Click here to view the embedded video.

Enterprising PC modders have unleashed the Power of Geek on the innards of Just Cause 2. The result? Rico’s grappling hook can now be attached to an infinite number of objects at once, as opposed to a miserly two.

Get the patch here.

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Heavy Rain is one of the most serious-minded games you’ll ever play. That’s why the above glitch, which takes place during Scott Shelby’s first interview with Lauren Winters, is so pant-wettingly amusing.

Now you see me, now you DON’T. Guess she’s got a bit of underpants elastic caught on something.

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You've only got three days to kick his arse, UK readers.

Fact: you’ll enjoy Mass Effect 2 a lot more if you’ve played Mass Effect 1. Going by early reviews, at least. Reportedly, the brawniest of the game’s strong points is its carrying-over of plot dynamics and characters, filling in the picture between the destruction of the Sovereign and Shepard’s reanimation at the hands of shadowy pro-human organisation Cerberus. New allies (and new enemies) are doing the rounds, but you’ll also reunite with former comrades and adversaries, now scattered across the galaxy, visit familiar locales and find answers to some of the original’s pressing questions.

I don’t know about you, reader, but I don’t intend to start this sequel – perhaps Bioware’s best title to date, and a definite GOTY candidate – on the back foot. LevelSkip’s most advanced survey probes have been trawling the ether, scooping up choice Mass Effect haxploits (”Mass Exploits”?) to hasten your progress to the end credits, and thus to a thoroughly well-informed first playthrough of Mass Effect 2.

Don’t read on if you’re a goody two-shoes, or you’re happy to enjoy Mass Effect’s charms at leisure. Do read on if you’re anxious for a glimpse of Miranda Lawson’s underwear.

1 – Print your own credits (infinite cash)

This lucrative work-around is a bit laborious. First, complete the Citadel side-mission involving Dr Michel and her blackmailer. As thanks, she’ll give you a store discount. Avail yourself of it, selling her all your expensive gear. Then trot over to the merchant Expat in the Wards, buy all your gear back at a lower price, return to Michel and sell it again. Rinse, repeat, recline on a bed of cash.

2 – Instant White Knight/Lord of Evil (infinite Paragon or Renegade points)

When you get to the part of the game where Lorik Quinn is deliberating whether testify against Anoleis, it’s possible to chat your way up the morality ladder. Simply approach Lorik once, convince him to testify via fair means or foul, then walk away, walk back, ask him something unrelated, then pick “answer another question” and steer the conversation back to the case. Each time you get him to testify, you’ll bag another 25 Renegade or Paragon points.

3 – From greenhorn to veteran (infinite experience)

In a hurry to bump up your level? Simply chat with Liara the Consort for around a thousand EXP (depending on your progress up to that point), then reload your save and chat to her again. Before long Shepard will be swimming in skill points.

4 – All the armour you can eat (wear any gear irrespective of class)

The most complicated slice of Mass Effect code-trickery of all, but worth doing if only to see fragile pretty-boy Kaiden style some Krogan heavy armor. So here we go: fire up the equipment screen and pick the character you want to equip. Count the pieces of armor from the bottom of the inventory up to the desired item (inclusive). Make a note of the number. Then press X to go to the upgrades screen, and – very quickly – hold Y and press A in succession. If performed correctly, you’ll hear the salvage sound and be prompted to reduce the armor to Omni-gel. Hit B to back out.

You’ll be returned to the upgrades screen, which should now contain duplicated data. Count up from the bottom by the same number of places as before. Now press A to equip the upgrade you’ve lighted upon. Voila, the character should be wearing the “unequippable” armour. Tricky one to get right, this, but persevere.

All these tips apply to the Xbox 360 version – PC users may reap different results. Hope you enjoy Mass Effect 2.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Well here’s something you don’t see every day. Among what is reportedly a rather embarrassing number of Final Fantasy XIII bugs, there’s one which makes computer-controlled characters hop forwards and backwards like a kangaroo with its braces caught. Wheee. Tigger would be proud.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Just been watching Trumpf’s latest Modern Warfare 2 blowout on Youtube, embedded above. In it, the goodly pro and close chum SeaNanners talk us through a Search and Destroy match over Xbox Live on the Favela map.

