Datel 16MB Memory Card (PS2)

So, the package is in your hands. In it you can see a blue memory card and what looks like a manual.
Open it up and you'll hopefully be instantly thinking what I was - "oh god, not a boot disc".
I'm afraid it's a big yes my friends, to use this card you're going to have to enter the world of the painful boot disc and if you've got Region X, another Datel product, you'll know exactly why I was so disappointed.

Performance:
Despite the initial annoyance of encountering a boot disc I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it does actually work very well. A fairly easy to use menu system appears once the disc has booted up allowing you to copy, move, delete, crush and load files with just a few commands.

At this point I will highlight one absolutely crucial piece of information. You WILL need an official Sony (or Sony endorsed) 8mb memory card to use this product. You can not save files from within a game to the 16mb card, you have to save to an ordinary card and then you can transfer your saves afterwards.
You can then load games up via the 16mb card (or rather the boot disc) to access your saves but you can't actually save directly to the card.
I have found this to be infuriatingly annoying as this means you constantly have to save on one card and then transfer everything afterwards.

Of course you can store huge amounts of data on the card though so if you have an official 8mb card then this could be the 'never buy another card' solution but I have barely used the card so far due to its laborious design.

Quality:
Once again Datel do prove that they are constantly searching for ways of improving our gaming lives and to all intents and purposes they have come up with a brilliant idea. The boot disc works perfectly and performs all of the available functions easily and first time.
The card feels solid and well constructed whilst the boot disc comes supplied in a proper DVD case although it is one of those horrible oversized clear ones from the early DVD days.

Value:
The official RRP for this product is £29.99 but I know for a fact that you can get this product much cheaper.
You're also getting double the storage capacity of a normal 8mb card and when you add to that the 5x crushing ability you really do get a massive amount of storage for a small price.
Do bear in mind though that you'll need an official card too so in total you're looking at around £45 for both cards. This should be all you'll ever need though.

Overall:
On paper it's a bargain buy but I believed that this was going to be a simple plug and play card with double the size of an ordinary card. In essence that is what you're getting but it's not the most user friendly item on earth and if you're the type of person who wants to play NOW then this is possibly not the card for you.
As it is, I have as yet not needed to use the 16mb card despite owning around 12 games AND having the new DVD drivers installed (a quarter of the 8mb card is taken up by this alone).
It's worth keeping for the future though as inevitably those game saves may well increase in size.

MR.COATES

So, I thought, what the heck. I shelled out for the card and took it home, eager to get a proper game of 'Code Veronica' in.

Oh was I disappointed.

I took the card home, read through the instructions and gave it a go. The disk booted up ok, but it wouldn't acknowledge the presence of the card in the slot. I switched off, replaced it and tried again. Still no joy. The machine seemed to easily recognise normal Playstation cards, so I figured my machine was fine. After various attempts with no further joy I surmised that the card was broken, and decided to take it back.

So, Sunday morning the card returns to the shop and I get it replaced. That night I try again, same problem, the machine doesn't even acknowledge the card. Slightly frustrated at this point I sent an email to Datel's (The manufacturer) support department asking for pointers.

Well, By wednesday, and several more failed attempts to get the card working with no response from Datel I try again. The card goes back, is replaced again and I try again. Same problem, the software won't acknowledge the presence of the card.

I email Datel again That night and by Thursday night there was still no repsonse, so this time the card went back and stayed back.

Needless to say, I wasn't impressed with the performance of the card. I read in another Opinion on here that the card does work if you save it to a regular PS2 memory card first. however I read the manual cover to cover on several occasions, and nowhere on the packaging or the manual does it mention this requirement.

As it stands I still haven't had a reply from Datel, so I guess I'll never see one of these little puppies work.

So, my review, errr.....

The Card is a pleasing semi-translucent blue in colour, with some attractive aesthtic curves to it's construction. It feels solid and rests nicely in the memory card port. The supporting software comes on an attractive blue disk and loads within a reasonable amount of time. The interface looked pretty, but as it never acknowledged the card, I was unable to truly establish how user-friendly it was. The manual is concise, and it's FAQs described absolutely none of the problems I encountered.

... this seemed to be a reasonably priced device, and I certainly got my value for money from it, well, when I took it back and exchanged it for two games in the special offer the shop was running at the time.

However if you want to save yourself the time, just go straight for the games, or a normal memory card. I guess that some people have had it working, but I've pretty much only come across reports of failure in one form or another.

I now have an official card, which works just fine, and a new hobby.

Trying to get a response from Datel.