▐▓▒░ acekard 2 Review ░▒▓▌
Manufactured by:
Also known as:ak2
Proof that i have an acekard 2
Review contents
- Official features list
- Packaging & Contents
- Card Design
- Graphical User Interface
- Additional Features
- Game Compatibility
- Homebrew Compatibility
- Conclusion
‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
▐▓▒░ Official features list: ░▒▓▌<a name="ofl"></a>
____________________________________________________________
- Perfect Compatibility. No need to convert, No need to flash.
- Write save file directly to TF card. No more save type selection.
- Auto patching DLDI. Run homebrew programs without convert.
- Support Soft-Reset. Support Download play. Support Wi-Fi.
- Support SDHC microSD card. No maximum file limit.
- Support any brand of microSD. No slow down.
- Support Action Replay. Built-in editor.
- Low power consumption. Long playing time.
- Easy operation. Support pad and touch screen control.
- Multi-languages. Support Customize Skin.
- Support launch slot-2. Support expand package.
- 4 level brightness adjustment.
- Support reading text files, listening mp3 and watching movie.
▐▓▒░ Packaging & Contents: ░▒▓▌
____________________________________________________________
The acekard 2 comes in a little plastic blister-like package with a thin piece cardboard folded inside which has a very brief manual inside in English and Chinese and a features list on the back again in English and Chinese. The packaging hardly looks like it protects the AK2 during transit.
The AK2 is packaged with a free micro SDHC card reader. It is made totally out of plastic (including the connector) and is infamous for arriving DoA or dieing out. But it works great (when its working) and is quite fast.
Bottom & Top
Front & Back
Side & Micro SD inserted
‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾<a name="Card Design"></a>
▐▓▒░ Card Design ░▒▓▌
____________________________________________________________
This card was purchased in February, there may have been changes to the hardware with the latest batches
One of the first things you can see about the AK2 is that it has a slight bump on the reflective label which something protruding out of the shell, it doesn't affect the card when inserting/ejecting the card. The card inserts into the DS quite smoothly and sits inside flush. The AK2 has no teeth protecting the contacts it makes it easier to damage the contacts but as the contacts are not covered, they are easier to clean. The card is held together by 5 clips around the card (2 on each side and 1 on the top). The overall build quality is okay but other cards which are held together by screws instead of clips are a lot more sturdier. The card feels like it wouldn't break if you threw it at the wall.
Front & Back
Top & Side (50c coins were used to hold the card up)
‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾<a name="Graphical User Interface"></a>
▐▓▒░ Graphical User Interface ░▒▓▌
____________________________________________________________
Unlike most modern flashcards the AK2 can boot into the DS Menu (this is taken as a pro by some people and a con by others). If you don't want it to boot to that menu you can always switch the boot mode to Automatic in the DS settings but it will still require you to press a button on the "Health and Safety" Screen.
The AK2 shows a clock and a calendar on the top screen, nothing else is shown on the top screen other than the clock and calendar through out the whole menu. On the bottom screen you can select whether to access your micro SD or boot what ever is in your slot 2. You can also set 1 shortcut. The entire menu is fast and responsive and the entire menu can be navigated effectively with the stylus.
Touch screen navigation in the cheat menu is only available in Bliss' menu
The menu can be viewed in 2 ways
- With icons (4 items are displayed at a time)
- Without any icons (10 items are displayed at a time)
The AK2 has a start menu similar to the start menu in windows, from here you can access:
- Copy - Explains itself
- Cut - Explains itself
- Delete - Explains itself
- Paste - Explains itself
- Patches
Here you can:- Enable/disable patches globally for DS Download Play, Soft-Reset and Cheat/Action Replay.
- Enable/disable Autorun , when enabled it automatically boots the last thing that you have launched previously (on start up you can override autorun by simply holding "B").
- Choose which cheat database file you want to use.
- System Options
You can set the follow options:- Interface Theme - Basically you can change themes here.
