Shane Satterfield

　　It's hump day and The Spot is here to get you over the top. If you've had trouble with your letters getting returned, our mail problems have now been ironed out, so send your questions and comments by clicking here. Please include the topic of your e-mail in the subject heading and mention if you would like your name withheld. Letters written in all caps will not be posted, so give the caps lock the day off.

　　07/25/2001

Need for More Speed

　　Now graduated and married, but still immature, I wonder if I will be able to enjoy the franchise on the PS2. I'm hopeful, but I have yet to hear any news about a possible release. You guys know anything?

　　Thanks in advance for your response.

　　-Beau Wilcox

　　Sounds like a familiar college story, Beau. We used to bet anything we owned on games of NHL 94, and we would also play the battle mode of Mario Kart 64 for, ahem, beers. Ah... those hazy, drunken college days. The latest Need for Speed game for consoles is called Porsche Unleashed. It bombed with critics and consumers, so EA isn't overly excited to give the franchise another go. I wouldn't be surprised if someone picked up the license eventually, but as of right now there's nothing on the radar.

Xbox Hoops

　　Is there going to be a basketball for the Xbox?

　　-Hadley Thomas

　　Microsoft has talked about creating a basketball add-on for the Xbox, but R&D ran into a few snags when attempting to find a slick way to attach the basketball to the console. However, Microsoft is seriously considering the Dog on Rollerskates peripheral to take its place. Not to be confused with the Rabid Monkey in a Rusty Bucket peripheral for the GameCube.

　　EA has already announced NBA Live 2002 for the Xbox, and Sega has promised "all sports to all platforms," so the Xbox should be getting NBA 2K2.

Green Glob

　　Do you know why there's glowing green glob embedded on top center of the Xbox console? Thanks.

　　-Anonymous

　　The Xbox is about as American as a console can get. It's huge and it's gaudy, just like a Trans Am. There's no functionality to the "green glob," so we can only assume that Microsoft mistakenly thought it "looked cool." I don't know if there has ever been a generation of video game console housings as ugly and unimaginative as these three.

PS2 Maintenance

　　I have a PS2 and I just recently noticed that every time I play a game and then I take it out I get like tiny little hairs and/or dust on the disk. I do not put the PS2 on the carpet and I do clean it too. I spoke to other people that have the same problem. Also, one time when I was playing the Jam Pack Summer 2001 DVD game on my PS2, for some reason it didn't load up. But I reset it and it played perfect. I also wanted to ask if DVD games are slower to load because sometimes it takes like 10 seconds for a screen to load up. Mainly, I just want to know how I can clean out the PS2 so I don't get the tiny hairs and dust on my games anymore because I just like clean games. Thanks for reading this email.

　　-Brandon

　　We haven't had any problems with our PS2s making the discs dirty, but there are a couple of things you can do to clean it. Get a can of compressed air at any electronics store and then spray that sucker into the heat vents in your PlayStation 2. Be sure to blow into all the vents so you're not just piling the dirt up on the inside of the console. You can also buy DVD cleaning discs at most record stores that will gently clean any dust or tiny hairs that may be trapped in the loading tray. The only preventative suggestion we can give is to lay your PS2 flat while playing. We have scratched and ruined a few discs while playing the PS2 in a standing position. The loading times you're complaining about are common with PS2 games. Loading time may be somewhat increased due to the amount of data on a DVD compared to a CD, but it shouldn't be that drastic. The PS2 has bad loading times. That's just the way it is.

Crazy Grades

　　The grades of Crazy Taxi 1 on the PS2 are worse than on the DC. If they are practically the same game, why the difference between the grades? Do you rate the games based in the quality of this into all the games of this console or between all the games of all consoles?

　　-Fernando Sartori

　　Like all the games on our site, Crazy Taxi for the PlayStation 2 was reviewed against other games on the same console, not against games on the Dreamcast or any other platform. We expect a bit more from PlayStation 2 games from a graphical perspective. Crazy Taxi for the PS2 is basically a straight port from the Dreamcast version with no enhancements and a few bugs. Therefore, it was scored appropriately.

Thunder!

　　According to the August 2001 issue of PlayStation magazine the new Midway release of Artic Thunder (3rd qtr.) will be available for the PS2. But according to GameSpot, only the Xbox will have this game. Who is right and how do I get more information about this? Any plans for a Hydro Thunder 2 on PS2? My son and I play this constantly. Many thanks.

