I go away for a week and everything happens. Titus buy up Interplay, Eidos cut a deal with Michael Crichton's Timeline and dep ed Steve Bradley's inimitable Yorkshire charm convinces hundreds of new readers to sign up to FG. Maybe I should go away more often. When you've gorged yourself on all the news from last week's show of shows, E3, get stuck into the previews and reviews. Dungeon Keeper 2 gets the preview treatment – and rather good it is too, even if I do say so myself – and we review a baseball game that's surprisingly good fun. I know, I know, a baseball game that’s enjoyable sounds a bit far fetched, but Triple Play 2000's a bit special. And to completely rip off Steve's Front Page of last week, I’ll now direct you towards the irreverent and amusing Gamer Life section. There are giggles aplenty to be found within its pages. Enjoy. Andy Smith - Editor

News headlines:

Tenchu 2 confirmed ... Activision team up with Fox Interactive ... Rival Schools 2 ... Pacman 20th anniversary ... Brave Fire Fighters ... Biohazard: Code Veronica ... Super Mario Adventure ... London Spirits Detective ... PlayStation protection plan ... Requiem compo winners ... Nintendo embrace new technology ... Alone in the Dark 4 ... Konami shoot down MGS 64 ... LucasArts' new shooter ... Super Smash Brothers delayed? ... Titus purchase controlling interest in Interplay ... Team Fortress E3 special ... Civilization III E3 special ... PocketStation slips indefinitely ... E3 special report ... Gabriel Knight Mysteries Pack ... Eidos invest in Timeline ... Square show Parasite Eve 2 ... Spider-Man officially swings aboard PlayStation ... Packard Bell link with 3dfx ... UK PC Gaming Championships details ... Midway plan PlayStation 2 development ... Gaming's Academy Awards ... Alien conspiracy ... Magic & Mayhem soundtrack en route ... Tenchu 2 update ... Roundup of other breaking news ...

In this issue:
Preview: Um Jammer Lammy (PlayStation) What a breath of fresh lunacy Parappa the Rapper proved to be and inevitably, a sequel has been created. As slick guitar riffs replace 'cool' rapping Future Gamer salutes those about to rock. There's a Turok gag in there somewhere…
Review: Cricket World Cup (PC) With the World Cup well underway (England have played two, won two) EA’s entry into the world of leather upon willow comes under the microscope. Codemasters have long worn the cricketing crown but EA could well bowl them a timely googly with this one.
Feature: Facing The Music With all the attention paid to graphical wizardry in games these days Future Gamer thought it high time we stopped and thought about the sound. This fascinating feature takes you from the past to the present and into the future of videogame music.

Future Gamer was brought to you by: Andy Smith [editor], Steve Bradley [deputy editor], Vicki West [production editor] and Andy Ashwin [staff writer]. Contributors: Steve Edwards, Neil West, Gideon Kibblewhite, Ben East, Dale Bradford, Tony Banks, Martin Kitts.
Advertising enquiries: please contact Mike Hawkins.

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