gameshark or codebreaker?

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LauraSylvia101
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Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:22 pm

gameshark or codebreaker?

Post by LauraSylvia101 »

I love the suikoden games with a passion and I've been wanting to use gameshark or codebreaker to level up and have infinite potch but all of the post I read confuse me. Which one should I use and what versions are there? I always see gameshark v.5.2 to that extent but then i see codebreaker but does that even work for the games. I have all of them on ps2 except first one which is on ps3. I'm just looking for ps2 and help
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Pyriel
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Re: gameshark or codebreaker?

Post by Pyriel »

Well, I can't just tell you which device is truly the best. It depends on how you'd like to use it, and some other factors. All of them will work with any of the PS2's Suikoden games.

Action Replay MAX
Pros:
  1. The software is reasonably solid. There aren't a lot of hoops and caveats with it.
  2. The cheat engine is functional. The only known bug in it is with threading enable codes, which wouldn't work on the PS2 anyway.
  3. Has the largest variety of cheat code commands, and supports the most frequently used operations.
  4. Save file management.
  5. Online or USB updates for the code list.
  6. With third-party tools you can build your own code lists.
  7. Codes can be organized into folders.
  8. Game detection. Put in the disc, and the AR MAX can try to detect the game, and take you straight to the codes.
  9. The company that makes it is still in business, and still supports the product.
Cons:
  1. Encryption is required. You can't edit the codes easily through the software's own UI.
  2. Despite having the most code commands, the engine is arguably less versatile than the competitions' products. A large number of the code commands are logical comparison variants. Most of them are used so infrequently that they're essentially wasted, and take up room that might have been used for copy, pointer, and bitwise commands.
  3. The software takes a long time to load, unless you pare the code list down significantly.
  4. There's no intuitive way to create folders in the UI. They're "made" by metadata codes inserted into the list.
  5. Game detection is spotty. It requires metadata embedded into the enable code. If that data isn't there, detection is impossible.
Summary:This is the best bet for the general user. If you have no idea how codes work, no desire to mess with editing them, and don't spend a lot of time fiddling with values this is for you. If it's important that you be able to put a Fire Rune in someone's head slot, and then edit the code later to to be a Rage Rune, or you're really keen to change stat values and edit inventories, you might do better with one of the others.

CodeBreaker
Pros:
  1. The cheat engine is functional. The only known bug in it is an alignment-forcing error on the Copy code type.
  2. Encryption is optional, and can be light even when used (values left unencrypted). Easy to edit codes, if you have some understanding of how they work.
  3. Has the most versatile set of commands. Supports the most frequently used operations, and has several less frequently used, but highly helpful code types.
  4. Save file management (maybe, see cons).
  5. USB updates for the code list (maybe, see cons).
  6. With third-party tools you can build your own code lists (sort of).
  7. Some limited code organization is possible with "headers", which are green entries in the code list.
  8. Loads quickly.
Cons:
  1. In the latest versions, two types of encryption can be used. The most "secure" type forces all codes for a game to use it, if one code does. This is a minor problem, as the encryption was broken ages ago, and the codes are available without it. However, when you buy the software, you may have to replace official codes that use the new encryption.
  2. Horrible problems with USB features on newer PS2s. If the serial number on the back or bottom of your PS2 is SCPH-75000 or higher, the software won't even run properly with anything plugged into a USB port. If you have one of the newer models, none of the USB features are useable.
  3. All the online features are defunct. You can no longer update the codes or software online, and the Chat feature is broken.
  4. Because of the last two cons, it's impossible to do save management or to update the code list (except manually with a controller), if you have an incompatible PS2.
  5. The company that owns it no longer makes it, nor do they support it. Therefore it's nearly impossible to find a new copy of it.
  6. You can't make the green headers without using third-party software. If you can't do a USB update for the code list, that little feature is also closed off to you.
  7. Building your own code list requires an update file, which is hard to find now that the software is unsupported, but there are still sites hosting it. However, since the update file needs to be placed on a USB drive, it may be impossible to use on your PS2.
Summary: If you can use it, this is the best device made for the PS2. It's easy to make quick edits to codes with it, and the cheat engine is the best. With the right PS2, it can do most of the things the AR MAX can, and is only missing a couple of bells and whistles like folders, which are hit and miss anyway. Thanks to the company's lack of support in later years, it can also prove to be a nearly functionless load of crap, if you aren't aware of the possible shortcomings when you buy it.

