Reviews Archives

StarCraft II Guide Review

October 11, 2011 By Chris Nitz Leave a Comment

StarCraft 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

: Tactical Recon Stand

: Mmm, maps

: You know you love achievements

: Tips from professionals

: Excel for gamers

: Manage those resources

: Limited Edition Cover

Gears of War 3 Mini-Review

October 7, 2011 By Keri Honea Leave a Comment

Chances are, if you had any inkling to buy Gears of War 3, you’ve already bought it or are planning to buy it, no matter what reviews say. The Gears franchise kind of has that Halo stigma about it; if you loved the first games, you’re going to buy the next. If you’ve never looked at Gears of War before, you probably won’t look at the third, no matter what reviews say.

However, that’s not going to stop me from spilling what I think, or in this case, pointing you towards where I spilled my thoughts on Gears of War 3.

I reviewed the game for Gaming Angels, and as you can see from the following excerpt, I raved about it.

To say that the first Gears of War was a bit lacking in story is a gross understatement. The second game was vastly improved, and this final game was light years of improvement even upon that. Instead of Delta squad sort of falling into various missions throughout the game, this time they have a clear mission: rescue Adam Fenix from a stronghold known as Azura and help him implement his weapon that will “solve” the Lambent problem. They don’t know what or where Azura is or how they will get there, but at least they have some direction as to where they need to go. It’s definitely an emotional rollercoaster for all involved, and the ride is a bit longer than it has been before, but the story is a brilliant sendoff and closing chapter for the series.

Of course, the storyline isn’t the only improvement for Gears 3. This time, the action always occurs with parties of four, which allows for four-player co-op for the first time in the series. One of the best parts of this new feature is that the groups of four are not always the same, so players, even those playing as “Player 1,” will have the chance to play as different characters. Different characters don’t have different abilities, so the experience isn’t that different, but at the same time, it’s refreshing to occasionally play as someone other than Marcus or Dom. For me personally, I was ecstatic to be able to play as Anya and Sam, just to have something different from the usual four Delta Squad members.

Yeah, I loved it just a teensy bit; enough to play the game twice within a week–once co-op and once solo. This is also the first time I have ever, EVER joined in a multiplayer game. I played Horde mode with some random people a few times and found it to be more fun that I would imagine. I still haven’t ventured into the Versus mode yet, but I think I will eventually since I’ve been told that’s the best multiplayer to play by yourself. I’m also wanting a solo run-through on Arcade Mode and some four-player co-op action. And I rarely play games more than once.

I could sit here and rave about it all day. If you want to see more of what I have to say about it, please go check out my review on Gaming Angels. Hopefully I’ll see you online!

Disgaea 4 Strategy Guide Review

October 4, 2011 By Chris Nitz 1 Comment

I 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

: Cover art for the win!

: Mmmm, number crunching

: The map is a life saver…seriously

: Get those skills in order

: Muscles and spreadsheets do go together!

Gears of War 3 Strategy Guide Review

September 29, 2011 By Keri Honea 2 Comments

The Gears of War franchise is not known for being overly complicated in terms of gameplay, and Gears of War 3 is no different. However, those dead Gears sure do hide their COG tags in some quirky spots, and some of those bosses seem to take longer than they should. Here is where the beauty of the Gears of War 3 strategy guide comes in. As a result, you will find all the collectibles in one go and cut down on potential frustration levels with some odd sequences, thereby opening the doors for finding more time for multiplayer, Arcade, and 4-player co-op modes.

I played Gears of War 3 twice over the last week–once with a friend and once by myself. When I played with my friend, I only consulted the guide once because 1) he didn’t care to stop and look for every collectible and he wasn’t going to restart a chapter if I missed one and 2) I was really curious to see how different playing the game would be with our strategies vs. the guide’s strategies. The answer is: we made it very hard on ourselves.

I dreaded fighting certain areas alone because my partner and I had some struggles with them; struggles that I thought could only really be easily overcome when you had another real brain playing along with you. While I’m convinced that the game had some amped up difficulty with the more live bodies playing along with you, I owe a lot of my success to the guide’s strategies.

For example, I would never have figured out how to break into the Locust base using stealth in Act 3 without the guide. The only way to do it is with the Hammerburst rifle, something Marcus didn’t have. The guide suggested that I should try to trade weapons with Dom, which was something I had no idea I could even do. That was definitely not in the tutorial! Once I swapped out the Hammerburst, it was a snap. When I played co-op with my friend that night, I told him to let me handle the stealth part, and he thanked me profusely. He even admitted that he wouldn’t have thought of using the Hammerburst (and why would you? It’s a least favorite weapon).

The same goes for all of the collectibles. I never would have looked in some of these odd places for half of these collectibles or even a couple of the COG tags. In other instances where I did notice where to pick up collectibles, I couldn’t have gotten them because I missed where to find a hidden Silverback. Taking time to hunt down all of these collectibles added a bit of time to my solo-run campaign–especially when I realized too late I missed them and had to restart a chapter–but it is nice to have it done without needing to go back and replay some chapters. Now I can save additional replays for Arcade mode and playing 4-player co-op.

