An oft overlooked pc feature consoles don't have

Trainers and Cheat engine.

Sometimes, it's fun to play YOUR way. I think this is one of the best selling points of gaming on a pc. My cousin just built a pc a few months ago and I visited him recently. He's been struggling with the difficulty of Shadow of War. I showed him how to get a trainer, and the smile on his face went ear to ear when he realized he could have god mode, unlimited elf shot/focus/etc. I could just see the possibilities blowing away his mind (he's 21, been on consoles his whole life until a few months ago).

Anyways...for those in the know, what do you think? I'm NOT advocating cheating in mp games! But playing how you want on any number of single player games really adds to the enjoyment. I beat all 3 dark souls without cheating, and then went on other playthroughs smashing all those assholes that gave me such a hard time. So rewarding...thoughts?

I only use trainers if I lost my save files or don’t wanna go through a tedious process that is also a waste of time(ressource gathering in ME2 comes to mind).

Otherwise Git Gud applies here.

Shucks, I thought for sure I knew the answer before looking.... Word and Excel along with being 5 x the price and 10 X the PIA factor as well. . :P

Couldn't this be placed under the mod category?

While I can see using some of these things after you complete a game and want to try something new with it, if you use these for a game before then, the game probably sucks. If you don't enjoy it enough to play it through, why bother with it?

Trainers are awesome :D

Wow, I get it now. So, the real reason the so called "master race", plays on PC, is actually because they just all suck horribly at games and need mods to be made to make it easier for them. Finally, after all these years it makes sense.

Maybe they already paid for it and want to siphon as much fun out of the now-unsatisfactory product as they can. Nothing wrong with that. I don't understand the benefit of looking at someone else' gaming situation through the lens of my own values.

Here's a feature consoles have that pc can't: suspend and resume. Being able to start up instantly from where I left off on ps4 is very nice.

Trainers and cheats? How pathetic. ;)

I personally don't care what anyone says. This to me is the single biggest reason I prefer PC over consoles among many other reasons as well of course, I admit I am really bad at video games but this allows me to enjoy and play through games I would never be able to finish and would quit playing because of frustration of dying over and over again and be able to really enjoy them, I would say at least half of the games I play I could not even play on console since I would get frustrated and quit. It makes it much more enjoyable for me from beginning to end of playing any game. This may not be a popular view that is understood by people that are good at video games but for me it makes all the difference in the world.

IMO if you're gonna do that why bother even "playing"? One of the biggest reasons I avoid gaming on PC like the plague.

@dr_vancouver: I personally was only referring to single player games, I think it's really bad to cheat in multiplayer games and would never do that and hate that people do. I have not personally had a huge problem with people cheating when I have played online multiplayer games, I don't very often though because I do find it really hard since almost everyone is much better then me for the most part. Just my personal opinion though if you don't like playing on PC that's fine, I have no problem with that. Thanks.

Damn, your cousin must really suck. Tell him to git gud

@latech84: I appreciate that, however I trust a cheater as much as I trust a junkie. Like a heroin addict saying he only does single-player heroin, eventually you'll find him using multiplayer syringes too.

@dr_vancouver: Thanks and I am sure that's true for some or even a lot of people, however I assure you that will never be me. Thanks for your feedback.

@latech84: Thats what all cheaters and junkies say when they're first starting out. Fast forward a couple years and you'll have your desktop set up on the corner of skid row offering handies for that new bot tech for WoW. Lol. Trust me, I'm a doctor ;)

@dr_vancouver: The thing is though that I am not just starting out I have been using trainers for over 8 years and I still have not once ever cheated in a MP game. I understand what you are saying though.

bring back gameshark yo

You avoid pc gaming "like the plague" because people can type a code to get maxed smithing in Skyrim (1 example) in a few seconds, rather than spend days making daggers? I use this example as a good reason for these things. My friend spent hours and hours and hours making daggers in Skyrim to max his smithing. When I showed him a console command in game that did the same thing in seconds, he was pretty bummed.

Anyways...just thought you might be overreacting. Then again...it is system wars.

Never used a trainer in my life. As for Shadow of Mordor, it was bloody easy to start with.

The only time I've used trainers and cheats in game is to overcome bugs or poor game design.

The last game I did it in was Dragon's Dogma on PS3, I modified the save file using a text editor to add an item to inventory that was missable early in the game that locked out an entire region in the game (lucky they write their saves in XML). One of the good things about having a PS3 with custom firmware, on a regular PS3 it would be impossible.

Time limited quests in games without a prompt telling you really need to **** off.

Er needing help to play games just mean you aren't very good at gaming.......but I guess if you need training wheels........go for it.

I had fun with Game Genie and Game Shark back in the day. I'd enjoy some kind of chest device to go crazy in single player with these days. They probably stopped allowing them because of trophies/achievements.

I agree. In many games, cheats spoil games, but there are lots of games that are just too tedious, and feel just too much hard work. With those game, cheats are the answer.

When you no longer have to run to potion store every five minutes, thanks to a god mode, you can actually start having fun.

When you no longer have to loot every single thing you see just to have money for ammunition, thanks to a money cheat, you can start having some fun.

Yeah. Sometimes games are just too much hard work. And who wants that? Cheats make these sort of tedious games much more fun. And sadly, such cheats are only available on PC.

More power to you. Happy gaming.

It only needs one reason FRAMERATE. 60FPS is a huge deal for me... I just cannot stand 30FPS at all. Hate it. Its seems as though no matter how powerful console hardware gets its seems that 30FPS is the target framerate which is a atrocity to the gaming experience.

