5 comments about Suikoden IV Official Strategy Guide.

1. As I sat down to write this review it occurred to me that it is very difficult for the Strategy Guide for a partially flawed RPG to be anything else but flawed. That some of the problems with the game will inevitably wash over into the guide. However, this guide has flaws of its own that should be addressed.
   
   One upon a time, publishers took the creation of strategy guides very seriously. The idea was to produce something that had more depth than the normal walkthrough found online, and led the player into areas of the game that would normally get short shrift if one was simply to play for the ending. Lately though, the guide has become part of the marketing plan, and is often written before the game is even set in stone. That seems to be the case here.
   
   Suikoden IV is a skimpy game. Thus it is no surprise that the 75 pages dedicated to the walkthrough are mostly charts and pictures with a very minimal amount of text. In addition, the writers have the modern knack of not always explaining things in logical order, so that one gets to the end of a sequence only to discover that something important got left out. Since Suikoden IV isn't a complicated game, the guide should have been much more player friendly. Following the walkthrough are 82 pages of short biographies and facts about each of the 108 'stars' of the game. Exactly the same information appears in the walkthrough, so the purpose of this section is to flesh out the guide to some respectable size. The net result is that this is more of a souvenir than a game guide.
   
   There are mistakes in the text as well, although there is nothing so serious as to ruin the game, there are a couple places where the mystery of how to move the game forward is obscure, and Suikoden IV is not a game where being forced to wander unnecessarily is as much of a pleasure as it should be. Another thing that caused this reviewer to have a short fit of pique it is the complete lack of a map of the world ocean. Instead it resorts to vague or no directions. And wandering the waves may be something that Suikiden's creators think is the height of game play, but this player found it exorbitantly tedious. There are better ways to level up than killing a lot of hairballs (and deadly albino roosters).
   
   I would recommend holding off until the regular online walkthrough sources get caught up with the game. Not only is that a cheap alternative, but there is nothing about the production of this guide that makes it particularly satisfying to own. Production and writing are mediocre at best. If it weren't for the fact that the game is just illogical enough to need a walkthrough (marketing ploy, no doubt) I would tell you this time it is better to work it out yourself.



2. While not known for in depth guides akin to those offered by other publishers (Prima, to name just one) BradyGames has actualy done a fine job with the guide to Suikoden IV.
   
   The guide is unusualy thick and easy to follow for a BradyGames strategy guide, and includes all of the information anyone would require in order to complete the game, recruit all 108 stars of destiny, find all of the game's secrets, understand all of the games excellent mini-games, and more.
   
   Also included are a comprehensive guide to the trade system, recommendations for the best armor for each character, character-specific rune affinities (which there would be no other way to determine except through tiresome trial and error - multiplied by 108 - without this guide), and thorough maps of every area, including your ship headquarters.
   
   I would have given it five stars if not for the only two flaws I was able to find. There are one or two very minor and very easy to figure out mix-ups with respect to where a certain character is recruited, and the guide lacks a comprehensive guide to the creation of armor, recipees, and accessories. However, that's not much of an inconvenience because the game tells you which materials are required to craft any specific item whenever you look in the available options while speaking to the appropriate craft character(s).
   
   This is an underappreciated yet great guide which just happens to do some things a little differently, to go along with an equaly underappreciated yet great game.
   
   I say of this guide what I said of the game: people simply need to be more patient and thorough. It's an RPG! Do some of the work yourselves! But this guide will make sure you don't have to do any of the work if you read it carefuly and thoroughly.
   
   Thanks again to amazon.com for quick delivery. It arrived the same day as the game. ^_^



3. On the up side it's got lots of pretty, out of focus pictures and it's 223 pages long. If you are worried about spoilers you won't find any here. It's just a straight walk through. With a few pages on the mini games an a few on game basics. It also has lists of items, not particularly helpfull. Also not helpfull is the amount space dedicated to the 108 stars. If you play the game you should have no problem finding at least 106 stars. Gau you have to stumble across in a random battle. Snow is really the only one you will have any difficulty finding. Do yourself a favor check online at gamefaqs. You will find better, more detailed walkthroughs that actually have the info you need for free. Don't waste your money here. If you are dead set on buying this waste of paper at least look at a hard copy first before putting down your money.



4. This book will help you in all aspects of the game. From recruiting the people to playing the minigames. If you have or are planning on getting Suikoden IV then I highly recommend this book



5. The Guide was consise and followed the game every step of the way through it with little confusion..... I will definately purchase another Stategy Guide from Amazon again.....

