5 comments about Final Fantasy VIII Official Strategy Guide.

1. fast shipping, perfect condition, all around great, happy with my purchase. I know generic comment but I can't think of any other way to describe it



2. I found this book to be an improvement on the FF7 book. The directions are easier to follow, and it includes a lot of important information. I would have liked the names of the Cards to be easier to read - dark font on a dark background is too hard to reference for anything - and the beastialityairy was too hard to decipher. But that's a small point when you compare it to the failure to continue with the total coverage in the FF9 book. This book told me what I needed to know about the little things that I missed - the weapons, the GFs, the magazines (not enough room), and locations like the Islands or the Deep Sea Research Center. It was tremendously helpful. Still is.



3. As a long-time fan of the Final Fantasy series, it was with great joy that I intended to give a copy of Final Fantasy VIII to my niece. Given the intermittent access that she has to the PS2 at home, the strategy guide was a needed piece for the gift, else she completely lose her place between sessions. Imagine my horror when, a week before her birthday, the copy I had was destroyed in a terrible coffee accident...
   
   As guides go it's thorough and detailed; the included bestiary becomes of great use in the later game, when elemental weaknesses can be the key to victory. The maps are solid and clear and the step-by-step nature of the book makes it ideal for session-based play. She was thrilled with the gift, and I was thrilled with the promptness of its arrival.



4. "Okay....now what the heck do I do"? - a common question by those of us who are not "naturals" at games such as this. The graphics are fantastic - clear and detailed and the game play (though a little challenging) is relatively smooth but you are left with questions; as in "How the heck did that happen"? "Now what"? this guide will help you over those spots where you think you are going to be stuck forever. A wee bit technical at times but packed full with good information and tips, this guide will usually dig you out of the hole you have buried yourself into when you are on the play game level that I am.



5. This item is a great asset to any gamers collection. With great detail and tips, i would recommend it to any FFVII Gamer.

5 comments about Knock-Out Blackjack: The Easiest Card-Counting System Ever Devised.

1. This book is simpler but works as well as other books for two reasons. You don't have to do multiple calculations to get a true count and it offers great advice for disguising your card counting techniques. I won $2,000 the first time out of the gate using this method.



2. This is a good book if you want to become a casual card counter. If you are planning on quitting your job and becoming a professional blackjack player, you would certainly need more than this, but the "Johnny (or Jane) Weekend" player that just wants to not get killed by the casino should read and study this book. My favorite part of Vancura and Fuchs's system is the fact that there is no need to clumsily estimate how many decks are left and divide that number into the running count to obtain the true count. K-O Blackjack is a mathematically sound counting system which involves much less effort and study than even the Hi-Lo system. Highly recommended!



3. This system will not work.
   
   Let's assume your playing in a 6-deck game. This system has you start your running count at -20, with -4 or higher as the "key" (The point at which you bet high). Using the KO method, after all of the decks are counted through the count will be +4. Does anyone else see the flaw here? Let's say you have a count of -3. This system tells you to bet high (Even suggesting 10 betting units!). But think about it, if a deck completely counted through will end up at +4, then there's a better chance that you'll be drawing low cards, meaning the dealer actually has the advantage. Put simply, if you use this system YOU WILL BE BETTING HIGH WHEN THE DEALER HAS THE ADVANTAGE. If I'm wrong then correct me, please. But I believe this is a very faulty system. If you win anything using it, count it off as luck. Eventually it will ruin you.
   
   This book explains other counting systems as being near impossible for the average person to learn; even explaining how difficult the Hi-Lo system is (Bull). The Hi-Lo system is still the easiest effective counting system (Explained well in Wong's "Professional Blackjack") with the Omega II being one of the most powerful (Beautifully explained in "Blackjack for Blood" by Bryce Carlson). I highly recommend either one of those two systems.
   
   There is a note in this book about the notion of blackjack books being put out by casinos to sort of sabotage counters with false tips. I believe this may very possibly be one of those books. Avoid, avoid, avoid.



