1 comments about The Rough Guide to Videogames 1 (Rough Guide Reference).

1. 
   I hate to sound like some over exuberant fanboy who might fall in love with just the idea of this book, but I'll risk it. This Book Is Awesome. When I picked this up I expected nothing, but then I started flipping through, and there's literally something on every page that you can just start reading without having to start all the way at the beginning of the book, which I love. There are 100 word (about 100 at least) reviews galore on top of the 75 or so canon "best", and lots of bright and shiny pics of the best new games, plus a ton from games I grew up playing (like the first lemmings!) There's a chapter on the back story of modern games which I thought would be boring, but which turned out to be surprisingly engaging! Exclamation!
   
   There's just a huge amount of material in this book, and it's all so easy to access. If you're looking to expand your knowledge of videogames, and add some of the best to your collection, this is your book. I just can't recommend it enough

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 Once Burning Crusades opens up it's going to be a bit out of date since you won't have maps of the new cities or zones, but the rest of the world is in there.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 Titanic: Adventure Out of Time (Brady Games Strategy Guides).

1. I was so excited when I found this book! I was stuck at a point in the game "Titanic Adventure Out of Time," and I wanted to continue because the game is so much fun and so intriguing. When I received this book, I was surprised how far I had gotten without it (to the point where I had to find the notebook). The book gave me all the hints I needed to solve the game, and I didn't even need to look at the chapter "All Revealed". The book has the following chapters: characters, equipment, navigation, Fictional Walkthrough, Hints and Tips, History, World of If (a look at the possibility of time travel), Glossary of Nautical Terms, Hints and Tips-All Revealed, Puzzle Solutions, and appendixes. It also includes screen photos. It is not just a guide for solving a game, but a nice little historical and scientific study as well. My advice is to try the game without any help until you reach a point when you do not know what to do next and are just wandering around (sometimes talking with characters, especially Penny Pringle, can help you figure out your next move). Once you reach that point, consult the Hints and Tips chapter so you can move onto the next stage. Only consult the "All Revealed" chapter as a last resort (as I mentioned before, I didn't need that chapter to solve the game). Someone asked about the doll in Sasha's room. Here's just a hint, so if you don't want one, don't read on: the numbers on the small dials must add up to equal the number on the outside dial (12, 15, 4, 19). I figured it out by trial and error.



2. If you dont have this book then you are missing out!
   Here is how you get the Ruba'iat!
   Meet vlad agreeto do the favor.Then go down tothe boilers.
   then turn left to the coal box door. then put the book in the oter boxes do favor. then leave with ruba'iat!



3. This book is invaluable if you want to know how to win Titanic: Adventures out of time. It gives you hints and solutions to help crack some of the adventures that you have to face before you can get off the boat. For instance it tells you the combination to get into Sasha Barbicon's safe to get the real diamonds, or the correct tunnels to take to get the notebook or how to disarm the bomb Zitel has plased somewhere on board. With this you are sure to win the game and prevent history from happening!



4. Hey i'll tell you how to win the game!First if you have the necklace rubiat and the painting go to zitel's cabin C-59 he wil taunt you with a bomb and lock you in.set the one in the top
   to 3 the one in the bottom 3 and the next to the clock 2 wait til it rings switch 2 to 3 grab the key and the notebook.
   Go to the lounge tell miss limehouse willies dead and she will leave trade the painting for the antidote from zitel go to A-14
   un poision geiorga.go to the smoking room try to win the boat pass from blackjack trade it to zitel for painting got to c deck seccond class stairs get letter trade beatrix for the baby go to shailagh then youll get top deck you may have some time left but if your there by 1:56 morrow will let you on a boat you left with everything Your fututre is peaceful!



5. GREAT GUIDE.
   WILL HELP GET YOU ANY ENDING YOU WANT
   IF YOU HAVE THE GAME, BUY IT!

5 comments about Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse Official Strategy Guide (Signature).

1. I received the product in under a week after I ordered it. It was received in bubble wrap and is in very good condition; there weren't even any creases on the binding. I would not have expected to find a copy in a bookstore in this great a condition.