4 comments about How to Beat Internet Casinos and Poker Rooms.

1. Arnold Snyder has some interesting ideas as a gambling writer, but this new offering is a little disappointing.
   The author explains how to make money from casino and poker bonuses. Basically, his method involves signing up with an internet casino, taking any bonus they have, then cashing out.
   
   The trouble is that online gambling is illegal in most of the United States. If you could make hundreds of thousands of dollars doing this then it might be worthwhile, but as Snyder seems to admit, getting the money is really hard. Getting money out of an e-casino, judging by the problems Snyder's mentions, is not easy, they are very reluctant to pay up, many simply will take your money knowing you can't take them to court. Some will cheat: it is very easy to write a computer program which fixes the odds against you.
   
   Even with honest e-casinos, you often have to wager eighty times the bonus or more before they will let you keep it!! You would end up losing your money most of the time!! Imagine trying to get a $100 bonus, having to wager $8000, and losing $600 or $700. It does happen!
   
   If you check out the author's website, you see why he is promoting e-casinos-his site gets lots of money from links to internet casinos and he gets a percentage of the losses of people who go through those links. I think that is why he is recommending this type of "advantage play" rather than something respectable like card-counting.
   
   Nevertheless, he does cover some of the common problems you face online in some detail. And, the section on poker is a good basic primer, if you like playing poker.



2. In reading the first review posted here, most is misguided, misleading, or just wrong.
   
   However, this statement is completely false:
   "The trouble is that online gambling is illegal in most of the United States. "
   
   Online gambling is illegal in the few specific states that have prohibited it (Nevada, New Jersey, and a few others). This definitely does not make up the majority of the US.
   
   I would think that Amazon would have a policy against posting false statements in a review.



3. Please do not buy or read this book! I don't want competition. Arnold Snyder is a genious and in my opinion is the foremost gambling expert in the world, and no, I'm not one of "The Entity Known As Avery Cardoza's" shills either. This book is kind of like a sharpa who leads you to a mysterious temple and says "here it is". It doesn't really tell you what "it" is other than to say it could be worth a couple large. It's worth a lot more, and if you don't know why that's certainly not my problem, nor is it Mr. Snyder's for that matter.



4. All I ever wanted was a good fair advantage!!!
   
   It teaches the skills neccesary to use the bonus structures of online casinos to your advantagel.
   
   Important Note: This takes discipline that is clearly beyond the reach of a compulsive gambler.
   
   You MUST pick your casinos carefully. You,ABSOLUTELY must size your bets according to the formulas provided or else you are guaranteed to lose all your money before your average advantage can assert itself!!!
   
   By patiently placing many small bets, over a four-month period. I systematically turned $400 startup money into $2500 before the US government shutdown access to most of the better online casinos. I would have done as well in two months if I had not been in the US. Over time I would have had more money to work with and been able to safely place larger bets and it would have snow-balled.
   
   Again, I wasn't lucky, I was PATIENT AND CAREFUL!!!

2 comments about AREA 51? Official Strategy Guide (Official Strategy Guides).

1. strategy guides for fps are a waste of money but i like to have them if i have the game sick addiction



2. If you need to find eveything, this is a great guide. Buy it : )

5 comments about Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor: Prima's Official Strategy Guide.

1. This truly is one of the better guides I've seen in a long time. With Prima being the larget producer of such books, I generally approach these manuals with more than a little wariness, since the experience is generally hit-and-miss, but I have to say that the Prima guide for Pool of Radiance efficiently and effectively covers all the bases that a good guide should.

   The centerpiece of the guide is the walkthrough for the game, which is fairly well written. Of course, considering the fact that this is a Dungeons and Dragons game that they were writing a guide for, they probably didn't have much trouble ahead of them (random encounters are rare, and the guide itself is written like a book and paper adventure key). The maps they provide are well rendered and easy to follow in most cases, and the occasional side tips that they offer are helpful, for the most part.

   One thing that I would have liked to see is a little more focus on character creation and subjective advice from the book's editors. As is so often the case with these sorts of guides, the sections on gameplay are little more than reprints of the game documentation. A greater number of sample characters, some expanded elaboration on character design, or another fully illustrated sample party or two would have been a welcome aid. The point of these guides, after all, is to allow the player to more completely experience the game, and it seems as though a lot of potentially useful material in that regard has been cast off.

