uses thrilling comics instead of CG to
tell the tale. Both versions could stand to look better,
but visuals aside, they should deliver what’s needed in a
quality game.
Publisher: Eidos
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Release Date: October 31 2006
Platform: DS, GBA (not pictured)
Genre(s): Adventure
Category: Action
# of Players: 1
In a bid to bridge the gap between the tabletop
and virtual Warhammers, Mark of Chaos puts the
focus back on battle tactics. This is as close to
tabletop Warhammer as you can get, without it
being turn-based. There’s no base building and
no resource management; there’s just full-on
war. Like its recent 40k RTS brethren, you can
customize your armies’ colors and look. After all,
it wouldn’t be Warhammer if you couldn’t!
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Developer: Black Hole
Release Date: October 2006
Platform: PC
Genre(s): RTS
Category: Art of War
# of Players: 1-8
The Playstation 2 has had its fair share of killer RPGs, and
Tales of the Abyss, the latest in the long-running series,
may add to that number. Tales fans know what to expect
by now and the latest game is poised to deliver. Cooking
and active battles are back, along with a cast of endearing
characters and all of the epic adventures you’d expect.
There’s even a cool new system that helps you get to know
the innermost fears of each hero, right through dungeons
and exploration. Clear your winter calendar for this one;
it looks big.
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Namco Tales Studio
Release Date: October 10, 2006
Platform: PS2
Genre(s): RPG
Category: Epic
# of Players: 1
28_PREVIEW_STUBBIES: S VS. RB / TR:L / W:MOC / TOTA
HARDCORE GAMER MAGAZINE_VOLUME 2_ISSUE 5_CALL CHUCK