　　-Anonymous

　　Yes, Arctic Thunder will be coming to the PS2. Read our news article by clicking 2714934here . We just haven't received any media from the PS2 version yet. Hopefully Midway will hook us up sometime soon. No word on Hydro Thunder 2 for any consoles by the way. Whopping each other's tails during some Twisted Metal: Black should provide a nice bonding experience, though.

Daily DBZ

　　What is a converter? Cuz I want to buy Dragonball Final Bout and it says you need a converter.

　　I haven't the foggiest idea what you're talking about, but if you want to play Final Bout you're going to have to get a Japanese PlayStation or use some other sort of device that we are forbidden to mention.

Searching...

　　-Guillaume

　　The easiest way to access any GameSpace that isn't on the main page is through our search engine. Just type in the first word of what you're looking for, click search, and voilà!

Kids With Guns!

　　I was wondering if you could tell me if there are any games out for the PSX that use a light gun and would be suitable for younger players. I have tried to search for some but with the amount of games out for the system, I am having trouble finding any. I appreciate any info you could give me.

　　Thank You,

　　R K

　　The Point Blank franchise is fairly harmless and has done well enough that three games have been released in the series. No blood, no death, all fun!

Favorite Multiplayer

　　Thanks

　　Vincent Chau

　　If we're talking consoles, I'd have to say GoldenEye or NFL 2K1, and for PC, my multiplayer game of choice is Tribes.

Top Ten Explained

　　I have noticed for the last few weeks you have games listed in the top ten that are not even available, not to mention the system they are played on. What gives?

　　Don & Maryann

　　Our top ten list is created based upon how many page views each game gets. It doesn't matter whether its old, recently released, or yet to hit store shelves. It's basically an industry barometer that shows what people are interested in on a daily basis.

Madden Improved?

　　Hello. How are you? I would like to know how NCAA and Madden are shaping up. I enjoy playing football games and I'm looking forward to these two titles. Is it hard to play defense because in last year's Madden the defense was really hard to play. Especially when you were playing someone. Also, did they clean up all those crazy one handed catches? Are the games balanced for the offense as well as for the defense? I'm really looking forward to these two titles. Write back as soon as you can. Bye for now.

　　-Roger

　　You'll be glad to know that one-handed catches don't occur nearly as often this year. I'm not sure why you're complaining about playing defense in last year's game. Other than defending against the handful of money plays, I didn't think it was too difficult. If you're watching someone play Madden 2002, it's almost impossible to tell this year's from last year's. So the graphics haven't changed much. There are some added options, but overall EA is guilty of shoveling out another sequel with minimal upgrades. I'll be at EA today checking out the Xbox and GameCube versions, so watch for the reports tomorrow. Check out our review of NCAA 2002 by clicking here .

Turkey Trouble

　　Dear Shane Satterfield, I live in Turkey and I have a PlayStation 2 game console (from Europe). Now I am in US and I would like to buy PlayStation 2 game from your internet site. I know that there are regional codes for DVD Films in the world. Is there any same regional codes for PlayStation 2 games? Shortly, I want to buy a PS2 game from your internet site in US and I want to play that game in my PS2 console (for Europe) in Turkey.

　　Yours Sincerely,

　　Ugur Yemez

　　You will not be able to play US games on your European PS2. Europe uses the PAL standard of broadcasting, and the US uses NTSC. The two are not compatible. If you're going to be here for a while, why not sell that Euro unit on eBay and get yourself a US PS2?

Our Pleasure

　　It is a great pleasure writing to you.

　　I am called ivy barley.

　　i'm 13 years old of age

　　i attend Burma Camp Primary/JSS school

　　my hobbies are browsing into the internet

　　Thank You

　　The reason I'm writing to you is I want to play your game. I know that it is interesting and all my family wants to play it.

　　Get in line.

Doing Dolby

　　I know the GameCube will have Dolby Surround but no digital. What about the PS2 and Xbox? Do they have optical sound capability? Analog 5.1? Dolby Surround or Digital? I'm eager to know and any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

　　The PlayStation 2 can use 5.1 for cinemas, but only the Xbox is capable of in-game 5.1 Dolby Digital.

Universal Gameshark

　　Dear GameSpot: I wanted to know if you put PlayStation Gameshark codes into the PlayStation 2 Gameshark, would the codes work for the PlayStation game I am playing? Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Ryan

　　This one's for our codes monkey, Gerald Villoria.

　　Gerald Responds: Hey Ryan, thanks for writing. The GameShark 2 works for both your PS2 and PS games, but you need to run the disc in a PS2, so you can't use the card in your original PlayStation. In fact, the one we got came bundled with a disk full of just PS codes. If you're looking to purchase a GameShark, be sure to check for the lowest prices at The Spot Archive