No comments about Video Game Cheat Codes Vol.2 (Video Game Cheat Codes).

5 comments about The Complete PC Upgrade and Maintenance Guide, 16th Edition.

1. Sybex and the authors have updated this long running and successful text with the 16th edition. The rapid changes in personal computer hardware mean that you might want to consider getting this book for its comprehensive advice of a wide range of hardware items.
   
   I should say that even with the changes in this industry, if you have the 14th or 15th editions, you may well want to stick with those. Not everything changes between consecutive editions, and those still hold considerable relevance.
   
   The book's remit extends across a broad range of hardware. Not just items that might be directly plugged into your computer. For example, there is discussion about routers for your local network. Where these might be wired or wireless devices.
   
   Typically, across all the hardware they describe, there is enough information to be able to install that hardware, even without the manufacturers' instructions. Sometimes, the book's instructions may even be clearer!



2. Who want to work in computer repair then need this book.



3. Minasi's earlier editions were good (and hardcover - what happened to that?). This one was apparently rushed out without any proofreading just to keep up with the Joneses (Mueller). There are so many errors in the first two chapters, it's unbelievable... Maybe the rest of the book actually got re-written and proofed, but the first part is very disappointing and makes me unlikely to grab this volume when I need an accurate answer.
   
   E.G.
   p.17 figure 1.5 shows connectors on back of PC, points to a Centronics 36 connector, labeling it a 25-pin parallel port. Same figure labels a DB-25 port (male? female?) as "External SCSI". (Could be, if a VERY old scsi card is in there... )
   
   p.17 "... be the expert on how many millions of polygons a particular sound card can render per second." Huh?? Since when did sound cards start rendering geometric shapes?
   
   p.22 "Quick Steps: Installing a CPU" gives 6 steps. No mention of heatsinks/fans. Just pop it in, button up the case, and get the marshmallows ready!



4. I am not a very technically savvy guy with a computer. I was looking for a book to explain to me how I can upgrade my computer and keep it in fairly good maintenance. I saw this one and it seemed to have a good description. It turns out this book is massive, but most of it is devoted to computer peripherals. I was not impressed because it is not a very user friendly book and didn't have more of what it was titled to be. It would be an excellent book for someone that has a lot of time and already should know most of this stuff and what's to change their peripherals mostly.



5. Ordered this new edition because of my experience with earlier ones.
   
   This edition lacks the CD which the other edition contained.
   
   The format of this edition is not done as well as the previous one.
   
   I am dissapointed in it's new format and lack of CD.

1 comments about The Thing (Prima's Official Strategy Guide).

1. Okay, to begin with, I must state that neither my husband nor myself was born with a game controller in our hand so we usually need all the help we can get on any of the games we buy! :-) More importantly however, is the fact that UNLESS you have this guide (and are as aforementioned), you won't make it out of the first few scenes without being sliced, diced, and eaten - all in very graphic detail! :-)
   
   Once you do get this guide, the game really takes off and is a lot of fun. It was very well written, with some of the more difficult parts explained with actual game graphics as well soyou would know what the heck to look for, where to find it, and when to use it.
   
   ~Most Happy~
   ¸.·' .·'¨¨))
   ((¸¸.·' ..·' -:¦:- ~Lady Anne~
   -:¦:- ((¸¸.·'

No comments about Alone in the Dark: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides).

5 comments about Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Official Strategy Guide.

1. Overall I would say the book is very complete. I have found very little about Warcraft III that was not answered in this book. This book has two parts.

   The first part is the game play detail. This part provides details such as damage, armor, range, hit points for every unit and building; a "tech tree" for each race; and details about the special abilities of the heros. This part is essential for any serious player.

   The second part is a pure spoiler for the single player missions. It gives every detail about the missions including: items, enemies, power ups, and tactical strategies. This part would be most useful to younger players or those who are new to strategy games.

   I personally do not enjoy the single player game nearly so much as the multi-player game. I have owned the game for 6 months now, and have not-yet finished the single player game. Conversly, I have played over 200 online games.

   I would recommend this Strategy guide to two types of people: those who are serious about developing a winning strategy (using the first part of the book), and those who are new to strategy games and may have trouble completing the single player missions (who would use the second part of the book).




2. Bought this for my husband for Christmas. I couldn't believe how nice the graphics and color were. I personally can't stand these games because they take so long to play (it's solitaire and Mah Jongg for me), but my husband called me over just to look at it, and it's pretty neat. Guess I won't be seeing him for another 6 months while he plays it...



3. Grading just on the basis of a guide, this book would have received 5 stars easily. The failing in this case is not in the guide, but in the game: Warcraft III is not sufficiently difficult to justify spending hard-earned money on a strategy guide. There are certain missions that one may get stuck on, but after trying again once or twice, most players should be able to figure out each mission's 'trick' strategy and beat it with relative ease. This applies even to hard mode, which, with the exception of a few missions late into the third and fourth campaigns, is not very hard at all.

   That said, this guide is a walkthrough, in every sense of the word. It tells you what structures/units are available (and, most importantly, which ones you should use), shows you the entire map from overhead complete with a suggested path to follow, and what pitfalls need avoiding on a certain missions. After I had beaten the game several times on my own, taking a look through the walkthrough I noticed several ingenious strategies or shortcuts that I had never thought of that would have saved me a few hours of aggravation. And of course, it gives you a fairly good summary of unit tactics and general strategy, such as scouting, creeping, etc. to use on Battle.net. Like most guides, however, this one is not designed to make you the perfect B.net player, so most of the in-depth strategy and tactics must be gleaned from websites such as warcraftiii.net

   It is an excellent guide, so if you have the money to spare and need a quick way out of that inanely annoying mission you're replaying for the 30th time, this is a good buy. But if you can stand a little trial and error, I doubt you'll need help to the degree to which this book offers it.




