Homebrew hackers work around Sony's lockout

Not to be outdone by the announcement of aNintendo DS version of Tetris, the PSP has gotten its own version of the classic puzzler. The catch is that you'll need to have upgradedto at leastversion 2.5 of Sony's firmware.Oh, and did we mention it's completely unauthorized?

Created by a programmer who goes by "Fanjita," the homebrew Tetrisis the first fan-made game released for the newerfirmware, which normally blocks such efforts. Exploiting a weakness in the way Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories saves players' progress, the ropey-looking little app opens the door to a whole galaxy of exactly the sort of fan-made software that Sony keeps trying to lock out.

For homebrew enthusiasts upset by Sony's system-locking updates and dying for something else to play Tetris on, the game can be downloaded here. It looks flatter than most cell-phone versions, but you can rest easy in the knowledge that you'resticking it to the man. Play at your own risk, however, and don't come crying to us if it freezes up your PSP.

January 11, 2006

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Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.