Strategy Guides *Cheating*?

[chosen1s]

I have been playing video games since I was young. One thing that has always stuck with me is my mom's assertion that strategy guides are "cheating" - that you should try to figure things out on your own and only use a guide or an 800 - number (they're all 900 numbers now - I guess I just dated myself) if you are completely at a loss and are willing to admit defeat (maybe she was just trying to keep me busy as long as possible, I don't know).

Anyway, this tends to be a mixed group and very open-minded about different topics, so I wondered what you thought:

Is using a guide "cheating" or at the very leastan admission of defeat? If this poll is successful I have a good follow-up poll that I think you will enjoy. No flames guys, I'm on both sides of this issue.

Thanks,
Jeff

[Cornfedwb]

The only time I'll use them is after having gone through the game once to finish completing things I missed, and thats very rare that I even do that. Doing it the first time through, yea, thats cheating. (and pretty boring also)

[daphatty]

I only use them if I can't devote the brain power to the game I am playing and would rather someone else do it for me. Although, sometimes it takes more brain power to read poorly written Strategy Guides/FAQ's so it's a double edged sword really.

[PsyClerk]

If it's a particularly taxing part, I'll spend some time on it before I'd turn to a guide. On the other hand, some of these RPGs have things that you can only acquire by doing certain things in order, or by getting all the secret gizmos (see FF X-2) and I'm not going to play through a damn 40+ hour game* multiple times just to see a new cut scene.

*I'm aware that FF X-2 is not a 40+ hour game.

[jimbodan]

I like to use them for RPG's. I have so many games backlogged that I don't like spending tons and tons of time on game back track and looking for every little thing, I'd much rather use a guide and just get everything the first time. Plus when I play RPG's I like to get every little thing and do every quest. I also almost never replay a game so playing it once on my own and then going back with the guide really isn't an option.

[bignick]

Ya, they are cheating, and make any game boring real quick.

[rebenns]

I use strategy guides and faqs in three cases:

1. The game is insanely complicated, and the manual and in game instructions do not provide enough information. (Morrowind, the Sim City games, etc.)

2. I've tried everything, and can't figure it out. It may be cheating, but that's better than shelving the game, unbeaten.

3. I've beaten the game, or screwed up (Final Fantasy games have a tendency to put a really tough boss that you can't beat unless you've found secret items), and either want to make sure I don't screw up again, or find stuff I missed the first time through.

Of course, with fighting games, all bets are off. I immediately go to guides to find all their special moves. This really isn't cheating, so much as staying competetive (especially if it's an online fighter).

[Sartori]

Cheating.

[swetooth9]

imo, the strategies, tips, stats part of a guide are not cheating, but the actual full and detailed walkthrough part is...

and your mom probably told you not to do those things b/c they cost money, hehe..i mean COME ON..15 FREAKIN BUCKS for a strategy guide??? or like a dollar a minute for a call???

[Kaijufan]

I sometimes use the walkthroughs at Gamefaqs if Im stuck, but I never buy strategy guides because they cost to much money for something I can get for free on the internet.

[vanlandw]

I hardly read reviews anymore until i've played the game....to many spoilers now a days. I haven't purchased a guide in over 10 years I think and only after I have defeated the game will I read an FAQ.

But I can understand why people need/want guides..i don't have a problem with them I just don't use them

:D

[guardian_owl]

I'll play and if I get stuck, after what I consider a reasonable amount of time, I will go to gamefaqs to figure out the answer to my problem. This is especially helpful with some of the more average games when the puzzles don't exactly make much sense.

[Magician]

I usually skim through a guide on GameFAQs if the game is especially hard, and RPG, or if I just don't feel like dedicating my thoughts to actually solving puzzles. I used to buy guides for the retail price, but feel like it is a waste of money now.

I don't think its cheating, and I never have. One problem with using guides, though, is that they give away far too many spoilers. I try to limit my use of it because of that, and I've became a lot better solving puzzles by myself. Lately, I've referred to guides very rarely, and only if I'm in a rush or just about ready to throw my controller.

[pete5883]

If I'm tired of trying to figure something else I'll consult a FAQ, because trying the same thing over and over really isn't very fun for me. Paying for a strategy guide nowadays is a tough sell for me unless it's really well done (I'm considering getting the SMT:N guide) and has something cool in it other than a walkthrough (art, interviews, etc.)

