Do you buy strategy guides?

[Sonicron]

Very rarely, but yes, I do. In most cases it's for RPGs, Final Fantasy games in particular (all those tables really come in handy), but I also pay attention to design and art work; if a strategy guide looks stunningly beautiful from start to finish, sure, I'll at least consider a purchase.

 

[MasterOfHisOwnDomain]

Sometimes.

For "The Sims" I tended to buy all of them. They're just so useful for getting the most out of the game (which considering how many bloody expansion packs they churn out is quite essential), and discovering things that you wouldn't have thought of. I mean, the secret "Grilled Cheese" aspiration would never have opened up to me otherwise.

 

[Chancie]

Very rarely. I'll sometimes pick them up if I especially like the game. For example, I bought the one for the first Drakengard and also for Resonance of Fate. But I think those are the only ones I've ever bought. I do want to pick up the Collector's Edition guide for Dragon Age 2 someday just because I absolutely love the way it looks.

But otherwise, I've never really had a reason to buy the guides. If I get stuck, there's always online help.

 

[n00beffect]

No, never. It feels rather silly doing so, while I still have a working internet connection; but I do see the appeal, however. It does add to that uncanny consumerist-collector feeling, that I've... honestly never felt in my life. But, hey, whatever rocks your boat, I guess.

 

[thejackyl]

Why would I buy a strategy guide when I have gamefaqs? That and most games aren't really that hard unless you play on the hardest difficulty anyways.

Last guide I "bought" was one for Resident Evil 4, and that was because I got $10 off when I bought the game AND the guide together. I didn't actually buy it, since I was 16 when the game came out. My mother had to buy it for me (with my money), she thought it was a good deal, and I had no use for money back than because I had no bills.

It was a godsend, but only because of that damned sliding puzzle, and the fact that I had no internet access back than.

 

[War Penguin]

No, I have the internet. Ever since I discovered this beautiful series of tubes, strategy guides have become kind of obsolete. However, I still have some of my old strategy guides. Whenever I play any of my older games, I use them.

 

[Atmos Duality]

I used to *write* strategy guides, purely as a hobby.
It's more fun to explore and learn than to follow someone else's instructions, IMO.

(Though it helps to have a reference when you get genuinely stuck)

 

[00slash00]

i havent bought one since the n64 days. i have gamefaqs so i cant justify paying for the guide, since im not a collector. if i need pictures or maps i can usually find them on other websites. in rare cases i have downloaded a torrent of a guide. thats what i did for ff13 (though i only used it at the start of a new section, to help me figure out which paradigms to set up)

 

[JoesshittyOs]

I can't, in good conscience, shell out money for a strategy guide when I have the internet at my disposal. I'd much rather support a walkthrough site like Wikigameguides

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

I rarely do. I only get them for really big games, and only for a 2nd playthrough onwards. I have guides for FFXII, Oblivion, FFXI (That one was actually a free unofficial one from a magazine, but I always used it for the Chocobo Quest... I just got bored sometimes running all over the world looking for that one place to peck!) and I am planning on getting one for Skyrim eventually, but I heard the one out at the moment is rubbish!

I just see them as a kind of map, that enables me to get the most out of the game, and see the bits I didn't see the first time!

 

[omglazorspewpew]

The only time I buy them is if they come with some cool artwork or something with it. I am the type of gamer that will just go through a game naturally and if I feel so inclined to find or do everything and I need help I will go online as a last solution.

The last guides I remember buying was the God of War 3 collectors guide because it had some art and cool tidbits all over it and I think I bought a guide for Disgaea since it had a few really cool art pieces.

 

[Xanthious]

If you are on good terms with someone who works at a local Gamestop you can pick guides up for a song. After a certain amount of time the company "pennys out" the guides that have been out for a while. This basically means you can get guides for literally a penny each if you can find out when they are pennied out.

I have a shelf of guides I've picked up for a penny each. Typically people don't buy too many guides these days so you can pick up guides for most any game you want for one whole cent if you are patient.

 

[teqrevisited]

The only strategy guides I've got came free with magazines. There's a Tomb Raider 1 - 3 guide full of black byro corrections my dad & I filled in as we went through, another with mostly irrelevant games and one other.

The third one got used a ton. It has 11 walkthroughs, three of which were put to good use. Tomb Raider 2: mostly correct. Resident Evil 2: faultless. Lastly, Final Fantasy 7. The minute I pick up this guide, with its yellow-brown pages and battered covers, it instantly snaps open to "Temple of the Ancients" with the subtitles "Boss: Red Dragon" and "Boss: Demon's Gate" leering at me from the lower half of the page. I'd comment on its accuracy but it can't be too accurate now considering there are 7 pages missing inbetween "Kalm" and the Temple and the rest look as if they'll fall out if I breathe on them too hard.

 

[Woodsey]

Nope, I can't believe those things are still profitable enough to print. What a waste of paper.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Nope. Why should I pay for a strategy guide when GameFaqs is free? Even then, I'd much rather figure stuff out for myself.

 

[DustyDrB]

Nope, I can't believe those things are still profitable enough to print. What a waste of paper.

Yeah. I never even bought them back before I used the internet much. Now? What's the damn point? Every game gets a wiki that's more comprehensive, more organized, and easier to navigate than a physical guide. And they are free!

 

[Batou667]

Rarely. I only buy game guides if it's for a game I'm seriously fanboyish about and I want to be able to look through the level layouts, concept art, etc (for this reason I find game guides to be perfect bathroom reading material). The only ones I have at the moment are for the Halo series, minus Halo 2.

Guides may be expensive but when you get bored of them you can actually get most of your money back by selling them on ebay. I recently sold a Shenmue 1 guide and got about double what I paid for it originally. Not too shabby!

 

[Scarim Coral]

The only time I would buy a strategy guides is the Pokemon games like Diamond, White etc. I'm just too impatience to wait for the GameFaq people to type out the guides.
I mean sure I can play the game without the guide but I tend to easily miss out the hidden items and it's a pain to backtrack to find them all where some I may have already discover!

 

[JaceArveduin]

I bought the BFME2 one since it basically was a database and had all of the maps with markers to show lairs n such. I used that thing rather extensively and it helped me quite a bit.

 

[spartandude]

generally no, but the Dark Souls stragety guide is my bible