I know it’s a slippery slope when it comes down to cheating on video games. There's no shortage of folk who disparage those who take the plunge, saying it decreases the fun or gives players an unfair advantage when they should have 'earned' the right. But what about those people who just need that extra boost to help get past a difficult - and often game-ending - part of a game they otherwise enjoy?

The world of PC gaming is rampant in cheats, mods, and other game-enhancing/expanding features that helped make the platform a modder's delight - and a source of jealousy for console gamers looking to get their platforms a little dirty. Finally, there’s a compromise in the form of Hyperkin’s Game Genie Save Editor for the PlayStation 3. While it doesn’t allow you to cheat to your heart's blackest desire, it does allow you to modify certain game save files to help you run faster, jump higher, and live forever. For the most part, anyway.

Using this updated Game Genie is pretty straightforward, as everything you need comes packed on a USB stick. To get things started you'll connect the stick to your PC and install the core program. Once this is done, you can connect the USB drive to the PlayStation 3 console and copy the save files use wish to modify onto the stick. Then you connect the drive back to your PC where the Game Genie program will detect your saves and list the available “cheats” you can apply to the save, like max ammo, unlock all stages, etc. Once you’re done selecting and applying the mods to your save file you can copy the newly modded files back to your console and enjoy the cheats you selected. While all of this works for the most part, there are a few minor gripes that need to be addressed.

The first thing is that using the Game Genie program itself requires an internet connection to work, as the saves you mod are uploaded and done on Hyperkin's server and not directly from the program on your PC; this means if their server is down, you can’t modify anything. You also can only have the program installed on two computers at one time, requiring you to deactivate it a previous install if you want you wish to use it on another computer. I understand that these two things are done for DRM purposes, but they can become annoying for those who want complete freedom in their cheating. Another gripe - and possible deal killer - is the fact that you can only mod saves that can be copied from the PlayStation. You'll have to cross your fingers and hope that whatever game you wish to cheat on allows you to copy your save, as most titles usually have a secure / locked save file that won't budge. This leads to the cheat list being relatively small, with only 81 titles supported so far with only a few updates to the list since its launch. Hopefully the list will be updated more often and expand a bit before the end of the year.

Gamers looking for help on some of the most difficult games have been aching for something like the original Gameshark or Action Replay from the old PSOne and PS2 days, but Hyperkin's Game Genie Save Editor for PlayStation 3 is a nice alternative (not to mention the ONLY) cheat device for the console that provides decent assistance. Compromises abound, especially in the form of sticky red DRM tape that doesn't allow you to use the editor program without a constant internet connection, and your available installs are limited to a paltry two computers. You also won't be able to take your cheats into those intense online mulitplayer battles (not a bad thing), so you may want to think twice if you're hoping to gain an edge in the latest Call of Duty deathmatch-o-thon. As long as you keep your expectations in check and are OK with only being able to modify the saves of a select number of titles, then grab yourself this magical USB drive and prepare to have some game-beating wishes granted.