Heavenly Sword Update--Rope Walkin' and Butt Kickin'

It's been an age since we last heard a peep about Heavenly Sword. The UK-developed game made a splash when it was shown running on the PlayStation 3 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo two years ago, and it continued to impress us at last year's Tokyo Game Show. Things have been pretty quiet since then, though, with a recent appearance on NBC's Heroes being the only sighting of heroine Nariko's exploits. Sony and developer Ninja Theory finally showed off more of the game at a recent press event, which featured a dedicated presentation and a new playable demo. Though the presentation and demo were brief, the game still managed to show very well and leave us wanting more.
During the presentation, Ninja Theory cofounder Nina Kristensen brought the assembled press up to date on how the game's development was going. Though much attention is focused on the game's wicked cinematic combat, Kristensen spent a bit of time highlighting the game's story, which follows the fiery-haired Nariko on her very personal journey of revenge and redemption. The game's intro will apparently begin with Nariko's death, while the proper game will follow the recently deceased lass as she attempts to change her past to safeguard her future. Yes, Star Trek and Doctor Who fans, we know that's totally not cool, but Nariko's pretty driven, and she's got one heck of magic sword, so it's not like anyone's going to question her. To sell Nariko's story, Ninja Theory has hooked up with none other than Andy Serkis--yes, that's the Andy Serkis of Gollum and King Kong fame, to direct and star in the game's cinematics by serving as the motion-capture model at WETA Digital.
As far as gameplay goes, combat looks to be the heart of Heavenly Sword's action. Standard melee combat is mixed with more twitch-based controller input, but it's not necessarily a button masher. Melee combatants can also choose to mix up their means of attack by switching to different stances. You'll be able to shift to ranged, speed, or power stances, each with their own benefits and drawbacks, to find the best way to defeat foes. If you're fast, you can trigger a super attack that's cinematic and devastating. One thing to note is that you'll also find areas to interact with using the X button that will trigger twitch-based sequences, which require you to hit specific button or D pad presses to progress through them,
The controls are laid out nicely on the Sixaxis controller. You'll move with the left analog stick and evade attacks by using the right stick. Square is your default attack, while you can also use triangle in combos or to counter. Circle triggers your super attack as well as lets you drop an object. The X button lets you pick up, use, fire, and throw objects. The top shoulder buttons let you switch to Nariko's range stance when you hold L1, while holding the R1 button lets you change to a power stance. When neither one of the stance-modifier buttons is held, you'll default to the speed stance. All three of the stances figure in to the combos you can perform and are key to victory. Thankfully, the game's already solid controls make that possible.
Even though you can kick butt, you'll still get plenty of trouble thrown your way. Thanks to the troubled state of the world, you'll bump into many a surly foe who Ninja Theory is hoping will be asking you for a whupping from Nariko. Fortunately, this is something she can do, with style. Whether you're facing a single foe, a boss, or a combination of the two, Heavenly Sword is on its way to capturing the satisfaction of Kratos' hook blades from the God of War series.
The visuals in the game are shaping up well and still impress since the last time we saw them in motion. Animation is still rough in places, but the game certainly knows how to make a spectacle of itself. The two set pieces for the action sequences offered two eye-catching locales. The large rock pillars that you fought on offered a stunning vista, thanks to the game's draw distance. At the same time, the battle arena you're dropped into was just the opposite and had you fighting in a claustrophobic area with a good degree of interactive objects. Enemies were plentiful and died nicely.
The audio in the game was a little tough to make out in the din of the demo kiosks, but what we heard seemed to be on the right path. The music blended what sounded like a proper cinematic score with some interesting uses of silence, thanks to what will be a reactive score that reflects your performance. The sharp sound effects in the game are very prevalent when Nariko is kicking much butt with the sword, and they're mostly excellent already. The voice acting seemed to be OK, albeit a work in progress.
Based on what we played, Heavenly Sword still has quite a bit of promise. Though the comparisons between God of War are inevitable at this point, the game's combat system could be a key area of differentiation between the two games. The three different styles, the combo system, and the style actions are in the same spirit as the most excellent testosterone-fueled franchise but may wind up making the game it's own beast entirely, which would be grand. But even if the game winds up being "goddess of war," there are worse ways to kick off a potential series. At the moment, we're anxious to see what it evolves into as its fall release nears. Look for more on Heavenly Sword in the months to come.