- Interface language - The AK2 has support for multiple languages.
- Brightness - The brightness level in the menu can be changed
- Show file(s) of type - What file types to show, it can be toggled between NDS(.nds), NDS + SAV(.nds + .sav) and ALL ( shows all files)
- Trim ROM when copying
Pressing "Y" will bring you into Advanced Setting
Here you can:- Show Hidden files - Enables/disables whether to show files that are set to hidden
- ROM Name in List - Toggles how to show the items in the menu. You can set it to Normal(simply shows it as its file name), Hide ROM Ext. (Shows the file name except hides the file extension eg .nds) or Internal Name ( shows the preset name of the rom )
- Scroll Speed - Toggles the speed that you scroll in the menu. 3 speed levels (Slow,medium and Fast).
- Properties
From the properties you can see the:
You can also access Properties from the menu by pressing "Y" on a file
Pressing "Y" from here will bring you into Rom Info
You can Enable/Disable or set to default (sets to what ever is set in patches menu) Download Play, Soft-Reset and Cheat/Action Replay patches for the certain game
Pressing "X" in the properties menu will create a shortcut .
- Help
Power off button only available on Bliss' firmware
This shows you what the buttons do and there is also a Power off button which obviously powers off the DS.
A very brief demonstration of the menu
‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾<a name="Skinning"></a>
▐▓▒░ Skinning ░▒▓▌
____________________________________________________________
One of the things that make the acekard 2 stand out is its GUI, its GUI can be skinned very easily as there are programs that help you and about every part of the GUI can be skinned. There are a total of 26 pictures that make up the GUI. A lot of objects can be moved around.
Top Screen:
Calendar/Clock:
Bottom Screen:
Cheat Menu:
Start Menu:
Loading Status:
Buttons in Menus:
Tittle:
[yt]YNSD8ljIKgQ[/yt]
A quick demonstration on what you can do with this skinning program
There is also another great skinning program made by Dan Taylor which can be found here.
Skins can be downloaded at skin.acekard.com
‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾<a name="Additional Features"></a>
▐▓▒░ Additional Features ░▒▓▌
____________________________________________________________
Multiple Save Slots Only available on Bliss' firmware
With this feature you can have more than 1 save which is very useful for games such as Pokemon where you only have 1 slot to save your game.
You can also backup/restore your saves here.
Cheats/Action Replay
The AK2 has built in cheat support, the cheat menu can be accessed by pressing "X" while a game is hi lighted. The AK2 supports ".dat" and ".xml"(.dat is faster than .xml) databases which can be found here.
Integrated GBA Expansion Pak Support Only available on Bliss' firmware
You can launch GBA games (with a GBA expansion pak of course) through the menu without needing any extra software like GBAExploader.
I cannot post any further information or pictures as I don't have a GBA Expansion Pak
Soft-Reset
Soft reset works for most games. The button combination for soft-reset is L+R+A+B+Down
Auto-Run
When enabled it automatically runs the previously launched file on start up. (Holding "B" on start up will override auto-run)
Multiple language support
The menu can be viewed in English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian, German, and Spanish.
‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾<a name="Game Compatibility"></a>
▐▓▒░ Game Compatibility ░▒▓▌
____________________________________________________________
A 2GB Japanese Kingston Micro SD and Bliss' k10 firmware was used in this review .
