No comments about Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2009.

5 comments about The Making of Doom(r) III: The Official Guide.

1. Steven Kent was given extraordinary access to the creative team doing Doom 3 while the project was under develoment. In this book he charts that development from early conception and the development of details like a new graphics engine that would do the actual on screen graphics. He then moves on to the development of characters, locations, and sounds that make the game what it is. One by one the developers are introduced, often by interview. And the developers get to say their prospective on the game and their part in it. The book is profusely illustrated showing the characters in the sceens where they belong.
   
   It is surprising, no incredible to me that the game of Doom 3 was created in total by a team of some 22 peop.le.



2. This book gives a great insight on the inner workings of ID software. The paper used in the publication of this seems to be extremely high quality. My only gripe is the book is not hardcover. Overall Steven Kent does a great job as usual. If you want to understand how ID works this book will explain alot.



3. I purchased both this book and the Half-Life 2 'Raising the Bar' book together for a discounted price. Both are exceptional and both I HIGHLY recommend owning.
   
   The Doom 3 book is far heavier on word count and focuses on the entire production of Doom 3 as opposed to the sporadic comments and captions grouped with pictures in 'Raising The Bar'. Having said that both are different and will appeal to everyone interested regardless.
   
   Both are printed on very high quality paper, 'Raising The Bar' even having a hard cover, a sore omission from The Making Doom 3. The content is brilliant with hundreds of images gracing throughout and insights into the making of these games. I particularly liked reading about the ideas, monsters and objects that were cut from the final games. Seriously, every gamer or visual artist/designer should own these, awesome and inspirational 'picture' books to have laying around.
   
   SO! If you are a fan-boy or girl of either game, get both, they are EXCEPTIONAL READING and I cannot recommend them highly enough.



4. This book was an utter let-down. I was pumped up ready to dive into this book after reading the previous reviews here on Amazon. The reviews made it sound like it was a solid book with a lot of detailed information regarding the actual "making of doom 3". This book in reality is a half-assed, piece-mailed collage of hype and fluff. There is no meat here. Steven Kent is not David Kushner, and this is not "The Masters of Doom" (part 2)... very unfortunately.
   
   What I was expecting from this book was stuff about how the team created what they created (which the book does, to some extent), but more importantly, WHY. What were the reasons for making certain decisions, what were the challenges they had to overcome, what technological barriers did they break, and how did they persevere together, as a team? I also wanted to know about the personal stories and the inner happenings of the game in production. I wanted to learn about the conflicts between the developers and the motivations for doing things they way they did. I wanted to know what kind of pizza they ordered after working 80+ hours a week, and how many liters of Mountain Dew they consumed as a whole. None of this was even pretended to be addressed.
   
   What the book does is a cheap, glossed-over summary of doom 3. It talks about the doom story mostly and tells some basic information about how things were created. (Anyone already in game development will surely recognize the provided information as elementary and immediately self-evident.)
   
   About the only good thing in this book is the Question and Answer Section with John Carmack. As always, John provides a real treat by articulating his knowledge of technical issues and world view opinion in the most elegant way. The author, Steven Kent, gets one point here for not editing Carmack's dialogue; for Carmack, on a number of occasions, seems to poke fun at the interviewer's most obvious lack of game development knowledge.
   
   Get this book if you are interested in game design (but have no previous knowledge) and/or if you are a die-hard id fanboy.



5. Great book by the writer Mr. Kent! The only problem that I came across was the that the pages fall out with minimal use. Warnig!!! Don not treat this book as a standard book!

2 comments about Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (Prima's Official Strategy Guide).

