5 comments about Wild Arms 5: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides).

1. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R6HV2B21DOXIH Hello everyone. Sean A. Rhodes here bringing you my first ever video review on Amazon.com! I know, it's on a strategy guide, but let's just say this serves as a test to see if a video review can actually be done. So think of it as a pilot for a television show. I hope you all enjoy it. Crafting a video review takes more work than it looks. If you can't stick around for the entire review (at 5 minutes it's a pretty long review for a strategy guide) I'll gladly lists the pros and cons for you right here:
   
   Pros:
   
   -Exhaustive Game Basics Section
   -Great Info on Combat
   -Well Put Together Walkthrough
   
   Cons:
   
   -Lots of Spoilers
   -Not All the Sidequests are Detailed and Prima will Refer You to Their Website
   
   Finally, keep all comments respectful. If you'd like, give some suggestions on what you'd like to see done in future video reviews. Being that some of you are probably gamers, I will more than likely have video game reviews in the future as well.



2. When I find out that Prima is writing a guide for a game, I cringe. Case in point: Breath of Fire III: Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Blech. This one, however may just trump the BOFIII guide as the worst I've seen yet. Here's why.
   The guide begins with 25 pages of stuff that can be thrown out the window. All of the game basics, like button configurations, battle system, and anything else found in the included instruction manual are spread out lengthily in the first section of the guide. This wouldn't be too bad, until the guide removes sections to make room for this, which I'll get to later. Then there is a character guide, which is helpful enough for combination arts (which you won't use after a certain point in the game anyway) and badge combinations (which you could probably figure out on your own). Now comes the fun part.
   The actual walkthrough is nothing but maps. That's right, nothing but maps. And the worst part of that is, you can see the exact same maps by pressing the START button in any dungeon! The only text you will find is in boss strategies, story spoilers, or little boxes giving you simple solutions to some puzzles. Then they have a treasure table telling you in what area (each dungeon is divided into areas, each screen is an area) each treasure is in. That's it. No exact location, no detail on how to get to it, just what area it is in. Fantastic. This wouldn't be too bad either, but a certain sidequest (and Ex. File Key requirement) will have you gritting your teeth at this throughout the whole game. For a straight walkthrough, it's functional, but little more than that. Also, if there is an area in an early dungeon that you can return to much later in the game once you have gotten a certain item, you must flip all the way back to that dungeon in the guide just to find out what you'll get if you return. There aren't even any reminders when you get the item to go back, you have to flip through the whole guide every time you get a new item. This is just faster and more convenient then going back through the every dungeon, I guess.
   Now we come to my favorite part of this guide, and by favorite, I mean least favorite. The sidequest section offers some good info, but is far incomplete. Some sidequests are simple fetch quests, and the guide goes into enough details for those, while other quests involve great detail that the guide just doesn't see fit to mention. For example, there is an extensive walkthrough on solving all 20 Puzzle Boxes, but when you first start the game, you notice you can't find the boxes on the map. Why is that? The guide won't tell you, but I will. You have to talk to Brad from WA2 at Meisis Station to activate the Puzzle Boxes. Oh, now you can't find Carol's ultimate weapon? That's right, the guide doesn't describe that either, but just talk to Brad after completing the Puzzle Boxes and he will hand it to you. Those are some simple things the guide just left out, and you would have to go online for hours to research. Also, there is a sidequest where you need to open every treasure chest in the world, and then open and battle the Black Chest on the world map. Funny thing is, the guide doesn't detail 4 treasure chests in the actual game itself, so you may always end up at least 4 chests short, if not more! The guide also doesn't list the location of all 30 Neutrino Medals in the walkthrough itself, but it does in the sidequest section. You won't know you're short the medal in area 18 of the Lightless Shaft until you're about done with game, however. There are also 4 optional dungeons in the game that contain 12 of the 30 Neutrino Medals, and 47 of the 365 treasure chests. The guide doesn't cover a single bit of the optional dungeons. For your $[...], you get a prompt to go to [...] to find walkthroughs, detailed exactly like pages from the guide, on all four optional dungeons. If I wanted to go online for a guide, I would go to [...], and I did. Also, the locations of all the secret armors obtained from old Wild ARMs characters, are never revealed, nor are there strategies on fighting 6 optional bosses on the overworld map, not including the black chest.
   If you're patient like me, you will spend hours online finding out what you missed by using the guide. Isn't that exactly what a guide is supposed to prevent us from doing? I put 60 hours into getting everything on WA5, but in total, what with browsing the internet, printing off guides, and comparing this guide to other online walkthroughs, I probably spent 85 total hours on this game. Sure, this guide will help, especially with treasures found on the world map and puzzle solutions, but just know that this guide is incomplete, and you will be looking elsewhere for help.



