Reviews Archives

Tales of Xillia 2 Strategy Guide Review

November 6, 2014 By Chris Nitz Leave a Comment

I’ve heard a lot of great things about the Tales series, and that holds true for Tales of Xillia 2. This is a series that many love and adore, and it is finally making its way to the United States. When I beat the game, I understood why this is so popular. Complimenting this solid game is the Tales of Xilia 2 strategy guide by Prima Games. Yup, you’re gonna want this add-on!

Considering this is a JRPG, and I’ve also never played a Tales game, I spent a hefty amount of time with the game basics section. Between the cat dispatching, crazy combat, and even how various choices change the game, there is a fair amount to take in. The game itself does okay at breaking in new players, but I was extremely thankful I could go back to the guide and read a bit more detail on anything I was left questioning. This was especially true in those moments where the memory got a bit weak.

Before hitting the main story walkthrough, the strategy guide goes into some immense detail on the characters. This is a lot more than just plain backstory or a grid of miscellaneous stats. Sure, there is an overview which gives vital info for quick reference, but I found things such as the tactics and recommended combos to prove the most beneficial. If there is a specific character that is giving you trouble, chances are this might give you some pointers to make gaming life just a smidge easier. I know it did for me!

Is this where I connect the dots?

The walkthrough and side quest sections are, well, bursting with content. Each chapter comes with maps that are simple enough to quickly glance at and utilize. Yes, the maps even include all the locations of the cats, thus making it easier to snag all 100 of those friggin furballs.

It is also nice to have each new areas enemies detailed per location, instead of just one massive index in the back. This made it much easier to plan how to tackle new places and not be totally blind going in. I do wish there was more detail on the boss fights. Some of the bigger boss battles have just enough info provided to make the battle not entirely controller smashingly frustrating, but some of the bosses only get a paragraph. I found myself asking for more detail in this regard more than once.

Also, if you’re a side quest junkie, there is plenty of love given to that section. It follows the same flow as the main walkthrough, and I found it pretty painless to jump from main story to side quest with the guide. There is a lot to do, so plan on doing a good bit of reading.

Finishing off the guide are sections dedicated to Item Data, Shop Data, and Trophies/Titles/Skits. Anyone that loves Excel will totally dig these sections. I liked how the author broke down the various items so that it was easier to find a specific piece of armor or consumable. There is just so much, it can take a minute or two of page flipping to find exactly what you’re looking for.

Now for the one area I skipped over, and that is the character story section. While I deeply appreciated this, I became turned off by the spoilers. The layout doesn’t change from the main walkthrough/side quest chapters. However, it was too easy to stumble upon a spoiler as to what was going to happen next. While this was still a useful section, it highlights one of my only gripes with the guide: spoilers.

Let me be fair and say that almost every strategy guide, outside of the racing and fighting games, contains spoilers of some sort. It’s just the nature of the beast. Sometimes I read what I need to do next and continue to read ahead a bit, and that is my fault. I am asking for spoilers with this action. However, this guide moves from one place to another, often right on the same page. There were a few times that it was far too easy for me to read a paragraph on what I needed to do at a specific point and run into a spoiler of how the story progresses. While most of the spoilers can be avoided with some effort, it just sucks that they are there and so easily stumbled upon.

You had one job, printing press!

One other gripe, and it might just be my guide, but I had some pages which clearly slid around during printing. Thankfully these were towards the end, and only a handful of pages. However, with the guide being so nice, having badly inked pages hurts. I hope this is a rare coincidence and not indicative of an entire run.

There are two things that caught me by surprise with the guide. The first is the letter from Hideo Baba at the beginning. I know that getting this game to various countries was a lot of hard work, and seeing the producer take some time to thank fans for all their support is a splendid touch here.

The second item that caught my attention was the Q&A with Hideo Baba. This gave me some great insight into the history of the series, as well as why the game was the way it was. It’s a wonderful look into some of the thought process that goes into designing a game. This is a short read and well worth the time.

Despite the spoilers and bad printing on a few pages, I loved the Tales of Xilia 2 strategy guide. It made my first foray into a Tales game completely enjoyable. This is one of those strategy guides that when you go to buy the game, just do yourself a favor and buy this along with it. Heck, it even looks pretty to boot.

