5 comments about The Official Pokemon Handbook (Pokemon).

1. I liked this book, but I was disipointed that it only had the pokemon from the Yellow, Red, and Blue versions. Because I have the Crystal version as well as the Yellow version. I liked it though, because now I'm prepared for the moves my pokemon will learn and which moved to deleat.



2. When I ordered this book I was really exited, It's helpful but only when you have Yellow, red, or blue versions not helpful with the more modern vesions because they don't have a whole 100 of the more modern pokemon. All you Pokefans out there, only get this book if you have yellow, red, or blue versions.



3. This book doesn't have enough information and is incomplete. It is missing over 100 Pokemon-- That's a lot of Pokemon missing! Even the other revised "Official Pokemon Handbook" is missing 99 of the Pokemon -- not much of a difference! I recommend just going to a whole other series that has a COMPLETE list of all 251 pokemon. Also, this book has NO information on the gold and silver versions! I like Pokemon and have a Pokemon Silver and think there should be a new version of the book (if this series is going to do something), but that probably won't happen because the Pokemon craze has basically ended. I went to another book that had a list of all 251 Pokemon and now I have 245 of the 251 Pokemon in the Silver version for Gameboy Color. The book has nice pictures of the original Pokemon, but it's nothing with out the additional 100 Pokemon.



4. well at first my mom did'nt have any way for me to read but then I went to my friend aaron and serinas house and I liked it so I asked them politley if I could have it and they kindly said back "yes" so like a year later every night I would sit down before bed and read untill I got to tired to read anymore.my mom and dad were so proud of me that sometimes I would read some pages to them to dad said "wonderful" mom said "great" so from then on I read so much that my pokemon knowledge went up to like 100'000'000'000' and even more than that.note:I like to call serina sabrina thats how much of a pokemon fan I am.gotta catch em' all.



5. I thought this book was very well written and showed the specific points on each individual pokemon. They should come out with another book thats all about the old pokemon. Pokemon are aseome and I LOVE THEM with all my heart. When I grow up I want to be a pokemon. I will probily be zappdos so I can fly around and zap people and KILL THEM with my aseome pokemon powers.

5 comments about Gender Inclusive Game Design: Expanding The Market (Advances in Computer Graphics and Game Development Series).

1. It is ironic that a book on gender inclusion would be so insulting to the gender of its target demographic.
   
   Several anecdotes throughout the book cast men as crude, immature, and violent neanderthals. At the same time, it portrays women as nurturing, mature, and sophisticated. If the target market were embittered women with a bone to pick with the opposite gender, the author's approach would be appropriate. Unfortunately, I find myself disgusted rather than convinced.
   
   I admit that there is some interesting and eye-opening information in the book. However, this information is infested with insulting material and poorly handled and delivered scholarship. In reading the text it becomes obvious how unwieldly good information is when placed into the wrong hands.
   
   The title may as well be: "Catching Flies with Vinegar: How Ugly, Brutish Men Can at Least Appear More Sympathetic to Women in the Sexist, Violent Games They Make."
   
   The book states that women are more comfortable with indirect communication than direct confrontation. If we are to take that into account, what motivates a book that is titled "Gender Inclusive Game Design" and proceeds to insult the male gender again and again comes into direct focus.
   
   A personal account revealing directly the motivations of the author's feelings and intentions would have been honest and understandable. I would have sympathized. What we get, however, smacks of vendetta while it pretends to objectivity.
   
   Noticing this, indirection then becomes underdstood as a euphemism for lying to both oneself and others.



2. So many books on game design slide into relatively useless territory: They fail to give the reader concrete things they can do to make better games. Not so this book. It's got plenty of examples (backed up by research) that can be used when you sit down with your tools and try to make a new world. I think her viewpoint is quite refreshingly mercenary. There's no femenist rhetoric here. The author is trying to figure out a way for the game industry to reach beyond the traditional male market and thus make more money. Very pragmatic.
   
   The scary thing is that most of the changes she's proposing to games are relatively non-intrusive and easy to make, as long as designers are involved in the games from the beginning. Good read. Opened my eyes a bit to some issues I never considered before. What if the player is female, indeed.



3. I have spent quite some time in the industry, designing games - as well as playing them. During my time in the industry, most of the women I worked with were in HR; very few were in game development.
   
   Which made arguing my point with the men I worked with rather challenging, since the ratio of men to women at work was so much greater, and I was frequently told, "women just don't play games." Which I knew to be patently false, as there were and still are several online forums and sites run by women gamers. There just weren't that MANY of them at the time, so no one was interested in giving a player a choice in gender.
   