1. This is a good "walkthrough" in that it lays out all the maps in the game, and points out where you should go or what you should do next if you're lost or stuck. However, this walkthrough fails as a "strategy guide" for its lack of strategies. Sure, it's got some tips for certain battles, but it's of no help when it comes to raising characters. It doesn't tell you if the characters in the game has a maximum level, what are the level requirements for each of the skills, how much skill points does each level of a skill costs, or how many more skillpoints will you receive as your character's level increases. These are all vital data a first-timer needs to know in order to create sucessful characters, and none of that is in this guide. In regard to characters and skills, this guide provides absolutely nothing beyond what is already revealed in the manual that comes with the game. What's the use of knowing who you're supposed to beat up next if you don't know how to build your character to get that job done? This guide does reveal hard-to-find secrets, but its lack of character development data also makes its secrets coverage incomplete (as for hidden chars). Overall, the values of this guide lies only in its maps and secret revelations. To me, it's only value is in the secrets, for I don't think it's that hard to find your way in the game. If you think a few secrets in an otherwise unpopular console game and some maps to guide your way in this game are worth ten dollars (or more), then this walkthrough's for you.



2. Expect this to be just as good as every Prima Book. Quality.

3 comments about Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties Official Strategy Guide (Official Strategy Guides (Bradygames)) (Official Strategy Guides (Bradygames)).

1. Good overview and strong strategy guide of this latest expansion to Age of Empires III. Overall game play strategy for each of the 3 Asian nations as well as for each scenario in campaign mode.



2. This is the worst strategy book I have ever seen. I can't understand why a company like Ensemble Studios/Microsoft approved this book by BradyGames.
   
   I have read every book since Age of Empires II and strategy guides for several other games. This is the worst I have ever seen.
   
   Multiplayer strategy
   It basically contains one short page with multiplayer strategy. Advice like: "Share your resources with your teammates to make them build whatever they need." Is that supposed to be helpful? How about some tips regarding, booming, rushing, turteling, special strategies, etc. There in NOTHING in this book regarding these important issues.
   
   Strategy on different maps
   Age of Empires III, The Asian Dynasties includes 36 maps (including the ones from AoE3 and The War Chief expansion). This guide has a very short strategy for 27 of them! Most strategies for these maps are only one sentence long! Where is the description for the rest of the maps? (Andes, Auraucania, California, Upper Himalayas, Northwest Territory, Orinoco, Ozarks, Painted Desert and Plymouth)
   
   Civilizations
   This book have basically unit tables for the three new civilizations and for the reference tables for the Europeans too. Where is the reference for the Aztecs, Iroquois and the Sioux? There in no reference to the natives either. Actually they are not even mentioned. There is no strategy in this book for any civilization!
   
   Overall
   This book include 174 pages. It is basically divided this way:
   7 pages of basic game information
   73 pages of unit tables for the three new Civilizations
   31 pages of "Walkthrough" single player campaigns
   3 pages of information regarding single player skirmishes. No strategy.
   1 page multiplayer strategy
   7 pages with poor maps strategies containing 1-2 sentences for each 27 maps
   46 pages with European unit tables
   1 page with single player 11 cheat codes
   3 pages covering the Scenario Editor
   
   Conclusion
   How can they call this "Official Strategy Guide - Age of Empires The Asian Dynasties"? It contains basically lots of unit tables and "walkthrough" single player campaigns. There in only a few pages with poor strategy included. I will NOT recommend this book to anyone else than those who need a "Walkthrough" single player campaigns.



3. You can get most of the same information from the internet and the official website under forums. Barely mentions MultiPlayer. The walk-thru of the 3 new civs was informative but nothing I did not know from just playing a few times. Some of the numbers were not correct.

5 comments about Game Character Development with Maya (New Riders Games).

1. 1)This book highlights some important issues in modeling & rigging that no other books bother to emphasis.
   
   2)The accompanying CD contains very insightful scripts (that acutally works) - goodies other books only PRETEND to give.
   
   3)It guides beginners and ease them through relatively advanced topics in character animation.
   
   4)If you really need to achieve something in a hurry in Maya. Yes, this is the book to get.



2. This is my first time to write this kind of review, therefore, I don't know how to do a good one. But what I can say for this book is it is easy to follow and the method of modeling that I have learned from it is very useful. If you can follow the tutorials patiently, you can gradually build a very good foundation of your modeling skill. ^-^.. I am looking forward for the next edition.



3. this is very good because it teaches step by step and it makes sense too.



4. The book is a very clear, step-by-step of all the processes involved in making a game character leading up to the animation. The animation is covered but not in as much detail. Everything else is though, including the awesome rigging machine which comes with the book.
   
