A Strategy Guide for your Strategy Guides
It’s been awhile since I had an unboxing video! I received a smorgasbord of goodies from Prima Games this week, which included two Collector’s Editions, one of which I’m unboxing in this video. I’ll have the other two up next week over the Thanksgiving break.
But for today, here’s my unboxing of the Assassin’s Creed Unity collector’s edition strategy guide, which is, by far, the prettiest of all of the CE AC guides I have. Check it out below!
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.
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.
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.
Author: Doug Walsh & Casey Loe
Publisher: BradyGames
Editions Available: Hardcover
Acquired via Publisher
As is tradition with Prima Games and their Legend of Zelda strategy guides, A Link Between Worlds has its own Collector’s Edition strategy guide. Why buy this one over the paperback strategy guide?
I’ve created a handy video that shows you exactly what you get with the Collector’s Edition strategy guide. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, as I think showing over video is so much better for this than writing about it with a few photos. In other words, yes, expect more of these in the future.
As soon as I heard Prima Games announce they were selling a boxed set of collector’s editions of The Legend of Zelda strategy guides, I was all over that preorder faster than either of my next-gen consoles. While I may own a couple of these strategy guides already, I had zero problems purchasing them again with a few collector’s editions that had never been released before.
Without further adieu, here is what you can find in this monstrous boxed set of boxed sets.
I’m going to need more reinforced bookshelves.
Curious if the Assassin’s Creed IV strategy guide will be as great as its predecessors? Here’s a bit of a sample of what you can expect when the paperback and Collector’s Edition releases next week.
Like the guides before, this one will guide users to 100% completion, which I assume means that it will provide tips for achieving that 100% synchronization as well as collecting everything, exploring everything, and unlocking all sidequests. The strategy guide, for both editions, also includes a two-sided map poster for the entire Caribbean.
The Collector’s Edition contains an additional 64 pages, including concept art, a full glossary of pirate phrases, and a history of the Golden Age of Piracy. If the latter is anything like the American history summary found in the Assassin’s Creed III strategy guide, this will be a delightful read. I’m a bit of a history nut, and I feel like I know a bit about the Revolutionary War, but I still greatly enjoyed reading the history summary in the strategy guide. I’m sure this will be similar.
Want to see what it looks like on the inside? It’s going to be absolutely beautiful.
May the text inside be as helpful as the layout and artwork is beautiful. The last few Assassin’s Creed strategy guides by Piggyback were quite stellar, so my hopes are high for this one as well.