Great Websites for Video Game Cheat Codes, Hints and Walkthroughs

Isn't it frustrating when you're caught up in a great video game and you get severely stuck? Have you ever wanted to easily find cheat codes or hints?

Overcoming and solving a tough video game can be very fulfilling but not if 20 hours are wasted before discovering the delay was due to a simple, often stupid, oversight on your part.

There are numerous sites on the internet to find cheat codes, hints and game walkthroughs, so who better than a 14 year old boy (my son) to ask for some recommendations?

Cheat Codes and Video Game Info

My son loves looking up cheat codes and screen shots of the newest games and his two favorite sites are:

www.gamespot.com

www.cheatplanet.com

Walkthroughs

I have yet to succumb to the temptations of cheat codes, but I will admit to searching desperately for good walkthroughs.

For parents who are called upon to help their young kids figure out the tricky parts of a particular video game, a walkthrough can be a real life saver. Anyone who has ever had a 7 year old wanting you to solve a dilemma in 5 minutes (even though you've never played the game before), knows what I'm talking about. Depending on the child's age, a parent can either use the walkthrough to find the solution for them or parents can put the child on the computer chair and say - "Start reading!" I figure I can justify the latter under "reading practice", research skill development, or as an opportunity for extra practice following written directions, right? I'm half serious.

Technically, it is a form of cheating and some die hard gamers may be offended that I would risk exposing my kids to such tactics. Well, as a single mom, it's a risk I have to take because, frankly, the "I hate this game!" temper tantrum sucks.

I don't know if it makes me a bad mom, but I'd rather have my 8 year old read through a multiple page walkthrough to find out how to get past a tricky dungeon room than listen to a full blown tantrum. If the "barely started", $50 game is about to be tossed aside never to be played again, then walkthroughs have been known to prevent me from throwing tantrums of my own. "Do you understand what $50 could have bought?" "You've been asking for that game for six months!" In the end, walkthroughs can bring family peace. How many things can you say that about?

I've utilized walkthroughs for my personal gaming as well. By rationalizing the difference between "cheating" and "my time is important, I don't want to waste it", I choose the latter and don't even feel bad about it...most of the time. Let's face it since I have two boys, I don't get to play that often. There's nothing worse than hearing from your son that your agreed upon time is up, yet you haven't beat the level you started on because you've been stuck fighting the same boss for the whole allotted time. So yes, in order to move out of the stinkin' dungeon and move on to exploring new "worlds", I have journeyed through the wonderful world of walkthroughs on more than one occasion.

Since walkthroughs are step by step procedures in the order of natural game play, it's easy to stop reading once I have found the page that details how to get out of the mess I'm in. In other words, I promise, I only cheat "a little" and only when I'm really, really stuck.

In addition to the sites mentioned above, I've had good luck with the following sites for walkthroughs:

www.neoseeker.com

www.ign.com