Official US PlayStation Magazine 1

"The first and one of the best"

Every month The Official US Playstation Magazine releases a demo disk with every issiue of its magazine. With this review I will be reviewing the very first edition of the magazine.

Intelligent Qube

Intelligent Qube is one of the hardest to find as well as master puzzle games out for Playstation. In order to win you must clear an endless series of rows filled with blocks by blowing them up. Although it may seem simple, there is quite a bit of strategy involed an a huge difficulty level. While you can play the final version of game for over an hour without loosing, the demo disk is not quite as long or as tedious as the as final verson of the game. Looking at the cubes and the characters, it is easy to see that the graphics do not push the limits of the Playstation, but still hold there own. Any fan of puzzle stragegy games should enjoy Intelligent Qube.

PaRappapa the Rapper

PaRappapa the Rapper is without a doubt one of the most oddly different games that has ever been introduced to the video game industry. Your whole goal is to make rapping songs by pressing a series of buttons making your dog protagonist dance and sing. Along with the incredible sound is some of the most innovative controls in a game ever. Definatly one of the more fun games for the Playstation.

Ace Combat 2

Ace Combat 2, although it does not have an official seguel, is recognised as being the sequel to the somewhat popular Air Combat flight simulator game. If it were not for Ace Combat 2, then flight simulators would be all but extinct on just about any gaming console.

One of the best things about Ace Combat 2 is the immaculate controls, and the insane nubmer of airplanes for you to use. The graphics were top of the line when they came out, but slowly, as time went on, they became worse and worse. There are some downfalls to the sounds of Ace Combat 2. With no real music, many players can get bored of the game quickly and go on to the next game. But for those who stay through it, they will find a really great game.

I definatly recomend that everybody at least plays this game. Even if you are not a fan of the flight simulator genre, there is still quite a bit of enjoyment to be found in this old game.

Fighting Force

As one of the first fighting games to come out on the Playstation that is not titled Tekken, Fighting Force had a bit of a task to come out with a good game. They had come out successful, filling the game with plenty of characters and even more levels that are filled with an almost unlimited supply of weapons for you to use against your opponent.

All around the gameplay was very well done and put nicely together, and although not quite as good as those of the King of Fighters series, they are still some of the better ones in the game. With the great game play had to come good controls, and that is what was not done so greatly in Fighting Force. They are not bad controls in any way, but they are not great ones in that respect either. Unfortunatly the controls were the main downfall for this game.

If asked to recomend Fighting Force to a fan of the genre, I would do it in a second. However, if I was asked that for someone who really does not care too much for the genre, then I would tell them to pass. There is nothing spectacular about Fighting Force, and not too much to be missed.

Tomb Raider 2

The second in what has become one of the most popular video game series of all time poked its head onto the Playstation over 4 years ago, and continued in the tradition of selling millions upon millions of copies that the first in the series started. Overall, Tomb Raider 2 has been the most popular in the series of five.

The first Tomb Raider game set up the good controls and great adventure, but it was Tomb Raider 2 that perfected both controls and graphics. It was also in Tomb Raider 2 that our star, Lara Croft, began to take ''form'' as a character. There is not too much that was wrong with it when it came out, but as time has passed, so has some of the great features, like the graphics and controls. But they are by no mean bad, in fact, they are quite good still.

Any fan of adventure games should enjoy this game, and there are pretty many people that have not liked adventure games, still enjoyed Tomb Raider 2. Definatly a must have for most, if not all Playstation owners.

NFL Gameday 98

NFL Gameday 98 was the third in the Gameday series, and the game that was first able to surpass the gaint of football games known simply as Madden. Selling over a million copies in the first few months, it was no wonder why there was so much excitment surrounding this game.

There was the first sign of perfection when you got to play the game. Everything from the graphics to the smooth gameplay made this game the first football game that every person needed to have. With so many options and new features, GameDay 98 was almost a whole new series by itself. GameDay 98 was also the first football game to offer cheats that change just about every aspect of the game to to player.

GameDay 98 is a great game that no sports fan should do without, even now almost four years later, NFL GameDay 98 is still a fun game to play by yourself or with a few of your friends. I would definatly recomend this game to any sports game fan.

Overall, the first showing for the Official US Playstation Magazine was one of the best ones out there. There is a wide array of great games, and absolutly no games that are bad. If you have this game stored somewhere within your vault of games, I would definatly recomend that you pick it up and play it, you might just find out how a perfect demo disk is compiled.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/28/01, Updated 12/28/01