It’s time to see which PS5, PS4, PS VR2, PS VR, and free-to-play games topped the PlayStation Store download charts last month.
22.12.2023 - 17:51 / polygon.com / Star Fox / Of A
While working on first-person shooter Alien Resurrection (2000) for the PlayStation, the folks at Argonaut Games — widely known as the ground-breaking studio behind Star Fox for the Super Nintendo — left in a bit of code that allowed for the booting of backup discs without needing to make any hardware or software modifications to the console.
Martin Piper, an ex-Argonaut programmer, recently shared the story with Modern Vintage Gamer in a video over on YouTube.
“I figured it was so long ago that I didn’t want to get old and die without letting go of these kind of secrets,” Piper explained in the video’s comments.
But how does it work? Well, according to the information relayed by Modern Vintage Gamer, the process of unlocking Alien Resurrection’s hidden functionality involves a few simple cheat codes. Using three series of button presses, you first unlock a known cheat menu, expand that cheat menu to include a level select feature, and finally prime the system for loading a backup disc.
After that, all it takes is removing Alien Resurrection from the PlayStation and replacing it with your burnt CD, taking care to keep something wedged in the tray eject sensor to prevent the console from performing its “wobble groove” anti-piracy check. I don’t have a PlayStation to try this on myself, but using an emulator, I was able to reach the black screen indicating that it was time to swap discs.
Piper told Modern Vintage Gamer the exploit was included in Alien Resurrection because it was originally planned to be a multi-disc game. The code was apparently part of a development test to research disc-swapping; the developers just never took it out and failed to tell Sony about it.
Funnily enough, this isn’t the first time a member of the Alien Resurrection team has provided in-depth details about its development way after the fact. Two years ago, a former Argonaut employee known only as PositronicBrain uploaded 30 pre-release builds of the game, including prototypes from when it was a third-person shooter and a demo from E3 1999.
I’m not sure how many people are clamoring for a new way to run pirated discs on a real-deal PlayStation, but it’s always fun to be let in on cool development secrets, especially when they’ve been tucked away for the last 23 years.
It’s time to see which PS5, PS4, PS VR2, PS VR, and free-to-play games topped the PlayStation Store download charts last month.
The smallest details can provide a wealth of context in , and sometimes, that context can be incredibly disturbing. It's a masterwork of environmental storytelling: there are little details scattered everywhere throughout the game, and they're not always obvious. From Easter eggs most players miss to hidden mechanics to secret ways to complete otherwise obvious quests, it keeps the player guessing throughout.
Resident Evil 2 leads the pack of new titles coming to the PlayStation Plus Extra and Deluxe/ Premium game catalogue, this month. Starting January 16, all higher-tier PS Plus members can head into their first day of work at the Raccoon City Police Department as the pretty boy rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy, only to be pit against hordes of flesh-eating zombies. As a remake of the original 1998 game, it features an additional pathway where you experience the story through the eyes of college student Claire Redfield, looking to reunite with her missing brother, before getting plunged into a conspiracy involving bizarre experiments and sinister corporations. Resident Evil 2 will be available to play on both PS4 and PS5.
A new year calls for some celebration. So good news: the Holiday Sale promotion has received a fresh influx of more digital games and DLC, all discounted for a limited time* as we kick off 2024 with one of our biggest promotions. That includes** the likes of Hogwarts Legacy Deluxe Edition PS4 & PS5 (50% off), NBA 2K24 Black Mamba Edition PS4 & PS5 (60% off) and Gran Turismo 7 Standard Edition PS4 & PS5 (43% off).
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced the January 2024 Game Catalog lineup for Extra and Premium subscribers, and Classics Catalog titles for Premium subscribers.
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A former PlayStation figurehead thinks we're about to hear a lot more about game development budgets going forward in 2024.
January's PlayStation Plus titles have been confirmed: A Plague Tale: Requiem, Evil West, and Nobody Saves the World.
“Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but inside it’s so delightful…” As much as these words are commonly associated with winter snowstorms, inclement weather and the general harshness of the great outdoors are year-long concerns. Be you gripped in the icy embrace of winter or hit with the heat of a summer’s sun, there’s one tried and true method to keep warm or stay cool, and that’s settling in at home with video games by yourself or with friends. And when things outdoors are getting nasty, it’s the comfy games that hit that sweet spot the strongest. Whether you’re curled up on the sofa or bed, with DualSense controller or PlayStation Portal in hand, here’s some suggestions of games to boot up when you need some soothing experiences to battle the dreariness of the outside.
PlayStation Plus' monthly free games for January 2024 — the new year — have been revealed. The month's offerings include narrative-focused period adventure title A Plague Tale: Requiem, top-down dungeon-crawling action RPG Nobody Saves the World, and third-person vampire-hunting shooterEvil West. The three titles will be available to members of PS Plus Essential, Extra, and Deluxe/ Premium plans, starting January 2. These games can be added to your PS4 and PS5 games library until February 5, after which you'll have to hold on to your PS Plus membership for continued access. If you enjoy any of these titles, you could purchase them for permanent access and continue from where you left off.
Sony has announced the lineup of games for PlayStation Plus in January 2024, bringing some new highlights to the steadily updated service. PS Plus is first and foremost a subscription to online PlayStation features, making it possible to access multiplayer servers for plenty of games across Sony systems. The PS Plus game catalog is also a major draw, however, making it easy for subscribers to consistently access new experiences that are offered as a general perk as long as a subscription is active.