SOCOM: Confrontation First Look

You knew it was coming. Sony's SOCOM online shooters have quietly remained among the most enduring franchises on the PlayStation 2, as well as one of the most popular reasons to suffer that system's disagreeable online sign-up process. What better way to bolster the PlayStation 3's cachet with the competitive online multiplayer crowd than with a new PlayStation 3-only edition of everyone's favorite Navy SEAL-oriented shooter series? Indeed, Sony has just taken the wraps off of SOCOM: Confrontation, the first game in the franchise for the PS3, and you might be surprised at the direction Sony and development newcomer, Vancouver-based Slant Six, are taking with the title.
We won't beat around the bush: Confrontation is going to be a downloadable game, just like the forthcoming Warhawk. But this new SOCOM will also be released on a Blu-ray disc in a traditional retail package. Sony isn't saying yet what that means for the scope of Confrontation's gameplay and content. They're also not saying if the two releases will happen simultaneously, but at least they've confirmed the game is being aimed at a "holiday" release window. We do know the game will lack a single-player component--it's also like Warhawk in that it's made for online play only.
The demo we got to see of Confrontation was said to be the result of only four to five months' worth of development, in which case it's looking pretty impressive. The trailer was set in a decidedly Middle Eastern town and featured what looked like American special forces doing battle with local militia garbed in ski masks and nondescript fatigues (think the terrorist characters in Counter-Strike). The action looked like what we've come to expect from SOCOM, with both sides running through the streets to take cover behind cars and in doorways, taking up strategic firing positions on balconies and rooftops, and trading fire with assault rifles and the occasional rocket-propelled grenade. Though the trailer looked to be using all in-game footage, little of it was actual gameplay, so we can't comment on what specifically will be new about the nuts-and-bolts gameplay in Confrontation.
Sony is saving the big reveal of SOCOM's gameplay specifics for this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo--when we hope to get our hands on the game itself--but we did glean a few details from the brief presentation given at the company's state-of-the-art San Diego motion-capture studio (where a contingent of real Navy SEALs performed an impressive demonstration of the mo-cap process). The game will feature not just American troops but international special forces, though from which countries it wasn't said. You'll be able to customize those characters in appearance, though, and clans will further get to trick out their custom uniforms to create a unique visual identity. It sounds as though Sony will support the game actively after release, as online events like team tournaments and clan ladders are planned, along with for-pay content packs to be made available on the PlayStation Network Store that will include new game modes, special forces, and weapons, among other things.
Unfortunately, that's just about all we know about Confrontation at this point, as Sony (like so many other companies recently) seems content to tease us with a bare glimpse of the game now followed by promises of full disclosure at E3. The game is looking fairly good at this point, with nicely detailed character models and weapon effects. The environments looked a little sparsely detailed to us based on the brief trailer (can we get some more pixel shaders in here?), but overall, Confrontation looks like it's headed in a positive direction, and we'll always applaud a company as monolithic as Sony for experimenting with alternative distribution methods. Expect much more on the new SOCOM to come out of E3 in July

