| REVIEW | Excellent, Excellent, Excellent!
This Collector's Edition version of the official MGS4 game guide is fantastic!
First of all, if you're not interested in the additional features of the Collector's Edition, then save yourself the money and get the standard edition Metal Gear Solid 4: Prima Official Game Guide instead. It's significantly cheaper, and is exactly the same with the following exceptions:
- The Collector's Edition is hardcover.
- Collector's Edition includes an additional chapter detailing some of the great Metal Gear artwork.
- Collector's Edition includes a numbered lithograph by Yoji Shinkawa.
Either product will be worth the money to anyone that wants to get the most out of the game. I purchased this guide after I had completed the game once already, and I'd recommend this to anyone interested in the guide. Don't use the guide on your first time through, or it may inadvertently ruin some of the surprises and fun bits that pop up throughout.
The thought that the maps are too hard to read, as mentioned in another review, seems ridiculous to me. The maps have been of great help when determining shortest routes, or finding items that you may need. Granted, it may sometimes take a minute of staring at the map to determine your current position, but I don't think they could have done much better than they did.
You will get a TON of advice every step of the way. It will tell you the best way to get through the each map normally, as well as how that strategy must change if you're trying a no-kill playthrough. It will also give you adjustments that you may need to make based on the difficulty setting that you're playing on.
The guide includes a listing of every weapon in the game, along with a description, how to attain it, and its characteristics. There is a similar listing for items available in the game. There's a full listing of available Face Camo and how to attain them, and another for iPod tunes.
There's a full listing of available emblems that you can earn upon completion of the game. There are also strategies on how to get as many of these emblems as possible in the shortest number of playthroughs.
And of course, one of my favorite parts of the guide, is the summary of the entire MGS story, from beginning to end.
Overall, the guide is fantastic. If you don't care about the 3 differences stated above, then I'd recommend the standard edition guide. Either way, you're getting a LOT of guide for your money, and you're getting aLOT of extra value out of your game purchase as well. For example, I doubt that I would have played through this game more than 2 or 3 times without the guide. But with all the information presented in the guide, I'm currently finishing up my 6th run, and I already have plans for my 7th.
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