Take a Nostalgic Trip Through the Pages of a Gaming Magazine From 2005

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John Summers • Contributor
Mar 5, 2025 8:00 PM EST

2005—what a time to be alive! Flipping through this Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine from 2005 is like stepping into a time machine and landing in one of gaming's golden eras. Almost every game featured in this 203-page beast is a certified classic, but I've trimmed it down to about half for the sake of your scrolling sanity.

One of the best parts? Seeing all the wild speculation about the so-called "next-gen" consoles—the PS3, Xbox 360, and the Nintendo Wii. The infamous boomerang design for the PS3 controller is proudly plastered on the cover like it wasn't one of the worst controller concepts ever conceived. Hindsight truly is hilarious.

And the games? Absolute bangers. We're talking Fable, Castlevania, Perfect Dark Zero, Oblivion, Sniper Elite, The Matrix: Path of Neo, Soul Calibur 3, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, and so many more. There's even an ad for the Doom RPG on mobile phones—somehow, against all odds, a legitimately fun game. I remember sinking hours into it back in the day.

So sit back, enjoy this trip down memory lane, and try not to think too hard about the fact that this was 20 years ago. (TWENTY!!!)

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  • 01
    PLUS: WE'RE GIVING AWAY 10 XBOX 360 DREAM PACKAGES! INCLUDES XBOX 360, HARD DRIVE, GAMES, 4 CONTROLLERS, 4 HEADSETS, REMOTE, FACEPLATES,+TONS MORE! SEE PAGE 194 ELECTRONIC GAMING 1/0 POWER ame Magazine MONTHLY www.1UP.COM SPECIAL ISSUE: NEXT-GEN UPDATES! SPECIAL ISSUE: NEXT-GEN UPDATES! SPECIAL ISSUE: NEX REVOLUTION XBOX 360 PS3 REVEA CONTROLLER REVEALED! ALL YOUR REMAINING INCLUDING METAL GEAR SOLID AND IT'S...DIFFERENT... QUESTIONS ANSWERED! SPECIAL ISSUE: NEXT-GEN UPDATES! SPECIAL ISSUE: NEXT
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  • 02
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  • 03
    When Love Dies, Vengeance Fills the Void. Wield the powerful skills of Devil Forgery as you return to the ruins of Dracula's castle in your quest for vengeance? against those who took the life of your true love. astlevania. Curse of Darkness" Summon Innocent Devils to do your bidding Collect Evolution Crystals to enhance your Innocent Devils Level up by destroying the creatures of the night Acquire and create powerful new weapons Explore the biggest 3D Castlevania world yet Experience a darker s
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  • 04
    contents Issue 198 december 2005 Tales of Legendia Shadow Hearts: From the New World Phantasy Star Universe EDITORIAL Big things are happening First of Nintendo finally LETTERS 20 We love to hear from all of you. W really do Thanks for PRESS START The latest news, previews, and features from the game grapevine 34 AFTERTHOUGHTS SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS 50 51 PR 54 QUAKE series DIRECTOR 78 LOADED AND LOCKED There THE MATRIX Does this rabbit beer everything GAME OVER Oh, get over yourself already 186
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  • 05
    GET A TASTE OF NO LOAD TIMES freedom to ride FOREVER and TRICKS-all in game customize your LOOK, DECK ROMANCE BOY PUNK TEEN Crude Humor Language ESRB CONTENT RATING www.s. ONLINE PlayStation 2 HOLLYWOOD unlimited SKATING in the vast WASTELAND of SKATE culture- L.A. bust NEW! mind-blowing tricks choose BOARD or BIKE TONY HAWK'S AMERICAN WASTELAND LIVE x00x XBOX 360. NEMERNOT ACTIVISION
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  • 06
    MATURE M CONTENT RATING Jump in. 17+ 2020. CORPORATIONS CONTROL EVERYTHING. WITH ONE EXCEPTION. 2417 Microsoft XBOX game studios LIVE perfectdarkzero.com PERFECT DARK ZERO XBOX 360
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    +3817 B37 S +7912 1021 Š +32 331- 360 LOCK AND LOAD... DOOM RPG IS HERE. "Superbly Playable" A Fresh Experience For Mobile Hugely Recommended IGN RATING 9.0/10 IGN.COM AWARD DODM RPG "You Must Experience This Game" WG WORLD RATING 5/5 JAMDAT 2005 Star Al Rights Reserved 1963 2005 Stare Published by JAMCAT be under longe on Steer DOWNLOAD TODAY FROM THE GAMES MENU ON YOUR PHONE OR FROM WWW.JAMDAT.COM AVAILABLE ON THESE AND OTHER WIRELESS CARRIERS. X cingular raising the barl Sprint T-Mobile- veri
