Game guides. Anyone use them?

[Darren S]

Normally, they are strictly off limits to me. A bit like watching "The Making of 'insert film name here'" before you actually watch the film itself. They can give away hints and tips to the game before you've even took a step in it and maybe even dilute the experience overall, imo.

However, I have picked up three game guides in my life. One for Wasteland back in 1988 (essential, imo!) - the Oblivion GOTY Edition one for a cheap price last year and just this week, the Fallout 3 GOTY Edition.

The latter two have really added to my gaming experience of their representative games. I skip past the 'How To' sections for obvious reasons, but the character choice, development trees and skill sets charts are proving invaluable. Both are fairly hefty tomes in their own right - the Fallout 3 one in particular is over 700 pages and both are very well written.

There are a whole host of game guides out there from what I can gather, most of which I would never contemplate purchasing. But for RPG heavyweights such as Oblivion and Fallout 3, I think these game guides add so much more enjoyment to the game overall.

They do leave you feeling a little deflated however. At 75 hours into Fallout 3, I thought I was doing well. The game guide clearly proved that that was woefully short of completing everything!

D.

 

[oska]

I did for GTA VC + SA just because they listed all jumps etc and hidden stuff. Since then though the internet has picked up a lot so tend to look there instead.

 

[Revels]

I had one for GTA:III so I could find all those hidden package things. This way long before the days of me having constant internet

 

[Rhino172]

I'm another one for the net too.

Only guide I've ever had was for FFVII and even then I only picked it up after having already finishing most of the game. (I started a second play-through following the guide to see if it actually made the game any easier or not)

I don't like them for the same reasons you mention, kinda takes away from the whole "done it myself, without help" feeling you get from some of the more epic games.

However if I simply can't be bothered with a game anymore then I'll look it up on the net (think I'll do that for RDR, got to Mexico and now thoroughly bored of it), especially as several games these days seem to have thier own Wiki pages that bascially covers everything the guide would anyway.

 

[BIFCAIDS]

Fallout3 Pre-war edition, Crazy Taxi (dunno why), GTA:3 and GTA:VC

Fallout3 guide is essential.

 

[Brand86]

I use them for games like Mass Effect and Fallout, if I am looking for particular places and items. I only read bits on the net though rather than an entire guide.

I don't consider them cheating, as they enhance my experience as you find more than you otherwise would, and if anything prolong the game's length.

I am dead against "cheating" though, which I would class as anything which breaks the way a game was intended to be played. Boosting on MW2 for example...uh!!! :dead:

 

[Brazo]

I used the wiki for my first few play throughs of demons souls, was essential tbh as its such a complicated game.

II do like checking but not using a guide (if that makes sense) just to see how far I have progressed in games like uncharted 2 and cod.

But usually no!

 

[BIFCAIDS]

cheating boils my piss, gf's brother cheats on GTA4, im sorry but its so easy to play why you need to cheat is beyond me

 

[Darren S]

I use them for games like Mass Effect and Fallout, if I am looking for particular places and items. I only read bits on the net though rather than an entire guide.

I don't consider them cheating, as they enhance my experience as you find more than you otherwise would, and if anything prolong the game's length.

I am dead against "cheating" though, which I would class as anything which breaks the way a game was intended to be played. Boosting on MW2 for example...uh!!! :dead:

So am I. But I guess I could interpret one of my key benefits of the Oblivion GG in particular as cheating.... possibly.

That part comes down to the alchemy and enchantment section of the game. Probably for a lot of players out there, the idea of scouring the land for various ingredients and trying various mixtures to create potions and enchantments is rewarding. But that to me is a royal PITA - I just want to know what ingredient to mix with another to get the desired effect. The alchemy charts in the Oblivion GG are a major bonus.

D.

 

[iain187]

i was in fallout 3 trying to do a quest and i'd gone into some building and cleared everything out

i could see that i needed to get upstairs but i couldnt find the stairs so i thought well i've killed everyone so if i just google where i get up then i'll close it


i tried to google and it wasn't even in the guides because the door was so bloody obvious and i was just being a dumbass!

 

[BIFCAIDS]

lolz i hate that

 

[sideways danny]

I had one for GTA:III so I could find all those hidden package things. This way long before the days of me having constant internet

I had that. Still got it somewhere. The only guide I've ever used I think

 

[Darren S]

i was in fallout 3 trying to do a quest and i'd gone into some building and cleared everything out

i could see that i needed to get upstairs but i couldnt find the stairs so i thought well i've killed everyone so if i just google where i get up then i'll close it


i tried to google and it wasn't even in the guides because the door was so bloody obvious and i was just being a dumbass!

PMSL. Been there and done that SO many times!

D.