Follow Us: Facebook Twitter YouTube RSS Feed

Action Replay MAX EVO Edition Review

Action Replay MAX EVO Edition with over 50,000 codes, is the ultimate cheat system for the PlayStation 2? It boasts the ability to burn your own PlayStation 2 compatible movie, MP3 music and retro game discs. Let’s put it to the test and see if it is all that it is cracked up to be.

Getting codes for the Action Replay MAX EVO Edition is very straight forward. Boot up the Max CD and once loaded insert your game. Give it a few seconds to detect the CD then select either the “Quick” or “Expert” mode button and a massive list of game names for the PS2 will open. Scroll down until you find what you need and then configure the cheats you would like to use and press start to launch the game. It’s simple and I had no problems with the games I tried.

If you have a PlayStation 2 Network Adaptor and a broadband connection, then Action Replay MAX EVO Edition automatically goes online and downloads the very latest AR codes each time you boot up your PS2. Action Replay includes support for a USB Flash drive, or you can download new codes to a CD-R and then load them into the Action Replay on a standard PS2. New codes can also be entered by hand using a standard PlayStation 2 game pad, or via a compatible USB keyboard. You can also transfer codes and game saves over the internet via PC using X-Port.

Action Replay MAX EVO Edition also features “Intelligent Codes” for guaranteed trouble-free game enhancing. Action Replay’s Advanced Code Engine (A.C.E.) will automatically download a game’s codes direct to your PlayStation 2, in many cases before that game is even available at retail. It is the only cheat code system that will then automatically recognize your new PS2 game release, taking you straight to the specific codes for it. If you do not have a PlayStation 2 Network Adaptor then Action Replay MAX EVO Edition’s includes a USB flash drive for a fast and easy way to transfer new codes and game saves between your PS2 and any PC.

DVD Region X allows you to watch any DVD movie from any region and it also comes with the Action Replay MAX and worked much like getting codes. Boot up the Max CD and once loaded click the DVD Region X button. When the screen comes up select the correct part of the world the DVD comes from by selecting the correct region and then launch your DVD. The DVD Import Movie Player plays movies from Regions 1 through 6.

The Memory Manager included with the Action Replay MAX enables you to transfer saves from your Memory Cards to the Flash EVO Drive and then to your PC and vice versa. You can also free up your memory cards and borrow saves off your friends. This is also quite easy to use and configure. Memory Card Manager with ZIP drive support works well and it uses a data compressor to pack even more data into your memory cards. You can also use the 16 megabytes of memory on the Flash EVO Drive to back-up your standard memory cards, or use the “Crusher” option to pack in up to 10 times more data.

MAX Media Creator PC software is also included with the Action Replay MAX EVO Edition and it lets you burn your own Action Replay MAX-compatible CD-Rs that play on any regular PlayStation 2 giving you no need to modify your console. You are able to listen to MP3 music via your TV or music system and you can have over 10 hours of music on just one CD-R (encoded at 128kbps). You are also able to watch movies encoded in popular file formats on your PS2 and one CD-R will hold up to 3 hours of video. Installing the Media Creator Software on your PC is simple. Load the Media Creator Software CD into your DVD/CD Drive and let it auto load and install it choosing the default settings. It will also install ASPI drivers and restart after the installation. Read the instruction book thoroughly to avoid problems.

Making discs with the MAX Media Player is easy but time consuming. You have to start up the Max Media Creator and drag and drop your media files onto the filename area. It will show you the filename of your media files and a colored status bar telling you if you need to convert it. Converting is a trial and error process until you find the different settings that suits you best. A standard conversion took me 30 to 60 minutes. The conversion process may be a little confusing with no real guidance, but the Media Player does handle MP3 playback and movies well.

The Media Creator software also may or may not be compatible with your CD burner and some brands of CDs may be hit or miss. Stick to name brands and you should have no problems. I also tried a few mpeg files and MP3 files and played them on the media player via the 16MB Flash EVO Drive. The player handled the mpeg files and MP3 files well with no problems.

Action Replay MAX EVO Edition PGEN Genesis/Megadrive emulator lets you play game roms on the PS2 without a modchip. For the test on the PGEN I rounded up about 10 roms and then started up the Media Creator, dragged and dropped the ROM files over, and then clicked on the add emulator option. Then I clicked the PS2 CD icon and it started to make the image. When finished I inserted a blank CD-R, burned it and then tried it in the PS2. To play burned Genesis ROM discs on the your PS2 choose Media Player on the Boot CD screen and leave the Action Replay MAX EVO Edition CD in. The loading PGEN screen will appear and thenyou need to load the ROM CD-R that was made in Media Creator and you should be good to go. Make sure to read the instructions before trying this and you may have to try the different options if you have any failures.

Action Replay MAX EVO Edition also comes with live chat and instant messaging called MAXim. MAXim can be used for real-time online chat and messaging with anyone that has a broadband-enabled PS2 and a memory card. As far as how it works I had no problems and it was very easy to set-up.

Final Verdict

Action Replay MAX EVO Edition would make a great addition to anyone’s PS2 library. The ability to play MP3s, movies, multi-region DVDs and Genesis/Megadrive ROMs makes it a great product at a good price. I would also like to point out that you do not have to have a mod chip in your PS2 to do any of this. Converting Media Files does take some time, but with the Genesis/Megadrive emulation and media file playback without using a mod chip, the multi-region DVD player, and a massive cheat database you can’t go wrong. One last thing, Read the Instruction Manual.

Score

9.0 out of 10

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Related Information

Posted by: z36
Date: April 5, 2005
Manufacturer: Datel
Website: CodeJunkies.com
Release Date: 08/01/2004
Genre: Peripheral
System Reviewed: PlayStation 2

Buy from Amazon.com

DreamStation.cc participates in the Amazon Associates and Play Asia affiliate programs. The website may contain affiliate links that provide a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through the links. The commission helps support DreamStation.cc and allows us to continue to run the website. Thank you for your support!

Share This

Follow any comments about this through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Latest Forums Topics

Hottest Forums Topics

    Recent Comments

    Poll

    Which next generation game system(s) are you going to buy?

    View Results

    Loading ... Loading ...