I was a reverse of that. Several years ago would cheat at grindy MMOs but it's more of a peer pressure. Not really at any SP stuff except maybe when Gameshark was popular. Even then it was for the lulz and I would still finish the game without cheats.

I think I cheated in Megaman Legends 2 in some underwater area but replayed it without the cheats.

I have below average gaming skills though.

It's even "better" with braindead grindy MMOs.

I still do understand that some are "proud" of their "hard work" (zero skill mindless grinding) + luck (RNGesus) but some should also understand that some "cheater" is rofling on their wasted time and effort and making real bank with selling in game items through cheats and yes these cheaters can also have the skills to go toe to toe against high end pvpers except they didn't "waste" their time mindlessly grinding.

Also funny how these cheaters are usually "charismatic" in MMOs. Easily gets more/fickle people for some out of game "action".

Ahh my envy is setting in once again.

I would like to add to this the editing of .ini files. Pretty much like using the console commands, except ahead of time; you go into the games directory and open up the games .ini file to edit various things.

For example, I hated XCOM 2's "Avatar timer" so I edited it to have none! Made the game much more enjoyable for a filthy casual :P Besides, game is hard enough as it is, don't need to be forced to go on those missions.

Meh, sometimes. Sometimes if you are replaying the game, it's nice to have cheats available. Or if you are a hundred or so hours into Skyrim and just want to screw around, it's nice to give yourself 9999999 gold and all the lumber, stone, etc you need to build a home.

But I can get into my game with my PC off faster than you can with a PS4. lol That is the power of a M.2.

I used to cheat a lot in games when I was younger. I would check out cheatcc for all my new games. I don't, and haven't for a long time, cheat in games anymore. I either get better or move on to a different game if I'm struggling. Or I'll check out strategies, which is the closest to cheating that I do.

I used trainers in GTA V to play LSPDFR. But this is entirely a different outlook on GTA V and something console gamers will never experience.

I used a trainer once to make me massively underpowered compared to the enemies.

It was fun.

I only particularly like funny cheats but developers no longer use or allow cheats...you have to actually change the game code to get that done and it can, at times, mess up the game itself. So its not really much of a miss for console gamers.

lol PC gamers confirmed casuals.

No such thing to be found on the only professional console on the market the Playstation 4 Pro.

The reason I like my ps4 pro more than my pc is the fact that I cant use trainers or cheats. I tend to avoid games that allow difficulty change during gameplay (skyrim looking at you) because it feels stupid that I can make all super easy in a second. Also for multiplayer I find cheaters sometimes on pc and I never met one on my ps4.

Hahaha......I'm not judging dude.

@mrbojangles25: That's an awesome point. Haven't done that in a while, but I remember editing stats on Napoleon total war (qot quite ini edit, but close) just to mess around with some Russian artillery, giving it huge range, damage, etc.

I like how so many console guys are in here saying "I don't pc game because I COULD cheat." That's hilarious...I guess if the option were there for you, you would use it, and therefore game on consoles to deny yourselves that ability?

It's okay if you need to cheat to play dude.

I havent used a trainer since ...I cant even remember. Never used cheat engine ever, dont even know what it is. I used to use trainers after I finished a game just to have a bit of fun in another play through or when I bought a game that I got bored of half way through and couldnt be bothered to finish id use a trainer just to blast through the rest of it and then uninstall.

Of course it would be. It's also ok if I enjoy cheating if it increases my pleasure during leisure time. It's ok if you can't enjoy the same benefits too. ;)

Cheat engine is basically what trainers use to intercept and modify code. You can use it for simple (or complex) things if there isn't a trainer for a particular game. It just catches and modifies running code (I'm sure experts could elaborate in more depth)

If a game rewards you for hard work, grinding for example, then there is no need for cheats.

Back when I played on PC, I would reach for cheats when a game became boring or tedious. Cheats breathed new life into the games.

Now, on consoles, when a game becomes boring or tedious, I just throw it away and never play it again. So, by not allowing cheats, console games actually lose.

I remember on PS1 and PS2 era, that cheats were very commonplace. And they made the games lot more fun and made us play them lot more than we would've without cheats.

Sports games are perfect example. Having a cheat in a formula game that turned the cars into mini bikes; brill! Or cheat in soccer game that gave all players huge heads; brill again.

Yeah, console games have gotten lot more dull with the absense of cheats.

Oh and BTW, I dont need cheats to finish games. The thing is, I dont play to finish games, but to have fun. And cheats add to the fun factor. Fact.

mind you, using cheats and mods in games is more difficult these days. In the old days you could open .sys files with windows and then mod them. These days you need special software to modify files like that. And I've no idea how to do it.

I don't cheat. If a game is too hard for me to beat (which no game I play is) I'd just stop playing it and try something I can do instead. If I wouldn't be able to beat something like Shadow of War, I'd be really embarrassed.

@Litchie: , and @others saying it's about NEEDING cheats...you aren't getting it.

It's fun to cheat, if you want, when you want, and how you want. So many people are like "he's such a bad gamer!" How about he was enjoying the game, then found a way to enjoy it even more?

Is this the consolite's interpretation of it as a justification for the ego? "I don't NEED cheats, because we can't do that same stuff."

@Diddies: not with suspend and resume. It's instant. Literally the instant your console is up and running, so is your game. No launching needed.

I have an ssd in my pc and it is not as fast.

okay...your SSD doesn't compare with my m.2. And it is that fast. Also my PC can do what you said. However we call it sleep mode. We put it in sleep mode and walk away and come back and click the power button and it is where I left it at.

Cool, I guess. I like to go God-mode in games sometimes.