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Gameshark Ruins Online Tony Hawk 4

Well it is official. Cheating in online games has officially destroyed another great online game.

GameShark Plus PS2 Online Equals Illama Beans

For the last two weeks I have been enjoying Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 on the PS2 and the online network game play was the whole reason that I wanted to get a PS2 Network adaptor. But last weekend Gameshark announced codes for their Gameshark2 device that lets you cheat by having perfect balance so you can rake up combos that no human can achieve. So if you don't cheat and could only get 67,000 a person who was cheating could get 23,395,000 thus making it impossible to compete in the same game as a cheater. And because it is a client side hack there is no way for the server to detect it. The person who is running the server has to boot and ban people who they think are cheating.

God damn it. It was fun for the first two damn weeks before the cheating started.

I am going to be emailing Gameshark and asking them to ship and API that would allow game developers to detect the presence of their devices so future games can ban online cheating. I mean what about online RPGs and other online based games? Cheaters ruin the fun for all and thus act as a massive financial bane to the companies that invested their hard capital in developing said online game. Cheating with the Gameshark should be OFF LINE ONLY. Now before I buy and online game I am going to have to wait and see if it will be possible to cheat using these lamer tools.

If I were Sony and Activision I would sue Gameshark for damages caused to the financial viability of their game and network caused by the use of
the Gameshark2 product.

The codes I object to are

(Mastercode) Must Be On
0E3C7DF21853E59E
EE952A8EBCD25932

EZ Manual Balance
DE784452BCA99B83

EZ Rail Balance
DE7844C2BCA99B83

I own a Gameshark2 that I use to occasional cheat off line and play import DVDs. I like the Gameshark but the use of it in online game play is unforgivable
I am going to be mailing Gameshark with my grievance and I suggest you do as well.

I am going to be emailing them asking for a refund for the money I spend on Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 only to have their product ruin the online game.

Gameshark
press@gameshark.com

Mailing Address:
GameShark.com
335 Clubhouse Lane
Hunt Valley, MD 21031

Neversoft the makers of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4

Neversoft Entertainment
20335 Ventura Blvd, Suite 320
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
U.S.A.

Neversoft information: info@neversoft.com

For Tony Hawk's Pro Skater comments, suggestions and information contact: thps@neversoft.com

Sony support can be contacted here

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Icon of JakeJake at November 5, 2002  Games

Comments

You can't blame gameshark for this. Thats like blaming VCR and DVD system manufacturers for people who copy movies, or blaming a city because someone driving on its streets hit you with their car, or even blaming you if someone I know read this post and as a result they got mad and injured me. Gameshark provides a device to hack the game, thats it. They don't govern what people can and can't do with it. You say you own one yourself? Just because you feel its not right to cheat online (Which I agree with, whole-heartedly) doesn't mean that because other people do it, gameshark should refund you. I do agree with you on the idea of finding a way to detect if gameshark is running in an online game but until then, theres not much you can do other than suck it up.

Posted by: Demono at January 27, 2003 8:14 AM

Game shark makes most of the codes for the game shark card and should be responsible in deciding what codes to publish and what codes to not publish because of the negative impact on online games. Actually I stopped buying online enabled PS2 games until they have a way to work out the Gameshark angle. Instead I play on Xbox Live which is a closed architecture network so there is no cheating of any kind on Xbox Live. I just think that Game shark should not publish codes that can be used in cheating online.

Posted by: Jake at January 27, 2003 9:09 AM

whoever you saw score 20 million points probably wasnt cheating. I have found that u can tell who is cheating with gameshark because their score just starts scrolling like a slot machine. Im so sick and
tired of people shouting foul when they have no idea what they are
talking about. Ive been kicked off of servers a couple times now on
THPS 4 because people thought i was cheating and I wasnt. A week ago
i couldnt even hit a million on TA, now i can break 6, and soon im sure 10 mil. Ive hit 4 and 5 million point combos in 30 seconds. So before you yell cheat, step back a second and consider that u might just suck.

Posted by: Donn at February 2, 2003 9:55 AM

>whoever you saw score 20 million points probably wasnt cheating

That is like saying. "I can't get a girl friend because my cock is way too big".

Online game play is based on the trust that everyone is using the same set of rules. Just the existence of cheating online with the PS2 makes me almost wish I never got an online adaptor.