3. Great coverage of the main storyline, bonus features are a little vague. Maps for the 4 optional dungeons are not included (you have to go to the website to see them, which is hard to use while playing the game.) Overall a decent guide but you will find yourself checking other sources for info on some of the bonus material.



4. When i purchased the Wild Arms 5 guide,thanks to the other reviews, i had an idea of what i was getting. Then i opened the guide.......
   
   While the guide gives out some good info, there is no way you will come close to finishing the game 100% with it, which is what i purchased the guide for in the first place.
   
   For example, there are multiple versions of how mediuyms work in both the front and back of the guide. This space could have easily been put to better use by inserting info, like the hidden dungeons instead.
   
   The guide also doesn't show you what can be won after battles when you are standing on certain hex spaces. That is a must if you want to get items like duplicators after battles, so you don't have to buy them from the black market.
   
   The walkthrough section has nice pictures of the dungeon layout, but the info given to you on how to complete puzzles is mish-mashed all over the page, instead of in an orderly fashion.
   
   Also, while the guide gives you a list of all Asgard's equipment, it doesn't tell you where to find it. It's not all found in chests, but also won after battles, and being in the correct hex.
   
   I could continue on, but from what i've stated, this guide gives you a partial leg up on the game, period. Go to a faqs site if you really want the 100% completion.



5. You really need the guide if you are going to find everything in this game. The guide was missing stuff itself though that I went online and found the holes.

5 comments about Not Your Mama's Crochet: The Cool and Creative Way to Join the Chain Gang (Not Your Mamas).

1. How in unholy **ll can a scarf be called "Not Your Mama's.."? At least I did not see any creche figures, which are so abundant in my mom's pattern collection (worth one star for this alone). When I first saw the book I thought "Yah! Something New, Unique and Interesting, only to be shot down immediately. I was left with the notion that I'd seen everything before and that these were just a different (garish) color. If you have just started crocheting and have a very small collection of patterns this may please you. If you have eight lineal feet of patterns, like me, keep moving.



2. This is a great book for those who are learning how to crochet. The patterns in here range from insanely simple to difficult and interesting enough to keep a seasoned crocheter like me interested. My only complaint is that most of the clothing patterns don't include instructions for anything above a XL, though they're simple enough to adjust for that. I gave a copy of this book to another aspiring crocheter - I recommend it for anyone who wants to learn.



3. This book has some really cute and fashionable patterns, that a young crocheter would love. It also has some helpful hints and great ideas on making your own designs. However, the instructions for many of the patterns are unclear and confusing. This is meant to be a beginner crochet book, but I cannot see how a beginner crocheter would be able to understand and successfully make some of these projects. The book could also use step by step photos. Trying to follow the unclear directions, I had no idea if my project was coming out right! It was very frustrating.



4. I'm am an advanced-beginner I guess you could call it and this book was so confusing! The patterns are not written in the standard format that 99% of patterns are written in so it was really, really hard to figure out. I never got even one row of any project done because I had to keep flipping back to the begging where they explained what they meant by an abbreviating or word. I'm sure someone could learn really well from this book, but they'd be basically starting all over when they go to learn a pattern from anything else. Also, a lot of the patterns don't give you specifics, like how many chains or rows. It's king of hard to make the item in the picture if you don't know how wide or long your going... Personally, I think it's a waste of time, and money.



5. My children laugh at me for knitting and crocheting, like only old grandmas do it. I like a different perspective and enjoy this book's new spin on an old yarn. Well done.

5 comments about Monster Manual (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons).