   Its refreshing to see that someone wasnt limited by a publisher to keep the book size down, and he obviously was able to take his time really illusrating every step.
   
   Its a great book.



5. I have to say, this book is awesome. It taught me how to build models and understand why I am doing what I am doing. I use it all the time and hopefully he will release a new version for us folks who will outgrow this one. Covers all bases and it's worth 2x what I paid for it...

5 comments about Halo 2 Hacks: Tips & Tools for Finishing the Fight (Hacks).

1. He was a little disapointed with the item. He thought it was a book not a magazine



2. Halo 2 Hacks is a very well written book and easy to understand. The pictures and "visual aids" are very helpful. A definate must for EVERY Halo 2 fan! The section on modding is really well done too. A good introduction to modding, a good source for "how-to" find/use gameplay secrets. A well done book. 5 Stars.



3. Do you want to know the type of work that is currently being done by the Halo community? If you do, you're in luck! Author Stephen Cawood, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that will show you how to explore the new dimensions of Halo 2 games and some of the most interesting Halo 2 mods that you can create on a modded Xbox.
   
   Cawood, begins by showing you some of the more interesting Halo 2 jumping techniques. Then, he covers the most mysterious of Halo 2 Easter eggs, the skulls. The author continues by showing you how to find some more interesting Easter eggs. Next, he introduces you to interesting things that you can do in the Halo 2 universe. Then, the author covers some interesting anomalies in Halo 2. He continues by showing you the best software tools available for changing the way Halo 2 functions. Then, he shows you how you can create your own weapon variations. The author continues by covering mods that can be made to Halo 2 vehicles. Next, he introduces you to some mods that alter the Halo 2 environment. Then, the author covers mods that relate to the presentation of Halo 2. He continues exploring mods that affect the Halo 2 game engine. Finally, he introduces you to some of the best modded maps that have been produced to date and gets you started on making your own.
   
   In this most excellent book, each hack stands on its own. This book has been written with the same goal in mind, that is, to give you afresh way to enjoy your Halo universe.



4. A good book for those who love Halo 2 and those to need a little help gettin' the edge on the enemy!!!



5. I bought this book, because I'm a big Halo 2 fan. I play Halo 2 all the time. And let me just tell you, this book is the greatest.
   
   Don't let the name Halo 2 Hacks fool you, the first half of this book shows you plenty of Easter Eggs, techniques, glitches, and awesome stuff in the game. The second half shows you modding tools, where to get them, and how to use them. It does absolutely nothing to show you how to cheat on X-Box Live, which is good. I'll bet you didn't know that you can mod a map so when you crouch, you get an ariael view of the sky. You can jump a bazillion feet into the sky. You can put a Scorpion turret on the back of a Warthog. You can even make your shotgun fire dozens of plasma grenades, and this book shows you how to do ALL of those.
   
   See people with interesting textures on their modded maps? This book shows you programs you can use to make those. You can inject meta (I bet you don't even know what that is, but this book will show you!) to make a picture of George Bush apppear over the map. Now I don't know why you would want to, but you can!
   
   I bet you had absolutely no idea before that the Scarab gun is in the form of a Plasma Pistol on Metropolis. This book shows you how to get it. There's a giant soccerball on Metropolis, also. This book shows you how to get it. There's a skull that changes the physics of the game and makes everything explode bigger. This book shows you how to do that. This book shows you EVERYTHING!
   
   In overall, I give this book a 11/10. It is the best guide book I have ever read.

1 comments about NCAA Football 08: Prima Official Game Guide (Ncaa Football).

1. NCAA Football 08
   This is a fantastic update to the previous version. The programmers have stepped up the clarity and the abilities of the players on the field. I must admit my style from the way I played NCAA 07 is basically a mirror on this new game as was the old one, but the overall presentation of this game is light years ahead of the last year's version.
   
   I will admit that on a day when you just rather skip through the recruiting additions that take a tremendous amount more input I wish what is required was less. But, it must be said that this new game is a big jump from what was contained in NCAA 07.

5 comments about Guitar Hero II Official Strategy Guide (Official Strategy Guides) (Official Strategy Guides).