   On the whole, however, the guide is still exceptional, with complete coverage of every location or encounter in the game and, if not exceptional, a respectable amount of character creation advice and explanation on elements of the gameplay rules.




2. Don't buy it, it's full of bugs. And if you buy it, wait with installing the game until they have released all the patches.
   It crash often, the save games gets corrupted and worst of all, the uninstaller have been reported to making havoc with your windows register.



3. While I agree with everything the other reviewers said about the description of character classes and the easy-to-read maps with great descriptions of the areas and details of exactly what you will find there, this hint book has two very serious flaws I found.

   The first is that in all the "walkthrough" descriptions, in many of the places they tell you what to do to get through the area ONCE YOU GET INTO IT. But they do NOT say, for instance, "before you can get into this area you have to complete such and such quest." I thought I was at a serious impasse early in the game because the book described in the main halls that the word of the dragon was required to open one of the doors, and you had to talk to some creatures there to get the right word. When i first went there, THERE WERE NO CREATURES THERE. They did not make any mention of the need to complete previous quests that would activate the creatures in the area. This is not the only section of the book with this flaw. You can't walk through the areas as they are presented in the book, step by step...there are still a lot of things to figure out and finding the right hint can get very confusing.

   The second bad flaw this book had was the incomplete index. For instance, I found something called a "stronghold key" that I could not figure out which door to get open. If you want to ask "what is the stronghold key and which door does it open" the "stronghold key" does not appear in the index, nor does "key, stronghold". Again, this makes finding the right hint you want very difficult...unless you know exactly the area you are in and look up the hint IMMEDIATELY after you find something new, the book is just a pain to search through for the correct hint.

   If you just want a general overview of the game and area descriptions, and some good maps to follow, this is a good book to get. If you're looking for an answer to a specific problem, this book will only help you if you are willing to spend a bit of time searching through it...it can take time to find the right solution...very disorganized in that sense.




4. I am a fan to Prima's strategy guides. They are indepth and thorough. Some of the games that are out now are huge, and sometimes you need some help. Look no further. Prima has you covered.



5. I was having trouble with Pool of Radiance because there is SO much to do and everything is so spread out. I like to do all the quests and see and experience as much as possible. I got the book for the maps, so I could make sure I got to everything in the game. The book is incredibly useful for that - it has extremely detailed maps and tells you about every single creature/quest/item there is to find and experience in each section of the game.

   It also does a pretty good job of describing the characters/skills/traits/etc... but I'm not much of a min-maxer, I just like to play the game. I give it five stars because it did exactly what I wanted it to do - gave me a map and some direction for playing.

2 comments about Unreal Tournament 3 Signature Series Guide.

1. This is a beautiful guide that is pretty well-laid out. However, it's got more extraneous info than anyone could really use given the nature of the game, which is "in your face" action. If you want to know all of the damage points your weapons can inflict or how much damage your armor can withstand, this is the guide for you. Information about the single player campaign is scant. I liked the descriptions of each weapon, but you can probably get enough info from the instruction guide that comes with the game. It's not really what I was expecting, which I guess was more walk-through help. However, since the single player campaign is almost non-existent in the game, it stands to reason that this guide wouldn't have much info on it. Again, the pictures are great and it has voluminous amounts of info about damage points. It's just that I probably will never use it since the game is all about online multiplayer, and you really don't need a guide for simple balls to wall action.



2. Unreal Tournament guide will always be helpful in playing the game whenever I can get it. Until then it helps to get know the weapons and vehicles.

No comments about Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder (Prima's Official Strategy Guide).

5 comments about Retro Gaming Hacks: Tips & Tools for Playing the Classics (Hacks).

1. Some of these 'hacks' I knew about, many i did not. But every 'hack' in here offered some level of detail that made my retro gaming experience just that much better.
   
   The bulk of the hacks are focused on emulators - how to get them, how to use them, etc. Which means that you will be Retro-gaming on your PC. Before I nabbed this book, I thought that would be a slightly less than awesome experience. Mainly because the controls leave a lot to be desired (who wants to use a keyboard to play Satan's Hollow.) But thanks to one of the hacks, I now know where to go to get retro game controllers that fit right into your PC.
   
   While retro-gaming on the PC is the the focus of the book, it by no means describes all the content. There is tunds of cruncy goodness in here on obtaining old platforms and cartridges, to hacking your old cartidges / games into your modern platform.
   
   All in all a joy to read, and even more fun to implement. Pick it up! Its a good 'un.



