Cheat codes in games

Solius

(• ___ •)
Staff
Joined
Dec 31, 2007
Messages
92,360
Why are they pretty much non existant nowadays?

Don't get me wrong I hate using them during my first playthrough of a game, and I've never needed any to help me beat a game. However they're usually great fun if you want to play through again or something. I think GTA is one of the only games that still does it, and even that's taken out the fun ones. Used to be great having stuff like flying cars in GTA, big heads and paintball in FPS games, etc... Nowadays they seem to just not even be part of the equasion for the majority of games in favour of what I would call a more 'mature' approach that everyone seems to be trying to take.

Why have developers felt the need to do this? Cheats have pretty much been phased out.
 
Probably because "people" these days can come up with their own. Tried playing COD4 on Live recently? Practically everyone is cheating.
 
Online multiplayer has nothing to do with cheat codes for single player games though. Games like God of War, Unchartered, Assassins Creed would have all had cheat codes had they been released 20 years ago.

My take is gamers have become lazier and the games have become easier. Including cheat codes would mean people breezing through games far too quickly.
 
You don't need them as you get save points. There are also very few games with a lives system today, so cheat codes are not necessary.

Games today in single player are basically far too easy.
 
What about fun cheats for when you replay the game?
 
Yeah, for example cheat for assassins would have been having a gun or the ability to fly after the game.

Probably important we remember trophy systems and such
 
Years ago, when you died, you had to start the level, or even the game from scratch. If you weren't a particularly good player or particularly patient it could get quite frustrating. Cheat codes were good in this situation.

These days you get unlimited lives and/or continues and save points. Therefore cheat codes are not as necessary as they used to be. The only reason for them now is laziness or cheating for the hell of it.

Edit: Damn you Weaste :)
 
Demon's Souls could use them cheat codes.
 
My cousin ruined so many games using cheats to clear games. What a waste of money, my aunt spending hard earned cash on a game, for him to clear it in days using invincibilty and infinite lives :-/ managed to put an end to it with some criticism of his gaming skills :lol:
 
The new sliders that have been incorporated into FIFA 12 can make for some entertaining games, I agree that a lot of games these days are sorely missing cheats though. I remember when I got a cheat device on my PSP for GTA, where you could turn gravity off and such, it was great fun.
 
I agree, after completing a game on the most challenging setting, it's great fun to go back again and do it with "all guns", "infinite ammo", "invisibility" or "invincibility".
 
Who remembers a combination of cheats which turned GTA games into constant riots on the streets? Turn pedestrians violent/give them weapons = carnage
 
Ah...I miss the days when friends' respect was in accordance to one's ability to master those GTA Vice City cheats - and the rapidity you could do it at.

R1, R2, L1, R2, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up - 2 secs...take that!
 
McLovin said:
Ah...I miss the days when friends' respect was in accordance to one's ability to master those GTA Vice City cheats - and the rapidity you could do it at.

R1, R2, L1, R2, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up - 2 secs...take that!
Click to expand...

Copied and pasted! Cheat! Oh wait.
 
Goldeneye had it right, you had to complete the game on various difficulty levels to unlock the cheat modes.

Weaste is right though, single player games are too easy, the designers lean on various, silly achievements to increase the replay value of short games.
 
FIFA 2001 had some great cheats as rewards for winning Leagues and winning Leagues unbeaten and such.
 
Cheat codes are still found in PC games. Usually you have to open up a terminal of some sort within the game and enter a command.

Overall I think multiplayer has been the death of cheat codes.

Consoles lack cheat codes because, as stupid as it may sound, the technical complexity of games is such that long combinations are legit moves nowadays. Think of Tekken, for example, you'd try to enter a cheat and get it a bit wrong... which leads to you pulling an epic combo anyway.

I reject the notion that games these days are easier though, I think that's a combination of revisionism and nostalgia. N64 Goldeneye is/was one of my favourite games of all time -- I remember it being incredibly difficult back then. Nowadays? Not much of a challenge, in all honesty.

