<div align="center"><!--sizeo:40--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>Acekard 2 Review</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></div>
<div align="center"><img src="http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/6151/dscf1037qh5.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
<b><!--sizeo:20--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><u>Introduction</u><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
The Acekard 2 is a cheap card, with few fancy features (like RTS and slo-mo), and as this, it does the job very well. And I think it is the best cheap card out there (CycloDS and SCDS1 have more features, but are also more expensive), it has a very nice GUI and no major bugs, however recently there have been several ‘bad batches’ which mean that some units will break soon after use. However the supplier should give you a replacement.
<b><!--sizeo:20--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><u>Official Features</u><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
•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 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.
<b><!--sizeo:20--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><u>Recieving the card</u><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
I ordered from Dealextreme (no advertising necessary) as it is by far the cheapest way – however if you want to get it quicker then you will need to look elsewhere. In any case, the relative price is usually similar, the DSTT is fractionally cheaper, but not as good, and most other ‘good’ cards are more expensive. (the R4 clones are usually cheap but poor).
When it arrived (in a padded envelope) the card itself and the microSD reader came in plastic packaging that you might expect in any normal shop:
<div align="center"><img src="http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/3438/dscf1066wi8.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /><img src="http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/3655/dscf1059pf9.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
This, I think, provides ample protection, and unless it is really attacked will protect it.
The enclosed microSD reader is made almost entirely made of plastic and the USB part feels a bit flimsy, however mine functions perfectly, and currently is attached to my keychain.
There is no microSD included, so you will need to buy that separately, though they can be found pretty cheaply. (The Acekard supports SDHC, so get a big one if you feel you need the space)
The Card
The card is (as expected) the same dimensions as a commercial game cart:
<div align="center"><img src="http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/8391/dscf1043sn6.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /><img src="http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4371/dscf1044rj2.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div><div align="center"><img src="http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/8665/dscf1042fq2.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
The build quality is not excellent compared to some very sturdy cards, but I think it is sufficient, as it is unlikely to come out of your DS very often, and shouldn’t be thrown around. It is made of black plastic, held together by clips round the side. The other noticeable difference is the lack of contact dividers, this makes it easier to clean the contacts, and removes the possibility (DSTT…) of the dividers preventing contact with the DS, however this does mean that if inserted at an angle it may not line up correctly.
The other thing different to many flashcards is that the microSD sits flush with the card and the DS, this means there is very little chance of it ejecting in your pocket. However it does mean you have to remove the card to get at the microSD (not too much of a hardship…)
The microSD slot itself is spring loaded and I haven’t experienced any problems with it.
<div align="center"><img src="http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/7759/dscf1038ko2.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
The card is made from black plastic however on the front is a shiny sticker covering most of the card, which looks quite nice (and has the Acekard logo on it) the back is just plain plastic. The shiny sticker however shows that the chip actually sticks up a tiny amount (<.5mm) which although doesn’t affect insertion, gives a square on the shininess:
<div align="center"><img src="http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/8305/dscf1045ty9.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
<b><!--sizeo:20--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><u>Set-up</u><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
There are 3 menus that can be used on the Acekard 2 currently:
OSMenu – The Official Acekard menu
Bliss – A custom menu, which is very similar to the official one, but with a few extra features.
YSMenu – Another custom menu, which I think is not as good as the previous 2 – but exists.
AKAIO is a port of a custom menu for the RPG, which will allow in-game menu, slow-mo and other features, however the developers have stopped working on it at the moment. but they have said at least one release should be available soon.
I will be using the Bliss menu, and a 2GB Kingston (Japan) microSD
First you need to download the menu from the appropriate location, then unzip and place all the folders onto the microSD, the first of which should be called ‘__ak2’ then either place your ROMs/Homebrew into the root, or into a folder.
