CheatBook-DataBase

Program with a plethora of game cheats and walk troughs.

If you are a player continually stuck on the same level of your favourite game and lack the patience to grind your way past that zombie boss or puzzling riddle using old fashioned persistence and trial end error, then developer Cheatbook's "Cheatbook Database" is ideal for your gaming needs.

It complies assorted cheats, walkthroughs, solutions and general tips for a veritable plethora of games on a host of platforms including Windows PC, Sony Playstation, Nintendo Wii and 64, Sega, Gameboy Advance and Color, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Xbox live, and older consoles like the Dreamcast and the classic Super Nintendo. Appropriately enough for a shortcut friendly "cheat mode" app, it is free to download! There are in excess of 20,000 cheats contained in the database.

Some gamers may disapprove of the free and wide proliferation of the cheat modes. However, it can be argued that many games are now so sophisticated and complex that it is almost impossible to successfully complete them without some form of cheat mode or a walk through. Arguably, without the cheat modes, future gaming development will stagnate as there will no longer be an onus on developers and publishers to produce even more complicated and sophisticated games at a higher level.

The installation of the free app is straightforward. However, it is not updated automatically every year, which would be useful for the annual or bi annual iterations of established franchises. The new version must be downloaded afresh each year. It would be an advantage if future versions of the app had automatic updates, especially for patches and updates of games which often come out several times in a year.

Ease of browsing is ensured by the categorization of games into PC or other console versions. The database is stored locally on the user's PC or other device once downloaded, although it is reasonable to expect a cloud based database in future versions. The app enables users to edit the information, in case of errors being included in factual matters or incorrect strings of code. The programmers welcome corrections, however, as it is not an open source software application, errors cannot be modified by the user. It is necessary to send corrections directly to the developers or flag the issue on their online community forums.

Pros

• >21,000 cheats, tips and walk troughs
• Codes accessible instantly
• Free and easy to install

Cons

• Not recommended for gaming "purists"
• Should automatically update