Editorial Review

• Wield Paint and Paint Thinner like a pro with our expert tips on exploring and fighting!
• Playstyle Matters: Your actions and decisions have consequences! Our guide will help you choose the best paths for the outcomes you want as you help Mickey in his quest to save Wasteland.
• Extensive walkthroughs reveal the secrets behind every quest, puzzle, boss battle, and hidden area!
• Complete enemy descriptions and boss breakdowns provide tips on how to survive the harrowing encounters, and the consequences of befriending or defeating your foes!
• Collect every Disney Epic Mickey pin and piece of concept art with our step-by-step visual guide to all the hidden unlocks!
• More than 40 fully labeled world maps guide your exploration of Wasteland so you can get the most out of each level! ... Read more

Reviews

Helps you find EVERYTHING in the game, too long, December 5, 2010
This game has an immense amount of hidden items to find and this guide is great at getting you to them. The walkthrough is for the most part detailed and good, but it is heavily disorganized requiring a lot of page flipping. At times you'll find yourself reading whole sections before resuming play. There are entire sections which could simply be summarized by a couple of diagrams or screen shots.

On the positives: it really gets you going on all the basics, showing you all the controls and basic structure of the game. The table of content is quite good. Screen shots and maps, when provided, are excellent; however, part of the excessive length is that the guide puts almost everything into words. When they do provide a diagram, they still persist to ramble needlessly through half a page explaining the very same situation. Each section for each portion of the walkthrough is quite long.

It's a helpful guide, but very exhaustive and will require a lot of page flipping. It spends a lot of time explaining what the game should be showing me. If you need help with the game, however, by all means, pick up this guide.

Guide is disorganized and limited, December 26, 2010
My wife and I bought this guide because we really wanted to get everything on our subsequent runs. Little did we expect that the game guide wouldn't have everything included. The guide starts off decently enough, but as the game progresses the guide becomes more and more sparse. There are side quests and missions that are only mentioned by title but not covered in the guide, quests not mentioned at all, hidden content with no information on obtaining it, et cetera.

There is also a few moments in the game where using Paint vs Thinner creates two very different experiences but they are not both covered, i.e. The very first boss battle (the small world clock tower) utilizes two very different strategies to win the battle. The joke is that no one saves the clock tower, we didn't expect the game guide to completely agree and exclude strategies for painting it.

For a guide that promises 100% completion, it really feels rushed, and that the authors themselves didn't achieve 100%.

Save the 20 bucks and find a free guide from ign, or gamewinners or other online sites. ... Read more

Editorial Review

   • All levels detailed with labeled maps.
   • Two player tips for getting the most out of co-op play!
   • Every hidden item revealed. ... Read more

Reviews

Worth its weight in bananas!, November 28, 2010
This guide really should be sold in Cranky Kong's Shop. It's just that vital to getting through the 8+ worlds of Donkey Kong Country Returns. While I didn't really use the guide until after I had beaten the game and started going back to collect stuff, it's been worth its weight in bananas! As you will see in a minute though, this is the way the guide was meant to be used.
Although the guide isn't the traditional sort of guide. Which is to say it doesn't lead you by the hand through the tough obstacles of the game. It does a fabulous job of showing where all of the Puzzle Pieces, Hearts, Coins and Bonus Levels are located. It would have taken me ages to find some of this stuff without this guide's help.
The maps in the guide are great and serve as an easy way to pick out vital information visually while playing. Each K-O-N-G letter, puzzle piece and bonus level are clearly marked and numbered so you can go directly to the paragraph of information on the thing that you're trying to get, or in my case locate the nearest heart refill. XD
The guide also does a great job of explaining enemy tactics, and the controls for the game, which really helps. Bosses are covered almost in passing, but cursory techniques and strategies are covered, if ever so briefly.
The only negative that I can think of is that I would have liked a little more thorough description of boss fights and the mini levels that lead up to some boss fights. As well as some tips on Time-Attack challenges. But these are in no way deal breakers. If you are going to buy or have bought DKCR for yourself or someone else as a gift, I can guarantee they will enjoy having the guide as well.

Loads of fun!, December 21, 2010
This is a game for everyone. My grandkids love to play it at my house and I love playing it too. ... Read more

Editorial Review

His eyes were open now, watching the path of the tiny flame. If you continue your path, little spark, you will cause great harm.I must burn! I must live!There are places where your glow and heat are welcome. Find them, do not destroy the dwellings or take the lives of my people!For a second, he seemed to wink out of existence but then blazed back with renewed vigor.Thrall knew what he had to do. He lifted his hand. Forgive me, Brother Flame. But I must protect my people from the harm you would cause them. I have requested, I have begged, now I warn.The spark seemed to spasm, and yet he continued on his lethal course.Thrall, grim-faced, clenched his hand hard. The spark flared defiantly, then dwindled, finally settling down to nothing more than the faintest of glowing embers. For now, he would no longer do anyone harm.The threat had ended, but Thrall was reeling. This was not the way of the shaman with the elements. It was a relationship of mutual respect, not of threats and control and, in the end, destruction. Oh, the Spirit of Fire could never be extinguished. It was far greater than anything any shaman, or even group of shaman, could ever attempt to do to him. He was eternal, as all the spirits of the elements were. But this part of him, this elemental manifestation, had been defiant, uncooperative. And he had not been alone. He was part of a disturbing trend of elements that were sullen and rebellious rather than cooperative. And in the end, Thrall had had to completely dominate him. Other shaman were now calling rain to soak the city in case there was another aberrant spark that persisted in its course of devastation.Thrall stood in the rain, letting it soak him, pour off his massive green shoulders, and drip down his arms. What in the name of the ancestors was happening?New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Christie Golden has written thirty-five novels and several short stories in the fields of science fiction, fantasy and horror. Among her many projects are over a dozen Star Trek novels and several original fantasy novels. An avid player of World of Warcraft, she has written two manga short stories and several novels in that world (Lord of the Clans, Rise of the Horde, Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, and The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm) with more in the works. She has also written the StarCraft Dark Templar Trilogy, Firstborn, Shadow Hunters, and Twilight. Forthcoming is Devils’ Due, a StarCraft II novel focusing on the unlikely friendship between Jim Raynor and Tychus Findlay. Golden is also currently writing three books in the major nine-book Star Wars series Fate of the Jedi, in collaboration with Aaron Allston and Troy Denning. Her first two books in that series, Omen and Allies, are on shelves now. Golden currently lives in Colorado. She welcomes visitors to her website, www.christiegolden.com.***Thrall, wise shaman and the warchief of the Horde, has sensed a disturbing change . . . Long ago, Azeroth’s destructive native elementals raged across the world until the benevolent titans imprisoned them within the Elemental Plane. Despite the titans’ intervention, many elementals have ended up back on Azeroth. Over the ages, shaman like Thrall have communed with these spirits and, through patience and dedication, learned to soothe roaring infernos, bring rain to sun-scorched lands, and otherwise temper the elementals’ ruinous influence on the world of Azeroth.Now Thrall has discovered that the elementals no longer heed the shaman’s call. The link shared with these spirits has grown thin and frayed, as if Azeroth itself were under great duress. While Thrall seeks answers to what ails the confused elements, he also wrestles with the orcs’ precarious future as his people face dwindling supplies and growing hostility with their night elf neighbors.Meanwhile, King Varian Wrynn of Stormwind is considering violent action in response to mounting tensions between the Alliance and the Horde, a hard-line approach that threatens to alienate those closest to him, including his son, Anduin. The conflicted young prince has set out to find his own path, but in doing so, he risks becoming entangled in political instability that is setting the world on edge.The fate of Azeroth’s great races is shrouded in a fog of uncertainty, and the erratic behavior of the elemental spirits, troubling though it is, may only be the first ominous warning sign of the cataclysm to come. ... Read more

Reviews

The Shattering was a great read for a Warcraft lore geek like me., October 20, 2010
Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down until I finished it, same with my wife when she started reading it.

I have been playing the Warcraft games since they first came out and have been buying all the books as soon as they are published. I am a lore geek, and this book answered ALOT of questions I had about changes coming in the Cataclysm expansion. I was lucky enough to get into the beta, and a few of the changes confused me since I had no backstory to understand WHY these changes were made. The Shattering answered every single question I had made, and even gave me a newfound respect for Garrosh Hellscream, a character that I had previously loathed.

I can't recommend this book highly enough, buy it, borrow it, whatever, and read it!

Anyone who likes Warcraft needs to read this book, it clears up many things in the transition to the new World of Warcraft expansion, Cataclysm, and it is also an amazing read, like Golden's other Warcraft work.

10/10 no contest!

GOLDEN AGE FOR BLIZZARD BOOKS, October 19, 2010
This may be the most epic warcraft book ever written!!!!! I am still wowed, speechless, and enthralled by what i just put down. I've never been this excited to play a game expansion in my life. I don't want to spoil the experience for anyone, so i will not hit on the plot scenarios of the book. So much happens. I got to understand characters i've seen in game for years so much more. Golden did her masterwork with this one. Also, is it just me or has blizzard's books just been kicking ass these last few years? Golden has been doing an amazing job, but even the other lesser talked about books like the manga and more have all been really good.

This is a must read. I just pre-ordered the game after reading the end. can't wait.

Before the End of the World, October 26, 2010
**Warning: There are minor spoilers in this review.

Christie Golden's appropriately titled, The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm, covers the earthshaking events leading up to latest World of Warcraft expansion being released this winter.

The Shattering contains story arcs for both the Horde and the Alliance, with a few intertwining scenes to tie them altogether. Two of the major arcs are parallel to each other, but are set within the context of one of the two factions.

Golden navigates the reader through these plotlines masterfully. Alliance and Horde politics are entertainingly explained, and Golden performs her magic of fleshing out characters that most Warcraft fans vaguely have seen in other media or not at all; specifically, Anduin Wrynn and Baine Bloodhoof, whose storylines are the focus in this novel.

However, considering the length of the novel and its' purpose, the multiple story arcs does contain a few tangles. Some plot-lines are rather rushed, specifically Thrall's visit to Nagrand.

Thrall's journey involves a romance that came off rushed and unconvincing due to the limited screentime the two characters had. The romantic interest IS interesting as a character, but the way their relationship developed could've been better off developed later versus all at once in The Shattering.

Additionally, considering it's a novel containing both factions, there's a lot of names and locales exclusive to those factions that a casual fan wouldn't recognize. Golden tries to mitigate this by providing a brief background or title on anything notable, but it still can come off as a tangled net of pronouns.

At best, The Shattering will satiate your desire to know under what circumstances the Horde and Alliance go into the Cataclysm that will change Azeroth forever.

At worst, The Shattering might have have been better off as a collection of short stories.

Nevertheless, the narrative is gripping and as cliche as it sounds, it'll keep you going through the wee hours of the morning just to see how things resolve.

Great lore piece, disappointed reader, December 5, 2010
Let me preface this hopefully succinct review and say I'm rating this not solely as a book on Warcraft lore, but by the standards of any book. Most game-based lore type books would barely rate one star in my opinion, and I consider them more "guilty reads", so I mean three stars as a compliment.

The good:

Christie Golden does a great job of giving you a sense of the lore figures, even if you only have a cursory familiarity with Warcraft lore. In fact, I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to gain a quick, synopsis of not only those-present lore character's history, but demeanor.

Often when an author is challenged with multiple view points, a reader can feel disappointed "just as s/he is getting comfortable" with a POV and being taken away at an interesting point. Golden does a solid job of keeping the various threads of her tale engaging, and the bulk of my disappointment arose elsewhere (read further).

The bad:

I primarily bought this book for lore I felt was lacking in the game, and really, in most Warcraft lore books, specifically: Voljin, Sylvanas, Lor'themar Theron, and Prophet Velen. Curiously the only leader absent that I didn't care about was Mekkatorque. As a lore reader, I was sorely disappointed to see them absent amidst such critical moments in the game's canon. As a general sci-fi fantasy reader, I was thoroughly disappointed in the, as what other reviewers here have labeled rushed (and in my opinion, lazy), writing. Having to juggle so many "players" in a game's history can be a challenge, but anyone who has read the likes of Steven Erikson or George R.R. Martin are familiar with how a five star author handles such a challenge. Leaving them out so completely was despite their obvious symbiotic relations to the present-characters and activities was just amazing and, as I try to reason the "why", lazy. Thus, three stars.

As others have pointed out here, I also felt many scenes were rushed or resolved not through an evolution of character, but through necessity to move the story. Writing like this is why "plot driven" carries such a negative connotation in today's literature. Again, I understand the author's constraints, but am judging her through the world of sci-fi, and not solely game-based lore. For the latter, she did not disappoint anymore than another author. By the former, she was a three star author, at best.

Finally, the price was just too high. I learned nothing new that I wasn't formerly aware of through information on Blizzard's official website, or through the in game activities. Truly, at $6 this would have been a bargain on my Kindle. Instead, I feel strangely bitter that I purchased it, and would not recommend it to a friend.

Summary:
Not shockingly, the book is for fan boys and lore hounds of the Warcraft canon. I'm not sure how anyone could buy this book expecting otherwise. If you've been absent from Azeroth for some months (or years) and want to quickly (and I mean quickly, it's a short read) catch up on where your old friends and are before this exciting new expansion released, I would recommend this book. If you've been relatively active in game, and take any time to read the official site for new information, I would save your money until the price on this book comes down to a value that represents what it has to offer.

The absolute BEST story EVER!!!!, October 26, 2010
This is one of those rare books that compels you to finish it as quickly as possible. The story is so good that it continues to move forward and the only time it pauses for you to catch your breath is only when you stop reading it to turn the page.
First off... If you're playing World Of Warcraft, then this book is a MUST read! If you're not playing the game... know that the events that happen in this book are also happening in the game world, which makes the story even more important to read!!

This book's story is so good that you feel like you are actually watching a movie and see the characters within the pages. I think what helps is the fact that if you've played the game, you already know what everyone looks like. When the author mentions a place or location within the World Of Warcraft realm, you can already understand what that looks like, because you've been there in the game.

The book is easy to read, brings GREATLY NEEDED DEPTH to the characters of World Of Warcraft and make you thirst for more of the same. Blizzard truly has an amazing cast of people as resources to expand its World of Warcraft universe. Christie Golden has just put herself into the top tier and had set the bar for all others to follow!!!