2. I'm not a big fan of stradegy guides. But I sure know what's a good one. This book has alot of tips and good boss stradegies, such as enemy data and HP, type weakness, break zones, etc. However, I feel uncomfortable with the layout of the maps and how the key works. It's a bit confusing. Especially with the location of the items and sometimes I wonder why the GS quests couldn't have been put at the end of each section instead of making me flip all the way back to the book. It's a hassle there because most, if not all new proceedings in the next stage, a couple of new GS campaigns are avalible and it's very annoying to always flip to the back of the book and wondering which GS route you have to do.
   
   Also, there are confusing instructions making it almost impossible to find out what they're trying to make you do. Those are just one of the two major things that irks me. (It's not that bad but it's still confusing if you skip the key.) All in all, it gets you through the game, has amazingly good heads-up on notes you should keep in mind, and it has a lovely fold out poster. But I think you can get through the game just fine without it, it's just that it gets you through puzzles quicker. I'm one of those people who really hates game puzzles.



3. The best guides the buy are by Brady Games...they are the most helpful when stuck in a game...they stend to include lots of picures unlike some of the other guides. The signature series look espicially sharp!



4. I love Xensaga. I just finished the first one and can't wait
   to start on this one. If you like the thinking games, then
   this is for you!



5. It's always helpful to have a strategy guide for when you get into a tight spot, or to find those elusive items :)

5 comments about J2ME Game Programming (Game Development).

1. It's a great book! I recommend this book for people who want really to learn j2me.
   Congratulations Martin



2. I bought this book because I'm looking to get into J2ME game development. There are VERY few books on the subject, and this book (although written for MIDP 1.0 and not the newer MIDP 2.0) seems to be the one that everybody recommends.
   
   I've worked up through the examples in Chapter 5 and so far, the content is great. If I were just grading on content then I'd definately give it 5 stars. What I'm finding I'm having a huge problem with about this book is the staggering amount of errors in the code. I simply can't believe that a book could be released to the public (and have the publisher expect consumers to pay money for it) with so many typos. So far EVERY SINGLE example I've entered and ran has had errors. Not syntactical errors (so you can't chalk it up to "I just didn't type the code in right"), I'm talking LOGIC errors that either cause the sample applications to run incorrectly or completeley different than how they are described in the text (in the case of the first example in chapter 5. Its practically an entirely different application than what the text says its supposed to be).
   
   Whoever proofread this book at Thomson publishing must not have been a technical person who just glossed over the code and focused on the content of the text. But most of the blame has to fall on the author's shoulders for writing and releasing code that doesn't work right in the first place...
   
   Either way, I really can't say that I can encourage or endorse this book so far.
   
   I hope that when I get into the main focus (after the first 200 pages of the book which rehash the same old J2ME techniques that you can read online or get from a J2ME book) that the 2 example games you write in the book from start to finish do not have so many errors.



3. Some months ago I did an exhaustive research on books about J2ME + MIDP1.0.
   (Although MIDP2.0 or Symbian is what you need to know to develop for the latest handsets, the big market out there is MIDP1.0)
   Comparing reviews from this site and citations in expert forums like Nokia Forum, it was soon clear that this book was a winner.
   
   This book is a heavy one. You will dedicate a complete month to master it. And a second month to develop your own game engine based on the one proposed in this book.
   What I liked most about this book is exactly that. There are no open-source or cheap game engines for J2ME+MIDP1.0 around. You have to assemble your own! And Wells does a very good job explaining you every decision he made while developing the framework for the game presented in the book.
   More precisely, the book presents two games. The first one is a Frogger clone, done in a pretty simple way...after the first chapters learning J2ME he shows you how to code a prototype of a game. But developing a real game is a much more involved task. That's he spends the next 300 pages explaining you how to develop your game in a professional way. Perfect!
   The book also has chapters on marketing your game and sales aspects. It also has a brilliant chapter on isometric games and a -let's say- experimental chapter on a 3d technique known has raycasting (you probably wont use it but its very interesting to read anyway). It also has an introduction chapter to MIDP2, explaining you how some of the decisions he made in the development of the game where influenced by the migration path logic to MIDP2.
   A word of warning: you will find some typographical mistakes in the book. There is even an example code at the beginning which is misplaced.
   But you probably won't type anything from the book, everything you need to try the examples is located in the CD.
   The book is in a way outdated. It explains how to code in a IDE like Eclipse and compile versions for the various handsets using Ants. Today we use Netbeans which does that transparently. Anyway, its good to know how is it done in the inside.
   I finished reading this book 2 month ago and I still use it as reference while I'm developing games.
   
