Borderlands 2 Game of the Year Strategy Guide Review

February 14, 2014 By Chris Nitz 3 Comments

Oh Pandora, how I love you and yet how your inhabitants hate me so. Yup, it’s time to dive back into the world of Borderlands 2 thanks to the Game of the Year edition and its corresponding strategy guide from BradyGames. Thankfully, I have wanted to check out the new classes and see how they handle the madness that is CL4P-TP

If this is your first foray into the world of Pandora, spend some time with the basics and class portion of the strategy guide. There is so much info crammed into here that it will make life on this crazy world that much easier. Those who have already tread through the world once, the class portion gives some nice details on the two DLC characters that is worth a look.

Borderlands 2 GotY Strategy Guide Review 1

You make life so much easier!

Due to how much content is in the GotY edition, the main storyline receives its own section. In here, readers will find plenty of content on how to tackle the main objectives of the original story. Each mission starts with a small briefing on what needs doing, complete with rewards and a listing of optional missions. While working through this area, pay close attention to the subtle text under some of the screenshots as these captions tend to offer up small hints that can make life a heck of a lot easier in certain situations. The pages are also littered with information, which had me pausing the game a fair amount to read, digest, and formulate a plan. There were even times I’d just sit down, read a few pages, and then get into the game.

Following the main game are the DLC campaigns. These follow the same formula as the main walkthrough section, but the DLC badge on the left page and yellow highlighted edges help distinguish them.

Those who have a need for completing every task set before them will find the optional missions next. These are not nearly as detailed as the main and DLC sections, but I found them detailed enough that I could tackle them while working on other objectives. It does take a bit of page turning and planning to make trips into the wasteland efficient, but once I got into a groove, the planning became relatively painless.

Completing the strategy guide, we find the weapons, bestiary, and secrets areas. These are separated out by main game and then DLC, which makes navigating the encyclopedia of death dealing that much easier. In the secrets portion, there is a handy breakdown of all the combat, weapon, and general challenges. There are also pages of pictures with all the unlockable heads that players can use to customize their character looks.

I believe the item I appreciated the most was how easy it was to navigate this guide. With the bounty of information scattered about, the side color markings made it easy to quickly find the specific portions I was in need of. Further aiding in this Waldo hunt, the bottom of the DLC walkthrough clearly stated what DLC pack I was looking at.

The thing I love the most is that everything from typography, page coloring, and artwork all tie this book into the art style of the game. It just feels as if this is the manual that was not included with the game. Even items such as the developer quotes are in little Gearbox Software boxes, complete with company logo. The little touches like this might not be evident at first, but go a long way in building a cohesive experience.

Borderlands 2 GotY Strategy Guide Review 2

Oh, homie don’t play that!

While I love the bulk of the Borderlands 2 Game of the Year strategy guide, I have a few issues that really bug me. First off, the return of the confidential weapons. Why on earth would the authors/publisher deem it necessary to block out content from a guide that consumers pay money for? For those a bit lost, as was the case in the original Borderlands 2 strategy guide, in the weapons section, there are certain weapons that are “listed” but are blacked out with a classified banner. I can easily go to any fan website and find the information on this “classified” weapon, so why block these details?

The second gripe I have comes at the construction of the book. More specifically, the pages themselves. The paper stock almost feels like tissue paper, it is that fragile. Compared to the thicker, almost waxy coated, pages from the original Borderlands 2 strategy guide, this is a major downer. I was compelled to flip through the book while being conscious about how vigorously I was treating it. It seems like a minor thing, but with how pretty the guide is, it is something that drug down the experience.

I am satisfied with the quality , and quantity, of the content in this guide, granted the construction could use a bit of a second gander. I don’t hesitate in recommending this to fans of this series as it is a nice collector’s item. Just keep in mind that if you plan to hunt down every item, you’re still going to need access to your favorite fan site.

SGR Rating 3/5

Author: Doug Walsh & Casey Loe
Publisher: BradyGames
Editions Available: Hardcover
Acquired via Publisher

Super Mario 3D World Strategy Guide Review

January 23, 2014 By Chris Nitz 2 Comments

Oh Mario, why do you have to be so friggin entertaining? Yes, the new Super Mario 3D World is a must own game for anyone with a Wii U. It blends nostalgia with new technology and then turns up the fun to 11. With such a bright and fun game, it is nice to see Prima bringing their A-Game with their Super Mario 3D World strategy guide.

