Poll: When do you check the GameFaqs?

[RJ 17]

So recently I saw EgoRaptor's Sequelitis video expounding on the greatness of the Mega Man series. This got me in the mood to dust off the ol' PS2 and bust out my copy of Mega Man X Collection, which has MMX 1-6 (plus what sounds like a racing game that I've yet to unlock). I don't need a strategy guide for the first MMX, but that's because I played the crap out of it when I was a kid. The rest of the MMX's, not so much...especially 4, 5, and 6. As such I found myself going to gamefaqs.com to check out what order I should fight the bosses in. That's all I used it for...at first. I tried finding all the upgrades/heart tanks/sub-tanks on my own...but soon got frustrated with the tediousness of the search and found myself going back to gamefaqs for their locations.

That gave me a good idea (or at least I hope it's a good idea ) for a topic...when do you, my fellow Escapists, turn to the game faqs or strategy guides? Do you shamelessly do so from the very beginning? Do you play through the game once on your own then use it to go through and get everything you missed? Or perhaps you only look at it when you truly get stuck at a certain point and just need a bit of a "hint"? Of course you could just use it to make sure you get all the hidden collectibles because, lets face it, in some games the collectibles are so well hidden or you have to do such an odd chain of actions that you honestly wonder how the hell you were supposed to find this WITHOUT using some kind of guide. Or do you state with confidence that you NEVER turn to a guide, asserting that you will utterly conquer a game by your own wit and skill?

 

[Yureina]

Typically I only look at guides if I am really stuck and absolutely don't know what to do next. Though... there are also occasions where I will use a guide just to get through a game faster. Since I only do that when I just want to get through a game and be done with it, that is a pretty clear sign that I don't think the game is very good. >_>

 

[Lilani]

I usually check the Gamefaqs when I'm having so much trouble the experience is no longer fun. And by that I don't just mean it's hard, I'm talking about when you are losing and you literally have no idea why, and you're fairly certain it's because you've missed some important detail or step and the game isn't doing you any favors in rectifying that. When it's not the challenge you're angry with, it's the game itself.

 

[RJ 17]

I usually check the Gamefaqs when I'm having so much trouble the experience is no longer fun. And by that I don't just mean it's hard, I'm talking about when you are losing and you literally have no idea why, and you're fairly certain it's because you've missed some important detail or step and the game isn't doing you any favors in rectifying that. When it's not the challenge you're angry with, it's the game itself.

Yeah, I know what you mean. When i was playing Arkham City, I had to go to the gamefaqs for the first Riddler Room....not to tell me how to beat it, but how to find the damn thing. I went to where it was on my map, saw a wall with ?'s all over it, but couldn't find the frickin' entrance.

Needless to say I felt like a royal jackass when I read "break through the wall with the ?'s all over it". At that point I just kinda.....yeah....ahem....alright then.

 

[LilithSlave]

I check Gamefaqs all the time. But not for walkthroughs, I do it for the database and to find out about games I haven't heard about or played before. Gamefaqs is the most comprehensive video game database I know of.

Occasionally I'll read the walkthroughs just for the heck of it, but it's usually after I've already beaten. Reading the commentary is fun. It's also amusing to find out obvious gameplay mistakes I was making even though I had beaten the game several times.

There have been times I've relied on a FAQ to help me beat a game. But it's rare, and I'll usually try for several days before consulting one.

 

[RJ 17]

Wow, 16 poll responses with only 6 thread responses, and yet even of the drive-bys that just picked a poll option and left, there have been no "purists" who boldly claim that they never ever check the gamefaqs. Seems like the general concensus is that people go to guides to find the collectables or if they're truly stuck and have no clue how to advance (which I'm guilty of myself, but I always give it the ol' college try before admitting that I'm officially stumped. )

I check Gamefaqs all the time. But not for walkthroughs, I do it for the database and to find out about games I haven't heard about or played before. Gamefaqs is the most comprehensive video game database I know of.

Seriously, when a friend of mine first directed me to gamefaqs, I was rather awe-struck by how comprehensive it was. Anything you could ever want to know about any game ever was there...it truly is a fantastic resource.

 

[bluepanda 492]

only for collectable guides, and Rpgs so i don't miss something in one time areas which seems to happen alot.

