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Dark Souls Guide Review

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Dark Souls Strategy Guide ReviewI love Dark Souls, and I have no idea why. The game is difficult to the point that controllers fly, fist-sized holes end up in walls, and my gamer pride bleeds from the beating it consistently receives at the cold and deadly grasp of this game. Yet like a good masochist, I return for more punishment only to beat an impassable enemy or inch forward after hours of hard fought battles. This is where I feel for the poor sucker, Carol Crowdy, who had to collect so much tasty data and put it into a glorious tome of knowledge for those of us who may need a little “help” along the way.

When you first crack the spine on this book, the guide tells you to prepare to die less and then asks how many times you did die before diving into this collection of tips. From here the guide is broken down into six sections of which the first two may seem like something you can skim over, but I’d argue they are quite possibly the most useful for anyone deciding to torture their thumbs in this dark world.

The first two sections are dedicated to game mechanics and the various enemies. You may think you can skim over the game mechanics portion, but I’d urge you to take some time and study this as it’ll make character planning and development much easier. Not only does this cover souls needed for leveling and hit point curves, but it also dives into how humanity works and is useful at certain times while still detailing the basics of battling and defending. There is great advice here, so don’t skip it.

Following the 101 of how to swing a sword and not die every two minutes is a lengthy section on enemies and bosses. Hit points, attack types, and clues on how to destroy the foe at hand are listed here. I found myself coming to this section after turning into a blood stain for the 10th time and then destroying the vile beast shortly there after. It does feel a bit out of place as you have to use the index at the back to hunt down whatever it is that is blocking your progression. However, it does make it easier to study thy foe.

After reading about enemies you get to the area walkthrough portion. A rudimentary map along with item and enemy locations are provided. Key strategies, such as falling off a ladder and pulling switches to move bookcases, are pointed out and clearly marked on the map. You will be flipping among this and the enemy section a lot so utilize the index as it will save you hours of flipping pages.

Sections four and five are dedicated to the vast amount of weapons and items scattered about the world. These end up being a nice complement to the first section as it provides a great aid for planning out your character. All sets and upgrade benefits are listed here. It is also very handy to know where to find specific magic items so you don’t accidentally kill the NPC that holds that one rare ring you wanted.

The last portion of the guide covers not only how to obtain the Achievements/Trophies in the game, but a thorough breakdown on the new covenant feature. A smattering of NPC data, maps, and weapon upgrades are included too. It is a nice way to finish the guide while still providing plenty of useful and pertinent info.

Sadly, it is not all greatness here. It takes some time to get used to how this guide flows. I found I had to read sections–like how to beat a boss–a few times to get the gist of what needed to be done. Also, due to updates to the game, some content in the guide is outdated. It does not make the guide less useful, but if something is not working from the printed text then jump online for more up-to-date info.

While I still died a lot, my controller thanks Future Press for all the hard work that went into this book. It made a game that gives the player with very little plenty of ground to stand on and the tools necessary to succeed in this grim and dark world. Do not buy Dark Souls without giving this guide some serious consideration.

SGR Rating: 4.5/5

Authors: Carol Crowdy
Published By: Future Press
Editions Available: Hardback
Acquired via Publisher

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Guide Review

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Skyward Sword strategy guide reviewHere we are, 25 years later and Link is still spelunking through various dungeons in a quest to save a princes who cannot manage to keep from getting herself kidnapped. It seems that no matter how many times we have to save this stolen royalty, Nintendo always seems to make a game that is entertaining, familiar, and enjoyable. Unfortunately while Skyward Sword brings its A- game to the table, the Skyward Sword strategy guide from Prima Games appears to have brought its B game. However, all is not lost on this guide.

The guide starts players off with a nice breakdown on basic game mechanics, items and their corresponding locations. From there Prima gives a brief biography of the main characters before finishing the section off with a small map of The Sky world and a chart breaking down where to find the Goddess Cubes tucked away throughout guide. Overall this is a nice start and the details of the items is very helpful.

The main walkthrough is where things seem to sidestep into a mishmash of good and evil. Each major area and temple are broken into their own sections with the step-by-step instructions flowing in the same manner you would likely travel about the world in the quest to save Zelda. Each of these sections begins with a rudimentary map and any heart containers/goddess cube displayed. The maps could be a bit more detailed, but they work well enough.

There is monster information mingling with my walkthrough information

Things start to deteriorate when it comes to how monsters are listed along with tips and strategies. First, there is no beastiary listing every monster in the game, but rather the monsters receive little blurbs tucked away throughout the book. I did find this to not only be distracting in the flow, but a game like this does benefit from all the monsters being broken down in a section all their own. Next are the tips and strategies given. I found these to either be exceptionally helpful or completely useless, if not almost game breaking. If you plan on using this guide verbatim then do take warning that you have a 50/50 chance of these aiding you in your quest or making simple tasks unnecessarily hard.

