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It doesn't take long for an avid--or just wickedly clever--gamer to chaff at the limitations of videogame software or hardware. If you want to go far beyond the obvious--whether you want to modify your console controller to work on other consoles, create your own text adventure, or modify your Game Boy--there's an awful lot of fun you can have for cheap or free, using the creative exploits of the gaming gurus. Gaming Hacks is the indispensable guide to cool things gamers can do to create, modify, and hack videogame hardware and software.
Everything from social exploits and tips to be used in MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) to soldering-iron heavy hardware hacks is covered in this extreme-cool hack guide written by gamers for gamers. Gaming Hacks offers a stunning variety of hacks, exploits, and other creative acts on both modern and archaic console hardware and today's PC hardware--one hundred detailed, ingenious hacks are included.
Gaming Hacks also includes detailed software-based looks at MMO (massively multiplayer) titles, FPS (first-person shooter) games, machinima (real-time movies created using game engines), emulation, save-game hacking, and many other miscellaneous subgenres and topics.
Gaming Hacks shows hardcore gamers how to configure the best FPS peripherals, hack the Nuon DVD Player/Gaming System, modify their Game Boy, watch movies and listen to music and their Sega Dreamcast, and much, much more.
Gaming Hacks shows you how to do things you didn't know could be done. If you want more than your average gamer--you want to explore and experiment, unearth shortcuts, make your games do what you want them to do Gaming Hacks will show you how. You don't need to be gaming guru to pick up Gaming Hacks; you'll be one when you put it down.
Wonderful launch point for more explorationReviewed by Jon Folkers, 2005-06-09
This book covers a lot of ground -- check out the table of contents
and you'll see something for every flavor of computer or video
game, from the Atari VCS to PC-based first-person-shooters and
massively multiplayer online role-playing games, to handhelds like
Palm and Pocket PC devices, to all of the major console machines
you attach to your television.
Like any computer book, this is full of ephemeral information that
may not age well. In a few years, many of the links given here will
cease to exist, and much of the hardware referenced could be
difficult to find. Some of the tools which seem cool today will be
commonplace, having been built into new revisions of hardware. The
author does a good job of anticipating where this might happen, and
sticks to generalities while providing specific examples wherever
possible. As I write this review, the book has been in print for
almost a year, and in my opinion, it remains fresh, relevant, and
worthy of purchase.
Some of the activity described in this book is in the grey area
between legal and illegal activity, and Carless takes care to warn
the reader when he/she might be stepping on dangerous ground. Such
caveats make this book even more interesting to this reviewer and
probably others as well.
If you've ever done any of these things, enjoyed it, and wanted to
do more, then this book is for you!
- played a Japanese game on a USA or UK territory console;
- played a "hacked" ROM of an old game in emulation;
- wanted to get more out of old games which are boring now;
- wondered about nonstandard import adapters and accessories;
- wanted to interface your console with your PC
In other words, if you're creative enough to want to think outside
the narrow box that some manufacturers have put us in, and want
more, you want this book, even if you've already done a lot of this
stuff on your own. The weblinks alone will provide hours of
entertainment, but the book draws everything together into a
coherent whole. Cheers to Carless for writing this and to O'Reilly
for having the courage to publish this in the age of the Digital
Millenium Copyright Act!
Good book if you enjoy games--old or newReviewed by ueberhund, 2005-03-16
This book was a lot of fun to read and provides a lot of great tips
for not only getting the most out of your current gaming system,
but also for enjoying those games you played 20 years ago. The book
starts out with an introduction to emulation and MAME, which allows
you to play old console games (like the Atari 2600) or arcade games
on a PC. The author even provides directions to illustrate how you
can take an old Atari 2600 paddle controller and hook it into your
PC (with a soddering iron and a little work). Any gamer who ever
played on the Atari would love something like this.
In my favorite chapter, the author shows how to maximize portable
devices for gaming fun. In one hack, the author shows how to play
games on your iPod. In another hack, the author shows how to
produce color pictures from the Game Boy's black and white camera
attachment. There are even instructions for turning your PocketPC
or PalmPilot into a Game Boy or even a Commordore 64.
The author has a section dedicated to creating the best game
machine, where he discusses video cards, mice, and other
peripherals. In other sections, the author discusses how to modify
your gaming console, including Xbox mods, tunneling (e.g. making
games play online that weren't designed to be played online), and
other game hacks. Finally, the author rounds out the discussion by
demonstrating how to create and add a vehicle to Unreal Tournament
2004. While it does require a bit of time and some work, I was
surprised at how relatively easy the whole process was.
