Where Have All the Cheats Gone?

[CannibalCorpses]

1) I agree that a games restrictions affect the difficulty of the gameplay. But when you have already beaten the game and get bored of the current gameplay, mods and even cheats can alter the gameplay enough to extend the lifespan of a single player game.
2) Earning the right? that term can hardly be justified outside of online gaming.
3) That depends on the game. Lets take Minecraft for example. I have often searched for videos regarding what people have built, and am often in awe. That said, I see no reason why someone would feel good about completing Fallout 3 / NV a certain way, as it's designed to be completed.

I play video games to have fun. That sometimes involves resurrecting an npc in Fallout who I did not want to die. It could be to skip unwanted progression in a game that I have already completed, or it could simply be that I wanted to alter a gameplay which I have become bored of.

I do not make nor watch "Let's play" or any other such type of videos. I simply don't care what other people do with their game aslong as it doesn't affect me. I would ofcourse be offended if people cheated in multiplayer or co-op games, but when all it affects is themselves, then I see no reason why anyone would have a problem with it.

Aslong as developers make sure to disable the ability to get achievements when a cheat is activated, then I see no reason why anyone would think that cheats shouldn't be usable in a single player game.

Do everyone a favoure and ask yourself why it matters to you.

1) fair enough when you finish a game, i take issue when people cheat to finish a game. Once you've finished it you do whatever you want man...i do. I still don't cheat but i do mess around trying to break stuff or make the graphics glitch or survive impossible things etc.
2) it can and i do but thats just me.
3) when you are in awe of these things don't you think about how you would do it yourself? do you always look for the easiest route to that or do you just do it the normal way? Would you bother digging out what you need or just magically appear it in your inventory?

I'll take up Fallout directly because i played that game more than anything else in the last few years. The named items take quite a long time to find and are hidden in the hardest places in the game. You earn the right to use them by exploring those places. Creating the item in your inventory is not something earned or deserved, it's just shit. I got all the named items and weapons in one playthrough. I got all the stat books so i had max skills in everything. I stored everything i found so i had everything in large quantities. I did all the quests correctly by loading if i failed. I did everything in that game without cheating and i did do 'everything'. I even did speedruns of how quickly i could finish the game.
There is no need to cheat on games like these.

Game modding cheats are fine though. Extra explosions, giant heads, silly physics...i don't mind them. I mind god mode and infinite ammo and weapon creators. When i've spent days of my life mastering a game and learning everything there is to know, it's kinda shit that i can't get anywhere near the top of a leaderboard because some bastards cheat their way past. When i spend months of my life mastering guitar hero and rock band and some shit bag can get just as far using no fail mode it pisses me off.

I play to have fun aswell. But my fun comes from being better than everyone else once the first playthrough is done. I want to prove that putting the effort in is what makes people good at games and the people who cheat completely undermine that. I have a mate with over 200000 gamerscore and i will never be able to catch him up because he cheats and uses walkthroughs on the first playthrough. When i used to play Diablo 2 with my mates i had to count their skills to level because they kept cheating and adding unfair advantages and then claiming they hadn't and were just better than me. Their items were always higher level than was possible aswell. On pools of radiance i did every quest and got to the final boss which was ridiculous to beat, it took me ages. My mate said i was shit because he did it first time. So i went to his house and had a look at his characters and they were 15 levels higher than mine. It wasn't possible and when i pointed that out he backed down and confessed.

Do you see why it bothers me? That is where my perspective is on cheating. If you don't compete then i can see where your perspective lies aswell.

That why it matters to me and that is why i don't like it.

 

[Gabriel Dragulia]

1) I agree that a games restrictions affect the difficulty of the gameplay. But when you have already beaten the game and get bored of the current gameplay, mods and even cheats can alter the gameplay enough to extend the lifespan of a single player game.
2) Earning the right? that term can hardly be justified outside of online gaming.
3) That depends on the game. Lets take Minecraft for example. I have often searched for videos regarding what people have built, and am often in awe. That said, I see no reason why someone would feel good about completing Fallout 3 / NV a certain way, as it's designed to be completed.

I play video games to have fun. That sometimes involves resurrecting an npc in Fallout who I did not want to die. It could be to skip unwanted progression in a game that I have already completed, or it could simply be that I wanted to alter a gameplay which I have become bored of.

