Strategy guides are plentiful online, not to mention the “official” guides released from publishers to accompany games at an exorbitant price. I’ve dipped into one or two in the past to help me through particularly difficult and/or plain god damn WHAT THE FUCK!? moments in a game, but considering many of them are complete walkthroughs, level by level, action by punch by wash, rinse, repeat, I got to wondering how many users capitulate to this form of gameplay and how it affects the overall gaming experience.
Then, for some confounded reason, I found myself playing Condemned 2: Bloodshot, and one section of one of the missions baffled me so entirely that I Googled for help and found IGN’s [url= http://guides.ign.com/guides/903765/page_3.html]handy little walkthrough[/url] for the game. Perusing said guide, I found it to be so informative and helpful that I proceeded to follow its instruction through the next mission, and then the next. Perhaps it speaks to the game more than my personal measure of satisfaction, but I was actually enjoying the success provided by the guide more than my attempts to make sense of whatever the hell skill or accomplishment the game was trying to enforce unaccompanied.
That said, some guides or tutorials—while explanatory—simply point the way toward the possibility of success rather than guaranteeing its attainment. This is likely also testimony to the quality of a game—if you can ace any game or level simply by following a set of instructions, a developer has likely concocted something closer to an IKEA cabinet than a story or world worthy of immersion and true, creative problem solving and dedication.
Take [Prototype], for instance. I watched some of the Youtube how-to videos for a few side events, and while it helped me to understand the approach that was needed to reach the goal, I still had to work my ass off to attain it—if I did at all (read: epic fail). Then there are other games that, while cheats and tutorials abound, it completely saps the challenge and the fun from the search and blissful glee of discovery (like acing LBP levels—sometimes it’s more fun to find the honey with your nose than to GPS the bees).
There are also those occasions where I’ve run in circles for an hour dodging exploding dolls in one little room trying desperately to find out how to proceed, and upon reading the solution online, the brunt force of my occasional stupidity launches like one of Sterling’s italicized bons mots.
So I suppose it depends, both on the game in question and one’s own standards of accomplishment. What do you think? Are you an insufferable pussy for seeking help from the webiverse? Does it destroy or enhance your enjoyment of the game? Does it not fucking matter one bit? Did you get a thrill through your loins watching that NKOTB video again? I know I did…
I refuse to use Walkthrough's/FAQ's because I want to work everything out myself, even if it takes a while. The only games I ever use them for are a rare few RPG's or the odd game that is extremely difficult.
You write a lot of blogs :) I like it. Congrats on the promoted one and this is just as good :]
P.S I aced the LBP levels too, I felt a great sense of accomplishment after that :] The last level was a bitch.
I used a walkthrough for practically every Professor Layton puzzle. Seriously. Even so, I'm still really looking forward to Diabolical Box.
Even saying that, I still have some limitations as to when I will look up a walkthrough. Like a really hard part in a jRPG where I will just basically be running around a dungeon aimlessly for hours trying to find my way out. That shit isn't fun for me, and the sooner I'm out of there the better. But say for a game like No More Heroes. I had trouble with a lot of the bosses, but I never looked up any strategies because the satisfaction I got from defeating this hard boss without any help was so much more enjoyable then finding my way out of the endless dungeon. With the aimless dungeon crawling, if I got out either way by my own or with a walkthrough the reaction would be the same: "FUCKING FINALLY!". But on the other hand with NMH, the reaction was more like: "FUCK YEAH BITCH TAKE THAT!" I get a pure sense of accomplishment from defeating the boss, but with the dungeon, it's just one of maybe 50 that will be present in that game, and either way I'm getting the fuck out of there.
Many people probably won't have the same views as me with walthroughs/FAQs, but that's just one of the viewpoints I've held about gaming for a very long time.
I remember using a guide for the one puzzle piece in Braid I couldn't get, and I'm still pissed at myself for doing that. I felt so dumb after I saw the solution, and I'm still kicking myself for giving in.
Puzzle games and point and clicks I try REALLY hard to not use guides on, because it cheapens the experience. On the other hand, for games like Persona 4, I had no problem using a guide to figure out the social links. As much as I loved Persona one of the things that really bothered me about it is that you really couldn't plan out how to best use the social links without basically going through a massive trial and error process. I don't mind trial and error for games like Mega Man, where there are short, repeatable levels, but I HATE it in complex games, particularly when it involves stat building.
My general view is that, when the games actually gives you the tools and information to figure out a puzzle/strategy/path of action yourself, I don't like using guides. When the game is excessively complex with little to no explanation or hints of how to proceed (*cough*FINALFANTASYTACTICSADVANCE1STUPIDMAPPLACEMENTSYSTEM*cough*), I have no problem using them.
You're the hottest new blogger on D-toid (I don't mean that in sexual kind of way) right now. I love your writing style but I hate you as a person.