The vid’s a little under eight minutes long. Too long? Here’s our scalding hot digest: never take the same route twice, think before you shoot and double back a lot.

Over and out.

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I'm too young to die!

Poor old Left 4 Dead. Just over a year old, and already consigned to the backseat of history by Valve’s uncharacteristically headlong rush to sequel-dom.

Well we’re not quite ready to let go, chaps – as befits the PC version at least. Here are some reasons to put off uninstalling the original zombie co-op FPS for a few months longer.

Because Left 4 Dead wasn’t broken, hasn’t been fixed.

Bit of an obvious point, this one. Left 4 Dead is still utterly, utterly fantastic, and worth experiencing alongside its younger sibling. Those soggy North American forest, industrial and residential maps aren’t getting any less gripping or well-balanced. It’s a whole five quid cheaper than Left 4 Dead 2 on Steam, too.

Because Valve’s keeping its word as to downloadable content.

OK, they took their sweet time bringing out Survival mode, the new “Crash Course” campaign and Versus functionality for the original maps, but Valve seems to be building momentum on the DLC front. We downloaded a 4v4 matchmaking update only a week or two back. Watch this space.

Because Left 4 Dead now boasts hundreds of custom maps and campaigns.

There are plenty of prolific would-be Valve employees out there, it seems. This writer’s favourite custom maps include Claustrophobia, a cramped, two-storey Survival arena featuring some stunning broken wood geometry and shadows, L4D Dust 2, for all the Counterstrike freaks in da house, and Who’s Laughing Now?: The Evil Dead Cabin, a bastard hard homage to Sam Raimi’s stuffed-crust B-movie classic.  Hunter Training is great for putting a little extra spring into your pounce.

Custom-campaign-wise, you might want to consider this Silent Hill remake, or this sequence ripped from Resident Evil Outbreak File#2. Cream of the crop, though, is Death Aboard, which takes you from the depths of a prison to a gloomy dockyard and onto a precariously balanced ship. Fans of the surreal should check out Night Terror and its daring hot-air balloon rescue. Gadzooks.

Because you can stuff all the original game’s content into the sequel.

Those lynch-pins of the underground code-breaking scene at L4Dmods have figured out how to transfer all Left 4 Dead campaigns (and, excitingly, custom campaigns) to Left 4 Dead 2 – well ahead of the release of Valve’s official SDK.

Hold on though, doesn’t this make the first game rather redundant, we hear you protest? Ah, my son, but you’ll need a fully paid-up, squeaky-clean legit copy of both games to pull the trick off. Plus a bit of technical know-how, naturally. And the patience to endure a fair few non-crippling bugs. Hit the link for a tutorial, and check out the video evidence below.

Because Zoey is way fitter than Rochelle, innit.

Look, let’s not beat around any bushes here (after all, one of them might contain a Boomer). If we had the chance to leap into the sack with either of the Left 4 Dead ladies, it’d be pasty girl-geek brunette Zoey all the way. Rochelle’s too respectable for our unhygienic, society-averse tastes. She’s a TV producer, for God’s sake. Plus she wears a Depeche Mode T-shirt (admittedly it’s got a stencil of Gordon Freeman on it). Stupid establishment chick.

So what’s keeping you glued to the original Left 4 Dead, oh well-informed reader?

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Click here to view the embedded video.

If Jesus Christ were still in the miracle business today, and had chanced to lay his hands on a copy of Unreal Tournament 2004, the results might look something like Long Nguyen’s long-awaited solo project Out of Hell. Forget “water into wine” – any mod that can make a five-year-old first-person shooter engine out-perform most recent equivalents is Biblical material indeed.

Out of Hell courteously invites you into the town of Grinwood, lately plagued by the walking dead. Broken up into 15 maps, it’s a plausibility-soaked exploration of classic zombie horror cliches like abandoned motels and carparks. You’ve got 10 weapons – five of them up-close-and-personal, five marginally less so. We like the sound of pitchforking somebody through the nostrils.

