The Sony Playstation !

My PS-X System

I have been having a lot of fun in the last year playing with my Sony Playstation. I spent about $400 getting started, and now I am down to a (support) expenditure of $30-$40 a week. Total Cost: Less than $4,300.00us

System Hardware Accessories

 I actually like the (first) NUBY card much better than the other cards. It is made of very heavy plastic and feels much more durable to me (you could probably break a window or two with it).. The lack of an end-cart label space is a minor design mishap, but its heft more than makes up the deficit.

The new version of the NUBY card is, alas, just like all of the other cheap non-standard card clones that I have seen ..

My Game-Library

 In Alphabetical Order The games marked with an asterisk are no longer in my possesion due to unfortunate circumstances involving people who know that I am talking about them now !!!
If you have any questions about the games that I have listed here, feel free to drop me an email at valeron@pocketmail.com... Please be aware, though, that I am very busy at school :( and may not be able to reply for a week or so

Akuji: The Heartless

This game is pretty cheesy, but nevertheless gave me about three hours of fun (so far.. I am on World 3-1).. With concepts obviously ripped from Super Mario ("Collect 100 voodoo dolls and receive an Extra Akuji!!") it is nothing especially new. Fighting the numerous enemies becomes easy when you realize that the game engine can't have more than two moving objects (besides Akuji and the furniture) onscreen at once. It is easy to win in all the battles.. When fighting wimpy monsters, just charge them and pound the attack button. Surprisingly enough, the game is forced to do little 'I am hit' animations on the monsters and they can't ever strike back (as long as your aim is true..;). To fight the bosses, just hide behind something and use the handy 'magic machinegun' that even comes with crosshairs !! After playing ONE, you will laugh at the jumping puzzles that you have to go through in this game.

Assault Rigs

This game was good for the first ten levels or so, but then I stopped playing it for a while and now, whenever I load my save file, I totally die. It becomes a little tricky after the first few simple levels. The only way to finish a couple of the later levels (i.e. Level 13, 14) involves going through walls which are not really solid. Devious.

Saves once per block. Has a high score list that lets you start at any level that has a score next to it, making it easier to show your friends how cool you actually are by virtue of comparison.

Beyond the Beyond

This "roleplaying" game would be fun, except that
  1. it is way Primitive
  2. it has WAY Too Many Random Encounters
  3. the Random Encounters Always last AT LEAST 5 minutes
  4. the Plot moves TOO Slowly
  5. the Plot is (first 5 hrs) TOTALLY UNINSPIRED..
    I have read more exciting milk cartons!!
  6. the Savepoints are Few and Far Between
  7. the 2d graphics are ugly, and the characters are STUUUPID..
The game did have 2 innovations.. A 3d travel map that sticks out of the screen and keypad sequences that you can enter during battles to power up your characters. unfortunately, I don't know the keypad sequences and 90% of the game takes place in random encounters. This game might be fun if you could turn off the random encounters.. If anyone tells me how to do so, I will finish the game and write a more favorable review.

Bloody Roar

This game was a lot of fun to play on my computer (running a PS-X interpreter (bleem), but when I tried it on the ps-x the action went to fast for me to follow.. (i need a lot of practice).. The game is a good example of a 3d fighting game.

BRAHMA Force: The Assault on Bootlegger 9

Eaaaugh !! KILEAK the DNA IMPERATIVE is back, and this time your mechno (erhm, Bipedal Robotic Assault Heavy Mechanized Armor) can jump like the rabbit who starred in the Jumping Flash series.

This game is pretty cool, although the monsters obviously are just generated by a random algorithm. Saving and restoring the game also saves and restores your life bar, which I have not yet figured out how to refill. The first 5 scenes were good, though uninspired, but I haven't gotten any farther. This game has nice computer rendered cut scenes.

Brave Fencer MUSASHI

Whee !
Zelda has finally come to the Playstation, only now Link is MUSASHI, the sword wielding midget. The game has everything, including expensive collectable dolls of the characters that you can buy in one of the stores in the town. The toys are also available in REAL LIFE, so you can BUILD YOUR COMPLETE COLLECTION !! WOW !! COOL !! I just wasted 4 hours of fighting monsters buying three toys that weren't even real..! Ugh !!

