News from Lik Sang



This Christmas SNK announced a present for all NeoGeo fans with the PS2 release of NeoGeo Battle Coliseum. Ported from the recent Atomiswave arcade board release, this is an all-star all-action two on two fighting frenzy. The gigantic roaster of 41 characters pours in from The King of Fighters, Samurai Spirits / Samurai Showdown, Fatal Fury, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Art of Fighting, The Last Blade, World Heroes, Metal Slug and more!

Far beyond a simple port, this PS2 release features survival and practice modes, arranged background music, new 3D backgrounds and completely new stages, a character edit mode and a new bonus boss fighter named Goodman. Online play is also included, although it's unclear at this stage if the mode will work outside of Japan. The official release date is listed on December 22nd and we hope to receive stock this week but amazingly, shipping has not been confirmed to us as of now, which makes us fear SNK Playmore might be up for their classic trick again: postpone at the very last minute and put the title back on TBA status. We sure hope for the best but you never know what these guys are really up to, as such a chaos happened so many times before with them (some of you for sure remember the Metal Slug Advance running joke). Let's wait and see for a couple of more days hoping Santa will help out on this one ...

News from Lik Sang



Celebrate your Dreamcast's 7th Christmas with a new title from GOAT Publishing, Cool Herders. A fast paced puzzle party game, players use elite powers to grab the most sheep! 4 player interaction and special powers let you either herd them yourself, or bash your opponent and steal theirs! On top of that, story mode puts you in the shoes of Zeus, a New Zealander far away from his homeland as he tries to get his herd back from the evil clutches of Iskur. This plays out across six worlds with three stages each (plus secret worlds!), and after that you can try a complete second mission mode with increased difficulty.

What began life as a demo on the fan made 'DC Tonic' disc, was so popular the developers went hard out on all new graphics, a full soundtrack with over a dozen tunes, six characters plus more to unlock, unlockable special modes and plenty of secrets still to come! Compatible with all the 'MIL-CD' Dreamcast units (generally all manufactured Oct 2000 and earlier), it'll work on an NTSC or PAL console, or through a VGA Box. At only US$ 19.90 and in stock now, dust off your Dreamcast and invite the mates over for a bit of fun with your sheep. ...

News from Lik Sang

The Katamari series is brilliantly unique Japanese insanity at its best. Playing as the Prince under The King of All Cosmos, you run around pushing a giant ball made of houses, cars, cows, people and generally anything else you roll this round monstrosity into. Eventually it becomes so huge it's sent into space to replace a star, and the people of the games world, well those that aren't rolled up in it we assume, love it. This is the type of odd ball title you'd assume would never get an English release, but it's that incredibly fun and addictive, Katamari broke all the rules and got a western release on the PS2 earlier this year. This week however, Japan is of course already onto the next big thing, and that's the all new portable PSP Katamari title.



Improving on the PS2 originals, along with an all new storyline, this PSP release features dynamic levels that change based on the time and season. Ever changing paths also ensure the game is different each time you play, and there's four player multi-player battles. Lastly there's a bonus side scrolling 2D mini game included, which can be seen here. Out tomorrow morning already, Boku no Watashi no Katamari Damacy will show you exactly what players of the PS2 titles go head over heels for, and is the type of game you'll be dying to show your mates. You can get the ball rolling by placing your order below today. [Singing] Paaaaah, pah, pah, pah, pah, paaah, Katamari Damaccyyyyyy... [end of chorus] ...

News from Lik Sang



Far from a mere re-release, Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence is three discs bursting with new content, starting with an entirely new game, Metal Gear Online! That's right, online! At last you can experience the stealth tactical military action with full 8 player battles in a variety of modes. All moves right down to the classic cardboard box disguise are here, and there's no online fees, all you need is the PS2 network adaptor and a broadband connection. The full MGS 3 is here too, now with new easier and more extreme levels of play, a new and more dramatic third-person camera system, and a Demo Theatre to spice up your favorite scenes with your choice of camouflage and face paint.

Moving on, Dual Mode lets you take on boss characters, which many believe to be the greatest videogaming has to offer, then there's more Hide-'n-Seek in new levels, all of which are infested with those wacky, brainwashed, slippery monkeys from Ape
Escape. Then there's the secret theatre, a three hour Metal Gear movie, and still two more entire full games! Both Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake are here! Quite simply there's far too much to cover here, but check out our full news item for in depth details on everything. Scoring an extremely rare 39 / 40 from Famitsu, and with the original MGS 3 game taking up just part of one of the three discs, this is a must have for every fan, whether or not they own last year's hit release (and almost 4 million of you do!). The Japanese version of the game is expected to be in our hands on or before Thursday. All reservations will be shipped out in no time. ...