3 words... GET THIS BOOK!

Wacraft at its best, October 21, 2010
I have just finished reading the shattering and let me tell you that I could not put down the book during the time it took me to read it. I have played every Warcraft game since the series started and when Blizzard came out with the first book about the series I was ecstatic since even though I am a gamer, first and foremost I am reader. All the Warcraft books are fantasy/fiction goldmines but "The Shattering" is by far the best of the bunch, you cannot even imagine how Golden has taken the best of the Warcraft universe as a canvas and created an excellent storyline worthy to have the blizzard stamp of approval. Unlike other Warcraft novels which seem to be the novelizations of the games, Shattering has new and old characters that help the story progress through a maze of politics, coups, honor duels and natural disasters that will keep you glued to your seat/bed/sofa. I do not want to go into the story since this is a book worth reading but let me tell you that be you Alliance, Horde or don't know what the heck I am talking about you will not be disappointed in investing your time with reading this masterpiece.

For the Horde!

Amazing, October 22, 2010
This book is amazing, I couldn't put it down till I was done. Explains a lot that happens between WOTLK and Cata expansions. A must read for all Warcraft fans. I recommend 100%

This World is Shattered, November 12, 2010
Though not without its flaws, "The Shattering" is a great read for those who are interested in the Warcraft lore. The story, though sometimes slow and melodramatic, is all together fascinating and intricately woven; however, Golden's nuanced and thoughtful writing make reading even the most difficult sections of the novel an absolute pleasure. Her true power as a writer is shown in the novel's tense, dramatic, and action-packed moments. The characters are wonderfully represented in this story and it is an absolute must-read for those who are interested in how Azeroth will change in light of the events leading up to Cataclysm.

PHENOMENAL read!, October 31, 2010
This book arrived when I had about 5 chapters left of another book I'd been reading. I quickly finished off the other book, and once I picked up The Shattering, it was oh so very tempting to play hooky from work just so I could finish the book more quickly. It draws you in nearly instantly and the character development and fleshing out of characters seen in-game for years now are simply amazingly written.

It makes my anticipation for Cataclysm all the greater.

Many, MANY kudos to Christie Golden for writing yet another gripping lore-filled World of Warcraft novel!

Amazing, October 30, 2010
This book was amazing. Once again I love Thrall, and Anduin Wrynn was well done as well. The development of Garrosh as a hotheaded leader of the Horde is perfect for keeping cross faction player hostilities going even after the peace treaty. Amazing introduction to Cataclysm! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Play World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and win! "BradyGames" gives its Signature Series treatment to World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the highly-anticipated development to the original World of Warcraft game. In this high-fantasy guide, you will be introduced to two new races, the Worgen and Goblins, and learn all about the unique races and classes that will help you complete your quests. You'll also discover how to battle enemies for gear and glory and how to join guilds with other players. There is a dedicated step-by-step guide, designed for brand-new players, to help you start your journey into World of Warcraft game. This "World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Signature Series Guide" features official artwork, designed for beauty and ease-of-use. It's a must-have guide for any World of Warcraft player. ... Read more

Reviews

Not worth it for level 80+ players, December 4, 2010
Lets be honest. this guide is made for "new players" there is a "new players section" but it seems the ENTIRE guide was made for new players

it has VERY little information on the new zones and new quests and new gear for level 80+ 85....

for those of you who are level 80+ getting the expansion DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK! unless you just want everything Wow....for me it was kind of worth it.. as chances are im going to use more of the wikis and websites and addon guides rather then getting this guide

sadly a lot of people will be getting this not knowing that there is pretty much ZERO infomation for level 80+ players

oh well. i guess its a nice basic guide...

and not back for just 17 bucks but....not the best in the world. your better off with wiki sites and in game ui addon quest tracker guides ....

Good if you have never played..., December 5, 2010
Pros: The pictures are pretty! Great book if you are indeed new to the game. Got it cheaper here then what the suggested price.

Cons: For players that have played and raided this book is a HUGE let down. The spell rotations they give you in many of the classes to help you solo will easily get you killed and leave you frustrated. The book goes into every zone with a high level of detail and the wording that was fed to them from Blizzard. The down side to this is it reads as a ad to get people to start playing WoW and not so much to help them keep playing WoW. I purchased this book so I could have an idea of what to expect out of the first few dungeons so that I could get ready for the 7th without any problems. The section for Dungeons and raids just told you that there were indeed dungeons and raids new to Cataclysm but absolutely no details of what to expect. The book has a few spaces where the information it gives is not accurate (This is not Bradygames fault as Blizzard made the changes recently after the printing process began.)

I will not ever buy another game guide again. Huge let down!

Pretty good, December 8, 2010
This book is really intended for newbies or returning wow peeps, but that being said, I found some info on classes I haven't played that seems to be pretty good. It also gives tips on the stats you should beef up for different specs of the classes too.

There's also a small section that breaks up the continents into level brackets, which is very helpful to me since I don't have to alt-tab a bunch because I can't remember if I was high enough to start in a certain zone or not.

For the proper rotations though, you're better to google them since there were so many changes in the recent patches before Cataclysm's release. Also, there are add-ons you can download that can help out a lot too.

I do feel jipped about the dungeon section. I was expecting at least a general walkthough on the new instances & raids, but all it gives out is a list.

So, if you're new to the game or don't have a lot of knowledge about the different classes, get this book. This is coming from a person that only has one protection/retribution pally that was max level before Cataclysm & a crap load of lowbie alts.

Not what I expected, December 8, 2010
This book is good if you have never played World of Warcraft and want a picture filled simple overview of the game. If you have level 80 characters and want to know where the new dungeons are located, where should you spend talent points, what are the quest lines for the new zones, what are the strategies for the new boss fights, and so on then this book is a big fat waste of money.

My advice to both new and old player alike, don't buy this book.

Does exactly what it says it does., December 16, 2010
This guide does exactly what it says it does. It's an updated version of the original Brady Strategy Guide. It's meant for beginner to intermediate players, or players that want to see major changes that have occurred since the expansion/patches. It's not meant for level 80+ players. Chances are that if you're at 80+ you don't need the guide to begin with. For those players, you'll most likely see an updated dungeon companion in the future.

Best new guide for World of Warcraft!, December 6, 2010
This is the best new guide for World of Warcraft especially now since the "world" has changed pretty much completely! All the class roles are displayed, all the new character combos and races. If you've been playing forever or just now starting and know nothing about the game before hand this book is for you! All your old guides you can toss out =D ... Read more

Editorial Review

As a unique, one-volume encyclopedia with over 350 pages, nearly 1,000 Superstars, and more than 1,500 images, this is the book for all WWE fans! Featuring hundreds of Superstars of all eras, from the World Wrestling Federation of the 60s and 70s to today's WWE, this thrilling, one-of-a-kind reference guide contains a visual glossary of all wrestling moves and provides coverage of the television shows that put the WWE into millions of households. From the Hardcore Champion to the World Heavyweight title holder, from the WWE's showcase events to the Pay-per-views, from Survivor Series to the grand spectacle of WrestleMania this encyclopedia covers it all. ... Read more

Reviews

A must own for wrestling fans, March 21, 2009
Often times while I'm watching an old wrestling match (or browsing some wrestling website) I end up looking an old wrestler up on Wikipedia in hopes of finding out more about him (or her). The WWE is, apparently, hoping to capitalize with marks like me with the WWE Encyclopedia. As the name implies, this book is an encyclopedia to all things (well most things) that have occurred in the vast history of the WWE - wrestlers, TV shows, PPV's, title histories, etc.

The book is written in kayfabe (pretends that wrestling and the personalities are "real"), so you are not going to get any inside information as far as behind the scene stuff goes. To me, that's perfect - but be forewarned though if you are looking for serious information on the people who played these characters you are going to be disappointed. For example, the encyclopedia has a separate entry for Kane and Dr. Isaac Yankem DDS with no mention one person played both roles (Glenn Jacobs). This is because in the WWE canon they are two separate people (one a crazy guy who is the Undertaker's brother and the other was an evil dentist - classic stuff) that just happened to played by the same person. Hence, the two different entries. I could see how this will be annoying for some people though who might want to know what the "real names" of these wrestlers are or some information about their real life pasts.

Really the only drawbacks (besides the potential problem for some that the book is written in total kayfabe) are the omissions or errors. I haven't searched every single page to find these issues (a few other reviews discuss them), but they appear to be very small in number when one stops to consider the thousands of different wrestling gimmicks that have shown up over the years. I certainly wouldn't let it stop me from purchasing the book because TL Hopper isn't profiled (there are always going to be errors in this sort of undertaking).

Overall, a great purchase for wrestling fans of all ages who want to either learn or fondly remember the fun and goofy past of the WWE.

Chock Full of Interesting Info and Fun Trivia, April 3, 2009
The "WWE Encyclopedia" is a fantastic reference for wrestling fans. There is so much info packed into this book you will spend hours upon hours reading through the various items presented. You get a thorough history of each and every title in WWE's history, from the Heavyweight Titles, down to the Intercontinental Title and Tag Team Titles to things like the Hardcore Title and European Champ titles as well. You also get the history of WCW and ECW titles too.

You get the history of every Pay Per View the WWE has presented over the years, as well as look at ALL of WWE's TV programming through the years. Of coures the real reason to purchase the Encyclopedia is the indepth SuperStar Profiles. Of couse you get the profiles of guys like "Hulk Hogan", "Stone Cold Steve Austin" and "The Rock", but you also get profiles on everyone from "Doink the Clown" to "The Brooklyn Brawler" and "Haku". No one is left out of this reference, even "Chris Benoit" gets a profile, which surprised me as he's been purged from most other WWE projects. It was nice to see profiles on the older wrestlers as well, guys like Bruno Sammartino, and Black Jack Mulligan get a nice profile, and credit for helping shape wrestling during the early years.
The book is laid out in alphabetical order, so if you want to take a quick glance at say the "Backlash" pay per view history, it's easy to locate. One thing to note, which is a little odd, that the wrestlers are alphabetized by their first names, which means if you are looking for Bobby Heenan for example you would turn to the "B" section, not "H". Another nice addition, is that the various tag teams have both a team entry as well as an individual entry in this reference. So if you were a fan of US Express say, they will have a profile on the team itself, but you will also have individual profiles for both Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo.

The photographs of some of my favorite childhood superstars really brought back some great memories as well. It's obvious WWE spent a TON of time and money on this book, and I can honestly say it's one of the best WWE produced products in a long time. If you were a fan of WWF's Hulkamania era, or the Attitude era there is plenty of interesting info in here for you. Even if you aren't a fan of the current product being put on tv today, you will still enjoy this book. Highly recommended for both casual and hardcore fans.

The COMPLETE History Of The WWF/WWE, March 14, 2009
Being a true WWF/WWE fan for many years this WWE Encyclopedia was a no-brainer for me. After looking through this LARGE book I have to say the WWE really went all out for this book. They left NOTHING out of this book, yes even Chris Benoit is included in this book along with ALL the titles he obtained before he died. I honestly could not find any wrestlers who were excluded from this book, from the top stars to mid-card stars and they even included the jobbers! There is no doubt in my mind, this is an absolute MUST for any WWF/WWE fan!

Best Wrestling book ever but..., March 14, 2009
This book is the best thing released by the WWE EVER !!!!!!
This is the best book around, so more infos !
Over 1000 superstars with photos and bios !!!!
even guys like : Battle Kat, Phantasio, Big Steel Man, Al Perez ...
all are listed !!!
All tv Shows/PPV
All differents stipulation for matches
All the belts (timeline)

even 2 pictures of Missy's Manor !!!!
2 pictures of the MYSTERY MAN (Furface) fighting Rick Martel
The Bio of Chris Benoit is included !!!

The best book around

unfortunately some wrestlers are missing but it's a really short lists:
from memory :

Sean Ohaire
Mordecai (Kevin Thorn is in but not this gimmick)
Rico (mentionned but no pic or bio)
Nathan Jones
Ernest Miller
Velvet Mcintyre
furnas/Lafond
Max Mini
tenessee Lee
Matt Morgan
ultimo dragon
kanyon
sakota
kizarny
Rodney Mack
Tiger Ali Singh (is showed in a pic, mentionned at 2 times, but no bio)
Daniel Puder
Spike Huber
Chris Walker
Kazarian
...

WWE Encyclopedia, May 13, 2009
I don't have anything much to say about this. This book is pretty good because it has all superstars and divas, but I found more match types on Wikipedia than in this book. I would buy it for the wrestlers and divas, but not for the matches.

Ehhh..., April 20, 2009
It's ok I guess... just more WWE propaganda. To be honest it was just an impulse buy leading up to wrestlemania. It seems to be relatively thorough... but the way that the WWE roster changes they are going to have to update it from time to time. It was good to see some of the old stars that are wrestling for other companies now still in the book.

If you are a must have WWE fanatic get it... I don't think it will be a collectors item or anything. They could have gone way deeper into the wrestling universe. It'd be a cool book to get autographed if you are ever at an event.

Not great at all., May 15, 2009
Reading this book I kind of marked out as a fan of WWE/WWF ever since the mid 1980's. However as I got into it and thought about a LOT of the entries it bothered me. The book being written "Kayfabe" is fine, it is a bit annoying seeing almost all the wrestling biographies have not been in this style, so having to look at a persons 15 gimmicks separately is a bit off putting.

My biggest problem with this book, besides the typo's as well as wrong footnotes which are not as bad as they could be, is the omissions of MANY people who wrestled for years with the company, including Brian Christopher, who is mentioned with his tag team, but his partners both get entries in the book. Also the lack of death information on MANY of the wrestlers. I am not saying you need to say Dino Bravo was murdered, but it would be nice to see that they stated he was dead. It seems according to this, Dino, as well as people such as Sapphire, and Kerry Von Erich would still be alive.

Is this a good beginning, probably, but with it's misdirections as well as most of it being written in "Kayfabe" are huge drawbacks.

Very Good Overall With Just A Few Issues..., April 6, 2009
I got the Encyclopedia last week and overall I was rather impressed with it. There were however some things that irked me. I'll list the major things.

The book is written mostly in kayfabe which means it pretends that people who wrestled under different identities were actually different people...such as Tony Atlas/Saba Simba, Iron Sheik/Col. Mustafa, Sultan/Fatu, and so on and so forth.