This is all very straightforward, and there is a settings file to edit (while most settings can be edited in the GUI, some cannot):
<!--c1--><div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain'><!--ec1-->[system]
fontWidthÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 11
halfFontWidthÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 6
fontHeightÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 12
sdCardSpeedÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 0
animatedFileIconÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 1
keyDelayÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 30
keyRepeatÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 1
fileListViewModeÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 0
brightnessÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 3
languageÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 8
langDirectoryÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= lang_ko/
uiNameÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= black
akmenuVersionÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 4
akmenuSubVersionÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 0
fileListTypeÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 0
romTrimÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 0
showHiddenFilesÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 0
enterLastDirWhenBootÂÂÂÂ= 1
downloadPlayPatchÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 0
cheatingSystemÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 0
resetInGameÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 0
hiddenFileNamesÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= __rpg,__ak2,akmenu4.nds,moonshl,svsip<!--c2--></div><!--ec2-->
Most of which are fairly self-explanatory.
There is also a folder containing all the skins, which can be copied across into '__ak2/ui/' once downloaded, though it comes with a large selection of skins already.
<b><!--sizeo:20--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><u>GUI</u><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
This is where the Acekard really excels, it has a very quick GUI, which looks really good too:
<div align="center"><img src="http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/8968/dscf1049zf8.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
<div align="center"><img src="http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/7458/dscf1050oc4.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
Although I am using Bliss’ menu, the standard menu looks identical, and both come packed with a selection of skins, I am using the Zelda one.
When starting up the first time you get 2 icons, microSD and Slot 2, which even have their own pictures:
<div align="center"><img src="http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/1900/dscf1051cg3.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
The other icon is the ‘shortcut’ feature, where you can choose one file on your card to be the third option so you can access it quickly. This is done by pressing X after accessing the menu (with Y) on any of the .nds files.
The GUI also has a ‘start’ button (slyly taken from windows) which brings up some file manipulation options… which are nice, but it’s probably a lot easier just to do it via your computer. It also allows you to change the default patching options (Download play, Soft-reset and Cheats) you may as well have them all on, as it is unlikely to affect performance (unless it is a very picky game).
There is also a system options menu, which allows you to adjust the theme (a.k.a. skin), the language, the brightness setting – N.B. this is independent of your DS’ setting, and is the default that it will adjust to when loading up the AK2, if you then change it (using R or the button) it will only be temporarily changed. You can also choose what filetypes to display (NDS/NDS+SAV/ALL), however it will always display .mp3 and .txt along with .nds, as they use the integrated mp3/txt reader. The final option is to trim when copying on the AK.
N.B. I believe the following only applies to Bliss’ firmware
Tapping Y on a .nds file brings up the ROM properties, giving info like the icon, the name, the size, last modified and save type. There are then two further options, X sets it as the shortcut, and Y brings up yet more options, this time specific to the ROM. You can set the 3 patches (individually) to enabled/disabled/default – where default is the system setting. Then there are two more options, X allows you to change the saveslot, allowing you to have multiple saves (up to 6) and the saveslot menu allows you to delete (X) copy (Y) and set a slot (A). The final menu option is the cheats menu (Y) and this is improved from the original firmware, allowing you to use a single Cheat.dat, anyway, the cheat menu is brought up, and after selecting a cheat either tapping or pressing X enables/disables it, then press A to save. You can also select cheat.dat or cheats.xml and rebuild (kind of useless with the new cheat engine).
Tapping Y on a .gba allows you to set whether you want it to load the PSRAM (i.e. run the game immediately) or use the NOR and have it act like a real GBA game.
The GUI remembers the last folder you loaded a file from, which means when you boot up the AK it sends you straight to your ROM folder. The GUI is also extremely fast, I can’t detect any lag when navigating menus, and there is only a slight delay (<1s) when loading a large folder, but once in the folder it scrolls from top to bottom with no delays – a big plus when compared to the DSTT.
A final point, all menus are navigable with the stylus as well as buttons, and there is a nice clock/calendar on the top screen.
<b><!--sizeo:20--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><u>ROM performance</u><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
So I have not seen any ROMs fail to load, and none seem to have any issues, except for varying accounts of lag for the Castlevania intros, this seems to be due to the microSD as much as the card itself. All other ROMs seem to run fine, they take a few seconds to load the first time (creating a save file) but then only 1-2 seconds.
