Reviews Archives

Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Strategy Guide Review

April 10, 2014 By Chris Nitz Leave a Comment

Diablo 3 released with plentiful hype, and copious amounts of issues. Thankfully, the Reaper of Souls expansion is a vastly different experience. This expansion feels like a completely different game thanks to the removal of the Auction House, better loot, Paragon skills, and many tweaks to the game itself. Those that have given up on this series might want to take a second look, and the Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls strategy guide from BradyGames is a great place to start.

This guide contains a bit of information for all players, new and old. It begins by detailing the newest sets of changes, such as difficulty settings and the two different game play types. Those that have continued to support Diablo 3 can pretty well skip this area, but new, and returning, players will want to read this section.

Following the basics is the class portion. What I liked about this is that I could finally read up on the Crusader and get some insight into how it plays. Every active and passive skill is listed, complete with what level it unlocks. It provides a small description of what the abilities do and why one might want this in their build. I must admit, this did give me a few ideas on how to tweak my Monk as I drive to level 70.

This needs to be at the very beginning!

The actual breakdown of Act V comes next. I found that this covers the new campaign in good detail, with solid nuggets of advice on how to tackle each objective. It is also a blessing to know how many enemies will bombard me, such as three waves of Boggits swarming me as soon as I load into the next area.

What I appreciate the most is the details on the boss fights. Where Diablo 3 contained bosses that primarily just sat in one location during the fight, Act V sees a major increase in boss difficulty with the simple act of environmental hazards and the enemy hunting down the Nephalem in particular. The boss battles are broken down in fine detail, and should be on the radar for all readers as these just might save a broken mouse and keyboard.

The walkthrough of Act V might seem tiny, but the last half of the strategy guide goes to a massive amount of info on all the extra portions of the game. Items such as Nephalem Rifts, Bounties, crafting, maps and how portals connect the world together, and even a massive index of enemies all receive their fair share of attention. What new players, and those that are just coming back after an extended vacation, will want to do right away is check out the Loot 2.0 area. Why BradyGames tucked this away so far in the back baffles me as it plays a major role in why the Auction Houses are now gone and why the game has garnered a resurgence in players.

The Loot 2.0 chapter goes into how the new item system works, what smart loot is, how magic find changed, and even why there is now only one potion. For any player that has no idea what happened with this system, this is a must read while the game patches.

Oh, that is why he is all whiny.

The last few pages go to all the achievements and skill challenges in the game. I love this, as it is way faster and easier to find a way to add to my banner customizations instead of clicking through all the acts in the game. Some of the harder to obtain items even have small bullet points giving pointers on how to obtain them. For someone with OCD, such as myself, this helped me nail down a few achievements I had overlooked in prior acts.

For all the nice things this strategy guide provides, there is one thing it cannot do, and that is adjust with patches. While reading the class or enemy area, take the cool down, damage, area of effect, and other figures with some caution as they might change depending on patches. Also, this won’t cover any new play areas that Blizzard might introduce down the road.

The Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls strategy guide is a great guide, especially for people that might be returning to the game. For players that have stuck through Blizzard while they ironed out the kinks, outside of the Act V walkthrough, there is not a lot here that will really warrant the purchase. Find this at the local store and thumb through it to see if it applies to your needs.

SGR Rating 3.5/5

Author: Doug Walsh & Thom Denick
Publisher: BradyGames
Editions Available: Paperback
Acquired via Publisher

Lightning Returns Strategy Guide Review

April 3, 2014 By Keri Honea Leave a Comment

Lightning Returns is an utter mess of a game that pits the player in a race against a friggin’ clock to save as many people as possible before the world ends. There are two ways to save souls–via the main story and via completing side quests. In other words, you want to complete as many side quests as possible. The catch is some side quests are only available certain times of the day, or the ability to complete them are only available during certain times of the day. Some only crop up after completing other side quests or elements of the main story. So not only are you battling a countdown, you’re battling against time itself. To say this is overwhelming and a bit frustrating is the understatement of the year. I don’t know how the writers for the Lightning Returns strategy guide were able to compile a guide of any sort from this discombobulated mess, but somehow they were able to, and they crafted the best companion to help anyone save as many souls as possible as efficiently as possible.

The only complaint I have with this strategy guide is that when you open it, see how it is organized, and see the game plan before you, it overwhelms you. Considering that the game itself has this mound of pressure on you to begin with, the guide initially stressed me out. Virtually every hour is planned out, leaving very little room for time errors. If you don’t know what you are doing, it feels impossible.

After spending half an in-game day trying to work things out on my own, I began to understand how the strategy guide was framed, what I needed to do, and how I needed to approach each task. Sadly, because I took this time, I’ve had to pick and choose which side quests I can get done in the time I have left. As such, I really think this strategy guide is best for a second playthrough, after you already have your feet wet and know how the game works.

