Computer Gaming World (March) PDF
Preview Computer Gaming World (March)
YYePG Proudly Presents, Thx For Support! I 1IN T0HE MAG1: CG WF'S LEGErNDARY AeNNUALe HANDS-ON REPORT N DUNGEONS S & DRAGONS ONLINE: I D PC GAMES STORMREACH E WE SAW DUNGEONS— PLAY THE DEMOS! AND DRAGONS! ! The PC Gaming Authority 11CGW00'S LEGEN11DARY ANFFNUAL RREEFEEOR OVER 20 YEARS ISSUE 260 PPCC GGAAMMEESS SHOOTERS PUZZLES PLATFORMERS AND MORE! WE TELL YOU WHERE TO FIND 'EM ALL! FIRST LOOK CRYSIS MORE EXPLOSIVE ACTION FROM THE MAKERS OF FAR CRY! SPECIAL REPORT: MTMTHHOEEOD WFMUDOATRKU LESRDREU’S SO DMLFIE SACMDUINSISGT YGAPYRFOL!IE ARTTYHTSUEETRRH S N LRISNIOPC!G GOL KE3-! PC GAMING PAGE 18> ON THE DISC REVIEWED TM >SETMAPRPMBILIAGR UPW SSTE: RAAH ANAOIRDLTT EM SHR OASW DL:F SSA-!LPILRFIEN T2D EARNE CDME DLOLO OM! 3 TFGYHIOHEAREUAMS R’TEYVDEE 5I SA -ONS ROFET’ SNVA EERR CH 2006ISSUE 260U.S. $9.99 Canada Display Until March 21 R9 DOUBLE AGENT, THE GODFATHER! SEE PAGE 87 MA8.9 CGW.1UP.COM $ YYePG Proudly Presents, Thx For Support! YYePG Proudly Presents, Thx For Support! YYePG Proudly Presents, Thx For Support! TTHHEE FFAATTEE OOFF TTHHEE EENNTTIIRREE AARREE YYOOUU THE FLEETS Do you quickly build a fleet of TIE fighters and swarm the enemy before they gain strength? Or THE ELEMENTS take time and build a more powerful fleet of Star Destroyers? Do you wait until after the ice storm and lose the element of surprise? Or do you take advantage of low visibility and attack when they least expect it? THE ARMIES Do you crush bases under the feet of AT-ATs and risk losing a few? Or do you call down ships from space and bomb them back to the Stone Age? Will you repeat Star Wars® history or change it forever? PlayStar Wars: Empire at War and test your strategic mettle in an epic fight to control the entire Star Wars galaxy. As the Ultimate Galactic Commander, jump right into battle without wasting time on tedious resource gathering. Lead the Rebel Alliance in a quest to overthrow the Empire. Or choose the dark side, and use Darth Vader and the Death Star to crush the Rebellion. Either way, every soldier, battalion and fleet are yours to control. Make Star Wars history. Get your copy today. www.empireatwar.com Game experience may change during online play. YYePG Proudly Presents, Thx For Support! E GGAALLAAXXYY IISS IINN YYOOUURR HHAANNDDSS.. U READY? THE WEAPON Do you protect the Death Star and reveal it at a critical moment? Or do you break out your big gun first and use Rebel planets for target practice? THE CREATURES Do you attack head-on and risk massive casualties? Or flank the enemy, circle around and hope any rancors you meet along the way aren’t hungry? THE TROOPS Do you use guerilla tactics, conserve resources and slowly pick off enemy forces? Or do you go for broke and overwhelm the enemy with a sea of troops? LucasArts and the LucasArts logo are registered trademarks of Lucasfilm Ltd. © 2006 Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. or Lucasfilm Ltd. & ® or TM as indicated. All rights reserved. GameSpy and the “Powered by GameSpy” design are trademarks of GameSpy Industries, Inc. All rights reserved. Main image is a dramatized rendering. Not actual game play. YYePG Proudly Presents, Thx For Support! CONTENTS MARCH 2006 ISSUE #260 30 56 72 18 87 (cid:31)COVER STORY CRYSIS This month, CGW delivers the goods on Far Cry developer Crytek’s next 72 big game. In this exclusive preview, we ask questions such as “Will every Crytek game have ‘Cry’ in the title?” Letters First look 10 We love our readers…especially with some fava 101 Free Games Editorial beans and a nice Chianti. 56 8 Radar 16 Countless hours spent searching for the best and Can it be true? Is CGW forgoing this year’s newest free games got us wondering…why do eagerly awaited Game of the Year awards? Our Roleplayers who learn life lessons from the people pay $50 a pop for crap when they can find stalwart editor-in-chief explains why it might not people they play on PC, a fan-made King’s Quest tribute game, everything that matters in plenty of equally bad—and free—crap online? be so bad. modding, exclusive previews, and more! Reviews 81 25 to Life!WWII Tank Commander!Legion Arena! Try to contain whatever excitement you may be feeling. Better yet, do yourself a favor and just keep playing World of WarCraft instead. 