 

[Ed_Fox]

as well as using them when i cannot figure stuff out for myself, either because i cannot be bothered, or because i've spent the last hour trying to find a switch that i'm convinced isn't actually there; i also read some of the more specialised guides to see what can be done in the game. Such as enchanting and alchemy in TES or Diablo guides...

toormatt cake? thanks captcha, don't mind if I do, nom, nom, nom...

 

[Tanis]

I only ever use FAQs when I'm REALLY REALLY stuck or it's a game like FF10-2 when you NEED one to get the 'good' ending.

 

[RJ 17]

as well as using them when i cannot figure stuff out for myself, either because i cannot be bothered, or because i've spent the last hour trying to find a switch that i'm convinced isn't actually there

lol I had an experience like that with Dead Space 2. Got to the part at the very end where you have to get into the machine to poke your own eye. I swear I spent at least half an hour wandering around the room that machine was in trying to find out how the hell I'm supposed to get into the damn thing. Frustrated and defeated, I checked the FAQs...only to read "push the button on the side of the machine to turn it on, then get in."

And just like I said in the post where I mentioned not being able to get into the Riddler Room...when I read that I had to turn the machine on first I, once again, had a "Uhhhh....yeah....ahem....alright then" moment.

 

[DanielBrown]

Whenever I get stuck and tired of trying to figure it out. Also use it when I'm hunting collectables. Can't be arsed to try and find them myself.

 

[shadow.humper]

None of the above, I use the game's wiki.
E.g. Saints Row Wiki, Skyrim Wiki.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

**snip**

I find your poll faulty. For me, it entirely depends on the game in question.

A game like Catherine or Heavy Rain? Almost never. Likewise games like Saint's Row or Just Cause.

A game like Dragon Age or Final Fantasy? I go to Gamefaqs before I even put the game in the console. If I'm planning to get an RPG, I often download a few FAQs before I even buy it.

For games like Skyrim... I usually wander about until I have a question, then pull up a FAQ (actually the Skyrim Wiki, but still) to answer a specific question or look up a quest or something. For instance, I keep the alchemy page bookmarked in case I need to look up the how to make a particular potion.

 

[I am only a man]

3D Dot Game Heroes comes right to mind with this topic. I can't see how anyone could find all of the hidden collectibles (sometimes necessary items) without some kind of guide. But it is modeled after old school adventure/RPG's so I guess that was deliberate.

 

[Jodah]

I look at stat guides and side quest guides a lot, such as the Pokedex for Pokemon. I very rarely look at walkthroughs unless I am completely stumped for a long period of time.

I also look up what the rewards are for certain choices if they aren't specified in the game. An example is in DA:O when you are talking to the demon in the fade and she offers knowledge, power, and wealth. Wealth is obviously gold but knowledge and power are somewhat less obvious so I looked up the actual rewards to be certain.

 

[Smeggs]

I booted up my SNES and played MMX when I saw that episode

Anyway, I'll usually only look up a guide if I've been stuck on the same puzzle or stuck in the same room for about twenty or thirty minutes with no clear sign of how to solve it or where to go. Every now and then, like for Dark Souls, I'll look up some things to help me such as finding the Drake Sword, how the hell was I supposed to find that without looking it up? It made things about 75% easier from Undead Burgh onward.

 

[RJ 17]

**snip**

I find your poll faulty. For me, it entirely depends on the game in question.

A game like Catherine or Heavy Rain? Almost never. Likewise games like Saint's Row or Just Cause.

A game like Dragon Age or Final Fantasy? I go to Gamefaqs before I even put the game in the console. If I'm planning to get an RPG, I often download a few FAQs before I even buy it.

For games like Skyrim... I usually wander about until I have a question, then pull up a FAQ (actually the Skyrim Wiki, but still) to answer a specific question or look up a quest or something. For instance, I keep the alchemy page bookmarked in case I need to look up the how to make a particular potion.

Well princess, the poll may indeed be faulty because you can only pick one choice, however that's why god invented the "comment section", which you used and fully answered the question of the poll. As such I'd call that a successful poll question.

For the record, though, the poll itself works if you simply consider "on average, when am I most likely to go to the guide?" Which I'd imagine everyone else who voted did.