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Q&A

With this July's launch of The Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final installment in J. K. Rowling's unfathomably popular Harry Potter series of novels, excitement for the overall Potter franchise is sure to soon reach a fever pitch. This summer will also see the theatrical release of the fifth film in the series, The Order of the Phoenix, and Electronic Arts is hard at work on a tie-in action game that sounds as if it may be the most fully featured yet in the series.
To find out more about the direction EA is taking with its fifth Potter game, we spoke with executive producer Harvey Elliott to get the whole scoop.
GameSpot: Order of the Phoenix is the darkest book yet in the Harry Potter series. How has that influenced the direction you've taken in developing the game?
Harvey Elliott: Since we closely follow the story, our game definitely reflects those darker moments—Professor Umbridge taking over Hogwarts and doing her best to turn it into a oppressive and overcontrolled environment; most of the school thinking that Harry is just making up stories about Lord Voldemort; Sirius Black in exile; and, of course, the big finale at the Ministry of Magic, where one of our favorite characters dies.
Of course, it's not a game about doom and gloom—we have a load of humorous moments that still make me laugh, no matter how many times I see them. For example, when Professor Umbridge takes over the school, we have a series of missions that are designed to cause chaos, such as turning a courtyard into a swamp or pouring potions into a tannoy system, that Umbridge introduces to remind students that she's truly in control. And the scriptwriting this year is of a really high quality, with all the characters expressing their individual personalities—pretty much every time that Cho and Harry meet it's excruciatingly embarrassing watching them try to become "more than friends"; Fred and George take the mickey out of Ron at every opportunity; and the Slytherin students have great fun heckling Harry as he goes through the school and grounds.
We've tried to balance the story with real light and shade, so that we have the dark, serious moments balanced with a lighter side with humor and enjoyment that creates a fundamentally entertaining experience.
GS: How closely will the storyline follow that of the movie? How much freedom did you have to craft new fiction, and did J. K. Rowling have input in that regard?
HE: This is very much a game of Order of the Phoenix, and all the events we reflect in the game would have occurred during Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts. As a result, we followed the movie storyline very closely, supported by the fiction from the books as you explore locations or narrative threads that we don't visit in the films.
GS: How closely have you worked with the film's producers? Will the game feature any sort of assets or elements from the movie?
HE: Since the majority of the movie, and therefore the game, is set at Hogwarts, we have modeled the entire school on the Hogwarts we've seen in the movies. It was only possible by working really closely with the movie makers and literally taking the blueprints from the sets and building a castle that initially looked like a 3D architect's drawing—that way, we knew the exact dimensions of every room. Of course, the movie doesn't feature every single room in the castle, so we have also referenced the previous four movies to get it absolutely right. We're really fortunate that the movie studio is only about 45 minutes away by car, so every time they built a new set we could drop by to ensure we photographed every nook and cranny, and to make sure that we have the right lighting, the right props, and the right cameras. And as this is the fifth movie game we've made with them, you can imagine the reference archive we've developed over the years.
GS: What will the magic system be like? Will your abilities change as you progress through the story or move from one area to the next?
HE: We've created a brand-new, gesture-based magic system, which has really changed and enhanced the experience of casting magic. Instead of pressing buttons to fire off specific spells, we use each console's unique controls. So if you want to use "depulso" to push an object away from you, you press the right analog stick forward on the 360 and PS2, you push the Sixaxis controller away from you on the PS3, and, of course, you flick your "wand" away from you on the Wii. To ignite an object, you rapidly push the right analog back and forward, or slide the Sixaxis or Wii Remote from side to side as though you were lighting a match. In combat we use similar gestures for attacking and defensive spells, but also ensure they represent the action—to cast a knockback jinx you tap up on the analog stick, or shove them backward with the Sixaxis or Wii Remote. And each spell you find is upgraded as you discover secrets in the world.
GS: Are the film's actors involved in the game in any way?
HE: We're fortunate that pretty much all the kids in the movie love video games, so it doesn't take much asking to get them down to our studio to scan their faces or capture their voices. The adult actors have also been to visit us, but I think they're more intrigued by the whole process than the hardcore gamers! Just to give some insight into the complexity of the process, we are making the game in 22 languages this year (which I think is a games industry record), and that means that we not only have to get each of the actors into the studio to record their characters voice for the US and UK versions of the game, but we need to get each of their movie voice-over doubles from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and so on. All in all, across all the languages, we've had around 1,500 actors recording lines for this game!
GS: What unique features will the Wii, 360, and PS3 versions offer? In what ways will they be similar?
HE: The key differences between the consoles are the spellcasting methods. We often get asked why we haven't created exclusive elements to the various formats, but the reality is that every time we've added a mission or minigame to the design of one version, our tech team has just got it working across the other versions. It seems crazy to not make cool stuff available to everyone.
The most noticeable difference from boot up is the overall visual look that we've achieved on the next-gen consoles. In addition to getting more students in the hallways at the school, we can add extra passes to the geometry, not just adding more detail to the polygonal model, but extra visual passes adding polish, texture, or age; most noticeable is the way the portraits now have gilded antique frames, with a canvas print in them, or the shine and gloss of the tables in the Great Hall, with hundreds of years of wear giving it a really worn-in look.
The Wii and PS3 also get to take advantage of our spellcasting upgrades—both have fantastic new motion-sensing controls that we've mapped directly to Harry's wand, so you can shove, pull, lift, and manipulate everything in the world as though you were casting the magic yourself.