News from Lik Sang

You just can't have enough Flash Memory nowadays. Cell phones, digital cameras, MP3 players, PDAs, and even PSPs need them. But what can you do if you happen to have an MP3 player that uses SD cards, a digital camera (or N-Gage) that wants an MMC card, and a PSP and a cell phone that needs Sony's Memory Stick Pro Duo? Until now, you could either use half of your paycheck here and then to buy a new 2G monster flash card, or just forget about that high-tech frenzy and use the not-so-spacious 128MB or 256MB cards that probably came in the box with your devices.

Hope is near. The first 3rd party manufacturer in China is soon ready with the first generation Compact Flash and SD/MMC Card Adapters for the PSP. How they perform compared with Datel's bestselling 4GB Hard Drive for the PSP, if they are any good at all, and what else they are good for, we will soon find out. We have spoken to the developers and had the chance to play around with their beta hardware for a while. Read the following Hands-On review to find out more.

Datel 4GB Hard Drive with X2 Battery Pack (In Stock)

For the record, the Datel 4GB Hard Drive (as reviewed by Lik Sang here) consists of four parts: the Hard Drive, a X2 Battery Pack, Max Media Manager Software for Windows, and a High-Speed USB 2.0 cable to connect your PSP to your computer. The 4GB Hard Drive is connected with the PSP by means of what Datel calls a flexible Memory Stick™ adapter that is plugged into the Memory Stick™ slot on the PSP. Once connected, the body of the HD attaches to the back of the PSP using two location posts which slot into corresponding holes on the back of the PSP. When used in conjunction with the X2 double capacity battery the 4GB HD forms an ergonomic extension to the PSP which follows the neat lines of the handheld.

While there was initial fear that this may make the PSP look bulky, it turned out to be the best solution and adds only 125 gram to the total weight of your PSP. On the inside, the Datel 4GB Hard Drive is powered by a Datel developed Compact Flash adapter and a Magicstor 4GB Microdrive. Lik Sang successfully tested standard Compact Flash cards and Microdrives from other brands. Due to the PSP's Firmware limit of 4GB per Memory Stick (this may change in the future if Sony releases a new Firmware version), larger Microdrives or Compact Flash cards will work, but you can only use and format them with up to 4GB. In other words: it works with 8GB Compact Flash Cards and 6GB Micridrives, but you can only use 4GB which makes it all pointless so far. Again, this may change by Sony releasing a new Firmware for the PSP, this could happen once they release Memory Sticks with more than 4G.

First Generation Adapters Flash Card Adapters for PSP

After Datel's direct approach with a 4GB Hard Drive solution for the PSP, there are now three new products entering the market. On the first look, all three products definitely allow greater flexibility but we wanted to look a bit closer at the 2in1, 4in1 and whatever-in-one features. Just like with USB card readers on the PC, it may well be that behind a 21in1 device stands actually just a standard card reader that supports three different card slots with all its different card versions. Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick with and without MagicGate, and of course you can connect it to the PC and have it sitting on your desk. That already makes it a 7in1. Do not underestimate (or overestimate) the creativity of Chinese third party manufacturers ;-)

The beta samples that Lik Sang has available for this hands-on report were all directly from the factory and they are all still work in progress. We were already able to collect a first impression and forward our feedback to the manufacturer. We hope that all the flaws we have discovered are fixed in the final stage of the products, and that the manufacturing quality et all will be improved.

We were particularly unhappy with the fragile flat cable (flexible PCB type) and the connector that goes into the PSP Memory Card slot. It has been particularly difficult to plug into the Memory Card slot, and there was a constant feeling that the cable will get damaged easily, having no protection whatsoever on the outside.

Datel addressed that problem by developing their own flexible Memory Stick adapter and not just using a flexible PCB. They've used a flat cable on the inside that is protected on the outside with isolating rubber material. The cable on the Datel HDD is naturally also much shorter because the hard drives position near the Memory Stick slot. On the other hand, the cable on all these new first generation adapters seems to be replaceable with a special connector, while the Datel one is not replaceable if you ever break it (but would still be fixed through Datel's 1 year warranty).

The next question we had to ask ourselves (at least with the 2in1 and 4in1 version) was where to actually put the device. Because the device looks basically like a PC card reader that connects ...

Edison Carter has updated his Trainer for Liberty City Stories.

Supported cheats include: Infinite Health and Armor, Set Wanted Level, Set Time, Set Weather & Spawn Anything.

Whats New:

This version lets you change your CPU speed between 222MHz and 333MHz. You can also see your battery level, voltage and temp. This feature is not available on firmware 2.6. The syscalls are all mixed up on 2.6 and it would be prohibitively difficult to discover the CPU and battery stuff on 2.6. You won't see a difference at 333MHz except when the refresh rate slows down with too many cars on the screen, then it won't slow down as much. Someone should figure out the difference in battery life between 222MHz and 333MHz.

Video Recorder records an animated GIF at 8 frames per second. I'm not sure if this works better at 222MHz or 333MHz. It's a little different on each. The CPU time starvation on 222MHz might be a good thing to keep the game from progressing during the snapshot.