It sounds like I’m blaming the strategy guide, but I’m really not; the strategy guide did the best it could with what the game gave it.

Usually with large RPGs like Lightning Returns, strategy guides are divided up into main quest and side quest sections. In the Lightning Returns strategy guide, a daily agenda section sits before the main and side quest chapters. It requires a lot (and I mean a lot) of page turning to use the guide, but there really is a method to the madness.

The agenda is literally a detailed itinerary for what the player needs to make Lightning work on for each hour. For instance, Day 5 has the following agenda:

Advance the “Free Will” Quest in Yusnaan
Complete Chapters 4-1 and 4-2
Complete Chapter 5-6
Complete Chapter 4-3
Resupply in Ruffian
Complete Chapter 4-4

Each bullet point has the recommended hours to get these things done. For the side quests listed on each day, the times are often important, because those quests may only be accessed or completed during those times. As you can see, that’s a lot to get done in one day, and it appears very out of order. The only aspect that is really in order in this game is the clock, so anything can be completed at any point in the game if the in-game time is right. (Yes, the game is that maddening.)

The reason why the strategy guide breaks the main quests up like this is so the player can efficiently complete as many quests, side and main, with as little travel between realms as possible, as travel costs time.

With the itinerary, you plan out your in-game day, and then you use the other two walkthroughs for assistance in completing those quests. I didn’t use the actual walkthroughs as much as I used the maps. The maps will save you so much time and grief from running around everywhere trying to find that one last crag mole for that chef. This woman lost her dog while traveling. Do you really want to run all over the place trying to find this dog? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

In theory, it is possible to complete everything the guide lays before you, but I’m not sure how possible it is when you’re completely green at the game. The game has an incredibly steep learning curve thanks to the darn clock and learning how to effectively use Lightning’s abilities to manipulate the clock. If I could have done it over again, I would have started a game, ran around like a maniac for a day to learn the game and then started over with that veteran information. But then again, that would require me to play the game again, which reflects on the game, definitely not on the strategy guide.

But if you do want to do everything Lightning Returns has to offer, want to save every soul, get the fast track on the Canvas of Prayers, and make your god happy, then I can’t imagine doing so without the assistance of the Lightning Returns strategy guide.

SGR Rating: 4.5/5

Authors:James Price and Tony Gao
Publisher: Piggyback
Editions Available: Collector’s Edition and Paperback
Acquired via Publisher

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Strategy Guide Review

March 28, 2014 By Chris Nitz Leave a Comment

With so little coming to the Wii U, when a game such as Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze comes along, well, you just have to snag it. I was not disappointed in this title, nor the corresponding strategy guide from Prima Games. Although Prima Games might not be able to compensate for my lack of platforming skills, they did save me a good bit of time! Let us dive in, shall we?

The Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze strategy guide begins with a nice portion dedicated to getting players acquainted with the game. Here, readers find what the various items do, how to spot secret paths, and descriptions on the different companions and how they aid Kong on his quest for saving the island. What caught me by surprise is that at the end of the enemy description portion there is a listing of the bosses as well. I liked this approach as there is a little story and some bonus nuggets of information tucked away in the description. Don’t pass up reading this section.

So this is not the route to Jamba Juice?

The walkthrough is where a lot of time saving happens. Each new island comes with a breakdown of where the stages are, how many puzzles pieces are contained within, and if a particular stage comes with a secret exit or not. From there, each stage is broken down in finer detail.

I ended up studying each stage before jumping into the game for a few reasons. First, the maps will require a bit of memorization. While all the K.O.N.G letters and puzzle pieces are clearly displayed, when the action gets going, it’s hard to stop and look at a map. There are also summaries of various points of interest, places that will test player dexterity, and instructions on how to obtain the harder to acquire collectables. It’s a lot to try to read or glance at when knee deep in action or trying to perfect a speed run of the stage.

The boss battle breakdown comes in rather handy, and boy was it a detailed affair. Before players tackle any boss, thoroughly read through what the authors have to offer. There is a fair amount of info here, such as how the different boss phases work, what to look for when trying to attack, and things to be weary of in the battle arena.

Can’t we just talk about our issues over dinner?

The last few pages go to the bonus content. This is more fan service than anything overly specific such as achievements, special nuances, or where all the little Easter Eggs are located. The concept art is beautiful and fits well with the game and guide. What I did enjoy was the timeline of the game releases. Man, just reading the descriptions of the prior games brought back so many memories. This is especially true when reminiscing how awesome the first game in this series was on the Super Nintendo. It is clearly an area to trigger nostalgia, and it worked….well!