Hot Shots Golf 5 Import Hands-On

The Hot Shots Golf series is one of those rare sports franchises that has sold well across Japan, America, and Europe, so it came as little surprise when the first clip of Hot Shots Golf 5 (known as Minna no Golf 5 in Japan) was shown at last year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. In March, Japanese PlayStation 3 owners were treated to a downloadable demo of the game, and, unable to contain ourselves any longer, we downloaded it to check it out. But we didn't stop there. We scrounged up details on some of the game's new courses and characters, as well as its online mode.
Once you get used to the available new swing mechanic, you'll be hitting great shots in no time.
The demo lets you pick from two characters: Jasmine, a 17-year-old who plays on her high school golf team, and Conan, a 15-year-old who golfs in a cowboy hat. Two other characters detailed on the game's Web site but not playable in the demo are Chris, a German-born prodigy who's only 10-years-old, and Sophie, a pigtailed 13-year-old girl from France. As you would expect from a Hot Shots game, the character models are a bit over the top and not particularly realistic. However, they do look great, and there's a tremendous amount of detail to be seen on each character. You can see individual stitches on Conan's jacket and almost make out the time on his caddie's watch as the camera pans by.
Once you have picked your character, you can choose from two different club types. With the advanced club, you must determine your own power and accuracy, and for the beginner club, you only have to worry about power because the ball goes straight every time. Next, you'll pick your swing mechanic. The first option is the one that has been available in every Hot Shots game; you'll hit X to start your swing, hit it again when you've reached the desired power level on the horizontal meter at the bottom of the screen, and then tap X a third time when the cursor is in the area of the meter where you get the greatest accuracy. The new swing mechanic is similar, but it must be done without the benefit of a meter. You still hit X three times, but now you hit it once to start, and then you must judge how far back you need to swing to reach your desired power level and press X when you've reached it. Almost as soon as you've hit the X button a second time, a large circle will close in on the two sets of brackets on either side of the ball. The red brackets are farthest apart, and the pink brackets are closer together and closest to the ball. The closer you are to the ball when you hit the X button, the more accurate the shot will be. This new method of swinging takes a while to get used to, but it's pretty forgiving--as long as you're inside the red brackets, your shot won't be horrible.
Both putting styles have the familiar grid placed over the green and require just two button presses, but the new method is much more difficult because there's no visible power meter. Even if it does take a short while to get adjusted to the new controls, you'll soon find yourself quite comfortable. The pace of play is as fast as ever, and you can still add power to your drives by pressing the square button or add loft and spin by pressing the D pad in midshot. Even changing your clubs and controlling the camera is done in the same way as before, though you now have more control over camera angles and the replays are much more dynamic.
The demo takes place on three holes at Ayamegahara Country Club, one of the game's new courses. This course is located in a swampy area and has plenty of ponds and hills to challenge you. There are also lots of animals hanging around, including some bears that appear to enjoy watching you play. Two other courses that aren't in the demo but are profiled on the game's Web site are Churaumi Golf Resort, which is an island course with a constant breeze from the south, and the Great Safari Country Club, a course that was apparently built by the animals themselves in the middle of Africa. The demo's course will feel familiar to series veterans, as it's reminiscent of many of the beginning courses in previous games. It doesn't immediately look challenging, but there are plenty of elevation changes and wind is always a factor. Thanks to the power of the PlayStation 3, you'll see more trees than ever, textures are vastly improved, and the sun will move across the sky as you play. Now, the game can load several holes at once, which gives you a more realistic view of the course, and if you're creative, it possibly gives you new ways to get the ball in the hole with fewer shots.
The courses are very detailed and look better than ever.
Hot Shots Golf 5 will also have a more robust online component than ever before. You'll start off in a lounge area where you'll be able to move around your customizable character, type messages with the keyboard, and arrange matches. The coolest-sounding feature is called the real-time tournament. This tournament mode will let up to eight players play at the same time. Yes, you'll actually see the other players on the course, and you can take your shot while they're taking their shots. This sounds hectic, but it's also a lot of fun. There will be a basic tournament that will allow 100 people to enter, and 50 of those participants will be able to play at once, though only their scores and comments will be shown while you play, not their actual golfer.
The game isn't due out until this fall in North America, and if you're worried that developer Clap Hanz might have lost sight of what makes the series so enjoyable, don't be. Even with the new controls and improved graphics, Hot Shots Golf 5 feels, well, a lot like Hot Shots Golf.

