For every video game, there’s a Steve Graves.
Today’s games are anything but easy, the self-described “professional cheater” will tell you. And to get through the intricate, challenging, mind-numbing levels of City of Heroes and The Godfather, two games he’s currently stuck on, he needs help.
“I cheat on all the games I play,” the 24-year-old says.
Here’s the ugly, sometimes dirty, often-overlooked truth in games: Everyone cheats. In many instances, cheating is built into the game. It’s a multimillion-dollar industry, legally sanctioned. Well, at least most of it.
You can flip through magazines such as Tips & Tricks, which boasts of its “Cheat Code Blowout!”
Or buy 150-page strategy guides, the Cliffs Notes of gamers, which last year drew $67 million in sales, according to the NPD Group. Or log on to mycheats.com, a Wikipedia for the gaming set, the latest in the growing crop of sites that promote cheating in games.
When it comes to games, all bets are off.
“This is what I tell people all the time, and I’m actually pretty adamant about it: I don’t play games to necessarily play the game,” Graves says. “I play it for the story line. I play it for the mechanics. I play it for the graphics. I don’t want to get stuck coming around the same corner 50 times. I’d rather get past it and see what the next story development is.”
Graves is a network engineer by day and a hard-core gamer by night, clocking an average of four hours in front of his PC or his Xbox in his Alexandria, Va., home.
“I hate to admit it, but cheating is a part of playing games,” says Jeff Veasey, an editor at gamefaqs.com, one of the most popular game-cheating sites.
But what constitutes cheating?
Is cheating less objectionable when you don’t have to pay for it? As in, looking up a code on the Internet, where it’s free, versus dropping $16.99 for a copy of the strategy guide for Madden NFL 07?
When roaming the online World of Warcraft, is cheating warranted so long as the only one affected is you? For example, buying weapons on eBay instead of earning them in the game?
“It’s not just cheating, really,” says Sam Kennedy, the mastermind behind the new mycheats.com.
On the site, the “M” in MyCheats has horns, as if to say, you’re cheating, but go ahead. You can add cheats and edit cheats provided by other users, some of whom provide video tutorials on how to beat games such as Nintendogs. It’s like browsing through the collective intelligence of the gaming brethren.
“It’s trying to get more out of the game,” Kennedy says, “kind of like buying a special-edition DVD where you get extra stuff.”
BEST CHEATS EVER
Top 10 most memorable cheats in gaming history:
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NO. GAME
1. Contra, NES
2. Doom II, PC
3. Killer Instinct, ARC
4. Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, PC
5. Sonic the Hedgehog 2, GEN
6. Super Mario Bros. 3, NES
7. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, PS2
8. Tomb Raider, PC
9. Mega Man, NES
10. Shining Force II, GEN
[GAMEFAQS.COM]%%
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