2 comments about Rock Band: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides) (Prima Official Game Guides).

1. I bought this book mainly for advice (or tricks) about how to play (guitar or drums) and sing better. Very little advice is given about actually playing the instruments and singing and what advice they do give is already contained on the tutorials section of the video game. The advice on setting up to the drums was fair information. Besides that, the Prima guide did not help me to improve my play.
   
   They also suggest starting at medium skill level. Not everyone is a video game junkie or Neil Peart, Frank Zappa or Sting. Starting at medium would put some of my friends off the game for good! (especially drums) Yet the medium skill level is mainly ignored and they talk mostly about hard and expert. It is not an explanation on how to get to Hard or Expert or even what to do once you're there. Prima suggests practice and gives advice at what sections of the particular songs to practice to be able to get through the song. Imagine that... practice! Who would have guessed?
   
   I guess I can re-evaluate the book to see if it is more useful once I am attempting to play at the hard level (right now, I'm challenged on medium). However, I doubt it will be used for little more than a casual reference to the songs. Save your money and do the Rock Band tutorials that come with the game.
   
   I am 0 for 2 with Prima guides. The other was Madden 08. I have a PS3 and I found that many items in the book are not available to me. Also, they switch back and forth from platforms as the PS3 is often ignored.



2. I was happy to see this priced lower than many of the game guides I've bought before, but I was still disappointed in the content.
   
   There is no more instrument-specific information here than in the little pamphlet that comes in the game package.
   
   Things it does not answer but should have: what the blue background means when playing bass (I've since determined it means you've exceeded the 4x multiplier that Lead is limited to, and you're in a "bass groove"), what the difference between "static" and "scrolling" for voice is, exactly how voice difficulty changes (does it get stricter? use speech recognition? etc.)
   
   Instead, it regurgitates the game pamphlet, provides hints straight out of the in-game tutorials, then pads out the majority of the pages with useless song-by-song information. The "history" of the song is basic copyright dates and authors, no trivia or actual history of the songs, followed by someone's opinion of how hard they found it at medium and hard (nothing for easy or expert) where my mileage definitely differed. What appears to be little bits of trivia scattered around the page is straight out of the game load screens.
   
   This really ends up being worthless, which is a shame. The excellent game deserves so much more.

2 comments about The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth (Prima Official Game Guide).

1. I purchased The Lord of The Rings, That Battle For Middle-earth PC and the Prima Official Game Guide this week. The game is everything I had hoped it would be: Challenging, Beautiful, Epic, and just plain fun. If you are huge Real Time Strategy (RTS) fan, the game may not strike a tune with you. Why? The game mechanics are pretty much what you'd expect from any Warcraft inspired RTS: Build Base, Harvest Resources, Build Units, Invade...wash and repeat. But, if you are a Lord of the Rings fan, like I am, you'll love the cinematic battles, dazzling special effects, and "just one more battle" late night gaming sessions!
   
   That being said, the Prima Game Guide is equally impressive. Though not as thick and heavy as the Prima Guide for the Sims2, the Battle For Middle-earth Game Guide is still suprising well done. Each page is in full color, printed on glossy paper, and full of insider tips, unit details, and battle walk-throughs. A fold out map of Middle-earth, also in full color printed on card-stock paper, is included, but, sadly, the map is only sparsely labled and pretty generic. This Prima Game Guide trumps the last one I purchased, the Rome Total War Prima Game Guide, which was printed on cheap paper and entirely in black and white.
   
   In conclusion, I strongly recommend both The Battle For Middle-earth, the PC game, and the Prima Game Guide. Enjoy!



2. I bought the Battle for Middle Earth without ever having played in RTS games in my life. So, even though I thoroughly enjoyed the game, I had a hard time trying to figure out what was more important to be doing. This guide helped me out tremendously as far as knowing what to build and when, and explaining Powers and Evenstar Powers better, and many other things that I didn't quite understand in the game. It has tons a great pictures and lots of helpful hints and gives you a VERY THOROUGH explanation of all the game elements - which was great to read because I found the manual that came with the game to be very vague and lacking in detail.
   
   Sure, there are walk-throughs with strategies and maps of all the 30-some places you fight your way through, but I haven't looked at those just yet - I like to try and figure things out for myself, but it's nice to know if I keep having trouble, I can go to it.
   
   One thing I love about this book is that it doesn't take away from the thrill of the game by telling you everything you need to do; it just offers strategy suggestions. So, you can read this entire book and know that you haven't been given a complete walk-thru to spoil your fun.
   