4. If you are an amateur, which you probably are if you are reading this, stop reading right now. Get out your credit card and order this book.
   
   I ordered this book a little over a year ago, and since then I am 8-1-1 in my last 10 casino visits. I am UNDEFEATED (too many games to count) in local private games with low table limits, which are fairly common here in this college town. This was all after practicing card counting for 30 minutes per day for about a month.
   
   This is the most effective simple system you can learn to use. Forget about hi/lo. Knock-Out is an unbalanced system, which means there is no need to keep a true count. This is extremely valuable in a casino environment when you have cocktail watresses grabbing you every 10 minutes and the guy beside you won't shut his trap. Order this book, get a deck of cards, print off the strategy tables and go to work.



5. I usually don't write reviews, but I decided to on this one, because there are some reviews that are idiotic. So, let me share with you my experience. Not only have I read this book, I have actually USED the system. Not only have I used this system, I have also used Hi-Low, and Hi-Low OptI. This book specifically tells you why he wrote it from the beginning, and mentioned all the ins and outs of the count. It is well written, and if you have IQ over 50, you'll understand it. Now the real story.
   
   Basically unbalanced count was developed for the "real" world. Why, try Hi-Low OptI count for 8 hours at a packed casino. Try going there 8pm on friday night, and see if you'll find a table with 3 players only. LOL. You won't. Hi-Low OptI is very draining on your mental fatigue, I doubt even 20 year pros can keep doing it for that long. What they have to do is, do it for an hour and move on to another casino, or table after break. Same with Hi-Low, although easier, it is mentally taxing. I actually sat at a same table ($15) and played for 8 hours straight using KO. It's taxing, but not so much as balanced system. That's what it is designed for.
   
   The book comes out telling you that it's not good as balanced count system, but by miniscule fraction! BJinsider did a great article (i think it's newsletter 29 - free) that showed how KO, Red7, BlackA did against Hi-Low on a 6-deck. Hi-Low was .68% gain, vs .67% for Red7, .65% for KO and .63% for BlackA. The great thing is you don't have to take his word for it. You can download some of these testing softwares or buy it, and run the test yourself, and you should get a similar results.
   
   Now, the final point. All these statistics for counting are using A LARGE # of hands played, to minimize noise and get the actual true "worth" of the system. Remember, you have to play over million hands to actually see these results. .65% is little over 1% advantage over the house. You ain't going to make thousands consistently playing 500-600 hands a week. That why there was the mit "TEAM". They main objective is to get as many hands played possible (they also cheated little using team work, but we'll leave that for another day). If you can get 45-60 hands/hour, you can probably play 10-12 hours/day with break in between. that's like 600 hands avg a day. You have to play 7x600 = 4200 hands. 4200x50 = 210K hands. Do that for 5 years, and maybe you'll stiff 6 figure gain. You want a LIFE like that? (exaggerating little bit, but you get the point)
   
   So, what I'm trying to say is KO is a GREAT system for casual players, as this book was written for. It's also a good system for pros, since it's similar to Hi-Low in returns. Don't expect to leave the casinos with a whad of cash, if you're lucky it can happen. I once made over $2k playing $15 table in 2.5 hours. So, it's possible with KO. But you gotta be lucky too. Because I've also been busted couple of times too ($400 max each session). It's over the long haul he's talking about. Oh, unbalanced system becomes more accurate as deeper you penetrate the deck, so don't go crazy early on. wait for 3-4 decks to be gone, so each deck you'll only have 2 or 3 chances to bet big. That's still good enough if you get lucky, since odds are with you. I played many shoes that I didn't even get to bet big, it's ok. This is the grind. Big spreads are best, but can get heat, so learn some stealth from this book or other books. Go there to have fun, make some money if you are lucky, just don't expect to be rich unless you plan on 12h x 7d x 50wks x50yrs BJ life. Hope this helps.
   
