- Tag Archives PlayStation
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GamePro (February 1997)
Source: GamePro – February 1997
Along with Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro was one of the most popular gaming magazines for a long time. In 1997 is was primarily covering the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn and was also still covering the Super NES, Sega Genesis and Neo Geo. It also had a little PC and arcade coverage. The February 1997 issue includes:
Cover Story
- Killer Instinct Gold – A preview of ths $80 cart for the Nintendo 64 and is basically a combination of Killer Instinct and Killer Instinct 2.
Special Features
- Resident Evil 2: The Horror Continues – The first sequel to the immensely popular survival horror game on the PlayStation.
- Have Gun Game, Will Travel – A somewhat humorous light gun game that combines both first person and side-scrolling sections. It can be played with one or two players.
SWATPro Strategy Section
- Mortal Kombat Trilogy – A strategy guide for Mortal Kombat Trilogy on the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. As the name suggests, this game is really a combination of the first three Mortal Kombat games.
- The Fighter’s Edge: Virtua Fighter 3 – A complete move list for all characters and how to counterattack in Virtual Fighter 3 in the arcade.
- Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey – A strategy guide for this arcade hockey game featuring various secrets and cheats.
- Madden ’97 – A strategy guide for this early Madden game on the PlayStation.
- SWATPro – Codes and various tips for Twisted Metal 2 (PlayStation), Tomb Raider (PlayStation, Saturn), Mortal Kombat Trilogy (Nintendo 64), and lots of other games.
ProReviews
- PC GamePro – Reviews of Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Duke Nukem 3D Plutonium PAK, SkyNET, and MDK.
- Nintendo 64 – Reviews of Killer Instinct Gold, and Cruis’n USA.
- PlayStation – Reviews of Tomb Raider, Dark Forces, Ten Pin Alley, Power Slave, PitBall, Burning Road, Robotron X, Hardcore 4×4, The King of Fighters ’95, Dare Devil Derby, Starwinder, Iron and Blood, Samurai Showdown III, Tempest, Machine Head, and Tunnel B1.
- Saturn – Reviews of Bug Too!, Crusader, Virtua Cop 2, Area 51, Virtual On Cyber Troopers, Batman Forever: The Arcade Game, Spot Goes to Hollywood, and Crime Wave.
- Super NES – Reviews of Street Fighter Alpha 2, Prince of Persia 2, Incantation, and War 3010: The Revolution.
- Genesis – A reviews of Williams Arcade’s Greatest Hits.
- Sports Pages – Reviews of NFL GameDay ’97 (PlayStation), NBA Hang Time (Nintendo 64), Andretti Racing (Saturn), Daytona USA Championship Circuit Edition (Saturn), NBA In The Zone 2 (PlayStation), NFL ’97 (Saturn), NHL ’97 (Saturn), NBA Hangtime (Genesis), NBA Shoot Out ’97 (PlayStation), FIFA Soccer ’97 (Nintendo 64),
- Role-Player’s Realm – Reviews of Dragon Force (PlayStation), Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat (PlayStation), and Persona (PlayStation).
Departments
- Head-2-Head: Letter from the GamePros – Discussion about 3DO’s upcoming new M2 system.
- The Mail – Letters from readers about 3DO, secret codes for Twisted Metal 2, Tecmo’s Deception, and more.
- Art Attack – Reader submitted artwork.
- Buyers Beware – Modifying your PlayStation to play Japanese games, Nintendo 64 controller problems, Xband support, and more.
- ProNews – N64 and PSX game releases delayed, including Shadows of the Empire, Curis’n USA, Tetrisphere, Turok, Mission Impossible, and others; Virtual Boy discontinued; and more.
- NetPro – How to play online games via TEN.
- Overseas Prospects – A look at Sony PlayStation Expo ’96 in Chiba, Japan. Some new games shown include Final Fantasy VII, Puzzle Fighter, Rockman (Mega Man) 8, Ace Combat 2, Soul Edge, and more.
- Sneak Previews – Previews of upcoming games including Spider (PlayStation), City of Lost Children (PlayStation), WCW vs. The World (PlayStation), League of Pain (PlayStation), Carmageddon (PlayStation, DOS), Rush Hour (PlayStation), Peak Performance (PlayStation), and Test Drive: Off-Road (PlayStation DOS, Windows 95).
- Hot at the Arcades – A look at Mace: The Dark Age, a 3D fighting game from Atari Games.
…and more!
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Disney’s Hercules (PlayStation)
Source: Electronic Gaming Monthly – Issue Number 98 – September 1997
From the ad:
“Zeus has answered your prayers. And now, it’s time to take your place among the gods in this hot new PlayStation game console adventure. Explore three worlds of 3-D game play right out of Disney’s Hercules movie – with the original character voices, sound effects and music. Mangle monsters like Hydra and the Cylcops. Terminate the Titans. Save Thebes from a hostile takover. Hey, this game can make you immortal!”
Hercules was published by Virgin Games in 1997 and is based on the Disney animated movie of the same name. This is sort of a hybrid 2D/3D platform game. Whereas the 16-bit generation included endless side-scrolling platform adventure games, 32-bit systems were transitioning to 3D. Games like Tomb Raider and Super Mario 64 popularized this genre but personally, I never really made the transition. Hercules fits in sort of a middle ground but for the most part feels more like a traditional 2-D side-scroller.
If you like 2D and/or 3D adventure games and are a Disney fan, this game isn’t bad. While movie licenses often make terrible games, it isn’t always the case and Disney really did an above average job most of the time. While not the masterpiece that games like Aladdin and Lion King were on 16-bit consoles, it is still reasonably solid.
Hercules does a good job of capturing the look and feel of the movie. Environments are colorful and varied (and of course match the movie), the animation is smooth, and the voice clips are even from the original cast. While the controls are nothing special, the mechanics are straightforward and there isn’t much that should frustrate the average player in that regard. The soundtrack also includes music from the film and this is another thing that Disney has typically always done a good job with. This game is no exception.
While the game overall is pretty good, it isn’t perfect and I would say it was made with the younger player in mind. This makes sense of course being a Disney game based on a Disney movie. The game is very short so experienced players will likely be able to complete it in a matter of hours. Even though the game is pretty good, I don’t think there is a lot of replayability here. Also, while the controls might be easy and straightforward, this is a double-edged sword. There is nothing here to frustrate you but there is also a lot of repetition when it comes to combat.
This game isn’t really my cup of tea but it isn’t a bad game. If you like Hercules, usually like Disney games, or just like this style of game in general, then you should definitely give it a try. In addition to being released on the PlayStation, it was also released on the PC. I was a little surprised to see that this game was available on gog.com. Often, licensed games don’t see these kinds of re-releases. While being more of a retrogamer I would probably prefer the original PlayStation version, but at only $5.99 it’s hard not to recommend this as a cheap and easy way to play the game.
Screen shots above are from the PlayStation version of the game. The ad (top and bottom) is from the September 1997 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly.