This is a great book to read if you enjoy gaming-regardless of
whether they're games from 20 years ago or brand new. This book
will help you to get the most out of your gaming experience and
have a lot of fun doing it.
100 Clever Game Console Hacks for GamersReviewed by Dale F. Farris, 2004-12-28
If you want to go far beyond the obvious, whether you want to
modify your console controller to work on other consoles, create
your own text adventure, or modify your Game Boy, there is an awful
lot of fun you can have for cheap or free, using the creative
exploits of the gaming gurus. Gaming Hacks is the indispensable
guide to cool things gamers can do to create, modify, and hack
videogame hardware and software.
Everything from social exploits and tips to be used in MMORPGs
(Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) to soldering-iron
heavy hardware hacks is covered in this extreme-cool hack guide
written by gamers for gamers. Gaming Hacks offers a stunning
variety of hacks, exploits, and other creative acts on both modern
and archaic console hardware and today's PC hardware. One hundred
detailed, ingenious hacks are included.
Gaming Hacks also includes detailed software-based looks at MMO
(massively multiplayer) titles, FPS (first-person shooter) games,
machinima (real-time movies created using game engines), emulation,
save-game hacking, and many other miscellaneous subgenres and
topics.
Gaming Hacks shows hardcore gamers how to configure the best FPS
peripherals, hack the Nuon DVD Player/Gaming System, modify their
Game Boy, watch movies and listen to music and their Sega
Dreamcast, and much, much more.
Gaming Hacks shows you how to do things you didn't know could be
done. If you want more than your average gamer, if you want to
explore and experiment, unearth shortcuts, or make your games do
what you want them to do Gaming Hacks will show you how. You don't
need to be gaming guru to pick up Gaming Hacks, but you will be one
when you put it down.
Covers a lot of ground...Reviewed by Thomas Duff, 2004-11-21
If you're a gamer who is always looking for new information to
improve your gaming experience, check out Gaming Hacks by Simon
Carless (O'Reilly).
Chapter list: Playing Classic Games; Playing Portably; Playing Well
With Others; Playing With Hardware; Playing with Console and Arcade
Hardware; Playing Around the Game Engine; Playing Your Own Games;
Playing Everything Else; Index
Like all Hacks titles, there are 100 hints, tips, and hacks that
cover the spectrum of gaming, from hardware to software, from
consoles to online gaming. If you're old like me, you might enjoy
Play Commodore 64 Games Without the C-64 (#2) and Play Atari ROMs
Without the Atari (#3). Those will take you back to your early days
of computing. If you're into first player shooting games, Tweak
Your Tactics for FPS Glory (#94) will help boost your scoring.
Carless will even help you play Japanese video games without
knowing the language in #97 - Play Japanese Games Without Speaking
Japanese. He shows you some basic hiragana and katakana that you'll
encounter frequently in those games, and that might allow you to
bridge the language gap.
The only trouble I see with the book is that it's covering such a
wide area of subject matter. Unless you're a full-time gamer,
you'll probably find a number of areas in this book that don't
pertain to your interests. In some ways, that's OK for a Hacks
title, as not everything is meant to apply to every single reader.
But this particular title seems to be a bit more scattered than
usual. The material is good, to be sure, but each reader may have a
different opinion of the book based on what their gaming interests
are.
Covers every conceivable computer game typeReviewed by Jack D. Herrington, 2004-11-12
This book covers everything. You can go old school and get
information on Mame games and building your own arcade machine. It
covers portable with information on PDA games, hacking your
Gameboy, and installing a PS2 in your car. It talks about the
online world with combat strategies, how to game the systems to
make money, and how to find and avoid cheaters. It's got great
advice on how to build high end gaming PCs. Consoles are covered as
well. He talks about overclocking them and chipping them to play
import games. And that's just a sample.
Were this any other type of book I would say that the coverage is
unfocused because it's too broad. But it's a Hacks book and these
are intended for people with a clue to give them material on a
wider range of topics. It starts you off and expects that you will
run with it. For example, you get a lot of information about how to
create a home arcade machine with Mame, but you won't get the
detailed construction plans.
The text is well written, though he does tend to use the gamer
lingo, so you may need a translator if you aren't up to the minute.
Certainly the best book I have seen for people who want to push
their gaming experience beyond what you can get out of the box from
Electronics Boutique.
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