Don't forget to press DOWN+X to stop your video before taking the memory card out!

The GIF file generated is uncompressed. To compress it, load it into anything that can load animated GIFs and then save. Compression reduces the filesize by better than 50%. Always compress the GIF before posting on the web, and limit the length of your recordings to keep the size reasonable!

The Heavy Motorcycle cheat determines the mass of motorcycles when they are first created, like when you open the garage or when you first see one in traffic, so you need to turn it on before opening the garage or finding a motorcycle you want to ride. Once a motorcycle is created, its mass property is set. Other motorcycles on the road will also be heavy, but for peds, their motorcycles burst into flames at the slightest touch of another vehicle. If you don't want this, get yourself a heavy motorcycle then turn the cheat off so new motorcycles will be normal.

With this cheat, you are the heaviest thing in the universe and in every collision, the other vehicle has to do all the moving to get out of the way. If you shove a car into a wall, it has nowhere else to go so it'll squirt up into the air like the Yardie Lobo in my video.

If you don't turn on Your Car Is Indestructible, you get a cool flame effect when you crash into walls.

Download via comments ...

canuda10 has ported the great Beats of Rage over to the GP2X, this is major news as it supports a massive Beats of Rage Modding Scene too, heres a screen:



Download here --> http://gp2x-emulation.dcemu.co.uk/beatsofrage.shtml ...

A Nice article/review from SuccessHK



Ah, those cute little modular robots: Technology courtesy of an ancient civilization, a collective mindset the Borg could appreciate, fashion sense somewhere between urban-winter-hoodie and Super Milk-Chan, and action/puzzle/platform gameplay. Tokobot is a stylish, unique title, and a sorely-needed infusion of original gameplay to the PSP library.
Players take role of Bolt, an adventurous researcher who comes upon a group of ancient robots during an expedition (it can happen). From there, any science-fantasy geek knows the drill -- the cute little robots identify and bond with the first being in the vicinity when they turn on, and the rest is action/platforming goodness. With this new posse of robotic homies, Bolt embarks on new assignments, and the Tokobots are there to help him out as his ever-useful, exceptionally versatile wing-things.

Players start off with six Tokobots (more become available throughout the game), which can link up in special physical formations, effectively becoming different machines. For some reason, there are those who insist on comparing the game to the experience of Pikmin, but the Tokobot formula is a lot more straightforward, aggressive and, well, nifty.

Tap a face button when the Tokos are arrayed on both sides of you, and they become a collective blade, whirling around you and dealing damage to all comers (or smashing objects... which can, in turn, become new threats!).

A basic, sensible circular formation is a bit more practical for simply moving around the environments, and also allows your robotic buddies to do a coordinated stomp-attack, or to activate large switches set into the ground.

Line the little guys up behind you single-file, and they can make themselves into a very useful whip. This formation can obviously be used as a weapon and also act as your own personal Indiana Jones-style grappling hook, pulling you up to higher elevations. An even cooler formation finds the Tokobots forming their own propeller, allowing players to jump across gaps and rotor their way down to safety.

Often, you'll need to be quick and decisive as you toggle through the formations. For example, you may stroll into an area with the Tokobots arrayed around you in the circular formation, automatically switch to a T-arrangement to pull a massive block to where you want it, employ the follow-line formation to whip-crack an aerial foe down to the ground, and finally re-assemble in the tight cluster formation to jump up and stomp the downed foe to his doom. It's hard not to like the Tokobots after you've pulled off a few successful, visually impressive combos.



As if that's not enough, the Tokobots can -- for an expenditure of ancient Karakuri parts, which you'll continually discover as you play -- do the Micronauts/Transformers number and jointly assemble into huge, distinct mecha-bots. These include a floating, sword-carrying warrior, a clobberin'-time hammer, and a rapid fire support platform on wheels. These mega-configurations are capable of defeating boss enemies, or gaining entry to new areas.

The control takes some getting used to, particularly when you're rapidly cycling "joint actions." Also, there's just the slightest delay between hitting the controls and getting the result you want. But this isn't an overly hyper world, and you still have the dexterity advantage over almost all your enemies. The camera is good, not great -- there will be the occasional "challenging" camera moment, but thankfully, they're few and far between.

Meanwhile, the PSP now has a stylish, almost insufferably cute dose of action/puzzle gaming, and a world that will appeal to both sexes and all ages. If your sessions of Pikmin left you in a controller-chucking frustrated state, Tokobot will be the hands-on antidote for what ails you. ...

miemt11 has released another patched version of MPHs Firmware Launcher, heres whats new:

u2 version:

1: L+R+SELECT to load the real/hardware original Sony UMD

Download at the release thread in our forums here --> http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=15569

Thanks to miemt11 for posting the release and other news/releases here at PSP News ...