The truth about the Game Enhancer
The Game Enhancer is the made in Hong Kong version of the Pro Action Replay (PAR) or Game Shark. People who market the product try to invent original names for this device, but the true is the one we have just exposed. If any of you have already bought one, it will not bother you to notice that the original label has been removed. In addition, the main menu of the software shows the text Action Replay. The instruction manual refers to the PSX Code Wizard, and not to the Game Enhancer, because that is just one of the names with which the PAR is marketed in Southeast Asia. Other than these names are, in addition to PSX Code Wizard, three-in-one Action Replay, Playstation Penetrator, Game Craker.
We try to put some order in this long list of names and acronyms. The real Pro Action Replay (PAR) is manufactured by a British company, Datel. PAR is sold in the USA under the name Game Shark (GS) by Interact. The original version of this device uses a ROM flash of 256k and does not allow the import CD to run.
Even the latest version of the Game Shark ROM (2.3) does not allow you to use import CDs, while it has all the features of the Game Enhancer (Video RAM viewer, Video Film player, CD player, memory card manager ...)
HKG Toys in Hong Kong produces a PAR clone with cheaper components.
Another Hong Kong company, E.M.S. Industries, has developed a version of the internal ROM software based on the Caetla Bios. This software has the ability to run import CDs, as well as various feeds.
The Game Enhancer is normally a PAR of HKG with E.M.S. software, but in most cases the ROM flash is 128k, which is half that of the original PAR.
How the Game Enhancer works
To allow the use of import CDs (therefore also of CD Backup), the GE allows to stop and restart the optical engine at will, thus making the Swap technique particularly easy, already described by Elab on these pages . I briefly recall the needed steps of this technique. First of all a sharp object, about 5-6 cm long. A toothpick is perfect for this purpose. The toothpick must be inserted between the door and the switch at the back of the optics compartment. It is easily recognizable as round and with a small hole in the center, made by Sony to insert the toothpick (I was joking ... ;-).
Turn on the Play with an original CD inside, even the demo provided with the packaging is perfect. When the menu appears, go to the CD-ROM option. The disk now rotates and the list of directories is displayed. Press Select to stop the CD. With the toothpick always stuck between the door and the optics switch, remove the Original CD, and insert an import CD or a burned CD. Exit the menu and load the game. Please note that Play assumes that you still have the original CD on the optical plate, so you may have to try several times before finding an Original CD that correctly loads your Japan, American, or Backup games. In some cases you will be able to detect some malfunctions such as the failure to play the audio tracks.
Other Devices
Among the various clones we mention the PS-Z which is sold in Japan, which uses a correct version of the E.M.S software; eXplorer (USA), also known as Xterminator in Japan, is the fruit of one of the creators of the Action replay that, having emerged from DATEL, founded its own company. The eXplorer is particularly interesting, both for the fact that the software is proprietary, unlike other clones that use more or less camouflaged versions of Caetla or EMS, and because it does not require an interface to connect to the computer, being the circuit built into the device itself. All you need to connect to your PC is a normal parallel cable (printer). The software contained in the ROM is also incompatible with the PAR / GS.
ORIGIN OF CAETLA BIOS
As someone has already noted, the authors of the Game Enhancer scramble to point out that their software does not come from Caetla Bios. Let's see first of all what the now unattainable CAETLA BIOS is. The Caetla was created by a Japanese hacker named YUMMS belonging to the Kcomms group. Incredible but true, the Caetla allows you, opportunely connected to the PC, to use a whole series of powerful tools for programming and debugging of PSX sources, allowing you to develop your personal PSX games. Do not you believe it? OK, take a look at the NAPALM website and you will be convinced. The Caetla was used by several groups of hackers as an alternative to the expensive YAROZE development kit, the official one of the SONY. The Game Enhancer site tells the truth, but only halfway. In fact, it is true that their software does not come from Caetla, but it is also true that they use E.M.S. ROM, or a variant not too different from the Caetla. Just edit a ROM before version 1.4 of the E.M.S. to find out the Caetla header in the file. The variants of the EMS are many, and are written on various clones of the PAR / GS, but no one has ever remembered to thank or at least quote Yumms and Kcomms as authors of Caetla, indeed all have always worked to make it look like flour just sack the ROM of the device. In addition, the Caetla was used for pure piracy purposes, as none of the commercial software of the PAR or the GS allows you to run import games or CD Backup, which is instead advertised for the Game Enhancer. The result was that Kcomms requested the withdrawal of their Caetla Bios from all PSX sites that offered it as a download, and from now on the next Caetla updates will be released only from the Kcomms website and under strict control.
Returning to the Game Enhancer, and in particular to the ability to run Import and Backup CDs, many have complained that often the game is not loaded correctly and the sound is often not perfect. These problems are in fact old-fashioned and bring us back to the swap era, so I do not think it is appropriate to talk about it further. A fact that instead seems fundamental to me is the incapacity, however not stated on the site of the Game Enhancer, to load games with double (or triple) CDs. We mention one for all that goes for the most, Metal Gear Solid, which at the time of writing is available only in NTSC (japan or USA). To load the second CD you must necessarily change the CD on the fly, without being able to stop the optical drive, with the risk of damaging both the CD and the laser. This is due to the impossibility of returning to the main menu once the game is running. Obviously we await denials in this regard, the Forum is available.
Action Replay 2 V1.3
We have now reached the current version of Action Replay for Playstation 2. At the time of writing the paired Action Replay 2 V 1.3 (other versions do not work) and ModChip Neo2 allows to run almost all backup CDs using the swap method. See the PS2 edit section for details. The only ones who have a certain difficulty are those of EA Sports. The Jap games also run without particular difficulty, at least those we have tried. In fact we have the suspicion not too unfounded that the modchip has very little in the warding of the protection of PS2 games. Most of the work is done by the boot CD that Datel does know how to produce (were not only the software houses to have the equipment to make boot disks?) And above all cannot be easily copied! :)
I am sure that the Action Replay with an ad hoc bios would have no need of the chip, but Datel for legal reasons can not of course market such a device, thus leaving to playstationmods.com all the "dirty work".
I would not be surprised at this point if a universal boot disk came out, which works even without Action Replay ... but I reserve the right to try again to make sure of such a statement. In the meantime, let's continue our experiments.