18 26 82 25 to Life 83 MX vs. ATV Unleashed 84 Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy Gothic 3 mod summit 85 Star Chamber: The Harbinger Saga 85 Legion Arena 86 WWII Tank Commander 86 Cuban Missile Crisis: The Aftermath 87 Ticket to Ride Tech 90 Get ready for a geek rumble: This month’s tech section features a CPU throwdown. AMD’s new Athlon 64 FX-60 steps into the ring to defend 44 38 its title against Intel’s latest challenger. Do you want Intel inside? neotokyo Public Access 6>COMPUTER GAMING WORLD YYePG Proudly Presents, Thx For Support! GAME INDEX 82 25 to Life 72 Crysis 86 Cuban Missile Crisis: The Aftermath 30 Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach 84 Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy 18 Gothic 3 85 Legion Arena 36 LOTR: The Battle for Middle-earth II 83 MX vs. ATV Unleashed 44 Neotokyo 30 Neverwinter Nights 2 20 Paradise 22 Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones 28 The Silver Lining 29 The Sims 2: Open for Business 85 Star Chamber: The Harbinger Saga 87 Ticket to Ride 86 WWII Tank Commander 94 56 Tom vs. Bruce 101 Free Games Tom vs. Bruce Scorched Earth 94 98 Tom, Bruce, and editor-in-chief Jeff Green all A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, have a Ticket to Ride. signifying nothing. 97 on the disc THIS MONTH 82 83 ON 1UP.COM 25 to Life MX vs. ATV UNLEASHED 1UPVS2005.1UP.COM The 1UP staff takes a look back at some of the most noteworthy—and infamous— events of 2005. PREY.1UP.COM Pumped for Prey? Get the latest hands-on details on this long-awaited game in 1UP.com’s world-exclusive Prey cover story! WOWBLOGS.1UP.COM 88 90 Got some good World of WarCraft sto- ries to share? Enter this competition for the best WOW blog, and you may win a Ultima V: Lazarus Tech Blizzard-branded iPod Nano! CGW.1UP.COM<7 YYePG Proudly Presents, Thx For Support! STAFF BEDITEORIASL 260T EDITORIAL OF THE YEAR! TM EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor-in-Chief Jeff Green Managing Editor Kristen Salvatore Senior Editor Darren Gladstone When awards get tiring EEddiittoorrRShyaanw nS cEolltiottt Disc Producer Logan Parr DESIGN A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON OUR WAY TO DECID- Art Director Michael Jennings Associate Art Director Sean DallasKidd ing our 2005 Game of the Year awards: We decided CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Loyd Case, Tom Chick, Robert Coffey, Jason Cross, Bruce Geryk not to hand any out. Now, please, don’t spaz. Don’t Founder Russell Sipe ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA GAME GROUP torch our office. And don’t, under any circumstances, President Scott C. McCarthy Vice President of Sales Scott McDaniel interpret this as some kind of “sign” about PC gam- VP of Operations and Business Development Bill Daniher Vice President and Editorial Director John Davison ing, this magazine, or our commitment to either. Group Creative Director Simon Cox COPY DESK The fact is that there were more than enough wor- Copy Chief Tom Edwards Copy Editor Greg Ford thy contenders for awards, as PC gaming enjoyed a Copy Editor Susie Ochs PRODUCTION solid year of awesome, original titles. No, the deci- Senior Production Manager Anne Marie Miguel Production Manager Monica Brent sion had nothing to do with the games themselves, SALES but more with just, well, the Reality of Magazines VSiecnei oPrr eDsiridecetnot ro of fS Aadlevse rSticsointtg M ScaDlaensi eMlarci Yamaguchi Today. That reality being: By the time you read this, you will already have read TERRITORY MANAGERS AND ACCOUNT EXECS GAMING ACCOUNTS roughly 250 other “best of the year” articles, and you probably don’t need to Northwest Regional Sales Director Amy Mishra see another one. I know I sure don’t. ASoccuothuwnet sEtxecutive Brent Martyn Southern California and Arizona TheCGW