The strategy guide’s design was absolutely flawless in presenting not only the guide’s strategies, but also callout notes for the collectibles, extra tips just for co-op play, and tips for Arcade mode (see image to the right). Thanks to the placement of the notes for collectibles and their coordinating screenshots, there is little doubt as to where these elusive tidbits are hiding. Even if you get a little confused as to their exact location, there are always the maps to at the start of each chapter to show the way–which also nicely pinpoint all weapon caches and hidden Silverbacks. In addition, any game artwork that was included in the main walkthroughs was kept separate from the rest of the content, so it was never fringing upon the text or strategy screenshots. It’s another fine example of how artwork doesn’t have to impede on the overall usefulness of a strategy guide’s design.

The Gears of War 3 game was a fine sendoff for Marcus and Dom’s story, and the Gears of War 3 strategy guide couldn’t have done it any better justice. This is the perfect accompaniment to the game for completionists and for hardcore collectors of the series. The guide is beautiful on the outside and inside and contains sound strategies. One really can’t ask for anything more in a strategy guide.

SGR Rating: 5/5

Authors: Doug Walsh, Phillip Marcus, and Michael Owen
Publisher: BradyGames
Editions Available: Limited Edition and Signature Series
Acquired via Publisher

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine Strategy Guide Review

September 21, 2011 By Keri Honea 3 Comments

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine is a fast-paced shooter/hack-and-slash combo game that is quite linear and leaves little room for exploration. So what’s the point in having a strategy guide?

Actually, there’s plenty.

Space Marine moves so quickly that it is very easy to be overwhelmed by the literal hordes of enemies that overrun you, and its unusual gameplay of constantly alternating between melee and range weapons can be equally as overwhelming. In addition, since it is so linear, it’s easy to miss all of the collectibles, which come in the form of servo skulls–floating red skulls that leave audio recorded messages (I never said it made sense as to what they are). Normally collectibles aren’t all that important to the game, but in order to truly understand the gravity of the situation at Graia and learn about the deep character development for the supporting cast, finding all of these creepy skulls is a must. Not to mention, if you’re a Warhammer 40,000 fan at all, you’re going to want the Space Marine strategy guide just for all of the bonus materials.

The main walkthrough itself is designed well, but it’s only written okay. The start of each chapter presents a table of all the servo skulls available, the pages of the guide they can be found, new weapons to be obtained, new enemies to be encountered, and what Achievements can be earned. Much to my disappointment, no maps were included. The scenery does change quite often, so each chapter would require quite a few maps, but it’s still a little unforgivable that there are no maps whatsoever. Oftentimes, the writing is a little confusing as to exactly where a servo skull or desperately needed weapons cache is hiding. A map would have eliminated this confusion. Maps would have also been very welcome for the last chapter that required lots of platform jumping to find the main path.

At least there are plenty of screenshots that do a halfway decent job to showing the way, and the pages’ layouts help point out exactly where you will find every servo skull.

The walkthroughs for the boss fights and supreme horde overloads–really not a better name for them–may not have strategies that will work for every player style, but at the very least, they do prepare you well for what unspeakable horrors are coming. They also provide great tricks and tips for switching the styles of combat and weapon recommendations. For example, I wanted to use a the heavy bolter for one of the final battles since it served me so well in other battles, but the guide suggested to use the lascannon. After one round of realizing that it’s really hard to dodge with the minigun and it doesn’t do as much damage as I thought, I conceded to the guide’s advice and discovered its wisdom.

The guide’s appendices are fairly thorough, but I would have liked to have seen some advice for some of the odd Achievements. For instance, one of the Achievements requires that you use only a stalker-pattern bolter and a chainsword for your weapons for one chapter. I would have liked a recommendation for which chapter this is best to try, especially since you can replay any chapter at any time.

With lore as deep as it is in Warhammer, you can expect that the bonus features of the strategy guide will be just as deep and enriching, and you would be right. All of the bonus artwork, especially the concept artwork (as shown on the scanned page to the right), is gorgeous and right up the alley of any Warhammer fan. However, for someone like me who knows nothing of the Warhammer universe, the bonus features presented a whole new and fascinating world to me. The history of the Space Marines was examined, the main characters were thoroughly detailed with background information, and a bit of the Warhammer 40,000 lore was explained. None of it was necessary for understanding the game, but it made me far more interested in the franchise than I ever would have been otherwise. The background info for the main characters also gave me a deeper appreciation and understanding for what was going on behind-the-scenes for the characters, especially with Inquisitor Drogan.

Much like the game of Space Marine itself, the strategy guide appears to be something easily overlooked and unneeded, but it doesn’t take long to see how much of a hidden gem it really is. If you absolutely must find every collectible, master every weapon, and destroy every enemy as quickly and as brutally as possible, then the Space Marine strategy guide is a definite must. If you are a fan of Warhammer 40,000, then owning the guide is simply a no-brainer.