To cheat or not to cheat? That is the question.

When it comes to results, some like to take short cuts.


Hello, nice of you to come back for another read. What is that? Get on with the blog you say? Surely there's no hurry? Oh, you don't have the time? You want to skip to the end first and not read all of the "boring stuff"? Crikey, you must be one of them cheaters I hear so much about!


You know the sort....


You're crouching in a nice secluded area, ambush all set up, C4 planted, like some kind of modern day tiger of the gaming jungle. Just waiting now for your prey. Then you'll strike. Fast as lightning and more deadly than a powered up Pac-man. Oh, here comes a target now.... He'll never see it coming, it's a perfect trap... Mwuhahahaha. Finger on the explosive trigger, wait just a few more seconds... I can hear him coming. BLAM BLAM!!! What the hell?!!! How the hell did he know I was there???!!! He just walking in, came round the corner and blasted me with a shotgun before tottering off again! He didn't even blink. (Sound of sobbing) My beautiful plan... all ruined....



Well, it's possible that someone had triggered a radar, UAV or something similar. Or it's possible they've hacked the game and he can see through walls!


The sick-eth sense


Yep, as amazing as this news is, it's true! Some people in the world don't want to put the effort in. Some people like to get ahead by using dis-honesty. Yep some people even enjoy the power over you, getting an advantage to make them superior. Wow, what a world we live in! (Next you'll be telling me that people have wars over religion).

Online and up to no good

Those amongst us who take cheating to the multiplayer online arena are some of the most hated people on the planet. If they all lived in a country somewhere I'm positive that a coalition of the world's armies would unite (Chinese alongside American, English alongside Argentinian) and invade it with the full and unwavering support of the UN. (The UN resolution would read something like: For crimes against the liberty loving gamers of this great planet, namely the introduction and precipitation of aimbots, the use of exploits and the use of glitches to access superior fighting positions, the league of United Nations makes it's unilateral declaration of war against Cheatsland).


It ain't fair and it's not funny to be killed from UNDERNEATH a map, or through a wall etc. Unfortunately some people decide "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" and go straight off to do the same. This is why cheating will always be a problem.

The way I look at it is this; I game for fun and wouldn't enjoy a game any more if I was cheating, however I also believe that if someone can use genuine skill to access a place (from which they can still be killed) then there is nothing wrong with that, as long as they can't see through walls or kill you with one side-ways glance that is!

Trash Talk

One thing cheating has given rise to is this, "Hey man, there's no way you could have killed me, you must be a frickin' cheat." Ever been on the receiving end of a twitch headshot? Ever thought how the heck did he do that? He must be a cheat! Well, no, actually he was probably a) lucky or b) an expert. Let's face it, some people play games 24/7 and become pretty much at one with the joy pad. They feel a game's nuances like Neo feels the Matrix. Still, it's nice to have an excuse, saves us admitting that someone is better than us!

Do you have any cheating experiences? I'd be interested in hearing them. Post me a comment and tell the world! (Well, a few people at least!).

Thanks for reading, keep spawning...

Gavinox

Ps. Here's a quick link to see what I'm talking about http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tJHd9_ECNOw

UNOFFICIAL RULES OF GAMING: #1 The shotgun will always be short range and powerful while pistols are deadly accurate and pathetically weak.

Punch: A button

Whilst chatting about Balrog on SFII the idea was brought up that he would be better off taking his gloves off...

Makes sense really, after all gloves are soft and would surely cusion the impact of any blows? So that's GAME OVER on that discussion then.

Thanks for reading.

.... or is it that straight forward? After a bit of googling we can discover that on average TWO boxers die from boxing related trauma every year in America alone! (Hang on, does that imply that they died without anyone around to love them?).

Apparently bare knuckle boxing is actually SAFER than the modern boxing we are accustomed too. How the heck can that be true? Well, it's simple, and you'll already be figuring this one out if you had a few punch-ups in your lifetime. Punch someone in the head with your bare fist and there's a good chance that you'll break a bone in your hand. The bones there are fairly small and with no fatty areas to cusion the impact all of the force is transmitted directly into your knuckles and wrist.

There are no known bare-knuckle fight deaths on record, primarily because they would predominatly punch each other in the body so as to avoid injury to their hands. Since the adoption of padded gloves boxers have started to concentrate on head shots which are obviously very dangerous to a human being.

So there we have it, maybe Balrog should leave his gloves on after all otherwise he would probably break his hand on someones head (and i'm betting on it being Blanka's).

It all does beg the question though, maybe all of the other characters should put on boxing gloves too!

Thanks for reading.
GavinoX

Cheats never prosper (but they do have more fun)

Why cheating is fun.