   Edit: I forgot to add this tidbit, since I mostly play AC and they only have shoe games. But for 1 or 2 deck games, I'd recommend learning the Hi-Low as you want more accurate count then. But for shoes games KO and Red7 is just as nice.

5 comments about World of Warcraft Master Guide, Second Edition (World of Warcraft).

1. The book helps you in the early stages of the game. Does not have anything on the two new expansion set that the only problem.



2. Amazaing book to start out with, includes everything you need to now about the game and even things that you dont. The book is so finley detailed with everything from your first dagger to level 60(70 if burning crusade) and soon to be 80



3. A seemingly good idea in concept, an unbelievably bad idea in reality.
   These guides suffer from a few issues, that ultimately make them a bad purchase.
   
   (1.) Obviously a printed guide for an online game, won't be up-to-date, but these guides are hopelessly out of date. This fact alone makes these guides a complete and total waste of money. If you really want a guide, buy the .PDF version from Brady's website or ask Amazon to carry the .PDF version. The .PDF version is updated periodically throughout the year.
   
   (2.) Due to the nature of all the games being released at any given time, there are lots of guides to write. Understandably they must be pressed for time. But these guides seem to have be so rushed that there are typos, incorrect information and missing information. Mistakes like these can make the guide unusable at times.
   
   (3.) Any guide will likely be used by newer players. They will need to find information quickly and easily. Whoever setup these guides doe not understand information design or the essential needs of a new player. Even if you skip reason 1 and 2, when you actually use the guide, you will likely be frustrated many times.
   
   [...]
   
   Save your money for other fun stuff, like WoW 60 Day Game Cards which amazon usually offers for a good price.



4. If you are looking for information or maps on Outlands - this is not the book for you. Burning Crusades was introduced well over a year ago and this book has not even a hint. If you have Master Guide one - stick with it for the lower levels - it at least has decent maps. If you don't have either then look it up on Thottbot - cheaper and more up to date.



5. My husband who doesn't read, reads this book daily. It really helps with the WOW game. If you play this game you will love this book.

5 comments about World of WarCraft Dungeon Companion, Volume 2 (Official Strategy Guides (Bradygames)).

1. My husband uses all the while he plays. It gives you all kind of info on how to succeed at dongens. It also gives tip 7 tells you where you need to be at what level. He says its very helpful. He couldn't wait to get it



2. The WoW Dungeon Companion, vol 2 book is a great book to assist the average to new gamer in the different advanced dungeons of the Outlands. This book along with the vol 1 is a great collection of the instances you can run with groups. It is very helpful in understanding the different characters you will go up against in battle and overall must kill to get the loot they will drop. Plus it gives you great insight on the dungeons itself, how to position the group and where to go if you need a guide due to going in the wrong direction. The book also gives you the different types of loot certain bosses carry and that you can possibly receive if you defeat them. I would highly recommend this books to all along with the other book available on for the World Of Warcraft.



3. This dungeon companion is very comprehensive MOST of the time, some of the boss fights and trash pulls seem like they might be over simplified. Other than that, it's great to have and it's assisted me in alot of really tough fights. I suggest this to anyone who is really into raiding in WoW.



4. This work is an improvement over the first volume that covered the instances for the original game. The layout and text are more user-friendly (and easier on the eyes) plus it lays out the instances in the order in which you are likely to encounter them, as in from lowest-level to highest. The strategy tips for (most) of the encounters are also highly helpful.
   
   What prevents this book from being a top-rated work are the same problems found in the first one. For one, with Blizzard constantly updating content, not all the material in the book is current, such as adding or subtracting encounters in instances or lowering how difficult a particular encounter is. In addition, not all the instance write-ups really give detailed advice on how to defeat it or offer alternatives to what is given; the section on Dark Portal: Black Morass readily springs to mind. Finally, the book suffers from the same lackidaisical proofreading as the first one, with numerous typographical and spelling errors that simply should not be in a published work.
   
