Do they make video games so hard so you will have to buy a guide?

[costanza187]

I've been playing Chaos Bleeds (Buffy 2) and I have been having a lot of fun with it, but the thing is, I would still be stuck on the second level if it wasnt for the discussion boards. There is just so much stuff I CANNOT figure out. also I may have had the right idea, but went about it slightly wrong, therefore scrapping that idea all together.

For me, I try to figure it out, and if im having too much difficulty I hop online and see what the answer is.

The quickest thing to do would be to buy the guide, but I'm cheap.


This is not the only game that has required help, about every game, Buffy 1, Pokemon games and stuff, i either extensively read on the 'net about how to get through it, or I bought the guide for pokemon silver.

[Groucho]

I have played games where you had to buy the guide to complete them...but it's pretty rare.

Usually the guide does contain a lot of important information that should be in the manual.

[Shuki]

thank god for www.gamefaqs.com some days :)

[Adam Tyner]

The puzzles in Buffy aren't terribly well-executed, and some of the gameplay issues make them even more difficult. The most annoying was in the second Magic Box level, when you're looking for an item to use to test the Gorgon venom. I absolutely tried opening the treasure chest that holds the item in question several times before resorting to GameFAQs. I could not get the thing to open before, but after some repeated attempts, I finally snagged what I'd been looking for. Then, I got a dirty disc error after finishing the level and had to replay it. Even knowing exactly what I needed to do and how I needed to do it, I still had to continually manuever myself around the chest, and it took probably seven or eight presses of the Y button to get the stupid thing to open. If I were trying to play without a resource like GameFAQs, I'm not sure how far I'd get in the game, just because I'd probably stop playing out of frustration.

[Joshic]

I remember back in the Sierra PC adventure gaming days... sometimes I would get stuck on a puzzle. I'd leave the game alone for a few days and come back to it. Sometimes a fresh look at the puzzle would help me figure it out.

But a lot of times I had to dial in with my 4800 baud modem to the Sierra BBS and read hints. Sometimes I would buy hintbooks at the local game store. Good thing we have internet discussion boards and gamefaqs.com now!

[PixyJunket]

If you NEED a guide to beat a game either 1) You suck at games or 2) The game is poorly designed. I reckon a lot of games are leaning on the number 2 these days, another wonderful present brought to you by the Playstation/Gamestop generation.

Now, another aspect is that people are either easily frustrated and/or have poor puzzle solving skills. Now I can't speak for the game you are playing, as I've not played it.. but a good example is when Wind Waker came out, somebody was whining and pissed off because he was "forced" to buy the guide to find out how to defeat a boss. Every boss and puzzle in that game is easily solved by simple trial and error process, nothing was ever a "blind" guess. Gratned, some of the 1,000 heart pieces would be pretty diffucult to get w/o a guide, but that's much more of an extra part to the game (I myself had to look up how to get a few pieces, an example is the dumb trading sequence..).

I would always reccomend using a guide as a last resort.. games SHOULD be designed to give you hints or clues as to what you are to do, and it's always much more satisfying to figure it out then to be given the answer..

[costanza187]

Originally posted by Shuki
thank god for www.gamefaqs.com some days :)

I couldn't agree more!!!

I think that website has saved my sanity on a couple occasions

[Kellehair]

I've only played a couple games where I needed a guide to finish them. I most often need a guide if I'm trying to get 100% and/or unlock all the secrets. I also occasionally use guides to save time, like checking to see if I'm doing something or going somewhere in the right order.

If you NEED a guide to beat a game either 1) You suck at games or 2) The game is poorly designed.
I second that.

[Dean Kousoulas]

I pretty much only use guides for RPG's simply because with work/school I don't have the 40+ hours you need to put into them. Yes it's cheating, but I'm really in it for the epic stories.

Dean

[fujishig]

Although I can finish most games without a guide, I find it impossible to get even 80% of all the secrets in most games without some kind of guide, be it gamefaqs or strategy guide. This is especially true of rpgs, where you have to often do cryptic things at a precise moment in the game, or lose a hidden feature/item/whatever forever.