I do not make nor watch "Let's play" or any other such type of videos. I simply don't care what other people do with their game aslong as it doesn't affect me. I would ofcourse be offended if people cheated in multiplayer or co-op games, but when all it affects is themselves, then I see no reason why anyone would have a problem with it.

Aslong as developers make sure to disable the ability to get achievements when a cheat is activated, then I see no reason why anyone would think that cheats shouldn't be usable in a single player game.

Do everyone a favoure and ask yourself why it matters to you.

1) fair enough when you finish a game, i take issue when people cheat to finish a game. Once you've finished it you do whatever you want man...i do. I still don't cheat but i do mess around trying to break stuff or make the graphics glitch or survive impossible things etc.
2) it can and i do but thats just me.
3) when you are in awe of these things don't you think about how you would do it yourself? do you always look for the easiest route to that or do you just do it the normal way? Would you bother digging out what you need or just magically appear it in your inventory?

I'll take up Fallout directly because i played that game more than anything else in the last few years. The named items take quite a long time to find and are hidden in the hardest places in the game. You earn the right to use them by exploring those places. Creating the item in your inventory is not something earned or deserved, it's just shit. I got all the named items and weapons in one playthrough. I got all the stat books so i had max skills in everything. I stored everything i found so i had everything in large quantities. I did all the quests correctly by loading if i failed. I did everything in that game without cheating and i did do 'everything'. I even did speedruns of how quickly i could finish the game.
There is no need to cheat on games like these.

Game modding cheats are fine though. Extra explosions, giant heads, silly physics...i don't mind them. I mind god mode and infinite ammo and weapon creators. When i've spent days of my life mastering a game and learning everything there is to know, it's kinda shit that i can't get anywhere near the top of a leaderboard because some bastards cheat their way past. When i spend months of my life mastering guitar hero and rock band and some shit bag can get just as far using no fail mode it pisses me off.

I play to have fun aswell. But my fun comes from being better than everyone else once the first playthrough is done. I want to prove that putting the effort in is what makes people good at games and the people who cheat completely undermine that. I have a mate with over 200000 gamerscore and i will never be able to catch him up because he cheats and uses walkthroughs on the first playthrough. When i used to play Diablo 2 with my mates i had to count their skills to level because they kept cheating and adding unfair advantages and then claiming they hadn't and were just better than me. Their items were always higher level than was possible aswell. On pools of radiance i did every quest and got to the final boss which was ridiculous to beat, it took me ages. My mate said i was shit because he did it first time. So i went to his house and had a look at his characters and they were 15 levels higher than mine. It wasn't possible and when i pointed that out he backed down and confessed.

Do you see why it bothers me? That is where my perspective is on cheating. If you don't compete then i can see where your perspective lies aswell.

That why it matters to me and that is why i don't like it.

I understand your point, but I think you're taking it too hard.

You are a competitive person... so don't compare yourself to cheaters.
ignore the cheaters.
I like cheating to have fun after finishing the game.
for example, I got through Guitar Hero 3, and Through The Fire And Flames, without cheating...
broke my hands, but finished it.
after that, I started cheating... because I could. I felt satisfied, so blargh.

but yeah... basically, just ignore them =]

 

[CannibalCorpses]

for example, I got through Guitar Hero 3, and Through The Fire And Flames, without cheating

Congrats...thats quite a feat. I got stuck on Slayer, damn them sweeps are vicious! One of my favourite bands aswell...ahh well. I'll manage it one day!

 

[KissofKetchup]

Cheating isn't dead really, it's just called modding now.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

Where Have All the Cheats Gone?

Cheating used to be an integral part of videogame culture, but Achievements and Trophies ruined that fun forever.

Read Full Article

I bet that it wouldn't be too hard for developers to do it. All they have to do is make it so the system and game recognize that cheat codes are in use, and when that happens it shuts off the achievement system until the codes are deactivated.

But the problem is:

They can still do it and even a code breaker type service, the trouble is they do not want to and gaming has become more boring from it...

Developers don't want to take the probable extra week or two to make it work.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

Ahhh...Game Shark. It turned shitty games into pure fun. God, I miss this in gaming. I wouldn't happily give up achievements for this option.

Yes, such devices bring back fond memories.

I once had a gameboy game editor called Pelican. It was hilarious fun. I used it back in the day to edit my original Pokemon Red version.

Oh boy, my friend was freaked out and pissed when I threw out a pumped up level 100 Caterpie that toasted his Venusaur with flamethrower, dropping it in one shot.

