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Sony Playstation (Japan) |
Sega Saturn (Japan) |
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Motor Toon Grand Prix 2 from Sony Computer Ent. (Japanese) Available 4/15 at $64 |
Story of Thor from Sega (Japanese) Available 4/1 at $54 |
| Motor Toon GP 2 is a driving game. That would be the simple description for this title but it can also be described as psychedelic in the sense that its bright colors and dreamy looking scenery look 'trippy'. The deformed character cars and their elasticity add to the effect. Another thing about this racing game is that all of the cars have expressions, i.e. the headlights are eyes adn the front grill is usually either smiling or in another form of expression, interesting. Fans of the first MTGP will be pleased to know what many of the cartoony vehicles are back in this sequel. Three new toony motorists have been added to the mix for some diversity and new challenge. MTGP2 also features a link up option so that two Playstations and two players can race against each other over two television screens. Highly recommended. | Many of you may know of the title 'Beyond Oasis' in the USA which was a popular Sega Genesis game. Story of Thor is the Saturn sequel to that game and it looks very similar to the Sega Genesis version. The colors are brighter and the graphics sharper but a huge jump has not been made in the graphics department over the Sega Genesis version. Thor is an action/RPG which means that you control your character's every action and the fighting with enemies is done in real time. In some RPGs, the battle scene shifts to a different screen where you can choose to attack, defend, or to run away like a coward by simply highlighting the option and then pressing the B button. Not so here because every move you make is done with the joypad and with you controlling the character. You can thus slash with a button, jump with another, etc. Story of Thor has done okay in the pre-order department; many of our RPG customers have made pre-orders for this title already so sales should be good in general. |
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Jumping Flash 2 from Sony Computer Entertainment (Japanese) Available 4/15 at $64 |
Sonic Wings Special from Sega (Japanese) Available 4/19 at $58 |
| Jumping Flash 2 continues the 3-D platforming era with another spectacular looking offering from Sony. 3-D platform gmaes have not caught on as expected but the ones that are available now look great and have very good gameplay. Jumping Flash from last summer was ground breaking, Floating Runner from late last year was fun and playable and JF2's look like it will draw in its fans again to a new 3-D adventure. The graphics look similar to the first Jflash but with more complicated looking structures and with more attention to detail in the buildings and enemies. One would think that Jumping Flash would have spawned more clones and imitators by now but I guess this is not Street Fighter 2. If you did well with the first Jumping Flash, then by all means, pick this one up for your customers. | The Saturn does 2-D Shooters very well and this latest version of Sonic Wings should be no exception. You might know the Sonic Wings series from the Neo-Geo system which features vertical shooting action with a lot of power ups, a lot of enemies and brilliant looking backgrounds. Now for the bad news, there has been little in the way of innovation in the Sonic Wings series and this one looks like it will suffer the same problem. It is still fun to play Sonic Wings but sometimes it feels like the programmers are using a 'shoot-em up construction set' with elements that they throw in, set patterns for the enemies, backgrounds, etc. You know the same old formula but with new dressing. |
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Frequently Asked Questions about the Playstation Mod |
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Hey, I just heard that NCS is now offering the modification for the
Playstation that will let you play all game discs, is this true?
Yes, the modification is now available from our company. Since I have an idea of what your next question will be, here's the answer: The modification is currently $68 which includes the price of the new chip and the modification labor from our company. Resellers are encouraged to perform the modification themselves to boost your bottom line and to make your customers happy as pie. NCS will be glad to send out modification instructions and tips to get the modification working right for you. I am now very excited because I have been waiting for this for a long time. Can you tell me if it is 100%, does the music work 100%?!?! Yes and yes. The new modification will work on both the USA and Japanese Playstations and will allow you to play your game directly without the need for swapping and double swapping a disc to get it to work. The music will be fine because the game will load as if it was being loaded on it's native territory Playstation. In laymen's terms, a USA disc will run on a Japanese Playstation (with the modification) as if it was being run on a USA Playstation. Is the mod reversible? Like, if I for some unknown reason find myself yearning to go back to my plain old Playstation, can I go back? Absolutely. There is no permanent modification done to your Playstation when NCS performs this mod. We can always remove the modification from your system and restore it to it's plain-jane self to accomodate your fears and/or concerns about the mod. Okay, and is there any kind of warranty that NCS can offer? I just don't want to end up with a $299 door stop if anything goes wrong. A 90 day warranty is provided by NCS for all services rendered on the Playstation. What this means is that if you should have a problem with your system after receiving it back you can send it back in (we will cover UPS 2nd day shipping) for repairs. We'll back you up. Finally, I have never sent anything to anyone before, I'm a shipping virgin. Can you tell me how I should send in my Playstation? UPS is a reliable courier, as is Federal Express. To send in your Playstation, you may pack it into its original box and then on top of that, put it into another box for safety's sake. UPS and Fedex being reliable means that they will get it to us but along the way, there is a bit of tossing and dropping of boxes so pack your Sony well. Packing peanuts and newspaper for padding are ideal for shipping your PS so that it does not move around too much during transportation. Please call or write us to obtain an RMA number before shipping so that we can reference this number when the package arrives and perform the mod for you quickly and ship it back to you ASAP. As usual, if you have any questions you may contact us at (718) 523-5774 or mail at 'ncs@escape.com'. |
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