How To: Find Cheats Online

For a long time the computer held all the power when it came to video games. The "Game Genie" tried to help, but it not only stuck out awkwardly from the Nintendo console, it also provided lame "cheats" like "change laser bolts to red" or "make bubble sound instead of gunshot," not to mention it was fraught with more bugs than a tenement in Queens.

Then along came Konami's Contra and before you could say "up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start," real cheat codes emerged to level out the playing field and give human players a fighting chance. These hidden gems have evolved to become integral components of the mushrooming video game market and have spawned a whole industry of their own.

types of cheats

Contra's cheat code gave you 30 extra men, but since then, these cheats have grown to include bonuses like unlimited ammo or invincibility. Some even unlock hidden characters and levels, or in the case of NBA Jam, allow you to play as the actual programmers of the game. Luckily, these programmers were as good at basketball as they were at Dungeons & Dragons -- in the video game universe, at least.

Power-up cheats

These are the kinds of cheats that truly level out the playing field, or at least let you go ballistic and spray your enemies with a complete disregard for finite amounts of ammunition. Unlimited ammo is the most common, popping up in gun-heavy games like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City or Medal of Honor. Some games contain cheats that go beyond unlimited ammo, into the realm of more powerful weapons.

The paranormal-themed Darkwatch for Xbox contains a cheat that gives you silver bullets, to the obvious detriment of the werewolf population. Nerdboy favorite (and cheat-code intense) Quake 4 lets you punch in "spawn weaponmod_nailgun_seek" to activate a hidden gun that shoots nails that lock on and kill. I feel 10% less cool for writing that, and even more so for how excited I am to try it.

Funny cheats

As codes evolved and became a more integral part of the video-game lifestyle, many cheats began popping up that were more humorous than helpful. The aforementioned NBA Jam will display characters with huge heads when you push up on the joystick and hold "turbo" and "pass" in the "Match Up" screen. The game play is exactly the same, though the character's attributes aren't affected -- they just look like bobbleheads (or my Uncle Phil).

If you play 100 consecutive player vs. player matches in Mortal Kombat III, you'll automatically unlock a hidden mini-game (namely Galaga). Sure, this will take many hours of your life just to play a rather tepid game from the early '80s, but still. These kinds of codes don't necessarily make the game easier (or better), they just show how much spare time programmers have on their hands.

These cheats are considered honorable and respectable compared to this next set... Next Page >>