[Scahom1]

I usually avoid strategy guides for sports and action games (If I need help, i'll check out GameFAQ). Most of the time, I only buy guides for RPG's. Not just because they look nice in a collection, but some of the games are just so damn big and time consuming, I like to finish them as quickly as possible.

The last non-RPG guide I bought was Prince of Persia.

[PapiChullo]

I used to buy them for every RPG that I had. But now I try and play through them on my own and get stuck before I look at one. I've found that it's a lot more rewarding that way, instead of just following someone else's directions.

But the best thing about the guides is finding all of the extra missions, which you would normally have no clue about.

[dtcarson]

I don't use printed guide, I do use faqs/walkthroughs from Gamefaqs. Usually just as a 'where am I now/where do I go?' for RPG's, when I'm playing multiple games at one time and need a reminder; or to skip past the annoying minigames that don't really add much to the game [like the stick-the-jewel-in-the-hole things in FFX. I did the first few on my own, but then said Screw it.]
If I get 'stuck' on a part of a game, I'll sometimes go look up a hint.
And I do like to use them for the extra missions/bonus things that are really nighimpossible to luck onto.
Are they 'cheating'? If you use one in a multiplayer game, without the other players knowing, yes. If it's a single player game, no. It's your game, play it the way you want to.
When I got Driver for the PS1, I loved the game, but I could not get past the the training mission. I downloaded a save on my Dexdrive to skip it. Once I did that, I didn't cheat again. But I have absolutely no 'guilt' about cheating in that case.
I do hate running into spoilers, however; I try to be real careful about that.
Now, playing a game the first time through, going straight from a guide/faq--I don't know if I'd call that cheating, but it is pretty lame.

[hutno]

The only time I ever had to use a strategy guide was when I played through Escape from Monkey Island. That game is so random that there was no other way

[Trakan]

Hell yes using a strategy guide is cheating. It's telling you everything you need to do to beat the game. If I beat the game once, and it's an RPG-type and could be completed 100% a second time through, then I will use it if needed.

[E-Z-B]

When I was a kid, I used to think that, "yes, it is cheating."

Now that I'm older, have a job plus a wife, and find that I don't have the time I used to have to play games, I use the strategy guides to aid me with my memory on what the heck I was doing last in the game, and what I need to do next. Otherwise, I'll waste that precious time just trying to remember.

[KingDox]

back when I was a kid and I only owned like 8 NES games it was ok to spend days to get past some hard part. But now that I don't have the time to play games and have like 50 that I have yet to play, I'm not going to spend time stuck. Besides a guide isn't going to help with with a game like Mars Matrix.

[Tromack]

I feel that if you buy the guide with the game, and sit down and read from the guide and do it exactly what it says then it is effectively cheating. Or at least you are throwing away $65 (assuming everything was bought at full retail). However, if I am stuck for more than an hour in a game, I will go to gamefaqs and see if I can find a solution. Of course it depends on the game. For LoZ:4 swords, I would just bring in a new friend and see if they looked at the puzzle in a different way that made things easier.

[Quackzilla]

I use the strategy guides to aid me with my memory on what the heck I was doing last in the game, and what I need to do next. Otherwise, I'll waste that precious time just trying to remember.

Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen shows you videos of the last 4 [important] things you did.

All games should have that feature.

[Rig]

Personally, it doesn't really matter to. I haven't used or bought a strategy in years. I think it is a little boring to go through a game with a guide. But people can play their games however they want to.

[smalien1]

every once and a while you need them, surviavl horror, stealth and RPG come to mind. More walkthrough's than Strategy Guides. Any one who bought the Gran Turismo guide should be shot.

[dtcarson]

But people can play their games however they want to.

Exactly. It's your game, play it however is 'fun' for you. I don't think I've ever beaten Doom, but I sure do like to pop in IDKFA every now and then and just tear *$&# up. Some games I've rented, and wanted to beat them in a rental period, so I use a guide/faq.
I also agree that all games of the 'story' type should have some sort of 'You are here' or 'Last important thing' or 'Diary' feature.

[xzafixz]

I might use a guide for a side quest or something in an RPG, or something that no one would EVER find out otherwise, like talking to all the cats of the world in color coded order which running backwards the whole time to unlock a new character or something. But i'll always do puzzles on my own until a spoon in my eyes is looking like a better idea than continuing, I might resort to a guide.