   Overall, this book is an excellent reference for those who want to advance and succeed in the game as quickly as possible. Just remember to use other online references to supplement it for game updates and other perspectives on how to run the instances, or you may be in for a few nasty surprises.



5. I purchased the dungeon guide as a gift for my husband. It was exactly what he wanted as a WOW player. This guide gave fairly up to date information about the BC instances and bosses allowing him to get a decent preview of a dungeon before entering.

5 comments about Hold'em Wisdom for all Players.

1. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Would highly recommend this book for the serious and amateur Texas hold-em player.



2. Harsh reviews for this book are hardly accurate
   You can't read a book called "Hold'em Wisdom for all players" and expect to get caro's book of tells and psycho analysis details summarized.
   Anyone in any sport or game of skill realizes if you stop "working out" you become weak. This book is an easy read and a quick reference as a reminder to not repeat past mistakes. It keeps the basics in your head with a quick "cliff notes" format of pretty good. Only Liars and 5+ year poker player veterans would say they never make mistakes that this book points out.



3. This book is easy to read, but offers little new advice. No new ideas like i was hoping for but maybe his next book will be better. Its a tweener book because its not for people who are starting to play holdem and its not for people who have been playing for awhile.



4. Like most of the other reviewers, I'm impressed with Negreanu's poker play. His ability to put opponent's on a hand and to win with such frequency is astounding. I picked up this book hoping for some novel insights. Negreanu, after all, claims it contains wisdom for all hold'em players. Not only does Negreanu provide nothing new or incisive for those of us with an advanced understanding of the game, the book doesn't even qualify as a something useful for beginners.
   
   Negreanu's "advice" boils down to: be nice at the table, don't tell your bad beat stories, mix up your play and try to put your opponents on a hand -- and, oh by the way, I'm wonderful. Although he covers a number of important topics (pot odds, reading opponents, playing a short stack, etc.), he doesn't cover them in enough detail to provide a reader of any level with any insight into the game. It seems as if he spent no more than an hour writing each chapter. Indeed, most chapters are only a few pages long and too many contain his recollections of hands he's won. Worse, the tone of the book is often didactic -- don't softplay, be friendly, don't get angry, blah, blah, blah. I finished the book, but it wasn't easy.
   
   If you're just starting out, Phil Gordon's "Little Green Book" is well-written, insightful, and with enough analysis and real advice to help a beginner or intermediate player take his game to the next level. Moreover, Gordon is never didactic or condescending. If you're a little more advanced and have the time, I recommend Dan Harrington's three-volume set on playing no-limit tournaments. Maybe the best series ever written on No Limit. Truly an outstanding piece of work.



5. If this book were titled "Hold'em Wisdom for New Players" I would have given it 5 stars, as it does provide a lot of answers to questions a new player faces. For advanced players the book doesn't offer that much. I will say this is probably the easiest of all poker books to read and is suggested reading for the newby before you delve into the meat and potatos of poker theory and mathematics. I would recommend this book to a new poker player to be followed by Phil Gordons little Green Book. The information combined in both books will get you to the final table. They did me, since reading these two I have final tabled 7 times and still progressing.

No comments about Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, 4th Edition.

5 comments about Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Official Strategy Guide.

1. Good info. For multiplayer, it gives a lot of class setup suggestions for different situatons, breaks down strategy for each map on each different type of game (i.e. Domination, Team Deathmatch, etc.), and lists details on all the different perks, challenges, XP points, etc.
   
   Quickly looked over the single player section and it shows strategy as guides normaly do.



2. I bought this guide mostly for help with some of the Xbox 360 achievements as well as to have pictures of the multiplayer maps. It does well enough in these areas, but as for tips on how to beat the game (particularly on the Veteran difficulty), I found this book to be lacking and vague. It does have some general tips for single player as well as multiplayer mode. If you're looking for layouts of the MP maps or some tips about good playing strategy, you might want to pick up this guide. Otherwise, I would suggest just using the internet for information when you are stuck in a certain spot.



