I'm surprised that the eBay authorites haven't shut this auction down. All you have to do is scroll down to see the spam. it's an enormous banner. I thought that those pyramid schemes for free iPods went the way of the dodo. Apparently they've just started making junk eBay auctions. I think it would be funnier if eBay forced these @$$clowns to sell the high bidder the iPod touch at the closing bid.

I used to be a member of a car club with an active forum. One of the ladies that was fairly active on the forums used to work part-time for eBay, it was her job to find frivolous/spam auctions like this one and alert the admins to close it. She used to link a lot of them because they took a little while to close them. Among others I've seen things like a ham sandwiches that cleared $20 (plus shipping), $1.28 in loose change that made it up to $11.50, and even someone selling a moldy, partially rottenbra that fell out of the ceiling while they were remodeling their dinning room.

It's sort of a spill-over. Popular games like that don't just attract the vast majority of the legitimate gaming community. They attract also attract the shady element. Massive communities like that give them a veil to hide behind as well as a large number of potential victims. For these hacking services to get to the players someone has to know about and provide them. Hence the presence of shadier people.

When I pointed that out I meant it to be like when they mention that a lot of criminals who steal cars use those cars to commit other crimes. It's something to watch out for and the reason that MS should be more active in monitoring the actions of the game communities rather than just leaving it solely to the individual companies...especially considering that XBL is a subscription service. I know they're working hard and the subscription is not just for access to multiplayer but security shouldn't be neglected.

Now hackers aren't just breaking intoGamertags like that douche who posted his hacking vid. It's mostly stuff users can prevent like obvious things about not giving out your info, but the people who try that stuff are normally the ones trying to sell their hacking services to users.

The stat boosters should be taken care of but I don't think IW goes right in after them because the stats should only be linked to what the player is doing. If they've found a way to change that it means they've found a way in. If that's so, it means IW hasn't found the security hole so the hacker needs to be monitored so they can see what he's doing.

Mine is Face-spryr. It's a carry-over from when I used to play UT 2003 with my buddy. In that game he was tagged "thrt_bangr". My original intention was a bit of a joke. We were going to round up a few of our friends and all of us form theBukk@k3Klan in UT '03. It never worked out but thename wasmy sort of style soI carried the name over into stuff like Postal 2: Share The Pain multiplayer (my character skin was the Catholic Priest) and then it went with me to XBL when I got my 360.

The vast majority of "cheaters" (let's be honest, hacking or glitching when everyone else is playing it the way it's supposed to be played is cheating) in MW2 are glitching.

MW2's biggest problem is that the multiplayer had no public Beta. So when it came out it was rife with holes, glitches, and problems ready to be exploited. And now (their argument being beacuse it's free multiplayer) with such a MASSIVE community world-wide, even if they are policing it to the best of their potential the larger the community the larger the number of people who can find (or create) glitches and/or hacks. Multiplayer games with massive communities also ensure that the number of players drastically out-number the people who police the games. This means that even if those exploiting glitches or using hacks are being reported they probably have time to change their names and/or re-register to avoid detection. Plus, the ones with hacks and hack services (the ones withthe names of their hacks in the tag)are running a business. They have a lot of money so they're going to have multiple XBL Gold accounts they can use so even if it does finally spill over to XBL and it forces the heavy hand of M$ to swing the ban stick, they've got 12 more they can connect toand get right back in there.

You see this kind of crap all the time in online games with huge communities. Having played World of Warcraft for years I can tell you that hacking and other forms of cheating are big business. This goes both ways. Aside from the hacking (and things likegoldfarming and gear gathering/lvling bots)they also try to get their way around things like the MS secret police by doing whatever they can to stealGamertaginfo from real players. This stuff is insanely profitable. Case in point: The guy who hacked the head of XBL's account and posted the video on things like youtube.

I'm sure they go through and find the most obvious hackers like the ones whose names are their hacking services and hit 'em with the ban stick. Most other players agree that the leaderboards are basically just a who's who of hackers and glitchers but they just can't go in and start wiping out the top players off every leaderboard.

The best thing you can do to help IW and its people get the hackers is to report any of them that you can prove are glitching or hacking. IW can put eyes on those people and see who they are and what they're doing. If they're hacking they can see what they're using to exploit the game and then plug that hole. If they're just glitching then they can set to work on the patch to fix that.

As an added note: Expect to the see the next MW installment multiplayer be a stand-alone with a subscription fee. This one had so many problems and has demanded so much extra manpower from IW that they're borderline unable to keep up with the demand for assisstance. If they start charging then they can hire more people to handle extra large community and any of the potential problems. However, I have to argue that if they had institued a public beta for the multiplayer in the first place they wouldn't have this problem because the vast majority of the massive, gaping holes that were causing all the problems initally (and whose remnants are probably still causing issues) would have been closed by the public beta. It's like they've created the problems so they could charge for the solution.