After a brief introduction on how the guide is laid out, the authors dive into how the game plays. Anyone that has ever played a Mario game can pretty well skim this section as the mechanics are like meeting up with an old friend for coffee and instinctively picking up your conversation right where you left off. I do recommend stopping by the character and Power-Up/Form section as they do give good detail on how each character plays and what new items, such as the cat suit, do. For those that want to bring friends into the mix, the multiplayer portion will help keep things from getting too crazy!

The bulk of the book goes to the walkthrough. Each stage begins with an overall map of the stage with stamps, stars, 1-ups, rings, and bosses clearly marked. There are even arrows showing how the stage connects and progresses. More exploded views are marked and gone into later on in the section. This made it very easy to see where I was missing a stamp or a star as I made my way to 100% completion.

When can I have turn-by-turn directions?

I found the bosses laid out fairly coherent and easy to follow. There was just enough about the battle described to clue me into any sort of nuances that I might need to look out for, while not breaking down every detail as to take away from the overall challenge

Finishing the guide is a small area containing secrets and some artwork. The secrets are short, but they fill you in on how to obtain the Luigi 8-bit game, new playable character, and some of the Easter eggs scattered throughout. Let’s not forget the ever important warp locations and where to haul a shell to rack up massive amounts of lives.

I found that navigation through the guide was fairly easy thanks to the colored side markings on the pages. Each stage is its own color, and so if I wanted to work on world four, I just flipped to the brown/rust colored area and away I went.

Overall I was happy, but there were two things that got to me. First was that some of the maps get pretty cluttered due to the amount of stuff they are trying to show off. Between all the rings, items, costumes, collectibles, and such, some maps look like the cartographer sneezed detail all over the place and was too lazy to clean it up. These are rare occasions, but something to be aware of.

The second issue I have comes with that extra art section. This book is beautiful. The cover is gorgeous, and the typography keeps the pages feeling fun and tie it into the game rather well. The added art area, while a bonus, just felt weak as it is renderings of the Mario cast. I would have loved to see something a bit more, such as painted worlds, artist sketches, or even fan art from a contest. It just felt like this was thrown in to say it was there, but the opportunity to capitalize on it was squandered.

While I understand that Mario games are typically not that complicated, I found Super Mario 3D World that much more entertaining with this guide. Not having to scour every nook and cranny for that one missing star was great. Also, let’s face it, this book just looks damn nice on a bookshelf or coffee table. Fans, you owe it to yourself to snag this!

SGR Rating 4.5/5

Author: Alexander Musa & Geson Hatchett
Publisher: Prima Games
Editions Available: Hardcover
Acquired via Publisher

Skylanders SWAP Force Strategy Guide Review

December 23, 2013 By Chris Nitz 2 Comments

As I am a toy photographer, the Skylanders games have always appealed to me. It was not until our beloved EIC told me we were getting the Skylanders SWAP Force guide that I finally bit the bullet and dove into the deep end of the pool. With my toy obsession filled, I can say that the game, the collectable figures, and the guide from BradyGames is something that totally make my inner nine year old self scream with joy!

The beginning of the guide is chock-full of information surrounding all the figures and the basics of the game. As this is my first foray into this fun and colorful world, it was nice to learn how the portal accessory worked, the nuances that make Swap Force different from the prior two games, and the general mechanics of the game. The game might not be all that complex by hardcore gamer standards, but I still found plenty of info that made my first romp in this strange land a bit easier.

I must own them all!

The biggest chunk of the first 127 pages goes to breaking down all the characters in the game. This even includes a few pages dedicated to figures from prior games. After the brief summary of prior characters, the guide dives into all the new characters, including some backstory, stats, and moves list. I found that there is just enough info here to aid in my future figure purchases without being long winded or overly boring. This section is finished off with brief descriptions of all the enemies and bosses that fill the game.

From here, the guide tackles the various locations in the game. Collectibles, enemies, detailed maps, and stage dares are easily findable at the beginning of each area. From there, readers will find a detailed description of how to easily progress through the area, complete with details on how to obtain all the spark locks scattered about. For a game that many would write off as simplistic and childish, there is an amazing amount of stuff to do.

The last chunk of the guide goes to all the bonus stuff that there is to do. I found that reading up on the various challenges before diving into them made for a lot less frustration, which is great when you’re playing with a Zelda-themed Wii U controller. The time attack and score mode sections are more there for reference on what players need to do in order to obtain the best scores. Finally, the last few pages go towards a giant listing of collectables, accolades, and achievements. Anyone looking to get the most mileage out of this game will be spending a good amount of time with the last portion of this guide.