I'm just kidding ;) Keep up the great work. I try to not use guides for games at all, but I do tend to use them more often that I would like. Some games I use a guide because I don't want to be doing the stupid puzzle in the first fucking place.
For example, I was playing God of War II today and I got to a section where I had to use some body that I had knocked down to weigh down a switch to keep a door open. The body was not even in the same room as the puzzle. I used a guide (and felt stupid as hell seeing the solution) because I didn't want to be weighing down switches and dragging sections of wall - I wanted to be killing shit. That's why I try to only use guides for puzzles that I generally don't want to be doing. Since God of War is about fighting and action I didn't feel like wasting my time trying to solve some stupid ass puzzle. If I'm playing a puzzle game or a game that is built around solving problems and such then I am more than happy to sit around for hours trying to find the solution.
Guides are one of God's gifts to man. I don't like using them but I am happy as hell that they exist when I do want them.
I suppose you deserve it. You are first and foremost a gamer and a member of the community, but you also now have the right to shamelessly flaunt your hot body without receiving criticism from the guys. You no longer can be accused of another fake gamer girl who is just trying to get attention.
Is this "fake gamer girl just trying to get attention" pandemic or something? I've encountered the lack of support for girl gamers in many instances, and it's frustrating--the industry, while I understand it must cater to its largest market--should embrace and encourage the female gaming community, relatively small as it may be. Unfortunately, most corps see this as making "girl games" which, much like porn aimed at women (not that I look at porn or anything ahem), are generally terrible, half-assed, boring, and sadly misdirected. I revel in sprinting decapitations as much as the rest of you!
The only time I ever really use a guide or walkthrough is when something is just not explained well enough. I've only really used them for Oblivion in parts where the game sort of forgot to tell me what to do.
Your blogs are entertaining, your liberal usage of F-Bombs is especially endearing. I only turn to walkthroughs if I hit an extreme dead-end, as in Persona 2's labyrinthine dungeons, or if I'm playing Monster Hunter Freedom Unite and need mining maps. Obscure as those games are, it's a rare event for me.
Strategy guides feel like a necessary evil to me. They're wonderful for tedious games and great games with tedious completion bonuses, alike. They're an often overwhelming sense of temptation, as well, which can leave one deflated for giving in.
Years ago, when I played Zelda: Majora's Mask for the first time, I swore I would not use a cheat guide. I wanted to recreate my first Zelda experience, where an accidental bomb placement revealed a secret pathway to my amazement. While That moment of joy was not matched, I did surprise myself once or twice with what I was able to pull off on my own.
A couple of weeks back I finally played Ico for the first time. I got stuck at one point and everything that I tried failed. I finally had to cheat. It was either that or return the game to the backlog, and not touch it again for years. It was simple, but I had made a spacial misjudgement that made something seem impossible when it wasn't. That one bit of knowledge got me back into the game, which I finished the next day without further incident.
Yeah. They're good to have. Used responsibly they can save a game from being frustratingly tossed aside. They can bring enjoyment back to a title or even find the enjoyment locked inside. They can even give you new ways to enjoy a beloved game by spilling out the secret easter eggs and such. They don't have to be a complete crutch that kills a game's full potential. Though some games are so broken that the potential never existed anyways.
I tend to do most of my gaming online and stategy guides are sometimes helpful in showing map layouts, but overall they don't tend to offer anything more than pretty obvious strategies. I do sometimes find them helpful in some offline games like Oblivion (or Fallout 3) when you've completed almost all the quests, but an online guide can help find some of the quests you've missed.
Nowadays I tend to prefer online guides to paper bound strategy guides that you buy, just because they tend to be more current and can list glitches to avoid or problems that can occur that other players have encountered. They also tend to be more current.
Can recall accessing a walkthrough for the fist Tomb Raider. Never used one since, but like many, am glad they are there if needed.
Another great blog, Lenore.
And btw, Brainderailment, nothing wrong with a lil cleavage in one's avatar if they so choose. Does not really give the right impression, but am not complaining when stumbled upon.
Sweet fuck-a-monkey, you sure blog a lot. At least you've got the skills to back it up. Hi. :)
I'm not really the most intelligent, clever player in the world, so I usually run out of ideas pretty quickly in games. So yes, I generally will run to YouTube and look up a quick walkthrough video to see what I'm supposed to do, or maybe if there's a more efficient way of doing something.
That said, it's much more satisfying to ace something on my own. I'm proud to say that, while I often suck at puzzle games, I beat Portal without having to seek any help until one of the last maps. Admittedly, I'm trying to "man up" and do it on my own more often, these days.