They are inconsistent with listing tag teams/stables/ factions. For some they list the group and also list separate profiles for each member, and for others they just lump everyone in the group profile and in some cases don't even mention the members by name. For example Owen Hart and Yokozuna each have separate profiles, then are grouped in another profile for the tag team Owen Hart and Yokozuna. Savio Vega has his own profile and is also featured in the Los Boricuas profile, but the other three members are not named, nor do they have their own profiles.

Since the WWE owns the rights to WCW, ECW, AWA, WCCW and others and they are inducting people into the WWE Hall of Fame from said promotions, I would have liked to see profiles on the wrestlers and personalities from those promotions included as well.

The title histories have some printing errors. In several instances the same title change is listed twice in a row. For instance the July, 09, 1986 entry where Fabulous Moolah won the title from Velvet McIntyre is repeated immediately below it.

Antonino Rocca's profile though labeled as "Antonino Rocca", is listed alphabetically by his nickname "Argentina". Gangrel is listed by real name Dave Heath, but his profile appears in the G section.

There is also a giant error where wrestling plumber T. L. Hopper (Dirty White Boy Tony Anthony of Smokey Mountain fame) is misnamed as PJ Walker. The real PJ Walker became Aldo Montoya then moved on to ECW where he became Justin Credible. Ironically, in the photo for this entry Hopper is fighting Aldo Montoya.


I've been able to think of a few WWE wrestlers/personalities that aren't listed at all in the Encyclopedia. Frankie Kazarian, Tiger Ali Singh, Nathan Jones, Amy Weber, Public Enemy, Sean O'Haire, Mordecai, Rico, Ernest Miller, Chris Walker, Ultimo Dragon, Rodney Mack, Daniel Puder, Kanyon, Doug Furnas and Phil Lafond, PG 13, Velvet McEntyre, Sakoda from the tag team Akio and Sakoda, Max Mini, Matt Morgan, Tony Schiavone, Kizarny, Sean Mooney, and Todd Pettingill to name a few.

Aside from these issues, the Encyclopedia is surprisingly detailed and informative and is well worth the purchase price in my opinion.

Very vague for true wrestling fans, August 7, 2009
I was excited to get this book until I opened it and saw that it was very vague and poorly organized. A lot of the information is repetitive, ie, if a wrestler had both a solo and tag team career they give the same info twice. For example Davey Boy Smith had a singles career and was tag team champ with Dynamite Kid; his info is given twice in two different parts of book, almost identically. This is done with every wrestler who had even a short -lived tag team partner, ie, DOn Muraco and Bob Orton who were only a team for a couple of months.
Another frustrating part is that many wrestlers portrayed different characters. Instead of listing them all in one single listing they list them as separate wrestlers ie, The Masked Superstar and Ax from Demolition were both portrayed by the same Bill Eadie (any real wrestling fan knows this) yet he has two seperate entries for the characters he played. It would be nice if they gave the person's real name as well as his alias'.
Another problem is many of the wrestler's have passed away. They don't have birth dates, death dates or cause of death, and in some instances they don't even mention a wrestler is dead. it just says they will be remembered as a great competitor or something to that effect.
Overall, it seems like this book was rushed together with out much research. Most of this info is vague and not very intriguing for a wrestling fan looking for something new.
I give this book a grade of D.

Fantastic Book!, April 7, 2009
A must own book for WWE fans of all ages.Great Pictures,Loads of Detail.Buy It now,you will not regret it. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Slip beneath the veil of the Cold War to carry out secret actions and deniable operations with this essential Signature Series guide!

Complete Campaign Walkthrough - We lead you step-by-step through the entire game from start to finish - locate every Enemy Intel!
Highly Detailed Single-Player and Multiplayer Maps! Our maps pinpoint critical locations in every SP and MP level. Custom versions reveal items and objectives specific to each game mode!
Comprehensive Multiplayer Coverage - Expert tactics for Solo and Team-Based Play, every Game Mode, Ranking Up, all the Weapons, Attachments, Perks, Challenges, Killstreaks, and much more!
Analysis of All-New Gameplay Features: COD Point Currency, Expanded Player Customization, Theater Mode, Contracts, Wager Matches, and more!
That s Not All!
Achievements and Trophies
Secrets and Unlockables ... Read more

Reviews

detailed and amazing, December 8, 2010
First off,this guide is definetly(sorry if I spelled it wrong)worth the money.It's very informative and guides you step by step through the campaign and tells you everything you need to complete it on veteran.The zombie coverage is superb and tells you how to get into the double digit rounds.It also tells you how to get every piece of intel and all the achivements.On the multiplayer it describes all the gun's pros and cons.This guide also gives you the details of all the perks and attachments.Also if you've never played the multiplayer it describes all the different kinds of matches and updates you on the maps.It also describes how to play on offense and defense and even has suggested custom classes for every map!One more thing about multiplayer is that it has recommended routes to use on the maps.I would recommended this guide to anyone who has the game and wants to be excellent at multiplayer and get every piece of intel and all the achivements or just to a person who wants to read the book!

Helpful for old guys..., December 16, 2010
My stepson is into PS3 games and got "Black Ops" for his birthday. I like the game too but I'm well over thirty and needed some help figuring it out. This book really helps explain the importance of strategy as well as offering a selection of different strategies for the different game options. There's lots of good info about weapons, accessories and other options. This is a very helpful resource if you're going to play the game a lot and don't want to be pegged as a complete dork. Even if it's too late, it may help speed up the redemption curve.

Worst Game Guide Ever!, December 25, 2010
The text of this guide Call of Duty: Black Ops Signature Series (Bradygames Signature Series Guides) is quite good throughout 80% of the guide but there are a few critical errors. The most unacceptable problem is that when assistance is most needed, it is not provided. I'm not asking for specific step by step instructions, but a little guidance in many areas is just not there. For instance, in the campaign 'PAYBACK' one part of the mission is to 'Destroy Soviet Hinds'. This ends up being a tough and very frustrating task, but the authors help is very minimal and this is just one example of many. There are dozens of other examples but I will not go into them here. Call me crazy but I thought the purpose of this guide was to assist gamers in playing the game! Now-----the images. These are the worst images I have encountered in any guide and I have many. A large percentage of the images are out of focus or very low resolution. Most of the other images are either generally unhelpful or are of areas other than what is being described. How any editor could have allowed this mess to be sent off for production is beyond my comprehension. As I stated before, I have many game guides and I can state unequivocally that the PRIMA guides are far superior to this disaster of a publication. And no, I don't work for PRIMA or any other similar industry. ... Read more

Editorial Review

FOREWORD BY GAME DEVELOPER FRANK O CONNOR!



A comprehensive guide to one of the most successful video game franchises in history, the Halo Encyclopedia details the origins of the game along with the characters, weapons, vehicles, equipment and locations from Halo,
Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3 ODST and Halo Wars.



Created in full collaboration with Microsoft, Halo Encyclopedia is packed with hundreds of images, illustrations, and technical drawings that highlight all the information fans and newcomers to the game need to know.



© 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. ... Read more

Reviews

An excellent book to give as a gift., November 14, 2009
I've spent a couple of weeks reading the Halo Encyclopedia in drips and drabs. I've read chapters in a sitting and only a few pages in another. In the end the book lives up to it's title in a lot of ways that were intended and in ways it might not have been. It's intended as a book for the holiday season but it's also a reference work for one of the most successful video game studio's master creation.

For the hard core, mildly obsessive lovers of all things Halo there's new material here to spur discussions while walking paper routes with friends or arguing in dorm halls. Be warned that it draws heavily from the fiction and backstory already published in the licensed novels of the Halo universe. (The author of the encyclopedia is also the author of one the novels.) There are new nuggets here and there so Halo scholars will have new things to ponder. With detail dripping off of every page it can be mildly overwhelming to those just dipping their toe in the water but pictures go a long way to breaking up the text.

For the more casual Halo fan the book offers deeper glimpses into what goes on behind the scenes without completely tearing down the curtain. Humor goes is applied in the right spots to break the sometimes serious tone of the plight of humanity as it faces extinction before the Covenant. (There's a wickedly funny exploration of Grunt strategy that's someone what Sun Tzu like.) It's easy to explore as much as you want without feeling overwhelmed and that's a good median for casual enthusiasts.

This is a lot of book for it's current price on Amazon. Expect people who receive this on Christmas to curl up on the couch at some point and not want to be disturbed for a while. In the book industry's 30+ year history of publishing tomes of detail heavy books for science fiction enthusiasts this may easily be one of the best. Unlike so many bland books that have come before it where brilliant illustration was accompanied by horrible text, Bungie/Microsoft have picked one of the SF genre's brightest new talents for wrestling what could have been dry copy into something enjoyable and readable.

This isn't a book someone should foist on their grandmother to convince her of John 117's merits and strengths. (Odd's are she would collapse from the weight.) It is a book that will be read again and again as details slip away and the desire to explore one of the most well thought out and well developed intellectual properties in several decades.

I debated giving this 4 stars because I wouldn't recommend it as a gift to the long suffering girlfriend, the confused and slightly worried parents or anyone else who really has no interest in Halo. A 4 star rating would also be insulting to the people who worked so hard on this book. (10 years worth of effort from Bungie, Tobias Buckell's writing, etc.)

If you know someone who has endured midnight launches of the game surrounded by the stench of men enjoying themselves, gone back to complete the game on Legendary, screamed "Skull, skull, who's got the skull!" while playing oddball or still laughs when they hear the word "Chupathingy" then get it sooner than later. They'll thank you for it for years to come and you'll win a spot in their heart as the friend/loved one/parent who, despite not loving Halo as much as they do, understood that this book is something they needed to have. Isn't that what gift giving is all about?

Great reference, not enough information, December 2, 2009
This is a nearly complete listing of everything found in the Halo Universe - of that I was very happily surprised. There are a few timelines that are completely astounding with the level of detail they go in, as well as the linearity that they follow in the often-confusing details and stories littered throughout the creatively crafted Universe. This is a great, interesting read for any Sci-Fi junkie and any level Halo fan.

Don't go too far into that though - I am [admittedly] a giant Halo nerd who has the fan website, on forums, and constantly debates with friends regarding minute details and dark corners of the franchise. This book, however, does not go into the level of detail I was hoping for in a lot of categories. It has pretty visuals, some new concept art, but it just sometimes slaps a few text blocks of commonly-known facts about something without creative insight. Some of the entries (the engineers for one) almost word for word copied and pasted from the Halo Beastarium that came with Halo 3, and if you feel like you know a lot about the Halo Universe, this feeling will become quite common the more pages you turn.

On a side note: this book is somewhat difficult to read in a plane - it is almost too wide to fully open up. But that's a great thing when reading in my living room.

I have to give this 5 stars simply because of the craft and history involved and because of what another reviewer stated - all the years of work put in here would be a shame to see anything less. It IS nearly complete of facts *near*the time of Halo 3: ODST coming out, but offers relatively little NEW information beyond that. Don't hope for Reach spoilers.

A must have for any Halo fan..., January 2, 2010
My whole family plays Halo together, and my son has read all the Halo books. This is a must have reference for any self-respecting Halo fan, and it makes a nice coffee table book. It is an in-depth look into the environment, characters, weaponery, enemies, vehicles, etc...

Mediocre, December 3, 2009
I found the Halo encyclopedia to be a letdown overall. The artwork is excellent and well reproduced, and included some stuff I had not seen before. Where the book falls down is the supporting text. It is very shallow. If you have already played all the games and read the Halo novels, you will find little to nothing in here that you don't know already. While the number of subjects covered in the encyclopedia is impressive, that coverage is very shallow and insubstantial. So who is this book for? If you're a hardcore Halo fan, this book has nothing new to offer. And if you're not, why would you even consider buying a Halo encyopedia anyway? Get it if you like the universe and want some nice artwork. But don't expect a book of stunning revelations, deep insights, or much else besides the artwork.

A Must-Have for Halo Fans, December 3, 2009
But then again, what Halo product ISN'T a must-have for Halo fans. The Halo universe has expanded far beyond the adventures of the Master Chief. This tome includes information on all the stories, characters, vehicles, weapons, etc. from the games, books, and comics; there's even stuff that some die-hard fans may not have come across before. The reason I give it four stars rather than five is because I was hoping for a more detailed, technical volume with schematics, size comparisons, cutaways, etc. I hope some day Bungie decides to make such a book, but in the meantime the Halo Encyclopedia will do quite nicely.

Great for people new to Halo., November 3, 2009
I just started playing Halo a few months ago. After falling in love with the series, I decided I needed to educate myself and this book is great for that. For all Halo enthusiasts, this book has amazing pictures, images, and drawings that beat the graphics of a monitor or TV any day. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys Halo.

Greatest. Foreword. Ever., November 4, 2009
While the content of this book is fine, what especially shines is the incredible, paradigm-shifting foreword. The author manages to encapsulate, in a few hundred words, the most profound, resonant and ultimately chilling snapshot of the human condition in literary history. As a piece of writing, it spans the semantic gulf between prose and poetry and ultimately confounds our understanding of both. It takes words and uses them as daubs of color with which to paint a Sistine Chapel - a work of art that literally forces us to look up, beyond the restrictive gravity of our own humanity, and gaze directly into the divine, with only motes of sparkling brilliance to obscure the view.

I gasped the first time I read this foreword and in that seemingly endless pause for breath, I realized that oxygen was a pitiful replacement for the atmopshere of wonder within those all-too brief paragraphs. These heights, they dizzy us.

Read this, or choke on the wan, thin air of lower literature. ... Read more

Editorial Review

• This is the 100% complete guide to Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood

• A colossal 40+page Extras chapter features every Secret along with a Behind-the-Scenes section, an Artwork Gallery and an in-depth examination of key events and protagonists in the Assassin’s Creed series

• The user-friendly Walkthrough chapter charts a successful and rewarding path through the main story with step-by-step action on the left-hand page and advanced data and new features on the right

• A 40+page Side Quests chapter presents a game roadmap, all optional activities and Metagames and every secret collectible on highly detailed area maps

• The Reference & Analysis chapter offers lists and analysis of all Enemies, Weapons, Equipment, Moves, Shop Items and Achievements & Trophies

• The dedicated Multiplayer chapter details all Multiplayer features and maps and includes expert advice on the scoring system & bonuses, abilities, streaks, perks, challenges and level progression

• Carefully designed to avoid unnecessary story spoilers

• Quick search index for ease-of-use

• Includes a large map poster with the collectibles marked ... Read more

Reviews

Another Excellent AC Guide, November 18, 2010
If you played AC2, then you know how many extra missions and metagames were available. If you bought the Piggyback guide, you knew how well arranged and informative it was. Same thing here for AC: Brotherhood and in some ways the game is even bigger, and this guide all the more helpful.

