Game Wizard Pro Score: 97% Developer: MicroSmarts Enterprises Device Type: Accessory

Function: The Game Wizard Pro is a game enhancer that?s designed with hard-core gamers in mind. It allows gamers to ?play outside of their market? without voiding their warranty. It also allows you to view FMV directly from an on-screen menu. (Read: watch the endings whenever you wanna!) For those of you out there participating in the ?Gray Market? -- you hard-core gamers that buy ?import? games and play your games so much that you need to keep backup CD-ROM copies of your games so you don?t wear them out -- the Game Wizard Pro completely eliminates the need to install a mod-chip in your system. And, if you?ve already installed one, the Game Wizard Pro will work with your mod-chip. The Game Wizard Pro performs the task of playing CD-ROM and import games excellently. One advanced beta copy I received for preview actually played fine when using the GWP, even though it was buggy when played on our (mod-chipped) ?Preview? PlayStation. The Game Wizard Pro also allows you to view the full-motion videos on a PlayStation disc, listen to sound clips, play audio CDs (yes, you could do that before), and view the screen image memory. Oh, and it has its own memory card manager (once again, you could do that without the Game Wizard Pro).

Performance: The controls for this cartridge take a little getting used to. There?s only one switch on the outside of the cartridge: On/Off. This is easy enough. However, all other choices are made from an on-screen menu system when you turn on your PlayStation. This would have been ideal, but the button configuration is unexpected. The button used in 99.9% of all PlayStation games to ?select? a choice is the X button. In the Game Wizard Pro?s menus, the button used to select a choice is usually the Circle button. In fact, the Game Wizard?s menus use the X button to go back one selection... a function usually assigned to the Triangle button. This can lead to making an unintended selection several times, until you finally get used to it. Using the on-screen menu takes some getting used to, as the button assignments are unusual. However, choosing a cheat code from the list of codes included inside the Game Wizard Pro is quite simple. You simply navigate through the list of cheat codes on screen in the built-in menu. (There are hundreds of codes installed on the Game Wizard Pro cartridge when you purchase it.) Entering your own codes or cheats into the Game Wizard Pro game enhancer is actually not much harder. You simply type in codes that you find in cheat code websites. The curious thing is that the GameWizard Pro has a port in the back of it which looks like it would be possible to connect it to a PC -- possibly to utilize some extra features such as saving your saved games on a PC hard drive for archive purposes or for sharing with friends via e-mail or the internet... and possibly allowing you to grab screen shots directly from the PlayStation?s video memory. But this is not mentioned in the Game Wizard Pro?s manual. Perhaps they?ll release some PC program to utilize this feature at a later date. If you?re looking for a safe way to play import games and still spare your warranty, then Game Wizard Pro is for you. If you don?t need to play imported games, but you want to be able to input game cheats and grab screen shots and save your saved games to a PC, you may want to check out the Xploder from USA Blaze instead.

Features: On/Off switch Game cheat codes Hundreds of built-in codes Add your own codes On-screen menu system Compatible with other game enhancer codes Acts as mod-chip -- Play imports/backup copies Does NOT void PlayStation warranty (mod-chips do)

Drawbacks & Problems:: Even when the Game Wizard Pro is in the Off position, it still disables the PlayStation?s built-in Audio CD player and memory card manager. Also, the GWP comes with an innovative spring which is placed around the post of the door closure sensor and keeps the button depressed (so your PlayStation thinks that the CD door is always closed). This is an easy one-time installation which is removable. But if you attempt to take the Game Wizard Pro from one PlayStation to another, you must be careful not to lose this spring, as it is REQUIRED for the Game Wizard Pro to operate. This product in and of itself is not a game. It is ONLY a utility device. It will allow you to do things with your PlayStation that you could not do without it. But, the Game Wizard Pro is only meant to enhance gameplay with PlayStation games you already own.

-Geck0, GameVortex Communications AKA Robert Perkins