✓ = Works ✗ = Doesn't Work ✗ = Problem
- ✓ 7 Wonders of the Ancient World
✓ Advance Wars - Days of Ruin
✓ Advance Wars - Dual Strike
✓ Animal Crossing Wild World
✓ Bomberman Land Touch 2
✓ Brothers in Arms
✓ Brain Age 2 - More Training in Minutes a Day
✓ Call Of Duty 4
✓ Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
✓ Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
✓ Clubhouse Games
✓ Custom Robo Arena
✓ Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
✓ Drawn To Life
✓ Elite Beat Agents
✓ EA Playground
✓ FIFA 08
✓ Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles - Ring of Fates
✓ Geometry Wars: Galaxies
✓ Harvest Moon DS
✓ Jump Ultimate Stars Patched
✓ Lost In Blue 3
✗ LOL - Download play doesn't work which is needed to play this game
✓ LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
✓ Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
✓ Mario Kart DS
✓ Mario Party DS
✓ Matchstick Puzzle
✓ Metroid Prime Hunters
✓ Meccha Taiko no Tatsujin DS 7 tsu no Shima no Daibouken
✓ Nintendogs: Labrador and Friends
✓ Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword
✓ Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations
✓ Pokemon Diamond
✓ Pokemon Pearl
✓ Pokemon Ranger
✓ Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers Of Time
✓ Professor Kageyama's Maths Training
✓ Professor Layton and the Curious Village
✓ Rayman Raving Rabbids
✓ Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
✓ Rune Factory - A Fantasy Harvest Moon
✓ Rondo of Swords
✓ River King - Mystic Valley
✓ Some Brigner ( Patched )
✓ Star Fox Command
✓ Super Dodgeball Brawlers
✓ Sonic Rush Adventures
✓ Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 2
✓ Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 3
✓ The Sims 2 Pets
✗ The World Ends with You - Patches must be disabled for it to work
✓ Theme Park
✓ The Simpsons Game
✓ Trauma Center Under the Knife
✓ Trauma Center Under the Knife 2
✓ WarioWare: Touched!
✓ Worms Open Warfare 2
✓ The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾<a name="Video Test"></a>
▐▓▒░ Castlevania: DoS Intro Video Test ░▒▓▌
____________________________________________________________
A 2GB Japanese Kingston Micro SD and Bliss' k10 firmware was used in this review .
[yt]cgljLYV1hag[/yt] [yt]Rb4Q0XLhl34[/yt]
AK2 on the left and DSTT on the right. You can sync (manually) the 2 videos if you want.
As you can see the Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow intro played at a very low frame rate on the ak2, while it played perfectly on a DSTT with the same micro SD.
The acekard team have released a Beta version of 4.08 loader (it uses an entire new engine). There is no lag in this intro video with 4.08.
‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾<a name="Homebrew Compatibility"></a>
▐▓▒░ Homebrew Compatibility ░▒▓▌
____________________________________________________________
A 2GB Japanese Kingston Micro SD and Bliss' k10 firmware was used in this review .
The acekard 2 has automatic DLDI patching so you don't have to manually patch home brew individually for them to work.
✓ = Works ✗ = Doesn't Work ✗ = Problem
- ✓ Colors!
✓ Comic Book DS
✓ DS LCD Tester
✓ DS Cube 1.3
✓ DS Notes
✓ DS Organize 3.2
✓ Flickbook
✓ GBA Exploader 0.57
✓ M3 Sakura Beta V2 (.NDS Version)
✓ MoonShell 1.71
✓ Morning timer 1.2
✓ NitroTracker 0.3
✓ Pocket Physics 0.6
✓ ProteinDS
✓ SandScape
✓ UA Paint 0.99b
✓ World of Sand
▐▓▒░ Conclusion: ░▒▓▌
____________________________________________________________
Out of all the budget cards I'd say the ak2 is one of the best cards in its class with its fast and responsive GUI. It lacks the features that the high-end cards have such as real-time save, real-time cheat, etc. But if you don't want to spend a bit more for those features, the ak2 is a great choice.
Pros:
- ✓ Auto DLDI patching
✓ Great game compatibility
✓ Beautiful and responsive GUI
✓ Comes at a very low price
✓ Multiple language support
✓ Built-in cheat support
✓ Supports Micro SDHC
✓ Integrated GBA Expansion Pak Support
- ✗ High Failure Rate 5-10% of acekard 2 die within 2 weeks. Statistic from OzModChips
✗ Castlevania: DoS Intro video lags
Score:8/10
By Swip
Please criticize this review and point out any mistakes