First off the walkthrough is spoiler free and covers everything you need to complete the game story-wise. Then there are several sections devoted to the side-quests, guild missions, Rome reconstruction, Romulus Lairs, CE content, shop quests, Assassin's Guild (your Brotherhood)quests, War Machines, Borgia Towers, etc.

Everything is covered in great detail and the "Completion Roadmap" two-page spread lists in "DNA Sequence" order when you will first open a mission or any of the side missions and when the optimal time is to complete these objectives to achieve 100%. Basically this tells you when you can first attempt a mission or metagame in game and when it's both gameplay and financially best to do it. For example, in Sequence 6 you get a 25% discount on all Rome renovations. So wait until then to upgrade the really expensive landmarks like the Coliseum. This is all spoiler free and does a great job of letting you know at what sequence you can no longer exit the Animus as well.

Each Borgia Tower, War Machine, and Romulus Lair gets its own walkthrough page in the guide and shows you with arrows the best path to take to achieve the under 8 minute bonus times for the Lairs.

Finally, each district gets two pages that show you explicitly with icons as well as screenshots where each Borgia Flag, Rift, Feather, and Treasure is as well as what's in the treasure. So instead of looking around and on top of a building using an online guide, it shows you EXACTLY where on the building the collectible is. In addition, the game has a giant fold-out map with all collectible icons on it.

I probably sound like I'm rambling here, but the bottom line is the guide does such a comprehensive job of presenting EVERYTHING that's in the game so well, it's almost overwhelming. Everything is well organized and easy to find, and will make your journey towards 100% completion (and getting all the achievements/trophies--complete with descriptions on how to attain) a lot easier.

Piggyback Guides have no equal.

Good guide, but needs a few more screenshots, December 7, 2010
I like this guide overall and it definitely helps if you get stuck or miss something. However, in the walk-through, there are many mission explanations without screen-shots at all. They give directional indicators, but it would be much more helpful with screen-shots, showing you exactly what they are describing. All in all a great guide.

Tedious at times but the story is excellent, December 10, 2010
Assassin's creed is a good game. Not great, but good. The reason this gets 5 stars though is because you simply have to play this game to understand Assassin's Creed 2 and Brotherhood both Excellent games. It is worth it to play this game to get the full Assassin's creed experience. ... Read more

Editorial Review

• Exclusive Content: The Collector's Edition comes in a hardcover featuring unique cover art developed exclusively for this edition. It also offers 16 exclusive pages of art not available in the standard edition guide.

• This is the 100% complete guide to Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood

• A colossal 40+page Extras chapter features every Secret along with a Behind-the-Scenes section, an Artwork Gallery and an in-depth examination of key events and protagonists in the Assassin’s Creed series

• The user-friendly Walkthrough chapter charts a successful and rewarding path through the main story with step-by-step action on the left-hand page and advanced data and new features on the right

• A 40+page Side Quests chapter presents a game roadmap, all optional activities and Metagames and every secret collectible on highly detailed area maps

• The Reference & Analysis chapter offers lists and analysis of all Enemies, Weapons, Equipment, Moves, Shop Items and Achievements & Trophies

• The dedicated Multiplayer chapter details all Multiplayer features and maps and includes expert advice on the scoring system & bonuses, abilities, streaks, perks, challenges and level progression

• Carefully designed to avoid unnecessary story spoilers

• Quick search index for ease-of-use

• Includes an extra-large map poster with the collectibles marked ... Read more

Reviews

The Must have Guide for the Must Have game of 2010!, December 3, 2010
I picked up this Guide about a day after buying Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, and was very surprised when I ordered the slowest shipping possible (to save cash, I suppose :)) and It arrived the next day! The guide is beautiful and looks great when standing next to my collectors edition version of the game. Everything about this guide is top notch, from the entries detailing what you need to do to finish each mission with 100% synchronization, to the art that's included in the book. I'm not usually a big fan of Prima guides, and usually pick up Bradygames whenever possible, but I think they did a fantastic job with this guide.

If you're looking for a spoiler-free way of helping yourself achieve 100% synchronization in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, and if you're looking for some extra tips for the awesome Multiplayer modes in the game, then look no further!

Also - I've searched all over for this book, and Amazon.com has the best prices available on. and off, the net! GameStop and other sites are charging $30 for this book, while you can get it from Amazon for $20!

A Beautiful Guide for an Astounding Game!, December 2, 2010
Guide arrived promptly and packaged well.

Very clean and pristine cover, smooth, white. BEAUTIFUL full-page photos and excellent guide.
Worth every dollar!

A must-have for any fan and especially if you love the Assassin's Creed art!

A great buy for 20 dollars!, December 13, 2010
Honestly, I don't even really use these guides, I just think they are great to thumb through and use as a reference.

I've actually been buying these hardcover collector's guides as an alternative to blowing money on stupid collector editions that come with stupid knickknacks that just get lost, broken, thrown away, never used, etc.

This book is of a great quality, the assassin logo on the cover is embossed which is a nice touch the paper inside of a higher than average quality; very thick.

The guide itself is really good, it breaks everything down into sections so all the item hunting is one section, all the side quests organized into one section and the story guide into a section.

It's a piggyback guide; so if you have any familiarity with them you'll have a better idea of what this offers. I think their guide organization is really good.

ASSASIN'S CREED BROTHERHOOD OFFICIAL GUIDE, December 28, 2010
GREAT BOOK, EXCELLENT PACKAGING, DETAILED MAPS INCLUDED, GREAT COVER, VERY STURDY COVER, WILL LAST YEARS TO COME. EVERYONE IN FAMILY SAT AROUND AND READ SOME OUT OF THE BOOK AND WERE AMAZED ON THE DETAIL AND IMAGES IN THE BOOK. A MUST HAVE!!

This you want when you're stuck!, December 19, 2010
Hi,

a very important tool when you're stuck in the game.
Only use it when you need it, or you reveal a lot as this is
a complete guide for the game! It has proven itself to be just
as awesome as we had hoped for. Also it looks really good from the
front cover to the last page, I recommend this to all my assassin-friends!

Rawest

Great as usual!, December 16, 2010
The care that Ubisoft and Pibbyback take to insure that their game guides are simply a work of art is taken to the next level with this Collector's edition. I own their books for AC1 and AC2 and all of the information that you would like to have is included in those books and in this one as well. When they say COMPLETE, they mean it. The pictures and descriptions are incredible. The hardcover is simply stunning and it shows that they take great care in making their books as wonderful as possible.

The ONLY quibble I'll make is that some of the text is a little small and I don't think it's because I'm 45. I simply think some of the text is a little smaller than it should be, especially the Index. That aside, this book is perfect and I recommend it to anyone who plays this game.

You need this book. The game is so deep that there is so much stuff that you will miss if you don't get this guide and have it handy for quick reference. I played through the game and only grabbed it a few times (I don't like to play line for line from a book). However, once I had "finished" the game, I allowed myself the right to really go over the book in detail -- I found out that I missed lots and lots of stuff. I'm glad I have the guide. Not only is it a great reference when I get stuck, it's simply beautiful and fun to just leaf through, learning more about the culture of the game.

Highly recommended.

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Collector's Edition, November 28, 2010
Product is just what the gamer needs Superior workman ship and a definitely great price top quality for an excellent addition to any gamer library. ... Read more

Editorial Review

• Super-detailed Mojave Wasteland map poster shows all 200+ Primary Locations and dozens more secondary areas, so you'll never be lost in Sin City!
• Don't miss anything! We reveal every collectible, unique item, major ammunition and health cache, and much more!
• Fully equipped adventuring! All the Crafting techniques are covered, plus every Campfire, Reloading Bench, Workbench, Caravan Player, Trader, Merchant, Healer, and Dealer is located!
• How S.P.E.C.I.A.L. are you? Learn when and how to use all the new Perks, Traits, and Skills, and how to upgrade every Follower!
• Ready to carve out an independent New Vegas, or act on behalf of a Faction overlord? Complete strategies, including all major Skill, Perk, and Faction decisions, for every Main Quest, Side Quest, and Challenge!
• Optimize your upgrades! Learn how to modify your weapons, where all the components are located, and compare your armaments using our detailed statistics charts. Tactics for manual aiming and new Unarmed attacks are also revealed.
• Character Archetypes, based on hundreds of hours of playtesting, are revealed so you know where to spend your Skill points, and the best attributes and items to seek out
• 100+ fully-detailed maps of all major settlements guide you instantly and easily to collectible locations!






 

Reviews

Okay, but not best guide they've ever created, October 25, 2010
First off, the guide is pretty good, as in it does what most previous guides have done with the expectations we generally have. There is a lot of information that is packed into it.

However, there are a couple of problems with the guide that have bothered me since buying it, and I was a big fan of the guide they created for Fallout 3. Unlike Fallout 3, the makers of this guide decided to go cheap and developed a guide that didn't have zone maps included in it. Usually, the huge map is broken up into 9 major sectors, and you have a copy of that sector in the book itself. Instead, they decided to include one large map, and you are expected to refer to the map in order to figure out where anything is. This is massively impractical for anyone who buys a strategy guide, because most people aren't going to want to keep unfolding out this huge map every time they want to figure out where something is. And if you decide to hang the map on the wall (which is a two-sided map, so you end up only able to look at one half of the included map, meaning it's impractical for hanging up unless you're a moron or have too much money and decide to buy two strategy guides just so you can look at the content by hanging it up on the wall). Usually, I like to have the strategy guide right next to me while I'm playing, but a huge fold out map is ridiculous whenever I want to look up where I am in the game. Honestly, going the cheap route was the wrong way to go with this product.

Several bits of the information are just wrong. Not sure why, unless they made changes after the strategy guide was developed, but it just feels sloppy.

With all that said, it's still a pretty extensive map. Just don't allow your in game life to rely on it because you might be looking for refuge and suddenly discover it's just not there.

Excellent Guide, October 23, 2010
Fallout: New Vegas is an enormous game. It is quite easy to get overwhelmed with the amount of side quests available (not to mention item hoarding, and exploration). While this game is new, there are very few resources available. This guide has all of these resources that you would be searching for on the internet.

The guide contains:

- Information on creating characters
- Information on Ammo, Items, Guns, Perks, Companions, and Crafting
- Full Bestiary
- Main Quest Walk through
- Full Side-Quest Walk through
- Detailed maps, and "Tour of the Mojave Wasteland" (breakdown of all locations and what they contain).

Pros:
The information on building the ideal character is very nice. The info on all of the perks, attributes and items are extremely helpful. This entire section is called "Training" and has plenty of knowledge available whether you're a veteran or are new to the series. There are charts that explain how each crafting item is made and where the items can be found. It also explains the different ammo types. There is no lack of detail in this section.

The walk through's are excellent. The main quest is sorted from the side quests and is broken down into three acts. The walk through design is almost flawless. Whether side quest or main quest, they both have detailed flow charts with all possible actions if you don't feel like reading through the details. So if you're doing a quest and don't feel like comprehending loads of information, this gets the job done well.

If you're the type who enjoys reading many details on the quests, this is available as well. So you can choose between if you feel like reading a simple flow chart, or reading full details on the quest.

It also contains information on how high of attributes you need to pass barter, speech, intelligence etc challenges.

The back of the book has full maps of each location and what items are available at these locations.

Cons (if you can call them that):
Some of the walk through's leave out small details that you need sometimes (such as "One for my Baby" quest: it does not inform you that you must wait until a certain time before a certain action can be taken).

Some of the maps in "Tour of the Mojave" do not contain the items listed. While most of the time it is accurate, occasionally it is wrong.

The guide feels rather cheap, which it $15, but I'd still expect better quality (amazon sells it for $15, many stores sell it the same for $25)The book's pages feel rather cheap. They are thin (similar to a magazine or catalog). The binding is rather weak and towards the front and end of the book it is more severe.

Overall:
This guide is excellent. It will help veteran players (such as I) and novice players find their way through the enormous game. I could see this becoming obsolete within the next few months as the Fallout: New Vegas wiki is completed. Nevertheless, this is out now, and is highly accurate.

Why does this guide suck so much ???, October 28, 2010
This guide is authored by the same person as the Fallout 3 guide, David Hodgson, but it "GREATLY" sucks by comparison. And the "WHY" is simple - Prima Games stopped using the excellent mapping, and visual indexing, of the Fallout 3 guide. In the F3 guide every zone had a small map at the beginning of it's chapter, with a list of primary and secondary locations right next to it, and it worked great. Every destiation had an easy to use mini-map which was easy to find by using the chapter map.

The FNV guide has dropped the zone mini-maps which makes it much more difficult to find where you are, and what you want to know. If you enjoy using the fold out map its probably not a big deal. If you are like me and have a couple of big dogs, or just like the convenience, and ease of the old lay out you will be disappointed. I upped my score from 2 to 3.5, because the good writing and detail is still there - its just much harder to find.

I am going to make some color copies of the big map and "physically" cut and paste the zone areas into the "Tour the Wasteland" chapters so I can have most of the convenience of the F3 guide. I am upset that I will have to do so much to recreate what the publishers have chosen to leave out. It sucks...