I was playing this game on the Wii U and I didn’t find any major issues with the guide correlating to the game. The stage walkthrough, character breakdown, and extras all flowed well and I didn’t find myself confused about what to do. I say this because I have read some people say that the Wii version of the game doesn’t match up so well to the guide. I cannot confirm this, so those that want to play it on the older Wii system might want to do a bit more research. I should also note that this guide does not cover the 3DS version of the game, which still bums me out.

My only gripe about this strategy guide is that it makes me want to buy all the figures just to try them out. I’ve spent who knows how much time just reading the front of the book, making notes, and checking my local stores for various characters.

Skylanders SWAP Force might not be that difficult of a game, but I still found this guide useful. I’m using it to manage my growing collection of figures and it saved me from rage throwing a terribly expensive controller. This is a solid guide for anyone new, or experienced, to this fun world.

SGR Rating 4/5

Author: Ken Schmidt
Publisher: BradyGames
Editions Available: Hardcover and Paperback
Acquired via Publisher

Pokémon X and Y: The Official Kalos Region Strategy Guide Review

November 26, 2013 By Chris Nitz Leave a Comment

Pokémon is one of those franchises that seems to have been around for as long as I have been a gamer. I can still remember the first time I played Pokémon Blue on my Game Boy. Fast forward several years and I find I am reliving that same excitement again with Pokémon X. Sadly, where the game invokes fond memories of years past, the strategy guide sparks emotions of irritation.

As I have not played a game in this series in something ridiculous like ten years, I spent a bit of time with the beginning of the guide. Here the basics of the various capture balls, training, new touchscreen controls, and battle systems are covered. There is quite a bit of info here that helped ease me back into this fantastic world.

Wait, where is the phone directory of Pokémon?

Once I was comfortable that I had a grasp of the complexities that this game contains, it was off to embark on the main story and this is where the guide excels. Those who are looking for an optimal route to becoming a Pokémon Master will find a generous amount of maps thanks to the dust jacket, two-page spread in the beginning of the book, and a pull out map. This does make navigation fairly painless and gave me no excuse as to not know where I was going next.

I found the various routes and cities detailed enough to tackle with a bit of planning. The different Trainer Battles were certainly easier as their Pokémon were clearly on display so I knew what to expect before deciding to take on a fight. It almost felt like cheating as I was able to plan, and level a specific party composition to conquer the more difficult duels.

The road to masterhood fills the bulk of this guide with the last few pages going to things such as super training, photo points, restaurants, and berry farming. These give players some good info for when they need a break and want to tackle a few of the other aspects of the game.

Now to touch on the things that really drag this guide down, such as a complete lack of post-game content. Those who realize there is more to this game than just becoming the supreme master will need to turn to other sources for things like collecting unique Pokémon, special unlocks, or mystical places to explore. As these tend to make up a fair amount of time, their lack from this guide is fairly disappointing.

One of the hardest bits to swallow is the complete lack of a Pokédex. Players wanting that info, along with the missing post game substance mentioned above, need to acquire a different guide. While I can appreciate these guides being under $20 USD/guide, that equates to having to lug around two books while traveling, navigating two books while playing, and twice the inconvenience. To me, this is just unacceptable when you realize that prior Pokémon guides included this information. This is further compounded by the lack of information on legendary or special Pokémon or any real meat to Mega Evolutions. As these all play a role in even just the basic experience of the game, this lack of content is hard to swallow.

Well, that makes life a tad easier.

Finally, a minor nitpick is that this is a smaller form factor guide. While I appreciate this as it packs into bags a lot easier, it also means the book does not lay flat while I was using it. This made for some awkward yoga positions while playing and trying to use the guide. When you’re playing in four to six hour stretches, this becomes a major drag.

This guide is great for the main story walkthrough and getting old players, like myself, caught up and primed for hundreds of hours of gameplay. However, this book is only half completed and needs a secondary purchase to be truly useful, and is thus receiving a rating to reflect this blatant money grab. Maybe we will see a better, more comprehensive, guide come out down the road, but as of right now, skip this and use Dr. Google to get ya through this complex game.

SGR Rating 2/5

Author: The Pokémon Company International
Publisher: Prima Games
Editions Available: Hardcover and Paperback
Acquired via Publisher

Pikmin 3 Strategy Guide Review

October 15, 2013 By Chris Nitz 5 Comments

Well, I finally cracked and went and bought a Wii U. The combination of Zelda themed system, free game, and Pikmin 3 helped to solidify this decision. I can honestly say that I am enjoying the system and I am glad I held off for just a bit on the purchase. Also, yes, Pikmin 3 is so much fun!