SGR Rating 4.5/5

Authors: Howard Grossman
Publisher: Prima Games
Editions Available: Hardcover
Acquired via Publisher

Hyrule Warriors Mini-Review

October 31, 2014 By Keri Honea Leave a Comment

Hyrule Warriors is one of the most fun games I’ve ever played, and it’s probably the most fun Legend of Zelda game I’ve ever played. As much as I absolutely love the Zelda games, sometimes you just want to madly rush the enemies and swing the Master Sword blindly. Hyrule Warriors lets you live that experience in this weird mash-up between Dynasty Warriors and Legend of Zelda.

The mash-up is so crazy, it works.

I brought Hyrule Warriors to my Extra Life team, and playing a bit of it convinced two of them to buy it. Unfortunately, only of them has a Wii U, so it’s doubtful both will make the purchase.

So why Hyrule Warriors? Well, do you like hack-n-slash? Do you like having crazy, fanservice-inspired fun?

Hyrule Warriors may not be the Wii U Legend of Zelda game we need or even the game we deserve, but it’s the one we have. It’s not perfect, and it’s nothing like any typical Zelda game before it, but it’s hard to deny that it’s fun. It’s also full of fanservice, which makes it even more fun. And sometimes, all you want to do is have silly fun.

I have never played a Dynasty Warriors game, but I have played my fair share of Legend of Zelda games. Tecmo Koei heavily emphasized that Hyrule Warriors was most definitely not a Zelda game, but a Dynasty Warriors game first and foremost. It just happens to have a Zelda skin slapped on it, a story that mashes up the stories from several popular Zelda games, environments from the Zelda games, and collectibles from the games. Gameplay is 100% Dynasty Warriors, meaning that it is hack-n-slash action with a bit of real-time strategy mixed in.

Now the real-time strategy is not anything close to your traditional RTS games. Don’t think this is comparable to Civilization or Age of Empires, either.

As each mission starts, Link and friends start in their Allied Base, and they will try to take over keeps across the map to gain the advantage across swarms of enemies. The enemies will also keep spawning at outposts, so it’s smart (and often necessary) for Link to take over the outposts as well. To take over a keep or outpost, all the player has to do is defeat the Outpost Captain or the Keep Boss. The keep/outpost color will change depending on which side has control. However, just because a post or a keep are under Hyrulian control does not mean this is permanent. The enemy will constantly try to take back control, and if they get out of hand, they can take over the Allied Base, which means instant defeat.

Hyrule Warriors is hardly Game of the Year material, but it doesn’t make it any less fun or worthwhile to play. This almost beats out Diablo 3 as my go-to game for hack-n-slash fun. For those who own a Wii U, this is a must-have. Read my full review at Action Trip for more info.

Hyrule Warriors Strategy Guide Review

October 23, 2014 By Keri Honea Leave a Comment

Tecmo Koei and Nintendo have both repeatedly said that Hyrule Warriors is not, repeat, NOT a Legend of Zelda game. It is, in all forms, a Dynasty Warriors game with a Legend of Zelda theme. Since Dynasty Warriors games pretty much hack-n-slash with a teensy bit of real-time strategy, why would one need a strategy guide for Hyrule Warriors? I’m glad you asked that question! While Hyrule Warriors is indeed a Dynasty Warriors game, it has enough Zelda puzzles and collectibles to warrant documentation and assistance for those who want every piece of the heart, every weapon, and every one of those blasted gold Skulltullas. Not only that, I’m not sure there’s a way to get through the Adventure Mode portion of the game without the strategy guide and without pulling out your hair in frustration. So yeah, the Hyrule Warriors strategy guide has been my own personal Bible for Hyrule Warriors.

Do you need it to get through the Legend (story) Mode? Definitely not. You can swing your way through that with little trouble. The game tells you which rooms to go to and what to do to advance the story, and none of the combat moves are complicated. It’s not hard to force your way through the campaign without help.