Sonic Rush Adventure First Look

It will be a sad day when new handheld game systems are able to match the 3D graphics capabilities of the big-boy consoles. Then we might not see anymore side-scrolling 2D nostalgia trips, such as Sonic Rush Adventure, a follow-up to 2005's Sonic Rush, which is currently barreling toward the Nintendo DS. Rush Adventure is set in a tropical island chain and will see Sonic blazing trails from left to right as he traverses all kinds of brightly colored environments, only some of which appear to actually have a tropical theme to them. The game will pit Sonic and friends against a nefarious dude named Captain Whisker, who we didn't see firsthand but sounds to be of the decidedly piratical sort.
The game is played entirely in 2D in typical Sonic fashion, but Sonic and team will employ the DS' modest 3D capabilities to pull off some nifty effects during most levels. One section had Sonic grabbing onto a swinging hook that would swing toward the camera as it brought him up to the next-highest platform. Another area featured pistons that Sonic had to avoid; getting hit by one would launch him abruptly toward the camera, almost as if he was going to slam into it. Mostly, though, this looks like typical Sonic gameplay that's been satisfying platforming fans for nearly two decades now.
However, there will be a few additions to the gameplay. Sonic will have four tricks he can perform in midair that you'll access with the touch screen, and each time you perform one of these tricks, you'll help build up a tension meter. Once that meter is full, you can use it to perform a speed burst that ought to come in handy in various situations. The hang glider that made an appearance in Sonic Rush is back, only this time you'll be able to exercise a level of control over its flight. And finally, Sonic will have access to five boats of varying types that he can use to travel from one island to the next. You'll see an overhead map of all the islands you've discovered so far, and you'll plot your course from one island to the next by drawing a line on the map with the stylus. Then, once you're following that general course, you'll use the stylus to move your boat left or right during a third-person action stage in which you'll hit ramps and pick up rings. The island chain will even feature some hidden islands that you'll end up discovering as you sail from one known island to the next.
Sega's literature also says Sonic Rush Adventure will include a multiplayer mode composed of "wireless racing and mission-based battles" that will work via either local wireless or Internet play, though we didn't get to see those in action. But even without multiplayer, Rush Adventure is looking like a solid new entry in the 2D Sonic series, and while the DS hardware is still kicking, we'll gladly take as many of those as we can get.

This is plain and simple, a funny, endlessly entertaining, and simply great game for people of all ages.