   If you just want to know about mobile game programming, don't buy this book, it's too hard and long for you. But if you want to develop games professionally, this is the right book for you.



4. This book will show you how to code games using J2ME, with a clear focus on creating games for mobile phones. The chapters in this book are intended to be read sequentially, so if you're already familiar with the content covered in a particular section, you should skim over it rather than skipping it entirely. The author assumes you're already familiar with Java, or at least another object-oriented programming language. You don't need to be an expert, but you do need to know the basics. The book requires an understanding of rudimentary mathematics; however, the toughest level you get to is simple trigonometry, and even then the explanations are fairly detailed. It is also assumed that you're familiar with basic PC operations and can take care of environmental details such as downloading and installing software. Sometimes the language of the book is just a little too cute ala Andre LaMothe, but the information is all there.
   
   Part I is an introduction to J2ME, including its origins and current position in the marketplace. This section also takes a look at a range of typical J2ME devices and mentions the sort of gear for which you'll be developing.
   
   In Part II you'll grab all the tools you need and set up your environment for development. Then there is a review the APIs provided as part of Sun's J2ME SDK, along with the added features available with device-specific libraries. At the end of this part, all these tools are put into action with the creation of a small action game called "RoadRun" that presents the player with the challenge of helping a little wombat across a busy highway. The game is very simple and small, but it does illustrate some key points of J2ME game coding. I thought it was a good beginning example.
   
   Part III covers real project development. There's a discussion of how to refine game ideas into project plans before embarking on the development of a full-scale action game called Star Assault. Then, through nine chapters the book covers all aspects of developing a commercial-quality game, including graphics, physics, environments, front ends, device-specific customization, and finally localization. This is the real meat of the book for people interested in game development, but even here there is nothing particularly difficult going on.
   
   Part IV moves into the world of marketing and publishing games. This section looks at how to create marketing material to promote your game, as well as how and where you can earn revenue. This material is all pretty subjective.
   
   Part V takes J2ME game development further by covering the features available in MIDP 2. The author shows how to create different types of games by developing both an isometric and 3D ray-casting engine. Finally, the book explores networking with MIDP and how it can be utilized to create multiplayer games.
   
   All in all, this is a pretty good introduction to J2ME and to writing games using it. Just don't expect anything advanced in the arena of mathematics or physics, and get used to sitting through the author's "surfer dude" narrative style. Plus, although it is mentioned, there is a lack of sufficient information on MIDP 2.0 due to the date of publication.



5. I purchased this book when I was doing my final year project on J2ME. Although I was even new to J2SE I started coding in J2ME since I had to finish the project, using the internet sources and some introductory books to J2ME. After lots of disappointment in understanding J2ME I found this book and in a very short time I built up my knowledge of J2ME to write a 4000 line,object-oriented,well designed J2ME application. The book was not a game book to me, it was a complete source of J2ME.

5 comments about Silent Hill 2 Official Strategy Guide.

1. This isn't a review just a little tip. The book is great for the right system just make sure you have the right book. The Silent Hill 2: RestLess Dreams (Brown Cover)Guide is for X-Box and The Silent Hill 2 (Green Cover)guide is for Playstation 2. I Found out as soon I bought it that I had the book for X-Box. So to save someone else the trouble of getting the wrong book I decided to write it in a review. Whats the difference you ask well Restless dreams is written with the controls for X-Box in mind and there is a version in (Restless Dreams)that shows you how to control another character. So The green cover version has the controls for Playstation in mind. Hope this was helpful for anyone else who was thinking about buying the book but didn't know what the difference was.



2. Thank goodness I had the Strategy Guide for Silent Hill, otherwise I would still be wandering around the foggy streets or some nasty, decaying hotel without a clue.