For Fallout New Vegas YOU NEED THIS GUIDE, October 27, 2010
We buy and play all the great FPS, RPG, and Action Games. Fallout 3, Borderlands, and Dragon Age Origins are among our favorites. We looked forward to Fallout New Vegas coming out and pre-ordered it. The game is really fun but loaded with BUGS. Patches are already coming out. On a game that is this open ended it is easy to start a quest out of order so that dialogues don't trigger right, or you get something started that you are too weak to finish.... like trying to kill a Nightkin before you're in double digit levels. THE ANSWER IS, YOU NEED THIS BOOK WITH IT'S QUEST FLOW DIAGRAMS THAT POINT OUT ALTERNATE ROUTES. Example: We found the Scrapyard old woman and went through the dialogue with her not knowing that the intended order was to fix Ed-E the robot and take him there. After we got Ed-E and went to the scrapyard, the dialogue would no longer trigger. STUCK, BIG TIME. Then you find out there is a work around. If you go to McCarran and talk to doctor so and so it triggers the dialogue too. But the Pip boy does not put a marker on the map. You can't figure out to do this without some help. YOU NEED THIS BOOK TO HELP YOU. WITHOUT IT OR JUST WAIT TILL THE INTERNET WALKTHROUGHS CATCH UP WITH ALL THE GLITCHES, YOU'LL BE FRUSTRATED. ALSO THE GUIDE OUTLINES SIDE QUESTS FROM MAIN QUESTS. THAT HELPS. THE MAPS HELP. THE GUN MODIFICATION STUFF THAT IS NEW TO THE NEW VEGAS FALLOUT OVER FALLOUT 3 IS NOT AUTOMATIC TO FIGURE OUT.

IN SHORT. I HAVE MOST OF THE PRIMA GUIDES FOR ALL OUR FAVORITE GAMES..... BUT THIS ONE WAS NEEDED THE MOST! ... Read more

Editorial Review

* With over 120 levels, this guide contains strategies with multiple words for each solution!
* Exclusive dev tips for objects, crazy solutions, and much more!
* Complete level to level walkthroughs, including wacky ways of solving the puzzles!
* Huge dictionary of words used in game! ... Read more

Reviews

It's a 2 for 1, October 18, 2010
The fact that this guide also has the walk-thru for the original Scibblenauts can be a good or bad thing, depending on whether you already had that guide. The disapointment is that Super Scribblenauts takes up less that 1/3 of this book, so I kind of felt like they should have offered it by itself at a much lower price.

Perfect Strategy Guide for a Puzzle Game, October 26, 2010
While a strategy guide for a puzzle game like Super Scribblenauts may seem like cheating, the best way to think of it is a suggestion guide for when you're feeling uncreative. Let's face it; Super Scribblenauts demands creativity, at times even more so than the first game, because now there are adjectives to be used and often required. The guide follows this philosophy of offering creative pointers, and it does it very, very well with the inclusion of crazy solution suggestions, a giant word list, and an even larger list of adjectives.

The guide's design is identical to the guide for the first game. Prima Games obviously decided that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. For those unfamiliar with the first guide, the design goes like this for each puzzle:

* Set up the puzzle scenario;
* Explain what Maxwell must do;
* List of possible words/adjectives to use;
* Blanks in the list for players to fill in on their own; and
* A suggested crazy solution.

The crazy solutions are some of the best parts of the guide, and it's just unfortunate that the structure game didn't allow for as many crazy solutions like the first game, so I personally didn't have as many laughs as I did with the first guide. But for this guide, my favorite crazy solution idea is the flaming mermaid for Puzzle 4-9. Second favorite is the ninja shark for S1-9.

If you need an additional creative boost, there is a long list of words in the appendices and an even longer list of adjectives, all from the 5th Cell developers.

What more could you need from a guide?

Check out the full review on strategyguidereviews.com. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Play Tic Tac Toe (Naughts and Crosses) against your Kindle! This edition has 16 different games - the Kindle plays differently in each one. Some games are easy to beat, some hard, and some are impossible. On some games the Kindle makes the first move, the other games you get to move first.

To play, you use the Kindle's controller to pick an empty square on the board to make your mark. The Kindle then takes its turn. All of the Kindle moves are pre-computed, but each of the 16 games are different. ... Read more

Reviews

A Classic - Tic Tac Toe, January 27, 2010
What is there to say but it's Tic Tac Toe, and its for your Kindle. Great for children and adults alike. Great for those long road trips when you're tired of reading "Game Change" on your Kindle and need something more stimulating.

Much too easy, November 11, 2010
If you want to win at tic tac toe about 95% of the time then this is the game for you. I have never lost which after awhile gets pretty boring! Even my granddaughter is bored with this one!

Good Book!, June 30, 2010
I like your book!
I also like it's price.
How did you do that? ... Read more

Editorial Review

Everything you want to know about all of your favorite Pokemon!

Now that you've journeyed to Johto why not find out what awaits you in Kanto?
And while you're at it, check out the complete Pokedex of all 493 Pokemon! 
This is your guide to...

• Where to catch every Pokemon!
 
• A full list of each Pokemon's Learned Attacks, Battle Moves, and Egg Moves!
 
• Everything you need to know to explore the entire post-story Kanto region! ... Read more

Reviews

Finally a complete Pokedex, April 27, 2010
The guide to the Kanto Region is useful, following in the same pattern as the Johto guide already released and the Sinnoh guide released for Platinum. However, the real use for this book is the complete Pokedex.
The 'Dex has every pokemon in it, with the useful charts we've all been waiting for. Using this guide you can easily see the full set of moves a pokemmon can learn, from levels gained, TMs, egg moves, and moves taught by the Move Maniac or learned through the Battle Frontier. This is all on top of the basics you would expect from a Pokedex, being a list of abilities, egg groups, stats, pokedex entries, and even Pokeathlon perfromance. Also listed are ways to obtain each pokemon in all five of the fourth generation games.
Overall a very useful guide to some of the best games to hit the Nintendo DS.

A complete PokeDex for the DS Generation, May 31, 2010
Pokemon games have generally been released a few every generation. The original games (Red, Blue, and Yellow) for the GameBoy are considered the 1st Generation games; the sequels built for the GB Color(Silver, Gold, and Crystal) are considered 2nd Gen, etc. That makes the DS gen games the 4th Gen PKMN games, and this PokeDex/Guide is built with that in mind. New and/or revised move-sets, Pokemon types, evolutions, natures, etc. are detailed and described as they are in the newer 4th Gen games, that is Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, PLatinum, and the new SoulSilver and HeartGold. In other words, those looking for a complete PokeDex for any other game should look elsewhere. Those interested in the 4th Gen games are in for a real treat.

The ultra large (500+ pages) book does exactly what its title says; its a full Kanto guide and a full PokeDex, and it does both, for the most part, extremely well.

The Kanto guide contains full and detailed maps (as are seen in-game), tips, and a complete walkthrough. The walkthrough doesn't start just as you enter the Kanto region, however, it assumes you've already beaten the Elite Four and have gained admission to the Hall of Fame. the guide features things like what Pokemon are found in what location, where items are, and dungeon "connections" (doorway "A" leads to this part of the map). The Battle Frontier, tips for the PokeWalker, the Saffari Zone, and a beefy section that details new battle strategies and PKMN teams all help to make this guide stand out from a simple bare-bones walkthropugh. A nice feature i found was a complete list of what event happens at what date, given that SoulSilver/HeartGold rely heavily on a real time clock, this feature is unbelievably important. Another neat feature was a simple recommend route to completing the entirety of your Kanto quest. The Kanto region is much less linear than the Johto region, and this "recommendation" could be very helpful to some.

One noticeable and disappointing omission is lack of any "real" info on regular trainers. Gym Leaders have a list of used PKMN as well as tips on how to defeat them, but regular trainer have just a name. The guide doesn't show what PKMN a trainer uses. Its unfortunate and is the only reason why this product gets **** instead of 5*.

The PokeDex section includes ALL 493 PKMN, and everyone has a half page devoted to it. Within its space things like possible abilities, moves (learned, TM, Move Maniac, Egg, and Battle Frontier moves all covered), evolutions, info (the same as the in-game PKDX info about the PKMN), egg type, and specially useful for completionists is the location in which you can find the PKMN (and in what 4th Gen game).

All pages have an abundance of color and are never boring. Art, images, and tips can be found in EVERY page. The edges of the pages have a mostly solid color (EX, Walkthrough = orange, Dex = Red) that makes quickly opening up the book to a certain section very easy. The same concept is applied to the Dex, where 1st Gen PKMN can be found in the pages with a green hue on the top/bottom. remember that these colors can be seen while the book is closed, so the navigation is the 500+ page book is simple.

The product is just about everything any PokeFan could wish for (the only flaw being the skimpy trainer detail), tips, strategies, PKMN info, maps, etc. Its built with a sturdy frame, is large, and the pages are nice and thick. At the very reasonable price, im very easily recommending it.

April 2010 Pokedex, April 28, 2010
I'll agree with Veotho on essentially every point, I'd add that the Pokewalker information is also extremely useful, I'm a little disappointed that there isn't information on the Yellow Road special course that you get for going online with the game, because there are secret special Pikachu's to be had if you know the secrets readily available online. Other than that, it's a bargain and at Amazon prices they are way more reasonable than you'll likley find anyplace else. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Haven't been to Johto in a while? Then welcome back, fearless Pokémon Trainer!

Pokémon turns back the clock to take you back to a land filled with excitement—the Johto region—in a brand-new adventure for the Nintendo DS! And this guide will start you out with:

• A detailed walkthrough that chronicles every Pokémon you'll meet, every Trainer you'll face, and every obstacle you'll need to overcome!
• A Johto-specific Pokédex that gives you the numbers on Pokémon you haven't seen in the wild for years!
• Detailed charts listing items, moves, Berries, strengths, weaknesses, and more, right at your fingertips!

Travel back to where it all began, but make sure to take this guide with you so you'll never get lost!

Bonus! Double-sided poster inside ... Read more

Reviews

Section by Section Review, March 26, 2010
The Pokemon Company have put out an odd product this time. There are several sections to this guide, and it is rather interesting that it is a volume 1. I'm assuming that this means that Part 1 is for Johto, and Part 2 is for Kanto. We'll see, when there is a Part 2.

I've had mixed feelings towards this book. As a strategy guide, it seems to be lacking some things that I am used to. Also, some of the information is not as in-depth as I would prefer, while other information is remarkably in-depth.

So, I'll break this up into sections for my review.

Section 1: Introduction of characters.
-This section has a few pictures and names of the various characters you'll meet in your adventure. While I understand this is a flavor section, many of these characters are introduced later as well. I feel that this section was a waste of a few pages.

Index:
-This section was done rather well, with other sorting methods used to try and find things quickly. This made for a nice reference section.

Region Map:
-Nice detail, and a general list of interesting items at each location. I will probably use this quite often.

"How to Use This Book"
-I'm not sure why this was added... it is another index page.

Primer for Pok�mon Training
-Some information here seems to be reiterated a few times, but there is some interesting information here. There is a list of the event Pok�mon, advice on using False Swipe and sleep to catch Pok�mon, and other listings for those that are both new and familiar to Pok�mon. I learned a few things about increasing and decreasing Pok�mon encounter rates as well. Useful information is provided on how the damage is increased or decreased from typing, and nice source of data for other things. I liked most of this section.
-Sample team building is provided as well, for ways to work around each starter. For instance, it says to put a Sandshrew and Krabby on your team to assist Chikorita, creating a nice triangle of resistances and strengths. A sample of what the guide says: "Chikorita is weak against Fire-type movies. That's why you want Krabby, a Pok�mon who's strong against fire-type Pok�mon. However, Krabby is weak against electric types, so add Sandshrew for its advantage over Electric types. Water types that have the upper hand against Sandshrew are at a disadvantage against Chikorita." This gives you a solid foundation for building a sample team.

-I would have loved for this section to go more in-depth with teams. People have been playing with competitive teams for years, and advice on team strategies would have been interesting. There could have been advice on building a sandstorm team, on what types of Pok�mon become good physical and special walls, and sweepers. Even general descriptions of what these terms mean could be a drastic addition that can give people a large advantage.

-Radio Programming charts were useful, but overly descriptive. Looking at them, I realize they used the same set of charts for all of them, but some space could have been saved condensing the data.

-A list of items is provided of what your mother buys if you have her saving money. However, it does NOT state how much money you have to have saved for each of these.

-Shiny Leaf guide was rather interesting. This is something I wasn't actually aware of, until I saw it. A nice chart displays where to get different leaves for your Pok�mon. I really liked this charge, but I'm not sure if this needed to take up an entire page.

-Overall, this section is full of information for a new player. Old players might learn something new,, but not as much. I do wish some of the information was more in-depth, but I'm happy with most of what I have. To improve this section, a bigger guide on team building with a handful of teams and strategies would be nice. There are websites out there providing this information for now, though.

Johto Walkthrough:
-Pay good attention to the first page of this. There are keys here that are NOT repeated elsewhere (though some of it could easily have been at the bottom of pages associated with it). Notice the Encounter Rate chart, Version Differences, and field moves. These are not repeated, which is something I kind of disliked.

-There are good step-by-step instructions, though I dislike the blue section. There are orange steps that you preform the first time you enter somewhere. When you get to the blue steps, they are "after x event has happened." In the early part of the guide, this information gets repeated, so that creates redundant information.

-There are notes on many pages to the right of steps, and some are useful tips or advice. Sometimes this is just flavor text, but I found it to be useful information more times than not.

-In the guide, there is a "differences between Pok�mon HeartGold and SoulSilver" section. This explains some quick information, but the information is not complete. The Pok�mon that are different between the two does not have a complete listing, but that is the only thing that wasn't complete. Note, however, that it says here that you can get both Lugia and Ho-Oh on both versions, just at different times and levels. The Pok�dex later on does NOT state the same information.

-Another special section describes Pok�mon that are useful for field moves. This is a great section, and people should pay attention to it. Rather than teaching HMs to your fighting Pok�mon, create a slave based on this chart that you can teach the extra abilities to.

-Wherever items are located, there is a graphic of a pok�ball in its location. The bad thing for this, on the maps, is that the items are not listed. There is a chart that lists the items and when they are available for you to pick up, but there is nothing saying what item is what. I found this frustrating.

-Puzzles are NOT solved for you. This goes for the Unown areas and the gyms. The player is still left to figure out everything on their own. Generally, when I buy a strategy guide, it is to get past some of these puzzles quicker. Unfortunately, if there was a puzzle I was unable to solve myself, I had to go online to find the answer.

-Trainer information is ONLY provided for Gym Leaders. For all other trainers, there is nothing provided for reference. The maps do give the trainer names and numbers, but their Pok�mon are still unknown. Fortunately, you can use the names to cross reference with some gaming websites to know what you need to prepare for.
-Overall, the guide section requires a little reworking, but it is manageable. I'm still curious as to how many pages could have been saved if they didn't re-iterate several steps of the guide.

