TeAM YYePG

PREVIEWS, AND
VISCERAL OPINION,
ISSUE 254RADARNEWS,
EVERY MONTH
COMIC RELIEFMarvel’s
ultimate PC-gaming lineup...we hope
>
THIS TIME LAST YEAR, THE WOOL—OR
more accurately Spidey’s mask—was pulled
over our eyes when Activision released a Spider-
Man 2 game for consoles and the PC. The console
version is a GTA-like experience that allows for freeroaming
crime busting throughout Manhattan. The PC
version, however, is a totally different—and far, far
worse—game, without any warning on the box that it is
not the same as the console game. Picture George Wendt
in Spider-Man Underoos and you have the PC game. It
was a classic, inexplicable case of bait and switch. We
called them on it.
So you’ll understand our initial skepticism when we
heard that Activision’s 2005 lineup of Marvel superhero
games is coming to the PC. Activision claims to have
listened to the complaints of PC gamers. One Activision
staffer (who asked to remain anonymous) confesses,
“We learned our lesson last year with Spider-Man 2 [on
the PC], and we aren’t going to do that again!”
Will these games make the PC jump without any
earth-shattering catastrophes? We’ve seen Ultimate
Spider-Man and X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
in action—check out what we think so far on the
following pages. And for even more details on Fantastic
4, read our review on page 67. /Darren Gladstone
FANTASTIC
SUE STORM is the Invisible Woman
POWERS: She’s all about stealth.
She can turn invisible…hence the
clever name.
IN GAME: Thanks to her telekinesis,
she can also create force fields.
JOHNNY STORM is the Human Torch
POWERS: He has the power of flight,
flame attacks, and cheesy acting—and
the ability to set off smoke detectors.
IN GAME: What you’d pretty much
expect—flies and fries the bad guys.
WE’VE SEEN JESSICA
Alba’s disappearing act
and Michael Chiklis’ big
rubber rock suit in
Marvel’s big-screen adaptation
of Fantastic 4, but we
were really nervous when the topic
of a day-and-date release of the game and
movie was mentioned. After all, weren’t these
the exact same circumstances under which
Kids, if you have a
scorching case of
anything, see your doctor!
>> Think Marvel has the superhero market cornered? Think again, because DC Comics and Sony Online Entertainment are teaming up. Our shady spies
14 > COMPUTER GAMING WORLD
REED RICHARDS is Mr. Fantastic
POWERS: He’s the superstretchy,
superfreakin’ brainiac of the group.
IN GAME: Reed can stretch to punch
from afar, squeeze into tight spaces,
and hack in a puzzle minigame.
BEN GRIMM is the Thing
POWERS: He’s got superstrength and
a soft side—somewhere.
IN GAME: He’s a big pile of orange
rocks that shouts, “It’s clobberin’ time!”
You do the math.
�
Reviewed
on Page 67