Download Play is mostly good, however there are a few recent games that don’t seem to work properly, these are usually fixed with new firmware.
Homebrew all seems to work fine, though it does lack soft-reset. DLDI patching is automatic.
The save files are ROM.nds.sav (most cards don't leave in the .nds) but once renamed are compatible with DSTT/R4/CycloDS, and others can be <a href="http://shunyweb.info/convert.php" target="_blank">converted</a>.
<b><!--sizeo:20--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><u>Extras</u><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
These are additional to your basic R4, put on ROMs and play:
<b>Slot-2 boot:</b> Pretty standard by now, but useful nonetheless, Bliss’ menu has 3 in1 support built-in, allowing you to load into the NOR or PSRAM automatically when you select a .gba file.
<b>Auto-DLDI:</b> Also very standard, but makes homebrew a lot simpler to use.
<b>Languages:</b> supports 8 languages by default (including English, obviously) and I would guess that others can be translated.
<b>Skinning:</b> very versatile, there are lots of good looking skins out there, and you can make your own fairly easily.
<b>Soft-reset:</b> works in every game played so far, but a couple of bugs (may be fixed in future firmware) – if you soft-reset while a screen is fading out, it stays faded out on the AK menu, and if you reset during wifi it stays in wifi mode.
<b>Cheats:</b> with Bliss’ menu, easy to use, and seemingly working fine.
In the future more features may be added, either by the AK team or other custom ones.
<b><!--sizeo:20--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><u>Summary</u><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
The Acekard 2 is the best of the cheap cards, and a definite one to buy over a DSTT/R4 or equivalent. The features do not (yet) rival the more expensive cards, but there are still updates being released. However the two groups doing the custom firmware have currently stopped, how permanently is unclear, and there is also a high (still <10%) failure rate, which although replacements will be issued, can be a bit annoying.
Overall: <!--sizeo:40--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>8.5/10</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
However if new features are added, and the failure rate is brought down, that could go as high as 9.5 .
<div align="center"><img src="http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/6151/dscf1037qh5.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
<b><!--sizeo:20--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><u>Introduction</u><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
The Acekard 2 is a cheap card, with few fancy features (like RTS and slo-mo), and as this, it does the job very well. And I think it is the best cheap card out there (CycloDS and SCDS1 have more features, but are also more expensive), it has a very nice GUI and no major bugs, however recently there have been several ‘bad batches’ which mean that some units will break soon after use. However the supplier should give you a replacement.
<b><!--sizeo:20--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><u>Official Features</u><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
•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 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.
<b><!--sizeo:20--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><u>Recieving the card</u><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
I ordered from Dealextreme (no advertising necessary) as it is by far the cheapest way – however if you want to get it quicker then you will need to look elsewhere. In any case, the relative price is usually similar, the DSTT is fractionally cheaper, but not as good, and most other ‘good’ cards are more expensive. (the R4 clones are usually cheap but poor).
When it arrived (in a padded envelope) the card itself and the microSD reader came in plastic packaging that you might expect in any normal shop:
<div align="center"><img src="http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/3438/dscf1066wi8.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /><img src="http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/3655/dscf1059pf9.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
This, I think, provides ample protection, and unless it is really attacked will protect it.
The enclosed microSD reader is made almost entirely made of plastic and the USB part feels a bit flimsy, however mine functions perfectly, and currently is attached to my keychain.
There is no microSD included, so you will need to buy that separately, though they can be found pretty cheaply. (The Acekard supports SDHC, so get a big one if you feel you need the space)
The Card
The card is (as expected) the same dimensions as a commercial game cart:
<div align="center"><img src="http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/8391/dscf1043sn6.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /><img src="http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4371/dscf1044rj2.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div><div align="center"><img src="http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/8665/dscf1042fq2.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
The build quality is not excellent compared to some very sturdy cards, but I think it is sufficient, as it is unlikely to come out of your DS very often, and shouldn’t be thrown around. It is made of black plastic, held together by clips round the side. The other noticeable difference is the lack of contact dividers, this makes it easier to clean the contacts, and removes the possibility (DSTT…) of the dividers preventing contact with the DS, however this does mean that if inserted at an angle it may not line up correctly.