Don't worry--I'll run out of ideas soon. Maybe I'll post a blog asking people for suggestions on what I should write about. With my whopping 7 blogs in total, I'm sure I have an enormously large and loyal fan base. :D
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You write a lot of blogs :) I like it. Congrats on the promoted one and this is just as good :]
P.S I aced the LBP levels too, I felt a great sense of accomplishment after that :] The last level was a bitch.
Even saying that, I still have some limitations as to when I will look up a walkthrough. Like a really hard part in a jRPG where I will just basically be running around a dungeon aimlessly for hours trying to find my way out. That shit isn't fun for me, and the sooner I'm out of there the better. But say for a game like No More Heroes. I had trouble with a lot of the bosses, but I never looked up any strategies because the satisfaction I got from defeating this hard boss without any help was so much more enjoyable then finding my way out of the endless dungeon. With the aimless dungeon crawling, if I got out either way by my own or with a walkthrough the reaction would be the same: "FUCKING FINALLY!". But on the other hand with NMH, the reaction was more like: "FUCK YEAH BITCH TAKE THAT!" I get a pure sense of accomplishment from defeating the boss, but with the dungeon, it's just one of maybe 50 that will be present in that game, and either way I'm getting the fuck out of there.
Many people probably won't have the same views as me with walthroughs/FAQs, but that's just one of the viewpoints I've held about gaming for a very long time.
Puzzle games and point and clicks I try REALLY hard to not use guides on, because it cheapens the experience. On the other hand, for games like Persona 4, I had no problem using a guide to figure out the social links. As much as I loved Persona one of the things that really bothered me about it is that you really couldn't plan out how to best use the social links without basically going through a massive trial and error process. I don't mind trial and error for games like Mega Man, where there are short, repeatable levels, but I HATE it in complex games, particularly when it involves stat building.
My general view is that, when the games actually gives you the tools and information to figure out a puzzle/strategy/path of action yourself, I don't like using guides. When the game is excessively complex with little to no explanation or hints of how to proceed (*cough*FINALFANTASYTACTICSADVANCE1STUPIDMAPPLACEMENTSYSTEM*cough*), I have no problem using them.
I'm just kidding ;) Keep up the great work. I try to not use guides for games at all, but I do tend to use them more often that I would like. Some games I use a guide because I don't want to be doing the stupid puzzle in the first fucking place.
For example, I was playing God of War II today and I got to a section where I had to use some body that I had knocked down to weigh down a switch to keep a door open. The body was not even in the same room as the puzzle. I used a guide (and felt stupid as hell seeing the solution) because I didn't want to be weighing down switches and dragging sections of wall - I wanted to be killing shit. That's why I try to only use guides for puzzles that I generally don't want to be doing. Since God of War is about fighting and action I didn't feel like wasting my time trying to solve some stupid ass puzzle. If I'm playing a puzzle game or a game that is built around solving problems and such then I am more than happy to sit around for hours trying to find the solution.
Guides are one of God's gifts to man. I don't like using them but I am happy as hell that they exist when I do want them.
Welcome to the club.
Nice post yet again. ;)
Years ago, when I played Zelda: Majora's Mask for the first time, I swore I would not use a cheat guide. I wanted to recreate my first Zelda experience, where an accidental bomb placement revealed a secret pathway to my amazement. While That moment of joy was not matched, I did surprise myself once or twice with what I was able to pull off on my own.
A couple of weeks back I finally played Ico for the first time. I got stuck at one point and everything that I tried failed. I finally had to cheat. It was either that or return the game to the backlog, and not touch it again for years. It was simple, but I had made a spacial misjudgement that made something seem impossible when it wasn't. That one bit of knowledge got me back into the game, which I finished the next day without further incident.
Yeah. They're good to have. Used responsibly they can save a game from being frustratingly tossed aside. They can bring enjoyment back to a title or even find the enjoyment locked inside. They can even give you new ways to enjoy a beloved game by spilling out the secret easter eggs and such. They don't have to be a complete crutch that kills a game's full potential. Though some games are so broken that the potential never existed anyways.
In short: Go, strategy guides!
Nowadays I tend to prefer online guides to paper bound strategy guides that you buy, just because they tend to be more current and can list glitches to avoid or problems that can occur that other players have encountered. They also tend to be more current.
Great blog!
Another great blog, Lenore.
And btw, Brainderailment, nothing wrong with a lil cleavage in one's avatar if they so choose. Does not really give the right impression, but am not complaining when stumbled upon.
I'm not really the most intelligent, clever player in the world, so I usually run out of ideas pretty quickly in games. So yes, I generally will run to YouTube and look up a quick walkthrough video to see what I'm supposed to do, or maybe if there's a more efficient way of doing something.
That said, it's much more satisfying to ace something on my own. I'm proud to say that, while I often suck at puzzle games, I beat Portal without having to seek any help until one of the last maps. Admittedly, I'm trying to "man up" and do it on my own more often, these days.