3. I'm not much of a gamer but my friends encouraged me to get this for my kids for their XBOX and told me I'd better get it for the PC because I'd never get a chance to play it on the XBOX...I'm glad they did...this is an amazing game...the storyline and graphics are tremendous! I highly recommend it.



4. Very helpful product, especially for a new player like me. In fact, I would say it is essential. The strategies and intel information are as good or better than those available online, yet are handy in nice, glossy paper content whenever you need the information. Screenshots are plentiful.
   
   My major criticism is that the book focuses on online multiplayer action, so not as helpful to a single player like I am.
   
   I would like to see more details on the game basics, such as on weapons (caliber, magazine capacity, stopping power, range, etc.), and strategies for why you would choose one weapon vs. another (there is some of this, but I would like more).
   
   That said, it is very highly recommended for every player, and a must have at around $15, or less.



5. I asked a buddy whether he liked Oblivion more that Final Fantasy VII. He was dumbfounded and was about to suggest something, and then I cut in.
   
   "It's like asking which I like better, Call of Duty 4 or Tetris. I can do that. I like Call of Duty 4 better."

5 comments about Easy Origami.

1. i got this for my 6 kids and they've used it so much, the pages are falling out.



2. I like this book because the pictures and instructions were very clear. The difficulty of each piece is labeled. It is a good book for teaching children the art of Origami.



3. This book had several origami projects that every single student I had could be successful at. Good instructions. Very pleased.



4. I brought two of these books for my son and they were both easy to use and alot of fun.



5. This is a good starter book as it claims to be.. but as I leafed through it I realized that anyone who has had even some remote experience with origami or paper crafts will find this book ... perhaps too basic.
   
   I was hoping for at least a couple of more 'exciting' or slightly advanced projects at the end of the book, but the book stays simple till the end. Also, paper with both coloured sides looks better even for some of the basic designs.
   
   Other than that, it offers exactly what it says on the cover.

5 comments about The New York Times Ultimate Crossword Omnibus: 1,001 Puzzles from The New York Times.

1. I love this book of crosswords and always having some to do when I want. The only thing I don't like about this book is how thick it is. It can be a little difficult to fill in some of the puzzles so close to the middle of the book because it doesn't open flat; however, I solve this problem by tearing out the pages. Overall, I love it.



2. I love crossword puzzles! This book is too awkward to use though for two reasons. One is that it's heavy and hard to hold open anywhere except at a table (my favorite spot is the recliner or lawn chair!). The second reason is that the puzzle is on the wrong part of the page. It should be near the binding or even in the middle with the clues surrounding it. Again, it wouldn't be as bad at the table, but that's not where I do them.
   The puzzles are great though!!



3. They say that if you keep your mind active, you might stave off Alzheimers. With 1001 crosswords, half of which I couldn't complete, there are days when I'd welcome the disease. (I know, I know. Don't lecture.)
   
   I've had the book for over a year. Since I often do the "local" crosswords, it will take some time to get through. Plus the fact that I often do them during baseball games, this could take awhile.
   
   Still, I like the selection, and I especially like the fact that the puzzles aren't specifically tied to New York or current politics. It is a really good mix, and not once was I asked about a Celebes Ox.
   
   That said - and this is strictly a personal thing - I don't care for puzzles that revolved around a quote that takes the three or four largest lines. I've yet to have a "Eureka!" experience with those.
   
   And THAT said, I've bought the Globe's puzzles, Simon and Shuster's (of which I've finished none), and the Post's, and the New York Times is the one I would choose every time. I just bought their latest edition.
   
   So if I only get through 500 of them, and spend hours on the other 500, I've had my fun and still get a kick out of finishing any of them. And for every clue for Iggy Pop I miss, I'm assured of getting a Patty Paige or Teresa Brewer.
   
