Let's face it, anyone who has played a video game has cheated at one time or another. There's something about having all the door keys or the best power-ups right off the bat that makes me smile. Why spend hours earning when you can have it right now? Playing Super Mario Bros. 3 with my Game Genie was a highlight to any day. And then games got more sophisticated. Soon, you could enter cheats through button presses of the control pad. No longer did I have to play a game without cheats, waiting to either buy the cheating peripheral for the system or for new codes to arrive in the newest copy of Nintendo Power. From the start I have the power to cheat, and sometimes it outweighs the want to play the game normally. For instance, Grand Theft Auto IV had me and about six million other people drooling to play it the first week it came out. Once I sat down with it, all I could think about was how I needed to spawn a helicopter, fly to the top of a skyscraper, spawn a motorcycle and then jump off. I could literally spend hours doing that and similarly related stunts. But what about the game? Did hundreds of the world's most talented artists, programmers and writers collaborate to make a game just so I could jump a motorcycle off a building? Probably not. Nintendo battled Galoob in court about that when the very first Game Genie was released. Obviously the Big N lost, but I can see where they're coming from. Still, the cheating devices are curios yet justifiably fun items. Game Genie, Gameshark, Code Breakers, Action Replay; the names and how you use them have changed over the years but the goal has always been the same. Since cheating is a big part of gaming, I am doing a three part series on the subject. Next time we will delve into the history and workings of cheating devices and find out why making a game easier for you isn't exactly easy to do. Finally, we will attempt (perhaps with a hacksaw) to make some homebrew modifications to a SNES Game Genie, hopefully having a desirable effect. Stay tuned.


Part II

Ever wondered how a cheating device works? In this, part two, of my cheating series, we'll take a look at the inner workings of a Game Genie cheating device. Back in th early 90's, the original NES Game Genie was released. Having obvious up front benefits (and a few not so obvious design flaws), it sold like wildfire. Allowing players to cheat, have invincibility, skip levels, add lives, etc... it was no wonder people loved it. How it works, was a matter of some copyright resulting a defeat in court for Nintendo. What the Game Genie does is allow the player to enter codes before starting a game. These codes are then patched together with the existing code of the game, resulting in various effects. Maybe it gives you invincibility, maybe it crashes the game, but whatever the result is, you are temporarily altering the game's code. Hence, is a Game Genie changing the original copyrighted material of the game or not. Regardless, the NES Game Genie did have one long term drawback. The way that it was designed, attaching the game cartridge to the Game Genie and then slid into the NES deck would not allow the lid of the NES to close. Over time this forced the 72-pin connector (the slot that holds the game cartridge in place) to widen. Eventually, and I've found it to be true myself, the game will have to have the Game Genie present to play the game because the slot is too wide and the cartridge cant make a connection with the machine. Having put this as simply as I could think to say, I have left some out. There's quite a bit of boring and math oriented opertaions that go on, which will can be looked at
here.

Somehow, it seems, that if you have a theme, whatever it is, and mix it with Legos, you can never go wrong. In this weeks game, Lego once again teams up with Lucas Arts and puts on a uniquely fun and entertaining ride with the Indiana Jones movies. Appropriately titles Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, you get to be Indiana Jones, except a whole lot smaller and made of plastic. In fact you can play a multitude of characters from the Indy universe, once you unlock them. The game takes you through the first three movies, Raiders of the Lost Art, Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade. Each movie is broken down into six parts and generally play out familiar events found in the movies. Now, realizing that Nazism might not be the best for young children, scenes dealing with that kind of subject matter were changed for the game. However, the changes are a good fit to the game and are often quite funny. For example, after the boulder chase in Raiders, Belloq is waiting for Jones to hand over the golden idols head. In the Lego version, Indy first tries to bribe Belloq with C-3P0’s head from Star Wars. Aside from the story changes, the game play is as solid and easy to pick up as the Lego Star Wars games. Indy has his whip and can pick up weapons left behind by enemies, tools to fix things, and can build and ride vehicles. The Wii controls like a normal controller would, you can flick the remote to use Indy’s whip, but it’s easier to use buttons. The graphics look pretty good, all of the animation was smooth and the environments were easy to recognize from the movies. The only problem I had on the Wii was that sometimes, in bigger places, the game would show some slowdown. Other than that, the sound was superb, and you should have no doubt that you’re playing an Indiana Jones games because all the scores are there. If you get stuck, Indy can receive some help via a friend in co-op play, since the computer’s friendly AI is kind of terrible.
Lego Indiana Jones is a fun and funny game that anyone can appreciate. There’s tons of secrets hidden away, so playing through just once won’t do. If you’ve missed out on the Lego Star Wars games, then try Indy, it’s the most polished of the games, and if you still don’t get a chance to play it, Lego Batman is coming up right around the corner.