EDIT: Dammit forgot to add my main point. The way that games are coded these days combined with the knowledge of the public means that if someone really wanted to be invincible they could just modify a game file. People create mods of games all the time to tailor it to their whim. I know I modded the hell out of R:TW myself and nearly everyone else unlocked the "unplayable" factions.
 
Games were bastard hard when I was a kid.

They just don't make rock hard games like mega man, ghouls and ghosts and super probotector anymore.

An NES game genie was a must have for some games back in the day.

I recently played double dragon 3 again. I cannot believe I completed this when I was about 11 years old. One life and it's game over and back to the beginning.
 
Garethw said:
I recently played double dragon 3 again. I cannot believe I completed this when I was about 11 years old. One life and it's game over and back to the beginning.
Click to expand...

:eek:

There are still some rock hard games, but not enough. There was a new Contra (Super Probotector is a Contra game) that came out a few years ago, still haven't beaten it.

About cheats, they'll probably be start being put up as DLC soon, just like everything else seems to be :rolleyes:
 
AVARiCE said:
Cheat codes are still found in PC games. Usually you have to open up a terminal of some sort within the game and enter a command.
Click to expand...

Are you fifty? :lol:


I reject the notion that games these days are easier though, I think that's a combination of revisionism and nostalgia. N64 Goldeneye is/was one of my favourite games of all time -- I remember it being incredibly difficult back then. Nowadays? Not much of a challenge, in all honesty.
Click to expand...

Goldeneye was never that difficult. Besides it came at a time where the industry was changing (thanks to a certain stereo making company deciding quick and casual was the way to go) and games were being more lenient to appeal to a bigger market.



WeasteDevil said:
Games today in single player are basically far too easy.
Click to expand...

Garethw said:
Games were bastard hard when I was a kid.

They just don't make rock hard games like mega man, ghouls and ghosts and super probotector anymore.

An NES game genie was a must have for some games back in the day.

I recently played double dragon 3 again. I cannot believe I completed this when I was about 11 years old. One life and it's game over and back to the beginning.
Click to expand...

It always makes me laugh when people claim games are difficult. Two of the best ones of late are Borderlands single player and Deus Ex:HR.

Hard? Get to feck. If you can't go through either game with just a pistol and laughing at the shit AI you face, then you need your reactions checked because I suspect a cucumber would have a faster motor system.
 
Redlambs said:
Are you fifty? :lol:
Click to expand...

Haha, nah. I couldn't think of the correct word (still can't) for that little console overlay in-game and my brain just said USE THE WORD TERMINAL, IT'S UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED WINK WINK.


Redlambs said:
Goldeneye was never that difficult. Besides it came at a time where the industry was changing (thanks to a certain stereo making company deciding quick and casual was the way to go) and games were being more lenient to appeal to a bigger market.
Click to expand...

In the eyes of many, it's more difficult than games these days, hence I used to example. I also added to it with my own personal experience. To analogise it to football, which sort of suits the medium here, it's like people comparing a 60's player to a modern player. Football's come such a long way since then that the modern player can probably outdo them on multiple levels. Same with gaming. Modern players can take on so much more information because we know how gaming works. How many times have you bought a game, been overwhelmed by the sheer depth of your options and then found the game ridiculously easy once you've figured it out? At least with modern games you have to encounter other challenges instead of the same one getting incrementally more difficult. Which leads me on to..

Redlambs said:
It always makes me laugh when people claim games are difficult. Two of the best ones of late are Borderlands single player and Deus Ex:HR.

Hard? Get to feck. If you can't go through either game with just a pistol and laughing at the shit AI you face, then you need your reactions checked because I suspect a cucumber would have a faster motor system.
Click to expand...

I'm currently playing Deus Ex:HR (no spoilers please!) and my favourite weapon is my pistol. Don't get me wrong, the game is ridiculously easy (not helped by the fact that I like to complete on easy first to appreciate the story) but it's also slightly complex and aided by my decisions. I chose to augment my character in a way that fits my playing style.