1. There are very few great music games that've really thrived like Guitar hero has done for the Playstation 2. Yet, with all the hype, a sequel had to be in the works. Nevertheless, for those who have sought for an easy graph of each of the cheats for Guitar Hero II, they can find it in this book. This guide helps you look at what the actual graphs and motions of each song in the game like Guns & Roses 1988 hit Sweet Child Of Mine. The book also gives you neat details on how to unlock songs and special modes within the game. If you have the game for the Playstation 2, or just bought the PS3 and this game, you'll definitely rock on with this guide.
   
   Price: B
   
   Convience: B+
   
   Overall: B 1/2+



2. This book is as entertaining as Guitar Hero 2 is. There is one thing this guide did not do: It did not help me improve my Guitar Hero skill.



3. Seriously, who buys a guide book to a friggin' music game?! you don't learn to beat the songs with that thing! You:
   1. Actually play the songs more than twice,
   2. listen to the actual versions of the songs to predict where the frets might be, or,
   3. JUST TRY!
   You don't buy guidebooks for games like these. You get them for games like WoW or Runescape or Halo or any other game with gameplay that varies besides strumming furiously. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!



4. How do I master hammer-ons & pull-ofs? How do I progress from Medium to Hard or Hard to Expert? What is the best strategy for mastering the tricky parts of various songs? When is the best time to activate Star Power for maximum score?
   
   None of these strategy questions are answered by this guide! In fact the majority of the guide is taken up with diagrams of all songs on Expert mode. I don't know if they're accurate or helpful because I'm not there yet.
   
   There are some interviews and articles that might be entertaining to read, but the font is about 4 point and looks like it was made with a typewriter that needs a new ribbon, so I gave up trying to read them.
   
   Save your money and skip this guide!



5. Although I gave this product 5 stars, that is only because I am a guitar hero fan and think the book is a good item to go with my guitar hero collection. However, the only value I found to this book is the tabs for all 40 songs on expert plus the famous jordan by buckethead. I do find the tab feature helpful because songs such as jordan, even on the slowest training speed can be pretty hard at first. So reading the tabs, you can slow it down as much as you want. Other than that, this book is useless and not worth buying.

No comments about Secret Codes 2008 (Secret Codes).

5 comments about MechWarrior: Dark Age Novel 5: Truth and Shadows.

1. Truth and Shadows is the second book of the "Proving Grounds Trilogy" and follows "A Silence in the Heavens." I liked "Silence" very much. I was glad to see that Truth and Shadows carries forward the plot very well. More battles take place in a campaign by the Steel Wolves to conquer Northwind, but this time the war undergoes some original and unexpected turns. For example, you will be surprised to discover where the Wolves have hidden their dropships-- but I won't spoil the story by telling you.

   Characters are very interesting. We learn a lot more about Ezekiel Crow. He turns out to be more complex than he seemed at first-- not just a "boy scout" type of straight arrow. In fact, he acts decisively in Truth and Shadows -- to find out whether he is a good guy or a villain, or how to interpret his actions, we will need the third and final novel of the trilogy-- not yet published.

   The three motley "ground pounders" have now been promoted to sergeants, but still function wonderfully to bring us the dust and noise of battle from a grassroots view. All in all, author Delrio is to be commended for flowing the second book naturally from the first-- using the larger canvas to brush in more enriching details.

   The Prefect, Duchess Tara Campbell, never comes alive for me too well, but her aide-de-camp, Captain Tara Bishop, emerges as a very interesting and important character. Another well-drawn character is the civilian medic who is taken as a bondsman by Anastasia Kerensky. This character, Ian Murchison, promises to have a major part in the coming third and final novel.

   Anastasia Kerensky is her evil and sexy best-- her rock-star leathers display a figure that could cause a bishop to kick out a stained glass window. She's tougher, crueler, and lovelier than any of the other Steel Wolves she rules. She doesn't get as much play as in "Silence," but where she does appear she really steals the spotlight. Part angel, part devil, she both kills and loves without mercy and without regret. Truly a classic femme fatale. Mr. Delrio, give us more of her!

