Cymro

Within 5 days of it's release, hackers managed to unlock the game's developer console and use it to create While people using this will probably have their Steam accounts banned by VAC (Valve Anti Cheat), that's fairly pointless as there's apparently a crack out already that allows pirated copies to play multiplayer, and if there isn't there inevitably will be. Soon.

Everything gets cracked and hacked, and when companies try and circumvent it, it only invites more piracy. It's probably already killed PC gaming, save for RTS games and the like, which are even less well suited to consoles than the FPSes that have somehow become successful on consoles despite this handicap.

As a consumer, it leaves me in a bit of a pickle, because I don't like consoles. I don't like the fact that I'm limited to the hardware of the box, I don't like using controllers for anything save driving (analogue controls rock for that), I don't like being locked out of a game's settings, I don't like being limited to a single copy on a fragile disc, and most of all I don't like paying an online subscription fee and 50%-100% extra for the privilege of playing a shitty console version.

I've played pirated copies of many games, and they all have one thing in common - I've only played them once each (if that). I just realised this, but without intending to, I've bought every game that I've ever played more than once, and in fact the only cracked games I play are ones I own but I've either worn out or lost the original disc. But now of course, developers are doing their best to clamp down on piracy, and in the process are eliminating all the things that made PC games special in the first place. For that, you can only blame the perma-pirates I suppose.

I'm not sure if it'll be worth upgrading my PC again.

EDIT: It's worth noting that the only thing about these Dedicated servers that count as cheating is the fact that they provide an easy way of upping a player's rank quickly. In COD4, playing on a server like this would not have altered your rank and it would have been compatible with the PunkBuster anti-cheat system.

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"Let me tell you something about humans, nephew: They're a wonderful, friendly people - as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working.

"But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those friendly, intelligent, wonderful people...will become as nasty and as violent as the most blood-thirsty klingon."

Space Goat

Actually, on the PS3, you don't need to pay a subscription fee to play online.

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Cymro

I know (from experience), but it still suffers from all the other limitations I described, and as far as I know there's nothing to stop them from charging if they feel like it. It also seems that Microsoft's aggressive strategy means a lot of the multi-platform games (including MW2) are built for Xbox and then ported to the other platforms. As a result, the PS3's superior hardware never gets used and you still have to pay £45-£50 for a game that costs £25 for the PC.

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"Let me tell you something about humans, nephew: They're a wonderful, friendly people - as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working.

"But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those friendly, intelligent, wonderful people...will become as nasty and as violent as the most blood-thirsty klingon."