The mod’s 100% free to download, but you’ll need something a little meatier than the average 2004 box to power it: a Core 2 Duo E8200 at 2.66 GHZ, three gigs of RAM and a Geforce 9600 GT 512 MB, for preference.

Screens here, survival guide here, install FAQ here. Just to reiterate, everything on show (less the music) is the work of one man. Ye gods.

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Walking tall with the aid of a cheat or two.

Hola, bonjour and welcome to the inaugural issue of Cheat Sheet, in which we lump together a bunch of codes and exploits from recent or upcoming games for your breathless perusal. In this episode: Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony, Borderlands, Modern Warfare 2, Uncharted 2 and Tekken 6. Go crazy with gratitude and relief.

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony (Xbox 360) – vehicle cheat

Any time you’re outside, break out your cell phone and insert the following phone numbers to unlock the vehicles below.

Annihilator (Helicopter) – (359)-555-0100
Cognoscenti (Car) – (227)-555-0142
Comet (Car) – (227)-555-0175
FIB Buffalo (Car) – (227)-555-0100
Jetmax (Boat) – (938)-555-0100
NRG-900 (Motorcycle) – (625)-555-0100
Sanchez (Car) – (625)-555-0150
Super GT (Car) – (227)-555-0168
Turismo (Car) – (227)-555-0147

(Big ups to IGN user James Gutierrez)

Tekken 6 (PS3) – weapon cheat

All male characters can use the Sledgehammer and all the female characters can use the Naginata by pressing BACK + LEFT PUNCH + LEFT KICK + RIGHT KICK. Other weapons and special items can be used as well, but the commands to use them vary.

(Hearty back-claps to IGN user BloodyDollFace)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) – unlockable Killstreak

Chalk up 25 kills to get the Tactical Nuke, which obliterates everybody. Sorted.

(Not sure who first discovered this beauty.)

Borderlands (PS3, Xbox 360) – saved game/experience exploit

In the first scene, when you’re getting the tour with the scrap robot, follow him all the way through to the small campsite with the car up on the lift next to the burning tires. Collect all the loot (guns, money) along the way and kill all of the guys. Once everyone is dead simply pause the game and go to exit. It will save your character (level & loot) and start you at the very beginning upon loading your game. You can repeat this as many times as you’d like!

(Tender hugs for IGN user Ray Chambers)

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) – tweak/difficulty exploit

1. Start a game on a difficulty you haven’t finished and go all the way until you have a real gun.
2. Go to in-game option and set the difficulty to one that you have the tweaks unlocked with.
3. Enable your tweaks.
4. “Save and quit”
5. Go to main menu option and set the difficulty back to the one you originally choose.
6. “Continue” the game.
7. Enjoy.

(Grateful kisses to GameFAQs user Flame060)

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Now you don't need to buy Left 4 Dead 2, see.

BFG gathering dust? Get your fingers into Skull Tag, an intimidatingly well-equipped “sourceport” of Doom II, featuring new items, bots, modes, weapons, maps and at least two or three kitchen sinks.

It’s classic Doom gunplay with the addition of jumping and freelook. New modes include “Invasion”, a wave-based defensive affair, “Possession”, in which players score points by keeping hold of a Hellstone for as long as possible, and “One Flag CTF”, which is like CTF except you have to return the flag to your opponent’s base, rather than your own.

In a departure from the original Doom II, you can drop in and out of games in progress. There are no dedicated servers. Time for another petition, Modern Warfare 2 fans?

Blurb here, download here, installation FAQ here, screenshots here. You’ll need a copy of Doom II, Heretic or Hexen.

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My body’s at work, but my head and heart are sprawled in front of my desktop at home playing the Dead Before Dawn beta. After all, life’s too short not to spend a sizeable portion of it sniping at Boomers from the cover of a faux-Hawaiian coffee stand.

You can download this user-built Left 4 Dead campaign here. Initial player feedback seems mixed, with some picking on the size of the five included maps (a sixth, the finale, is still in development) and others the prevalence of bugs. The campaign is standard co-op only at present, but Versus functionality is on the way.

What else? 200 custom models and props, new AI-Director-controlled music and some “professional” voice-overs. If you ask me, they missed a trick by not titling it “Dead B4 Dawn”.

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