If there ever was a hack and slash game that was as stylish as it is fun, Devil May Cry stands alone.  With the fourth installment of the series having been out for the PS3 and Xbox360 since February, PC owners can get their hands on a copy in a couple weeks.  This time around you will be playing as Nero, another demon hunter, who looks oddly similar to Dante.  You’ll play through about half the game with Nero and half with Dante.  Nero brings to the table the Red Queen, his sword and the Blue Rose his pistol, as well as his powerful demon arm.  Some have said that Devil May Cry 4 is cool but repetitive.  Whoever says that isn’t trying.  Sure you can go through the game hitting the same buttons over and over, or you can figure out how to string tons of hits together while taking out multiple enemies.  On top of that when you switch to Dante halfway through, you start with a new character, and all his moves.  Speaking of moves, Nero’s demon arm, or devil bringer is quite the weapon.  Use it to bring enemies close to you so that you can slam them into the ground.  Nero can also “charge up” his sword using a cool little animation of grinding gears attached to his health bar.  Now, the puzzle parts do get boring at times, especially now that Heavenly Sword has set a new hack n’ slash standard. Forgoing the random and repetitive puzzles, you have literally hundreds of enemies to plow through to accomplish your goal. It would have been nice to see that kind of challenge in Devil May Cry 4, but for what it is, it stays true to its own formula. So, which version is better?  While the Xbox and PS3 versions are almost identical in audio/visual presentation the PC version, if you have the rig to do it, gives you some additional visual tweak options.  Any version will give you outstanding graphics, and similarly to the PC, the PS3 will copy files to the hard drive saving you some pesky load times.  As far as game play goes, once again, all versions shine.  It is cool to play it on the PC with a PS3, 360 or similar controller, but overall the PS3 version feels like the better button layout.  On the other hand, most PC controllers allow you to configure any action to any button you like, giving you endless button layout options.  All three have online leaderboards, the same unlockable content and achievements.  If I had to choose, I’d go with either the PS3 or PC version.  The PS3 has the less loading times (it takes a 20 minute initial set up though) while the PC might have a graphical edge, taking advantage of both DirectX 9 and 10.  You’d have to have a pretty good system to play it on though, and I’m betting that it’ll cost more than $400. The 360 version is no slouch, but there are these tiny differences that make the other two versions possibly better.  You might as well get the PS3 version, it has awesome graphics, smaller load times, and I like the controller set up better.   Having said that, you're gonna have a great time with any version you choose. Devil May Cry 4 is simply a fun game with over the top everything, and you can't go wrong with that.

Vanilla and chocolate syrup. Popcorn and movies. Ketchup and fries. Some combos are hits from the start. In a nerd's world there are a handful of things that you could combine to make an ordinary item much better. In Comix Zone, mixing a video game with a comic book does just that, making an ordinary game unique. You are Sketch Turner, comic book artist and soon to be the "chosen one" in a super cliche and cheesy story involving lightning, drawings coming to life, and you fighting for survival. It's goofy, but how else is a human supposed to be turned in to a comic book hero? I mean gamma rays would have just combined his DNA with that of the book's molecules turning him into some sort of paper man thing, and not to mention that it's been way over done... anyhow, according to all the ways to become a superhero, lighting was probably the best and quickest way to tell the story. Getting back on track, you have some basic self defense moves: punching, kicking and jumping as well as having the world of a comic book at your disposal. What I mean is Sketch can tear the paper of the pages to reveal hidden items, or to create weapons out of the paper to use against enemies. However, doing so takes away some of your health since tearing the pages also destroys the comic world that you are stuck in. The other interesing concept that the game features is that the stages are broken up into panels, just like a comic book. Jumping in and out of frames allows you to progress throught the levels, or pages of the comic. The look of the game is obviously comic book inspired, featuring a post-apocalyptic, statue of liberty fallen, toxic waste lined future. Despite having a bleak description, everything is brightly colored and all the characters and villans are well animated and look appropriately hand drawn and overly muscular. Having come out towards the end of the Genesis' life the game features some of the best graphics you will find on the system, including some cool water effects. The music is decent and actually features bands like Danzig and Lords of Acid, which are appropriate for this game. Also, included with the Genesis copy of the game was a music CD featuring the game's soundtrack.
The final judgement is that Comix Zone is a cool game. Some people might disagree and say that it's a ho-hum game glued together with a gimmick. I'll admit that there's not a whole lot to the fighitng mechanics, or the story, but the unique way that the game is presented shows that somebody was actually thinking about doing something different. In my book that makes up for a lot. You can play it on the Genesis, like I did, or you can download it of the Wii via the Virtual Console. Either way you're bound to have a good time, especially if your a fan of either videogames or comic books.