   Times have changed, and many games offer up male and female characters, so it's rather easy for a woman to play a decent, strong, female character. I believe that there are more female gamers today than there were, say, 10 years ago. Perhaps that is because the younger female generation is getting turned onto computers instead of make up, clothes and popularity contests like they were in my generation. Then again, perhaps I'm just reflecting upon my own personal experience here.
   
   I'm not sure I believe the 70% ratio (women to men) where "causal online gamers" are concerned. I am still quite a gamer, and do not experience that ratio in any of the MMOGs that I play. I feel that the number is more like maybe 15% F/M, as that is what I've experienced over the years - I'm being generous here, too. (Does that percentage include Pop Cap games, perhaps? Online card games? If so, that's a completely different beast.)
   
   All in all, I do feel it is important for there to be games that allow both genders to play strong characters of both sexes. There are girls out there who game, and they deserve to have games available that allow them to create and play what may very well become a strong role model for them - as for many of us, our characters are simply an extension of ourselves.



4. Graner Ray raises an important topic: how game designers can create games that appeal to women as well as men. Unfortunately, her advice is simplistic and poorly motivated. This is a summary of what I take to be the most important suggestions the book has to offer:
   
   - Don't use stereotype or hypersexualized avatars
   - Provide a well-designed tutorial
   - Don't force the player to resort to confrontational resolution of conflicts, provide non-confrontational options
   - Females only respond physically to emotional and tactile input, males only by visual input - so include an engaging back-story in the game
   - Males prefer punishment for errors in a game, females prefer forgiveness
   - Females want non-zero-sum (mutually benefitial) game designs
   - Males want to conquer the computer, females want to work with the machine - so don't include hidden benefits that you have to "explore" the interaction space to uncover (e.g., hidden combos in fighting games)
   
   The research results quoted are, when not of questionable quality, often taken out of context. Graner Ray also has a tendency to generalize from isolated anecdotes, which doesn't help. Another problem is that much of the research is dated: some of the games research quoted is from the 1980s and is surely not relevant today! Because of its publication in 2004, the book does not foresee the cross-gender success of titles such as World of Warcraft, and it only consideres the North American market: Europe and Japan are ignored altogether.
   
   Game designers that wish to expand the market for their products to include women probably won't have much to gain by reading this book. Since they already have the necessary motivation, they will acquire more relevant information from well-executed market research and focus group testing than from this book. The book may be an eye-opener for game designers who have never considered women as potential buyers, though.



5. I loved this book. I learned how to write a game proposal.
   There were a lot of thought provoking ideas on how to make a
   game that isn't just geared to pre-teen boys.

1 comments about Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monster Coliseum (Prima's Official Strategy Guide).

1. When I got Capsule Monster Colliseum, I was stuck on this freeky dude, but when this came, I beat him easily. Prima makes the best game guides EVER, no kidding. It has a farily(rabid horsemen aren't crocodile-things)accurite ,fully illistrated list of monsters, how to evove them,how to fuse them, and MORE!

5 comments about Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (XBOX) (Prima's Official Strategy Guide).

1. It had a very good setup and allowed me to beat the game in three hours of nonstop play.



2. This book is cool.It helped me though the game perfectly.It shows every weapons detail like:how much damage it can inflict to people,the rate of fire,projectile speed,accuracy and cells per shot.It also tells about the force powers and ways to use them.The book lists the "bad guys" from every level.It shows maps for every multiplayer games even "Xbox Live" maps.It shows the maps for every level and its objectives.It shows the body parts of every custom character.It gives you hints on how to move to avoide shots.It also shows how to preform special moves.I highly recomend this guide for anyone who has this game.



3. This guide is okay, but [really not too good]. It has alot of mistakes. In the level Cult Investigation (Tanaab), it was very confusing to follow.



4. For a complete video game nerd like myself half the fun is figuring out how to win on your own. But this books helps you keep your own powers in operation while helping you out in constructive ways.



5. lays out all the tasks and secret areas clearly without walking through every room - doesn't ruin the discoveries in the game or the plot exploration - just gives you what you need - good maps

3 comments about Valkyrie Profile: Prima's Official Strategy Guide.

1. Almost all RPG games that come out these days are bound to have a guide published. Valkyrie Profile is a game where the strategy guide helps a lot because of overwhelming dungeons that take hours to get by. The book saves tons and tons of backtracking in the game and shows the best recommendations for developing your party of characters. This is a semi-difficult game and the guide explains all the places you can only get through replays, and all the time periods. All in all, it's an engaging game, and the guide will really help you get a grip on how to manuever this captivating RPG game.