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  • 08
    press start gaming news, previews, hidden cheese wedges, and other stuff O NEXT-GEN UPDATE REVOLUTION REMOTE CONTROLLER Forget everything you know about videogame controllers and brace yourself for Nintendo's Revolution-ary new design N intendo is after your mom. And your sister. And maybe your grandpa, t That's the message behind the radically "There are people who would never touch unique contrer for the company's upcoma [game controller], but anyone would Revolution console, a c -handed, wire
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  • 09
    press start NEXT-GEN UPDATE REVOLUTION (CONT.) THE REVOLUTION CONTROLLER: PIECE BY PIECE B The B trigger on the bottom of the controller falls under Select a your console and the for long POWER enough SELECT HOME Xbox 360 the a Console, you can see how A rumble feature this would come in handy The Revolution can handle Nintendo As with the GameCube contr your Bunb The battery compartment controller prototype we tried out used standard batteries (which according to Nintends about as long as they
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  • 10
    press start NEXT-GEN UPDATE VOLUTION (CONT.) HOW WILL IT BE USED? In the Official Games 10 We know these games are coming, but how they'll use the controller is anyone's guess. So here's ours: anywhere to look around. You didn't even need to lock on to enemies-just aim at them and fire. Prime 3 is sure t this setup at take i Super Smash Bros. Assuming the gameplay stays 20 game changes dramatically to fit the controller Super Mario Bros Nintendo is try Revolution launch, and designed entirely Th
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  • 11
    -MAXIM Tag Anytime & Anywhere STMZ FREE "...DOING FOR GRAFFITI WHAT TONY HAWK DID FOR SKATEBOARDING." -Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Preview, Death-Defying Urban Acrobatics June 2005 getting up CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE I MAC PRESENTS GETTING UP CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE Wanded by MARC ECKO Developed by COLLECTIVE STUDIOS Music action by MARC ECKO and SEAN DOY COMBS Music by RJ02 THE RZA NOTORIOUS BIG TALIB KWELI BAKIM SERJSYSTEM OF A DOWN PHAROAHE MUNCH TALIB KWELI THANE ADAM WEST BRITTANY MUR
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  • 12
    press start AFTERTHOUGHTS: SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS Giant-sized insights on Sony's art-house hit A fter impressing critics, game designers, and a dedicated Computer Entertainment's Fit Deda s directing his latest Once a EGM: Before you even began working on Shadow, you showed a teaser trailer for the pro- ject, which was called "Nico" at the time. In that video, multiple char- acters on i horseback bat- tled a giant creature. the game initially seems somewhat tra- Was multiplayer game- play ever c
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  • 13
    press start HICK Kame ExemePUS I'm an ice spear hurling. punch-throwing. boulder heaving. fire-spewing warrior. TAKE THIS JOB: THE MONTH SCOTT CAMPBELL ART DIRECTOR FOR DOUBLE FINE PRODUCTIONS ART DIRECTOR Our monthly look at the jobs you want- with tips from the guys who have them CAMPBELL'S DETAILS Experience: Nine years in the industry Notable games: Lots of Lucas Learning es-odar's Challenge (MPC) Star Wars Math Jabba's Game Galaxy (Mac/PC-and Psychonauts P52) Art director job data Salary ra
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  • 14
    DICTATE POLICY THAT WILL HAVE THE ENTIRE U.S. SEEING RED. OVERHAULED INTERFACE: RTS style, intuitive interface allows you to manipulate units and cities with greater control and faster speed. ⚫ 3D LIVING WORLD: Detailed environment where animals roam and smoke billows from small huts, set in a vibrant and colorful world. NEW FEATURES: Introducing religion, Holy Cities, missionaries, Great People, variable scale games and loads of new civic options: Imagine a communist regime with freedom of the
