A former Argonaut studio developer revealed an anecdote about the game Alien Resurrection, released in 2000 on PlayStation. Thanks to a few simple manipulations, it allows you to hack the console so that it launches burned games.
Today, to hack a modern video game console, you have to roll up your sleeves. At one time it was much simpler. It was even child’s play if we are to believe this discovery shared by Polygon on December 22. Released in 2000 on the first PlayStation, the adaptation Alien Resurrection contains a hack that allows the console to play burned games without any hardware or software modifications. An anecdote taken by Martin Piper, ex-developer of the Argonaut studio.
The YouTube channel called Modern Vintage Gamer (nearly 800,000 subscribers) published a video on December 20 where we see the “hack” in action. “ Alien Resurrection, released on the Sony PlayStation, has a secret cheat code that has never been shared, until today. It allows you to launch burned games without modifying the chip and without any other software. It doesn’t even need a memory card ”, says the description. Martin Piper contacted Modern Vintage Gamer to reveal the secret and give him some great exposure.
How to easily hack your PlayStation console
Hacking the PlayStation via Alien Resurrection goes through a hidden menu that must appear by chaining operations with the controller. The steps are not difficult to complete: from the home screen, press a series of keys on the DualShock until the “Cheat menu” tab appears. It gives access to options like infinite ammunition or invincibility.
The more manipulations we do (there are three in total), the more hidden features we will be able to unlock, up to the possibility of launching a burned game without turning off the console (you have to cheat with the cover, which must always remain open ). Modern Vintage Gamer gives us a live demonstration by replacing the — official — disc ofAlien Resurrection by that — engraved — of silent Hill. Everything works perfectly, and it took him less than five minutes to achieve his goals.
How can a game like Alien Resurrection, approved by Sony, can it propose such a flaw? Martin Piper explained that it is linked to the origins of the project : Alien Resurrection was to be spread over several discs and the cheat code is therefore the remains of tracks to test changing CDs in the middle of the game. Argonaut never took it down and Sony didn’t know about it. Without knowing the manipulations to carry out, it was impossible to discover it by yourself. The risk of the hack being revealed at the time was minimal, if not non-existent.
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