PSM (December 1997)

There was the Official PlayStation Magazine and then there was PSM who prided themselves on being "independent". There were others too but I think these were the most popular by far. The December 1997 issue of PSM includes:

Features

• Cover Story: Tomb Raider 2 Strategy - Part One of a complete walk-through of the game. Useful if you are stuck...or to completely spoil the game.

• Cover Story: Girls & Games - What do girls want in a game? Not sure why they seemed to portray this as such a novel thing. Even in the dark ages of 1997 there were plenty of girl gamers.

• The PSM Holiday Special - A holiday buyer's guide with a list of naughty and nice games broken down by category.

• Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back - Review of the 3D platformer Crash Bandicoot 2. PSM gives it 5 stars which is their highest rating.

• Parappa Contest - A trivia contest in which you could win a Sony 200 Disc CD changer, PlayStation varsity jacket, a PlayStation T-shirt, and much more.

• Street Fighter EX Plus Complete Special Moves and Super Combos - Special moves and combos for all of the Street Fighter EX Plus characters.

• Test Drive 4: Producer's Strategy - Detailed info on all of the cars, their difficulty level, tracks they are best on, and more. Plus, some general strategies for the game.

• Colony Wars - A walk-through guide for the first five acts along with some general tips and strategies.

• Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee - A strategy guide for this platform/puzzle game with an excellent atmosphere. How to rescue all 99 Mudokons.

Monitor

• Feature Story: Diablo Burns Up PlayStation - The classic action/RPG and one of the most popular games of all time comes to the PlayStation.

• Yaroze News - Various web sites with info about the Net Yaroze, the PS development system anyone could buy.

• Gossip - Square to publish its own games; Acclaim reorganizes; New Contra game on the way; development of Mortal Kombat 4 well underway; Crash 3 coming soon...

• Nihon Game Otaku! - The latest out of Japan, including info on Chou Atsui!, Ore! Tonba!, Crime Crackers 2, Space Adventure Cobra the Psychogun, Konami Antiques - MSX Collection Vol. 1, Metal Gear, and more.

• Other News - PSEmu lets you play PlayStation games on your PC but only Raiden Project for now; controller with vibration feedback may be coming soon; and more.

Reviews

• Crash Bandicoot 2 - See above.

• CART World Series - A mediocre racing game.

• NHL '98 - The hockey game to have...if you wanted a hockey game anyway.

• Nightmare Creatures - A beat-em-up 3D adventure with a horror theme.

• Pandemonium 2 - A psychedelic 3D adventure on rails.

• Test Drive 4 - A continuation of the classic driving game. I played the first one on my Commodore 64.

• Jet Moto 2 - Hover bike racing game.

• Mass Destruction - No complicated missions here. Just blow stuff up with your tank.

• Need for Speed: V-Rally - Another entry in another racing game franchise.

• Cool Boarders 2 - Snowboarding, including half-pipe and downhill.

• Tomb Raider 2 - This sequel gets the highest possible score here. Tomb Raider popularity was at its peak.

• Red Asphalt - Not much new here but if you like Wipeout and Twisted Metal then you might like this game.

• Rampage World Tour - A port of the arcade Rampage sequel.

• Fighting Force - A 3D beat-em-up.

• MDK - Did this really stand for Murder Death Kill? I've forgotten...

• MK Mythologies: Sub Zero - This seemed like an interesting concept. Take a Mortal Kombat character and throw them into a platform beat-em-up type game. The title seemed to also hint at future entries in the series. However, it wasn't very well executed and sequels never came.

• Flashback - A look back and previously reviewed games, including Epidemic, Assault Rigs, and NHL Face-Off.

Previews

• Breath of Fire III - Classic fantasy RPG for the PlayStation.

• Spawn: The Eternal - A 3D adventure game based on the comic book character.

• FF Tactics - A Final Fantasy game emphasizing the battles.

• Auto Destruct - Inspired by Twisted Metal but with more of a story.

• Skull Monkeys - Sequel to the PC game Neverhood. A 2D platformer that uses claymation styled graphics.

• NCAA GameBreaker - For those preferring college football

• Pitfall 3-D - One of many game that it was felt (by someone) needed a 3D remake.

• Batman & Robin - Not the best Batman movie. Probably not the best Batman game either.

• Super Motocross - Motorcycle racing game.

...and much more!