Weekend loot

When I woke up on Friday morning, even with the blinds down; I could tell that we had some snow fall. I looked out of the window.... bugger. I thought all the weather reports where just hype, but apparently not. It was not too bad, but it was still snowing a little.

My plan was to go into town, sort out some finances and hit the games shops. But with the snow I was going to leave it.... but then decided to pop out and back while the bus was still running. Called a buddy to come with, and we set out.

Sorted my finances, then we hit the game shop (playtime multimedia). There sitting in the glass case of cool stuff, was a Gray Sega Saturn. I already have a black UK version, so at £80 I thought well.... I don't really need a Japanese Saturn as I have a 4-in-1 cart that lets me play imports on my black one. Then my friend said "hey it says it comes with 27 games!". This caught my interest, so I went over to the counter and asked if I could see what the games where.

So it turns out that most of these games are bootlegs, and the console is fitted with a mod chip to play backups.

"I'll take it!"

This is the JVC 'V-Saturn' so it is a bit more rarer than the standard versions. Looking on eBay, just one person is selling one of these at £100, un-modded. So at £80 I got a great deal here. With mod chip + my 4-in-1 cart, I can play games from all regions, with backups from all regions. NICE! I discovered I can just patch the disc images to any region anyway so I don't even need the cart unless I am using cheat codes, or using the 4MB extra ram that some games need.

Here is some other stuff I got that day (from the same place!)

'Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance' a top down (ish) RPG, I already have the second one so was looking out for this. You do quests, hacking and slashing along with a running story with cut scenes and bad voice acting. Actually the cut scenes themselves are pretty badly put together. Well this is just going on the second one, some guy talking about building a tower. Fun.

'Downforce' is an arcade racing game that just happens to have formular-1 cars in. Non of the tracks seem to be actual F1 tracks, just generic arcade racing tracks, which is nice. controls are ok, but nothing to to get all giddy about.

'Wipe3out' or 'Wipeout 3' if you prefer. I have the special edition of this which is better as it includes tracks from the previous game. But at £3, why not? I am a collector after all.

'Rayman' is a nice 2D platformer, featuring a dude with floating limbs. Yeah they are not attached. It is good fun, run and jump and punch through levels. That is it really. Great stuff.


I now need to find a way to use my PlayStation based arcade stick on my Sega Saturn. adapters are hard to find ugh....what ever will I do?

Todays game haul!

Got some more packages in the post today, one of which was a redelivary. I opened a case for the game on ebay, but it turns out that it required a signature, and said that a card was left.There is a sign on the door for such occasions, the postman was obviously retarded as he ignored the sign, and he didn't even leave a card at all; so the text on the royal mail website was a complete lie. A complaint is going through for this, as this is not the first time (or even the first complaint) about cards not being left.

Here is what I got today!

 'Shox' is an interesting racing game under the 'EA Sports big' label. This game actually surprised me in that case; as it is actually really good! This is an arcade rally racing game, with offical cars and some really nice looking tracks. You start off with a free choice of your first car, and from then on you have to earn money to buy more cars. There are about four sets of races and with in each of those sets you have tracks to complete.

An interesting feature of this game is with in the courses you have 'shox zones' in which you have to get from the start of the zone to the end of it and then you are graded from bronze to silver to gold depending on the time you take. This earns you extra money as well as other bonuses if you get all golds.

The game is quite challenging with the AI always on your arse all the way through the race. It is unfortunate that some of the AI cheat the game phsyics a bit in order to get around the track which makes it a little unfair to the player.

In order to unlock the other sets of races, you need to earn enough in order to afford to pay for a car type to use. That is all, you don't have to come first in al lthe previous sets of races, you just need the money to buy the cars.

I really enjoyed this game, but it does have its flaws. The AI isn't flawed par-say, but it is a bit of a bugger. There is a gambling system in the game in which you use to buy cars cheaper than buying them out right. You gamble a set amount on the car, then you have to race that car in a 1-2-1 race; beating it gets you the car. The flaw though? that car gets a head start and is away with the clouds before you even know what is going on, you don't really have a chance at all. So you loose your money and you are buggered. It really makes me wonder what sorts of morons come up with these ideas in games companies.

I give this game 4 out of 5.


'Gumball 3000' is a racing from A to B through various courses through traffic. Not a great car selection at the begining, AI is ok I suppose, controls are ok-ish, but the game isn't fun! kind of boring, and the time limit makes it next to impossible to get any where.

I recommend starting with the Porsche or anything that is not the hummer, as it is seriously slow and will not win you anything. Getting busted doesn't stop the clock so makes it even more annoying. Bah.

2 out of 5!


'Motor Mayhem' is a vehicular combat game, in the same vain as the 'Twisted metal' series. There are various modes, a main story type mode, quick battle etc etc. An interesting selection of characers/vehicles to choose from; all looking like a cross between something from 'mad max' and 'hot wheels' cars.

Not a huge selection of levels to choose from, but about average for this sort of game. Small, medium and large levels to choose from with varing terrain types. From jungles, to aircraft carriers, to temples; it is quite an interesting selection.You then choose what opponants to face, choose weapons and kill limits and things and off you go. I recomend changing the controller type to 4 as the default setting has the accelearation on the up left stick which is really not natural at all.

I like the game, it is very similar to 'twisted metal', vehicles are easy to steer, plenty of weapon pickups and such. Fun!

4 out of 5!


'Star Wars Racer: Revenge' is the PlayStation 2 version of the Dreamcast and Nintendo 64 game; 'pod racer'. Similar sort of thing to 'wipeout' hover vehicles racing around futuristic courses, on other planets.

This is of course based on the horrible 'Star Wars: Episode 1' movie, which unfortunatly I sat through. I am not a Star Wars fan at all, I consider the original ones boring, I could never get into the world of it all. I do however like some of the games, such as this one.

