3 comments about Command and Conquer Generals: Prima's Official Strategy Guide.

1. C&C generals does not need a strategy guide. This book is pretty much an easy way to beat the game, although there are some interesting strategies.



2. Prima used to put out excellent strategy guides, but this was very sub-par. I would have liked to have seen the use of numbers in damage and armor of the units, but instead you get the same description as is in the manual. This book doesn't go into a whole lot of detail, but then again, the campaigns are not overly difficult so there's not a whole lot to say...

   The Game itself is AWESOME...but I'd suggest playing it first to determine if you really need this guide...




3. this book only help us through the single player mission.
   if u can't think a way to beat those mission, u buy this.
   but doesn't help much in the multiplayer games...............
   i would say try to make yourself lose, i say again, make
   yourself lose 20 to 30 games in the multiplayer games , u can write a better one.

5 comments about World of Darkness: Sorcerer.

1. Hedge Magic was much a better idea for magic than true magick. It was a lot simpler to understand and a much better new type of magic



2. I am of an alternative religion, and have always striven to bring my characters to be as close to my true self as possible, and this book lets me turn my self into a realistic, playable character. As has been said, they don't have the overpower complex magic of Mage, but do have an edge over other mortals. In the end, if you want to play a mortal with a chance of survival, this is one of the best books for it!



3. WoD: Sorcerer is a great book, detailing a system for"hedge wizards," IE, sorcerers you don't have to break yourneck reading the Mage book to understand. The seven or eight Sorcerer lineages bring all kinds of fresh occult material to a World of Darkness where you thought you'd seen everything (just because you know what vampires, werewolves, and wraiths are). With juicy descriptions and a bunch of "hedge paths," of magic, WoD Sorcerer brings much-needed mystery and diversity to any WoD game. It has rules for awakening or being embraced *after* sorcerous study, too, so if you really want to complicate your Vampire or Mage chronicle from the start, this is your book.



4. Despite the complaints of some of the other reviewers, the Mage system is not complex - it is only slightly more difficult than anything else. However, as far as WoD: Sorcerer goes, not every spellcaster in the WOD can act as a Mage - that is, not everyone can bend reality at a whim. The Sorcerer book discusses the rigid paths of magic studied by mortals. While it does not take into account new canon (see Sorcerer:Revised), it's systems are more simplified than the new Sorcerer book, and in addition, lists a /great/ deal of Rituals. Anyone that wishes to run a game based around dark and gritty magic (something to the effect of Call of Cthulu magic), ought to pick up this book. /Don't/ buy this book just because "Mage hurt my wittle head".



5. This older book delves into "hedge magicians" for the World of Darkness in general, not just Mage: the Ascension. Unfortunately, its nowhere near as good as the revised edition, but theres still some good info to be found here. The introduction makes a point of how "sorcerers" have been overlooked by "True" Mages, and also tries too hard to make distinctions. Basically, the introduction gives a look at what "hedge magic" is and why people practice it, as well as what its like to play as a seeker after occult knowledge (from the point of view of an Arcanum investigator). It then closes out look some "basic rules" (ie sorcerers aren't members of Crafts, they don't work True Magic, etc) which are basically artificial distinctions that few Mages pay attention to anyway.

   The next chapter takes a look at Sorcerer societies. Five groups get full write-ups complete with histories, magical styles and connections to other supernaturals, including the high ritualists of the Ancient Order of Aeon Rites, the Balamob Mayan shaman, the Mormon mystics of the Nephite Priesthood, the Nigerian Uzoma priests and the new age Thal'hun. Minor groups like the Irish Fenian, Mogen ha Chav kabbalists, Dozen Priests of the Pythian Order and others also get brief mention. However, as good as the full write ups are, some of the things have now changed with the metaplot (ie, Balamob and Uzoma joining the Dreamspeakers, Nephites becoming Choristors and the Thal'hun disbanding and being reabsorbed into a new group called the Star Council).

   The next chapter covers character creation, including a handful of new Traits, Archetypes and Backgrounds, as well as some appropriate Merits and Flaws. Some of the stuff is a bit overpowered though (immortality for instance), but most of it fits the mood and themes of the World of Darkness. Theres also a chart for converting "hedge magic" into Disciplines, Arcanoi or Spheres (for sorcerers who die, Awaken or are Embraced). Its an okay system, but again slightly unbalanced. Following this is an entire chapter on "hedge magic" covering casting, systems and common foci and styles. Theres also over a dozen Paths (and associated rituals), magical effects such as shapeshifting, divination, speaking with spirits, alchemy, healing, controlling elements, making magical items and so forth. Unfortunately, the Paths aren't always well defined.

