My mom was a "gamer", and the rule in her house was no guides/walkthroughs until you beat the game once. However, help from an older brother is perfectly acceptable, if you can live with the teasing.

In my house, using gamefaqs.com is acceptable if you're literally beating your head against the wall in frustration (Shadow of the Colossus, I'm looking at you).

Ico, I finished FFXII and yeah, it's pretty humorless, but then the character development, story-wise, is kinda bland. I felt more like I was playing an MMORPG than a FF RPG, to be honest, especially since I spent a lot of time grinding to level up all my characters, thus leading to long seuqences that had no plot advancement.

I loved the gambit system, though. The animations, both in-game and pre-rendered are simply amazing. Music, enh. I certainly wasn't bawling like a baby at the end of this game, though, like I was at the end of FFX.

Still a fun game, but I feel Square Enix is trying to graft the gameplay dynamics of FFXI, an MMORPG, into the epic storytelling device of a single player console RPG. And to that I say, enh.

I hardly EVER use guides or walkthroughs ... except for FF games. I'll play the game once without it, then go and play it again trying to get "everything" the guide suggests (been doing this since FF II for the SNES!).

Have fun!!!

Does anyone else play video games without guides or walkthroughs?

Me and the wife play without walkthroughs and, like muddgirl, hit gamefaqs when the shit hits the fan. I've definitely gravitated away from arbitrary challenge and toward fun, which makes Gamers Block something I prefer to FAQ my way around. (I've also stopped blaming myself for game designers' failings.)

What I've played of XII I like a great deal. We're maybe a quarter of the way into it and have been distracted by other games and other things, but I look forward to getting back to it some time. It has been a lot less humorously plotted, but some of the dry, wry bits have made me laugh out loud. I'm enjoying the writing and execution in part because it's not so like the normally indulgent-to-the-point-of-wacky FF writing.

The only FF character so far that I found completely wacky/off his rocker was Zell from VIII. What the hell was up with that guy??? He had anger managment problems for sure, but he was also funny. As for just angry without the wacky - that would be Barrett from VII. Although he was unintentionally funny...

I'm loving this game, I just wish it had some sweetness to it - it's kind of bumming me out. And there had better be some goddamn romance or I will be really mad. Don't tell me!

muddgirl, I don't know how I missed that game. Oh. My. God. I'm going and buying it tonight. It sounds amazing!

cortex, I can't believe you can drop a video game and go onto something else. I become consumed by just one, and I can't play anything else until I beat it.

WolfDaddy, yes I LOVE the gambit system! And I love running around levelling up - I'm good at the grunt work ;)

Random observations about this game - I'm in love with Fran's voice - it's fantastic.
Balthier is a hottie.
So is Basch.
Why does everyone look the same? I couldn't tell Vaan and Penelo's icons apart for the first few hours that I played it. Children of the Damned!
Vaan sounds a lot like Tidus from FFX.

cortex, I can't believe you can drop a video game and go onto something else. I become consumed by just one, and I can't play anything else until I beat it.

I was like that for a good ten years of very active gaming. Eventually I lost the will to Finish. I feel bad that I have so many unfinished games around, but on the other hand it gives me added incentive to go back.

On the other hand, I've beaten Resident Evil 4 like eight times now. My wife is so sick of that gutteral Portugese-esque chanting that I have to wear headphones if I want to play it while she's around.

And, yeah, Fran. Great voice.

I very rarely read FAQs (exceptions that come to mind: Animal Crossing, GTA), but I check GameFAQs for cheat codes on just about every game I play (for that matter, I've also got ActionReplays and MaxDrives and DexDrives and a bunch of other cheat gadgetry).

For something like Okami, I can see the appeal of playing it exactly the way the designers intended. But if it's Burnout Revenge, I want all the goofy hidden cars, and, ideally, I don't want to play for a hundred hours to get them. As with most technology, and as with most media, I value being able to use it in the ways I see fit.

I usually don't use FAQs or spoilers with the one VERY LARGE exception of nethack. I never would have ascended that game if I wasn't completely and totally spoiled.

Since I was "raised" as a gamer, I'm totally behind the curve when it comes to gamer knowledge. I don't know that certain actions generally lead to other specific things in a universe, so the things that someone who's had all the systems (like my current boyfriend) would pick up on instantly I totally miss.

I have GameFAQs bookmarked like crazy. I only managed to kill the Sorceress thanks to the KolWiki. I remember how to play Tomb Raider 2, but I want all the freaking secrets and stupid dragons, so if I miss one the first time 'round, I read the FAQ to get it again the second time.

However, I'm deliberately not using the FAQs with Phantasy Star Universe because it's the one game I'm currently playing where I'm ahead of my boyfriend. I'm stuck on chapter 10, mostly because I'm a bad strategist and I need to level up and level up my weapons more. Once I do that, though, I can steam forward again and finish the game.

ugh, Kingdom of Loathing. One of the reasons I stopped hanging around there (besides lack of time) was the fact taht I was heavily dependent on KoLWiki, and it sort of took all the fun out of it.

Once upon a time I would not even look at faqs or walkthroughs. But now I'll go to a faq the moment I get stuck on an RPG. I do not enjoy being stuck. I have become worse about this impatience as I do not spend as much time playing and I have so many unfinished and even unplayed games. I am messing around in the bonus dungeon of Final Fantasy V Advance right now and quickly decided that it wasn't worth trying to figure out how to kill some of the bosses down there on my own. I am also really irritated by games like this one where you have to do a lot of grinding to level up enough to handle t

If it is a strategy or adventure game, I will try for a while before I give up and go to a faq. But other than finding secrets, walkthroughs/faqs are pretty useless for action games. I had a bit of trouble with a few things in Ninja Gaiden Black in Master Ninja difficulty but the FAQ I read did me no good at all. I simply couldn't beat the enemy the way it told me to, had to find my own way. I find most action games are like that.

Did anyone else ever play Sanitarium? Now that was a game that spoke to the need for occasional FAQ consultations.

I had to think about it a minute, but I remember that one. It was a pretty freaky game. Short too, IIRC. But I liked it.

Speaking of adventures, Schizm... there is a game that is fucking hard. I had to go to the FAQ for half of the game, and I really tried to make it on my own. Really tough and really confusing puzzles.