-NOTE- This guide only takes you through Johto. In the games, you unlock more content, and Pok�mon, once you've beaten the Elite Four for the first time. As this is Part 1 of the guide for the games, it should be safe to assume that this information will be provided in another book, at about the same cost.

Safari Zone Guide
-Interesting new section. I found this useful, and it explained the way that the new Safari Zone works. A few patterns are displayed for you, and it tells you how to get the Pok�mon you are looking for within. Great addition.

Pok�athlon Guide
-Awesome. The guide provides information on unlocking other areas, what Pok�mon to use for each event, rules for the events, and strategies to win each one. I enjoyed this section, and I feel that each page was worth my time to read.

Pok�walker Guide
-Nice information. Consolidated lists, useful charts, and it explains almost everything about the Pok�walker. Unfortunately, it did skip over special 'events' that happen on the walker, and how sometimes a Pok�mon will start following you automatically, if you don't already have one.

-I found this information to be extremely useful. This was worth putting in, and the extra information was enjoyable.

Wi-Fi Connection Guide
-A lot of information is here, but it is yet another place where competitive teams could have been explained, or competitive battling.

-This does not give information on connecting for Wi-Fi, nor anything on troubleshooting problems. Definitely something that was overlooked.

Link Play Guide
-Useful information again, but still nothing on connecting and troubleshooting.

Adventure Data
-Useful information abound. There is a ton of useful information here, and the data can seem overwhelming at times. I found all of the information I needed here, and more. There were well organized charts, item listing, and how to locate several things. These charts make up for the lack of the next section. If it wasn't for them, I would be completely upset with my purchase.

-Pokemon weakness charts were amazing. I've not seen this before, but only brief chart of what is effective against other types. This is a first I've seen. You can look up different Pok�mon and find out what is effective, what doesn't work, and several other things. I really enjoyed this section, and was happy to find it. Unlike other guides, this lists everything per Pok�mon. The data here is amazing.

Pok�dex
-This section needed a lot of improvements. I'll actually sort this by pros and cons.
Pros:
*Direct Attack in the move charts. This lets you know if the move will directly attack an enemy or not. Useful for when you are attacking Pok�mon that cause status upon direct contact.

*Performance stats were easy to read, assisting you for building a Pok�athlon team.

*Stats are useful for knowing how well the Pok�mon grow in each area. Useful for team building.

*Move charts have useful information attached to the move the Pok�mon learn at various levels.

Cons:
*Move charts do not include egg moves, TMs, or HMs.

*How to Obtain is not always accurate, complete, and is often lacking. With only two sections for it, I found it to be wanting.

*Move charts often repeated movies for evolved Pok�mon. The higher evolved forms would show moves as being known by default, but would display it as being learned at level 1 again for each previous evolution. This made some lists longer when they shouldn't have been.

*The listed abilities do not have a general description of what they do. You have to look in the back of the book for this.

*There is no information on breeding Pok�mon. Nothing explains the egg groups, how to breed, or egg moves. I found this information to be quite lacking in that regard.

*No separate section for evolution lines for Pok�mon. Instead, you had to look at the already crowded "How to Obtain" section.

-In the Pok�mon games, the Pok�dex is one of the most important databases. For this guide, I had to go to online sources for everything. This is disappointing, as that is one of the main reasons why I picked the guide up. Also, only the Johto Pok�dex is included... which is rather disappointing. It appears that they want people to buy the separate Pok�dex guide in order to get complete information. Without previewing this guide though, I think I'll stick with the online Pok�dex that I've used before.

-Overall, I was completely disappointed in the Pok�dex section of the guide.

The Pok�dex is one of the larger sections of the book for me, and finding it lacking really put me into a negative mood. With all of the smaller things about, I found myself cross referencing this book (mainly for the detailed maps) with guides I found online for free. A guide is not made to be a reference to use with something for free... it should be a great offline resource so that nothing else is required. This guide requires a lot of work before I will be happy with it. I hope that Part 2 doesn't seem as rushed as this one.

Unfortunately, this is the only guide available for the game. No other companies (prima, etc etc) have created one, so we are stuck with this if we want a paper guide. Rather upsetting, really.

Look for another guide, April 3, 2010
With 3 pokemaniacs in the house, this book is getting a lot of use, unfortunately we've been sorely disappointed with this offering.

Here some of the Good, the Bad, and the... Meh. (I'll be updating this as the book gets more use. Updates are denoted with asterisks.)

Update added:
* 4/28/2010 *
** 5/15/2010 **

-----

The Good:

Yay a index for the pokedex! Another plus attacks that require contact are identified.

* Nice page recommending 6 pokemon that can learn HMs, Flash, and Headbutt for field use (though a complete list of available pokemon would have been preferred). *

-----

The Bad:

The book arrived with the edge of the exterior lamination already pealing off and, of course, use has spread this. Also, the laminate had a flaw, a hole half the size of a pencil eraser, even before application. Construction quality does not seem the best. * Bubbles are appearing in the middle of the lamination and even with careful handling the lamination has rolled as much as an inch from the edge. *

The walk-through is very basic and requires a lot of backtracking because you get information about events that require much later triggers. Page pointers are provided but a linear walk-through would have been a lot more useful and less frustrating.

Lots of wasted space. Pages are often "packed full" of empty space, thanks to a wasteful layout, and useless, oversized, page-filling images, like the worthless photorama that takes up pages 2-17. The book could probably have been 1/3 thinner with a more economic layout (or, better yet, been packed with more info). Or to put it another way: which would you prefer, a page size image of Lance the Dragon Trainer and 1/2 page with 20 identical magicarps vs a page sized route map and breeding advice?

Region and area maps are tiny. Many are only 1 to 2 inches wide or tall. Some are even less than 1 by 1. The Cliff Edge Gate map image (p126), an area about 35 game steps square, is the size of a postage stamp, but don't worry, Eusine's image on the next page is twice as big so you can spot all his vital details... or not.

Pokemon information is incomplete. No Egg, TM or HM moves, egg groups, and Togepi's description is missing Extrasensory, an awesome starting move.

Pages 26-57, the "Primer", is has tons of info but the table of contents has only 6 entries and there's no index. Try finding the radio schedule quickly or the growing berries info.

No information about pokemon in trainer battles. Only the "boss" (like Gym Leaders and the Final Four) pokemon are identified.

No information about pokegear callers. I.E. Do you really want this person's phone number? You can't erase them once you say yes and most callers are just plain annoying. * These callers actually reduce the number of "goody" calls (callers that will give you something) and the battle callers won't become worthwhile until badge 7 or 8. *

No info about breeding, gender color differences, locations of items found by the item finder, Ruins of Alph puzzles solutions, shiny pokemon, or battle impact on stats.

Hints/Notes are sometimes dropped without rhythm or reason, so finding them when you need a refresher can be difficult.

Less than 1/6 a page is spent on trading and nothing is mentioned about trading pokemon from GBA games (i.e. you will need to get to the Pal Park in Kanto, vol 2).

* The contest events lack any specifics on what is required to win (beat x time, collect x flags, beat magikarp size x, etc.) and no winning answers to quizzes. Descriptions of Pokeathlon events don't tell which tri-event they are part of - Speed, Skill, Power, Stamina, or Jump. *

** As another reviewer points out, all the dexes are limited to Johto outcomes. Pokemon, berries, items, etc. are listed as trade only even though they will become available in the Kanto half of the game. They should be listed as "trade or see Kanto guide". **

-----

The Meh:

The "poster" is an oversized postcard slightly smaller than the book. Thicker material nice, size not so much. * There is a two page map (p20-1) that is obviously twice as big, so the point of the map side of the postcard seems lost. The other side is the attack vs type matrix, but this could have been printed on the inside of the cover which is blank. *

-----

Overall

** This guide's information is sketchy and incomplete, sometimes difficult to locate, and sometime wrong or outright misleading (such as ignoring Kanto availability in pokedex entries).

There appears to be no reasonable reason for this information to have its own book. If this format is any indication, a consolidation with volume 2 should have required no more than a tighter, less wasteful layout of the walk-through and advice sections plus, generously worst case, another 50 pages and 2 or 3 dollars added to the price. Everything else is probably duplicated and hopefully more accurate in volume 2. For comparison, the platinum standard of guides, Versus, walks through both regions in just 100 pages and tells you EVERYTHING about Crystal, exact item placements, all trainer battles, etc. This guide uses 200 pages and covers only the bare minimum of Johto's pertinent information.

Bottom line, this guide feels, at best, like a half-hearted effort that, more often than not, forces you to go to the internet to get guidance to fill the holes. Not exactly why one buys a game guide. **

-----

** If you are lucky enough to own the Versus Crystal guide, expect some significant changes but you'll find the guide can still be very helpful. **

A Terrible Ripoff!, March 19, 2010
I bought this guide thinking that it would have everything I needed to complete this game. I like to really "complete" my games, and I needed a guide like this to find all the items, pokemon, etc. I am also comparing this guide to my old guide for Pokemon Gold & Silver, which was amazing at the time.

This guide is TERRIBLE. It only includes the Johto part of the adventure, leaving about half of the game with no information. And any information it does give you is primitive at best. Oh sure, it'll show you where some items are, but it won't tell you what they consist of, making you go and get the item, even if it's something worthless. It will show you where trainers are, but won't give you any details about them or their pokemon. It will tell you where some Pokemon are, but doesn't give extra details like percentages of occurrence, so you won't know which pokemon are rare in a given area.

This guide feels very empty, and about half of the book is devoted to a lame Pokedex. All it shows you is the moves learned while leveling up, not TM moves or egg moves... This guide feels like a little kid wrote it. And for the price I paid, I was expecting a lot more information about the game itself. At this rate, I feel like I'd be better off with the old G & S game guide from the 90's than this. There is very little value for your money here.

A worthless waste at half the info!, March 15, 2010
This book is incomplete at best, it's half a guide, only provides the johto half of the game and is even marked book one of two. It is a rather in depth guide but rather than putting it out as a whole guide with the other one either attached or part of the same guide, they milked it for all it's worth by splitting the game's guides in two so they could make more money, bottom line, CHECK THE SIDE OF THE BINDING BEFORE YOU BUY IT! Amazon won't tell you that it's vol. 1 they want you to buy it so you have to buy the other one as well. There is no info for Kanto region or the second half of the game in this guide, FOR EITHER GAME! I like the info provided but I am appalled at the fact that they continue to money gouge people by splitting everything in twos and threes, the games, and now they are doing it with the strategy guides, except now it isn't one for each of the games, it's half of both games now, half later. I am giving you my opinion not asking for you to judge or correct me, if you want to add something useful to what I said, please make your own post and leave out the trolling, I don't want to hear what you think of me, this is my opinion, not yours! They left out quite a bit of useful trainer info from the guide. I was thinking just one at 3o to 40 dollars would be nice, instead of 2 guides at 15-25 each. By the time you finish buying all of these, you might've just tried looking it up online, you just spent about as much as a brand new game costs. More so that way after buying TWO full priced guides, instead of one reasonably priced one.

If you want a guide, go online!, April 11, 2010
When I pre-ordered this guide, there was NO notation that this was just Volume One. Sure, this is the way the Diamond and Pearl guides came out, but I was relieved that Platinum was just one volume, complete in itself.

The pros for this guide: maps, I suppose. And info on sidegames, but only those available during the first half of the game.

The cons: Worthless Pokedex. Not even egg moves! No info on any Move Tutors except for Headbutt, because these will be in the second volume. I kept flipping back and forth, because of the non-linear "do this here before that event, then come back later for these things..." descriptions for each section. No info on trainers, except gym leaders and your rival. By now most Pokemon players know about shiny Pokemon, but this guide doesn't bother to mention the phenomenon at all - it just states that the Red Gyarados is a shiny Pokemon, with no explanation. The guide doesn't even mention the odds of shinies, or that every Pokemon has a shiny form.

And how do you catch Suicune?!? It is a Pokemon in the first half of the game, but the 'dex says you need to transfer it in from D/P/Pt.

I could keep listing the problems with this guide, but it's not worth my time and energy - or yours.

I found myself relying on my old Gold/Silver guide from Versus Books to play the game - and it's a decade old! IT listed each and every trainer you will find, as well as their Pokemon. IT lists monies and rewards received from battles. IT has far more details on HM and TM moves than this new waste of money.

If you want a guide, either go online, or just wait until Part 2 comes out in a few weeks and get both then. Or, if Part 2 ends up like the Part 2 for Diamond and Pearl, you may not need this Part 1 at all.

I'm not annoyed at Amazon for this waste. This is all on the Pokemon Company, for sheer greed and laziness. The 6-week delay for part 2 is unnecessary - after all, this game's been out in Japan since last September. I only wish that another company would write guides for these games - the competition would encourage the Pokemon Company to do it right the first time! Otherwise, I'll just use the on-line guides from now on.

Often Misleading, April 4, 2010
While many reviewers are pointing out the fact that this is only a guide for half of the game, there is something far more annoying, in my opinion, about this guide. This is the guide for the first half of the game and it ignores anything after fighting the Elite Four for the first time.

When I say that it ignores the second half, I mean that it completely pretends it does not exist. The Pokedex listings of locations to find Pokemon (which is one of the primary reasons I purchase these guides) has some Pokemon listed as Trade Only when they are available in the second half of the game! They go so far to ignore the second half that they have Pokemon listed in the book Pokedex as not available in HeartGold/SoulSilver when they are, in fact, available in the second half.

I was dissapointed., April 6, 2010
I bought this at Gamestop. For the price I paid I was expecting a FULL guide like the Platinum version.
These new games have TWO regions in it. Johoto AND Kanto! Why the hell did they split this up in 2 volumes? By the time the vol.2 comes out most players will have already finished both parts.

Since the daycare center is in the Johoto region I'm shocked that they didn't include a section on breeding. I had to use my old Platinum guide for this.

I found the so called "Pokedex" lacking in info. Like for example.. They stated that the legendary birds Zapdos, Articuno and Moltres can only be obtained by trading them from Platinum. They should have mentioned they can also be obtained by catching them IN game!

It was also a very STUPID idea **NOT** to include a KEY ITEM list for the items that can be only obtained in Kanto. I had to go online to find this info.

Incomplete and Costly, March 23, 2010
Unless you enjoy being left hanging until they release the 2nd half of the HeartGold/SoulSilver adventure, I'd recommend going to a gaming site to get your walk through. Might not have all the fancy color maps, but at least you can sit and play the game having some idea what to do when you beat the first championship.

