The Importance Of The Video Game Walkthru

Back when I first got into video games - 1999/2000, at the ripe old age of about 36 or 37 - I had to learn all about "cheat codes" on the Internet, or I'd have given up on nearly every game that I started. There always seemed to come a point in the proceedings when I just couldn't get by a boss, or maybe couldn't quite make that complicated jump, spin, catch the ledge move that the scenario demanded in order to continue on. I loved the specific uses of a few cheats, because they got me through a tough section and allowed the good times to keep on comin', but I also felt like some of the challenge was removed if I always knew that I could resort to a cheat code whenever necessary.

Now that I play console games only, cheat codes are less prevalent. What I've noticed is that most of them provide extras like funky skins for your characters or maybe early access to a cool weapon, whereas I was used to codes that would make you invincible in the game, able to walk through walls, or even fly! All of a sudden, I was back to the original situation of not always being able to get through certain difficult parts of the game. But thankfully, where the cheat codes may be lacking, there are usually good "game walkthru" sites to help out.

A walkthru is a guide, written by someone who's already played the game, for how to get through it. Depending on the author, a walkthru may be very detailed, including screenshots, or it could be a bunch of high level notes or strategies. I've found that a good walkthru can make the difference, for me, between persevering with a game and giving up on it. With Dark Sector, for example, I've been stuck three times already (in about ten hours of playing it): twice where I didn't know how to defeat a boss or mini-boss character, and once where I couldn't tell where to go next. In each case, the walkthru site I'd been using provided just exactly the details that I needed to get me back on track. In the case of a powerful boss that's always killing me while I'm trying everything I can to defeat it, it's often the case that I can't find any weakness and will end up using up all of my ammo in a vain attempt to overpower it. Often, though, it turns out that you need to know that he has a spot on his back that you have to hit with a certain type of weapon while he's glowing red (or something equally obscure). How the first guy or girl ever figured that out, I'll never know... but I'm certainly glad to benefit from their learning!

I really like to finish the good video games, but generally I can only get there with a little help from my friends... and other strangers!