3. Please note that the five stars are for the content of the strategy guide only because, regardless of what people have to say on the subject, this strategy guide isn't needed as you wander the misty realms of Silent Hill in search of Mary and that "special place" you long to return to. In fact, it is simply a way to slight yourself and the gaming experience that you've no doubt gone out of your way to acquire. This isn't to say that it isn't useful if you feel hard-pressed and left without options and it also isn't meant to imply that it doesn't include everything one needs to take a walk through James Sutherland's life. In fact, this is quite the contrary, saying that everything is here. I've compared its content to that I've found elsewhere after I used it on my third run through the Hill and it was it was quite inclusive. That, however, is the problem if your only wanting a casual playing experience, because once you've done something you've done it and you can't repeat it. Reading a "how to" isn't always the best way to find out these little tidbits of gameplay.

   Instead, one needs only to take their time and look around in their first outing, remembering that something is potentially an item or a place to go and that ever scrap of paper is a clue. It also should be taken into account that searching is needed, and that all enemies are defeatable, and that there are multiple endings based on time used, difficulty, on the items found, and the number of beasts killed. Since this takes multiple tries anyhow, one can find these out without the use of a visual aid.




4. Unless you like to spend hours, months even years in Silent Hill, get this book. It has everything you need to know with out giving away all the games secrets. I would have been still playing the game trying to figure out how to open the Safe or the Trick-or-Treat box without this book. It also explores alittle of the games creator's dark sick mind, a must.



5. The title of the review says it all. this is an awesome strategy guide. The book holds your hand and walks you through the entire game. It even tells you what all the endings are and how to get them all. There are no spoilers here. The maps are great and there are full items lists. Buy this book. You can't go wrong.

5 comments about Assassin's Creed Limited Edition Bundle: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides).

1. It's awesome. The art book have a lot of pictures and they are very good.
   In other hand, I've already finished the game so I haven't read the guide very carefully but I have seen it and looks great



2. Just as promised. Perfect and in time to make a boy very happy at Christmas.



3. To put it short. This limited edition bundle/guide was worth it. Since I am a fan of video game art, and since this product included a detailed strategy guide with it, it was a steal for me.



4. A complete storyline of the game itself, pictures and a full book of photos from each of the developers, strong construction, easy to read!



5. I bought this at Gamestop for $35.00 and it was still worth it. Fans of the game, especially those into art/concept art would surely enjoy it as much as I did. The art book is about 150 pages and filled with wonderfully detailed paintings and computer renderings of Altaïr, the Assassins, Templars and cityfolk as well as the cities of Masyaf, Acre, Jerusalem and Damascus. Commentary of those who worked on the project is in the artbook too, giving light to things not often noticed and explaining the details behind the designs.
   
   The lithograph is glossy and about postcard sized. The art in the book is much better. Enough said. As far as I can tell, the Hidden Blade is NOT on the wrong hand, he is facing the viewer so the orientation is reversed. (Think looking in a mirror)
   
   The game guide spends an entire chapter on combat schematics/ interpreting guard and civilian reactions alone. A paragraph or so biography of all of the main characters is included as well as Maps containing the locations of flags and view points and screenshots showing Templars and ways to deal them. A step-by-step guide to each of the cities and their districts is followed by a walkthrough of the memory blocks, with tips, cautions and alerts to plot details easily missed throughout. X-box 360 Achievements are listed in the back. They also give you a very rippable map of the Holy Land attached to the guide, which I would highly recommend taking out with scissors.
   
   Overall, a 5/5 for extra content, great details and value.

1 comments about King Kong Official Strategy Guide (Official Strategy Guides (Bradygames)).

1. First of all, I enjoy all gorilla movies, and enjoy King Kong movies.
   The guide was very helpful to me, in working with the game to advance further to the ending of the game. I haven't finished up the game as yet, put the guide is useful.

1 comments about Manhunt 2 Signature Series Guide (Bradygames Signature Series Guides) (Bradygames Signature Series Guides).

1. this was the first time i have used amazon and i was very unhappy with this item, i believe i paid over the odds for an item i believed to be new and when it arrive, it had been draw on the back... i email amazon to inform them i was upset and still they have not got back to me... putting this aside, the item arrive very quick.

3 comments about Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides).

1. I mainly bought the guid to help me better understand the synthesis (alchemy) system in the game. I was dissapointed to find it glossed over with nothing that I already hadn't figured out.



2. Very helpfull!! made the game alot funner to synthesize things and to find all the secret quests. a must buy for this game



3. This guide is not that good. The guide has complete miss information on some hints. I would not recomend this guide. It has some skills and maps but lacks any info on combining items and how to get good equipment.