   Theres also a chapter of templates, like the shapeshifting hitchhiker, antiquarian, street prophet and secret agent/witch. Nothing interesting, but it seems like all of the sorcerers in this chapter are not members of any of the above described groups. The appendix includes sorcerers of note, like Cagliostro, the wandering African Uzoma thief Taneela Rangi Ya Fedha and the disturbingly mysterious "Gretchen", as well as some cool magical items like the love poppet, vision skull and a demonic mask. In addition to a character sheet, theres also a decent bibliography and list of websites. Overall, this is a good book, especially if you want information on things like the Balamob, Nephites or Uzoma. Otherwise, just save your money and buy Sorcerer revised. You get more up-to-date systems and mechanics (including way more paths), plus it meshes up better with the current setting.

5 comments about Banjo-Tooie: Prima's Official Strategy Guide.

1. This strategy guide is SO is easy to follow! It helps you find things such as jiggies, jingos, and cheato pages. It tells you were new moves are and it helps to beat the EVIL Gruntilda!



2. This strategy guide helps you find jiggies, jingos, and other cool things. It is very easy to follow! SO, JAM ON INTO THE GAME!!!!!



3. This guide helps u find things such as jiggies, jingos, and much more. With the eight new worlds (which are cool!) they help u beat the EVIL Gruntidila! GOOD LUCK!



4. I have just got the game and the book and I am going great guns with it. I have found the book to be really helpful in getting at those jiggies. I know that some of the other reviews have said that the maps are not very good, but I prefer to find my own way around the worlds. I especially like the tick sheet at the back of the book, so that you can tick off each jiggy, cheato page or other item that you have got in each of the worlds. It makes it easy to leave the ones that you find difficult to get and then come back at a later time and have another go at getting them. A hit as far as I'm concerned!



5. This guide is amazing! It will help you find EVERYTHING! It tells you exactly where to find every Jiggy, Jinjo and it also helps you through EVERY mission. Check out the great features, every character is introduced, every move is listed and there's even a checklist in the back of the book! Wow! The only bad thing that I would have to say about this guide is that the maps (which help gratefully alot) are sort of undetailed, but if you're good with your left and right, you shouldn't have too much of an issue. I've had the game and guide for years, and mine's falling apart, but it still serves it's purpose. You won't need any other guide than this. It's loaded with everything a perfect guide should have.

5 comments about Soul Calibur 2 Official Fighter's Guide.

1. This Fighter's Guide is a pretty good source for all the noobies out there. If your sick of button mashing your way thru battles and jamming random buttons, this book is definately for you! It helped me defeat this Mexican dude who kept using Raphael's Queen's Guard and kept doing the same moves over and over again.
   Great book!!



2. The Soul Calibur 2 Official Fighters Guide is a great "hintbook" but that doesn't neccessarily mean it's a "Strategy Guide". Which isn't bad. The guide is after all, a "Fighter's" guide and therefore it helps you to master the combat of Soul Calibur 2 but not the game itself.

   To begin, the game REALLY helps out for someone who isn't familiar with fighters or the Soul Calibur franchise for that matter. It helps you learn all the basics quite well.

   Each character has a combo's list and tips on how to use them. Detailing their strentghs and weaknesses and even tells you for some of them which characters are good to match against others. It doesn't mention characters to use all the time, but you get the general idea of who should match who.

   I also like that when reading this guide, its as if it's speaking to you. Therefore, it really is a good reference. Should you be a master at SCII then it probably won't matter, but let's just assume you actually got the guide to help you improve your game. A master player of Soul Calibur shouldn't need to buy this guide unless you're a collector.

   I do have a couple of gripes. The guide doesn't go in-depth on the many modes the game has. The Weapon Master Mode does a great job detailing what it is... but how do I go about it?

   Also, the fact that the combo guide and such is taken straight from the in-game is sad. It DOES tell you combos that aren't in the game itself at least. There's a moves list for all the characters as well.

   My last gripe is actually a big one. I LOVE that they have every character but for three specific characters (Assassin, Berserker and Lizardman) they give you a command list but they don't give you the strentghs and weaknesses of these characters. It's as if when they got down to those three they got lazy.

   A list of all the weapons for every charater is included as well as an art gallery.

   In short, where the guide fails to please is mostly at the fact that it's mostly a "Character" guide. It's great to learn about the games basics but if you want to master the game itself the guide will only get you halfway there.

   On the positive side
   +Covers every character
   +Strentghs and Weaknesses detailed
   +A great leg up for those wanting to improve their game in combat.
   +The text speaks to you
   +The Game Basics are great for those new to fighting games and Soul Calibur

   The Bad
   -It is, sadly, only a "Fighters" guide and not a full blown "Strategy Guide"
   -Assassin, Berserker and Lizardman aren't detailed enough
   -Not going to help you master the game




3. First off, note that this is a "Fighter's Guide", not a "Strategy Guide." It includes a section on Weapon Master Mode, mostly to tell you about the weapons. It includes a section on the game features, mostly to tell you about how they affect the characters. The only reason to buy this guide is because of the quality analysis it offers in the character sections. Strengths, Weaknesses, effective tactics, useful combos, and most of the moves that were left out of the official movelist. However, the guide is obviously one author's opinion, and while Lummis has obviously played the game against good competition and knows advice for each character's strengths and weaknesses, he's not as brutal about abusable moves or difficult characters as he could be.

   As a case study, the guide recommends forward,A,A,A as a good move for Kilik to use when expecting a counter hit, and lists several reasons why this is so. It also includes a handy picture in case you weren't sure which move forward,A was. In the movelist, it includes forward,A,A:B+K, a superior followup on counter hit which is not in the in-game movelist, but does not note that it is a Just Frame attack requiring precise timing. Neither movelist includes forward,A,A:A+B+K, an alternative non-offensive followup to the move. In this case, as in many others throughout the guide, Lummis offers detailed information on how to improve your Soul Calibur game for players who aren't used to thinking critically about their character, and improves upon the game's training modes, but is not completely exhaustive.

   If you're a beginning or intermediate player struggling to beat your button-mashing friends and the master of your local arcade, this guide is great. It provides a lot more information than a simple movelist, and the vast majority of it is quality information. However, don't hesitate to consult other sources.




4. Strategy Guides of fighting games are helpful, but not necessary. You can actually look online for guides and walkthroughs written by fellow fans and get more satisfaction. Some of the more grand, epic RPGs practically make it necessary to have a Strategy Guide in order to unlock their best features (Xenosaga and Final Fantasy are guilty of this). Those games, with their captivating but elaborate plot, will be difficult to play without a good quality strategy guide. However, a fighting game is fairly straightforward. Fight enough battles, spend countless hours in Practice Mode, memorize the Command List for your favored character, and you will unlock all of the features.
   
   This is a good guide to have for people who like to spend many hours per week playing Soul Calibur 2. It serves as a handy referrence to the needed inputs for each character move. For example, some of the characters have a very long string of inputs that you need to enter to execute their most damaging commands. Ivy is the prime example. In order to perform her best attack, Summon Suffering, the player is required to enter a string of commands within a short period of time. Not only that, but Ivy has to be standing in a particular location, relative to the enemy. It's easy to forget the commands. And having a handy strategy guide can help you find the answer without having to boot up your computer and go to the internet just to look it up.
   
   Think of a strategy guide as a luxury item. It's a very handy referrence material that can answer your questions without the inconvenience of having to browse the internet while you're in the middle of your precious gaming time.



5. Soul Calibur 2 is one of those rare games that a casual gamer can pick up and play without know anything about it. But it also is a very deep game for the dedicated gamer to and if you are one of those then this is a must have.
   When you get the guide and see how big it is you won't believe all SC2 has to offer.

4 comments about Conker's Bad Fur Day Official Strategy Guide (Official Strategy Guides).

1. I played this Game earlier this month and it was incredible! My Friend had this stratagy guide, and it made the game a lot less fustrating and a lot more enjoyable, it is a step by step easy to follow guide on how to master this funny and amusing one of a kind game. I liked his guide so much I just bought my own on amazon about 5 minutes ago!



2. This has got to be the worst guide for Conkers Bad Fur Day.When you buy a great game you want a great guide too but thbis guide is abousoloutly [a let-down]...



3. This is the best book on Conker available! I've seen the others in stores and my friend had this one and the game coverage and maps are very detailed. The multiplayer section is unexpected and over the top with information on all the modes.