The other thing different to many flashcards is that the microSD sits flush with the card and the DS, this means there is very little chance of it ejecting in your pocket. However it does mean you have to remove the card to get at the microSD (not too much of a hardship…)
The microSD slot itself is spring loaded and I haven’t experienced any problems with it.
<div align="center"><img src="http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/7759/dscf1038ko2.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
The card is made from black plastic however on the front is a shiny sticker covering most of the card, which looks quite nice (and has the Acekard logo on it) the back is just plain plastic. The shiny sticker however shows that the chip actually sticks up a tiny amount (<.5mm) which although doesn’t affect insertion, gives a square on the shininess:
<div align="center"><img src="http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/8305/dscf1045ty9.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
<b><!--sizeo:20--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><u>Set-up</u><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
There are 3 menus that can be used on the Acekard 2 currently:
OSMenu – The Official Acekard menu
Bliss – A custom menu, which is very similar to the official one, but with a few extra features.
YSMenu – Another custom menu, which I think is not as good as the previous 2 – but exists.
AKAIO is a port of a custom menu for the RPG, which will allow in-game menu, slow-mo and other features, however the developers have stopped working on it at the moment. but they have said at least one release should be available soon.
I will be using the Bliss menu, and a 2GB Kingston (Japan) microSD
First you need to download the menu from the appropriate location, then unzip and place all the folders onto the microSD, the first of which should be called ‘__ak2’ then either place your ROMs/Homebrew into the root, or into a folder.
This is all very straightforward, and there is a settings file to edit (while most settings can be edited in the GUI, some cannot):
<!--c1--><div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain'><!--ec1-->[system]
fontWidthÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 11
halfFontWidthÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 6
fontHeightÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 12
sdCardSpeedÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 0
animatedFileIconÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 1
keyDelayÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 30
keyRepeatÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 1
fileListViewModeÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 0
brightnessÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 3
languageÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 8
langDirectoryÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= lang_ko/
uiNameÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= black
akmenuVersionÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 4
akmenuSubVersionÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 0
fileListTypeÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 0
romTrimÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 0
showHiddenFilesÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 0
enterLastDirWhenBootÂÂÂÂ= 1
downloadPlayPatchÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 0
cheatingSystemÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= 0
resetInGameÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ = 0
hiddenFileNamesÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ= __rpg,__ak2,akmenu4.nds,moonshl,svsip<!--c2--></div><!--ec2-->
Most of which are fairly self-explanatory.
There is also a folder containing all the skins, which can be copied across into '__ak2/ui/' once downloaded, though it comes with a large selection of skins already.
<b><!--sizeo:20--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><u>GUI</u><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
This is where the Acekard really excels, it has a very quick GUI, which looks really good too:
<div align="center"><img src="http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/8968/dscf1049zf8.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
<div align="center"><img src="http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/7458/dscf1050oc4.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
Although I am using Bliss’ menu, the standard menu looks identical, and both come packed with a selection of skins, I am using the Zelda one.
When starting up the first time you get 2 icons, microSD and Slot 2, which even have their own pictures:
<div align="center"><img src="http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/1900/dscf1051cg3.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
The other icon is the ‘shortcut’ feature, where you can choose one file on your card to be the third option so you can access it quickly. This is done by pressing X after accessing the menu (with Y) on any of the .nds files.
The GUI also has a ‘start’ button (slyly taken from windows) which brings up some file manipulation options… which are nice, but it’s probably a lot easier just to do it via your computer. It also allows you to change the default patching options (Download play, Soft-reset and Cheats) you may as well have them all on, as it is unlikely to affect performance (unless it is a very picky game).
