Electronic Gaming Monthly (August 2002)

Electronic Gaming Monthly (August 2002)

Electronic Gaming Monthly was perhaps the most popular and certain one of the longest lasting video game magazines in the U.S. The first issue came out in the late 1980s and it continued publication into the 2000s. The August 2002 issue includes:

Features

• Miyamoto's Angels - Referring to Nintendo's popular franchises Metroid, Mario and Zelda. This article previews the new games coming soon in those franchises to the GameCube and Game Boy Advance including Super Mario Sunshine (GameCube), Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 (GBA), Metroid Prime (GameCube), Metroid Fusion (Game Boy Advance), Legend of Zelda (GameCube), and Zelda GBA.


• The First GameCube and Xbox RPGs - Morrowind for the Xbox (but honestly, your better off playing it on a PC) and Lost Kingdoms for the GameCube are a couple of the first major RPGs for those platforms.

_{Table of Contents from the August 2002 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly}

Departments

• Editorial - Looking at trends in video games, both good (adult themes in games) and bad (poor licensed games...but this has almost always been a trend).


• Letters - Letters from readers about Tony Hawk 4, cel shading, Star Wars games, the Final Fantasy movie, and much more.


• Press Start - The top news this month includes highlights from E3, and update on the PlayStation 2's success, Microsoft pushes online gaming with the Xbox and new games like Unreal Championship, Nintendo pushing new games in major franchises but lacks online presence (Phantasy Star Online is the only online game at the time). For the GBA, more games are being released that make use of the GB/GBA link. Get extras in Animal Crossing and Phantasy Star Online.


• Gossip - Quartermann speculates on rumors including Sonic retiring from Adventure games; Rare to start developing games for multiple systems; Doom III for the Xbox; and more.


• Review Crew
  • PlayStation 2
  • Aggressive Inline - Like Tony Hawk games but with inline skates.
  • Britney's Dance Beat - A pretty terrible music based game.
  • Dropship: United Peace Force - A combat vehicle sim in which you not only pilot aircraft but drive ground vehicles as well.
  • Endgame - A light gun game that you probably don't want.
  • Freekstyle - Kind of like SSX but with dirt bikes in instead of snowboards.
  • Legion: The Legend of Excalibur - A Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance like action/RPG that unfortunately does not live up to that comparison.
  • Fire Blade - A 3D combat helicopter arcade game.
  • The Mark of Kri - A 3D action adventure game that earns EGM's 'Game of the Month'.
  • MLB Slugfest 20-03 - A baseball game on steroids.
  • MX SuperFly Featuring Ricky Carmichael - A motocross sim with unrealistic physics...but fun to play.
  • Shifters - A not so great action/RPG.
  • Xbox
  • Test Drive - A continuation of the Test Drive series that I started playing on the Commodore 64. This one is comparable to Burnout.
  • Crazy Taxi 3 - A great sequel in a great series.
  • The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - An excellent RPG from the PC world. The Xbox version is excellent...it's just that the PC version is better.
  • GameCube
  • Bomberman Generation - There have been a great many Bomberman games over the Years. This is one of the better ones.
  • Lost Kingdoms - A new and somewhat unique RPG for the GameCube.
  • Game Boy Advance
  • Guilty Gear X: Advance Addition - A decent portable 2D fighter.
  
  
• Tricks - Infinite grenades in Resident Evil, play as Laura Croft in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, several secrets for Jedi Starfighter, increase the size of your stolen-car collection in GTA3, Bonesaw in Spider-Man, strategies and clues for Eternal Darkness, unlock hidden wrestlers and arenas in Wrestlemania X8, plus tons of codes, GameShark codes, and questions answered by the Game Doctor.

_{Back cover of the August 2002 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly}

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Shrek Swamp Kart Speedway (Game Boy Advance)

Shrek Swamp Kart Speedway (Game Boy Advance)

Mario Kart has just about perfected the kart racing genre of video games. So much so that you rarely see competitors these days. Which is a shame really because as good as the Mario Kart series is, it would seem to me that there is plenty of room for some unique variations and even improvements. There have been a number of competitors in the past and while some are better than others, few come close to Mario Kart. Shrek Swamp Kart Speedway is one of those games that doesn't come close. This game was released on the Game Boy Advance in 2002. It's based on a movie license (Shrek) so that's a clue right away that it probably won't be all that great. It tries to stick very close to the Mario Kart formula being a virtual rip-off of Mario Kart: Super Circuit which was also released for the Game Boy Advance and was the first handheld Mario Kart. However, it just doesn't execute very well. The graphics are not as good, the controls are not as good, the music is not as good and the sound effects are not as good. The tracks aren't as well designed either for that matter and there are fewer of them. I suppose that if you are looking for a bad rip-off of Mario Kart with a Shrek license slapped on then this is the game for you. This game has never been re-released and given the Shrek license and being a mediocre game at best I'm sure it never will be. You'll have to track down an original on eBay or elsewhere (which is pretty easy to do) or resort to emulation. Those looking for a good alternative to Mario Kart should probably look elsewhere though. Mario Kart: Super Circuit is a much better choice for the Game Boy Advance, even if you really, really love Shrek. The ad above is from issue number four of Nintendo Power Advance.

Breath of Fire (Super Nintendo, GBA)

Breath of Fire (Super Nintendo, GBA)

Breath of Fire is a role playing game that was developed by Capcom. The English translation and localization was handled by Square Soft and the game was released in North America in 1994. Breath of Fire is a typical example of a Japanese RPG from the 16-bit era. Like most RPGs, Breath of Fire is fantasy based. You play the role of a boy named Ryu who is one of the last of an ancient race of beings that can transform into dragons. He has misplaced his sister and is searching the world for her. Along the way you will fight many battles (thankfully turn based) and meet up with others with similar quests. While originally developed for the SNES, Breath of Fire was also released for the Game Boy Advance in 2001. This version was almost identical to the SNES original. It had some minor graphical improvements but the biggest practical change was that you could save anywhere instead of only at certain places. Breath of Fire received generally positive reviews and ultimately spawned numerous sequels on various systems. In addition to the Game Boy Advance port, Breath of Fire was also re-released via the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in 2016. If you want an original copy, you'll probably have to pay a fairly high price...something close to original retail for a used copy anyway. Emulation, as always, is an option too. The image at the top is the intro to the strategy guide in issue number 3 of Nintendo Power Advance for the Game Boy Advance version of the game. Other images are screen shots from the Super Nintendo version.

Nintendo Power Advance, Issue Number 2

Nintendo Power Advance, Issue Number 2

Super Dodge Ball Advance

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Advertisement for Super Dodge Ball Advance for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance from the first issue of Nintendo Power Advance (2001)

Electronic Gaming Monthly, Number 152, March 2002

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The March 2002 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly

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Advertisement: GameBoy Advance

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Advertisement - Jonny Moseley Mad Trix, Army Men Advance, Army Men: Operation Green, High Heat and Cubix by 3D0 for the Game Boy Advance - From Nintendo Power Advance issue number 3 - http://0df9997f.tinylinks.co

Nintendo Power Advance - Number 1

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Nintendo Power Advance premiere issue