Do you use strategy guides?

[Ando85]

I've always enjoyed strategy guides and every now and then buy them. They are a good thing to collect and provide useful information. I know you can find all the information for free off the internet, but I like having an actual book.

However, be it a physical book or info online I don't use it to hold my hand during a game. I sometimes consult them for a tough boss fight, in those situations where I have no clue where I'm supposed to go next, charts and tables, or reference for anything else I want to know about the game. Sometimes a guide can also reveal hidden areas and side-quests that you otherwise wouldn't know were there.

Some people see the use of a guide to be a form of cheating. I disagree. A lot of the times a guide can help you get the most out of your game. Games are for fun, and if frustration leads one to not enjoying oneself anymore, I think it is alright to consult a guide. How do you feel about this?

 

[Iwata]

No. It's not a matter of considering it "cheating" or whatever, I just like to figure things one my own. I don't like the idea of paying for a game only to have someone else figure it out for me.

 

[GundamSentinel]

Yes I do, but never on the first playthrough. I like to finish the game myself first and then find all the little things I might have missed with a strategy guide.

 

[Jamboxdotcom]

Only for JRPGs, since those are typically not even remotely intuitive in the quest structure. Anything else i know i will eventually figure out on my own.

 

[Rathcoole]

No I like to figure thing's out for myself. Maybe if I am completely stuck and can't figure out what I am meant to do I will take a look online. But it rarely happen's.

 

[TheBadGamer]

Only when I don't know what to do (after doing every thing I can think of) and only then will I look at a guide.

 

[Sun Flash]

Only for 100% completion runs. I learned to do this the hard way when I was feather hunting in AssCreed II. Who needs guides, I said, clutching my 99 feathers and 3 massive cities to trawl through.

Oh and for Shao Kahn in the latest Mortal Kombat. Unless you can shoot projectiles and dodge super fast, your ass is grass. And that was me on Easy.

 

[AwesomeFerret]

I use them for either difficult sections, or sections where the developer has not clearly enough signposted, in a linear game, what I am supposed to do next. I try to do as much as I can without them, but If it is for something arbitrary as collecting a whole bunch of something just to get something not very special, I'll use it. That and beating Sephiroth. I need all the help I can get with that.

 

[Eddy-16]

I'd rather not be stuck on a certain part of a game leaving me to forever hate it. Yeah I don't mind using them, but only when I can't think of anything else.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Have I been stuck at one point for a week? Yes, I'll pull up a guide online then. Otherwise I find my own way through the game.

Of course, having beaten it successfully on my own I don't feel bad about starting over and following a guide.

 

[DustyDrB]

No. I try to play the game without any outside help. But if I do need that help, just [http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Assassin%27s_Creed_Wiki] about [http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Mass_Effect_Wiki] every [http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Age_Wiki] game [http://www.wowwiki.com/Portal:Main] out [http://www.zeldawiki.org/Main_Page] there [http://godofwar.wikia.com/wiki/God_of_War_Wiki] has [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page] its [http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/StarCraft_Wiki] own [http://layton.wikia.com/] wiki [http://bully.wikia.com/wiki/Bully_Wiki], which is easier to navigate and more streamlined to give you the exact information you want. And its free. Paying for a strategy guide these days is truly baffling to me.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Yes but only for Pokemon games like Black and White. I get the game on release day so there won't be a guide online. If I did buy the guide chances are I would of miss out getting item on the first playthrough and I don't want to spend hours on back tracking.

 

[Knusper]

If I need a helping hand I consult the internet but these days I try to work it all out on my own, especially if it's a puzzle game.

 

[Grufflenark]

Never.

If I am stuck I try 20340239429420 different ways of completing it.
If none of them works I give up.
Unless the guide is free, then I'll use it after 20340239429420 attempts.

 

[DesiPrinceX09]

I only own two (and these are the only I have ever owned), 1 for fallout 3 and 1 for new vegas because they are both vast and expansive games with a bunch of secrets that would be hard to find on your own. If I get stuck on most other games I will just look online and then get on with the game or if I happen to see the strategy guide in a store then I will have a brief look so I can get past what I'm stuck on.

 

[dakaptin]

Assuming we're talking printed strategy guides, I've never purchased one. I only own one (my boss gave me her Fallout 3 guide) and I've only used three others (Final Fantasy VII, Street Fighter Alpha 3, and Siphon Filter). Really, unless it's got something exceptionally useful (like that wonderful map included with the Fallout 3 guide) I'd never even consider buying a guide; that's what teh interwebs are for.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

I sometimes use gamefaq's only when I get stuck at a certain puzzle that I can't figure it out after trying for around one hour.Then I usually give up and check the internet for some answers.

Other than that,no I can't say that I use guides.