This game concept probably couldn't have been pulled off by anyone else. It took two things that by all means shouldn't have been mixed into a game, and turned them into a truly great and massively entertaing saga of laughs, action, and pure concentrated fun.Gameplay: This game has an amazing acomplishment under it's belt, it was able to make a game that is very easy, but unbelievably entertaining. Some people have said that all you do is run around and kill bad guys non-stop, true, but it's still incredibly fun. And with a great variety of puzzle solving mixed in, this game has a certain wow factor to it.Graphics: While this games graphics may not be of the highest resolution, their endeniable sense of style and absurd concept make then much better than most games'.Sound: Alright, no VA, but still the orchastrated themes and classic !pichew! sounds of blasters make the sound absolutely great.Value: In one player mode, this game is extremely fun, albiet short, but the co-op multiplayer mode is where it's at. If you have a room-mate or a friend to play with, this game's value will increase ten fold.In summary, from the VOOSHES to the PICHEWS, this game is an exciting adventure that will keep you entertained for a long time.

Technosaprotroph emblem and 360 talk

I got the new Scavenator emblem today, I wasnt sure I was going to get this emblem since my internet died while i was playing the game. I had to explain myself to craigb and sure enough I got it. I'm still kind of upset that i didn't get the LOTR Marathon emblem since I saw more then half of the marathon!! I heard some people saw 30 minutes of it and still got it!
Many of you might notice that I have a xbox live 360 gamer tag but I don't have a 360 yet. That's because my friend got me one for standing in line for his 360 since he had school that day, 14 long hours to be exact. The only time I get to play the 360 is when i go to my friends house. So anyways i might get a 360 in the next few weeks, but I'm not sure wheather to get the elite or just stick with the regular premium 360. Plus i need the wireless network adapter and I need a lousy memory card to transfer my gamertag from his 360 to mine. Is it worth getting the elite or should i just get the premium? We'll see what I decide on getting in the next few weeks.

'Deathly Hallows' Special Edition at 816 pages

Scholastic has updated their bookseller information page with a page count of 816 pages for the US Special Edition of Deathly Hallows. A description, which has been available for sometime, explains what the extra 32 pages will hold.Includes exclusive insert featuring near scale reproductions of Mary GrandPre's interior art, as well as never-before-seen full-color frontispiece art on special paper. The custom-designed slipcase is foil-stamped and contains a full-cloth case book that has been blind-stamped on front and back cover with foil stamping on the spine. The book includes full-color endpapers featuring jacket art from the Trade edition and a wraparound jacket featuring art created especially for this edition by Mary GrandPre.

PS2Emu :: Emulation Gaming & Development News

Lets just go over how the exploits works. When an original PSOne CD-ROM is loaded on your PS2 via the PSOne driver (PS1DRV), it looks up the game in a file on your memory card and this file contains the exploit which can make you run own code. Marcus R. Brown has created the whole package for you, all you need to do is compile it (or download it precompiled) and then add your PSOne CD-ROM ID to file on the memory card, so you can take advantage of the exploit.
This guide uses nPort to transfer the exploited file to your memory, you can use either Pukklink or Naplink to load nPort from either native (with some sort of mod) or from PS2 Linux with reload1. You must have nPort installed and working in order to use this guide.
First of all you need to compile titleman (ps2-independence) with ps2lib, I will not get into how to compile it, but instead provide binaries of the file: Win32 Binary
As mentioned before Marcus R. Brown has been so kind to provide premade files to use with nPort, these files contain the exploit file as well ps2link (pukklink clone, loader for the Sony network adapter) which the exploit loads. If you want to use another ELF with the exploit, you have to replace the BOOT.ELF from ps2link with your file and remove all files related to ps2link aswell (IPCONFIG.DAT, PS2SMAP.IRX, PS2LINK.IRX, PS2IP.IRX), please note that not all PS2 ELFs which have IRX files included will load correctly, since there might not be memory card support included for IRX loading.There are 3 different files, one for each region:
North America (NTSC-J) Europe (PAL) Japan/Asia
Now put the file which matches the region of your PS2 into the nPort saves sub-directory, in this directory you will also see a exectutable called npo-x.exe. This tool is an extractor and packer for nPort saves, since we are not sure that the PSOne CD-ROM we will be using is included with the exploit, we will extract the save and add it ourselves.This we do it like this: npo-x x [npo_file] For instance: npo-x x BEDATA-SYSTEM.npo.
This will now create a directory named the same as the .npo file with the files for the exploit. The file we are interested in is TITLE.DB (this is the exploit file), for this file we need titleman. But first we need to find out what the the ID is the of the PSOne CD-ROM we will be using is. To do this, put the PSOne CD-ROM into your computer and open SYSTEM.CNF.This file's first line will be something like : BOOT=cdrom:\SCED_018.22;1 (this line is from an european demo disc). The part we are interested in is the bold part, the filename (or ID) of the start up exectuable.
Now we copy titleman to the directory with TITLE.DB created by npo-x.Here we do this: titleman -a [ID/filename] Which in my case is titleman -a SCED_018.22.
Now we have added our PSOne CD-ROM for the exploit. (In case you want to use ps2link, you might want to alter IPCONFIG.DAT aswell to fit your IP settings). You can of course add more PSOne ID's if you wish. What we need to do now is pack the .npo file again, in the nPort save directory.We do npo-x a [save_dir] - [save_dir] is the name of the directory that npo-x x extracted to.To follow the example from before, this will be npo-x a BEDATA-SYSTEM.
Now your npo file is updated and we need to get it onto the memory card. But first you need to index the file with the nPort indexer so nPort can find the save in the saves directory, simply just run it and it will tell "All done". Now start nPort and transfer the .npo file onto your memory card. If the file already exists you will have to delete it first.
Once you have the exploit on your memory card, all you need to do is put the memory card into your PS2 memory card slot and put int he PSOne CD-ROM from which you got the ID/filename into your PS2 drive and turn on your PS2, what you should see is a white screen flash for sec and then ps2link should start (unless you replaced the ELF with something else).

