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Dino Crisis, NHL Faceoff 2000, Jet Moto 3 By Chip and Jonathan Carter Tribune Media Services DINO CRISIS, FOR PLAYSTATION � Here's an absolutely compelling blend of the Resident Evil video games and the Jurassic Park movies. It's from the same team that made the RE games, so you know you're going to get stellar graphics, awesome action and a heart-pounding plot. You also know you're going to get Resident Evil in a new setting with new characters. That's what Dino Crisis is, right down to the movement, puzzles, and echoing footsteps. But this time you're whuppin' up on dinosaurs at a secret research facility where something's gone horribly wrong (and that's where the Jurassic Park theme comes in). Seems a renowned scientist, who was thought to have died in an accident three years ago, is actually working in another country at a secret military facility. You're part of a crack rescue squad sent in to bring that scientist home. But when you arrive, things are eerily quiet. Then you spot the guards � or what's left of them. While you're still trying to put two and two together, an unfriendly velociraptor arrives and gives you a fairly large clue as to what you're dealing with. From there on, Dino Crisis is simply a matter of survival. Good luck � you're gonna need it. JONATHAN SAYS : This is an awesome game. It has the same kind of eerie mood and feel that the Resident Evil games have; actually, it has that without the spooky, zombie stuff � it has that with, say, the same level of fear you feel in the Jurassic Park movies. But my favorite part is the way the dinos will toy with a victim before finishing him off ... even you! Incredible. A. CHIP SAYS : Great game, infuriating control � exactly like Resident Evil, as a matter of fact. I've loved the RE games, but the controls have always driven me nuts. Correct me if I'm wrong � but I'm not � but I believe the direction you press on the controller should always lead to the same result. If pushing left when you're facing left makes you go forward, then that's the way it should always be. Don't make "up" lead me forward sometimes, and then "left", and then maybe something else. It's distracting, and if often puts me in a position where I'm not quite prepared to deal with whatever trouble is at hand. And don't make me weave left and right when I run on the diagonal � I want to go straight, dang it, so let me! Other than that, this one's everything an adventure video game should be. B+. OVERALL RATING: A � BUY IT FOR AGES 12 AND UP NHL FACEOFF 2000, FOR PLAYSTATION � Here's the first hockey game of the new season, and it's a winner. Of course you get all the real NHL teams and players, and their arenas. Nothing new there, but adding the ambiance is the fact that 989 secured licenses to those songs you hear time and again during timeouts, tunes like "Respect" and "Shout" and "That's the Way I like It" (don't worry � a press of the button gets you past those snippets if you don't want to hear them). You also get tons and tons of stats, play-by-play that doesn't suck from Mike Emrick and Darren Pang, and a playbook designed by Detroit Red Wings Coach Scotty Bowman, a multiple Stanley Cup winner. There are 150 new player animations, motion-captured from Chicago wing Tony Amonte and Phoenix goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, in addition to the roster MC'd last year by St. Louis wing Scott Young and San Jose keeper Kelly Hrudey. The action's perfectly paced, though the control occasionally lags a split second behind � not often, just enough to throw you off stride every now and then. The keeper control is terrific, whether you're moving to make a save, flipping the puck to a teammate or dropping to your knees to cover up for a faceoff. The physics are pretty good. You don't exactly feel your skates biting into the ice or gliding along, but the checks and slapshots deliver the goods. The graphics are a bit grainy, with less detail than we'd like to see. Still, you know what you're looking at. On the plus side, there's a slight halo around the puck that makes it much easier to track. Sure it sounds distracting, but it's not � it actually helps. JONATHAN SAYS : This is as good a hockey game as I've ever seen. Of course, when it comes to hockey, I prefer the fights to the other on-ice action! And the fights here are terrific � each player even has a special move to access during mix-ups. I'd like to see someone make a combination hockey game/brawler, where everybody fights and can even carry it into the stands! A. CHIP SAYS : Here's solid hockey action from some pros who've done it before. This year they've delivered better than ever. Against the computer, I found I could score at will (but hey, I'm a professional), but this one really shines in the multi-player mode. A. OVERALL RATING: A � BUY IT FOR ALL AGES. JET MOTO 3, FOR PLAYSTATION � Here's the third in a series that goes back to the PlayStation's debut, and it's never been better � or tougher! JM3 brings you 19 new incredible tracks through some of the toughest terrain you've ever seen, including an ancient Incan city, an underground tour through a graveyard, and the floating city in the sky. You also get 11 new hoverbikes, along with old classics like Max, Wild Ride and Vampeera. The graphics have always been terrific in this series, if a little cluttered and crowded � there's a lot going on every screen � and this version's no exception. The physics have always been pretty good too. There's always a real feel of living right on the edge of 200+ miles-per-hour ... and worrying about what might happen if you went over that edge. As far as the bikes and characters, well, it's never seemed to make much difference to us which ones you pick � they're all fast, and they all seem doomed to an early grave! JONATHAN SAYS: I've never really seen the attraction here. The tracks are cool and all, but overall it's a bit too tough, the races are a bit too long, and the action is a bit too ... I don't know, just missing something. This is an OK game in an OK series, but really, we've seen it all before. B-. CHIP SAYS: The attraction is speed, pure and simple. That said, this has never been an easy game, and version three is even tougher. It's all about control � lose it for an instant and you'll find yourself way back in the pack. Fortunately, there's that speed thing we were talking about that'll help you catch back up. B+. OVERALL RATING: B � RENT IT FOR ALL AGES. TIPS AND TRICKS Check out these tricks for WCW Mayhem: For fights outside the ring, enter CBCKRMS as a Pay-Per-View password. To max-out create-a-wrestler attributes, enter MKSPRCWS as a Pay-Per-View password. To unlock all hidden wrestlers, enter PLYHDNGYS as a Pay-Per-View password. To wrestle in the WCW Nitro ring, enter PLYNTRCLSC as a Pay-Per-View password, then choose Nitro at the ring selection screen. Chip & Jonathan Carter are a father/son gaming team who've been twiddling their thumbs professionally since 1990. For more tips, tricks, reviews and news, check us out on-line at http://vgames.webpoint.com/vid/ecol/mainpage . Or e-mail us at [email protected] . Got a question? An inside tip you'd like to share? Write to Chip and Jonathan Carter in care of this newspaper. While they cannot respond individually, they will answer questions of general interest in their column. (C) 1999 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC. Techno file index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA