Debate This: Are Strategy Guides a Form of Cheating?

Debate This is an ongoing feature which provides an opportunity for open discussion on various video game-related topics. Those who know how to debate in a mature and respectful manner are encouraged to participate. Present your opinion, but be prepared to defend it.

Strategy guides. Walkthroughs. Detailed FAQs. Some gamers reluctantly rely on these comprehensive resources in order to pass only the most difficult of levels. Other gamers purchase them in conjunction with their games, sometimes reading them before even putting the actual disc in the tray. The hardcore crowd may consider their usage a definitive sign of a general lack of skills, or even take it to the extreme of classifying it as cheating.

Whatever your views, these assets are readily available in abundance and in whatever form you prefer to digest. You can find them on the internet or in a tangible book. They’re often in a video that lets you watch someone playing through the game or a description of the same in text form. Some people swear by them, others detest the very thing they stand for. Let’s see what side of the fence you reside on with this rather unusual subject matter. Debate This: Are you opposed to, in favor of, or indifferent to using outside resources such as strategy guides and walkthroughs when playing video games? Do you consider it cheating, a necessary support system, or something comfortably in between? Do you think lesser of people who use these assets when completing games? And why or why not?