The last part of the guide details the various side quests, of which there are not a lot of in the game, item upgrades and where to find upgrade materials, and a collection of maps. I found the upgrade portion to be valuable as it not only details the items you need, but it also tells you what the result is and where to pickup hard-to-find materials. It is a small section, but one that I used plenty.

The last issue I have with the guide, of which I received the Collector’s Edition, is the unnerving sound of pages tearing as you flip them due to the gold leaf applied to the edges. It is almost as if a soda full of sugar had spilled on the pages prior to shipping. The guide was just fine, but it is still not a sound you want to hear with every page turn.

Now, where the guide shines is in the artwork, included cloth map (Collector’s Edition only), and the way it does not provide spoilers. This is one guide that I really enjoyed the included artwork. There are a lot of assets plucked from the game, but the hand drawn pieces are just amazing and fit extremely well with the overall look of the game. The blue and gold cover, and the problematic gold leaf coated pages, is simple yet elegant. It is also enjoyable to have a guide give you direction without desiccating major plot-lines.

This guide does an okay job of helping you through the game, but keep the internet close by as there are fan guides that do an excellent job of guiding you through the game. It is hard to recommend this at its current cost, however. If you must have the book then go for it, otherwise wait for it to drop in price before splurging.

Swanky cloth map!

SGR Rating: 3/5

Authors: Alicia Ashby
Published By: Prima Games
Editions Available: Paperback, Collector’s Edition
Acquired via Publisher

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Strategy Guide Review

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Ultimate Marvel v Capcom 3 strategy guide reviewSkyrim may claim it is the most in-depth and encyclopedia inspired strategy guide on the market, but the Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 guide is pure madness when you realize this is 589 pages of insane button-smashing study material. Unlike many of my reviews, I slimmed this down as the Marvel vs Capcom 3 guide I reviewed awhile back covers this pretty well and so I will take this from a different angle.

First off, I highly recommend reading through the introductory parts of the guide. Sure you maybe some badass cool UMvC3 fighting guru, but this is a good introduction to the tweaks that Capcom made to the overall gameplay. Gone are many weaknesses and cheap wins from the first game, and this is the section where you will learn new rage triggering mechanics that will soon have every kid in online matches calling you cheap and cursing you like a sailor. Yes, there really is that much valuable information just in the first few pages.

Hurray, more charty goodness!

The bulk of the guide then covers every character available upon release of the game. Basic moves, combos, and tactics are once again covered in beautiful spreadsheets full of numbers like hits, damage, recovery and notes to aid players in developing solid fighting techniques. It maybe hard to believe but BradyGames managed to cram even more strategy per character in this guide than the prior one. Those that buy this and still get bested on easy mode may want to consider some professional training.

Even those who only want help on specific characters will find it beneficial to sit down and read through the guide in its entirety. This is great insight into how opponents move, what weaknesses they may have, and even give you some clues as to how a human opponent may play specific character. Knowing strengths and weaknesses of this massive list of characters goes a long way to making you a master of the game.

Is an almost 600 page guide just for a fighting game crazy? Yes it is. However, the authors are clearly fans of this game as the vast amount of detail they shoveled into this book is staggering. Old characters just plenty of care and attention when it comes to what mechanics changed and how they operate differently from the first game while new characters receive plenty of discussion and coverage on their nuances. This is a guide that is not only fun to read, but it also makes studying the opposing team effortless and enjoyable. If you buy Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 and do not pick up this guide, well, you are doing yourself a major disservice. Seriously, this should be included with every game purchase!

SGR Rating: 4/5

Authors: Joe Epstein, Campbell Tran, Adam Deats, Daniel Maniago, Ian Rogers, Josh Richardson, Logan Sharp
Publisher: BradyGames
Editions Available: Paperback
Acquired via Publisher

StarCraft II Guide Review

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StarCraft II Strategy Guide ReviewStarCraft II, or SC2 for short, is an immensely popular game. Blizzard took the standard for the real-time strategy genre, and made it better. With a solid single player campaign and a hefty multiplayer component, there is a lot to learn, discover and enjoy here. Thankfully, BradyGames had put together a guide that will direct new players through the nuances of the hefty campaign, while giving sound strategies for the online battles.

The guide is broken into three sections: single player, multiplayer, and extra goodies. Starting with the single-player portion, gamers will be greeted with the basics of resource gathering, combat tips, base management, and other fundamentals necessary to take on this game. It is a good refresher for seasoned RTS fans, and a must read for novices dipping their toes in the strategy waters for the first time. From there, the bulk of the campaign is broken down by mission with objectives, any prerequisites, achievements, detailed maps, and tips on how to tackle the objectives start each overview. This is then complemented by a couple pages of instruction on how to best handle each situation, including how to obtain special bonuses or secondary objectives.

I found the campaign portion to be a good basic start and easy to follow. Veterans will find this to be lacking in depth, but novices will have a good beginning point on which to get through the game. The guide provides enough detail to help conquer the easier difficulties, but skill and deep understanding of the game mechanics will become vital for besting the harder settings. The guide can only do so much, before it becomes about skill and quick reflexes.

