_{Cover of the December 1997 issue of PSM}

There was the Official PlayStation Magazine and then there was PSM who prided themselves on being "independent". There were others too but I think these were the most popular by far. The December 1997 issue of PSM includes:

Features

• Cover Story: Tomb Raider 2 Strategy - Part One of a complete walk-through of the game. Useful if you are stuck...or to completely spoil the game.


• Cover Story: Girls & Games - What do girls want in a game? Not sure why they seemed to portray this as such a novel thing. Even in the dark ages of 1997 there were plenty of girl gamers.


• The PSM Holiday Special - A holiday buyer's guide with a list of naughty and nice games broken down by category.


• Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back - Review of the 3D platformer Crash Bandicoot 2. PSM gives it 5 stars which is their highest rating.


• Parappa Contest - A trivia contest in which you could win a Sony 200 Disc CD changer, PlayStation varsity jacket, a PlayStation T-shirt, and much more.

_{Table of Contents from the December 1997 issue of PSM}

Monitor

• Feature Story: Diablo Burns Up PlayStation - The classic action/RPG and one of the most popular games of all time comes to the PlayStation.


• Yaroze News - Various web sites with info about the Net Yaroze, the PS development system anyone could buy.


• Gossip - Square to publish its own games; Acclaim reorganizes; New Contra game on the way; development of Mortal Kombat 4 well underway; Crash 3 coming soon...

_{Table of Contents from the December 1997 issue of PSM (continued)}

Reviews

• Crash Bandicoot 2 - See above.


• CART World Series - A mediocre racing game.


• NHL '98 - The hockey game to have...if you wanted a hockey game anyway.


• Nightmare Creatures - A beat-em-up 3D adventure with a horror theme.


• Pandemonium 2 - A psychedelic 3D adventure on rails.


• Test Drive 4 - A continuation of the classic driving game. I played the first one on my Commodore 64.


• Jet Moto 2 - Hover bike racing game.


• Mass Destruction - No complicated missions here. Just blow stuff up with your tank.


• Need for Speed: V-Rally - Another entry in another racing game franchise.


• Cool Boarders 2 - Snowboarding, including half-pipe and downhill.

Previews

• Breath of Fire III - Classic fantasy RPG for the PlayStation.


• Spawn: The Eternal - A 3D adventure game based on the comic book character.


• FF Tactics - A Final Fantasy game emphasizing the battles.


• Auto Destruct - Inspired by Twisted Metal but with more of a story.


• Skull Monkeys - Sequel to the PC game Neverhood. A 2D platformer that uses claymation styled graphics.

_{Back cover of the December 1997 issue of PSM}

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