4. This guide is excellent for getting through the single player campaign missions. The information about each race and their units is very detailed. It helped me through some tuff spots in the game and showed me more I can do than what I already knew. The only downside is the lack of multiplayer tips and tricks.



5. This is a good strategy guide, it really helps your game once you get into the tougher missions by helping you to find things you most likely would have never found without looking at this. I give it 4 stars because it would have been really worth the buy if it was in color, its hard to see the pictures, but aside from that, its a great guide for only 10 bucks. Really good to have if your new to the game and havent beaten the campaign yet.

5 comments about The Sims (Prima's Official Strategy Guide).

1. We became addicted to the SIMS game as soon as we got it, and eventually knew we needed to learn to understand our little people a lot better.

   This book helped, but it isn't fantastic. Much of what you'll find in here you can find at the SIMS home page, and some you'll figure out by yourself, through trial-and-error. Some is common sense (before making any major change, SAVE your work so you can always go back).

   It offers some things, but omits others. For example, it gives a handy chart for skill levels needed to get promotions - what is missing is how to do what is hardest, develop and maintain friends, since having a lot of friends is both required for a lot of the SIMS to 'get ahead' AND is extremely difficult to do!

   Some of the cheats are OK, but the best ones you'll find through other sources.

   For SIMS beginners (perhaps as a gift for someone who just got the game), or those who can't get on-line, this would be helpful. For those who have been playing for awhile, or are on-line, this book would probably be a disappointment.




2. This is a really great strategy guide. whether you are just starting or even a pro you should get this book! It helped me become the sim champ I am today as well as offers a good laugh too.



3. This is a really great strategy guide. whether you are just starting or even a pro you should get this book! It helped me become the sim champ I am today as well as offers a good laugh too.



4. When I first started playing this game, I made a family of eight people. Two kids. I didn't know about fire alarms or cooking skills. Four people (my men) all died. Then the others wouldn't work because they were too depressed. They spent free time wallowing in self-pity, mourning over the tombstones, and getting stuck behind furniture (and I couldn't figure out how to get them out).
   I played the game for a year, figuring it out pretty basically, still not able to get past the rusted-up carpool car. I knew things got better for some people because I downloaded families that were rich and happy.
   That didn't last long - I just plain wasn't good at the game.
   Then, a light in the darkness, was this book! It was totally awesome! Whatever I needed help with was IN THERE. Now I've got happily married six-people families who are always happy! . Now I only trust maxis-mades, BTW.
   If you think you're an expert or not, everything really lies in this book.



5. If you are having trouble with the Sims then this book is for you. It tells you every little detail about the game as well as graphs and charts that specify what you need to do to succeed.

   The chapters are as follows...
   Cheats and Quick Start Tips
   Personality
   Mood and Motives
   Sim Autonomy
   Social Interations
   Careers and Skills
   Sim Economics 101
   Building
   Sim Objects
   Creating your own Stuff

   As you can see, it covers every little aspect of the Sim world. It will help to start your sim family in the right direction and what traits your sim will need to excel at his or her career.

   It is filled with pictures, beta-testers tips, and little hints/cheats that will no doubt improve your gaming experience.

1 comments about Duke Nukem, Time to Kill: Exclusive Strategy Guide.

1. very good it had woed me and help me when I was blue and had needed hel

3 comments about eBay Bargain Shopping for Dummies.

1. I've been shopping on eBay (as well as Amazon :-) for years. But my mother and mother-in-law are both novices. They're always bugging me with, "What's this eBay thing? What can I get on there? My friend completed her discontinued china set on eBay.." All with the gist of "How can I do this too." As soon as I saw this book was coming out, I picked up two copies of it (mother in laws are rarely great sharers) and gave it to them. Finally! They get what eBay is all about. They know how to set up their user accounts, how the "store" is laid out, how to uncover the best deals and, most importantly for them, how to stay safe when buying on eBay. Now, they're ready to get off and running. In fact, they picked up so much great information, they even taught me a few things (no more staying up late waiting for an auction to end in order to swoop in with the best bid!) This book is great! It's an easy read, and you can jump around to find the points that are most relevant to you. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to become an eBay power shopper.



2. This book is different that a lot of the other eBay stuff available. It's more like a value guide. There's a lot of insight into finding cheap prices and bidding to keep prices low in here. I especially like the insight on finding travel bargains and cheap business wear, two of my favorite things to buy on eBay.



3. This book gave me tons of new ideas about how to shop on ebay. I didn't know that I could buy such interesting items - Pizza? It's written in an easy to read style, and I actually laughed out loud while I was reading it. Some of the stuff I knew, but I really learned a lot about the different areas of ebay that I hadn't visited before. I also found some new ideas on how to get deals. It's a fun book at a great price, I'm giving it as a holiday gift to all my friends who are always asking me about ebay.

1 comments about Bullet Witch (Prima Official Game Guide).

1. I could have easily beaten this game without the strategy guide. However, this is not to say that this isn't a good guide. While the game is easy the guide does a very good job of walking you through the levels, and there are many helpful tips for the boss battles. At the end of the day I do not regret this purchase.

No comments about Hellboy: The Science of Evil: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides).