Stuck in Your New Game? Here’s Where to Go for Help
You’ve opened your presents. Now it’s time to play with them.
With no responsibilities, a new stack of games, and the pizza delivery guy standing at the ready, you’re all set to become a gaming hermit. But that nirvana can be shattered if you’ve hit a puzzle or mission that proves too tough to pass.
While you could go to the nearest bookstore and grab a strategy guide, that would require spending money and, worse, putting on pants. Luckily, online gaming advice is cheap and plentiful.
Looking for help? If you’re playing any of the following hot new games, here’s where to look:
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Part of the problem with game guides is that they tend to spoil the story in their well-intentioned effort to help you out of a jam. IGN’s walkthrough of our Game of the Year goes out of its way to avoid that as much as possible.
Dragon Age: Inquisition is so massive in scope that finding help could be a bit more difficult than usual, though. You may have to try several avenues to get the answer if you’re on one of the many branching story arcs. But IGN’s wiki is one of the most complete we’ve come across, with details on everything from crafting to collectibles to which characters you can — and can’t — have romances with.
Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros. is known for being pretty straightforward in its controls. But if you’re picking it up for the first time, it’s really easy to get lost — or overwhelmed — since the game lacks a tutorial mode and doesn’t come with a comprehensive manual (and button mashing will get you only so far).
One suggestion is to spend some time on Twitch, watching experts play. That will show you what’s possible, though you won’t always learn how to do it yourself. To learn more, GameFAQs has a pretty good user-created repository full of tips, cheat codes, and level maps to make you more competitive.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Prima is largely in the business of selling game guides, but if you’re looking for broad-based advice rather than a specific solution to an in-game problem, the site has a wealth of tips for both beginners and advanced Mordor players. Some of that advice is pretty obvious, but other tips will let you navigate the game in a much easier fashion.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
For the past few years, Activision has made it easy to thrive in the Call of Duty game with Call of Duty: Elite, a free service that let you review your stats and even suggested weapons to optimize your gameplay. Earlier this year, though, the publisher took it offline.
It didn’t leave fans completely out in the cold, though. The Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Companion app, available for iOS, Windows Phone, and Android devices, lets you create and manage a clan while you’re on the go. It won’t improve your aim, but it could get you some support to help you die a bit less in multiplayer matches.
For more hardcore tips, check out these loadout suggestions from Prima Games and VG 24/7.
Destiny
Destiny has been out longer than most games on this list, so there’s been plenty of time for people to put together extensive walkthrough videos on YouTube and for the community to suss out which of those are the most helpful.
The quickest way to get that help is to know the level you’re playing, as there are individual videos for each level online. Drop in, watch the player take care of the problem, and then drop out and try to emulate that yourself.
Far Cry 4
Taming Nepal isn’t an easy task, especially in this epic quest. Gamers Heroes offers a thorough walkthrough of the game that will usher you through not only the main missions, but help you out with crafting, hunting, weapons, and how to conquer the game’s various fortresses. You’ll even learn how to get a quick Karma increase.
Prefer to take the shortcut and want to use cheat codes? Cheat Code Central has you covered, with exact coordinates of quest items and the locations of masks and propaganda posts, along with easy ways to boost your achievements.
Follow Chris Morris on Twitter.