To me this was a huge disappointment after purchasing the complete guide for Platinum. When I first received this guide book, I couldn't believe how small it was in comparison (for the same price). Then to learn there's a whole second region to work through and nothing to help you with it. I guess it's intended to lay the game down and wait until the next volume is released (for those who rely on the books for help).

And then there is the cost of the book(s) with the company splitting the book into two guides. Here I have a complete platinum volume - twice the size in comparison for the same retail cost as one of these newer volumes. If you want the complete set (Vol1 and Vol2) for Heartgold/SoulSilver, you will end up paying out at least twice the amount.

So unless you don't mind wandering around aimlessly after the first championship or laying down your game until the publishing company is prepared to release the rest of the game guide for HeartGold/SoulSilver AND you have extra money burning a hole in your pocket, I highly suggest searching for a complete walk through found on the internet. They are out there.........that's what I had to do just to continue playing the game.

Such a shame too after the last complete guide from this publisher I found to be very good for Platinum!!!

Great...as expected, April 16, 2010
I have purchased these guide books in the past for myself and my kids. This newest version lives up to my high expectations. The directions are easy to follow, even for my 9-year-old daughter. The walk-throughs are step-by-step and the Pokedex is very detailed. Can't wait to get the Kanto guide in a few weeks.

1/2 the Guide, March 27, 2010
I guess the Pokemon Company(The Publisher) wants you to spend your money twice. Once with this guide & then with the upcoming Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver: The Official Pokemon Kanto National Pokedex Strategy Guide. ... Read more

Editorial Review

• Spiral bound so you can keep your place and keep both hands on the game.
• Complete with strategies to help you master all tracks.
• Compact size to stay where you play.
• Turn by turn strategy for all 71 tracks.
• Essential Racing Jargon defined for full understanding of racing terminology.
• Driving 101 teaches you the tricks the pros use in real life. ... Read more

Reviews

Good, for what it claims to be, November 24, 2010
I purchased this yesterday at a big box store. In my estimation, it is a very good guide for its intended use. As the title says, it is a "Track Guide." This means that the guide does not cover everything. It is not a game guide. It does not have tips for license tests. It does not give you a trophy list. It does not have a car or event list. There are no tips on B-spec mode, the challenges, or playing online. You'll have to look elsewhere if you are hoping to find this information.

What it does cover, though, is each track in detail. The guide begins with a brief explanation of typical racing terms (camber, racing line, etc.). Next, there is a brief section on racing techniques like the traction circle, overtaking, and the like. These sections are very short (a page or two), but do have some helpful information.

The meat of the guide is the section on tracks. It covers each of GT5's 70+ tracks in good detail. There are pictures of most corners, and the guide gives good detail on how to take each corner, or series of complex corners. It will suggest gearing or average speed, give you pointers about the braking point, entry point, apex, and exit point of each corner. It tells you which rumble strips to use and which to avoid. It tells you where to deviate from the in game racing line (which is fairly regularly), and how to adjust your driving style relative to different car types. There are also tips on tuning for each course, and a general best car to use (e.g. FF, MR, AWD, etc.). The level of detail is very good, and would help those struggling to conquer a track, or those looking for a few tenths.

One thing that did bug me a bit was the occasional suggested shortcut. For example, the author tells you how you can straight-line Monza's 2nd chicane by using the grass. He also tells you the proper racing line for these corners, and obviously you don't have to cheat. I suppose for those new to Gran Turismo and truly struggling that it could help them win a race or two while they are learning, but to me it seemed contrary to the spirit of the game.

Overall, this is a very good guide for what it covers; just don't expect it to be the be all and end all for all info about GT5.

4 out of 5 stars

It is what it is..., December 8, 2010
The only thing I was disappointed with was the size. My own fault of course, for not paying attention to the description. Overall the track guides are good and will give users, specially new to GT, a good idea of the tracks.

Driving tips for all GT5 tracks, November 30, 2010
The book is properly titled "The Essential TRACK Guide" The Guide is almost solely dedicated to a turn-by-turn analysis of the featured tracks plus advice on what type of car would be appropriate to use on each. It is not and it is not meant to be a complete guide to GT5, the game.

The guide is divided into 5 sections if we are to count both the Introduction and the Index but most of it, pages 16 through 212 out of the 222 pages are dedicated to discussing the individual tracks - more about that section later.

Following the introduction, there is a 5-page section where 'Essential Racing Jargon' is explained covering exactly EIGHT terms/concepts: Camber, Brake Marker, Racing Line, Dropping Down to a Gear, Curbs, Apex, Handling Characteristics and Types of Turns. Understanding these is essential to properly interpret the advice given in the Tracks section. The next section, titled 'Racing 101' offers two pieces of advice and related explanation: "embrace the brake pedal" and "break the habit of turning and breaking".

The main section, titled 'Tracks' begins with a presentation of each of the circuits featured in GT5 and the associated tracks (listed) with a one-paragraph commentary on each track. The rest is dedicated to discussing each of the 73 tracks.

For each track, the first page has a map with the turns numbered and the starting point marked. A 'tuning guide' offers a brief assessment of the track:

For example: " ... has some gradual inclines and declines but is overall very flat, so you can keep your car relatively low. Avoid lots of negative camber since the bulk of the track focuses on straight-line acceleration. Downforce will help with high-speed stability.

Recommended Car: "High-powered RWD or AWD"

Finally, each of the turns is shown in a little colored screenshot and the advice follows:

" Past the crest, you'll see a mild right-hander. At this point you'll likely be in third gear, and will want to drop down to upper RPMs of second gear. When exiting this turn, don't veer to the outer edge of the lane; since the subsequent turns are all in close succession, you never want to drift farther than the middle of the lane, thus making each bend smaller and shorter."

The guide does not provide information on specific GT5 races or challenges, tuning your car as GT5 supports it or trophies and it does not provide information on any specific cars. In other words, if you are advised to pick a "High-powered RWD or AWD", you will have to look for one in your GT5 garage or search the dealerships for one.

GT5 track guide, November 27, 2010
This maps all the tracks and easly excessable in a binder. Tips for the novice on how to drive are here too. You have to have this book to play as an expert on GT5 !

Nice guide to driving on GT5 tracks, December 2, 2010
This book contains track information for all tracks (70 or so) in the Gran Turismo 5. But what I find very useful is the upfront explanation of various terminologies on driving techniques around turns, and car characteristics such as negative/positive camber. The booklet is small, so the pictures of track is small (a bit hard to see details). Can be dry reading up front. It's more fun to scan through the book after after you get a chance to drive around. Then just lay on the couch and see what other tracks the game has to offer.

Comprehensive but..., December 1, 2010
Right off the bat, let me be clear that as far as content goes, this guide is very good. Those new to Gran Turismo will save themselves hundreds, if not thousands of laps by reading the info found on these pages. Those like me who were hooked early on (in my case since the first game) can still find a lot here as the new tracks and their variations are sure keep us busy for quite a while. I say this up front because despite all that, I am very disappointed in this guide.

The problem as far as I'm concerned is implementation. There are very good ideas in this guide. A lot of them. They are just badly implemented. Allow me to explain:

1. As advertised, this is a TRACK guide, not a strategy guide. All you will find here is information on how to decrease your lap times and work your way around the game's tracks and their many variations. However, why stop there? GT is a much deeper game than just the tracks. Prima should have released a complete strategy guide and throw this track guide as a bonus.

2. The guide is held by a ring binder which is supposed to help you out when you are using the guide and playing at the same time. This is an excellent idea but again, bad implementation. The pages are so fragile (as in thin) that no matter how you turn them, you feel they are going to break. Especially when you are trying to take advantage of the ring binder. Kind of defeats the purpose of having one in the first place.

3. It is also designed to be small, portable and compact but (again) they went too far. The type is just TOO small! It is very hard to read, even if you are completely concentrated on reading it, you will have a hard time so you can imagine how hard it can be to play the game and trying to find particular thing in there. I got a headache on my first read through and I'm a voracious reader.

This is all very sad because like I said in the beginning, the information in this guide is great stuff. The three stars I give this guide is based on that alone. The headache that involves extracting that information will make people wonder if the book is worth it. I can imagine a lot of these guides lying around in living rooms and bedrooms with torn pages popping out and a magnifying glass next to it. ... Read more

Editorial Review

• Super-detailed Mojave Wasteland map poster shows all 200+ Primary Locations and dozens more secondary areas, so you'll never be lost in Sin City!
• Don't miss anything! We reveal every collectible, unique item, major ammunition and health cache, and much more!
• Fully equipped adventuring! All the Crafting techniques are covered, plus every Campfire, Reloading Bench, Workbench, Caravan Player, Trader, Merchant, Healer, and Dealer is located!
• How S.P.E.C.I.A.L. are you? Learn when and how to use all the new Perks, Traits, and Skills, and how to upgrade every Follower!
• Ready to carve out an independent New Vegas, or act on behalf of a Faction overlord? Complete strategies, including all major Skill, Perk, and Faction decisions, for every Main Quest, Side Quest, and Challenge!
• Optimize your upgrades! Learn how to modify your weapons, where all the components are located, and compare your armaments using our detailed statistics charts. Tactics for manual aiming and new Unarmed attacks are also revealed.
• Character Archetypes, based on hundreds of hours of playtesting, are revealed so you know where to spend your Skill points, and the best attributes and items to seek out
• 100+ fully-detailed maps of all major settlements guide you instantly and easily to collectible locations!
• Hardcover collectible guide! Individually numbered with 32 pages of extra content including concept art and behind the scenes information from the game developers.






 

Reviews

Detailed and great layout., October 20, 2010
LOVED:
- Art section in the back. Had some great pictures of the posters you see throughout the game.
- Detailed fold out map. Printed on both sides, with every collectible, point of interest and easy to read grid format.
- Quest TREE! Shows the entire quest line and options. Saves so much time... as oppose to the Borderlands guide which just listed it by mission number and just casually mentioned a quest had a pre-req with no page number to find said pre-req. In the FNV guide, it'll let you know exactly what your actions lead to. Even has some alternatives.
- Suggested character builds. I went with a generic build in FO3 since I didn't really know any better. Avoided the mistake this time and went with the suggested power armor and weapons build the guide had. It'll keep me on track for the perks I want late game. There are quite a few suggested build types so you are bound to find one to fit your style of play.
- Layout of all towns and shows you what items are to be found in each building.
- Has a warning for every game play change between FO3 and FNV.

NEEDS WORK:
- Towns are sometimes listed without their zone coordinates. This happened to me early one while looking for the detailed map of Goodsprings. Eventually found the coordinates and flipped the appropriate page.
- The pro's and con's of each faction could use more detail. There is an intro piece on each but I had to go further into the walk-through to see how exactly siding with one side cut off others, including sub-factions. I went with NRC because... well I'm from California. Wish I had more of an idea of what I was getting into.
- Missing at least one of the Free Quests. I ran into one in Goodsprings that was not listed. It was the typical damsel in distress ruse from FO3 so I knew what was coming. Though, it would've been helpful to know there are few items at the end that worth it.

DISLIKED:
- Length of art section. Wish it had a few more pages.

This guide is definitely worth the price and a must have for people who want to experience the entire game. It is high quality, easy to follow, and very informative.

Densely packed with information, October 22, 2010
The book is pretty thick at 480 pages and packed with information. The type is fairly small, but not cringing small. The difference between this and the normal edition is the hardcover and there are 32 pages of extra content (art and behind the scenes stuff). Mine's numbered 97590, so I guess they printed a lot of collector's edition.

The book is split into a few main parts: Training, Main Quest, Side Quest, Tour of Mojave Wasteland and Appendices.

The Training section basically talks about the game mechanics and character development. There's an explanation for all the attributes, perks, skills, etc available, all of which I find very useful as I'm new to Fallout. There are also suggested character builds with recommended stats and suggestions on how to spend you Skill points. And of course, there are weapon information and enemy profiles.

The walkthrough section is detailed and complete with all the items you can find during any particular quest. To avoid spoilers, just skip the text and follow the quest flowchart which is basically a list the prerequisites required for the quest. Items you can find are marked by big icons.

Side quests come in at an overwhelming 150 pages, more than twice the pages for the story quest. Wow. They are as detailed as the main walkthrough. This where you can find cool items, gain extra experience and visit strange places. I might take a year traveling through the desert to find all these side quests without the guide. You can be sure you won't miss any even if you miss talking to any characters.

Maps come in a few form and they are very useful. The pullout poster map has 3 maps showing the roads, enemy hangouts and collectibles respectively. In the book, the maps are close-ups of areas and blueprints of buildings with details down to the room level, and the list of collectibles and quests.

If you're a collector-type of player in the game, then this book (or the paperback edition) is for you. I'm not too sure the extra 32 pages of art/stuff/hardcover is worth that extra $6 or so - but it's not too much anyway.

(There are a few pages from the art pages on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

Awesome Guide!, October 19, 2010
I received my Fallout New Vegas Collector's Edition: Prima Official Game Guide on 10/18/2010... so i had a chance to peek at the guide prior to the game being released. To avoid spoiling the game i only read the first few missions, and i must say they are very detailed. A very important area in the fallout series is the choices made for speech... they are covered in detail so you know ahead of time what will result from different choices. The main reason i buy game guides for is for the locations and items. The Fallout New Vegas Collector's Edition: Prima Official Game Guidedoes a great job on listing the items, locations, and extremely detailed weapons stats. Another reason i use the book is to make a plan for how i would like my character to level up. I find it extremely useful to create a draft of your character prior to starting the game. While playing Fallout 3 i made the mistake of choosing some useless perks, i didn't want to do the same again. The guide also has a pull out map identical to the Fallout 3 guide map... very detailed map & useful map!

This book has everything you would expect in a Prima game guide. If you love the Fallout series this is the guide for you!

Outstanding Product, November 20, 2010
The Fallout New Vegas Collectors Edition Game Guide is an excellent book. Extremely detailed and thorough, it covers every aspect of the game; character creation, item lists, statistics, quests, maps and locations, and on and on. Plus it has a very nice section of artwork. If you own the game, you'll want this book. Get yours today!

Great guide, lots of useful information!, November 4, 2010
Not exactly as big as the Fallout 3 Collector's Edition Guide, but still quite a bit of information. You can read through it all or go right to the specific quest that you are on. Has a good(not great) introduction for those starting out in the Fallout World. Not great because it does assume that you are somewhat familiar with the dynamics of the Fallout World.