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  • 15
    press start SELECT START SONY NEXT-GEN UPDATE PLAYSTATION 3 WHAT DO YOU SEE? CHILDREN? A PLAYGROUND? A PARK? I SEE MY COMMUNITY MY COUNTRY MY FUTURE AND IT'S ALL WORTH FIGHTING FOR. GEARING UP FOR BATTLE Solid Snake leads PlayStation 3 into the next-gen war 00 રd હું કામ કહ્રહ કરવા શું ગભ માં અક ભાજી વધુ વqાયનું Konami's PS3-exclusive A caused pundits to w Metal Gear Sold & expected 2006 the Patriots quickly established the Sony execs assuaged fears by claiming that still on track Information on
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  • 16
    press start NEXT-GEN UPDATE (CONT.) STATION Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots clusive MGS4 Nowhere to Hide The trailer takes place urban landscape bombed-out Enemy units patrol the streets hunting for cannon fodder previously hide i more about reacting to the constantly shifting beeld around Snake th inftrating an enemy stronghold Sick and Tired Remember how much fun you didn't have while applying sutures, cleaning wounds, and digging MGS37 Sadly Suke's sicker, in t gotten injecting a mys
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  • 18
    press start ONLINE THIS MONTH WHAT'S UP AT UP Game chatter in the blogosphere L ooking for a comprehensive set of every gaming-re blog you need to read regular basis? Ha-that's a good These web journals app se rapidly nowadays, it's pretty much A couple rise right to the top- beyond that, you start getting the fa blogs, the console-specific blogs, they culture blogs, the humor bigs, the before you know erable from the Webs For this edition of EGM Online, we Jennifer Ta of this year's surprise hi
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  • 19
    press start PS3/XB/GC SHOW AND TELL: Publisher Develo TRUE CRIME: NEW YORK CITY Cleaning up the city that never sleeps N ew York City-it's arguably the greatest world. It's got culture (Broadway), historical landmarks (Statue of Liberty), and quite the articulate community ( you" is often substituted for "helle"), no surprise that Activision chose the Big Apple as the backdrop for the second installment in its driving/shooting/fighting series True Crime. The East Coast also means Marcus Reed, a
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  • 20
    press start Xbox 360 HANDS-ON PREVIEW QUAKE 4 Fighting the good fight I joreeps p Publisher Action tured brother after t writing, we Dan "Shoe M 125 >>PORTABLE FANTASIES—SQUARE ENIX ANNOUNCED THAT NEXT YEAR IT WILL RELEASE A GRAPHICALLY UPGRADED VERSION OF FINAL Old School Quake 4 comes packed with one impressive bonus feature a full version of first-person-shooting classic Quake, redone and fully optimized for the Xbox 360 (PC screen shown above). This face- ited oldie will feature and system m
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  • 21
    press start NEXT-GEN UPDATE XBOX 360 STEALTH'S GOT GAME THE FIRST EVER MOVIE & VIDEO GAME COMBINATION! WATCH THE MOVIE. PLAY THE GAME. UND VIDEO-PSP LUCAS Jup FOXX STEALTH FAST-FORWARD We look ahead to the next round of big Xbox 360 games (and answer any lingering questions you may have before buying Microsoft's upcoming console) D on't dare tell Microsoft that patience is a virtue Instead of waiting until 2006 to launch a console like hardware competitors crew will l fest out of the next-gen ga
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  • 22
    Winner, Best RPG of E3 Game Critics Award, GameSpot, IGN, GameSpr Xbox Evolved, Console Gold, Daily Game, Games Domain "Oblivion is, at this time, the best-looking game I have ever seen in my life." Xbox.com "The biggest title for the Xbox 360, and the one I'm most looking forward to." -GamePro Magazine "One look at Oblivion will shatter your conceptions about what is possible in a video game." Visit www.esrb.org RP deding information The RPG for the Next Generation PC "Bethesda BETHESDA XBOX 36