4. Yo my name is Moises Barajas im from a town called Wilmington in the ca and im a proud owner of this mag , and game. I rated this game 5 because of graphics,sound,and vizualization for me this is the best game ive ever played this is the game of the year and I love it especially when you put the gameshark codes man you are unstopable so this is why im rating this game a five star.

5 comments about The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons & Oracle of Ages: Prima's Official Strategy Guide.

1. I'll list the pros and cons of this book one after the other; hopefully it's not too confusing...

   Pros:

   A great enemy list!

   Okay boss strategies

   Only guide so far to use coordinates (I find that fact surprising; the Zelda games are THE games to use coordinates with!)

   Has an okay section about passwords

   Nice cartoons

   Cons:

   Maps are TINY, boundaries not well marked, does not show inside of houses

   Screenshots are small and blurry

   Walkthrough is confusing; it might say something like, "In the next room, push the block and open the chest. In the next room, use the key," and it doesn't give details on WHICH keyhole to use the key on, and WHICH room is the "next" one. The could have used coordinates to their advantage way better than they did

   The whole thing is somewhat monotonous

   Cartoons, while cool, are VERY distracting. They are just plopped down anywhere; you might be in a section when you're encountering Zoras, and right there is a picture of a Goron!

   Some AWFUL typos; it got me all confused about the Harp of Ages. It said that the Tune Of Currents made a temporrary Time Portal, that the Tune of Ages activated Time Portals, and that the Tune of Echoes gave you tital freedom to travel in time. Then it said that you wouldn't get the ToC until later on in the game. The real scoop on the Harp is this: The Tune of Echoes (the frist tune you get) activates Time Portals; the Tune of Currents (the second tune you get) lets you move from the past to the present (it does create a temporary Time Portal, but that's not it's main purpose) and the Tune of Ages lets you go from Past to Present and Present to Past. Those typos really got me mixed up.

   Overall, this guide seemed like it was carelessely slapped together, and though it has some stuff you won't find in the Versus Guide, it has a lot more stuff that Versus does WAY better in.




2. This book is the WORST zelda book EVER!!! The map are so tiny! I need a microscope to see the it! It make me and my friends so confused! I would suggest to get The Lengend of Zelda oracle of Ages&Seasons from Versus Books.



3. I was disappointed in this book. It's too much page flipping. If you don't do EXACTLY what the book says, you get totally lost!!! I quit playing the game early out of frustration. That's just me. OH well.. if you decide to buy this, have patience...



4. its a good guide. I think i could have managed w/o it though.



5. I must say that I've been playing Zelda games since 1987 when the first one was released. I've been using Prima guides for Zelda games since the first book came out in the early 90s covering "A Link to the Past". Since then I've been using Prima Guides ever since after beating the Zelda games at least once in order to find the secrets I just couldn't find prior, and I have always found Prima to be the BEST at making guides, particularly for Zelda games. In fact, I can categorically say that their guide "Link's Awakening DX" is one of the best ever released for any game in the industry.

   Now I am faced with two very recent exceptions. One is their guide for "The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker", and the other is this guide. In fact, this guide isn't just bad for Prima, it is possibly the worst Zelda guide I have ever tried to use.

   As mentioned I had already beaten the games, each twice: Once starting with Oracle of Seasons, and then linking to Oracle of Ages, and then once starting with Oracle of Ages, and linking to Oracle of Seasons. Yet even after beating these games, and knowing most of the secrets and details of both of them, I found this guide EXTREMELY confusing. I couldn't easily map my experience to the guide's content, and often found it in error. It was difficult to view the maps, as they were very small, and usually sectioned off with little context. The details of game play were simply not instructive (or even comparable) to direct game play. The best thing about it was the cartoons, but that is the most cosmetic and least instructive thing about the whole guide.

   I suggest skipping this guide altogether. Heck, even the Nintendo Power guide was better than this one. I won't be giving up on Prima, but I hope this latest trend doesn't continue.

No comments about Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (Prima Official Game Guide).

5 comments about Dragon Rising: A Battletech Novel (Mechwarrior: Dark Age, #24).

1. Where to begin?
   
   Where I did like Daughter of the Dragon, this book is confusing and just takes off in too many directions, not unlike Wolf Hunters. When We last left Katana Tormark, she was given the task of retaking the Dieron District...well...it sort of happens in the last 20 pages, and she disappears for at least a third of the book. This novel should have been sent back to the editors for rewrites and trimming, long before it reached us.
   