There are many many many secrets, and they actually make you use all of your special abilities when playing the game.. There is a cool 'Assimilate' function that lets you suck special abilities from your enemies (some of which are REALLY IMPORTANT, so when in down, use FUZION, the Assimilating Sword)..

The Boss characters in this game remind me of the Mega Man series; they take forever to kill. The dude at the beginning of the game took me almost half of an hour to bash to bits. Fortunately for those of you who remember having to start over some games because of running out of extra lives, MUSASHI gives you infinite continues.

The game uses one block of memory per card, and that block can hold up to four saved games.

Bugriders: The Race of Kings

This game is a racing game. It is essentially a three-dimensional version of Ridge-Racer (or games of that Ilk). The course is a long tube that floats down through three-space. This is the only game that I own that is two-player, but the one-player mode is the best. The game is not very hard (if you choose a fast character), and it became very fun after playing through the first set of courses. I haven't figured out how to save the game yet, although any information would be appreciated. "Crop" means to accelerate, but you must keep "Crop"ping, other-wise you slow down again. I considered it a fun buy for $10, but don't pay more that $15 unless you are an addict of racing games.

Cybersled

If you find a copy of this game, burn it.

It must be the worst game ever to be released for PS-X, with the possible exception of Viewpoint. Does not support memory cards, or even saving at all. The frame rate during the game is about 10/sec. Do NOT, under any circumstances, buy. This is the first game that the Ridge Racer guy who says "R4" in R4 did voice acting for.

CyberSpeed

DO NOT CONFUSE WITH CYBERSLED, above..

In this Single Player game you race down a wire that goes in a large loop (at 30fps)..
Think "Tempest" for the controls; you are held to the wire by a small length of rope that allows you to adjust your angle.

Features:

Ian Livingstone's Deathtrap Dungeon

This game, published by EIDOS, the same people who brought you Tomb Raider, is rated Mature, and for good reason. If you thought Laura Craft was scantily clad, wait until you see the female lead character in this game. I guess that the programmers thought that "armor" and "underwear" were synonyms (they both have 2 'r's in them), but these people should have been arrested for indecent exposure. The game has a few serious problems, but also a few advantages over other games in the slash and bash tradition.

The controller, although configurable, is not analog compatible. Walking the character around is like trying to steer a boat, especially when running. Expect to die several times on each of the jumping sequences. The camera tries to be innovative, but it is obvious that the code wasn't quite finished. This is the only game that I have seen where they preferred having the walls tear to having the camera get stuck in corners.

Advantages include:

The memory behaviour is very poor. Each card may only store one save file, which makes it a real pain to have more than one person playing on a low budget. Grumble... However, this is the perfect situation for those nYko "up to" 8x cards because the Deathtrap Dungeon save actually takes up only a little bit of the space on the card..

Descent

Remeber the reviews that said that this game made some people airsick.. I got Descent II for the computer and did not have any problems, so I disbelieved them. Unfortunately for me, Descent I DOES make people airsick.

2 player mode only works if you have 2 copies of the game, a PS-X Link Cable, 2 TV sets, and 2 playstations. Needless to say, because this game is pretty rare, I have never tried the 2 player mode.

Descent Maximum

This game seemed cool until I played Descent I. It is still fun, though, and since Descent I is so rare, you should be able to make do with this. This game supports the same sort of link game that Descent I used, and it only differs in that there is a different set of levels on the CD.

HINT: The maps were designed for people who fly right-side-up. turn your ship over before you start to play and check out how obvious the ambushes and secrets become.

Fighter Maker

SCREAM !! CHOKE !! GAG !!
This "game" is not what it seems; expect to spend countless hours moving each segment of the characters' bodies and STILL having it look like they are floating. Definitely try this one before you buy it.

Saves can cost up to 15 blocks, depending on what you want to save (the character's name takes one block, the punches take up about six blocks, and the other movements use up even more space). The saves are NOT compressible.