2. Chris Kohler's RETRO GAMING HACKS: TIPS & TOOLS FOR PLAYING THE CLASSICS tells how to emulate classic games on cell phones to computers, how to locate vintage game hardware, how to convert gaming tools, and how to write your own retro-style games in various programs. From playing old games on original hardware or making conversions, RETRO GAMING HACKS is for avid gamers who want to tweak the experience.



3. Are you an avid game player, programmer or video game journalist? If you are, then this book is for you! Author Chris Kohler, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that shows you everything you need to know to get your retro game on.
   
   Kohler, begins by showing you how to play the real thing, setting up classic game systems, fixing broken hardware, and getting good deals on buying games. Then, the author covers new hardware and software that plays old games, whether on an all-in-one joystick or on the PalyStation 2. He continues by covering MAME from all the angles, learning how to play classic arcade games on the PC and other platforms. Next, the author shows you how to play classic console games. Then, the author brings back those classic computers, showing you how to set them up or emulate them. He also shows you how to play with text adventures. Then, he shows you how to get DOS games to work properly under modern operating systems, or even get DOS up and running again. The author continues by showing you how to play at game design. Finally, the author shows you how to hack around inside games, exploring glitches and bugs to your advantage.
   
   The author of this most excellent book shows you how to emulate classic games on everything from cell phones to computers. More importantly, after reading this book, you will have everything you need to have to rediscover classic games in style.



4. A great reference for those who like to tinker with the hardware side of retro games. I found this book to be a very good reference, well thought out and very applicable to the hobby of retro gaming and will appeal to the enthusiast at all levels.



5. What an absolutely awesome book! Mr. Kohler did a wonderful job. I love this book and recommend it to everyone interested in retro gaming. It is packed full of useful and insiteful information. To top it all off, the book is in a fun, easy-to-read and enjoyable format. I can't recommend it enough.
   
   I hope Mr. Kohler does a revised and updated edition of this book. The information in it is too good to be allowed to just fade away. I'll definately buy an updated copy.
   
   Just one comment to the author Chris Kohler should he read this review: How about a hack about the Scot Adam's text adventure series for the section of your book on Text Adventure games? Scot Adam's was big in the early 80s.
   
   Thanks!

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

2 comments about Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone (Prima's Official Strategy Guide).

1. I took a chance and bought this game used and was disappointed. The graphics are gorgeous considering the PS2 platform and it's limitations, but the game was poorly designed. I hate switching between the three characters. The characters looked cool by the way. Although there was item and skill upgrades, I didn't like how it was done. They should have let you control all three characters as a party, instead of that switching out [...] Fortunately I didn't waste very much of my HARD EARNED money on it.



2. I personally dislike games like this one. You are required to move along a single designated track. You can only save your game when the game allows. Both of these factors takes away from the game in my opinion. After playing the game for a few minutes I was dissappointed and wont play it again.

5 comments about Beginning .NET Game Programming in C#.

1. Let me start by saying that I have no intention of being a game developer, but since I need .NET for my job, I thought this would be an interesting read. It doesn't disappoint at all.
   
   What stand out is the author's repeated advice that you need to "just do it" from end to end to understand the process of creating a game. I think that's true for most tasks in programming, but it's especially true here. There are a lot of basic concepts that apply to nearly all games, and it's funny because you begin to think about them when you play one!
   
   Clearly if you want to get deep into 3D math, you'll need another book, but this one gets you started at least with an understanding of the basic DirectX tools.



2. I'm surprised this book has gotten the reviews it has (I actually ordered it based on them). The errors in the code/instructions are horrendous, and I'm only on the second chapter. (Many steps seem left out) I suppose I cannot understand why someone would write a instructional book and then fail to follow their own steps to check if they work.
   
   That being said, the book is not all bad. I've learned a few neat things from the previous chapter. I suggest, in the future, the author(s) include source for each 'step' in the projects and have others check their instructions. I would be entirely lost without the downloadable source code (apress.com), but it's a shame readers have to rely on it.
   
   If you can, check it out at a library for a week before you buy.



3. Quick Advice:
   
   Download C# Express from Microsoft's website, it is free right now. Also download the Summer 2003 edition of Direct X.
   
   Everything will compile except Space Wars 3D (I am so happy now, see below). I am missing files, its 3:00 am, I will look for my (or their mistake) in the morning.
   
