Recently my Japanese PS2 that I got way back at the Japan launch
died on me. Seeing as I need to have a machine that plays
Japanese PS2

games I went looking around at prices for a new one and
unfortunately found the price tags to be in the $180 range. With
that in mind I

set out to find a more cost effective method of playing import
games. I"ve always been fond of tinkering with my consoles which
is

evidenced by my blue see through modified Dreamcast and the mod
switch on the side of my Gamecube, so I looked around at the
current PS2

mod options since I already own a Slim US PS2.

I"m absolutely terrible at soldering and I"m not a fan of the
PS2 modchip scene seeing as it"s rampant with piracy so I didn"t
want to

install a modchip. After searching a bit I came across the Swap
Magic product. It looked interesting but upon further inspection
I

realized that it required opening up the console to install. I
looked a little further and found a new version of the product
which

required zero modification to the console. This looked to be the
solution to my problems. Luckily I had the PS2 version it
supported, the

Slim PS2, so I took the plunge and ordered it up from
ModChip.Com.

Then I got to play the waiting game. I waited for weeks for this
thing to be delivered before I finally gave up on it. I also
tried many

times to find and e-mail the staff of this website store but
their support e-mail is so well hidden, if existent, on their
website that I

could never find it. So with one scam under my belt I looked for
a more reliable store. I found that store at modchipstore.com.
It took

less than three days to arrive and the product was in perfect
condition. With the import enabler in hand, I set out to play
some Japanese

PS2 games on my US Slim PS2.

The kit comes with a CD, for CD based games, a DVD, for DVD
based games, and three small plastic parts which are to be
inserted into

crevices under the popup cover of the Slim PS2. There were no
instructions included in the package so I headed over to the
website in

search of directions but came up with only a dead link. After
about a half hour of searching the web I finally found a PDF
with

instructions that were very detailed and contained great
pictures of the installation process. With instructions in hand,
so to speak, I

give the installation a try.

The first thing I had to do is install the three small plastic
pieces. The first plastic piece required that it be pushed into
a small

hole. My fingers alone didn"t do the job so I had to grab a
screw driver and shove it into position. After quite a bit of
fiddling, it

finally stayed in place. The next piece had to be slid in
between a latch of some sort and was somewhat difficult to make
stay in place.

The third piece slipped into place easily. With all the plastic
pieces installed the physical work was done. Unfortunately I
dropped the

PS2 after this and all the pieces flew out. I tracked them all
down, reinstalled them, and was ready to go once again.

When all the plastic pieces are in place the next step is to go
ahead and boot up the swap CD or DVD. The game I was testing
with was a

CD so I popped in the swap CD and turned on the PS2. With the
plastic bits in place you don"t have to keep the flip top
closed, so I left

it open. A flash screen appears followed by a second screen that
allows you to adjust the video mode. If you are using a US PS2
set the

video mode to NTSC and not the default "�Normal"� mode otherwise
it won"t boot the game you"re trying to play.

Playing

Next the swap CD or DVD will stop spinning and you"re ready to
swap in your import PS2 game. With the import game placed in the
PS2 all

you have to do execute the load command from the menu on screen
and the game will start up spinning and load. Once I had the
game loaded

it played and looked perfect. Another big plus is that you don"t
have to buy another memory card just for import games due to the
fact

that you can save all different regions of save games on one
memory card.

Swap Magic for Slim PS2 has allowed me to play import PS2 games
for a fraction of the price of a new Japanese PS2 and I have to
say it

works great. I have yet to come across a game that doesn"t work
using this product. That said, it"s not something for the lazy
out there

as it does require swapping discs every time you want to play a
game. So if you"re short on cash and already have a USA or PAL
Slim PS2

then get this product but if not and you have the cash go ahead
and grab a Japanese PS2.

Pros

* Relatively Easy Install * Low price

Cons

* Requires Some Effort * Requires A Slim PS2

Overall Score 9.2

About the author:
Jeromy is the webmaster of http://www.gamebrink.com/
GameBrink.Com Import Video Game Compare.

Author : Jeromy
Site : www.goarticles.com

BobPaton.com � 2010
Hosted by Midsouth Marketing

Online Games | New Media Blog | City News Magazine | Collierville Advertising | Collierville Dragons