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  • 23
    EXPERIENCE THE BRUTAL ITY THAT WAS THE WEST GUN "A HIGH LEVEL OF ENTERTAINMENT FROM START TO FINISH" -GAMEPRO EPIC STORYLINE MATURE M Blood and Gore Intense Violence Sexual Themes Strong Languag Use of Alcohol ESRB CONTENT RATING www. MASSIVE STREAMING WORLD DIVERSE ACTION PACKED MISSIONS COMBAT ON HORSEBACK www.GUNTHEGAME.com PC G PlayStation.2 XBOX 360 NEVERSOFT ACTIVISION. activision.com
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  • 24
    TEEN ONE MAN'S chacer chees CREATION IS ANOTHER'S DEMISE. Explore the weld in Dances of the S le classic Sng spa Create rancheracter and be after SOLUCALIBUR PlayStation 2 namco soulcalibur3.namco.com
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  • 25
    IVE WAR INFANTRY SOLDIER SNIPER MACHINE GUNNER MEDIC TANK COMMANDER SPECIAL OPS OPERATION Fi LASHPOINT ELITE. Authentic US and Soviet weapons 40 authentic land, air and sea vehicles including A Cobra Helicopter and MIAI Abrams tank "ONE OF THE FINEST WAR GAMES OF ALL TIME."-Xbox World Visit www.esrb.org RPedring XBOX xeox LIVE ONLY ON XBOX Total military realism- from grunt, to US commander, drive tanks troopcarriers, plot military helicopters or take aim as a sniper 2 huge campaigns 60+ mission
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  • 26
    press start AFTERTHOUGHTS: WHAT'S PLAYING IN THE COMPUTER WE KATAMARI GAMING Talking to the man who's got his eye on the ball C alling the Katamari series 29. WORLD Despite our biter, longstanding hatred things elvish (yes, this includes Spock and Legolas) Dungeon Siege II franchise A bling blocks, and why he doesn't play videogames (even his own). EGM: What made you think, "Hey, I'd like to make a game about rolling a bal ball?" And then, "Hey, P I'll make a second game about rolling a ball way
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  • 27
    press start PS3/XB PREVIEW: EXCLUSIVE SCREENS THE MATRIX: PATH OF NEO He knows kung fu H did an inverted acrobatic flip, e you, landed gracefully on his feet, then proceeded to make Silly Putty punches. As the game's t Whoa himselt Neo, aka ou're eventually tasked with humankind with your super- powers-but first, you must escape your parts without tripping over the most important Mabi movie blogy fo which a clueless office worker capture by t firefights whenever good met evil com puter programs
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  • 28
    grand theft auto Liberty City Stories "IT'S THE KILLER APP WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR" -PSM IN STORES NOW FOR PSP™ (PLAYSTATION PORTABLE) SYSTEM MATURE M Strong Language SSC PSP PlayStation Portable R₁₂
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  • 29
    press start COUNTDOWN TO ISSUE 200 200 THE TOP 10 VIDEOGAME 5 here! On the horizon! De thing that biggest ball of twine? That's GM's we're almost gotta have character in t spirit, here are c videogame characters c Lara Croft The icon of "mature" PlayStation e first Tomb Raider adventure, proved you could t quality platforming experience without golden whatevers troduced a frightening amount of fiction a Best Game Tomb Raider 2 (PS1) Most Embarrassing Moment The last 20 so Tomb Raider games 10 7
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  • 30
    ADVERTISEMENT LOOK INTO THE EYES OF THE BEAST THINK YOU know KONG? THINK AGAIN. BREATHING HEAVILY, YOU CROUCH IN A DENSE THICKET OF JUNGLE VINES. Twenty yards away, a hungry V-Rex rages through the trees, hunting for his dinner. Fear pierces your gut as you realize your trusty weapon is empty. Suddenly, an impossibly huge ape bodyslams the U-Rex, sending it sprawling. And a titanic struggle erupts before your eyes. Welcome to Skull Island - and the unforgettable world of Peter Jackson's King Kon
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  • 31
    Blood Language Sexual Themes Violence GET READY FOR THE FIGHT OF YOUR LIFE. ONLINE BROADBAND ONLY POWERED BY gamespy JAKKS Paco And Gray and the YOKES SMACKHAW DOWN 2006 www.SvR2006.com THO www.thq.com