Once the campaign is completed, it is time to move into the online aspect of the game, and this is where most players will spend a bulk of their time. This section is a lot more about reading battle tactics and becoming familiar with all the units than it is about giving details on how to slaughter the opponent. Yes, there will be plenty of tables, combat mechanics, movement speeds, and base management directions to study while sipping on morning coffee. I found the most useful portion here to be the Pro Tips that were scattered about the pages. Widely known StarCraft masters give advice on various aspects of the game, and even offer up some of their own thought processes when they play online. This was a nice touch that adds some personality to the guide.

The last portion of the multiplayer section is detailed information on all the units, tech trees, and maps. This part should be taken with a bit of caution when developing your own plans, as the costs/health/damage output may differ thanks to game balances and tweaks from Blizzard. I did find the basic information to be well worth the read, but I would also compare numbers in the book with what I could find online. It may seem like a small change to drop the cost of a unit or modify damage output slightly, but some games are won and lost by minute details. Just be warned that this is best used with complementing online resources.

Excel for gamers

The last few pages are filled with some Q&A as well as achievement listings. The Q&A section gives a solid understanding of aspects of the guide some people may find lacking, like not having highly detailed build orders or not covering every last map available for play. It is a fun look behind the scenes and decisions that went into making the guide, as well as answering why this or that is missing.

Seeing how I got the Limited Edition, I was also privy to the multiplayer tactical recon stand, which has all 50 of the original multiplayer maps. This shows the entire map, where resources are located, and any special features to be aware of. It is a nice addition and has aided me in a few online matches. The limited edition also comes in a hardcover book with Jim Raynor on the cover. The artwork inside simulates that of the SC2 command panel at the bottom of the game screen. Pictures are pulled straight from the in-game cutscenes, and thus everything works well in keeping the sci-fi feeling of the game going. In fact, while writing this review and looking through the guide, I want to go back and play again.

All-in-all, BradyGames has produced another quality guide. The information provided is enough to get novices through the campaign and started on the multiplayer, but open enough for players to develop their own play style. I found it to be adequate for the single-player section, but it also benefited from online forums for the multiplayer component. RTS games are a colossal beast to tackle, and BradyGames have made a guide that has not left my desk since the day it arrived on my door step.

SGR Rating: 4/5

Author: Rick Barba
Publisher: BradyGames
Editions Available: Signature Series and Limited Edition
Acquired via Publisher

Disgaea 4 Strategy Guide Review

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Disgaea 4 strategy guide reviewI have enjoyed the Disgaea series ever since it first graced my PS2. Anyone that has engaged in this game knows that it looks simple at first, but the game quickly turns into an abyss of fun and dedication with 100+ hours being a “normal” playthrough. It still amazes me that BradyGames took on this game and made a great guide to help players along.

I found myself utilizing this guide vastly differently from others. Usually I will have the guide open and at my side for quick referencing while I play. But this time I was reading, strategizing and planning before a battle, and then pushing the guide aside during the game play. There were even days I would just sit and read the guide while on my lunch break. There is a good explanation for this and it has a lot to do with how this book is laid out. While the first few pages help break down the controls and menu system, it is the game mechanics section that I spent a good amount of time combing through and taking notes on. This portion contains valuable info from the basics of character types to in-depth breakdowns of how to best use the item world. There is so much knowledge crammed into this section that repeatedly reading it becomes necessary to really bring this game to its knees.

I also found myself heavily relying on the last two portions of the guide, which were character/monster breakdowns as well as a full listing of equipment. The character and monster section was splendid, because it details, in a decent amount of depth, all the playable figures throughout the game. Damage, attack, health, level requirements, skills and so much more are easily found right here. BradyGames was even kind enough to include what conditions are needed to be met in order to unlock characters like Laharl or Etna. These same types of charts show up in the weapons and armor section, thus becoming a great aid in determining the best gear selection for each party member, as well as if it is worth the time to dive into the item world to level any given piece of gear.

Finally there is the main bulk of the guide that contains the actual walkthrough. Both the story mode and post-game battles are laid out in similar fashion. A picture of the map, Geo Block locations, and enemies are all displayed in an easy to understand form. Any Geo Blocks are listed as to what they do, and enemy stats are provided including their weaknesses. There is a small blurb addressing tactics and that is it. It may not sound like a lot, but the info that is provided is extremely helpful when it comes down to party selection and devising a plan of attack for each stage. The map overview is also helpful as the in-game camera can make things needlessly difficult at times.

As I mentioned before, I actually used this guide as more of a piece of study material as opposed to something to walk me through every stage of the game, and it was great in this role. I was able to hone my party for each fight, pick weapons I knew I’d keep, and save myself the headaches of needlessly going into the item world to level things I would just quickly dump. If I had this guide for the first two games (and the PSP counterparts) I probably would have saved myself several hours of frustration. If you dig the Disgaea series and plan to play number four, then you’ll want the Disgaea 4 strategy guide!

SGR Rating: 4/5

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