Cheats, Guides & Walkthroughs

Who uses them? When you get stuck in a game, do you persevere and try to work it out yourself or do you go reaching for the game guide or log on to a site like GameFAQs? Or, do you flat out cheat your way to victory?

My cousin and I used to blast our way through Doom II using cheats but the experience got pretty boring after a while. To that end, I finally played Doom II from start to finish sometime last year without using a single cheat and it felt pretty rewarding, or at least as rewarding as a video game can feel. These days I tend to steer clear of cheats when I'm trying to finish a game but if I'm just having some fun I might use them while I'm mucking around with the game.

If I'm stuck in a game like GTA, I might reach for the guides to see if there's an easier way of completing a mission or to get some tips so I don't make it any harder than it needs to be. In some cases, I'll check the guide to see how close I was to finishing a mission that I've failed so that I can better prepare myself on the next attempt. I've often consulted walkthroughs with the old LucasArts adventure games as well.

It in the rare case that a game is actually designed poorly or brilliantly enough to be baffeling, I think GameFAQs is the only option. For me, print in this regard (and others) died with the ascent of the internet.

On a completely off topic note related to LucasArt mention, have you tried the new Sam and Max adventures, Andrew? (There is a free chapter on Steam. For the US at least.)

I only have a couple of game guides, one for GTA San Andreas and one for GTA IV which were pretty much impulse buys that the EB Games salesperson sold me on when I bought the game itself. For the most part, I'll check out GameFAQs.

I did actually pick up the Season 1 boxset of the new Sam and Max games. So far I've played through the first chapter without a walkthrough save for a couple of spots where I got stuck. I like it, Hit the Road is a classic in my opinion so it set the bar pretty high but the new ones are pretty good in their own right.

I have some older ones, from back when they actually mattered and had content beyond the games themselves.

The new series gets better as it progresses in my opinion. The writers took a little time to find their legs. I haven't touched the second season yet though. I'm playing them all through GameTap. (Not an option for Aussies unfortunately.)

I'll have to pick it up again sometime and check out the rest of the first season. I miss the ability to quickly exit a screen in point and click adventures by doubleclicking a way out. That was always handy when you got to a part where there was a bit of back and forth.

When I am having a hard time on a stage in one game. I sometimes go to Gamefaqs often. I also go there to see if I miss something important(like mission, items). I would want to finish a game without even going thorough Gamefaqs.

In GTA for example, I do look into mission tips and hints, when I'm stuck. I'll probably use some guides for the Pigeons and Monster Stunts too, since it's almost impossible to find them all on your own.
But I haven't used one single cheat in GTA 4, which I'm proud of because I cheated quite alot in San Andreas ..

I don't have the patience to look for all the hidden stuff myself so I definitely reach for the guides for that. It doesn't pay to use cheats in GTA though, especially if you're going for 100% completion.

I don't use them for the most part. Only if I'm really stuck on an RPG, & have tried for hours in vain to get through that tricky part.