   Now just what is the siegeofmalakand?



4. I got this for my mom who is hardcore for crossword puzzles. For the price, you can't beat it. She was running puzzles off the internet and having a hard time reading them because the print was so small. There is a great variety of puzzles to keep her busy without having to run endless puzzles off of the internet. She also enjoys the variety diffent level of puzzles. I would definetely suggest this book for someone who is looking for variety.



5. Well, I was warned about the size of this monster, but did I heed the advice? No. So, I have to razor out the pages and pretend I am doing a much reduced in size puzzle from the paper. I'm glad I bought it because it will last longer than I will. The bad news is that none of my heirs do crosswords. More's the pity.

5 comments about ActionScript 3.0 Game Programming University.

1. I can't recommend this book more than if I had written it myself, Gary makes writing games in AS3 so simple to follow and what did seem like a jigsaw puzzle of programming now has had the curtain lifted and left me feeling confident that, even with my limited programming skills, I could make a game in flash that wouldn't be too bad.



2. Lets face it. There are a lot of Actionscript game books out there. This one is good because 1) It is entertaining and readable & 2) It's the first game book I have found that works for the new actionscript 3.0.
   
   The code itself isn't exactly as object oriented as I would like, but thats true of all the other game books out there too. It does have enough object oriented content to show some amazingly different, and simple methods for making game characters, detecting collisions, and managing objects that are possible with actionscript 3.0. I value this book as a 'how to upgrade' from 2.0 to 3.0.
   
   The games themselves are pretty good and there is a nice variety of game styles to appeal to a wide audience. For a basic game programming book, it omits or glosses over a few important topics such as caching vector objects as bitmaps, pseudo 3-D and optimization in general.
   
   All in all, I suggest this book if you are upgrading skills to actionscript 3.0 or want to write flash games. If you get this book, I also recommend Foundation Actionscript 3.0 Animation: Making Things Move! to round out your collection.



3. I got interested in this book after discovering Gary Rosenzweig's AS3 tutorials on his Flash Game University Website. I was impressed by his ability to explain things clearly and simply. As other reviews have already stated "AS3 Game Programming University" is an excellent and highly readable book for learning AS3. In practice I find it much more helpful than Colin Moock's book "Essential ActionScript 3.0", which is a little too academic for me (although I'm glad I have it!). I'm also finding that code snippets in Gary's book are just as useful to me as those in Joey Lott's "ActionScript 3.0 Cookbook" (which covers more topics). It's helpful to me that Gary writes from a Flash authoring perspective rather than Flex. He doesn't hesitate to include timeline based assets and code when it makes sense to do so, rather than use the Flex style of generating everything in code.
   
   The actual games are surprisingly varied and complete, but not so complex that they become difficult to understand. The code that I downloaded from the website works well. It is written in a practical concise manner with proper use of classes and other object-oriented techniques as required by AS3. However, as other reviews have noted, this book is not for advanced programmers that prefer a pure object-oriented style.
   
   I recommend this book if you are moving from AS2 to AS3, even if you are not interested in writing games. Gary does not claim it is suitable for beginners without any programming experience but it is more suitable than Moock's "Essential ActionScript 3.0" (which does make such a claim). However it is not for web designers that don't want to learn programming and it is not for advanced programmers that appreciate Moock's AS3 book.



4. This book is a good as they come. It is well written, well organized and well supported with demo files. I have a wide variety of programming experience, but not much experience at all with Flash. Rosenzweig gives enough general Flash instruction to give the reader enough general Flash understanding to do this type of programming. I think the book is perfect for readers with some programming experience and perhaps less Flash experience. I am not sure it would work as well in the other direction, but the author is clear, concise and easy to follow. I think most anyone with sufficient motivation can find this book a usefull guide into basic game building with the latests versions of Flash.



5. The book is in excellent condition and I got it before the deadline,
   It was great!