These particular rumors definitely have more of a truthful feel to them.

I have to say, if this is all true, I'm digging it. It sounds like a lot of new but incredibly productive innovations for the series. And now, we wait...

I don't think it's a simple question because the idea is so encompassing. Besides, poor Link would be inundated with text messages from Zelda. And Ganondorf would probably become a cyber-bully.so_hai

LOL

You just discovered the plot of the new Zelda game. Gannondorf and his little circle of friends keep putting up offensive Wall Posts on Zelda's facebook and sending her harassing messages on Myspace. Now, since none of the authorities will do anything Link must take up arms against them to make the harassment stop!

Now, I doubt we'll see things like Highways and so forth worked into Hyrule. It would ruin the feel of the title. I'm sure we'll see more of the kind of "Fantasy" environment stuff we normally see. We'll see partially paved roads, otherwise worn paths through the grass. We'll probably see things like wooden or even stone bridges over some water-ways. Spirit Track features stuff like Trains and what about the boat in The Phantom Hourglass? Some rudimentary, steam powered methods of transport (and maybe even some more fanciful, but tastefully executed) and weaponry would neither be out of the question or unreasonable for the series.

I think a lot of you who are freaking out about this question are taking it entirely out of context. I seriously doubt that "Roads and Highways" is going to mean Hyrule being criss-crossed with these 12-Lane monsters of concrete and asphalt with clover-leaf exit ramps stretching their arms like some man-made giant sea-monster. I also doubt these "highways" are going to be crawling with Gran Tourismo or Forza Motorsport-esque modded cars. Expect it to be something more like what we saw back in Elder Scrolls IV. It's more like clearly defined paths with bridges over water-ways and such.

As for the inclusion of "cell phones" I sincerely doubt Link is going to bust out his Motorolla Backflip to start tweeting about his quest to defeat Gannondolf and save the princess.I also doubt he's going to whip out his iPad and start trying towatch something on Netflix. It's not like this is Link's quest to find a spot where his 3g works in the woods. It's probably going to be more of a mystical object that's going to allow him to stay in contact with very few (and potentially even just ONE) character in the game. I hate to make the cliche of a Crystal Ball but I think something like that will help people visualize the type of thing I'm talking about.

Remember this, a lot of times (especially when speaking english to native english speakers) most native Japanese speakers (like the minds behind LoZ) will often use similies and metaphors to help make sure their points come across clearly. I'm sure what happened here is someone made a statement about Link having access something like a cell phone. And now overly anxious fan-boys start crapping themselves, misinterpreting one hypothetical scenario uttered by one person.

Relax, I'm sure that even if some form of the proposed technology makes it into the next LoZ it's going to be implemented well and tastefully. The "highways" are not going to be what you're visualizing when they say Highway. It's not going to be those 12 lane nightmares that cut through every hill, heather, and irregularity in the landscape. The cell phone isn't going to be something from LG or Motorollathat he can Tweet from. New weapons doesn't mean that Link is going to outfit himself with that new full auto shotgun I'm sure some of you have seen on Future Weapons. I'm sure that even if the weapons are a little far-fetched forZelda they will be worked in well enough and look and feel like they belong in Hyrule. I doubt he's going to be running around with a NY Yankeescap two sizes too big, sideways on his head, price tags still on itwith a .45 cal Glock in his waist band yelling "Watcha gonna do now, b!tch?" at Gannondolf. Transportation isn't going to be a moddedMitsubishi Evo 8 making 650 hp. So everyone, calm down, change your underwear, and wait until they start releasing screens, trailers, and other promo stuff to let you get a good idea of what you'll find in the next LoZ installment.

This looks like it could potentially be very very entertaining. It looks like an old-school 8-Bit version of the old GTA games (I mean the first 2, top-down) I'll probably check to see what everyone has to say about it when it drops and probably grab it.

I don't own the Wii Zapper so I don't have an opinion there. I have the Nyko Perfect Shot for House of the Dead 2 & 3. I would like it a little more but I kind of busted it. You plug the Nunchuck into a port on the bottom of the pistol grip. To get from the Wiimote to the port the Pistol Grip has a plug in the back whereyou fit into the Wiimote itself. Mine didn't line up and I couldn't make it line up. I pushed, hoping it wasjustslightly off-center so it would slide. It didn't work that way and it shifted the plug off-center and pushed it back into the grip. I'm pretty sure the port doesn't work now, so I can't use the nunchuck (not a big deal with HotD but if I get something likeConduit I'm screwed). I couldn't find the receipt so I'm stuck with this thing. I'll probably get another gun from my friend who sold his Wii and is looking to get rid of his accessories.