I also don't see how anybody can master Soul Calibur 2 without some sort of guide. The manual is pathetic... and though weapon master mode does a decent job of teaching you the basics, there's nothing about stances, etc.

[Trigger]

I keep hearing about these "hard" video games or game that are "too difficult" but I have yet to play one.

[Groucho]

Originally posted by Trigger
I keep hearing about these "hard" video games or game that are "too difficult" but I have yet to play one. Play Super Monkey Ball (or the sequel) on Expert level. Of course, a guide will help you very little for that. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more difficult game this generation.

[C-Mart]

I try to at least beat a game once before I resort to a guide. I used to be better about it. There was 1, maybe 2 places in Wind Waker where I used the internet to figure out what to do. These days I guess I am just lazy.

Now, for a game like GTA:VC I cheated and used a guide from the beginning. I didn't care about beating that game... I already did that, it was called GTA3. In VC I just wanted to have as much stuff as possible and mess around.

For SC2, yes, I plan on buying the limited guide, more for the CD than anything else, but also for the move lists.

[Outlaw]

I don't find games too difficult. I welcome the challenge. I hate when I can get through a game in 4 hours without dieing. Usually if the game is designed well it has a good learning curve that you get better the more you play like Metroid Prime or Mario Sunshine. There are those games like Super Monkey Ball and F-Zero that you just need to practice but are very rewarding to play.

I only use a guide to get 100% of everything or multiple endings or unless I'm really stuck (which doesn't happen too often). For that its gamefaqs :).

[TheAllPurposeNothing]

"It's extortion, I tell you. They make you buy the guide just to finish the game!"

-Rex the dinosaur, "Toy Story II"

[Giantrobo]

Well for the rest of us who don't play games 24-7 game guides are great.

[PixyJunket]

This is a beautiful, beautiful T-Shirt and highly recommended if ever going into a GameSlop.

http://www.gameskins.com/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?&pg=prod&ref=gssh036#

[menaz]

It still boggles my mind why anyone with an internet connection is spending $15 on guides. Some of the guides at gamefaqs are more complete and easier to understand than the $15 pretty ones with pictures.

[sdcrym]

I recently picked up the official guide for Animal Crossing. I'd say that it's essential for anyone who's trying to get every item in the catalog and figure out all the furniture sets, etc. Sure, there are .txt files with most of the same information on gamefaqs, but sometimes they're incomplete or inaccurate. Plus, the pictures of every single item with the checkboxes make it easy to scan through the guide for exactly what you're looking for.

I suppose it all just depends on the game, the quality of the strategy guide, and the quality of the info in the gamefaqs text files.

[Groucho]

Originally posted by PixyJunket
This is a beautiful, beautiful T-Shirt and highly recommended if ever going into a GameSlop.Hope you don't mind getting your ass kicked every five steps on the way over there. Hell, even other nerds would pound on you for wearing that.

[sdcrym]

Originally posted by Groucho
Hope you don't mind getting your ass kicked every five steps on the way over there. Hell, even other nerds would pound on you for wearing that. :lol:

[PixyJunket]

Originally posted by Groucho
Hope you don't mind getting your ass kicked every five steps on the way over there. Hell, even other nerds would pound on you for wearing that. Bring it! :)

[Revoltor]

Wow. People essentially pay for someone else to play their games for them.

It's ok to use the contra code here and there to get a bearing on things but if all you do is play a game with it and a hint book in hand, you plain suck. Don't even bother calling yourself a gamer.

Tell mommy to buy you more clothes and school supplies instead.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Originally posted by Groucho
Play Super Monkey Ball (or the sequel) on Expert level. Of course, a guide will help you very little for that. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more difficult game this generation.

I don't see how a guide could help with Super Monkey Ball at all; you either have a steady hand or you don't. :)

I didn't think it was overly difficult anyway.

[Groucho]

Originally posted by Ralph Wiggum
I didn't think it was overly difficult anyway. Did you play all the way through the expert levels?