GamesRadar reports that Paul Barnett, the creative director of Mythic Creative, says in this month's issue of "PC Gamer" magazine that game guides and walkthroughs corrupt the enjoyment of the game. Barnett explains:

A game guide is actually there to corrupt your enjoyment of the game. ...It tells you the most efficient, straightforward and dull way to increase your numbers, and in no way tells you the wonder and joy of the game you're playing.

For most games the wonder and joy is in getting there. In fact in most of life, the joy is in getting to something. ...We now have people obsessed with getting to the endgame, not realising that the greatness is in going on that journey.

If previous promotion of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is to be taken as something a bit more than hype, than Barnett's latest game is set to jolt folks who are walkthrough-reliant, grind-obsessed, and build-anal. We'll end this here, before this post starts sounding like a promotion for "PC Gamer" or Warhammer Online. But, before we go, we'll ask you guys a question.

How do you use your game walkthroughs? Do you make sure that a walkthrough is available before you purchase that US$ 50 dollar 40 plus hour, story-heavy game? Do you consider walkthrough users to be gaming equivalents of the physically handicapped?

Personally, I do my best to play through a game first as fast as I can, not minding secrets and other stuff, with the goal of just getting to see what happens next. If the experience satisfies, only then do I start looking for walkthroughs to get every secret and every hidden ultimate weapon.

What about you folks? What's your take on game guides?