Strategy guides, who needs them?

If there is one thing I can’t stand with video games its frustration. There are enough things in life to be frustrated about that I don’t want to feel that way when I’m trying to be entertained. This blog talks about the way video games make you spend more money if you want to avoid the inevitable frustration that seems to be packaged into the game. There are some games that scream strategy guide and some games that don’t, let’s look at a few from each category.



So I picked up Oblivion (good move) and the strategy guide that went with it (questionable at best) in order to get what I thought was the most out of the game. The guide costs just as much as the game and in the onset was worth every penny. The guide had tons of useful information that made the game frankly easier. In retrospect however I think my friends have way more fun playing the game because they don’t know what’s coming next. The guide for oblivion is bigger than the bible and has more pictures to boot; if you can’t beat the game with that book then you are different and strange, or maybe illiterate.

The real trouble began when I realized my time with Oblivion was officially over. Sure I could play through the game again but the itch wasn’t there. The reasons for this is for another blog entirely, but suffice to say I had had my fill. The rally cool guide I paid for became my first issue; it went from being a really cool accessory, to a book I had no hope of getting rid of outside of ebay. Now it’s just taking up space on my shelf, while my game is back at the Gamestop. Strategy Guide 1, Dante 0.

Having already been burned by the lack of resale value on a strategy guide, I decided to try my hand at a game guide free. I jumped feet first into Star Ocean: The Last Hope with no previous Star Ocean experience. This is the first time I realized that the Strategy Guide makers and game developers must be working in cahoots. There is almost no way to beat the game without some sort of help.

The maps are next to useless, like looking at a Thomas Guide with no street names. The NPC’s (non player characters) are of no practical help and are so non-distinct you have no hope of knowing who you’re talking to.  And the game doesn’t help you at all keep track of where you are versus where you need to go. I was warned earlier that I should get the strategy guide because I would need it, and that friend was right.

My problem is simply this: Is it fair for game developers to be lazy in the making of a game because they know a strategy guide is coming? That’s what it feels like. If Star Ocean addressed some of these issues the game wouldn’t need a strategy guide.

I’ll be the first to admit that there is a great sense of accomplishment working puzzles and such out on your own, but I don’t have all the time in the world running around aimlessly with no ability to save in sight. I don’t mind puzzles as long as there is a function that tells me that I already went left, now it’s time to go right. The lack of anything that will help the player along in the game screams strategy guide and I think it’s a cruel way to make an extra buck or two.

At the very least, retailers like Gamestop should redo their policy on strategy guides, they should buy back undamaged guides much in the same way they buy back games, much like a college bookstore. I’d be willing to bet that they would sell more guides because gamers won’t be stuck with the guide long after discarding the game.

Fable 2 is an example of a game that does it right. Sure, there is a strategy guide, but do you need it? No, the game is very playable from Jump Street and provides an adequate challenge without forcing you to strangle yourself with your controller. In fact, if you feel you need a guide to beat Fable 2 you should have your gamers license revoked (don’t run, I won’t tell anybody you bought the guide for Fable 2….). I think from now on, all game reviews should take whether you need a guide for the game into consideration, and the guides should always be at least half the price of a used copy of the game it’s for, or at least we should be allowed to return said guide when we return the game.

In the end role playing games are a lot of fun no matter what you want to call them, but there should be a fine line between challenging and poor workmanship. Shame on the makers of Star Ocean: TLH (looking at you Square) for being outright lazy with the games guts, and thanks to the web for its free walkthroughs and strategy guides to balance an underhanded tactic.


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Advances Guide Insight-Based Ad Strategy with Hard Numbers

has begun to complement insights gleaned through its editorial guides with hard numbers in the hopes of wooing advertisers. Advancing a project launched last year, the New York Times Company-owned site has conducted in-house studies on topics including the recession and healthcare to better serve advertisers and agencies.

The site today revealed findings of a healthcare related study, which showed a significant portion of respondents would be interested in very specific information in ads for health products. Nearly 30 percent said info about a certain health condition would attract their attention, while 28 percent said info on side effects and safety of medications would spark their interest.

Key to the study, suggested Cella Irvine, president and CEO of the About Group, is "the positive impact of information oriented advertising." She called the study, "part of a new approach we've been taking to help About.com advertisers understand the user mindset."

The site's sales team intends to add the new data to its arsenal to provide advertisers with a clearer sense of what About users might respond to; however, don't expect About to suggest how advertisers might inform creative decisions based on the studies. "Advertisers are the experts in knowing how to communicate to their market," said Irvine. "What we will tell them is what we hear from our users."

According to About, pharmaceutical advertisers including Bristol Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, and Pfizer have advertised on the site. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals is currently running ads alongside content about Crohns disease, and promoting its rheumatoid arthritis education site on About's pages dedicated to the condition.

"We have seen an uptick recently in condition specific usage [of About.com]," said Irvine. "Our intuition is that the healthcare debate [over government healthcare reform] is making people more aware."

Around a year ago, About started taking a more consultative approach to selling ads, in the hopes of distinguishing itself from lower priced ad networks. The company's sales staff has been tapping its editorial guides for information about their niche audiences, and hired a director for its Insight Network to serve as a liaison between advertiser clients and guides.

The new study also found that 38 percent of participants had talked to a doctor after seeing a healthcare ad. In addition, 36 percent researched a drug in more detail online, 17 percent spoke to friends or family for drug recommendations, 13 percent visited a pharma company's site, and 13 percent asked their doctor for a product sample or prescription.


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