Game enhancer which fails in my opinion to live up to its claims of enhancing games. The only real use I see in it is to cheat at games, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
After all, who are you cheating against? Yourself only, unless you're sneaky with your siblings. The game shark (made by Interact Accessories, a Recoton corp.) has different interfaces for various console machines, but the idea remains the same: The unit features a flash EEPROM or something similar which acts as a data bank for saved cheat codes. Cheat codes will affix a value to a certain memory address (this is where pointers come in handy) so as to give you an unlimited (or with some know-how, limited) supply of that asset. For example, you could play Metal Gear Solid with unlimited health so you never die.
The problems with the Game Shark (and its predecessor, made by Galoob "Game Genie") I perceive are quite simple:
- Since the game is made very easy, it becomes a chore instead of a challenge. The game isn't fun if it's nothing but repetition of the same old thing with a different backdrop.
- It costs usually about $50.
- It will (AFAIK) invalidate your warranty for Nintendo and Sony Playstation units, and probably for any games you play with it. Last time I checked, Sega was ok with the idea of cheating.
- You can hack your own codes via a simple interface, but since your codes are not "tested" and "approved," you run the risk of corrupting your database. I once had that happen, about eight months ago (around April 2000). I still haven't had the problem fixed. And you know what? I think games are better without the shark.
If you're willing to put up with it, you might want to check it out. But that's your decision, so don't blame me.
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