4 comments about Summoner: Prima's Official Strategy Guide.

1. If you're one of the lucky people who managed to walk home with a Playstation 2, good for you. I think Summoner is one of the best RPG's so far for PS2, and the numerous mini-quests and countless items are what people will most likely need to refer to the guide book for. This book has a lot of combat strategies and there's no denying that Summoner's battle system is very deep, engrossing, and a little complicated at times. This guide doesn't spoil the plot at all, and all people can get a lot of help from the guide



2. I have to start by saying this is the second worst strategy guide I have ever seen (the FFIX book being the worst).

   The character information is not quite complete, the tables (of weapons, armor, and such) are very unorganized, and if you followed the walkthrough word-for-word, you'd end up finding barely half the stuff in the game (if you even managed to complete it). Many of the arrows pointing to objects on a map are off by a significant margin and a good number of them point to objects that aren't in the area at all. And the book completely neglects many of the things you have to do to complete the quests. And before anyone says anything, yes, you can piece most of that together when cross-referencing the quest section and other parts of the book. But that's what a strategy guide is supposed to be for--if I wanted to piece it together I wouldn't have bothered with the book.

   The bottom line is, the maps and what there is of the character information (what's there is actually quite good....but there should be more) are the only two reasons to get this book. So if you don't get a deal on it, and have to pay more than a couple bucks for it, don't bother.




3. I was dissapointed in the guide in that it contained next to none of the secret things about the game. It contained no statistics on summoned creatures, spells, items (as far as amount of points healed, etc.), and many other things, all of which would have been most helpful. I must give credit in that the guide does tell you where to go, I'll give it that. But in order to fully experience the game, however, a far more in depth and detailed guide would be needed. All-in-all the guide leaves a lot to be desired. I think a great game like summoner should have a great guide to go with it.



4. I bought this book as I was getting 'bogged down' with some of the side quests.
   I found the Prima Guide helpful with these and it contains some useful information about weapons, armour, etc and has fairly useful maps.
   Having said that, the text is not always clear and is at times downright difficult to read and the book itself is a little flimsy. I also feel that the publishers could have put a lot more detail in than they did.
   All in all quite a useful book if you are stuck but certainly not the best of it's type and not the best value for money.

2 comments about Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (Prima Official Game Guide).

1. Great guide it realy helps when you get stuck. Nice pictures and very helpful.



2. So far the "Steam" online loader will not allow my game to run.After the first scene the screen freezes up. My system is newer (Only 6 months old) so it is not due to an ancient computer/ graphics card. Once I can actually load the game I will give a more detailed review.

1 comments about Killer 7(tm) Official Strategy Guide (Official Strategy Guides (Bradygames)).

1. I think it's a good guide, it has everything it needs, everything you expect from a guide.

No comments about Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade and The Warrior's Code (Prima Official Game Guide).

2 comments about Quake Level Design Handbook.

1. This book has opened a whole new world to me. I have designed numerous maps (specifically for the Painkeep mod.) and play them on the LAN at my office every day at lunch. My targets, I mean co-workers :), love to make suggestions about the placement of items, lighting, etc. and I can make them a reality easily, tweaking the maps we play till they rock! If you would like to play a couple of my best maps E-mail me. You'll love this book, I couldn't put it down for almost two weeks straight!



2. If you loved quake and love the evil feel of the game, make you own feel of the game!! This helps you make you own world! This book is a must buy after you beat Quake and want more then just deathmatchs!

2 comments about Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne Official Strategy Guide.

1. Compared to most strategy guides, which are usually just re-hashes of material in the manual, this guide is chock full of strategies and interesting info about a very deep game. Some of the strategies will be obvious to seasoned vets, but for newcomers they'll be a great help.

   There are more than 200 pages, most in very small print meaning the author has crammed a lot of material in. There are errors here and there, probably a result of the book being written before the game was 100% complete. But all in all a good effort.




2. This game not only has great graphics and music, it's also very challenging! The first few times you play you'll get tottally worked by the computer even if you're very used to the genre(even on the easiest level).

   The big debate: is it master of magic II or not? Well, the main difference is that in AOWII you don't bother with food, and there is less room for expansion. But AOW also has many other elements that MOM doesn't have, such as quests to appease Gods, Wizards towers, and stronger AI.
   Some gamers hate the fact that there's no ramdom map, but there are plenty of senarios, and trust me you WON'T ever play them all unless you tottally have no life.

5 comments about X-Files: Prima's Official Strategy Guide.

1. I'm generally not a big fan of "hint books" butPrima's Official Strategy Guide to The X-Files Game offers more thanan easy way out of those tight spots during game play. It also includes some valuable insights into the game's characters, plots, and a photo gallery.



2. I thought that this help book was very well written. Ithelped me a great deal getting through the game. I would recommend itto anyone.



3. This is a great book for The X-Files: The Game. It has everything you'll need to know about the game plus funny messages, a section that explains the little things you don't understand, a picture gallery, an interview with the director of the game, and a quick walkthrough for agents on the run.The only thing I didn't like about it was the small nit I found that made me have to hesitate to go on with the game. I would greatly recommend this book.



4. This book was the most helpful guide I have ever had. I couldn't put it down. I just wanted to keep on going. It got me through the whole game in just over an hour, not even. If you are just dying to get through your game, you better buy this book. I garantee you'll get your moneys worth.



5. This is an excellent guide. I would not have finished the game without it. It gives detailed instructions on what to do. It made the game alot less frustrating and alot more fun!

1 comments about Command & Conquer: Renegade: Prima's Official Strategy Guide.

