Thoughts on Strategy guides.

[Hartsocks]

Hello all,
I'm sitting here scimming through the Dead Island strategy guide (as I've recently been playing it) and was thinking how can you pass up all the artwork and extras in a guide and use wikis? As the titles states I was wondering what everyones thoughts are on guides. Anyone here have a collection of em or casually pick up one here and there? Or do you think there a waste of time and money?

I myself have collected them for the majority of the PC games I own. I try to get the Limited/Collector Edition due to the fact they are Hardcover and have nice extras.I think having a physical book with artwork, stats and maps are far better than any wikis. What do you guys think?

~Harsocks~
-Not sure If this post is in right section. This seemed to be the best spot.-

 

[Godmachine]

Used them when I was a kid for console games sometimes (mostly JRPG's for completion purposes).

But with so many gaming forums across the net and FAQ's / Walkthroughs galore , why bother?

 

[SeymourGore]

One thing about wikis, is that they're updated, so if a game receives some retooling (ie: Skyrim crafting changes), you'll know about it.

Mind you, a strategy guide, is a great pooping read. There's a guide for Phantasy Star Online (Dreamcast) in my bathroom, and even though it's a few years old; the maps, artwork, and trivia tidbits do make extended sessions of pooping easier.

 

[DeathPrincess]

I only have 2 both for Soul Calibur III, which I got for like $1 and one is still sealed. In 10,000 years it might be worth something... ..

 

[Hornet]

They are nice to look at, but are too expensive (for me anyway). The money spent on these guide could get me another game.

I also don't have the habit of following guides anyway. I just search for something when I can't figure it out.

 

[kbrickley]

I think it depends on the game ... I like them for the massive open world games like Fallout 3, Oblivion, and Skyrim since there is so much stuff to see and find it is hard to find everything without a guide

For strategy games I am more likely to look online now than buy a guide ... for FPS it depends on the game ... I bought the guide for Far Cry 3 (and it is actually a pretty nice looking guide) but games like Bioshock I just used online walkthroughs

I definitely like the limited edition guides and I have the LE guides for Fallout 3 and Skyrim (beautiful hardcover books)

 

[singe_101]

If you're collecting and like them then it's not wasting time and money. Don't stress about something you're supposed to enjoy.

But a lot of people use Steam sales and there won't be a box or book.

I'm usually "read the book or watch the movie, move on and don't keep a copy." But Warcraft game manuals were thick and great.

 

[shifty68]

The only strategy guide i found was worth getting was the one for skyrim. but hey if your collecting them then its worth it.

 

[hdawg06]

Only strategy guides I would ever recommend picking up are for Fallout or The Elder Scroll games. Everything else can easily be researched online in a few minutes. If you get stuck gamefaqs is great. I use that a lot of times to get the special/hidden achievements/objects. Some of those are pretty detailed.

 

[Breath_of_the_Dying]

How does everyone feel about using strategy guides on the first playthrough?

I'm kinda torn, I love the experience of learning and figuring out things on my own, but for some RPGs I've played lately, there's so much hidden content that I feel I miss half the core story now. I'm fine with not 100% games, but some things are so hidden that I would think most would not find normally.

As my gaming time ramps down, I'm less inclined to go through a second playthrough with a guide. So I either miss out, or use a guide the first time which may spoil the experience for me.

 

[singe_101]

How does everyone feel about using strategy guides on the first playthrough?

Everything in moderation, even moderation. Everyone should read guides on a game like Dota 2.

Sometimes it's nice to know if fire-resistant enemies are coming before spending all one's money on a fire weapon that barely hurts them.

I suppose it depends on the ability to save and load saves and what the situation is.

If it's a game like Mass Effect I will go through once using my own judgement (canon), but I will read about alternatives and sometimes follow the guide to get an outrageous +25 Renegade response or something just to see it, a great Bioware moment they put in there.

 

[kbrickley]

How does everyone feel about using strategy guides on the first playthrough?

Well, since I only have a limited amount of time I can spend gaming I rarely play through a game more than once unless there is a substantial difference between the playthroughs (different classes in Diablo 3 for instance) ... because I only want to play once I will use Save and Restore at critical junctures and consult game guides or online strategies if there are choices that have an overall effect on the game (good vs evil paths, forks where options become unavailable, etc) ... in many cases I will try and play a game until I get stumped, and only then consult the guide on how to get through a particular problem

 

[Inu]

Physical Guides cannot be updated. I never understood why they even bothered making a Primal guide for Starcraft.

 

[limitedaccess]

In terms of collecting or enjoying the art I'd rather collect art books instead.

 

[stevedave]

Paper anything is outdated and thus I don't want anything to do with them.

You can get artwork in a digital Strategy guide. Also its a complete waste of space and just clutters up your house and life with unneeded shit.

Though I did get a strategy guide for Phantasy Star 2 and FF 6.

 

[MavericK]

I grab them once in awhile, usually pretty cheap on a sale. Love the ones for games like Skyrim. Usually won't get them for basic shooters or stuff like that.