Final Fantasy VII

I am not worthy to review this game. (The first 3 hours of the game are the most fun.. After you leave Midgaar the game gets really old really fast. There are too many random encounters. Have at least three blocks to put save files in (each save uses a block). If you really want to know stuff about this game, then go to FinalFantasy Online- they have EVERYTHING that you need to know (downloadable music, walkthroughs, etc. etc.). I beat the game in 38 hours and 49 minutes with only ONE hint.. and that was the VERY LAST THING that was in the walkthrough.

Final Fantasy VIII

This game is not as exciting as the first three hours of FFVII, but it is still fun after 10 hrs.. I am now on the second CD.. The characters are very tall in this game. Again, see FFOnline for more information..

Gran Turismo

If you buy a good car (around 8000Cr), then you can learn how to play easily. Expect to spend a few hours trying to get the B.License. I haven't figured this game out too well, but my younger brother is a real whiz, so you should talk to him if you have questions. This game is really nice, and is almost worth $20. I have a copy of the original edition that I picked up in CompUSA at the lower price, and the reference manuals are really nice. Saves cost five blocks for a campaign game, two blocks if you change the controller buttons, and about 1/2 block per instant replay, if you are running with an analogue controller. You have to choose how many blocks you want to save for instant replays before you record any. It is better to err on the side of too much, if you have a compressing card, since extra blocks that are still empty don't cost you anything.

The Granstream Saga

This game was good until I got to the 4th floating island (most of the way through). Then, the battles got *REAL BORING*.. I figured out a method that always wins, but takes FOREVER to do, and when I tried to go faster, my character just took mega damage.

This game is a Role Playing game similar to Zelda in that the character walks around on a map that has monsters and stuff on it, but differing because whenever a monster notices you, the game switches to an "Action Battle" mode.. Just you and the monster, fighting on the map.

The faceless characters weirded some people out. The entire game is rendered with a sparse few video clip sequences that ARE NOT SUBTITLED !?!? The annoying* music makes you turn down the volume on the TV, then an unexpected video clip has people whispering on it and you can't hear a thing. By the time you get the volume up you have missed the entire conversation.

Save points occur every half-hour of play or so, if you know which way you need to go. When you get near the end of the game, expect to see a bunch of recycled areas (I guess they ran out of space on the CD)..

Nintendo stole one of its' Pokemon from this game.. The first bigboss is Cubone.

ADVANCED D&D Iron and Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft

This game would have been cool, but it suffers from poor manual design. I was never successful in getting any of the special moves that are listed in the booklet to work, and the Autosave function is never adequately explained. Because the game programmers failed to put in a 'No Blood' option, this is probably not suitable for your parents. The characters move strangely as well, and their victory dances just look weird instead of cool.

The stupid voiceovers that happen at the end of each fight will embarass the winner.

Surprisingly enough, the music in this game is sort of cool. I will preliminarily identify the genre as 'death metal' (but I am not very good at classification, so if you disagree, please tell me so that I can fix it). Unfortunately, the music is not stored as a standard CD audio track, so you can't just carry the disc around and listen to it on a CD player.

Jet Moto

Saves cost one block each and are VERY compressable.

Jumping Flash 2

This game is strange but fun. You are a robo-rabbit, and the VRness of the game is quite amusing. I think that this was based on a early PS-X game; it does not emulate well at all because it uses ALL of the graphics rendering capabilities. Suitable for most ages, the game is a pleasent introduction to the 'platform' jumping sort of game. Very lighthearted, but not as cruel or impolite as Spyro. (You are helping this guy [evil scientist mastermind in the previous game] rescue his pet MuuMuus("moo moo")).
A good break from the usual splash and dash fare.

Saving costs one block and allows you to access anything that you saw while playing the game (video clips, bonus levels, etc.).

King's Field

This game must be seen to be believed. Imagine, if you will, a Hexen/Heretic clone. Now think of molasses flowing. Resident Evil. The combination of incredible slowness and absolute terror makes this game somewhat difficult to play.

Features:

King's Field 2

Here is another game using the Kings Field graphics engine. Developed by the same team, it also succeeds in being gargantuan, terrible, and loadless. Not for the faint of joystick. Has all of the same features that Kings's Field 1 had, but also contains a virtual book that contains everything that has been said to your character. It is much easier to go through the game when you can look over your previous conversations, and this feature is a great one.. I never figured out how to save the game, so I don't know how many blocks that this game uses.