1. The Monster Manual is one of the best books ever made. Buy it! Awwwww Yeahhhhhh this book rules.



2. This book is the ultimate Monsters Manual, the first is the best. It gives you specific details on monsters. Being that I only have 2 hit points, I have to pick my monsters carefully. Once, while at Burgermaster, a kolbold threw a burger at me with his sling. He rolled a 20, a critical hit, and the burger did 2x the normal damage, knocking me out for 2 hp! As I lay unconcious, a gelatinous cube slowly slimed my burger and fries up. When I came to, I saw him slowly digesting my burger and fries and I exclaimed "How rude!" But the Gelatinous cube just rumbled his gelationous bulbous stomach at me. I would have kicked it's ass, but luckily the Monster Manual told me that would've been a bad idea to use my hands. So instead I used my bic lighter and he apologized for eating my combo#1.



3. Just surfing and had to say I love this book. I still have the dog-eared copy I bought in 1979 safely tucked away, 7th grade scribbles and all. I saved my paltry allowance for a month to buy this baby. This is one of those books that always has a place in your heart. Not really useful anymore though for the new gamer, go pick up the updated one (MM 3.5 edition version), but for us vets, back in the day it was all about this bad boy.



4. More than the Dungeon Master's Guide, more than the Player's Handbook, this book is what made D&D the gaming force that it was for over a decade.
   
   A complete listing of monsters for use in the game, the book ensured that every DM could craft an adventure that had new and exciting monsters to be vanquished, and the special powers peculiar to some creatures suggested story lines that were ripe for the picking.
   
   This also set up for the first time a way to rate the strengths of various mythological creatures against each other. Can a Troll kill an Orc? Can a Dragon defeat a Water Elemental? How many Goblins does it take to make a fair fight against a Pegasus? Gygax carefully considered these questions and gave us a version of familiar fantasy figures that was grounded in concrete numbers.
   
   The drawings are admittedly horrible, with many of them looking like study hall doodlings instead of the legitimate artwork that came to characterize later editions.
   
   But the value of this book can't be overrated by a would-be fantasy gamer. The encyclopedic format opened the world of fantasy gaming to a world that was vast enough to include a universe of varied creatures, but cohesive enough to be thought of as a single reality.



5. This book harkens back to the "good old days" when playing the paper and pencil D&D used to be new and fun. There have been several reincarnations of this manual and I've thumbed through them but they just don't hold a candle to the original, despite the fancier artwork. All the good monsters were there from the Umber Hulks to the Neo Oytughs. I am not at all happy with the direction TSR took after Mr. Gygax was booted out (or left, can't remember which) and one big loss was the original rule manuals. They are now up to version 3 something of the rules but I do not even know what they are because I just play computer games now. All I know about the new rules is that multi-class characters are easier to work with. It was an exciting time, a different era. I still have this manual and will always treasure it. If you can find one, pick it up just to see how things used to be done. Highly recommended.

3 comments about Jumbo Sudoku.

1. This is a great sudoku book im a sudoku addict. I own three and this is my favorite. My only complaint is that puzzles are random in difficulty(not in order)



2. I ordered 2 copies of this, based on how much I love Mepham's "Total Sudoku" -- but I wish I hadn't. It has 2 puzzles per page instead of one large puzzle per page as shown on the cover. Mepham's "Total Sudoku" has one puzzle per page -- which is wonderful. There is no reason to want an awkward 8 X 10 page except to get a really big grid. If I'm going to have half-page-size puzzles, give me a half-page-size book that is easier to hold. And this does not have any 16 by 16 puzzles, which are my favorites. And the answer grids are TINY.



3. Michael Mepham provides this workbook full of Sudoku puzzles. They range from easy to, in his words, fiendish. Each puzzle has a solution printed in the back. While there are two puzzles per page, they are nevertheless bigger than those in newspapers, and certainly bigger than those in most if not all electronic Sudoku kits. There are some unconventional Sudoku puzzles, including those which form an X-shape of five nested Sudoku sub-puzzles.
   
   Some tips are given in the beginning of the book for the solving of Sudoku puzzles. These include the use of clues provided by numbers that are remote from each other on the puzzle. For very difficult situations, Mepham recommends that the puzzle-solver narrow a spot to two possibilities, then take a guess at one of the two numbers and see if it creates a self-consistent solution.

4 comments about Rug Hooking for the first time (For the First Time).

1. This is a great book for the beginning rug hooker. Finally, a book written on how to hook rugs that does not refer to the reader as though they already know everything! This is a wonderful book, full of clear instructions and pictures. I would deffinately recomend this book to anyone interested in rug hooking. This is the BEST book out there for the beginner. Lots and lots of beginner projects too.