For those that might not remember, Pikmin is a game where the player is stranded on a strange world and they must use cute little creatures called Pikmin to tackle various tasks in order to get off the planet. The game is a mix of third-person action and strategy. Thankfully, Prima is here to help players get off this colorful world in as little time as possible with their Pikmin 3 strategy guide.

As this is the first time I have touched a Pikmin game in a few years, I spent a few moments familiarizing myself with it in the How to Play section. The author was kind enough to include controller breakdowns for the Wii U GamePad and Pro controller as well as the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Anyone needing a slight refresher on how the game operates, this is a good starting point.

Old school GPS!

From there, the strategy guide jumps into the lengthy walkthrough portion. In here, there is a breakdown of each area by day. Tips on how to handle specific tasks, puzzles, or enemies are bountiful. Each new day starts with a map that shows the optimal path and stopping points to make the most efficient use of time. The day then ends with a checklist of tasks that hopefully players were able to finish off.

One of the best parts of this section is the detailed info on boss fights. While the bosses may not be overly complicated, the breakdown of the battle helped keep me from crying over seeing the tragedy that consists of Pikmin ghosts floating into the sky. In all honesty, this is one of the better boss battle step-by-step breakdowns I have read in some time.

From here, it is off to the Area Breakdown portion. This is a good compliment to the walkthrough as this contains key item locations and what is necessary to acquire them. Anyone running low on juice or just looking for a specific character, this is the place to come. Those that want to find all the data files will need to jump one more section, but it’s nothing too terrible as all the fruit locations are gone and only the files are highlighted. I think these two sections could have easily been combined, but neither of them are terribly long or complicated to quickly find help in.

The Art is way OP!

Filling the next two sections is all kinds of goodies on the various characters scattered about as well as items and obstacles. If there is an enemy that is causing trouble, there is a good chance some battle plans can be made while reading up on their behavior here. These two areas are great for research, but I did not heavily rely on them.

Now, those who beat the game, or just want a diversion, the Missions provide a decent challenge. In this chapter, the author gives readers a fair amount of tactics on how to best achieve platinum status on every mission. I spent a few minutes reading the recommended tactics and looking over the map. While this did not yield a perfect run every time, it did make things quite a bit easier.

The last two items the guide covers are the Bingo Battles and a big checklist of things to accomplish in the game. The Bingo Battles are just a collection of maps of each stage while the checklist gives readers an aid to helping them keep completes objectives under control.

I want to take a moment to just compliment Prima on the art work they included on this guide. Instead of the usual game art assets, Prima used plastic models and terrain to setup scenes throughout the guide. This is something that caught me off guard, but I thoroughly appreciated. I found more than once being sucked into the pictures and just staring at it for a good amount of time. It might seem like a small touch, but one that made me appreciate the guide that much more.

Is this Apple Maps or something?

The single factor that starts to take away from the Pikmin 3 strategy guide is when it comes to navigation through its bountiful pages, especially the walkthrough portion. You see, this section is broken down by days, which makes sense at first, but it quickly becomes a nightmare the deeper into the game one goes. As the goals start to become harder to obtain, I found myself flipping back and forth between Walkthrough, Area Breakdown, and to a lesser extent, Characters, rather frequently. Thankfully I did this before jumping into each day, but it did add some time as I looked at what needed to be done, study the map, read up on new enemies, memorize fruit locations, and hope that I did not forget anything at the same time. Yup, it sucks when the cat tips the book off the couch at night and your bookmark slips out and you have to spend some time trying to figure out where you were in the guide as your days no longer match up due to having to take an extra day to finish up the prior’s activities.

Easing the navigation is a tabbed reference system on the right side of the book. I found this to be immensely helpful as I was constantly flipping through the book. There is one small issue with this tabbed system in that the first 187 pages, it reads: Characters/Items and Obstacles/Data Pads. Yet, on page 189 that suddenly changes to Data Files/Characters/Items and Obstacles. Yes, that did cause some confusion at first and why it changes is beyond me.

Despite the massive amount of thumbing from section to section during my time in Pikmin 3, this is a rock solid strategy guide for anyone trying to get through this strange new world in as little time as possible, and without starving to death. The boss battle info and artwork in this guide are damn near worth the entry fee alone. Oh Pikmin, why must you be so friggin cute!

SGR Rating 4/5

Author: Nick von Esmarch
Publisher: Prima Games
Editions Available: Paperback
Acquired via Publisher

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