Covers all the new items that makes this game differ from from Fallout 3 including weapon mods, companions, hardcore modes, etc. A great reference for anybody who owns the game.

The index is located right in the front of the book when you open it. Comes with a large zone map indicating where everything is as far as cities, outposts, etc.

I would recommend this for people who are looking for a very full experience when playing Fallout: New Vegas. You won't be disappointed by this guide at all. Definitely has enough to get you exactly where you want to go in the game.

better than i expected and then some., October 28, 2010
well obviously goin into this i knew what i was getting. which, is a well written guide for fallout new vegas. its written by the same man that wrote the fallout 3 guides, including the add-ons, making it just as easy to follow. however this guide seems to be better constructed as far as layout and maps. the pictures are numbered for easy reference to text, local maps are more detailed, and more items (unique and not so) are pinpointed for you. as far as the extra content due to the whole collecter edition... its friggin awesome! the original artist sketches and drawings are so cool and there is a timeline of all fallout events beginning from fallout 1! i would strongly suggest that any fallout player get the regular guide to maximize gaming but any true fallout fan should definitely own the collectors edition. its worth every penny.Fallout New Vegas Collector's Edition: Prima Official Game Guide

Very nice guide!!, October 28, 2010
The presentation of this guide is beautiful, the drawings and all the way it has been designed. The information is very complete and detailed, also the map comes very handy. I liked the fact that the author took the time to make some small tips for those who have played fallout 3, so we don't have to read all the guide just to see what changed the gameplay got, just read those highlighted tips and thats all :) this is a guide worthy of its price.

Fallout Wiki is better. Plus, the pages smear., December 23, 2010
I found myself using the fallout wiki more often than this book because the book's information was hard to follow and sometimes incomplete. The lack of an index hurts tremendously. And the map was all but useless.

That, and the pages smear with very little effort. (And no, my hands aren't greasy, moist, etc. I'm an adult who knows how to properly handle my books and games.)

Indexes are there for a reason, November 20, 2010
If there were an option between this and a version with an index I'd have payed more for the one with the index. How you can produce a book with this much to reference and not include an index is beyond me.

Great game/book combo, November 19, 2010
The hardcover edition of the strategy guide is great for people like me who walk away from games for months to play it again later. Hard cover prevents any kid of light damage inflicted by being set aside or set upon for other stuff. Added content is great for avid fans of the series. It's not for everyone, but for those looking for a strategy guide for NV, I'd recommend this one over the soft cover one. ... Read more

Editorial Review

• Collector's Edition includes the complete Disney Epic Mickey game guide!
• 40+ fully labeled world maps and extensive walkthroughs reveal the secrets behind every quest, puzzle, boss battle, and hidden area to help Mickey in his quest to save Wasteland!
• Exclusive developer content! Foreword written by the game's creator, Warren Spector. Plus, Warren Spector answers questions about the game and its creation in our 16-page bonus section.
• Limited edition art: 8" by 10" reproduction cel of artwork inspired by the game!

Reviews

Is it just me or is this awful?, December 13, 2010
This book fell far below the standards of this game. Seriously, one of the best games on the Wii I have ever played. But the book is terrible. The author, as good as he thinks it may be speed through when it came to writing this. I really thought due to the multiple endings and hidden items that it would be very detailed and thought out on what to do. There are many things not just incorrect but missing! In my opinion it would just be best to look up hints online or do without this book is just not worth it.

I Like It..., December 23, 2010
I bought this strategy guide primarily because I have the Special Edition of "Epic Mickey," and I thought that the special strategy guide would be cool to have.

I have not had any issues using the guide to help me get past parts of the game, but I will admit, I haven't had to use it much. What I have had to use it for I have found easy to locate in the guide and easy to follow.

I also have to comment on the book itself. It's BEAUTIFUL. The cover is great, the pictures inside are great, and the limited art cell that comes in the package is just spectacular. I actually went and got a frame for the art cell, it's that awesome looking.

If you're looking for a guide for "Epic Mickey," or just looking for something cool to add to your game shelf, you can't really go wrong with this. ... Read more

Editorial Review

With over 11 million active players, World of WarCraft has quickly become the world's most popular ""Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game."" The World of Warcraft calendar features screen shots and rich landscapes taken from this action-packed game. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Easy Crosswords for Kindle, Vol 1, allows you to play interactive crossword puzzles directly on your Kindle!

Puzux is the first company to bring quality interactive content to Amazon's Kindle. Working with renowned crossword writer Myles Mellor, our aim is to deliver the best in mind-games to your Kindle whenever and wherever you are.

Easy Crosswords for Kindle includes five beginner-level crosswords for you to solve. You can save your progress and any point, check your answers and get the full solutions for your puzzle. You can also try a sample of our Sudoku puzzles, which are offered through our books on the Kindle store.

For more crossword books and interactive Sudoku on your Kindle, search for Puzux in the Amazon store.

Please note: These puzzles are for the Amazon Kindle device, and will not work on Kindle software for other devices.In some countries the Kindle is shipped without an internet browser, which is required to play the puzzles in this book. To check whether the browser is available in your location please visit Amazon's Kindle Website and follow the "Live outside the US?" link. ... Read more

Reviews

Constantly on the internet..., July 26, 2010
No sample of the actual puzzle made me mad, but seeing as I've always loved crossword puzzles I figured "how bad could it be?" and this probably was it.
When I downloaded the full "book" the page where the sample let off said something about if this was a sample, play some for free here - this was NOT in the sample!
I tried it out though and found that to solve the puzzles you needed to be on the web the whole time. You need to register on their website (haven't been a member for long enough to know whether they spam me or not), and then you get to start playing.
And here's the other thing: the puzzles are way too simple! I get these clues, to a crossword puzzle not even in my native language, and I figure it all out before I would an easy puzzle in my own laguage.
Basically: no sample, doesn't work on the plane or if you're in a country with no whispernet, and it's all way too easy.

Fun easy puzzles, February 21, 2010
The puzzles are not on the challenging side, but they are very fun to play - which works great for me whenever I have a few free minutes. It took me a few clues to get accustomed to navigating the puzzles on the Kindle, but once I worked that out it's quite addictive.

I love these Kindle versions of crosswords, May 16, 2010
I have never been into crossword puzzles before, but since this was only 99 cents, I thought I'd give it a try. I love the way you can check your entries. It tells you which letters are right and which are wrong so you can delete the wrong ones and continue working the puzzle. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to use this as I kept trying to type the letters in the squares whereas you type in the hint dialog box. You also have to make sure your browser is in Advanced Mode, and Java is turned on. Once I got it working, it is great. Be sure to save your entries often as my Kindle glitched a few times and reset, and I lost some entries. If you have never tried crosswords or found them too hard, this Kindle version might be easier and more fun than printed book crosswords.

solid crossword - good value, April 1, 2010
These work like a charm. A great addition to the kindle.
Interface is OK and it only works when the device is connected - but since I'm usually playing on the bus it's good enough for me.
The puzzles are fairly simple and my next try will be a more difficult book

Great to have this on My Kindle, February 25, 2010
I love puzzles and it's great to play them on my Kindle. Didn't encounter any issues so far - will check out their Sudoku soon and report back

Easy Crosswords for Kindle, December 4, 2010
I cannot rate this item because I cannot access it. I cannot get into the link to even begin playing. I am sorry I got it.

Decent puzzles, September 2, 2010
After a few days, Puzux finally works with the new kindle. Puzzles are fairly easy. I wish there was a way to actually download them to the kindle, but as far as I can tell, you have to go on-line to play.

Puzux, May 3, 2010
just bought this crossword book but can't seem to get in to log on much less play!

awkward and slow, February 19, 2010
I was excited to see a crossword puzzle book for kindle but it is very slow and cumbersome to play. You would be better off just playing a regular written crossword puzzle.

Great crosswords and Sudoku, March 1, 2010
I've bought this and their sudoku - they are both great additions to the Kindle! ... Read more

Editorial Review

* Golden Guidance—Solve every puzzle and slay each fiend with ease as you follow our step-by-step walkthrough!
* Dark Dawn Database—Immerse yourself in the lore of Golden Sun with a flip through its complete Encyclopedia—all entries included!
* Keep Questing—Discover the many asides that await you even after completing the main adventure!
* Djinn Index—Quickly track down all of those hidden Djinn and discover each one's special benefits!
* Secret Summons—Locate and obtain every special Summon to unleash the true power of Alchemy!

Reviews

Walkthrough, and not much else, December 1, 2010
I am a huge fan of the first two Golden Sun games. I went deep into the games, getting all of the rare items via the specific ways to kill specific monsters (see GameFAQs for the first two if you're confused as to what I'm talking about). I picked up the new game and guide enthusiastically when they came out, but I'm admittedly a little disappointed with the guide.

The guide is pretty much a glorified walkthrough. In addition to the main walkthrough, it has locations and effects of the Djinn listed in the back (but not what you need to get to them), it has locations and effects of the summons (again, not how to get them) and finally it has locations and descriptions of the encyclopedia entries. Noticeably missing from the strategy guide are an items section and a classes section! The item stats and where to get them (including what the rare ones drop from) are two of the most important things in endgame GS and GS:LA. Equally important is choosing the right classes for your party. With both of those things missing from the strategy guide, this remains nothing more than a glorified walkthrough. I'd recommend it to people who have trouble getting through the main story, but not for much else.

It Helps But Lacks Depth, December 25, 2010
Golden Sun Games are often fantastic, but finding everything and solving all those puzzles might sometimes be tricky. A strategy guide is nice to have just in case you get stuck. And make no mistake, this one isn't a bad guide if you're only real goal is to get through the game. If you're looking for a guide that'll give you all the info you could ever want for Golden Sun, you're going to have to go elsewhere. The guide isn't bad, it just feels incomplete.

It begins, as most guides do, with a game basics section. They'll give you the backstory, telling you everything which happened in the first two Golden Sun games. For those new to Golden Sun (and for whatever reason won't read the manual) this is a pretty good way to help you get acquainted with the game. It's a mostly quick run through. Golden Sun veterans won't have to spend any time here. It's more or less a rehash of what you've already been doing in the first two games.

After all the basics it waste no time jumping into the walkthrough, and that's more or less all the guide is. It's not a bad walkthrough. It's split into chapters and then goes by an area by area layout. When you reach a new area there is a map where it points out all the items, a list of Djinn that could be in the area and finally there's a list of Encyclopedia entries. The guide will tell you when and how you can get the Djinn and Encyclopedia entries. There are moments, however, when the walkthrough feels sluggish. Sometimes relating what's happening in the story and other times not getting to the point of what you should be doing. The good news is there is a bit of organization to the walkthrough. The table of contents will point you to every location and just about every tab. So even if you get ahead of yourself it's not hard to find where you are in the walkthrough. The boss strategies can be helpful and the maps actually are quite detailed. The walkthrough also goes into details about the events you can do outside of the main game.

Beyond the walkthrough, however, the appendices aren't that worthwhile. It list Djinn, Encyclopedia Entries, Summons and Sagas... but there's no list of weapons, armor, items, psynergies or anything like that. It would've been really nice if they'd at least included an enemy list. Telling you how much HP certain enemies had, their weaknesses etc. Golden Sun Dark Dawn isn't an especially hard game, but an RPG guide book should never lack a comprehensive bestiary or a monster list. It doesn't even call out the enemies that may appear in any area in the walkthrough.

The guide also lacks any real look into the game's class system. Telling you instead to put all your Djinn on characters who match their particular elements. For example it will tell you to assign all your Venus Djinn to Matthew because he's Earth based. This is well and good, but just before this the guide encourages you to mix and match the Djinn once you get beyond seven or so. But it provides no class list or shows you just what different mixes you can make (or give any hint to how it can impact your stats). This is actually VERY strange considering Prima's guide for the original two Golden Sun games provided players with a class chart for every job. Here that information is comprised to a small note that basically says, "once you get beyond seven try mixing and matching." The job system is a pretty integral part of Golden Sun--the way it works is what separates Golden Sun for every other JRPG--and for a guide to more or less ignore this complex element is pretty bad. If you feel like playing the game in a different manner (such as experimenting with other job types) this guide won't really help you for that. It is more or less designed to get you through the game but not informing you of all the unique ways in which the system works.

The guide ends with a poster that is a world map. This is pretty cool as long as you don't lose it. But beyond that the guide itself doesn't actually have a world map inside. So if you lose the poster you'll have to rely on the guides directions to find certain areas (if they even tell you how to get there). So it's actually pretty important to hold onto this poster to avoid getting lost.

So it has a good walkthrough but outside of that Prima's Golden Sun Dark Dawn guide really doesn't offer that much more. If you're only goal is to get through the game the guide will help. But if you want to master the game, find everything and learn everything about the game's complex mechanics then this guide isn't really going to provide that for you.

Good walkthrough, but could have been more complete, December 28, 2010
Like several of the other reviewers have said, this game guide does *not* have any information on the different classes available for using more than one type of elemental Djinn (spirits which can be attached to your characters to increase their stats, be used in battle to perform various actions, or summoned in battle for a powerful attack) or which monsters drop which items. Information like this, which can be helpful for people interested in more than just completing the game or completing the game with all the Djinn, is available at various gaming websites like www.gamefaqs.com and will likely become more detailed/complete as people update and finish their guides.

As for what's in this guide, you have a pretty good introduction to how the game is played and a detailed walkthrough telling you how to progress in the story and where items/Djinn are located along the way. It's not 100% perfect in picking up items - for example, if there's supposed to be an item in a barrel, check the surrounding barrels or boxes around the area - but it does a very good job with where and when Djinn and treasure chests can be obtained, especially where or when to go back if your current party is unable to obtain it at the first time you see it.

In summary, this guide does lack information that more seasoned RPG players or those familiar to the Golden Sun series may find helpful, but it has most of the basics that a casual or first-time player would need to complete the story and would be a decent purchase for novice and repeat players of the games in the Golden Sun series.

Contrary to the First Review, December 5, 2010
This guide is quite informative, and if you actually bother to go through it, it gives instructions on how to obtain each of the Djinn. I would recommend this guide to anyone who wants to ensure that they miss nothing as they play the game. ... Read more