   Hopefully the next installment will be better.



2. I wanted to like this book. I read the other reviews, and hoped they'd be wrong. Well, I was disappointed. I hate to criticize a writer because I have zero talent for writing myself, but this book was hard to finish. Other than advancing the universe storyline slightly, it wasn't worth reading. Save yourself some money. *SPOILER* All you need to know is that the ruling branch of the Kurita family is all but exterminated. Yori is now Cooridinator. Tormak did "take" Dierion, but basically b/c the Republic abandoned it. They also left a trap for her forces that destroyed a large portion of them. The serial killer, who was the Bounty Hunter, is now part of Tormak's inner circle. There you go. That sums things up. I hope her next book is better.



3. This is Ilsa Bick's third attempt to successfully write a BattleTech/MechWarrior novel, and I use the word attempt intentionally. Her first attempt was barely BattleTech/MechWarrior, and her second might as well not have been at all. This story at least ties back into the BattleTech/MechWarrior universe and main story somewhat, but carries on a tradition of a very different kind of novel than we are used to. Not much battle, and not much tech, not many mechs, and the warriors that are featured are overly concerned with murder, intrigue, and homoeroticism. I didn't have much hope going into this novel, but I bought it to keep the set going, and I was pretty unsurprised at the result.



4. Every time I see an upcoming Mechwarrior book by Ms. Bick, I wince. I really want to know who at Wizkids this woman is related to, as there is no way she was hired based on talent!



5. I sincerely hope they won't give author Ilsa J. Bick another attempt to write a Mechwarrior story. Gore, gore and more gore in detail. Whole pages of detailed mutilation, serial killer wet dreams, ... on the other hand author kills off most powerfull people in universe with a single sentence, like it would be that easy. Naive and boring story. Spend 3 moths to read it, couldn't read more than a couple pages at once.
   
   I won't buy another Mechwarrior book written by this author. If I wanted to read naive gore horror novel, I wouldn't search for it in Mechwarrior series.

1 comments about The Everything Movie Crosswords Book: 150 A-list Puzzles That Film Fanatics Will Love (The Everything).

1. Not what I expected. The actual puzzles did not have much to do with the title.

5 comments about C++ For Game Programmers (Game Development Series).

1. Going through the contents and skimming through, I'm not sure how this book in any way relates to game programming. It could be a great C++ book, but that's not what the title is about. Some of the things it is suggesting break established paradigms of game developement. It *may* help Windows based game programmers, but it sure doesn't cover any of the myriad of issue sin using C++ on a console such as the PS2, GameCube, etc....
   
   It seems like another C++ book. Any thoughts on this?



2. This is indeed a good book. It gives you almost every important tips you ever need to know. After reading this book, if you're able to catch/grasp what the author is trying to convey, I'm sure that you'll have a few level-ups in your C++ skills.
   
   Although it stated for Game Programmers in the title, the tips and tricks can be applied to other application programming using C++ too.
   
   However, if you are looking for design patterns, this is not the book. It doesn't touch anything about design pattern as this is totally out of the scope.
   
   Also, if you are newbie in C++, perhaps you would like to read other C++ book first.



3. First off, the guy who said this book has nothing to do with game programming is wrong. He was obviously expecting a "read this book and make a Doom clone in 4 hours" book. There is no book like that, and this book did not advertise that.
   Like the title of my review suggests, there is more to game programming than graphics. This book teaches no graphics; it does, however, teach you to use graphics wisely. Also, it doesn't teach C++ from the beginning - you are expected to know C++ before reading this book. What this book does is teach you to use C++ effectively in game programming.
   Overall, this is a good read for anyone interested in making high quality games.



4. While focusing on game development challenges, this book provides excellent advice on designing c++ applications. The author demonstrates possible implementations comparing their strengths/tradeoffs and gives very useful advice on solving common problems in game architecture.
   The book is not code intensive (all examples are available in the CD-ROM), and should be useful to any intermediate c++ programmer, especially the ones planning to develop games.



5. As other reviewers have said this book isn't really a game programming book. It's title really ought to be "C++ programming for high performance applications". That said it is a wonderful book! I highly recommend it as a well written, easy to read intermediate/advanced C++ book.