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I have several ways and forms of playing video games. Let’s see. I’ve got my computer(s), my Wii, and my recently purchased DS Lite. I’ve got a variety of games for these, but, given the cost of a modern game (in some cases being $60+) I try to maximize my dollar by not using cheats.

On the Wii, I finished Zelda: Twilight Princess after a long grind. Very enjoyable game, but I have yet to go back and try to collect all the items that make it a 100% finished game. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption though … I’m at an impasse. A good game forks for non-linear play. However, some games have too many forks and thus easily confuse simple minded me. I have no idea where I am in the game now that it has sat on the shelf for so long, much less which planet, weapon, or hidden area has the next “jump” to continue the game. I got stuck, traveled around for several hours, and just decided to call it a night. Haven’t touched it since. Other games sit unfinished because it would take an hour to get back into a vibe of the game. Once I did, I lack the work ethic needed to grind at it for another 10-20 hours. Super Mario Galaxy and Super Paper Mario fill in this category.

Resident Evil 4? I love this oldie revamp for the Wii. But, I got to this room where these cult guys come out with their monster friend, bend me over, and the monster friend starts to extend his claws … that’s when I restart the level. Exactly … that’s how I played Resident Evil 4 for a month. I tried to do it without using healing, minimal bullets, etc. If I felt I was using up too many of either, I’d restart the area and do it again until I got it perfect. Over and over … until I got to that one room which blew away any level of difficulty I thought I had seen before in the game. I love how the Wii has a power button on the controls. Hold down, power down, and try to forget the insanity. I haven’t played Resident Evil 4 in two months–I got it for Christmas.

On the DS Lite, I’m playing the oldie original Advance Wars on the same map I can’t seem to beat until I get sick of losing and shut off for a quick Professor Layton (and the Curious Village) puzzle before sleep. Layton is awesome, but I don’t want to rush through the game for fear of finishing it too quickly. It’s what got the DS Lite into my hands … a wonderful little game for a rather cool game system. A token nicety of Layton is the bonus puzzle offered as a free weekly download. But how long can that last?

I guess I’m stuck in a rut and this is mainly because I refuse to use cheats. Cheats are what take a lovingly crafted game and makes it go from an adventure taking several months to something else. I guess some kind of memory imprint of accomplishment where it wasn’t really due.

“I followed the text file instructions well!” — words never proclaimed aloud by a gamer

I guess that’s how some people play games. They rent/buy it, pull up the cheat, and try to finish it in five days. I guess so they can talk about how cool is was (notice the use of past tense there). I’m sure they claim otherwise. I liken it to watching a DVD of a television show’s entire season during a marathon weekend. It kills the anticipation and just adds the burden of finishing it quickly so you can talk about it the next day … of course that only is cool if it is a new release.

On the other hand, there are those “10 hour” easily finished games which amazingly took years to make, cost millions dollars to create, retail for $60 plus, make millions upon millions of dollars, and have some on-line congregation point/play system populated by 12 year olds that would hurt my feelings with sharp pointy words. Somehow that extends the gameplay … interacting with insulting 12 year olds. No thanks.

So what do I do? Do I go on-line and look up the cheat for the places I’m at in Metroid, Resident Evil 4, and Advance War? So I can see how to get past that one point and continue on. Or would that be a gateway drug into “one more hit” of a cheat to get past the next (maybe easily overcome) obstacle? If I only gave it time … or better yet, I’ll just read another book instead.