editors did actually gather, as we do every year, to pick out the Regional Sales Director Leslie C. Gelfand Account Executive Rita Kline awards: one for every game genre, numerous special awards, and an overall Game East AL, AR, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME, MI, MN, of the Year. But after meeting for roughly three hours and picking most of the win- MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY, Canada ners, we realized that, frankly, we were bored already just talking about it, let alone RAcecgoiounnatl ESxaelecsu tMivaen Jaegsesirc aA nRderbeawc kR eedman having to sit down to write it all up. Really, at this point in time, is it of any practical CSeOnNioSrU DMirEecRt oArC oCf OCUonNsTuSmer Advertising Sales Marc Callison West Regional Sales Director Laura Hill use for yet another list to spell out what we all know already? Yeah, big surprise: East Regional Sales Director Bruce Kaplan Account Executive Jessica Reinert Battlefield 2 ruled. So did Guild Wars, F.E.A.R., Call of Duty 2, and the many other Automotive - DetroitRegional Sales Manager Ken Stubblefield Promotions Manager Wendy Donohue games you could easily guess would have made it onto our best-of list. Senior Advertising Coordinator Tipler Ubbelohde Administrative Assistant Lynn Fortunato So why point out the obvious? Why phone in the same article the way lazy Sales Assistant Tiffany Orf 1UP.COM game magazines always do? Answer: We’re not going to. So there. Make your Editor-in-Chief Sam Kennedy Senior Manager of Client Services Alex Jakovleski own list. And then let’s talk about SAeundiioern cMea Dnaegveelro opfm Aedn tO Mpearnaatgioenrs N Aodpaamdo Cna Wreoyngpakdee something more interesting. Advertising Campaign Coordinator LeAnne Hsu (But if you must know, here is TEAM CGW MSReeAnsRieoKarr EcDThir IeDNciGrteocr tRoer yM Laeyd Tdoang PR Manager Jason Freidenfelds my personal top 5 for 2005: Indigo Marketing Coordinator Vanessa Alvarado KRISTEN SALVATORE Marketing Graphic Designer Drew Hathaway Prophecy, Splinter Cell Chaos MANAGING EDITOR To contact Sales & Advertising, please call (415) 547-8000 ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA, INC. Theory, Civilization IV, Call of Duty 2, My favorite games this year: Need for Chairman & CEO Robert F. Callahan Speed: Most Wanted, Indigo Prophecy, President, COO & Interim CFO Bart W. Catalane andF.E.A.R. Happy now?) Chief Financial Officer Mark Moyer and The Managing Editor Says: Obey! Executive Vice President & Chief Content Officer /JEFF GREEN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Oh wait—that last one’s not on the EMxeicchuateivl eJ .V Micilele rPresident, Licensing and Legal Affairs, General PC.... Counsel & Secretary Gregory Barton Now Playing: Prince of Persia: The Two PRESIDENTS N1UoPw.c Polmay Binlogg: :S cpgliwntjeerf fC.1eUllP .Cchoamos Theory, Ticket to Ride T1hUrPo.cnoems, wBliothg :y koruirs tmeninsds.1UP.com SSJaclosoaotntn C SY.eo MyumncgoC ua(Crr to(hEnyns tu(eGmrpaermris eTee GGchrroo/Suupmp))all Business Group) SENIOR VICE PRESIDENTS Jasmine Alexander (Technology & Sales Operations) Kenneth Beach (Corporate Sales) Jim Louderback (Editorial Director, Consumer/Small Business Group) DARREN GLADSTONE RYAN SCOTT Angelo Mandarano (Sales and Marketing, Internet) SENIOR EDITOR (FEATURES) EDITOR (REVIEWS) MEldarat hVaa lSec (hRwesaeratrzc h(C/Musatrokmet SInotleultliigoennsc Ge r&ou Cpo)rporate Marketing) What a great year for truly innova- To no one’s surprise, my 2005 PC game Michael Vizard (Editorial Director, Enterprise Group) tive games! My top five: Battlefield of the year is Guild Wars. But I’ve also VIrIaC BEe PckReEr S(IInDteErnNeTt)S 2, Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood, been spending an awful lot of time lately Aiden Colie (CTO, Ziff Davis Internet) Darwinia, F.E.A.R., and Indigo Prophecy. on fan-run Ultima Online shards. And Civ BJoilhl nD aDnaihviesro (nO p(Esd aitnodria Bl Dusiriencetsosr ,D Geavmeloep Gmroeunpt,) Game Group) Nthoew u lPtilmayaitneg f:r eWeiwtha Freir,e tfhoex fiono slearch of INVo iws