FileSharing Games FAQ

Games

Q: What's the difference between a full game and a rip?
A: Most games are quite large and some people just want to be able to play them without all the extras, so there are rips. Rips are basically the game without some feature. For example, a common GTA 3 rip simply does not include the radio audio tracks, which decreased the file size by a significant amount. Some people, however, like to enjoy the game to it's fullest and dislike rips, especially when the poster doesn't specify that it is one. Normally, full games are found in ISOs, whereas Rips tend to come unpacked.

Q: What are these weird files? Where's my game?
A: Most full games are released in some sort of image format. These images are basically carbon copies of the CD or DVD of the game (with a crack folder inside most of the times). These images have to be mounted with an image mounting program. By "mounting" an image, you're basically creating a pretend CD/DVD drive and inserting the copy of the CD/DVD as if it were a real one, so your computer wouldn't know the difference (it would be as if you had the actual CD/DVD). You could also burn the image on a physical media instead of mounting it on a virtual drive.

Image extensions include: iso, mdf, mds, img, nrg, cdr (Mac), bin, cue, bwt, bwi, bws, bwa, ccd, cso, daa, uif, dmg (Mac).

Q: Yea, I think I have an image, how do mount it? I don't want to waste a CD/DVD.
A: No problem. There are two very popular image mounting programs, both of which recognize most if not all of the extensions listed above. They are Daemon Tools:

Code:

http://www.daemon-tools.cc/

And my favorite (much better UI in my opinion), Alcohol 120%. Unfortunately, Alcohol 120% is not freeware, so you'll have to find a download for it in the Applications or download this one I uploaded:

Code:

http://rapidshare.com/files/30391787/Alcohol_120_v1.9.6.4719_Retail_Incl_Activator.rar

Q: It's asking me for a serial! What do I do?
A: Most full games are kept intact as a release, so usually instructions will either be provided in the thread where you found the links, or in an NFO file. If there is nothing in the thread, look for a folder in the game CD/DVD called CRACK or the group name, like DEVIANCE. There will usually be an NFO and crack or keygen in there. If you need a program to read NFO's, try Notepad with a monoblock font, or DAMN NFO Viewer:

Code:

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Office-tools/Text-editors/DAMN-NFO-Viewer.shtml

Q: I installed the game, but I don't want to have to keep the image mounted to play!
A: Well, you could try to find either a mini-image, which is the same as the regular image, but it is only a couple of KB big, or you could try and find a no-CD crack. The downside to using a no-CD crack is that you'll have to get a new one every time you update the game, and it may disable multiplayer. A good site for finding no-CD cracks and mini-images is:

Code:

http://www.gamecopyworld.com/