Since the beginning of time man hath cheated, bent the rules, lied, stolen and generally been a bit naughty. Just look at the story of Adam & Eve. The forbidden fruit is impossible to resist. Not that I'm religious or anything, as much as I like the idea of Christ coming back to life after death on the cross, I simply believe that it wasn't divine intervention; he just put another couple of ten pence pieces in the slot and hit CONTINUE before the countdown got to zero (from ten of course).

Indeed reincarnation (or RESPAWNING as it's called nowadays) is also plausible.

Anyway, I digress somewhat. Back to cheating. We've all done it. I remember hiding my pink £500 note under the Monopoly board and pleading with my mum for cheaper rates when landing on their properties "it's all I have!" and then whipping out the note at the first chance of buying a train station.

My first gaming cheats involved typing codes onto C64 keyboards while the game was paused. Infinite lives were a staple cheat back then. My appetite would be whetted by weekly doses of Games Master on TV where a computer enhanced astronomer would dish out vicious insult laced cheats to pathetic kids (like me). "Games Master, I am stuck on the second level of James Pond 2 Robocod can you help me?" "Oh dear" would come his reply "you are a pathetic creature aren't you? Alright, here is a level select cheat..." and he'd deliver the cheat code. I'd scribble it down and be upstairs trying it out within seconds of the final credits.

Some memorable cheats include A-B-R-A-C-A-D-A-B-R-A (Chuck Rock on the Mega-Drive) which was "A" button, "B" button, d-pad right etc. (you get the gist) and for some reason I still remember the regain a life cheat for Icari Warriors on the NES; up-down-left-right-A-B-B-A.

I think that cheats were originally ways for developers and programmers to test game play and as such there evolved into some pretty powerful cheats that could change a games code itself. For example, there was a cheat on Sonic The Hedgehog where you could change Sonic into any of the sprites in the game (e.g. a spring, bad-guy, TV etc.) and place it on the screen. Then you could change back to sonic and continue.

Eventually the demand for cheating led to innovations such as the Action Replay Cartridge. This brilliantly would let you enter a code so as to alter game code. This powerful piece of kit on the N64 allowed myself and my buddies to unlock many hours of multiplayer on previously unplayable multiplayer maps on GoldenEye. Anyone for 4-player Cradle? (It would run at a terrible frame rate but the novelty never wore off!)

I can't go on with mentioning the Hot-Coffee cheat for Grand Theft Auto. It unlocked a feature that wasn't even officially known about by the actual developers, who then had to halt production and re-release the game without the code. Brilliant.

So cheating has gone from humble beginnings of Infinite Lives and Level Selectors right through to unlocking features of a game that nobody should have ever seen.

Cheating can be good then.

Soon I'll post a little something about when cheating isn't a good thing (and when it's an absolutely terrible thing). After all, there can be no Ying without Yang.

Thanks for reading, hope to see you again soon. In the mean time, please post a comment on your favourite cheat, anecdotes on cheating, or if you have it; the cheat for infinite lives on Wonder Boy.

Happy head-shots,
GavinoX

Extra bonus points will be awarded for anyone who can remember the location of the first warp jump pipes in Super Mario on the NES.

Assassins creed ending explained.

Hello again and thanks for reading.

This is just a quick post. I was thinking about the ending to Assassins Creed, all that stuff on the walls etc. At the time I must admit I didn't spend too long trying to suss it out, but luckily (as is the way with the internet) someone else has done all the thinking for me!

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=175552

I must admit that it's a brilliant amount of work and I'm very impressed. Sometimes game endings leave a little to be desired and it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, but sometimes something different comes along and it makes a nice warm feeling in my belly. (A bit like a chicken jalfrezi).

I wonder if you remember the final stage of Double Dragon? (Two player). You'd fight your way as a team through all of the tough levels, helping each other out, sharing weapons etc. Finally you defeat the big boss and the girl is waiting to be swept off her feet, then you realise, "who gets the girl???" All of a sudden you're pitched into combat AGAINST the other player! A simple but brilliant twist.

Another cracking ending is Call of Duty 4. Absolutely loved it! I won't ruin it for those that haven't played it through (you should, it's awesome) but it's very tense and also a bit sad. Nice switch in the game play mechanic and a lovely dramatic turnaround.

I've done a few quick searches and found that the general concensus seems to be "Assassin's Creed's ending sucks!" and that it's a bit too much of a "bet you want to see what happens in Assassin's Creed 2 now don't you!" type ending. But it's got so much depth and so much thought has gone into it, I think it's a cracker.

Ryan Lambie has written a good article here about poor video game endings:
http://www.denofgeek.com/captainsblog/66133/the_ryan_lambie_column_rubbish_videogame_endings.html

And for balance, here is an article from C+VG on the best endings:
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=155203

Any more memories of good/bad game endings that have stuck in your mind? Post them as a comment below! There are some absolutely hilarious game endings on youtube you might want to check out. Search for "Lame Video game endings" etc...