Basically, the editor let me do anything, I could change that Caterpie into any Pokemon I wanted, make it level 100 with all stats at 999, and give it any move I wanted it to use. Case in point the Caterpie using flamethrower.

I could also give myself all the money I needed, I then would by 99 Pokeballs, then use the editor to turn them into Masterballs. But I could turn them into anything, like getting a practically infinite supply of rare candies, but of course the editor's boosting power made that idea null and void.

The thing was awesome.

 

[ezeroast]

I loved the goldeneye system where you unlocked cheats as you played. Finnish a particular lvl at a particular difficulty and ding you get a particular cheat.

 

[DustyDrB]

Why do people miss cheats? Cheats existed back in the day because they provided an alternative to actually workong to beat the games, which were undeniably much harder back then. Games these days are more about providing an experience, so cheats don't really contribute anything.

Nope, that's not it. Most people still took pride in beating the game "the right way". But there was undeniable joy in being able to go back to the game afterwards and duel wield every weapon with infinite ammo. The game kicked our butts...yet we made it through. And then came back with two rocket launchers, yelling manically, "I'm baaaaack!!!!"

I'm the kind of guy who piles difficulty on top of what the game already provides. I'll forgo the use of a certain weapon just because it doesn't fit my character, even if it is a powerful weapon. Hell, my last playthrough of Fallout: New Vegas was as a character who specialized only in non-combat skills. Still, there is much fun to be had in coming back later as an overpowered behemoth.

Aside from that, not all cheats made you stronger. Sometimes it was just a stupid easter egg, like in Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire (type in your name as "Wampa Stompa" and you get to play the first level as a Wampa). And I remember a baseball game I had on the N64. There was a cheat that unlocked secret teams. There were lots of things like that.

Ahhh...Game Shark. It turned shitty games into pure fun. God, I miss this in gaming. I wouldn't happily give up achievements for this option.

Yes, such devices bring back fond memories.

I once had a gameboy game editor called Pelican. It was hilarious fun. I used it back in the day to edit my original Pokemon Red version.

Oh boy, my friend was freaked out and pissed when I threw out a pumped up level 100 Caterpie that toasted his Venusaur with flamethrower, dropping it in one shot.

Basically, the editor let me do anything, I could change that Caterpie into any Pokemon I wanted, make it level 100 with all stats at 999, and give it any move I wanted it to use. Case in point the Caterpie using flamethrower.

I could also give myself all the money I needed, I then would by 99 Pokeballs, then use the editor to turn them into Masterballs. But I could turn them into anything, like getting a practically infinite supply of rare candies, but of course the editor's boosting power made that idea null and void.

The thing was awesome.

Wow...that was one hell of a typo in my post (even though you got my meaning anyway). I meant to say I "would happily", not "wouldn't happily".

I completely forgot about the Pelican. I used one of those on a friend's Gameboy, though I can't remember for what game.

With the Gameshark, there were those times when I entered the code wrong. Then I had to double-check everything. So I had to get back onto the internet [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svmYyeRY11o] (provided no one was using the phone), wait forever for the pages to load, make sure to write down the code this time...

Cheating was hard work.

 

[Bat Vader]

Whenever I play GTA IV, Dragon Age: Origins, TES IV: Oblivion, or Fallout: New Vegas I always use cheats. I love turning on God Mode in Oblivion and running around the world killing monsters. I find it to be very entertaining. I don't care about playing the game properly or boasting to friends about what I did. I play games to have fun and using cheats in a game is fun for me.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

Wow...that was one hell of a typo in my post (even though you got my meaning anyway). I meant to say I "would happily", not "wouldn't happily".

I completely forgot about the Pelican. I used one of those on a friend's Gameboy, though I can't remember for what game.

With the Gameshark, there were those times when I entered the code wrong. Then I had to double-check everything. So I had to get back onto the internet [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svmYyeRY11o] (provided no one was using the phone), wait forever for the pages to load, make sure to write down the code this time...

Cheating was hard work.

Don't worry, I must have missed it and glossed over the error. It's why I don't catch errors like that that I make.

Oh, I remember how much hard work cheating was. I had a Game Genie for my SNES. It came with this huge think book that had codes for most every game that was out at the time. And all codes were some ungodly length of letters and numbers, and printed in incredibly small type. One wrong character and I had to start all over again.

