Video game cheat codes are designed to give gamers an added advantage in particular video games, which enables them to give their video game character infinite health, special abilities, or other necessary advantages that helps them to advance to the next level.

Video games used with any video game system on the market today have certain cheat codes that enable gamers to get through seemingly impossible areas in video games. Gamers are given special ability when using cheat codes that make walking through walls capable and many other fantastic functions as well. Many cheat codes allows gamers to finish difficult levels in particular video games, which be found in a variety of video game publications and through several web sites.

When getting stuck in particular areas of video games, gamers will search a variety of web sites to find the cheat codes that they are looking for to complete the most difficult video games. Of course, on several of these web sites cheat codes are submitted by other fellow gamers that have either figured a cheat code out on their own or have found the cheat code on another gaming web site. Normally, gamers can find these cheat codes listed by the different video gaming system used and then by the type of video game, which makes looking for the cheat code desired much more convenient for gamers. Another added convenience for gamers is that when these cheat codes are released they have been tested for their accuracy and ability.

Each cheat code will give gamers access to a variety of different hidden abilities or tips to assist the gamer through particular stages of a video game. Many gamers only use cheat codes to enable them to pass difficult stages within a video game and other gamers will use cheat codes throughout the entire video game. Being stuck on a particular level in a video game can be extremely frustrating for even the advanced gamer. When a video gamer uses cheat codes regularly they will often write them on either index cards or some sort of tablet for the easiest access possible, which keeps the gamer from constantly having to look particular cheat codes up.

Cheat codes for video games are enter into the video game system by using a set sequence using the pads on a gamers controller, joystick, keyboard, or steering wheel. The majority of cheat codes are created by video game developers and beta game testers for the sole purpose of testing out specific aspects and functions of a video game. Once a video game has been tested for its accuracy and gaming performance, then these video games are often disregarded and left behind forgotten.

There are very few avid video gamers that do not know what a cheat code is or has never used a cheat code while playing video games. Cheat codes are terrific for any video gamer that desires to add a little zing to video games in which they have already defeated. Cheat codes allow video gamers the ability to unlock hidden items or with video games involving sports often times hidden teams within the video game itself. Some times cheat codes will allow the difficulty of video games to become harder so that video gamers will become much more interesting for the more advanced gamer.

Since the dawn of video games, cheats have existed in one form or another. Most of the first cheat codes were put in games for testing purposes. Cheats were introduced to help lower the time it would take for play tester to test the game. An example of an early cheat code can be found in the game Manic Miner. The phone number of the developer will activate the cheat mode.

Cheating on early home computers was common practice. Numerical values are stored ‘as is’ in memory of a computer game. It is possible for a gamer to reprogram a small portion of the game before starting it up. With early 8-bit computers, it was common for a gamer to load a game in to memory, and modify memory addresses before launching the game. This could result in getting extra lives, invisibility, etc. POKE sentences were used in order to perform such operations. With the proper cartridge or add-on, a player of the Commodore 64 or ZX Spectrum would be able to freeze a running program and enter a new POKE.

Magazines of the time would often contain lists of POKE’s and instructions for using them in games. To find POKE’s, a hacker had to be able to interpret machine code and then locate the specific point where a value changes.

Technology oriented players were able to exploit such methods of cheating because of the difficulty of doing so. However, an industry was very quickly formed on the back of cheating as new gaming systems evolved. Cheating has now become a part of a strong gaming culture and books, guides and cheat cartridges are available for almost every platform. Cheating was not always accepted though, and many have spoken out against it over the years. It was often considered that cheating is not part of the philosophy of fairness.

With modern gaming, cheating has become very popular. There are now dozens of magazines and hundreds if not thousands of cheat based websites. In fact, even a television show dedicated to listing cheats has been created. POKE cheats are now a thing of the past and trainers and cheat codes are now main stream. Most cheats these days are not implemented by gamers, but are in fact inserted into the game by the developers.

There are a few reasons why developers insert cheats into games. One reason is that with such a large cheating culture in modern day gaming, cheats have become expected by gamers. Also, game developers realise that not everyone has the time to finish their games and cheats are therefore inserted to help speed up the process. People such as game reviewers fit into this category and cheats will allow them to experience more of the game. Not to mention that cheating can really increase the replay-ability of a game by adding a new twist.