   So, if you have found the manual to the game to be very confusing and lacking in detail explaining things and you have never played a RTS (Real-Time Strategy) game before, this is definitely your book and you will not be disappointed.

2 comments about Army of Two: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides).

1. When I saw the Prima label I hesitated to buy this guide, but against my better judgement and because I'm a big fan of the game I bought it any way. Like every other Prima strategy guide I've wasted money on, there was little information here that couldn't either be learned from the instruction manual and in game tutorials or by just spending a little time exploring the versus maps with a friend. One potentially useful bit of information - the chart comparing the damage done by various weapons - was very poorly conceived. Will someone buy these guys a copy of The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition? The guide contains several minor errors as well, including errors in the Xbox 360 achievements.
   
   Just to be certain, I read the entire guide from cover to cover, hoping to find some bit of new or useful information somewhere, but found nothing to justify the price of this book. The only positive thing I can think of to say about it is the artwork is cool.
   
   Hopefully EA will drop Prima and use Brady Games to do it's strategy guides from now on, as they always seem to do a much better job with them than Prima.
   
   If you enjoy the game's story line I recommend picking up the graphic novel, Army of Two: Dirty Money , but I would discourage anyone from wasting money on this strategy guide.



2. The guide for Army of Two, while not strictly necessary, is very useful. It offers good strategies for tough sections of the game and helps identify secondary objectives and hidden items to collect. It also offers a complete guide of all the weapons which can be purchased and how all the various upgrades affect their stats and performance in the field. Not too much else to say about it, it is a good guide which provides useful information to help with the game and does so in a fairly concise and easy to read way. Not strictly needed, but a good thing to have if you're having trouble.

5 comments about Battlefield 2142 (Prima Official Game Guide).

1. This is a good book for beginning players, literally the missing manual that should have been shipped with the game. BF2142 is multiple layers of gaming, strategy and scenarios that require an immediate understanding of a complex game.
   
   If you don't have a good understanding of:
   -Strength and weakness of roles and machines
   -How your play affects others
   -How you can prevent a disaster or cause one
   -Many Complexities programmed into this game
   
   This will cause you:
   -A bump into a million walls learning experience
   -Chastisement from other players
   -Slower ascent up in ranks/unlocks
   -A horrid Kill/Death ratio
   -A weak understanding of what comes next
   
   If you play this game, this book is like BF2142 for Dummies I and II. A good solid understanding of the game, the soldiers, weapons and machines. Now go forth and frag!!
   
   Krankee099



2. it is useful for new gamers to start this game, but it isn't much helpful for guys who already played it for a while.
   But you can get few hints.



3. The book helps some....nothing you can't find out on the net or yourself by playing



4. Battlefield 2142 Prima Guide is the "Must Have Guide!" It explain alot
   of what to expect from the game. I am glad I made the purchase.



5. I bought this game and BAM reg code already in use. Not the sellers fault I guess a one time only registration code deal so now I have a paper weight. EA had no response to this no "lets get you a new reg code and support our customer" it was straight" that code is registered to someone else nothing we can do sorry" EA is the worst at customer service I am not buying another one from them. I didnt even want to rate it.

5 comments about Jak II Official Strategy Guide.

1. this book helped me out a bunch, I am a 16 year old game freak who started out with a super nintendo and beat every game in the first 3 weeks or so , but still couldn't beat some of the missions on jak 2 cause they were too damn hard. the book helped alot , it tells you were all of the precurser orbs are and give a detailed description of each and every mission(...) .



2. a must have if you have the game. its impossible to win the game and find everything without it.



3. I like the excitement of trying to get through each level. I have JAKandDaxter,JAKII,JAK3. I never owned a playstation before . I bought one this year. I like flying,racing,and driving.



4. This was a gift for my son. When he read it, it really helped him with the strategies of the game that he has home. The book
   does help the children get through the game itself. With the help of the book, my son has already finished the entire game. He is now helping his friend who just received the game as a gift.



5. Jak 2 is a great game and it helps to have a guide to make sure you are doing it right. This guide is very helpful and gives tons of helpful hints, a must buy right along with the game.

5 comments about The Video Poker Answer Book.