You race, earn, and use your earnings to upgrade your pods. Couldn't be more simpler than that really. Various folks to choose from, from the annoying little turd Skywalker, to a bunch of alien guys.

It's fast, it's furious; and all without Vin Diesel. Now even though the PS2 is actually less powerful than the Dreamcast; this version seems to look better. This could be due to the fact I am using a HD componant cable on the PS2 though, and just a scart on the Dreamcast.

Watch out though, if you hit too much stuff and your pod blows up, the race is over!

A classic game in my books! I give it 4 out of 5!


'Wipeout pure' - The wipeout games are the daddies of all anti gravity type racing games, game series developed in Liverpool from the days of the playstation/sega saturn to last year when Sony closed the game studio down. Now why they did this stupid thing I do not know.

Sony should not have been allowed to buy the license in the first place; the wipeout series used to be cross platform, Sega Saturn, Playstation, Nintendo 64 and the PC where all given the greatness that is wipeout. That is until Sony baught the licence from the dead Psygnosis game studio. Then games made after only came out of sony consoles. Then they killed it off. Bastards.

Anyway, you race your craft around courses; shoot at your opponents, and kick some ass. That is all really, fun stuff.

This game uses the loyalty points system, where if you keep using the same craft, you earn points for using it, earn more for winning, and unlock stuff. Not that great of a system, but it's there.

This one is quite challenging, so make use of everything! get used to those air brake controls, you're gonna need em.



This game was also released on the Playstation 2 (which I also have in the collection).

4 out of 5!

Game collection and today's haul

Lately I have been on a game collecting kick, adding playstation 1 and 2 games to my collection and some PSP titles. This is mostly going ok, but of course with the state of the games I got from one seller; you really have to wonder what is wrong with people.

I was looking for 'Wipeout 2097' for the playstation, and when game hunting, I like to go for bundles with a few games that I like in there. Included in the auction was 'Wipeout 2097', 'Destruction derby' and the first 'Gran Turismo'. I only wanted the first two games, and for a bout a fiver it ended up being a good deal... or so I thought.

The posty arrived with my games and excitedly I opened the package. Now a bit of background; some playstation games came in slightly smaller cases with a brown trim, with the inserts also being a little smaller. 'Destruction Derby' is one of those titles to have come in one of these cases.

The previous owner must have been a total idiot, they swapped the cases along with inserts for 'Destruction Derby' and 'Wipeout 2097', the inserts for wipeout where ripped and folded for them to fit in the smaller cover, and the front insert for derby is obviously too small to correctly fit into the larger cover. The rear insert for derby is also a complete mess, it has been cut in half for some reason.

This sort of shit seems to be common place for PS1 games, why do people treat stuff like this? seriously, what the fack? Have been more lucky with PS2 games, they are usually in good condition (well apart from 'Star Wars Racer' which was missing the disc. Amazon seller in this case, got a refund so now have a useless empty case and book!).

The only game that was in perfect condition was 'Gran turismo'. I REALLY do not care for that game series at all. Oh well.

Today's haul is pretty good, take a look:

I have been wanting to replace my 'backups' of various games from various systems, and the PS1 is a good place to start. Some of my favorites can be obtained cheaply, but there are some (like castlevania) that are WAY too expensive to bother getting hold of.

The 'Moto Racer' games (apart from the third one) have always been my favorite motor bike games, they are fun to play, and have nice easy controls. These days, bike games are all simulation ones with hard to use controls, not fun at all. The first one offers a modest selection of bikes and tracks, both road and dirt bikes, and best of all: two player split screen (not like anti-social online gaming). The second one adds tonnes of tracks, nice rock sound track and a track creator mode! Yes you can create your own tracks if you grow tired of the ones on offer in the game. (I also have the PC versions of these!)

The 'Need for Speed' series dates way back to the days when 32 bit gaming was just starting to get popular. There was a need (hah) for 3d games, and EA took the initiative and brought us the first need for speed game. It was obviously popular, the games series is still around today. Unfortunately EA dragged it through the mud and it's now crap. The best of the games for me, are the playstation ones. 'Need for speed' offers a good balance of simulation and arcade racing, with good controls. A nice selection of licensed cars, and some nice locations to race on. Again, best of all is the split screen feature! me and my bud had LOADS of fun on this back in the days, along with wacky cheat codes that let you play as the traffic. Yey for wrongly scaled school buses!

'Max power racing' is an odd one. Not because of the game itself, but because of the titles. This game was actually released twice, on the same console, but under two different names. wikepedia states that 'C3 Racing' (the original title) was released as 'Max power Racing' in the UK to tie in with the magazine. However, the game did come out in Europe (in English) under the original title and did end up on UK shelves. Crazy eh? This game is a decent arcade racer, good selection of cars and tracks, and another one that is loads of fun playing split screen with yer mates.

When I had my first Playstation years ago, to save cash and whatnot my father helped me out and took my system to a guy to have it 'chipped'. This allowed backups to be used, and moral BS aside, it allowed me to have a nice selection of games. Some guys in the town centre used to sell them on street corners for £5 each. Those game can just be downloaded these days of course, but I am buying up originals.

It is all quite nostalgic, and most of the games are still fun to play today; but do look a bit crap on the HD big screen TV. The thing that makes the 'Moto Racer' games even more for me is the fact that my late father (who was not a gamer) also enjoyed them, and I did play them with him some.


Even under all the circumstances, my father did try his best to keep his kids happy, and without him I would not be a gamer today.

I will keep up the blog with game hauls, figure hauls and all of that stuff! To finish off, here is the Playstation shelf (PS1 and PSP on top, then PS2 and bottom more PS2 and PS3)