 |
 |
 |
| Action Replay Reviewed by Pirate Yoshi Over-view: Back on the Nintendo Entertainment System, Galoob released a very controversial accessory named the Game Genie, a handy device that allowed the standard player access to game-warping abilities that often produced mind-numbing results. Though Nintendo worked hard to have the device outlawed, arguing that it ruined the game experience and "undid" everything the programs strived to achieve, the Game Genie was not defeated, and lived a long and prosperous life, finally going under after making its appearance (which was welcomed) on the SNES. The Nintendo 64 got a new cheating device all its own: the Game Shark, which had already become popular with Playstation and Dreamcast fans. The Game Shark was very similar to the Game Genie, but with more complicated codes (often requiring "key codes"), and sometimes disasterous results. Game Shark never went further than the N64, and when GCN came around, there was no one there to supply players with a fresh new set of codes the way there had been for N64, SNES, and NES. Now, there is. Explanation: The Action Replay, made by Code Junkies, is a device much like the Game Shark. A simple little disc resembling any other GCN game, the Action Replay is actually used much like a game disc, inserted and used in conjunction with its own memory card-like device, which keeps the codes active. Though the AR comes equipped with already-working codes for current games, you'll surely find a game not on the list and start wondering how to use AR with it. Process: When getting new codes, the first thing you'll need to do is actually FIND codes. Finding codes is an easy process, as long as you have the internet (I assume you do, or you wouldn't be reading this). While gamefaqs.com usually offers a link to AR codes, the easiest (and best) source to look is codejunkies.com, where the code and game lists are regularly updated to keep you well informed. Here, you'll be able to find your game from a list, then look over and print off its code list. Each code consists of one or more lines of letters and numbers, which result (when activated) in a new effect on your game. One such common code causes your character, car, etc. to jump; most games have this code, because it is rather easy, I imagine, to reprogram. Once you have codes in your possession, it's time to add them into your AR's memory. Using a keyboard-like set of characters to enter the game's title, the code's name, and then the code itself, you can finish your adding, save your updates, then try out your codes on your game by simply replacing the AR disc with your game disc, leaving the AR's memory card in slot B. Impressions: I must admit that when I first started, this thing was my worst enemy. The Action Replay, to put it plainly, was my worst nightmare; it made the Game Shark look perfect! One annoying feature is that the game automatically scrolls through the options for you, in case you are too handicapped to move the cursor yourself. This means that if you try and manually move the cursor, you might get resistance, or have it suddenly change back on your before you can select the option you would like to highlite. What REALLY ticked me off, however, was when I went to enter my first code: for no apparent reason, the cursor began to scroll through the LETTERS by itself, causing me to goof the code up terribly. I went back to try and fix this problem....and, rather than scrolling through the letters, the cursor began to scroll through the CODE, causing me to put the RIGHT characters in the WRONG slots! This made me incredibly angry, and I tried to move the cursor back to the beginning slot of the code, then changed the highlited character and pressed A (enter). Unfortunately, the slot had changed on me again, and I had put the character in the wrong slot again. What followed was something of a ridiculous race between me (trying to get the cursor back to the first slot and enter the correct character) and the game (trying to quick change which slot was highlited so it could ruin my code for the 85th time). I fought the program (enraged) for what felt like hours before I somehow managed to successfully enter the first line of the code....the first line of about four. I swore the AR my arch-enemy for life, and vowed that I had never seen a product so terribly designed and unfit for market resale, then squeaked out the rest of the code and tried it. Surprisingly, it worked, and although it didn't yield very good results, I was satisfied in knowing that I had beaten this piece of garbage and FORCED IT to yield to my will. What is most bizarre, however, is that I have since not had such a problem--the AR has worked perfectly for me, without changing the character slot when I enter codes or randomly trying to make me enter the wrong letters. The only slight problem I have seen since, actually, is that sometimes my GCN doesn't recognize that I have a disc in and asks me to insert something. I'm not sure if that's a problem with my AR or my GCN, since I've had games in it before and the GameCube didn't notice. At any rate, since that experience, the Action Replay has risen above the Game Shark to become my second-favorite cheating device, behind my trusty old Game Genie. Hopefully, anyone else who buys this won't go through the nightmare I did to get mine to work--you can have a blast with these if you use them correctly. Instructions: 7/10--The instructions were reasonably clear and seemed to give correct information concerning the product. Layout: 5/10--The scrolling-cursor bit was (and continues to be) annoying, but the AR isn't hard to navigate through and is pretty self-explanatory. Website: 9/10--Well-maintained and very informative, I have few problems with codejunkies.com, although I wish they'd come up with some new codes sometimes... Product Results: 10/10 I have so far not experienced any game-ruining or data-deleting codes, nor run into any extremely faulty codes (though I have gotten a few games to crash and force me to turn them off); I have been very satisfied with the results, however. Total Calculated Score: 7.75 Total Assigned Score: 7.1 Final Score: 7.425 Last Words: That darn scrolling! If you're wondering what exactly this thing can do, please read my upcoming article, Hack Me Up, Scottie!, in which I discuss some of the experiments and game twisting I've done with this nifty little device. Rent, Buy, or Pass: If you like cheat codes, or general exploration, you'll actually want to BUY this. Pros: Effets can be awesome and/or useful, menus are fairly simple, and new codes are accessible from the website. Cons: Random scrolling, some codes are EXTREMELY long, and often times, a mistake can be nearly impossible to find after entering it! Needs: To be on-line, for downloading new codes automatically, and for code checking and automatic error-correcting. |
 |