   One quirk of the book that struck me is the abrupt way it ends. Many trilogies end each separate volume with some sort of reconciliation, some semi- or tentative conclusion. This book just slams on the brakes with little logic. Suddenly, one of the combatants just states, "okay, back off, cease hostilities." We know this is just a pause in the war, and it seems unmotivated. Possibly Mr. Delrio checked the word count of the manuscript, figured out he had penned the necessary 280 pages or so, and said, "hey-- time to go fishing." I wish he had shaped the ending of this book more skillfully. Especially since the third book -- which will clear up all the dangling loose ends-- is almost certainly some months away.

   The way Delrio writes, one gets a real sense of the mud, the pain, the laser smoke, the fatigue of a major battle. Delrio may have some military background, or, if not, he has certainly done his homework. He makes the battlefield seem very real and very gripping.

   I have read all but one of the new MechWarrior Dark Age series of novels. A couple of the others were pretty good-- and, alas, a couple were simply awful. Delrio's efforts are definitely right up there with the very best. With Delrio and Coleman writing more novels in the new series, I have hopes some good reading is in store for us.

   An excellent entertainment, and I highly recommend it.




2. Uh, did anyone find it a little wierd how Anastasia got away from Paladin Crow in the first novel. Apparently after their climatic duel, in which Crow overloaded her Ryoken by stroking it with lightning, he let her go free. Picture this, Crow brings the Ryoken crashing down, and does not come to Tara's aid against the IndustrialMech's because he's guarding the Ryoken. Tara finally gets out of her predicament, and Crow tells her to come see what he's caught. THEN, suddenly the Steel Wolves are leaving the planet, and we are supposed to just ASSUME that the DEACTIVATED Ryoken just got back up, said adieu to the Paladin and joined her buddies off planet? Talk about wierd! Other than that little quirk, the second book is pretty good, and if you can handle a little suspension of disbelief, you'll be fine.



3. I understand that the old world of battletech is dead and buried, but this new series is crap. It is poorly writen with little to no action and predictable plot twists. I hate the fact that they have thrown loyal readers into the battletech universe 50 or so years in the future with no explaining what happened to the main charaters from the civil war/clan era. Victor is brought up in Ghost War and has never been brought up again. What happened to Vlad and Katrina, Phalen Kell and the Wolves in Exile, the Clans themesleves, Kai Allard-Lao and so on. People invested years in getting to know these characters and now they are forgotten.
   My biggest problem is the lack of action in these books. I don't care about retrofitted agromechs and VTOL's and groundpounders. I want 100 ton mechs blowing each other up and vicious political fighting going on in the background.



4. Battlemechs CANNOT knock each other over by doing a running forward handstand into a flip. Nor can they roll around on the ground clenching each other like lovers.
   
   Delrio obviously didn't research his topic.
   
   Other than the glaring lack of knowledge of the game universe that this series is based on, I felt that the book was okay. It worked as part of the larger trilogy. Let the buyer decide whether or not they can suspend their disbelief.



5. TRUTH AND SHADOWS continues the storyline of Northwind that began in A Silence in the Heavens, again utilizing a structure similar to its predecessor. This time, it's Ezekiel Crow, Paladin of the Sphere, who undergoes life-altering changes.
   
   It's been several months since the Steel Wolves have been seen, and Northwind is finally starting to breathe easy. But Crow can't really do so—not when the specter of Liao is being hung over his head by an unknown party.
   
   As before, much of the first two-thirds is spent on character development, with some minor action from the secondary cast. Only towards the end do Tara Campbell and Crow hop into their BattleMechs and join the fray.
   
   The Wolves' defeat feels more honest this time, in that they weren't actually defeated. Rather, in the face of the scorched earth tactics the Highlanders used ("If we can't have it, you can't either"), the Wolves decide that Northwind is more trouble than it's worth, and set their sights on a new target in time for the trilogy's conclusion: Terra.
   
   While the structure of the trilogy has already gotten repetitive, "Delrio"'s strong writing more than makes up for it. The lies, deception, and betrayals keep the reader guessing even as the story moves on towards a conflict that's been over a decade in the waiting.