We didn't have too many games that actually needed the use of the thing, or actually had decent codes for them. But there was a game called "Road Runner's Death Vally Rally" where you play as the Looney Tunes Road Runner. Man, the only way I could beat that game was with cheats. Was like Sonic the Hedgehog on crack. While running at Road Runner speed, you have to jump to ledges over death drops and collect other flags and items.


But yeah, I remember going to cheat code sites using dial-up. Oh I am thankful every day that I now have cable internet.

 

[Amphoteric]

Cheats are gone?

Well I don't care, I have the console =D

 

[Senaro]

I seem to recall Saints Row 2 having cheats available from the moment you got a cell phone, only that turning them on turned off all achievements. How hard could that be for any other game to do?

 

[Adam Cammock-Sands]

Games are too easy these days, we dont have any need for cheats.
Id like to see a game as hard as croc: legend of the gobbos

 

[ghostrider409895]

I had forgotten how much fun it was to play games with cheats turned on until I read this article. I have been so caught up in getting trophies, and trying to be successful and challenging myself according to what the game allows, that I had forgotten how much fun it was when I could type in a code that would give me unlimited damage, or have unlimited ammo so I could clear a room full of bad guys with the coolest weapon available. It is even more upsetting to realize that not only did we lose cheats that helped us play the game, but we also lost cheats that unlocked cool levels or mess with character skins and what not.

I still remember when I would go on Cheatcodes.com or gamefaqs.com to try and find any new cheats to a new game. I still remember putting in a long cheatcode for my Fantastic Four gamecube game so I could play the bonus level in Hell, or typing in various codes in Turok: Evolution so I could go through and wipe out countless enemies and dinosaurs without having to worry about being killed every few steps by a velociraptor or sniper. I think that over time of playing more recent games, I have lost track of what cheats used to mean. I began to think that they were cheating, and there was no purpose to have them if you take the time to be good at a game. Now I remember that they did have a purpose. They made gaming fun. They took games I could play for hours, and let me escape the normal mechanics and rules for a little while, allowing me to just enjoy doing stupid and crazy stuff without risk or restarts or gameovers. They sometimes put new life into a game I would have otherwise grown tired of, and in some cases made a game that would be too difficult for easier so that I could actually enjoy it. Sure, I receive a sense of accomplishment if I unlocked something cool after a long hard fight. I feel good that I was able to beat the test and unlock that ultimate weapon on armor. It is awsome that I was able to unlock a new area by myself. Still, where is the codes that made everything in slow motion, or let me blow up anything with one punch. I miss the days of when there were cheat code forums rather than trophy or achievement help forums. I am glad to have been reminded of those times, but am sad to know that it has been so long that I have forgotten.

 

[Damien Granz]

Cheat codes aren't gone, they're just now individually priced in Microsoft points.

It's not achievements that killed cheat codes, it's on-disk 'downloadable' content, that they can sell, such as Marvel Vs. Capcom 3's 'new' characters, or it's purchasing health potions from a microtransaction store, or it's purchasing all the songs in Eternal Sonata, etc.

 

[Stravant]

Cheating isn't dead at all on PC.

Look at the adundance of mods for games like GTA4.

Also GTA4 is one game where I wouldn't mind the single-player cheat codes carrying over to multiplayer.

 

[robandall]

There are plenty of games that I'd have kept playing if I could cheat. Primarily Japanese ones to be fair - Bayonetta, DMC 4, FFX, FFX2, Far Cry 2, Crysis 2, Deus Ex: HR, Phantasy Star Online, Borderlands, Dead Space 1 & 2 just to name a few. A few lines of code would a good few hours of extra gameplay - at least devs could patch in codes 6 months to a year after release.

But there are cheats other than the ones that alter the gameplay experience or game mechanics. There are cheats that unlock content as well. Charlie Brooker said that games are unlike any other entertainment media in that much of the content *that you have already paid for* is locked from the get go. Obviously unlocks add challenge and motivation but at some point with certain games and certain unlocks (think FFX's celestial weapons, sphere grid unlocks, HP/MP limit breaks) a person may just think - "f*ck it, this just isn't fun"! Sure there are completionists (read - obsessives) who love the feeling of unlocking that final stage/weapon/boss but, as a averagely skilled core gamer, if I'm not enjoying the grind enough to justify the dev's "end" (no c*ck jokes, please), does that mean I *never* deserve that content? Content that, as mentioned, I've already paid for? Charlie's not so sure about that, and I have to agree with him.