Video Game Strategy Guides
From LoveToKnow VideoGames
What's the deal with video game strategy guides? While there are many of us who skip the included instruction manuals altogether, there comes a time when you get stuck and simply do not know where to turn. That's when these strategy guides for video games come into play. Pardon the pun.
Pointing You in the Right Direction
In general, the vast majority of video game strategy guides are designed to help you through the tougher portions of each title and perhaps even give you a little help for the less difficult portions as well.
This is particularly true when it comes to role-playing games and simulation games, like Animal Crossing: Wild World on the Nintendo DS. Titles like these may not provide the most explicit of directions for gamers, so you may need to turn to a strategy guide to figure out exactly how to get to the next level, how to achieve a certain goal, or how to complete a particular task.
Also known as a video game walkthrough, these video game strategy guides are akin to roadmaps or GPS navigation devices. They tell you where you need to go and how to get there. Many veterans of the Final Fantasy franchise are all too familiar with guides of this type.
Gaining an Advantage on the Competition
The other kind of strategy guide that you may encounter may not necessarily provide you with the explicit steps that you need to do to progress through the game's story. Instead, these guides are largely designed for competition and being able to better perform in the game in general.
For example, fighting game strategy guides will not only outline the special moves associated with each character, but also the best strategy to undertake when you select these different characters. In Street Fighter II, the strategy behind playing as Ken or Ryu is distinctly different than how you would play as Dhalsim or Zangief. The same can be said about the different characters in Mortal Kombat, Soul Calibur, and Tekken, for instance.
Another area where you will find these kinds of video game strategy guides are with strategy games, particularly real-time strategy games like those from the Command & Conquer, Starcraft, and Age of Empires franchises. Should you build up your army first, or is it more important to train your engineers? What about housing and crops? These strategies can differ across stages, character types, and your style of gameplay.
In like manner, you may find a variety of guides for intense first-person shooter games. If you embark on those multiplayer death matches in games like Halo and Call of Duty, it may be worth your while to read a few video game strategy guides before hurling yourself headlong into the heat of battle. These guides can point you toward the best weapons, hiding spots, and general strategies for defeating your opponents. This is true on both PC and console-based games.
Do You Need Video Game Strategy Guides?
As you can probably imagine, it is not exactly necessary to read all of the video game strategy guides that are out there. Walk into just about any bookstore or video game store and you will probably find a library of guides for some of the most popular titles. By the same accord, a number of guides are available online through websites like LoveToKnow Video Games.
Do you need to read them all? The simple answer is no, but they certainly don't hurt in terms of helping you achieve greater success in your chosen video games. Some people prefer to "learn the hard way", so to speak, because it can be more rewarding. There is something refreshing about picking up on a new technique or secret on your own, rather than simply deploying something that you read online. How far you take these strategy guides and how much you choose to rely on them is largely a matter of personal preference.
In the end, just make sure you have fun. That's the whole point of playing games in the first place!
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This page has been accessed 569 times. This page was last modified 00:20, 28 October 2008.
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