Spotting fake games

This article is an advanced guide for how to spot fake Nintendo Console games. First up is the GBA:
1. The actual colour of the cartridge will be over saturated or lighter than normal. They may even be a completely different colour.
2. The sticker on the cartridge may be wrong. for example the nintendo seal of quality may be strecthed or the sticker will show a malformed picture of the box it came in.
3. If it came in a box, there is another way to tell if it is fake. The box may be very waxy to touch.
4. Another way is the game manual. It may describe a completely different game.
5. The inability for the game to save.

For DS:
1. The black number on the back of the cartridge won't be there if it is fake.
2. if you shake it, a part may be loose and rattling.
3. The gold coloured contacts may be over saturated in tone.
4. The sticker on the cartridge may be different to what it should.
5. It won't come in a box, unless someone hasbought the game and used that to sell the fake one.
6. The game will not load up or work at all.

For Gamecube and Wii:
1. The print on the disc will be like those of a quick cd label printer (applies to wii).
2. The game will only just fit in the gamecube (on the black circle in the middle. doesn't apply to wii).
3. It will load at all (applies to wii).

With this guide you will quickly be able to spot fake nintendo games and thus save you money.

Piracy and Hackers

As we all know 'Piracy destroys the Games/Movies industry'. But many people decide to use this software because it is cheaper and a lot of the time it is found on the internet for free. One of my friends decided that he wanted Pokemon Diamond. He then decided he wanted it before the English release date. He bought it from Hong Kong over a non-specific internet shop. A week later he recieved the item. I watched him open the package. It contained Pokemon Diamond. After inserting it into his DS he found out it was fake. I could tell this because of five reasons:
1. The sticker on the game cart showed a picture of Dialga, whereas a real one does not.
2. It was lighter than normal.
3. something inside it was rattling.
4. The gold coloured contacts were over satured in tone.
5. it did not have the Black Game ID that is normally shown on the back of the cartridge.

Many nintendo DS emulators have come out and thanksto roms there is no game that is safe. If you want a game then buy it legally in a shop because you would be contributing to the death of original, new computer games. So, buy games legally, you will still get the thrill of buying and playing them,vwhich many people have lost out on. Read my article next week for information on how to spot fake DS games. Ben M

Manhunt 2

It's been a dark week for Rockstar London. Manuhunt 2 cannot be sold in England due to the BBFC refusing to give it a rating because it "encourages killing". Without this rating it cannot be sold In England... but if the PEGI can give it a rating (18 at least) then it will be allowed to be sold in the U.K. Only time will tell.

Technical Problems

Sorry that we have been away for such a long time. We are now back again after 2-3 months. Basically my computer corrupted all of my data, so when I tried to access the page it reset. So after 2-3 months and £650 we are now up and running...again.

Review: Prince Of Persia: Rival Swords

For anyone with the gamecube version of The Two Thrones, you can ignore this review because it is the same game, just with wii controls. If you don't however. then read on.

Unless you have been living in a cave for the past 4 years, then you will know that the Prince Of Persia: Sands of Time trilogy is about the Prince Of Persia, who through certain ancient artefacts, has unleashed the Sands Of Time and reaked havoc on his land. He travels to the Island of Time (in warrior within) to undo what he has done, only to find that he has to kill Kaileena (The Empress) and The Dahaka. Once they are dead he travels back to Babylon onto to find his homeland is ravaged by war.

The Graphics on this game are very good although there has been little attempt to update the Gamecube graphics (just a few sharper textures).

The Gameplay is immensely good. There is only one niggle with them and that is that, on the final battle with the Vizier, activating the silent kill movements after running uop the poles, are very unresponsive. This coukld probably be put down to the wii processing to much to count it, but it is rather annoying when for the 50th time you die because the silent kill wouldn't activate. The difficulty curve is too steep and some puzzles may annoy (not as bad as The Sands of Time though), and playing the game on hard mode means that 5 hits can kill you.

The Sound is much crisper and makes you feel like you are the Prince Of Persia.

All in all, If you have the gamecube version, then this is not worth another £40 but if you don't, it is an excellent purchase.

Difficulty: 89%
Sound: 93%
Gameplay: 88%
Overall: 86%

Review: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina Of Time

When this game first came out on the N64 everybody thought it would be amazing. Were they right, well, no.

It feels like Super Mario 64, which isn't a bad things, but it shouldn't because zelda games are meant to be different. The gameplay is let down badly by the Z Targeting, which is nearly useless. You have to be standing directly in front of the thing you are trying to target, and you have to be less than 1 metre away from them. This pisses everyone off to the point of deleting the game. Inside Lord Juba Juba is the most poorly designed level ever created. The difficulty level is too hard the first time round.

The graphics are a mess, with the inside of link's house looking too blurry and the worst rock and grass textures known to man. The only nice sounds in the game are the songs and even they sound like a cat.

So this game is the most disappointing game on the N64 and by no means a worthwhile waste of 7 quid.