I can’t really find anything to overly gripe about on the Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze strategy guide. The navigation was easy thanks to different colored pages corresponding to where I was at in the game. The maps, while cluttered at times, saved me countless hours of game time. If this guide could have boosted my jumping and timing skills, that would have made this a pure five out of five. I enjoyed this guide and I make no hesitations in recommending it as a solid purchase.

SGR Rating 4.5/5

Author: Nick von Esmarch & Cory Van Grier
Publisher: Prima Games
Editions Available: Paperback
Acquired via Publisher

South Park: The Stick of Truth Mini-Review

March 28, 2014 By Keri Honea Leave a Comment

I was looking forward to South Park: The Stick of Truth since it was first announced, and my excitement for it was only enhanced when I saw a live demo at San Diego Comic Con in 2012. I was honestly afraid that it wouldn’t live up to the hype, especially after my disappointment with BioShock Infinite. Ten minutes into the game, I knew I was going to love it. That love never wavered for a minute.

I reviewed the game in full for Action Trip. Here’s a snippet of my thoughts:

Ten minutes into playing South Park: The Stick of Truth, I’m looking over my class selection which includes a Jew and wondering why I thought I could give my character any other name besides “Douchebag.” This is South Park; of course I’m going to be called Douchebag. That’s me, Douchebag the Jew. My character is wielding a shepherd’s crook and wearing a yarmulke. Kids are yelling more f-bombs than I think I heard in Spec Ops: The Line, if that’s possible. Cartman is teaching me how to “cast spells” a/k/a fart on dummies.This is South Park, and if you get offended easily, just walk away now. Like the TV show, this game isn’t, and never will be for you. And that’s just the start of how wonderful this game is.

When I finished South Park: The Stick of Truth, I was honestly sad it was over. I usually get to a point in games, no matter the length, where I’m ready for it to be over already and I never got there with this one. I put off the final battles for so long, making sure I really and truly completed every last available side quest.

The game had its problems, such as responsiveness with some of the controls, but it never took away from my enjoyment. I said in 2012 that this would be the game of the year whenever it released, and two years later, I’m still holding that claim.

Pokémon X and Y Pokédex Strategy Guide Review

March 26, 2014 By Chris Nitz 3 Comments

It took several months after the game and first strategy guide released for us to receive the last half of the guide for Pokémon X and Y. My first review for the main story portion of this game is right here, but I was not happy that it was half of a guide. Sadly, the long wait was more to test out patience than to provide something full of quality to reward the wait.

The first 92-pages cover the side quests and activities that are missing from the first guide. Yes, 92-pages is all it takes to cover what is left of ancillary fun in the game. It is hard to swallow that little bit had to wait this long and could not be included in the prior guide.

Break out those Excel skills

What is in those first few pages is rather decent. The various events, unknown locations, and egg mechanics are all here. I found the portion on breeding Pokémon completely lacked anything pertaining to the changes made in X and Y. What is listed only pertains to the prior games, Pokémon Black & White/Pokémon Black & White 2. There is no mention of how abilities or Pokéballs pass onto offspring. This is a big oversight and will certainly leave readers thumbing through the pages trying to find information that is not there..

The bulk of the guide goes to the Pokédex itself. This provides a hefty amount of information on the 450 Pokémon found in the three areas of Kalos. Yet it still lacks the information on what is located in places such as Rattata. That means just over half of the Pokémon out of the some 750 known to exist are actually listed.

What is here is detailed enough to help form a good battle strategy. Evolutions, moves, and vital information abound. There are even breakdowns for what each Pokémon looks like (male and female) from the front, side, and rear. There is a small area in the middle of each listing stating where and how to capture it based on based on the game version.

The last part of the guide is chock full of tables detailing aspects such as berries, moves, and items. It’s a nice way to quickly reference questions as they come up without having to flip through two strategy guides worth of information.

So a mushroom thing looks the same no matter the gender?

Much like the first Pokémon X/Y strategy guide, this is only half of a guide. The fact that it took months for this to release and it still lacks information is inexcusable, and not something I can overlook. Yes, this guide is $19.99USD, but that is in addition to the cost of having to acquire the first book for the main quest coverage along with prior Pokédexs. I know that covering every Pokémon and all the nuances of this game might be daunting, but if I am buying a guide to look at EVERY THING I CAN DO, I expect it to be there. My advice, buy the first guide, skip this one, and find one of the plentiful websites or phone/tablet apps to aid you in your quest to collect them all. Most of these give as good, if not better details, on every Pokémon that exists, and are free in most cases.

SGR Rating 2/5

Author: The Pokémon Company International
Publisher: The Pokémon Company International
Editions Available: Paperback
Acquired via Publisher

SGR Rating 3.5/5

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SGR Rating 4.5/5

SGR Rating 2/5

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