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hacks
Team Twiizers, the software enthusiasts behind the Twilight Hack (a Wii exploit stemming from Twilight Princess) have announced that their hardware-modless software can now load homebrew apps from the SD card slot in your Wii. Just imagine a world in which the Nintendo Wii could play your old SNES roms...oh how that would Change Things For The Better.
Twilight Hack [WiiBrew via Maxconsole]
Following in its grand tradition of "hacking" reality with silly pranks around campus, a bunch of MIT students dressed up the main lobby of MIT with a bunch of Super Smash Bros. Brawl power-ups.
Celebrating the release of a big video game is starting to become a regular theme over there. If you recall, some pranksters dressed up John Harvard's statue to look like Master Chief when Halo 3 was released. The rather fuzzy pictures show a Mario hat, the Smash Bros. box, a Poke ball, a Smash ball, a banana peel. Not shown were some other power-ups hanging from the ceiling.
Ah MIT.
We're not so surprised that the Wii has been apparently cracked, but rather, that it's taken so long. Still! The folks over at forum TehSkeen has figured out an exploit to modify a saved game from Twilight Princess, crash the machine and have been able to run a few lines of their own code. It's not even necessary to "mod" the Wii console to run this exploit. Don't freak yet, as it's only possible to run four lines of code so far. From the TehSkeen:
More »
xbl
Skyluss, a member of pro-gaming Team vBi, reported over the weekend that his Xbox Live account has been hacked... again. Apparently the hacker was a little envious of the Recon Armor Bungie had bestowed upon Skyluss and decided to take it for a spin him or herself.
The Halo 3 gamer writes in the vBi forums that he thinks this latest hack wasn't a product of social hacking (i.e. sweet-talking a password out of a stupid customer support person) but a genuine security flaw in Microsoft's Live service.
Skyluss says he's changed the passwords on his account three times in the past month so he's sure it's not an issue of someone having his password. Whether it is a security flaw in the system or an issue with customer support the bottom line is that there is a problem, one that I hope Microsoft is on top of.
I emailed XBL Director Larry Hryb to see if Skyluss high-profile account problems are being investigated, as the gamer was told after receiving a whole lot of run around and not a lot of answers. Hyrb told me that their security team has indeed launched an investigation and that he has been in touch with the gamer personally.
My Gift, My Curse [Team VBI, thanks Christopher]
First impressions on this IKEA dining table hack leaned toward solving the dilemma of having to engage others in conversation while supping, instead of staring intently at a television monitor and chewing silently. But having read the creator's description, it seems much less self-serving.
More »
Ed at Instructables was nice enough to tip us off to one of the site's latest hardware customizations, an LED filled Guitar Hero controller that adds some visual flair to stock rockin' out. The step-by-step instructions unfortunately gloss over a very important step—making your own translucent custom fret buttons—but an emoticon is offered in apology. That missing step is also promised at a later date. Who's going to make with the long exposure photography of a "Through The Fire And The Flames" attempt?
Guitar Hero LED Mod [Instructables]
confirmed
For those who missed it, hackers had allegedly de-blurrified the AO content in Manhunt II to play on PSP. Now Take Two has confirmed the rumor.
Multiple edits were made to revise Manhunt 2 for its M-rated version. Hackers apparently have altered one of those edits to produce an illegally modified version of the game that can only be played on an unauthorized, modified PlayStation Portable handheld system...Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick said, "I stand behind the game and the ESRB ratings process. It is unfortunately the case that no one in the entertainment software industry is immune from hacking...We would also like to emphasize that Manhunt 2 is intended for an audience aged 17 and above.In other words, we're all victims when a little Hot Coffee spills in our laps.
BREAKING: Rockstar Confirms Manhunt 2 PSP Hack [gamepolitics]
In the great tradition of decades of "hacks" (us, non-collegiate types call them pranks), the folks at MIT snuck into Harvard Yard on the day of the Halo 3 launch and dressed book-donor John Harvard up as the Master Chief, complete with a fancy Spartan Helmet and Battle rifle. What amazes me is how they manages to make the additions look like they were made of the same material as the statue.
Halo 3 John Harvard [Thanks Jeremy and everyone else who sent in tips]
This week has a nice choice of titles spread out over various systems (sans the PSP). I'm trying to get to Heavenly Sword tonight so I can see for myself what it's going to be like and I am anxious to check out Jam Sessions and Drawn to Life for the DS. I've avoided Oblivion for a while just because I'm afraid of getting sucked in, but the inclusion of all the expansions on one disc is intriguing. What to do, what to do?
Heavenly Sword (PS3)
Will Nariko and her moves rival Kratos?
Skate (X360)
Skate to your heart's content and see what life is like without Tony Hawk.
NHL 2K8 (PS3, X360, PS2)
All the fun of Hockey without the broken teeth.
NHL 08 (X360, PS3, PC, PS2)
Because we always need more hockey games.
Galactic Assault: Prisoner of Power (PC)
Rule the planets in this sci-fi RTS.
.hack//G.U. vol. 3//Redemption (PS2)
The final game in the trilogy. The end of an era...
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition (X360, PC)
All of Oblivion including the two expansions in one tidy package.
Kengo: Legend of the 9 (X360)
You are a legendary samurai in feudal Japan doing the stuff a samurai does.
DiRT (PS3)
More racing action for your PS3.
Jam Sessions (DS)
Strum your blues away.
Drawn to Life (DS)
Draw your own character and put him through his paces.
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core (WII, PS2)
Still guilty after all these years.
Fatal Inertia (X360)
Race in supersonic planes and kick some ass.
Ship Simulator 2008 (PC)
Imagine the fun of piloting your own oil rig!
For those who are impatient, Racer_S over at Widescreen Gaming Forum has apparently created a BioShock widescreen hack. Once installing the program, it should correct the sleeve cropping that occurs in the game. This hack, of course, is only for the PC version. Over at WGF, folks in Vista and XP are getting it to work (some are not), so this app should conceivably do the trick. It doesn't work for every version of Vista — like, it doesn't work for Vista 64 bit. What about 360 owners? You're still screwed. Well, for now. 
nintapple
Sure, you can control your iPod with the touch controls like everyone else. Or, you can spend a few hours modifying your iPod to be operated by an NES controller. Embedding a PIC microcontroller in the game pad fools the iPod into thinking you are using a more legitimate (though more boring) iPod remote. Most of us mere mortals have no hope of following the instructions to build an nesPod of our own, but we also know that everything is for sale...if the price is right.
The only catch is that the mod only works with 3rd or 4th gen iPods. But that's all right. It was all downhill after generation three when build materials became cheaper, and buttons transformed into a "click wheel."
hacker vs karraker
Unfortunately, hackers will try to exploit any hardware system software. The best we can do as a company is to make our security that much stronger and aggressively pursue legal action against anyone caught trying to use an exploit in an illegal manner... Naturally, any use of an exploit on the system software does void the warranty on the PS3 system... Which could be a costly mistake to see if you can run an old SEGA CD game on it.
hack
smarty pants
for left-handed heroes
looks kinda hard
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