1. THIS IS A GOOD BOOK FOR THE BEGINNING VIDEO POKER PLAYERS AS WELL AS THOSE WHO ARE AT MORE ADVANCED LEVELS. THERE ARE LOTS OF GOOD INSIGHTS INTO SUCCESSFUL PLAY AT A LARGE VARIETY OF VIDEO POKER GAMES. HOWEVER MR GROCHOWSKI DOES NOT GET INTO SUFFICIENT DETAIL TO ANSWER SOME OF THE ADVANCED DECISIONS THAT MUST BE MADE BY ALL VIDEO POKER PLAYERS. FOR EXAMPLE AT FULL PAY DEUCES WILD WHAT IS THE BEST STRATEGY (BASED UPON EXPECTED VALUES) IF ONE IS DEALT THREE DEUCES WITH TWO 3'S?, TWO 8'S?, TWO 10'S?. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE BEST STRATEGY IS TO KEEP THE FIVE OF A KIND UNLESS IT IS FIVE 3'S THROUGH 9'S? MR GROCHOWSKI DOES A GOOD JOB OF CRUNCHING THE PROBABILITIES AND PRESENTING EXPECTED RETURNS ON DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS, BUT IT MIGHT BE EASIER TO REMEMBER IF THERE WAS A CHART THAT ONE COULD TAKE WITH TO HELP WITH THE DECISION MAKING AT THE MACHINE. HE DOES PROVIDE A WRITTEN LIST RANKING THE HANDS WHICH HAS TO SUFFICE. ALL IN ALL THIS IS A WORTHWHILE BOOK FOR THE MONEY.



2. Of all the video poker books I have read and reviewed in my gaming columns, John's book ranks right up there as one of the best. Whether you are a novice player or have some experience playing video poker, you will become a much better player after reading his book. John's Q&A format also makes it easy for the reader to grasp key points and his recommended strategies & explanations on how the machines work are right on the money. Trust me - you will not be disappointed. Highly recommended for players who want to learn how to play & more importantly how to improve your chances of winning. Henry Tamburin....



3. Most people, including me, know how to play video poker machines and what cards to hold in a play. The real problem comes when you double your play to get the most payoff, and that's where the real strategy is needed.
   This book is good for someone who is just starting to play and understand poker, but is not helpful at all when you already understand the game, odds and strategies and need to maximize your payoffs when doubling your game.



4. I have very little confidence in this book, primarily because of the glaring error in the fourth paragraph on page Xiii of the Introduction. What am I to expect from the rest of the book. If the auther cannot state the basic premise properly, I have very little confidence in the accuracy of the details in the remainder of the book. He states, "The days.....for Jacks or Better games that pay 9-for-1 on full houses and 6-for-1 on straights,...."



5. I purchased this book to gain some knowledge for Double Double Bonus Poker, and I was really disappointed. So what if DDB Poker only has an EV of 98.981%? I like the thrill and excitement of the game.
   Paymar, like so many others could care less about DDB Poker, and the book is written as if you were in a PHD math class. What a disappointment for a DDB Poker player!

5 comments about The Making of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.

1. This book describes all process to create the movie Final Fantasy and is very well done and the illustrations are great. If you watched the movie, you must have this book.



2. This book is not for animators.Please dont make the mistake of buying this book if u are an animator.the book does not tell you how an effect was achieved nor does it gives away the inner secrets which square used.Whatever is mentioned here is what we alredy know.



3. If you ever wanted a great behind the scenes book on the movie that is the greatest ahievement by computer animation with realistic 3d characters, check this book out.

   This book features full page color on every page turn. Interviews with all the creative people that made it happen, original script accompanied by all the storyboards, character designs, as well as many "how we did it information" on animation, motion capture, lighting, VFX. compostiting, and final production.

   Great buy for any animator.




4. This is a great book for a great movie. Final Fantasy is a mark in the industry of games, and now in movies too.
   Unhapply, the authors dont explain technical approaches, what is very important in a film like this.
   But i have used it in my animation classes, and specially the roughs, sketches and scene previews have turn on the ligh over the head of my pupils.
   I hope someone could write a book about analisys of the technical aspects of this mark in animation industry.



5. I like this book, because I made 3d animations, I can see how to made these great movie and the hard work is back stage, you can see many ideas how take life from a small pice of paper, nice book.

No comments about The Second Life Herald: The Virtual Tabloid that Witnessed the Dawn of the Metaverse.

No comments about The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning (John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning).

No comments about Game Art Complete: All-in-One: Learn Maya, 3ds Max, ZBrush, and Photoshop Winning Techniques (All in One) (All in One).