1. hey. i have not read this guide, but i have played and beaten the game. EXTREMELY fun, and pretty challenging. enemy ai isnt enviously great, but it is pretty good. the last, oh, 3 or 4 levels get really HARD so i would recommend this guide. it took me a while to finally get past the last few levels, and i was wishing the whole time for a prima's guide. didnt have one; i really recommend it if u plan on trying to beat this game in a record time or even if you do it in your spare time.
   thanx 4 readin this.
   lieutenant havoc (online multiplayer renegade name)

4 comments about The Official Duke Nukem 3d Strategies & Secrets (Duke Nukem Games, No 3).

1. This book was a great help to me when I was playing Duke. This guide shows and explains how to get out of each level and also shows secret areas! If you've ever been lost in the levels of Duke Nukem 3D before, this book is the answer!



2. This guide is very usefull for to Duke Nukem 3D Gamer(not Atomic Or the PAK version). The book had all the secrets to each level and episode; good for people who want to master it. However if your a begginer, it tells you the basic and simple parts of Duke,his ego, and his enimies. Gives you a Map guide of the level and path to beat it. Gives hints, tips, and demos of other games by 3D Realms. however, the book can be hard to understand a bit for younger or less educated people. Still, a great book for a great price. get this book if you want to know how to MASTER Duke Nukem 3D!



3. The Game Book for Duke Neukem 3D is the bomb! It has all the stuff you need to finish the game without missing blasting a thing! If you want the total experience of Duke's adventures, buy this guide!



4. As strategy gaming host for bellaonline.com, I have to read through quite a number of pitiful walkthroughs. This one is a great exception! The book is extremely well laid out, with clear, easy to use maps, tips and techniques. The instructions are all dead on. But best of all, the book isn't written assuming you're 2 years old. It's written with a fantastic style, with humor and knowledge all mixed together. I was extremely impressed, and this has stayed on my shelves while other books were tossed out long ago!

2 comments about Bastards & Bloodlines: A Guidebook to Halfbreeds (Races of Renown).

1. Having enjoyed their Master Class books, I decided to give one of the Races of Renown books a try.

   Now, my understanding is that Green Ronin is prohibited from using any race-related material already published by Wizards of the Coast, so I avoided the books on orcs, whom I already know quite well, and drow, who I scarcely ever use, and went for what promised to be the most original book, this one.

   This book really is original, providing some unique half-breed races, along with balanced rules for creating you own halfbreeds, either as races or templates. A few of the half-breeds use rules that make them a little to easy to abuse, particularly the Wyrd, an ogre mage/elf cross, but for the most part they're fair and balanced and, most importantly, playable.

   There's only one real flaw with this book, and that's a definite trend towards a lot of nature-focused half-breeds, combining various fey creatures with various woods-friendly humanoids. The results are always interesting (I have a player who now wants to play a woodwose), but perhaps a trifle repetitive. Since I generally run a very nature-focused game, I don't have a problem with it and the book doesn't lose any stars.

   The feats and items sections are interesting as well, providing rules for making new race-specific items along with a few new examples, and feats that take advantage of the mixed heritage of the book's races.

   The prestige classes are adequate but, in my opinion, underpowered. Since they only take up a scant eight or nine pages, again, the book loses no marks with me for this. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go look at the Green Ronin web-site and see if any other books catch my eye.




2. I absolutly loved this book. I've always loved "half-breeds", so when I saw this book I quickly bought it. I wasn't dissapointed. The art was great (with the exception of Makbin), the writing was wonderful and it also offered quite a bit of "crunchy" parts as well.
   
   Pros:
   The layout was wonderful and the writing was well-written and interesting. Though not as entertaining as a novel, I enjoyed reading this book- it was interesting and well written. The art is also great, if slightly comic-booky in style. The races written up are interesting, albeit strange and exotic- but that's the way I like them. The info on half-breeds in society is helpful. All in all it's a great book, but...
   
   Cons:
   As the previous reviewer stated, quite alot of the races are crosses between nature friendly humanoids and nature "monsters". There's also quite alot of elf half-breeds. The races listed are also extremely exotic and strange- so if you don't like bizaare stuff then this book isn't for you. I was expecting stuff like orcs/dwarves and that sort of thing, not things like halfling/blink dogs, elf/naga or elf/giant eagles. Still, I was fine with that-I loved it actually, but it wasn't what I was expecting. Bastards and Bloodlines still has some or the more "normalish" half-breeds, too, though.
   
   This my own personal pet-peeve, but it seemed to me like alot of the half-breeds parents got together, had a baby, and then seperated and abandoned the child to one of the parent races. One of the reasons that I love half-breeds is that the idea that two unlike races can fall in love and marry and have a half-breed child is interesting and has great story and roleplaying oppurotunity. A treant that fell in love with an elven druid and worked hard to win her heart, overcome elven resistence and established an area to ensure peace for their children and their lives is much more interesting then "a treant and an elf have a baby and then abandon each other and their child".
   
   Still, this book is great, and has very little flaws.
   
   Art: 9- the art in this book was great, if slightly comic-bookish. I dislike Makbin (one of the artists) but otherwise the art was good.
   Writing: 10- it was extremely well-written, with very minor flaws.
   Playability: 9- if you ever need a resource for half-breeds, this is the book for you. One of my players begged for me to "magically change" his half-elf into a Decataur, they loved it. I've also dropped in a couple Half-breed NPC's in the campaign, and they made the game much more interesting and fun.
   
   All in all, a great book, and if your even remotely interested in half-breeds, this is your book- buy it now!