Posted October 24th, 2008 by Chris Clarke
Filled under: Video Games
I brought a Sony PlayStation 2 from EB Games this morning. I bring it home and to my surprise it has a mod-chip which would allow me to play imported games, and back-ups. I found this out by placing my copy of Tales of the Abyss in the drive and well, it actually played.
So I was playing Tales of the Abyss for over an hour, but I eventually died while fighting the Liger Queen. Since I don’t yet have a memory card or a AU PAL PS2 game and there is no possible way I could finish Tales of the Abyss in one sitting without saving, I went to place one of my older Sony PS1 games in the drive. To my dismay, it wouldn’t start or even get recognized by the PS2. I went on to try another PS1 game, and then 3 DVDs. None of them would play. Despite my initial success with Tales of the Abyss, it was now apparent that the laser in the Sony PlayStation 2’s DVD ROM drive was on its last legs.
Luckily, the PlayStation 2, despite being pre-owned, came with a 12 month warranty. So I went back and exchanged it for a silver PlayStation 2. I have got this one home and my PS1 games, and DVDs work. Unfortunately, unlike the other one it does not come pre-modded.
Now, I’m not great with a soldering iron and nor do I trust myself to open it up while it has a warranty, but next payday, I’m going to order a Swap Magic as was my original plan which should allow me to play imports like Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES and Tales of the Abyss among others. Its the role-playing games that have driven me to purchase a PS2 and unfortunately not many of them tend to get released down under.
~ Chris
Update: I’m going to be getting the flip-top lid case replacement instead of using the slide-tool which sounds more risky then actually replacing the case but not as risky as soldering a mod-chip. Unfortunately, this means it will be at least 4 weeks till I can play it. I’m tempted to go grab a game in the meantime while I’m saving although this would push back the acquirement of the requirements by another two weeks. So I’ll probably just wait. It’s Persona 3 FES and Tales of the Abyss, they’re worth it from what I’ve seen.
Tags: ebgames, playstation, ps2, shopping, sony, Video Games
Posted October 21st, 2008 by Chris Clarke
Filled under: Site
So, I finally created a new design for this blog.
The characters in the header banner are from the Tales games - Symphonia, and the Abyss.
I’ve tried to go for a more professional design while still showing me in it. I think the resulting design is perfect for this because I can change the header banner at will and also change the colours.
Muse’s Success’ new code base was rolled out the other day. It seems to be working fine, although a few bugs have been discovered. 
I’m thinking about adding some serious content to this blog and as such, note the new links at the top of the page. They’ll work eventually.
I might be getting a PS2 on Friday. I’m excited. Unfortunately, I can’t afford games or a memory card just yet. So it might be another 4 weeks before I get to play games that are not for the PS1.
I think this is all.
Oh, I also moved the blog again back to the top-level domain. I was never happy with the sub-directory.
~ Chris
Tags: abyss, blog, design, ps2, Site, symphonia
Posted October 1st, 2008 by Chris Clarke
Filled under: Anime
Since this week is the end of many of several series that have aired during the Autumn and Winter, now Spring has commenced, and soon to be followed by Summer, we are able to experience the introduction of several new series.
I’ve decided to pick up two new series to replace the awesome Code Geass R2 and Special A which have sadly come to an end. Speaking of which, I have a half-written review of Special A that I should get around to finishing.
These series are:
- Vampire Knight Guilty from Studio DEEN
The synopsis for this show has caught my eye. I’m not sure what to expect, but it seemed to be one of the better anime scheduled to premier.
- Tales of the Abyss from Sunrise, Bandai Visual and Namco
This anime is being produced by Sunrise which as you know did Code Geass. It is also based on the game of the same name which is from Namco Bandai whom also were responsible for my beloved Tales of Symphonia. I’m expecting great things from this anime.
These two series join Bleach and Shugo Chara! in my anime watching schedule. The former of which is being harder to find, and the second I’m not even half way through the first series yet, so I can’t start on the new season just now.
I’m also still not sure what I want to use this blog for, the only thing that is certain is that its Anime related. It seems to be somewhat of an opinion blog.
My request for people to join the staff a few posts back still stands. So if your interested, please feel free to contact me.
