With the release of the Snowblind Map Pack DLC, Gears of War 2 received a complete redesign of its online ranking system. New achievements were designed to reward players willing to devote many hours to the game and reach milestone ranks. Some people, however, were a little too impatient. Just days after the update was released, reports of players obtaining level 100 – the highest achievable rank – began to filter in. Diligent players soon discovered that a profile exploit was available for sale on the internet, allowing players to effortlessly earn rank 100, in addition to other achievement requirements. Today, Microsoft took action. A statement from Major Nelson, Director of Programming for Xbox Live:
“As part of our regular safety monitoring we have pinpointed a group of players who have unlocked specific Gears of War 2 Achievements through an unauthorized hack. Deliberate cheats like these are in direct violation of the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use and will not be tolerated. As I post this, we’ve begun taking steps to reset the Gamerscores of the offending players. As I have mentioned in the past, this is something we do occasionally to keep the service free of cheating in order to maintain a fair and level playing field for everyone.”
As a frequent Gears of War 2 player, this is music to my ears. Now the truly great players will get the recognition that they deserve.
Source: Major Nelson
Richard Mitchell is a video game addict living in Toronto. He has been gaming for more than two decades, and despite multiple interventions, continues to game today. He has an Xbox 360, a PS3, a Wii, a Nintendo DS, a gaming PC, and a life, and does his best to juggle them all. 