gPelattyiningg a: wCfivuillilzya atidond iIcVt,inTigc,k teoto t.o Ride, SABaaarrraory nD HGeaCorlardirgbloae nr(Cg (I on(Mntesarurnmkeetet) rE Mxpaerkrtest)ing & Database Management) 1UP.com Blog: cgw_gizmo.1UP.com Ultima Online (www.uogamers.com) KMriicshtiane Hl Korlmieegse r( In(Mtearrnkaettio Enxapl eLrictse)nsing) 1UP.com Blog: cgw-ryan.1UP.com Rick Lehrbaum (Internet) Carlos Lugo (Production) Eric Lundquist (Editor-in-Chief, eWEEK) Chris Maginn (Internet) Jim McCabe (PC Magazine) SHAWN ELLIOTT LOGAN PARR Scott McDaniel (Sales, Game Group) EDITOR (PREVIEWS) DISC PRODUCER PElaleunl OP’eRaerillmlya (nE vEednitt oMr-ainrk-Cethiniegf ,G CrIoOu pIn)sight) Top five faves of ’05, in no particular My favorite games of ’05 are: Gun, Call Beth Repeta (Human Resources) Stephen Sutton (Audience Development, Consumer/Small Business) order: Battlefield 2, Brothers in Arms: of Duty 2, and Indigo Prophecy. Stephen Veith (Enterprise Group Publishing Director) Road to Hill 30, F.E.A.R., Call of Duty 2, Now Playing: Condemned: Criminal MRaonndicya Z Vainlae ((ECvoernpto Mraaterk Cetoinmgm Gurnoiucpa)tions) andGuild Wars. Origins and Prince of Persia: The Two IT West Coast, Senior Technical Analyst Bill Schmelzer Now Playing:SWAT 4 Thrones Desktop Administrator Nick Kalister 1UP.com Blog: egmshawn.1UP.com 1UP.com Blog: logans_run.1UP.com Contact anyone on this masthead via e-mail using [email protected] PERMISSIONS Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. For permission to reuse material in this publica- tion (or on this website) or to use our logo, e-mail [email protected]. For reprints, contact FosteReprints at 866-879-9144. SUBSCRIPTIONS For subscription service questions, address changes, or to order, please contact us MICHAEL JENNINGS SEAN DALLASKIDD at: Web: http://service.computergamingworld.com (for customer service) or http:// subscribe.computergamingworld.com (to order); Phone: U.S. and Canada (800) 827- ART DIRECTOR ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR 4450 or (850) 682-7624, elsewhere (303) 604-7445; Mail: Computer Gaming World, P.O. Box 57167, Boulder CO 80322-7167 (please include your mailing label with any F.E.A.R. and City of Villains each took a Yeah, I like games—got a problem with caondrr eCsapnoanddae n(8c5e0 a) s6 8it 3c-o4n0t9a4in,s e ilnsfeowrmhearteio (n3 0th3a) t6 w04ill- e0x5p1e8d; iEte- mpraoilc (epslesainsge) ;t yFpaex : yUo.uSr . few weekends off my life, so in addition that? My 2005 favorites: City of Villains, fSuull bnsacmripet iaonnds :t hTeh ea dodnree-syse aart swuhbiscchr iypotiuo ns urabtsec risib $e1): 9s.u9b7h oerlp [email protected] wutitehr gCaDm-iRngO.Mco. m. to being my favorite games of ’05, they Madden NFL 06, Stubbs the Zombie, Cissoumep mutaeyr cGoaumnitn ags W a osruldb sisc rpiputbiolisnh iesdsu me,o an tcholym, wbiinthe do cocr aesxiopnaanld eexdc eispstuioen ms: aAy scpoeucnita l probably also qualify as some kind of anything with scorpions. athse t wUo.S s.,u abdsdc r$ip1ti6o np eisrs yueeasr, faonr ds uthrfearcee m maayi l,s oUm.Se.t ifmunedss b oen alyn. Pelxetaras eis asluloew. O4u-6ts iwdee eks techno substance abuse. Either way, Now Playing: City of Villains bonef oarne erxeicsetiinvgin gsu ybosucrr ifpirtsiot nis.s Buaec aks I swseulel sa:s Bfoarc akn isys suuebss acrreip $tio8n e cahcahn ing etsh eto U t.aSk.e, $p1la0c e they were serious fun. 1UP.com Blog: The_dallaskidd.1UP.com etoa cCho emlspeuwtehre Grea (msuinbgje Wcto trold a. vMaialailb yiloituy)r. rPerqeupeasytms eton:t Bisa rcekq Iusisreude.s ,M Zaifkf eD cahveisc Mkse pdaiay aInbcle., Now Playing:Indigo Prophecy Po.uOr .c Buostxo 5m3e1r3s 1a,v Baiolaubldlee rt,o C mOa i8le0r3s2 o2f- g3o1o3d1s. Manadili nsge rlvisictse:s W thea st ommaeyt iimnteesre msta ykoeu l.i sItf sy oouf 1UP.com Blog: cgw_jennings.1UP.com dP.oO n. oBto wx is5h7 1to6 7re, cBeoivueld tehre, iCr Om a8il0in3g2s2, -p7l1e6a7se. write to us at: Computer Gaming World, 8>COMPUTER GAMING WORLD YYePG Proudly Presents, Thx For Support! YYePG Proudly Presents, Thx For Support!
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