2. But Valkyrie Profile is one of the games that you really need a Strategy Guide to get the most out of it.

   When you first start playing the game, it's all a little confusing... the main goal is to strenghten all of your character's into hero's before Ragnarok (the end of the world) but the clock ticks down, and every area/town/dungeon you enter takes up a certain amount of periods (their measure of time)

   First starting out you might be a little unsure of what you are doing, since the game gives you an enormous amount of freedom, plus huge and intricate dungeons.

   If you want to get the most enjoyment and understanding out of the game you might as well go ahead and buy the guide.

   I'm among the many who feel like strategy guides can ruin the gaming experience, but with Valkyrie it's really just going to enhance the experience. The game is so beautiful, beautiful 2D graphics and a side-scrolling format, complex but with tons of freedom, wonderful music, and an interesting storyline with ties into Norse mythology.

   The music is excellent, the game is excellent, and it's also pretty complex. Do yourself a favor!




3. I agree with the assertions posed by the other two reviews, however my jaw nearly hit the floor when I saw the price... $99.99, ARE YOU INSANE! Its a good game, great even, but its not a collectible on that sort of scale. I didn't even pay that much for the game itself! Good luck selling them.

1 comments about Clive Barker's Undying: Prima's Official Strategy Guide.

1. The guide completly describes all levels, secrets, fighting tactics and of course, the walktrough. If you really want to get the most out of the game, I sugest that you get the book fast.

1 comments about What's New With Phil & Dixie Collection #2: Sex & Gamers...Really.

1. Love everything I've seen by _either_ of the Foglios. The book was, however, a gift that didn't quite arrive on schedule.
   
   The book: five stars
   
   Timeliness of shipping: two stars

No comments about American McGee's Alice: Prima's Official Strategy Guide.

5 comments about World of Warcraft / Atlas Gift Pack.

1. This book has saved me many times when I've been lost. The maps are fairly detailed and include a quick reference to familiarize you with the region and towns. It's also great for finding trainers, flight masters, and vendors. The index is very large and contains some additional information for finding what you seek. It's a very good quality book, great for newbies as well as more advanced gamers.



2. Of the 3 WoW guides I've utilized, this Atlas is the most used by far. Not only do the maps remove questions about locations (and with maps u don't feel you have to yell something like, "Where the hell is Un'Goro Crater?!?" in General chat) and which of them have what vendors and trainers, the lists in the back of the atlas provide locations for important NPCs, such as that final Master Blacksmith trainer, etc.
   
   I use this guide every time I play. The frustration you'll avoid as a less experienced player will be priceless. So get it now.



3. Once Burning Crusades opens up it's going to be a bit out of date since you won't have maps of the new cities or zones, but the rest of the world is in there. I use the Atlas about once a week or so when I'm heading into a totally new zone. It's very handy to know where you're going and what kind of vendors, flight points, and other important information is there. The atlas is the greatest guide I own to help me with my travels. It also lets me have the map open and the game going at the same time so I can quit reference them without changing windows on the computers.



4. This is a nice reference for WoW. It has a map of the various Flight Paths and Ship routes. Great to refer to when opening up new territory in the game. Nice tool for the World of Warcraft gamer. I use it all the time.



5. The Atlas is great for finding your way around WOW and for finding just about any other item such as Resources, Skill Trainers, Professional Trainers and just about any other type of trainer or stock item you wish to find along with a specific person you may wish to find. The Detailed maps also gives you a relief picture of the land so you don't go falling off the end of the earth. The hard bond copy will help to keep the Atlas from wearing out since you will be using it quite often while adventuring in the lands of World of Warcraft.

5 comments about Digimon World: Prima's Official Strategy Guide.

1. You've watched the cartoon, collected the card game and now Prima Games lets you view the game in it's entirty as you play. Like Pokemon and Monster Rancher, DIGIMON incorporates kids very fascinations with Monsters in to a Role Playing Genre. This Strategy Guide helps you with those tough to get Champion and Ultimate DIGIMON. All Items are listed in detail and how to recieve special items. It takes the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How out of playing. So if you like Pokemon, Monster Rancher, and/or RPGs then buy this book. Oh yeah the Game too.



2. I bought the game just for a little laugh at Bandai's Pokemon imitation. It turned out to be a whole lot more than I expected! I am definitly bought buy the strategy guide! You get to raise your own cute (or weird!)Digimon.



3. really nothing much to say except that the guide was not helpful in helping me play the game.



4. at first when i got this guide it was very helpful. now it confuses me. i'm stuck in the game and i can't do anything about it... i'd give it no stars at all if i could. so buy a different brand of guide.



5. The Maps Tell You Exactally Where To Go
   The Charts Are Awsome And Clear With Great Information.
   The Downside Is The Beastiary....The Information Is Squished And The Three Top Secret Digimon Are Hard To Get...The Information On Recruiting Is Well Described And In Order