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Sister Princess Regular Edition |
Scans |
Naoto
Tenhiro supplies the pencils, characters and backgrounds
in the Playstation game version of his popular anime creation.
The fun starts on February 13 where the player takes up the role of brother to
twelve sisters and the specter of Valentine's Day provides an
omen for the conclusion of this interactive game. Twelve
animated sisters range the spectrum of femininity - Marie, the
matronly sister with conservative tastes, Card Captor
look-alike Hinako, mechanically inclined Rinrin, and Yotsuba,
the eccentric sleuth of the family. Then we have Haruka who is
the spitting image of a young Sakura Shinguuji and Chikage,
who professes a fascination with the occult and wears a hooded shawl like
a sorceress of sorts.
One sister may be selected as your focal sibling
of choice and the two of you engage in social events, talk,
walk and live the life of brother and sister. However, the
story arc may twist and change depending on the level of
interaction and choices that you make. Sibling comradery
potentially changes into one of amorous intimacy. No,
Jerry Springer did not inspire this questionable turn of
events, it will pan out that your sister isn't really your
blood sister but unrelated (adoption perhaps) and the two of
you become lovers if the "proper" steps are taken.
Score this one under 'off the beaten path of love sims'. |
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Sister
Princess US$65
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Twelve
sisters under one roof equates a sorority but each girl defines
herself in the Sister Princess game with a unique personality,
special interests, and different tastes. The developers of the
game have also given the sisters four possible conclusions which
extends the potential of 48 different game sequences
and possible endings.
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| PS
Sister Princess Limited Edition |
Scans |
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The limited edition of Sister Princess includes a purple desktop alarm clock with a
small colorful image of each sister standing next to each
number. Karen leads at position 1, Mamoru stands at number 3,
Marie's southward at 6, and Chikage strikes a pose a 9. The
rest of the girls represent next to the other numerals and round out the family affair. A
heart shaped button may be slapped to silence the alarm when
it rings and three AAA
batteries are included to power the clock. A handsome
trading card featuring all of the girls in a montage supplies
the second bonus and a silver cellular phone pendant - heart
shaped with wings - completes the limited edition fount of
riches. Pricing is set at US$100.
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| PS2
A-Train 2001 |
Scans |
When masses of folk populate an area, aptly named mass
transportation becomes a requirement for cities to operate
efficiently. The labor force must be shuttled to and fro,
locomotive convenience oils the wheels of commerce, and shoppers always need a ride to the mall.
As the architect of an urban train system and the
city it serves, your
job is to aid in the development of a rising metropolis by
building an efficient and functional railway system to meet
the growing needs of the populace. As construction specialist,
you're charged with the layout of the city as well as the
criss-cross of railroad tracks to best serve your rider-ship
and the flow of trade. Locales catering to large
concentrations of people will overload your fledgeling
railroad if insufficient trains are routed to that area.
Assuage these concerns by planting more tracks and trains to
heavily populated areas. Likewise, stations with few riders should be well suited if a
train chugs in every once in a while. The trick is to
watch city growth and gauge demand; the game helps in this
respect by providing a detailed city map which tracks your construction, which in turn infers population
spikes.
New to this version of the popular A-Train series are
various railroad systems to implement as well as different
classes of
trains including suburban types, semi-fast models, double
deckers, and cargo transports. A primer on train system management helps
beginners cop a feel for setting up new routes, introducing trains
to a system and guiding general development as your web work of
steel tracks balloon and scale to meet the demands of urban sprawl. |
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A-Train
2001 US$68
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According to the
publisher Artdink, A-Train 2001 will
support the PS2 hard disk and Popegg printer when they are
released. The hard drive saves game data (A general game save
in A-Train scarfs up a whopping 5M on your memory card)
including new scenarios, landscapes, and trains downloaded
from Artdink's website.
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| PS2
Extermination |
Scans |
The names of genre pioneers are invoked, invariably, whenever new ventures
even remotely related to the groundbreaker are released. For a
while, any fighting game conjured up comparisons to Street
Fighter and any first person shooter brought about visions of
Castle Wolfenstein. After a spell, the later games of repute
distinguish themselves enough to become the new standard
bearers. In the case of fighting games, Virtua Fighter took it
one dimension beyond and Quake redefined the FPS. In other
parts of the gaming landscape, horror-action moves beyond the
first shuffling steps of Bio-Hazard and ramps higher with the
likes of Onimusha, Devil May Cry and today's little one.
Extermination blows past the standards set
by Bio-Hazard and plays more like a Tomb Raider although one
vexing element from BH remains: Push the main character into a
wall or obstruction and he'll keep going, mindless of the fact
that walls are impermeable. Extermination is purely action
oriented and real time - it won't take your man effort to
climb a crate, he'll scoot up there without abandon and
shooting is second nature. Firing at targets with pinpoint
accuracy is also aided by a gun sight which overwhelms the
screen and focuses in on minute details. This scope function
gives snipers a bead at hanging pods or other small things that you'd
otherwise miss in the general game view. Monster battling commences in
arcade fashion with a lot of running around, gunning,
rotating, and aiming at the creature. All the while, said beast
will attempt to knock you out although some are fairly
stationary when you're attacking them. They'll flail once in a
while to let you know they're still alive and need more hurtin'
to succumb. Extermination plays well enough and takes the
horror game a step higher; it also serves to placate the
pangs for messy, bloody action until Devil May Cry
ships. |
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Extermination
US$68
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As
part of a military recon team, hero Dennis Riley jets around
the world and presses buttons, gets things done. In
Extermination, he and team crash land during a routine flight
to a vacated research facility located in the South Pole.
Dennis and partner Roger Grigman manage to escape the wreckage
and emerge as survivors. They venture forth to determine the
whereabouts of the researchers at the facility, the root of
evil, and to do battle with a battalion of bugs.
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| DC
Magazine GD-Rom Vol. 11 |
Periodical
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NCS is accepting pre-orders by e-mail
request for the next issue of GD-Rom empowered Dreamcast
Magazine, slated for release next week. The issue provides
playable previews of Bounty Hunter Sara, Power Jet
Racing 2001, Sakura Taisen 3, and World Series
Baseball 2001. Cinema previews include Eldorado Gate
Vol. 4, NBA 2K1, and NFL 2K1. Our
translation is probably off but a game titled "World
Fighters" is also listed as a preview.
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The
business of print publications is dicey but it appears DC
Magazine is holding up well under the assault of a Dreamcast
production shutdown and uncertain prospects for the future.
GD-Roms and magazines should continue to guide readers.
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E-mail
NCS
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