Only ever bought one for Splinter Cell Double Agents. Only used wo pages of it and now i remains in my room, collecting dust.
Poll: Do you buy Video game strategy guides?
- Thread starter krazykidd
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Very rarely. The only games I've bought one for is Fallout 3, Oblivion, New Vegas, and I will for Skyrim. It's much more convenient and a better layout than having to go online for any question.
I believe I own: Earthbound's strategy guide (came with the game), Donkey Kong Country's (no idea how I got it) and Left 4 Dead's (was a gift, along with the game. One of the most pointless things ever). From my experience with strategy guides, many of them appear to give obvious advice (such as: when the boss charges you, don't get hit by it!!!) and offer no real value.
I view them as wastes of money, and will likely never buy one. I'm not sure I ever have bought one. The Earthbound one was mandatory if you bought the game as it was packaged with it so it doesn't count. I don't recall how I got the Donkey Kong one... might have come with the game as well?
I'd never buy a digital guide either. I hate digital magazines, guides and novels. Well mainly PDFs. Novels on a Kindle or iPad is fine. I don't like digital textbooks in any form, although the ability to text search a textbook sounds faster and better than using the index...
When all else fails I just use GameFAQs.
I view them as wastes of money, and will likely never buy one. I'm not sure I ever have bought one. The Earthbound one was mandatory if you bought the game as it was packaged with it so it doesn't count. I don't recall how I got the Donkey Kong one... might have come with the game as well?
I'd never buy a digital guide either. I hate digital magazines, guides and novels. Well mainly PDFs. Novels on a Kindle or iPad is fine. I don't like digital textbooks in any form, although the ability to text search a textbook sounds faster and better than using the index...
When all else fails I just use GameFAQs.
Strategy guides are to long and to "standard" in the way they say you should build structures and attack or what ever. I have often found that the games that i played (fps not included) the guide told me to do what an AI would do, wich is totally wrong if u want to win the fight or level or what ever. Plus many times i had a hard time understanding what the guide is trying to explain. I personally like video guides on YouTube that people make. Not only do they explain better but also they have the human perspective on the matter at hand.
I bought Black and White when it was new (2001, so I was 10 or 11) and my brother gave me a "strategy" guide "walkthrough" kind of thing for that, and it was INCREDIBLY useful. Black and White was such a great game for its time.
That said, nowadays I don't need guides because I am too nerdy for that. And of course today everyone is always on the internet.
That said, nowadays I don't need guides because I am too nerdy for that. And of course today everyone is always on the internet.
No. If I ever need one, and I rarely do, that's what FAQs are for. Strategy guides are kind of outdated.
Last one I owned came with King's Quest VI, I believe. Guidebook to the Land of the Green Isles, and that was basically just DRM to ensure that you owned the original copy.
Last one I owned came with King's Quest VI, I believe. Guidebook to the Land of the Green Isles, and that was basically just DRM to ensure that you owned the original copy.
All the time. Not because I need assistance with a game and don't know about that internet doohickey.
Because I just like owning them. I like collecting them. I like looking at the pictures. My favorite thing is when the come with a bestiary. I like reading up on the enemies from a book.
Because I just like owning them. I like collecting them. I like looking at the pictures. My favorite thing is when the come with a bestiary. I like reading up on the enemies from a book.
I only get strategy guides for fighting games. Beats the hell out of referring to the command list from the start menu every four seconds.
No, I probably could just Google everything and get more information in a fashion that doesn't involve digging through pages of a book hoping the information is there.
the most recent guide i bought was for Riven: the sequel to Myst. i wont buy a guide unless it's for a hard puzzle game, or something like Legend of zelda, which i have bought MANY strategy guides for. many games dont require strategy guides, as many how involve going from point a to point b, or shoot everyone you see. any if you get stuck, then you can go online and see what you needed to do. basicly, strategy guides are a dying medium, unfortunatly.
Ehh...I'll do it without remorse for certain things. A perfect example: Glyphs in Assassin's Creed 2. You had to just happen upon them, as they weren't marked on maps and were often on strange spots on buildings. I used a faq to find nearly every one of those. I think I did it for the feathers too. I just hate collecting crap, especially when the maps are freaking gargantuan.believer258 said:
Never ever have, never ever will.
I don't understand why you'd buy one, walkthroughs/guides ruin games and are pointless as it is, but in a book form they're just more expensive and more difficult to navigate.
Even for games like pokemon where you might want to look up different species stats, the information is just so much cleaner online that tangible strategy guides are completely obsolete.
I've looked up plenty of game information online before, like what the hell the stagger bar was in FF13, or what IVs and EVs were in Pokemon, but I've only ever followed two walkthroughs anyway.
I followed part of a FF1 walkthrough because that game gave absolutely no hints to where you are supposed to go on many occasions, and the game is huge. And I'm lazy. But seriously, were there actually any hints that I was supposed to use that crystal in that desert to get that airship?
And I used a Pokemon Black walkthrough before it was regionalised the game was in Japanese.
All that information was found online.
I don't understand why you'd buy one, walkthroughs/guides ruin games and are pointless as it is, but in a book form they're just more expensive and more difficult to navigate.
Even for games like pokemon where you might want to look up different species stats, the information is just so much cleaner online that tangible strategy guides are completely obsolete.
I've looked up plenty of game information online before, like what the hell the stagger bar was in FF13, or what IVs and EVs were in Pokemon, but I've only ever followed two walkthroughs anyway.
I followed part of a FF1 walkthrough because that game gave absolutely no hints to where you are supposed to go on many occasions, and the game is huge. And I'm lazy. But seriously, were there actually any hints that I was supposed to use that crystal in that desert to get that airship?
And I used a Pokemon Black walkthrough before it was regionalised the game was in Japanese.
All that information was found online.
I bought one for Tales of Symphonia as my only guide ever purchased. Given my love for the game it wasn't a bad deal...but I remember thinking it simply wasn't complete enough.
My friend owned the guide to Oblivion...and that one seems well worth the money. So much so I'd consider buying my second guide ever for Skyrim if the quality was present like Oblivion's.
However, guides are entirely useless. They can save time because I don't own a laptop and don't like to go back and fourth between console and computer. But seldom is that inconvenience worth paying money for. Besides...youtube makes for a better guide than anything in print form.
My friend owned the guide to Oblivion...and that one seems well worth the money. So much so I'd consider buying my second guide ever for Skyrim if the quality was present like Oblivion's.
However, guides are entirely useless. They can save time because I don't own a laptop and don't like to go back and fourth between console and computer. But seldom is that inconvenience worth paying money for. Besides...youtube makes for a better guide than anything in print form.