Liberty City, a vast metropolis where anything can and does happen. Enter Niko Bellic, a Russian citizen, soldier, and mercenary who is searching for the American dream. When the two meet for the first time, you know it’s a match. Now it’s up to you to give Niko his dream, doing whatever it takes. As in previous games, you’ll have pretty much anything and everything at your disposal. You’ll start by meeting up with your cousin Roman, who is trying to establish himself in the US. However he’s not doing that great, and in fact he’s kind of a pushover. Luckily, you’re not. He’ll give you a start in his business and give you a cell phone after a couple missions. The cell phone is your way to contact anyone to start missions, take a job, call girls for a date, etc. Additionally, the phone doubles as a hub for starting a multiplayer game and accessing cheats. Another cool feature is your GPS system that figures out the best route to take to get to your destination and highlights it for you on the map. It’s not always the fastest way, but usually it works really well. Once you get familiar with those, the game stays true to GTA format. There’s cars to steal, bad guys to take out, and money to be made. Controlling Niko is a breeze, and this time around he’s got some clever ways to elude the fuzz and/or shoot it out. If you’ve got a few stars on your wanted gauge, you can now hide in the shadows to lose the cops. Also, if you’re in a gunfight, you can take cover behind objects while keeping a lock on your enemy. GTA IV has two tiers of weapons, poor and advanced. Included in them are pistols, shotguns, rifles, machine guns, RPGs, grenades, and molotov cocktails. You also have your bat and after a handful of missions, you can pick objects up off the street, i.e. bricks, and use them as weapons as well. Most of the cars make their return from previous games as well, including one of my favorites, the tricked out SUV, Huntley Sport. There are no airplanes this time around although there are helicopters, including a military attack chopper. All other kids of cars can be found from 80’s models to brand new exotic sports cars as well as boats and motorcycles. Stealing a car is as simple as a button press, however the time it takes for you to actually get in the car and drive away has increased. If Niko’s attempt to open the car door using the door handle fails he will break the glass, unlock the door, hotwire it and then drive away. Hotwiring sometimes makes car alarms go off, and cops are always close by. To compliment the level of animated detail in the characters, the environment, Liberty City, is as close to a living breathing city as anything can be. People going about their daily business driving, shopping, eating; storms that have thunder that shake the speakers and lighting that paints the sky with blinding white and blue; wind rustling leaves of trees and blowing trash are just the tip of the iceberg. GTA IV will constantly amaze you with such an over abundance of subtle detail. In addition, damage to cars and structures are equally amazing. If you crash the front left side of your car into a light pole you will get damage to that part of your car and it will look like you hit a light pole. Scraping the side of your car will result in paint coming off proportionally to what you scraped i.e. if you scrape something small, the amount of paint that comes off will be small. A cool and also hindering addition to the interaction of the vehicles is if you hit something hard enough while driving, you will get ejected through the windshield, and that’s never a good thing. Once again the GTA soundtrack is outstanding with numerous radio stations to choose from which includes all genres of music. The sound effects are just as well done, and include upgrades on some of the weapon and car effects.
I can talk about all the impressive specs of the game for a long time. The point is the game is beyond fun. There is so much to do and figure out on your own that it will take months to navigate the city without the GPS. Using the cheats from the cell phone (you have to initially dial them in as phone numbers) makes it kind of like the Matrix in a way. If you dial the cheat for a racecar or helicopter, one appears out of thin air. I spent a ton of time spawning helicopters, flying to super tall buildings, spawning motorcycles or cars and driving off the top. I know it’s stupid, but it’s so much fun. The online multiplayer is just as fun especially when you have the max of 16 players in one game. The bottom line is Grand Theft Auto IV is a remarkable achievement in almost every way. If you have a PS3 of 360 you have to play this game. If you’re waiting to buy a system for the right game to come along, then wait no longer. As for me, I’ve got some helicopters to jump.


A little driving, a little shooting, and a smidge of cheating ;)