Hardware Killing Piracy Prevention
Friday, 16 December 2005 08:13
Many of you no doubt make legal backups of your games, but there are those among us who believe that in order to fight rising game prices they must "borrow" them. This piracy has caused game manufacturers to use different methods to protect their software. One such protection is called Starforce. However, Starforce has caused tonnes of problems and it to be avoided like the plague. It has actually killed hardware that cannot be recovered even if the game is removed and your find and use a Starforce driver removal tool. It's bad, bad, and bad. Take a look over here for more info. For a quick list of games to avoid that use Starforce click the "Read More" link. Thanks to Nicao for the heads up."Reports about destroyed CD ROM devices, unstable or slower-running Windows systems after installing a video game (even after it was removed!), and corrupted drivers as a possible result of Starforce, have made many computer gamers wary of this copy protection technology. There are also many reports from customers that say that Starforce-protected games refuse to work at all with various DVD/CD drives and notebooks."
| Game | Publisher/Developer |
|---|---|
| 7 Sins | Atari |
| Anstoss 4 (German) | Ascaron Entertainment |
| Area 51 | Midway |
| Bandits: Phoenix Rising | Tri Synergy (US) / Pan Vision (EU) |
| Bet on Soldier | Nadeo |
| Beyond Divinity | Hip Games / Larian (dev.) |
| Black Mirror | The Adventure Company |
| Blitzkrieg: Rolling Thunder | CDV |
| Blitzkrieg 2 | CDV |
| Breed | CDV |
| Broken Sword 3: The Sleeping Dragon (only US version) | The Adventure Company |
| Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood | Ubisoft |
| Cycling Manager 3 | GMX Media |
| Cycling Manager 4 | Digital Jesters |
| Chaos League (demo and release) | Strategy First |
| Chaos League: Sudden Death (demo and release) | Strategy First |
| Codename: Outbreak | Virgin Interactive |
| Codename: Panzers - Phase One | CDV |
| Codename: Panzers - Phase Two | CDV |
| Cold War (demo and release) | Dreamcatcher Interactive |
| Colin McRae Rally 2005 | Codemasters |
| Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars | CDV / GSC (dev.) |
| Cross Racing Championship 2005 | Graphsim (US) / Project Three (EU) |
| Curse: The Eye of Isis | The Adventure Company |
| Cycling Manager 3 | Digital Jesters (?) |
| D-Day (release and demo) | Monte Cristo |
| Dead to Rights | Hip Games |
| Demonic Speedway (release and possibly demo) | Cenega (forum inactive) |
| Desert Rats vs Afrika Korps | Encore Software |
| Domination | Dreamcatcher Interactive |
| Emergency Fire Response | Dreamcatcher Interactive |
| Enigma: Rising Tide | Tesseraction Games |
| Etherlords II | Strategy First |
| Fire Chief | Strategy First |
| Fire Department | Monte Cristo |
| Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich | Irrational Games (US) / VU Games (EU) |
| Gangland | Whiptail Interactive |
| Garfield | Hip Games |
| Gooka: The Mystery of Janatris | Cenega (forum inactive) |
| GT Legends (demo and release) | 10tacle |
| Horse Race Manager | Cyanide Studio |
| Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter (some releases only) | Interplay |
| Kicker Manager 2004 | Deep Silver |
| Kill Switch | Hip Games |
| Korea: Forgotten Conflict | Cenega (forum inactive) |
| LMA Professional Manager 2005 | Codemasters |
| Lock On: Modern Air Combat (Gold version) | Ubisoft |
| Medieval Lords (demo and release) | Digital Jesters / Monte Cristo (dev.) |
| Namco Museum 50th Anniversary | Namco |
| Obscure (both CD and DVD version) | Dreamcatcher (US) / Microids (EU) |
| Pferdehof - Pferd und Pony | dtp Entertainment |
| Pax Romana | Dreamcatcher Interactive |
| Peter Jackson's King Kong (demo and release) | Ubisoft |
| Pariah | Groove Games |
| Pop Star Academy | Monte Cristo |
| Postal 2: Apocalypse Weekend | Running With Scissors |
| Prince of Persia Sands of Time | Ubisoft |
| Pro Rugby Manager | Digital Jesters |
| Pure Pinball (German version only) | Koch Media |
| Rally Championship Xtreme | Warthog Entertainment |
| Restaurant Empire | Enlight |
| Restricted Area | Whiptail Interactive |
| Revolution | Activision Value |
| Runaway A Road Adventure | Tri Synergy |
| Scrapland | Enlight |
| Second Sight (German version) | Codemasters |
| Silent Hunter 3 | Ubisoft |
| Silent Storm | Encore Software |
| Silkolene Honda Motocross GP | Midas Interactive |
| Singles: Flirt Up Your Life | Eidos (US) / Deep Silver (EU) |
| Singles 2: Triple Trouble (EU version at least) | Koch Media / Deep Silver |
| Sniper Elite / Sniper Elite: Berlin 1945 | Namco (US) / Wanadoo (EU) |
| Soldiers Heroes of World War 2 (demo and release) | Codemasters |
| Splinter Cell 3: Chaos Theory | Ubisoft |
| Space Rangers 2 | Elemental Games |
| Sommerspiele 2004 | dtp Entertainment |
| Steel Saviour | SR-71 |
| Still Life (demo and release) | The Adventure Company |
| Street Racing Syndicate | Namco |
| SuperPower 2 | Dreamcatcher Interactive |
| Syberia II (only some releases) | The Adventure Company |
| The Fall: Last Days of Gaia (German version) | Deep Silver / Koch Media |
| The Moment of Silence | The Adventure Company |
| The Suffering: Ties That Bind | Midway |
| The Westerner (Wanted: A Wild Western Adventure) | The Adventure Company |
| TOCA 2 (Race Driver 2, DTM Race Driver 2) | Codemasters |
| Trackmania | Nadeo |
| Trackmania Sunrise | Nadeo |
| Traitors Gate 2: Cypher | The Adventure Company |
| UFO: Aftershock | Cenega (forum inactive) |
| V8 Supercars 2 | Codemasters |
| Virtual Skipper 3 (demo and release) | Enlight |
| Wildlife Park | Encore Software |
| World War II: Frontline Command | Strategy First |
| Worms 4: Mayhem | Codemasters |
| XIII | Ubisoft |
| X2: The Threat (only European versions) | Deep Silver |
| X3: Reunion (only European versions) | Deep Silver |
| Xpand Rally | Micro Application |
| Xuan-Yuan Sword 4 | SoftStar Entertainment |
