New tools aid ambitious gamers
By Josh Zelman
CNN Headline News
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"Action Replay" and "GameShark" are apllications that help gamers polish their playing skills.
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(CNN) -- Pounding away at the buttons but can't make progress? Slamming into insurmountable obstacles? Dying at the hands of the enemy time after time?
Then perhaps you should seek a little professional help.
Crispin Boyer, senior editor of Electronic Gaming Monthly, recommends two applications for gamers seeking to polish their playing skills -- "Action Replay" and "GameShark," which are on sale for about $35 each.
Just load or download the software onto your console, select the game you want to conquer, pick your "cheats" and poof -- you're ready to take on whole new worlds.
The menu of codes allowing gamers to cheat ranges from infinite lives to the ability to leapfrog over certain levels. For example, "Action Replay" boasts more than 30,000 cheat codes.
Boyer said 1.4 million cheat-related products were sold last year, putting these devices in the same league as a hit game such as the GameCube's "Metroid Prime." ("Action Replay" and "GameShark" sales accounted for the majority of that number.)
However, with cheating comes responsibility -- namely, when playing against other online gamers.
Boyer said some gamers try to gain an unfair advantage by supplying themselves with items such as unlimited ammunition.
Because of this unscrupulous activity, Boyer said there is talk about monitoring online game play and enacting a "three strikes and you're out" policy.
Cheaters beware.
