i feel that looking at faq and guides are cheating but thats my personal op... i still have games on nes and snes that i've yet to beat cause i refuse to look at a guide. it just takes away from the whole point of the game.

I don't particularly like looking at guides but I will if I really have no idea what to do next or I have no idea how to beat a certain boss. Other than that, it ruins what you'll need to do next. I'd still rather look at a guide than give up.

And if someone buys me a guide with a game (for Christmas or something) I'll use it all throughout just because those things are like $15 and they Do have accurate and complete information.

its one thing to use a guide after you beat the game to fine all the easter eggs and hidden things within the game... but half the fun if figuring it out for yourself... i don't intentionally give up on the game.. i just never really end up going back to it once i pick up another game lol.

I do that all the time. I keep abandoning games and moving on, even when I'm not stuck. Then when I go back to it I always want to start a new game rather than pick up where I left off so I rarely see a game through on the first try.