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  • 32
    ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT GET N THE RING IT'S TIME TO SEPARATE THE SMACK RAW DOWN 2006 MEN FROM THE JABRONIS TEEN Available on PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and PSP (PlayStation Portable) system. T க ONLINE BROADBAND ONLY THO www.thq.com New high-resolution textures and motion-capture technology make WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 the best and most realistic-looking wrestling game ever. More than 100 match types. including a brand-new Buried Alive brawl, are included and a roster jam
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  • 33
    preview feature role-playing RPG CON MODERN ERA WILD ARMS 4 PS2 Xseed January 2006 to evolve far beyond its initial birth as a Final Fantasy V done. "I find direct sequels to be more modem feeling" 10-gallon hats and buck brancos, the developers also build the game's battle system and exploration game Nakazawa " fact, you might even say the hard for RPG players to handle, though GO EVEN DEEPER ON THE PS2 IN 2006 Attack Kingdom Hearts II PS2 Square Enix Spring 2006 You'll have to wait a few more
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  • 34
    review crew we'll say it agen too many games THE REVIEW CREW Eighty- year Good thing th Peet's Coffee downstairs Revolution contr GAME DIRECTORY 137 Karake Revol 138 LA Rush 138 The Sims 2 140 The Warriors volution Party 142 Castlevania: Curse of Darkness 143 Crash Tag Team Racing 144 Battlefield 2 Mode Combat 146 The League 148 Tony Hawk's American Wasteland PlayStation 2 148 Ratchet Deadlocked 150 SOCOM 3 US Navy SEALS 154 Dragon Quest V Journey of the Cursed King 156 Guitar Hero 156 Jak X Com
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  • 35
    review crew mulbplatform 148 COMBO MATH Real World Education Game Design & Development Bachelor of Science Degree Program 4 247 ■PS2/XB STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT II This review is a 100% Star Wars quote-free zone SHOE: The droids aren't too thrilled. I just turned ders, tanks, or spaceships, Everything aks and bales are a bigger deal to me. Though the on- a dozen e blasters, thermal detonators, a lightsaber swing a their Häiffed Destroyer v dodging And cheap plastic toys rather t A New Hope DEMIAN c
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  • 36
    pentium ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT To ext full screen, press and hold Esc FIRI UI **FO V RO] R LI Deliver fast real time performance and better graphics on Call of Duty 2 with the Intel Pentium processor Extreme Edition, Learn more today at www.intel.com/go/gaming CALL-DUTY2 Copyright 2005 Intel Corporation. Intel the Intel logo, and Pentium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries the United States and other countries "Other names and brands may be claim
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  • 37
    review crew gamecube Plain Clear 8 Turns Defense- Turn Move ■GameCube FIRE EMBLEM: PATH OF RADIANCE Swords, sorcery, and strategy CHRISTIAN Given Nintendo's historic reluctance to engaging e is so well design developers really darkor biggest hough they neither impressor neplay What makes Radiance so just about every acing is excelent dialogue and likable characters The gameplay ton may 4444 Some may find developers design and clearly s experts from the amateurs Radiance teases hints of beautiful
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  • 38
    review crew psp 390 PSP THE CON We're betting against TITANIA BROTHERS *IN ARMS* EARNED IN BLOOD PLAY IT ON YOUR MOBILE! SWITCH PSP SSX ON TOUR Doesn't totally stick the landing on PSP Good Pretty graphics, awesome Bad More repet Song Most Licensed by EA This Season Bloc Party's "Banqu and It's tough to get really elaborate with bricks; I spent most of my time trying not wipe out. But those things are ble-they simply take some getting used to. My other issues are with the game's have only a coup
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