PSM (February 1998)

darth-azrael (67)in #retrogaming • last month

_{Cover of the February 1998 issue of PSM}

I don't know if it was in fact the most popular PlayStation magazine but PSM (short for PlayStation Monthly) always seemed to be. The February 1998 issue includes:

Features

Cover Story: Massive Resident Evil 2 Preview! - Survival horror was all the rage at the time so the upcoming Resident Evil 2 was a pretty big deal. This was a last minute preview before the game was released.

What Makes Good Gameplay? - This covers everything from innovation to character design to game length to difficulty level and much more.

Alundra: The Ultimate Secrets Guide - Getting to secret places, finding secret items and how to use them.

Final Fantasy Tactics: Tips and Items - Some tips on doing well in Final Fantasy Tactics as well as descriptions and abilities of all of the character classes and all of the items.

Star Wars: The Ultimate Secrets Guide - This covers Masters of Teras Kasi. Not the best fighting game in the world but this strategy guide will teach you all of the moves and combos for each character.

_{Table of Contents from the February 1998 issue of PSM}

_{Table of Contents from the February 1998 issue of PSM (continued)}

Main Menu

Monitor - The latest PlayStation News: Metal Gear Solid gets U.S. release date; new 3D Contra game on the way; Eidos shows off Ninja; Sony exceeds sales goals (one million PlayStations sold in November 1997 alone); Alien: Resurrection game coming soon; info about the Net Yaroze Development system and how to get one; Tekken 3 coming soon; Metal Slug coming soon; Sony considers renaming Gran Turismo for U.S. market (but that didn't happen); Square's deal with Sony expires; Bushido Blade 2 in the works; Namco working on Soul Edge 2; some info on the upcoming Tenchu; other upcoming releases include Einhander, 3-D Fighter Maker, Bust A Move, Gundam the Battle Master 2, and more.

Reviews

Alundra - A pretty good action RPG from Working Designs.
Micro Machines V3 - The latest iteration of Micro Machines gets an ok review here.
FIFA '98 - Is it soccer or football?
Auto Destruct - Compared in this review to a city-based Spy Hunter.
Nagano Winter Olympics '98 - Winter Games on the Commodore 64 is still my favorite Olympics themed game.
One - A 3rd person run and gun game reminiscent of an action movie.
Tennis Arena - A mediocre tennis game.
Lode Runner - An update of the classic that doesn't get a very good review here.
Reel Fishing - I was never a fan of video game fishing.
NBA In The Zone '98 - An OK basketball game that might tide over fans who were waiting for something better.

Previews - Previews of upcoming games, including: Bloody Roar, Gex 2, Breath of Fire III, Tekken 3, Rascal, Tonba, Newman-Hass Racing, Master of Monsters, Mega Man Neo, Power Boat Racing, Need for Speed 3, Diablo, Riven and NBA Shootout '98.

Code Junkies - Codes to get infinite lives in Frogger, various easter eggs in NCAA GameBreaker '98, a first person view in Armored Core, invincibility and level select in Fighting Force, plus tons more codes for G Police, Pandemonium 2, MK Mythologies - Sub-Zero, NHL '98, Tomb Raider 2, Courier Crisis, Resident Evil: Director's Cut, NHL FaceOff' 98, Nuclear Strike, Grand Tour Racing, Colony Wars, Fantastic Four, Bravo Air Race, Castlevania X, Moto Racer, Dragon Ball GT, and more plus a bunch of Game Shark codes too.