Author: Jessica Kosinski

November 19, 2008

The Console Versus PC Gaming Battle

In the world of gaming, some of us like to think that PC gamers rule the roost. Others, however, are die hard console gamers. Some walk the line and play both. So, o they have the staying power? Is one type destined to become obsolete?

First of all, in the world of console gaming, there are three main categories, these days, Xbox 360, Playstation 3 or Wii gamers. Granted, some play two types and some play all three. Personally, I am a Nintendo fiend, though.

In some ways, that competition actually works in the console gamers’ favor. Since there are three main console games, there are three very distinctive console game sets to choose from. Yet, those sets are ever changing.

For example, I loved Banjo Kazooie and Banjo Tooie on N64. Imagine my dismay when I discovered that the latest Banjo game is only out on Xbox 360! Suddenly, they aren’t Nintendo specific games anymore! So, now, if I want to play my favorite games, I have to buy a 360. Theoretically, once I do that, I will see other 360 games that I like and buy those. I’m probably not alone. That trend will probably cause a lot of you gamers out there to buy more than one system and, as a result, games for more than one system.

So, any old school console gamers are probably going to stay console gamers and, by default, their kids will probably be console gamers, since the games will be in the house. I don’t see console games ever dying. So, are computer games destined to go by the wayside, instead?

Well, I think not, just for sheer convenience. Most of us use our computers on a daily basis. If we have breaks from work or just happen to be online chatting with friends, why not play a game, especially a multiplayer online game? In fact, more and more MMORPG’s are popping up. World of Warcraft, Warhammer and the like are in no danger of dying off.

Aside from that sort of convenience, there’s also the space convenience. If you play computer games, you don’t have to contend with console game systems, lots of game controllers and accessories and tons of game discs and cases everywhere. A lot of computer games don’t even require a disc to run.

Then there’s convenience point three. If you’re already at your computer playing a game you have the world at your fingertips, as far as finding game information goes. You can easily look up game cheats, game walkthroughs, game trailers and more. Of course, if you are playing a console game, you can take time out and go over to your computer and look up the cheat codes, but it takes more time.

Ultimately, there are no winners or losers in the battle between console and PC. I am looking forward to Diablo III coming out for PC, personally, but I’m also looking forward to the day that I can replace the Wii that my ex boyfriend kept, too! There’s no reason we should choose one over the other. All games are a blast!

While this statement doesn’t apply to everything in life it does apply to gaming, if you are a decent player who has a fair amount of intuition when it comes to solving the intricate puzzles that most games are made of then you know that even if you are a good player you will still have trouble unlocking each and every single section of a game, this holds true in each case when the game you are playing has been designed with several levels in many areas which need to be unlocked in order to advance to yet another level, hidden area or to acquire a special ability.

Unlocking every section of the game is actually nearly impossible, and a new games you are very likely to not even come close to unlocking 50% of the game hidden areas, if you have played games such as: House of the Dead 2, in the version of Grand Theft Auto, Halo, Pokémon, SimCity, The Legend of Zelda, etc. then you know that the amount of levels and hidden places is just incredible.

In Pokémon alone there is an enormous number of worlds that each player needs to clear in order to meet the final bosses, and many versions of this game the Pokémon which you have captured can be evolved when you migrate them from one version to another, this is actually something that not every player knows about but it would definitely be a very useful piece of information to know, thinking on this very same issue great online communities of players have come together to share their tips, tutorials and even cheats of each game they play.

Another good example of much needed information comes into play in the game of World of Warcraft, if you have played this game did you know that there is a gold rush, where each and every single player is trying to acquire this virtual gold in order to get items that will allow them to enhance the characters as they play in advance from level to level. Because everyone wants gold, savvy players have started to farm gold in order to sell it online in many players do in fact pay the price for this virtual gold, which is not cheap.

Those who play this game have developed several guides which include the best tips for making gold, some of these tutorials are actually sold but if you are able to find a community of gamers who are willing to share this information for free then you will obviously hit a jackpot. Acquiring these game cheats doesn’t necessarily mean that you are in fact cheating because many times you may just be stuck on a certain part of the game which you can’t beat, this is very normal and happens to most players which is why game cheats come in very handy.