http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/02/05/the-5-most-notorious-multiplayer-gaming-glitches/ The 5 Most Notorious Multiplayer Gaming Glitches
Posted by Stephen Totilo on 2/5/09 at 7:00 pm.
Our Multiplayer intern and multiplayer gaming expert, Sal Basile, is back for another piece about glitchy online games. Today, he’s got a list of his five most notorious multiplayer glitches — and info on what the developers and gamers did about them.
by Sal Basile
No other game has made me so enraged, so filled with hate, and yet, kept me coming back for more, as a little game called “Counter-Strike“. When “Counter-Strike” first came out, it was a haven for the cheaters using aimbots (which guided their bullets right into my skull), glitchers doing the bunny hop (which allowed them to fly over my head), and exploiters who would freeze the game so I couldn’t move (but they could).
Many gamers share this love-hate relationship for “Counter-Strike”, which is one of the best online first-person shooters of its day — when people aren’t cheating, that is.
Here are my Top 5 Most Notorious Multiplayer Glitches:
5. Game: “SOCOM US NAVY Seals”
Platform: Playstation 2
Developer: Zipper Interactive
Glitch: No Ladder Clipping
Then: “SOCOM” was released on August 27, 2002, and was the first online shooter to use the Playstation 2’s network adapter. The Ladder glitch allowed players to slide down out of the boundaries of the map. While outside the boundaries, all solid objects appeared to be invisible and players could shoot through walls.
Now: Zipper never addressed “SOCOM”’s online play, leaving its players to be walked all over by glitchers. In addition to the numerous glitches throughout the game, online play did not have any cheat protection, allowing players to log on with Gameshark or Action Replay activated. No protection against this lead to cheaters with infinite health, ammo, and even the ability to fly. “SOCOM 2” used the DNAS to prevent cheaters from logging on, but this was bypassed shortly. “SOCOM 3” had the same problem. Now, with the recent release of “SOCOM: Confrontation” on the PS3, the cheat codes are gone, but the glitches are still rampant, leaving an all to familiar bad taste in SOCOM players’ mouths.
4. Game: “Super Smash Brothers Melee”
Platform: Gamecube
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Glitch: Wave-Dashing
Then: Shortly after the Gamecube’s launch, “Melee” was released on December 2, 2001. Although the game had no online play, “Super Smash Brothers Melee” quickly became Nintendo’s flagship fighting game. Wave-dashing is a glitch that allowed players to slide across the floor at quick speeds. Using this glitch made it easier for players to link together moves for combos or dodge enemy attacks.
Now: Like “Halo 3“’s removal of a beloved glitch in its predecessor (see below), Nintendo released “Super Smash Brothers Brawl,” which removed the Wave-Dashing glitch. This made tournament players angry but welcomed a larger crowd to its pick-up and play atmosphere.
3. Game: “Marvel vs. Capcom”
Platform: Arcade
Developer: Capcom
Glitch: Wolverine Infinite Combo Glitch
Then: Released in arcades everywhere on January 23, 1998, “Marvel vs. Capcom” became a favorite amongst arcade junkies. Many characters were capable of performing their own unbreakable infinite combos with the right dexterity and speed, but Wolverine’s was the most easily-performed in the middle of a match. After killing an opponent’s first character a player needed to stand behind the spawn point of an opponent’s second character. There, Wolverine could achieve an at least a 99-hit unbreakable combo. Using the three different punch buttons — combined with dashing — Wolverine’s animation could be cut short so his position would not be reset after an attack. This allowed for constant combos to be done without the character being pushed back to his original attack position.
Now: “Marvel vs. Capcom 2” was released on March 30, 2000 with all the infinite combo capabilities intact. Like The BxR “Halo” supporters, and the Wave-dashers of “Smash Brothers”, “Marvel vs. Capcom” players have agreed infinite combos are a part of the game and most competitive players believe to be considered competitive you must be able to do them.
2. Game: “Goldeneye 007″
Platform: Nintendo 64
Developer: Rareware
Glitch: Invisible Mines
Then: “Goldeneye” revolutionized first person shooters on August 25, 1997. Its smooth gameplay and multiplayer deathmatch modes were a marvel of its time. This glitch allowed players to visually remove mines from where they placed them even thought the game still recorded the position as if they were still there. By putting mines on ammo boxes and then picking the ammo box up the mine becomes invisible, while still being able to be detonated.
Now: “Goldeneye”’s spiritual successor, “Perfect Dark,” also had this same glitch but with more dangerous outcomes. Using turrets that could stick to glass players could place floating turrets that hovered in mid-air. These turrets did not, however, become invisible.
1. Game: “Halo 2″
Platform: Xbox
Developer: Bungie Studios
Glitch: BxR
Then: Released on November 9th, 2004, “Halo 2” brought the joys of the first “Halo”’s multiplayer to Xbox Live. The BxR glitch was known by all competitive “Halo 2″ players. It is the button combination to instantly kill another player. While using a Battle Rifle, meleeing someone (
, hitting the reload button (X), and then shooting them (R) instantly kills that player. Hitting the X button canceled out the melee animation, allowing to melee and shoot in a single motion.
Now: With the release of “Halo 3,” most “Halo” lovers now stick with playing “Halo” on the next-gen system. “Halo 3″ removed the BxR glitch from the game, adhering more to that casual gamer rather than its competitive followers. Many lovers of “Halo 2″ were enraged by this, defending the glitch, claiming it was a tactical skill to be able to do it correctly. Bungie, however, agreed it was a glitch and took it out for the third game.