It’s gathering all of the collectibles where the strategy guide is vital. Each level has two gold Skulltullas to find (one only appears in Hard mode), and they only appear under certain circumstances. In addition, when they do appear, you’re given only the area where they are, not where they are. Sometimes they’re in plain sight, but more often than not, they hidden. They also only appear for a short amount of time, so it’s crucial to get there and nab the little devil as fast as possible. The strategy guide will tell you not only where he is and how to get him, but when is the best moment to get him. Sometimes those areas are locked too early in the level, or a certain story sequence will prevent you from backtracking. Since the Hard Gold Skulltullas have even more stipulations to trigger their appearance, this info is quite precious.

Not only that, but each level has pieces of the heart and heart containers (gotta have those for any Zelda game!) only found when clearing certain keeps. Each of these collectibles can only be nabbed if playing as a particular character. Since you can’t get over half of these in your first playthrough, the strategy guide helps plan the additional playthroughs. There are so many levels, no one wants to play through each one over and over with a different character to find whose heart container can be unlocked.

Most of the Hyrule Warriors strategy guide is devoted to the Adventure Mode, and this is the largest chunk of the game, time-wise. The map in Adventure mode is the overworld map from the original Legend of Zelda, and each square represents a scenario to complete. Finishing levels in the Legend Mode unlocks scenarios, but you also have to reach a certain rank in scenarios to unlock future ones. Each scenario has the opportunity to unlock more weapons, Item Cards for Adventure Mode, characters, heart containers, and more gold Skulltullas. If it sounds confusing, it’s because it is and it’s completely overwhelming to boot.

The strategy guide breaks it down by each square, A-1 through H-16 (now that should take you back), goes over what the scenario requires, the coveted A Rank prerequisites, and how to complete it without too much stress. This section alone makes purchasing the strategy guide worth it. This will eliminate potentially several hundred hours of game time spent in frustration. Plus, the overview breaks down the code in how to get both gold Skulltullas in every scenario.

The back section of the Collector’s Edition has an additional treat, a behind-the-scenes look at making Hyrule Warriors. This includes the overarching story they wrote with the game, concept art, and how they developed the characters, including the Zelda history behind the characters. It’s a fantastic addition that any Zelda fan would love to read through.

The Hyrule Warriors strategy guide has been by my side through each and every foray into Tecmo Koei’s version of Link and Zelda’s struggle against Ganondorf. I honestly couldn’t imagine exploring Hyrule any other way.

Rating: 5/5

Author: Garitt Rocha
Publisher: Prima Games
Editions Available: Hardcover Collector’s Edition
Acquired via Publisher

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments Mini-Review

October 10, 2014 By Keri Honea Leave a Comment

I saw about 15 minutes of Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments at E3 because I was late to my appointment (story of my life the whole show). I missed a good portion of the presentation, so I left rather unimpressed and I didn’t feel comfortable writing about it with my E3 wrap-ups. For whatever reason, when the press release for the game came across my desk, I asked for a review copy. I am unbelievably glad I did.

I am a huge fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories. I read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s complete collection numerous times when I was younger, and without a doubt, I can say that this game if the closest I’ll ever get to experiencing a Sherlock Holmes story myself.

Here are some snippets from my full review over on Action Trip:

Through each case, Holmes will have to interrogate witnesses, observe them to press the appropriate questions, and search every nook and cranny for clues that the Scotland Yard and local police might have overlooked. Sometimes Holmes will have to research clues in his archive, perform chemical experiments to learn more about a clue, or use his faithful hound Toby to track down scents all while he explores every possible location and lead. Many of these tasks require the player to participate in little puzzle solving mini-games and interrogation QTEs. The good news is, if you fail an interrogation QTE, the game will let you try again. While one may think, so then what’s the point of even trying if you don’t have a real fail state? It’s really about the sense of accomplishment, and the same can be said for the mini-games. All mini-games can be skipped, but it’s harder to follow Holmes’ investigation if you skip certain ones.

…

When Holmes has gathered enough clues, he can tie the clues together to form deductions, and from there, he can link the deductions to solve the case. It’s the player’s job to accurately form and interpret the deductions. The first case is extremely simple and straightforward. As you progress, the cases get far more complex and very, very gray, making it harder and harder to pinpoint the culprit and their motive. In fact, after the first case, multiple conclusions are available, and they all can make sense depending on how few or many clues you find.