Posted by: Jake at February 3, 2003 1:54 PM

AUTHOR: Kostja
EMAIL: whiteshadow@inbox.ru
IP: 195.80.96.212
URL: http://
DATE: 04/19/2003 11:41:13 PM
AUTHOR: Kostja
EMAIL: whiteshadow@inbox.ru
IP: 195.80.96.212
URL: http://
DATE: 04/19/2003 11:41:13 PM
AUTHOR: Kostja
EMAIL: whiteshadow@inbox.ru
IP: 195.80.96.212
URL: http://

Posted by: Kostja at April 19, 2003 11:41 PM

AUTHOR: Kostja
EMAIL: whiteshadow@inbox.ru
IP: 195.80.96.212
URL: http://
DATE: 04/19/2003 11:41:13 PM
AUTHOR: Kostja
EMAIL: whiteshadow@inbox.ru
IP: 195.80.96.212
URL: http://
DATE: 04/19/2003 11:41:13 PM
AUTHOR: Kostja
EMAIL: whiteshadow@inbox.ru
IP: 195.80.96.212
URL: http://

Posted by: Kostja at April 19, 2003 11:41 PM

I agree with pretty much everyone about getting a company to create something to check if people are using gameshark but I do know for a fact that there are some people that can get 1 billion points. DOn't believe me do you? If you guys play Tony Hawks Pro Skater 4 on the Internet than you should know who f8 is. They have a website but i cant remember the link these days more and more people are scoring 20 million and up. I can only score around 10. Just because somebody is good doesn't mean that they cheat. Most people get points by glitching which I think is also illegal during a game but ok at other times. If you think that they are cheating, I suggest you ask them to do a manual and then fall, or have somebody observe them while they skate. I as well have a gameshark but I have never used it online or on Tony Hawks Pro Skater 4, I mostly use it for help on games like Resident Evil 2 and Metal Gear Solid 2.

Posted by: Scott at July 3, 2003 1:10 PM

any 1 who uses gameshark 2 to cheat online sucks they are the biggest nob heads in the world. what about people who want to play fairly we dont want to be playing against a cheater all its saying about the person who cheats is that they suck at all online games and shouldnt play them i have 6 different servers of my own on thps4 and thps3 and socom us navy seals and twisted metal black online as soon as i find anyone cheating i ban them from my server in total i have banned 34 cheaters from my servers and i tell all my mates to ban them as well from damien ps.ihate cheaters

Posted by: damien666 at July 6, 2003 4:54 AM

i hate fucking cheaters they all need to go and fuck there mums up her ring hole lots of love a friend x

Posted by: emu666 at July 6, 2003 6:02 AM

online cheaters are bad invisible wearing motherfuckers!!!!!!!!!hehe and should all fuck off cause i fucking hate them any 1 with a problem with wot i have said ill be online on socom us navy seals 18th of july at 10.00am under the name of reaper

Posted by: damien666 at July 6, 2003 6:07 AM

I have been playing thps4 online for some time now, and i can slightly disagree with that fact that you belive 20 million is cheating. My highest score is 281 million in alcatraz. But to detect how someone is actually cheating there are several ways...First to see if they have big or insane points, tell them to do one kickflip during a trick attack game. If they have thier kickflip anymore then 100 points they are using gameshark. If you tell them to do a manual and try to fall and it seems like it is hard for them and they are vibrating like crazy they have balance. Same goes for grind. If you think they may have special, then tell them to fall and try to do one of thier specials. The easy special is not easy to detect. But how people can exceed 100 million is simple if you understand how to do normal lines, improv lines, style lines, and robot lines. Robot is the easiest way to rank up your points easily. DAO is a pro ability that ranks up your base before going to your line. Try to observe some f8 or txo/txa members. Then try to call those guys cheaters, they will own. I am sometimes hosting in pros on evening nights as .:(OT):.Vortex now so you can come talk if you want to learn some stuff. Though im only as good as 281 mil.

Posted by: .:(OT):.Vortex at July 23, 2003 8:46 PM

Hey, wanna check out some of the best clans and how they can beat a billion nOObs? Well, hang out at...

*www.thpsxonline.com - look for linetub

*www.f8klan.com - look at thier vids-maybe .tk

*www.sinklan.tk - look for vids when they're up

*www.commie.tk - or maybe .com look at vids

look for me on evenings

Posted by: .:(OT):.Vortex at July 23, 2003 8:53 PM

I am not a Noob. I have been playing games since the days of the 2600

Posted by: Jake at July 23, 2003 9:02 PM

i can fell what your saying but im tired of losing so thanks for the codes

Posted by: Patrick at August 8, 2003 1:06 AM

You suck so bad that it is not worth it. Stay off line if you are going to suck and cheat

Posted by: Jake at August 8, 2003 1:10 AM

i am the tony hawk masta on tony 3 i can get 8 million in the los angelas in two tricks no cheats

Posted by: cody hill at November 13, 2003 2:47 PM

Wow watch me not care

Posted by: Jake at November 13, 2003 2:53 PM