It should be noted that since this thing is fairly popular with hackers, there are edited versions floating around that attempt to remedy some of its problems. Nobody has successfully gotten the USB to work, but the online features have been restored, and the update files are not required to load user-made code lists. There's also a tool that allows you to create a full code list, which you can put on the memory card with homebrew like uLaunchELF. So if you have a mod-chip or something of that nature, this becomes viable again on a newer PS2. Although, you'll have to do a fair bit of extra work.

GameShark
Pros:
  1. Encryption is optional.
  2. Save file management.
  3. USB updates for the code list.
  4. With third-party tools you can build your own code lists.
  5. Some limited code organization is possible with "headers", which are colored entries in the code list. If you know the magic, I think you can enter these yourself in the UI.
  6. Game detection (HA!)
Cons:
  1. The cheat engine is buggy. The newest GameShark versions don't work with some games. Some commands are present, but will not work as advertised.
  2. The UI is buggy. It glitches occasionally, and you have to jump through hoops to make manually entered codes work.
  3. I've never seen the game detection work. Not with signatures I created, nor with "official" signatures provided by MadCatz.
  4. I don't think MadCatz is making this anymore. They seem to still support it, at least as far as warranty goes. I don't think the online features work any more, and I couldn't find a new copy for sale. Even the MadCatz store fails to acknowledge that the GameShark product line once existed.
  5. The software is ugly and obnoxious. I'm usually not much of a stickler for aesthetics in software, but every version of this that I've used is just aggressively unappealing. They usually familiarize you with this right up front, by throwing a shark infested, aquatic-themed intro at you, that looks like it was rendered in Lightwave in 1997.
Summary: This is my "if you must" device. It does work OK, most of the time. It generally won't crash or fail in ways that are terribly obvious, with the exception of codes not working in-game unless you follow the UIs invisible rules. If the CodeBreaker won't work for you because of its compatibility issues, and the AR MAX's encryption is a problem for you, this is what's left.
LauraSylvia101
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:22 pm

Re: gameshark or codebreaker?

Post by LauraSylvia101 »

Thank you. I ended up buying the code breaker.
LauraSylvia101
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:22 pm

Re: gameshark or codebreaker?

Post by LauraSylvia101 »

I have codebreaker v10.1. Does it have to be downloaded to the ps2, will it interfere with the other games my family likes? We are big fans of ps2 and my husband is afraid that this will mess of all the games he likes
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Pyriel
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Re: gameshark or codebreaker?

Post by Pyriel »

Not really understanding the question. There's nothing that needs to be downloaded to the PS2. If you have the CD, it'll work fine.

When the update server was around, there used to be updates it could download for you. Those were just files that would be stored on the memory card (or HDD if you had it) that would provide minor tweaks. None of them were necessary, if all you wanted to do was pop in the disc and cheat in games. Aside from the update file that allows user-made Day 1 files (code packs), the only one that was ever pushed was a fix for some issue with the HDD interface. The former was a completely optional update. The vast majority of people have no use for the latter, and the issue was discovered in 9.0 and fixed in 9.1 anyway.

It's all software, and all the cheat codes are doing is modifying values in memory at run-time. Aside from the occasional save being broken by a typo in a code, or the rare outright bad code, there's nothing harmful that can be done to your games or your PS2 by using this. Hardware-wise, it'll just contribute to the slow demise of your PS2. So it's bad for it in the same way turning the lights on is bad for a light-bulb.
LauraSylvia101
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:22 pm

Re: gameshark or codebreaker?

Post by LauraSylvia101 »

Alright thank you that helped
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