2. This book is an excellent beginning's reference! I had no idea how to even start a rug, but after reading this book...well, it just covers everything. And it talks a lot about primitive hookings..which I love. Great resource!!



3. An excellent resource for the beginner or seasoned primitive hooker. Simple instructions and patterns included.



4. I have tried hooking rugs many years ago and wanted a refresher. This paperback book was fairly thin and the designs were a little too primitive~country for me. And, upon looking through the book, I realized that I knew many of the basics of wool fabrics and cutters and hooks. I should've realized it was more of a beginner's manual and although it does have delightful colored pictures of the projects, they are not as different, as geometric or as contemporary as I have been looking for.

2 comments about Simon & Schuster Super Crostics Book #6 (Simon & Schuster Super Crostics Book).

1. This is the very best collection of Middleton's crostic puzzles that I have ever encountered. (And I have done a lot of his puzzles over the years.)



2. Haven't used it yet but was disappointed that I didn't pick up in the description that it wasn't spiral bound. Lots of puzzles but working with it will be annoying. Not sure, but I thought the paper stock was not as heavy as spiral bound crostics. I have a feeling I'll have to forego half the puzzles because of that.
   
   My bad!!!

No comments about Will Shortz Presents Triple Threat Sudoku: 200 Hard Puzzles.

No comments about Will Shortz Presents Stress-Free Sudoku: 100 Wordless Crossword Puzzles.

5 comments about All-American Car-i-oke.

1. I wasn't sure how this would go over with my 7 and 9 year old girls, but we had a lot of fun with it on a l-o-n-g car ride home from vacation this summer. Not all the songs were familiar to us, but learning the lyrics was part of the fun.
   This gets three thumbs up from the girls and me and one from my husband, who was driving, and glad no one was complaining about being in the car so long.



2. I road tested this item with my three children on a long car ride a couple of years ago. It was a huge hit with my family, so I highly recommend it at my website [...]. Even after two years, we still use it frequently on trips, so it has given us more than our money's worth.
   
   It comes with a CD for the music and several extra copies of the lyrics in smaller booklets for everyone in the car (no fighting!). The CD does a great job of giving "musical cues" when you are supposed to start singing, and there is such a variety that there is sure to be something that everyone will like - including the adults!
   
   One of our favorites is the "make your own blues" song. My kids loved making up their own lines for that song in addition to the suggested lyrics. They also really love "Big Rock Candy Mountain" which was full of hilarious kid humor. The backseat drumming is also very popular. One thing we also love to do with this is to practice singing the Star Spangled Banner together. It can be a hard song to sing sometimes, but my kids are now pros and can belt out our National Anthem with pride.
   
   We never go on a road trip without this item. I'll be buying the Christmas version of this next.



3. This was good for at least an hour of no-bickering drive time. It isn't "kiddie" music, so it's entertaining for the adults, as well. Several extra copies of the lyrics mean you can lose one without harm. The cover and binding are durable, to put up with the abuses of living in a family vehicle. I'm looking at the holiday version next.



4. This was a great idea and I bought it for a road trip with the kids last summer. We enjoyed parts of it. But most of it, unless you know every single song by heart, is hard to follow. It would be nice to have the singers singing back up through more of the songs, or at least have better intrances cues. I am fairly comfortable with music and singing with my kids, but I have never learned 'Cielita Linda' well enough to sing it with only the words.
   
   All in all, not worth the money for me, though my kids do love the drum solo song where all they have to do is bang on stuff to a cool beat.



5. A long roadtrip can be hard on kids no matter what they're ages. This had something for everyone. We sang along to some classic songs that most of us had forgotten the words to. Whenever we were going thru somewhere we couldn't pick up a station we used this. Also it came with extra books so noone had to share.

3 comments about Beckett Price Guide to Hot Wheels, 1st Edition.

1. It's good if you started collect in the last few years, If you have older cars I would recommend Lee's Toy Review. Lee's put's out Toy price guide every month.



2. I purchased this book thinking that it was a collection of all the hot wheels from the beginning. The fine print of 2006-2008 was difficult to see on the cover.For those who are only interested in those years the book was filled with great pictures and information,but for the vintage collector, this is not helpful!



3. I just wanted to know the new models of first editions of 2008 but there are not in the guide, there are the last 2007 models, but I really liked the guide because there are pictures of our club cars in mexico. Thanks.