   Also go to the Apress website to download all the code including the VB.Net version of the book. It seems they left out key files (Like images for chapter 3) for the C# version that you can get in the VB.net download.
   
   My Story:
   
   I got this book because I wanted to learn C# and have some fun. I certainly enjoyed the first 3 chapters. They were very nicely written and friendly, which is why I bought the book. I also like that the book explained the basic concepts clearly (which is all I am looking for right now). So far, fairly self-explanatory, follows with what I already knew and expected (it confirmed how I thought it all worked procedure wise).
   
   However, when I tried the book code in visual studio 2003 I kept getting errors. Mostly from me copying what the book had. I then had to tweak everything to get it to work. I later found it much easier to just load the code from the website. However, this does not help learning if you just compile and view. The step-by-step examples for the later chapters would have been nice for these early ones.
   
   After a short hiatus (6 months of wasteful job searching, which I am still on) I came back to work on chapters 4 onward. I found these to be very difficult to work with. I kept getting errors. After a few 5:00 am nights, I discovered it's not the code it is VS 2003 it just won't run it for some reason. Gives me a .net compilation error. I bet it has to do with patches or version differences of the .net framework.
   
   I was about to bag the book and write a bad review (mostly because I could not find quick help anywhere) when I decided to check Microsoft's website. After downloading their tools and converting the files to VS C# Express everything ran great. By the way, online resources say to use this with 2003, but I keep getting a greater version used error when working with 2003, so they must have done this in 2004. My advice on what to get is above.
   
   So after a bit a fun and a lot of short-term frustration I am happy once more and can continue my studies. My goal is not video games, but research and development for engineering. I just wanted a pretty way to render my results.
   
   To note, Direct X has had some major changes so the book is now dated, but the logic on Direct3D, collisions, and general procedures is still good. Direct Play is out, I am not sure about Direct Sound or Direct Input.
   
   When you buy a book you expect to get higher quality material then what you would find online. Overall, I would say it is better then some information I have found online, but it certainly lacks in certain areas such as better explanation on DirectX functions, though it does a good job where needed. For instance some spots in the DirectX documentation is lacking, the book does a good job of explaining those parts.
   
   Microsoft has plenty of new resources online now including better explanations on what was missing before, so I am unsure if this book is a buy anymore. I will say it is a good first start.



4. I got a used copy of David Weller's book: "Beginning .Net Game Programming in C#" from Amazon.
   First of all, using the word Beginning in the title of this book is deceptive. It's not a book for beginners in any way.
   The author not only assumes you are an experienced Windows programmer, but that you already know how to work with graphics and are more than familiar with Creating Event Handlers using OnPaint, etc.
   In the first chapter, in the classic Microsoft style of documentation, he begins by bragging about all the wonderful graphics things you can do with C# like; Gradients, Alpha Blending, Cardinal Splines, Transformation, etc. but doesn't have the courtesy to supply a single code example to show you how to do any of these wonderful things!
   In fact, if you leaf through the book page by page, you will find that there is not a single complete code example in the entire book. What the author refers to as "snippets" are nothing more than poor, incomplete code examples. As we reach the first code "example" the author says "The following code shows how to draw a simple red rectangle... " No it doesn't! All it is, is a lonely OnPaint method. The author doesn't bother to explain how to make it work, but proceeds to tack on one of those little Note: fields saying that you need to create an Event Handler. The example supplied however, is an Event Handler for something else entirely! The next example shows you how to create graphics objects from an image but doesn't bother to explain how to import the image! You are expected to magically how to do that I guess.
   It is clear that the author: David Weller doesn't even understand the topic material. What he did was go to somebody that DOES understand how to program and got a half dozen cheezy programs which he devoted a chapter each to, with a feeble attempt to tack a bunch of comments inbetween.
   If you want to make a Tetris clone and not much else, there's a very slim chance you might get something out of this book. Although you will have to type up pages of code yourself before finding out whether it will even run or not because there is no CD included with the book. The author assumes you know so much about programming already that, quite frankly, if you knew that much, you wouldn't need his lame book.
   The author is neither a programmer, nor a writer. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. It gives me a big knot in my stomach thinking how many other sincere beginners will end up wasting perfectly good hard earned cash on this complete waste of trees.
   Dillinger



5. This text presented the concepts of game programming well. However, the examples available with the book were not complete. They were missing classes that need to be purchased/downloaded from a third party.
   
   Part of learning a new programming/technology concept is having a working model. This book failed this portion of the learning process