Sounds: 36%
Graphics: 53%
Difficulty: 89%
Gameplay: 55%
Overall: 66%

Wii`s Success

Thanks to the Wii`s huge sucess, third party developers have no choice but to back the Wii. That means no crappy ports of games (yay!).

Brothers In Arms announced for Wii and DS

The next brothers in arms game WILL appear on Wii and DS. For anyone who doesn`t know, Brothers in Arms is a series of games based in WW2. If you have played Brothers In Arms on PC then you know why to get excited. Basically it provides unparralled accuracy and realism. This is one to keep your eye on!

SSX Blur cheat

All Characters:

Enter: NoHolds at the cheats menu.

Cheats: Godfather Blackhand Edition

Enter the codes below when you are on the Pause Menu (note that Health, Money and Ammo cheats can only be entered once every 5 minutes.

Full Ammunition Cheat code: Pause the game and enter 2, Left, 2, Right, Minus, Down.

Full Health Cheat code: Pause the game and enter Left, Minus, Right, 2, Right, Up.
Money Cheat - $5000.00 Cheat code: Pause the game and enter Minus, 2, Minus, Minus, 2, Up.
z

Unlock All Film Clips Cheat code: This code is entered at the menu screen; 2, Minus, 2, Minus, Minus, Up.

All Virtual Console Downloads (at time of Writing)

All the current Virtual Console games in alphabetical order:
Key: MD = Mega Drive
SNES = Super Nintendo Entertainment System
NES = Nintendo Entertainment System
TG16 = TurboGrafx 16
N64 = Nintendo 64

Alien Crush (TG16)
Altered Beast (MD)
Baseball (NES)
Beyond Oasis/ The Story of Thor (MD)
Bio-Hazard Battle (MD)
Bomberman '93 (TG-16)
Bonanza Bros (MD)
Bonk's Adventure (TG-16)
Castlevania (NES)
Chew Man Fu (TG-16)
Columns (MD)
Comix Zone (MD)
Contra 3/ Super Probotector (SNES)
Donkey Kong (NES)
Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
Donkey Kong Jr (NES)
Double Dungeons (TG-16)
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (MD)
Dragons Curse (TG-16)
Dungeon Explorer (TG-16)
Ecco The Dolphin (MD)
Elevator Action (NES)
Excitebike (NES)
F-Zero (SNES)
Gain Ground (MD)
Galaga (NES)
Golden Axe (MD)
Gradius (NES)
Gunstar Heroes (MD)
Ice Climber (NES)
Ice Hockey (NES)
Kid Icarus (NES)
Kirby's Adventure (NES)
Legend of Kage (NES)
Mario Bros (NES)
Mario Kart 64 (N64)
Military Madness (TG-16)
Moto Roader (TG-16)
New Adventure Island (TG-16)
Pinball (NES)
R-Type (TG-16)
R-Type III (SNES)
Ristar (MD)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV (SNES)
Sim City (SNES)
Soccer (NES)
Soldier Blade (TG-16)
Solomon's Key (NES)
Sonic The Hedgehog (MD)
Space Harrier II (MD)
Splatterhouse (TG-16)
StarFox 64 (N64)
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (SNES)
Streets of Rage (MD)
Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts (SNES)
Super Mario 64 (N64)
Super Mario Bros (NES)
Super Mario World (SNES)
Super Star Soldier (TG16)
Sword of Vermillion (MD)
Tecmo Bowl (NES)
Teenage Mutant Ninja (Hero) Turtles (NES)
Tennis (NES)
The Legend Of Zelda (NES)
The Legend Of Zelda - A Link To The Past (SNES)
The Legend Of Zelda - Ocarina Of Time (N64)
ToeJam and Earl (MD)
Urban Champion (NES)
Victory Run (TG16)
Vigilante (TG16)
Wario's Woods (NES)
Xevious (NES)
Zelda II - The Adventure Of Link (NES)

This list will be updated when the next batch of games get released.

Review: The Godfather Black Hand Edition for Wii!

Many games developers make one game for many consoles where the game is the same on all consoles with only the controls changed. But with The Godfather Blackhand Edition EA have broken the norm of ports. The controls are not easy to remember but once you get them you'll never forget them. Since your movements are replicated on screen what you do is what you see on screen. The sounds are very nice with crashes and the atmosphere replicating that of real life. The whole game is full of nice little touches e.g. slamming the nunchuck down while in a car honks the horn. Unfortunately the graphics let it down. When you play it you realise that the graphics are a direct port form the PS2 version. They look nice, no doubt about it, but we all know that the Wii can do better than that. The framerate and draw distance are excellent and the city really bursts into life without the loading of say... GTA Vice City. The difficulty of earlier missions is poor but things soon liven up when you realise that you can buy tommy guns for so little... and then be ambushed. All in all though it is an excellent game.

Sound: 92%
Graphics: 86%
Difficulty: 93%
Gameplay: 96%

Overall: 92%

THC gamers forum created

Yay! THC gamers blog created now all gamers young and old can view my reviews etc. Free of Charge. Cheers to blogspot!