PS2 HDD Install Tutorial by Jurai

PS2 HDD Install
Items Needed: 1) A Playstation 2 Network Adapter2) A 40gig or larger Harddrive*3) The PS2 HDD Tool from #ps2ownz.com
The first thing you need to do is check if the harddrive you intend to use on your Playstation 2 will fit onto the network adapter. Simply take your harddrive in hand and see if it lines up with the power and ide adapters on the network adapter, if it will properly fit then you are one step closer to a working hdd in your ps2, if not there are two things you can do:a) The IDE connector has a lil bit of leeway, try pushing it over enough so that it will line up with your hdd.b) If you still cannot get it to line up, your only hope is to dissassemble the network adapter unit so that you will be able to get the power and IDE properly aligned, this option should be taken as last resort since there is a high chance you will damage your network adapter
Now that you have confirmed that your hdd will fit onto the network adapter, you need to make sure the hdd is properly set so that the PS2 will recognize it. To do this you need to ensure that the jumper settings located on the back of your hdd are set so that the hdd is MASTER. To find the proper jumper settings you should consult the top label of the hdd (where it is usually stated), or refer to any reference materials that came with your hdd.
With your hdd set to master, attach it to the network adapter by lining up the connectors and pushing firmly, the network adapter does not really feel adequate to support the hdd, so do not dangle it around.
Now simply place the network adapter with attached hdd back onto your PS2 as you normally would, you can screw in the screws on the back now if you want but i would wait til you make sure your hdd is setup properly.
Turn on your PS2, it should seem to take a very slight bit longer to startup, and you should be able to audibly hear your hdd unit spin up then spin down, if this happens then your hdd is properly installed, if not, turn off the PS2 and check the jumper settings, also make sure the connection between the adapters is firmly established.
Now that you have your hdd working, you need to format it. To do this boot up the ps2ownz hdd tool either by direct booting or with swap discs.
The utility has a simplistic gui, and do not be alarmed if at first it tells you the device is not found. Click on the format option and press R1 to choose the Submit option, you should see the icon in corner spin for a second, then your file structure should appear. I believe the utility does a quickformat, since when i used a full 40gig drive it still took only a few seconds. You may wish to zero out your hdd ahead of time for the sake of having a nice clean drive to use.
Now your hdd is ready for use, just find yourself some games that support it and enjoy! any questions msg me on efnet, Jurai, ciao.
* a smaller drive can be used but bb nav requires 40gig+
Written by Jurai.
http://jurai.free.fr/ps2hdd/