Hmm, I fear I'm just circling my point. Basically, I'm a modern gamer. I know the mechanics of how an FPS, RTS and RPG work. Using that knowledge, I've created a character that I know is well-adapted to the game. I'm sure n00bs out there would've just picked the "cool" stuff not the functional stuff, just as the pros would laugh at the inefficiency of my build.

I find that more rewarding than simply repeating the same task over and over as it becomes more difficult. It's also more difficult in the sense that I have to choose wisely. In terms of enjoyment (because that's what games are about, obviously), I find greater value in being capable of doing things in various different ways than doing the same thing over and over, etc.

Currently the best games in terms of difficulty are multiplayer games with a strong hardcore contingent. Solo player should be about getting a feel of the game, enjoying the story and, overall, exploring.

/wild tangent, sorry!
 
Because developers are lazy. Most cheat codes require them to build in codes to mess with there game engines and it also comes with its own set of bugs and bug testing. Just like the easier shorter games we get now, lack of cheats cut down development time and cost.
 
AVARiCE said:
Haha, nah. I couldn't think of the correct word (still can't) for that little console overlay in-game and my brain just said USE THE WORD TERMINAL, IT'S UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED WINK WINK.




In the eyes of many, it's more difficult than games these days, hence I used to example. I also added to it with my own personal experience. To analogise it to football, which sort of suits the medium here, it's like people comparing a 60's player to a modern player. Football's come such a long way since then that the modern player can probably outdo them on multiple levels. Same with gaming. Modern players can take on so much more information because we know how gaming works. How many times have you bought a game, been overwhelmed by the sheer depth of your options and then found the game ridiculously easy once you've figured it out? At least with modern games you have to encounter other challenges instead of the same one getting incrementally more difficult. Which leads me on to..



I'm currently playing Deus Ex:HR (no spoilers please!) and my favourite weapon is my pistol. Don't get me wrong, the game is ridiculously easy (not helped by the fact that I like to complete on easy first to appreciate the story) but it's also slightly complex and aided by my decisions. I chose to augment my character in a way that fits my playing style.

Hmm, I fear I'm just circling my point. Basically, I'm a modern gamer. I know the mechanics of how an FPS, RTS and RPG work. Using that knowledge, I've created a character that I know is well-adapted to the game. I'm sure n00bs out there would've just picked the "cool" stuff not the functional stuff, just as the pros would laugh at the inefficiency of my build.

I find that more rewarding than simply repeating the same task over and over as it becomes more difficult. It's also more difficult in the sense that I have to choose wisely. In terms of enjoyment (because that's what games are about, obviously), I find greater value in being capable of doing things in various different ways than doing the same thing over and over, etc.

Currently the best games in terms of difficulty are multiplayer games with a strong hardcore contingent. Solo player should be about getting a feel of the game, enjoying the story and, overall, exploring.

/wild tangent, sorry!
Click to expand...

You think games are deeper today????

Nope, that's just the third dimension.


Hal9000 said:
Because developers are lazy. Most cheat codes require them to build in codes to mess with there game engines and it also comes with its own set of bugs and bug testing. Just like the easier shorter games we get now, lack of cheats cut down development time and cost.
Click to expand...

Seriously? You are wrong on every point bar the shorter games, but even that isn't due to development cost more than it is due to the perception that console gamers have short attention spans and only want multiplayer. Both of which are largely true btw, but only because of being force fed that. It's a chicken and egg kind of thing.


R_Nick said:
God mode!
Click to expand...

Hell. Yes. :D
 
McLovin said:
Ah...I miss the days when friends' respect was in accordance to one's ability to master those GTA Vice City cheats - and the rapidity you could do it at.

R1, R2, L1, R2, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up - 2 secs...take that!
Click to expand...

Yup think another one was Left, Down, Down, Down at the end.

Doom: iddqd (God mode). idkfa (all weapons). Quake was similar.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.