Cheats, guides, FAQs - do you?

[Geoff D]

A bloke I work with has just come to me to announce that he went into town at lunch & bought NFS:Underground - then, as he doesn't have internet access, he asked if I could find him cheats on how to acquire all the money to soup up his car - I said no; am I a bad person? How much do I really care?

Anyway, do you use cheats, guides, FAQs, Action Replay etc? I can imagine that if you just have to have the latest Jpn RPG, then a guide might be handy - but surely not before you've even loaded the game?

[Vaipon]

As a last resort, I'll use a guide/walkthrough if I'm terminally stuck on something. I buy a lot of Japanese games, and occasionally there are puzzles that are pretty much impossible unless you understand the language.

I'd never use a cheat device to hack myself infinite lives or any such rubbish though. What is the point?

[Couk]

Walkthroughs sometimes, never cheats.
edit: apart from the ones like in timesplitters 2 that do silly things.

[Kieran76]

The last time I ever used any thing was on Majoras Mask, as a rule I don't bother. I'd like to think I'm good enough to work out myself. What annoys me is when you buy a game and the blkoe at the counter tries to make you get an official guide, whats the point?

Edit That was a walkthrough, not a cheat. And I only used it for one puzzel, and even then it was because I had borrowed the game and had to return asap.

[beecee]

i know a guy who does that same thing,
buy a brand new game and a guide to go with it! whats the point in playing if you getting your hand held all the way through.
he has been doing it since the days of the snes.

i have used guides myseld but not before i complete games, i use them for getting items i missed the first time round like the location of hearts in Zelda OOT, as i just couldn't locate all the pieces.

but i generally stay away from guides and cheats.

[Garibaldi Biscuit]

Not averse to using them if I get stuck, but buying one along with a new game is staggeringly pointless. It reduces the challenge and immersion of the game to such an extent that you could argue the person would rather be, and should be, watching t.v instead.

[mid]

The one thing I do use them for is to find out how to get unlockables. Not to cheat my way to them at all, but when you have (for instance) two characters left to unlock in Tekken 3, and the game itself doesn't tell you what it wants you to do to get at them, then knowing that you've got to beat Tekken Force mode or whatever, rather than re-trying Arcade mode with yet more characters and higher difficulty modes, or trying to beat a mystery speed in Time Attack makes far more sense.

[tankplanker]

The one thing I do use them for is to find out how to get unlockables.

I do the same, for DOA2 & 3 it is essential to get most of the unlockables without spending hours finding them.

I've also used the FAQs for Armored Core, the combinations for the mech configuration is just too big for my little brain.

[taurusnipple]

I do what mid says, I look down upon cheaters with contempt though.

[Fuddle]

with japanese games, i will check faqs if i'm not sure about options and stuff.
as for guides and walkthroughs, i will only bother if i'm stuck on something. (but wouldnt ever buy a guide book)
cheat devices though, i hate. i would never use one of those things.
....if a cheat is built into a game, then thats ok. things like in snes 'street fighter II', the code you input to both select the same character. but if its built in, i wouldnt really term it a cheat.

[Che Musashi]

I use faqs for the Japanese stuff and I'm ok with guides especially if they have 130 pages of monster stats in the back. Generally I won't use it unless I'm stuck. Guides aren't inherently evil, just gross misuse of them is.

I love the Japanese Virtua Fighter 4 and Evo guides, so purty so many moves so little time...

As for cheats I hate them I think the people who use and want them are total hosers.

Go to gamefaqs right now, pick any topselling game on any system and I guarantee you, you will find a "I N33D CH3/\T C0D3Z" topic somewhere.

[Moodmon]

Walkthroughs yay, cheats nay.

I was stuck on Zelda DX for 6 months before I got hold of a walkthrough. It was on the second dungeon too

Same story for OoT, but that was just me being daft (I'm supposed to play the song on the triforce symbol? Dammit)

[Gr0ver]

If I'm sufficiently far into a game that I've realised it's nothing to write home about and if the use of a walkthrough is appropriate, I'll use one.

So if the game is good, I avoid them.

If it's not so good, I sometimes do.

[nips]

I will for Pokemon. The only pokemon game that is possible to get 150 without a guide is R/B but the others you have to. I always buy the guide for pokemon. I really like it. I don't know why, but it lets me be elitist and get everything and do everything and as I really love the pokemon games, I really want to make them last as long as possible!

With other games, like the FF series: I've completed them (or got to about 3rd disc and got bored) and then re-started them with a guide to get everything. It kinda jump starts me to play the game again, and by getting new things like new unlockables and stuff it makes the game feel fresh!

I've got an Action Replay for my GC, but that is only becuase it was ?1 more than the Freeloader at play.com. I've used a couple of cheats on some games I don't play anymore... that was fun for about 10 minutes, so I suppose they have extended the life of my titles a little.

I do use GFAQ if I'm stuck though. I try to complete the puzzle or challenge by myself, but if I get really stuck and the game is no longer fun becuase of that, then I will use a walkthrough for that section. Should it be a fun challenge then I'll not use one. Only when my interest in the game is at stake will I resort to a guide, simply to get the most out of the game!

If people want to cheat than that's cool, do what you want... but I've got a general ruleset that I abide to and never (with one exception) buy a guide before even opening the game!

[Crispin]

Pokemon guides make me horny in a very strange way. Nothing like all those lists, in depth features on Infra Red link up, mystery gifts, the walkthroughs detailing those hidden PP up items you missed (the best way to an uber pokemon. A Snorlax with 8 hyper beam attacks before he needs to rest can level up much more quickly after all!).

So for pokemon yes. (Don't need the wakthrough as I get the guide after or when I'm nearly finished my first run through). For everything else, no.

And I only use cheats for games where they are built in. For a bit of fun. Like GTA:VC. Your mission - survive a mob armed with military grade weapons. Don't use 'em to beat games, just to squeeze more fun out of "do what you want" sort of games.