Look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for reading.


Gavinox

Things that games tought me....

Here is something random that gaming has taught me over the years...

If you are injured in a fight or shot or burnt by fire or by falling/jumping from a height, simply eat an apple or roast meal or put on a fresh set of body armour. This will instantly make you feel fine, as if you hadn't even been injured in the first place.

But where would you locate said items at short notice?

Apples and roast meals can often be found by knocking over dust bins, smashing telephone boxes or in chests lying around the place. Who leaves these items (and in the case of perishables, regularly re-supplies them to keep them fresh) is completely beyond my comprehension but I suspect that they are very quick and stealthy as you will NEVER see them do it. I suspect those little guys that show up from time to time in GoldenAxe. You remember them, the little chaps with the sacks on their backs who get serious abuse in the daily undertaking of their job.

There is evidence that they sometimes bunk off early however, sometimes you'll find that they have dumped their wares in hidden, hard to find places, like round obscure corners of buildings or behind piles of rubble.

Abuse in the workplace.

I'm not sure I'd find it very easy to get up in the morning knowing that I would be kicked repeatedly by dwarves and prodded with swords by warrior women, but hey, I’m not an elf (gnome? munchkin???) Maybe they should have some body armour handy (not to be worn during the attack, oh no, you should put it on AFTERWARDS to ensure you get the full benefit!).

Body armour is a particularly effective method for curing wounds incurred from all sorts of injuries; bullets, fire, car crashes etc. It's amazing how that little "zzzzip" can make you feel better.

I think the makers of body armour are missing a trick here, maybe they should market it more widely?

"Not feeling very well? Try new Maxo-Armour, one zip and you'll be fit!"

They could have vending machines that sell armour in likely places of injury, such as at the bottom of ski-slopes and at busy road junctions. They'd make a fortune.

There's gold in them their trash cans!

Also sometimes you can find items of wealth in similar places, often just lying around. Make sure you look in dark corners and behind random walls/doors. I've lost count of how many times I’ve been walking down the high-street turned down a dark alley, knocked over a bin and found some gold bars/coins etc.

Anyway, I'm off to kick some small people and knock over some bins. goodbye for now.

(For further information on this subject please refer to the following teaching resources; GoldenAxe, GTA, Goldenye, Streets of Rage etc.)

How to use your Gaming Knowledge

Being a bit of a gamer over the years has taught me a few things....

Road Safety:

1. Smash you car up as much as you like. It'll keep working until smoke starts to billow from under the bonnet. When this happens you should exit the vehicle immediately (even if you are in the middle of a busy road). If you continue to use the vehicle the you will soon see flames replacing the smoke; this means that the vehicle will explode shortly and you really should exit the vehicle to avoid injury/death.

2. If you roll your vehicle onto it's roof you might find that it will shortly start to billow smoke and the fire from the bonnet, see above.

3. If you don't have a car, just get in and drive the nearest one you can see. Car keys will always be left in the ignition. It's a bit like the public bicycles they have in Holland.

4. A badly damaged car will be fine after a re-spray.

5. Cars do not work in water.

6. Power sliding is the quickest way round a corner.

7. No vehicles use fuel, it's just a capitalist lie. You can drive your vehicle for as long as you like until it starts to smoke. (See point number 1 above)

8. Driving tests are not required, everyone can drive a vehicle. Controls will always take the following format: one button for FORWARD, one button for STOPPING & REVERSING, one button for STOPPING FASTER AND HELPING SKIDDING and one button to HELP YOU LOOK OVER YOUR SHOULDER.

9. Head on collisions are rarely fatal.

10. Traffic Lights are purely ornamental.

For more detailed case studies please use the following instructional interactive media: GTA, Ridge Racer, Battlefield etc.

See you next time.
GavinoX

Breaking the seal (not the marine creature)

Hello and thanks for reading!

Ok, let's get admissions out in the open; I’m brand shiny new to blogging. However, I like to think that I have a few things in my head that are well worth listening to (or reading in this case!).

Firstly I'd like to make a few pledges:

1, The Interesting Gaming Blog will be free from typing, spelling and grammatical error.

2, This blog will feature interesting and amusing thoughts and comments.

3, You will enjoy reading it as much as I will enjoy writing it!

4, I will keep the use of exclamation marks to a minimum.

5, Subjects I will cover will include: gaming (of all kinds), interesting facts and thoughts, some football and anything else that will be interesting/amusing.

I'm off to think about what to write first, while I do; make yourself a cup of tea and I'll be back before you know it.

Gavino X