Loaded

Take the old favorite Gauntlet and add tons of splatter. Now you have Loaded, a really early PS-X game. This is one of the few games that I am aware of that actually deserves the Mature Audiences rating. If you are a kid, do not buy this game. There is way too much blood. The game is also quite primitive, and the graphics are not that good. If you want this kind of experience, I would recommend getting Machine Hunter instead; it does everything that this game does better (when you run through pools of blood you leave tracks in Machine Hunter..).

Lunar Silver Star Story Complete: Collectors Edition

This is a classic-style "rpg" that could easily run on the SNES, sans video clips, scenery, animations, multi-layring graphics, a lot of the music, and most of the 50 endings. I am playing this game right now.

Features:

Tecmo's Deception

This would be my favorite Playstation Game, except for the 5 minute boot loading time, 9 block Per One (!!) save game Memory Requirement, and the difficulty of triggering traps to 'hit' fast adventurers. HINT: wait until the trap-arrow is spinning BEFORE hitting the trigger button.

Vandal-Hearts

This is my favorite Roleplaying/Wargame ever - It is very slow going, and has no user-interactivity in the RPG segments is nonexistant, and the numerous battle segments are very fun and difficult. It only loads once every few minutes, so you can use the fun Disc-Switching Mode to play with two or three friends at once. It is one player, and two blocks of memory allow you to save three games (in town) AND one Mid-Battle game.

Ogre Battle Limited Edition

I do not know of a game that is stranger than this. It looks as if it is something from the Super-Nintendo, the Fighting segments are totally noninteractive, but the music and character generation process is incredible !!! Each save file is two blocks long.

MDK

60 frames per second with a glass floor, ceiling, and mirrored platforms ?!?!! Some would call it impossible, but this happens all the time in MDK. I love this game, although I am very bad at it. My friend finished all six worlds on Easy mode in just under eight hours. One memory block allows you to save eight files. Wonderful Sniper-cannon mode. My favorite weapon is the "Tracking Rocket Sniper Grenade". Whee-Kaboom !!!

One

One memory block, One save file. HINT: Use the password continue feature instead-It doesn't keep track of how many continues you have left.

An incredible blastathon, but nicely low on strategy. After killing ten or twenty units, you become practically invincible and can only die due to the many, many, testy jumps in this game.

Shadow Master

A very difficult Doom-like game. With a heads-up display, magic. I never finished the first level, so I do not know anything about the save features. There are many evil suprises, so be on guard. switch all panels to matching symbols to unlock the doors.

Watch out for sea serpents.

PS-X Sampler CD 3.5

This CD is really dull, but it comes free with a new playstation. It has one song on it that works really well with N2O... see below.

I could not find any instances where this program used the memory card. There are a few secrets for those who have perserverence-I won't tell you where they are.

Resident Evil: Director's Cut

This game made me sick, so I returned it to the store. Don't buy if you have a weak stomach, and don't mind having your head ripped from your feeble body with no warning. Has a good rumble feature.

The Raiden Project

This game supports saving highscore and configuration data, and does so on one block. It only allows one save per card, but that doesn't really matter because it is an arcade game clone. Inside the CD you will find both Raiden, and Raiden II. The Atari Jaguar version is better, because you can see the top and bottom of the screen. The optional "horizontal" mode has some of the best legal disclaimer text that I have ever seen on the Playstation. If you want it to be just like the arcade machine, you have to modify your controller's circuit board or build a custom one yourself--you can't turn the TV on its side to play because they change the alignment of the controller.

Viewpoint

Thank your lucky stars that this game is rare, because it must be the third worst game ever for any platform. While the Sega Genesis version was actually fun, this game succeeds only in being painful, as the controls are sluggish and the enemies are all 90% invincible. If you like fly-through-space games, go somewhere else. This game has three letter continue codes for each level, and does not know about memory cards at all.
This is all for today--I have to go back to school tomorrow morning at 6:05 and am getting tired.. Have a good weekend.
index.html