There is also a system options menu, which allows you to adjust the theme (a.k.a. skin), the language, the brightness setting – N.B. this is independent of your DS’ setting, and is the default that it will adjust to when loading up the AK2, if you then change it (using R or the button) it will only be temporarily changed. You can also choose what filetypes to display (NDS/NDS+SAV/ALL), however it will always display .mp3 and .txt along with .nds, as they use the integrated mp3/txt reader. The final option is to trim when copying on the AK.
N.B. I believe the following only applies to Bliss’ firmware
Tapping Y on a .nds file brings up the ROM properties, giving info like the icon, the name, the size, last modified and save type. There are then two further options, X sets it as the shortcut, and Y brings up yet more options, this time specific to the ROM. You can set the 3 patches (individually) to enabled/disabled/default – where default is the system setting. Then there are two more options, X allows you to change the saveslot, allowing you to have multiple saves (up to 6) and the saveslot menu allows you to delete (X) copy (Y) and set a slot (A). The final menu option is the cheats menu (Y) and this is improved from the original firmware, allowing you to use a single Cheat.dat, anyway, the cheat menu is brought up, and after selecting a cheat either tapping or pressing X enables/disables it, then press A to save. You can also select cheat.dat or cheats.xml and rebuild (kind of useless with the new cheat engine).
Tapping Y on a .gba allows you to set whether you want it to load the PSRAM (i.e. run the game immediately) or use the NOR and have it act like a real GBA game.
The GUI remembers the last folder you loaded a file from, which means when you boot up the AK it sends you straight to your ROM folder. The GUI is also extremely fast, I can’t detect any lag when navigating menus, and there is only a slight delay (<1s) when loading a large folder, but once in the folder it scrolls from top to bottom with no delays – a big plus when compared to the DSTT.
A final point, all menus are navigable with the stylus as well as buttons, and there is a nice clock/calendar on the top screen.
<b><!--sizeo:20--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><u>ROM performance</u><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
So I have not seen any ROMs fail to load, and none seem to have any issues, except for varying accounts of lag for the Castlevania intros, this seems to be due to the microSD as much as the card itself. All other ROMs seem to run fine, they take a few seconds to load the first time (creating a save file) but then only 1-2 seconds.
Download Play is mostly good, however there are a few recent games that don’t seem to work properly, these are usually fixed with new firmware.
Homebrew all seems to work fine, though it does lack soft-reset. DLDI patching is automatic.
The save files are ROM.nds.sav (most cards don't leave in the .nds) but once renamed are compatible with DSTT/R4/CycloDS, and others can be <a href="http://shunyweb.info/convert.php" target="_blank">converted</a>.
<b><!--sizeo:20--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><u>Extras</u><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
These are additional to your basic R4, put on ROMs and play:
<b>Slot-2 boot:</b> Pretty standard by now, but useful nonetheless, Bliss’ menu has 3 in1 support built-in, allowing you to load into the NOR or PSRAM automatically when you select a .gba file.
<b>Auto-DLDI:</b> Also very standard, but makes homebrew a lot simpler to use.
<b>Languages:</b> supports 8 languages by default (including English, obviously) and I would guess that others can be translated.
<b>Skinning:</b> very versatile, there are lots of good looking skins out there, and you can make your own fairly easily.
<b>Soft-reset:</b> works in every game played so far, but a couple of bugs (may be fixed in future firmware) – if you soft-reset while a screen is fading out, it stays faded out on the AK menu, and if you reset during wifi it stays in wifi mode.
<b>Cheats:</b> with Bliss’ menu, easy to use, and seemingly working fine.
In the future more features may be added, either by the AK team or other custom ones.
<b><!--sizeo:20--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><u>Summary</u><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></b>
The Acekard 2 is the best of the cheap cards, and a definite one to buy over a DSTT/R4 or equivalent. The features do not (yet) rival the more expensive cards, but there are still updates being released. However the two groups doing the custom firmware have currently stopped, how permanently is unclear, and there is also a high (still <10%) failure rate, which although replacements will be issued, can be a bit annoying.
Overall: <!--sizeo:40--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>8.5/10</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
However if new features are added, and the failure rate is brought down, that could go as high as 9.5 .