Picking a certain conclusion does not guarantee that you’ve selected the right one. Not only that, but once you have confirmed you’re ready to accuse someone, you have two moral options to choose from: convict or absolve. Convict is exactly how it sounds, but if you absolve, you sympathize with the killer and offer to help them. What you decide, both in conclusion and moral choice, affects what happens to Holmes in the end. Will he be trusted by the Yard? Will he patch things with his brother Mycroft? Will he be tormented forever by convicting the wrong culprit or by absolving the correct criminal? There is a reason why he’s always reading Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime & Punishment in his carriage rides (a/k/a loading screens).

I was not entirely pleased with the fact that you could change your conclusion after watching it, because that takes you out of any realism there could be. However, that aside, the game was still enjoyable enough that it’s one of my games of the year. I cannot recommend it enough.

Minecraft Strategy Guide Review

October 2, 2014 By Chris Nitz Leave a Comment

Oh Minecraft, you crazy addicting game. I remember when I jumped into this game it was still in beta and I paid $20 just for the notion of never having to pay another dime for future updates. Several years later, I’ve built more homes, dug so many tunnels, killed countless creeps and zombies, and even traversed the Nether. With so much time behind this game, it struck me odd to see that BradyGames was making a Minecraft strategy guide. Curious, I took on the review.

Now, I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve logged with this game, but to handle the review I made a new world and relied solely on the guide to get me through my battle of hunger and home construction. The guide starts with a nice introduction to what the heck Minecraft is and how do players get started with their first world. As the console, pocket, and PC versions differ, the authors include how they vary from one another. For anyone who is new to this game, take the time to read this intro section as it’ll do a lot to help make that first jaunt into the randomly generated world that much easier.

I’m gonna need more coal.

The guide then moves into 12 goals, starting with the basics of making that all important first wooden axe. I dug the goals, and they are fairly standard to what I’ve been doing over the years. The one hitch to having the goals flow smoothly is that the world that the game generates is not always so cooperative. For example, finding coal isn’t always as easy as one might think. However, completing the goals the authors provided is a great way to build a basic home, start a rudimentary mine, and keep yourself fed and geared for survival.

Obviously, this would be a terrible guide if it just stopped after 22 pages and left readers on their own with all the nuances of the game. This is where the next section of the guide comes in. Everything from the basics of crafting, the inner workings of farms, and even how to create a Nether Portal receive serious attention. There is a lot of knowledge dropping here, so be prepared to spend a bit of time reading up on something as mundane as how weather affects your crops. Anyone that plans to take on the hardcore survival mode should definitely study this chunk of the guide.

From there, the guide moves into all the tools, resources, and consumables that players will find scattered about the world. This is where readers find out how to make things like an enchanting table, dyed wool, or even a jukebox. Heck, anyone that wants to make a cake will find the recipe here as well. This reads more of an encyclopedia than a simple step-by-step of how to make items. I found that this is the section I spent the most time in. The layout is easy enough to navigate, but be prepared to thumb through a fair amount of pages as doing something as simple as making a cake requires several steps and items.

Spreadsheets, we all love a good spreadsheet!

Right after readers find out how to build armor and weapons, they are greeted with all the creatures and monsters that roam the world. What I liked most is that this area is that it begins with a quick reference list giving pertinent info. This quick list is followed by more detailed breakdowns. Take the time to read the details as there is some good secrets, such as dyeing a sheep is easier than dyeing the wool, scattered about. These nuggets of goodness don’t show up in the little charts, but rather the descriptions.

This guide does a great job of getting new players acclimated to the world. While navigating the pages to find that one item you need is cumbersome, the amount of info and detail is rock solid. However, a good wiki or fan page is also of the essence as Minecraft is a game that continues to grow and evolve. If you are looking to dive into this crazy addictive game, this guide is well worth snagging as it’ll certainly help you survive those first few cold and lonely nights.

SGR Rating 3/5

Authors: Michael Lummis, Christopher Burton, Kathleen Pleet
Publisher: BradyGames
Editions Available: Paperback
Acquired via Publisher

SGR Rating 4.5/5

Rating: 5/5

SGR Rating 3/5

Friends of SGR

Top Posts & Pages