Blog: Let’s Use More Gaming Strategy Guides!
I bet you didn’t think I would upload a September entry! Who’s laughing now?!
In my downtime (which barely exists when planning a wedding), I finally finished Resident Evil Code: Veronica for only the second time in my gaming life. Code: Veronica is one of the longer Resident Evil (RE) games, but it still has a par time of four hours for pros. I beat it in 15 semi-challenging hours. I also died… a lot, but I still had fun!
Back in the day, before having to pay taxes, I was zipping through RE games in less than 3 hours, unlocking infinite ammo rocket launchers like it was nothing. Today, I play games when I feel like I’ve “earned it.” I mentioned in a previous post that I found a fantastic way to force myself to relax: sit down with a video game and its designated physical strategy guide. Nearly one year after starting Resident Evil Code: Veronica with its guide, I decided to start going through my collection of games with their books in hand! The heaviest shelf in my game room has reminded me that I have many options.
I have decided the next game in this strategy guide-driven adventure will be Blue Stinger on SEGA Dreamcast. Blue Stinger has never seen a release outside of the Dreamcast, along with another game by the same developer: Illbleed. Unfortunately, Illbleed only had a strategy guide released in Japan, which has a hefty price tag. Thankfully Blue Stinger has been relatively affordable and is
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also a part of history as it marks the first survival horror game to be part of a console’s launch day releases.
For me, Blue Stinger has a strange history. I have started the game multiple times in and out of the annual Dreamcast Marathon, owned a total of four copies, and gifted it to friends, but I still have never completed the game. I also figured that since Spook-tober is here, it’s high time to solve the mystery of Dinosaur Island with my naked ghost friend and BFF, Dogs the Man.
Reading the guide as I play through a game allows me to avoid my phone. This may sound odd, but when using a guide on my phone, I easily get distracted by other alerts and quickly lose focus on the game I am currently playing. There is also something satisfying about placing a bookmark in a guide to see your physical progress. With these things in mind, my favorite aspect of a physical guide is using the maps and screenshots throughout, as I am very much a visual learner.
Before I go, I’ll ask if you think I should hunker down with any of the other guides on my shelf — what game should be next? Should I burn the guides? Do you recommend any game guides?
And himself and everybody around
Cause he ain’t got nobody to listen to…”
