BradyGames’ Grand Theft Auto IV Signature Series Guide includes the following:
MISSIONS: Maps and strategy for all mainstory missions--plus complete coverage of Vigilante, Car Thefts, Most Wanted, Friendships, Random Characters, and the myriad other activities required to achieve 100% completion.
Maps: Score health, armor, and weapons no matter where you are in Liberty City. Our maps show you where to find them in every mission. Pick-ups, collectibles, places of interest--everything you need and everywhere you need to be in a dedicated map section.
Secrets: Our detailed collection maps and descriptions reveal precise locations for all Unique Stunt Jumps and "Hidden Packages" in Liberty City.
Multiplayer: When you're ready to take your game online, come armed with exclusive hints and tactics for all Multiplayer modes.
Bonus Fold-out: This giant map of Liberty City features the locations and details for all Odd Jobs--with poster art on the other side!
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360
Genre: Action/Adventure
This product is available for sale worldwide.
Reviews: A review by P. Crawford This guide is good enough to help you get 100 percent, but don't expect anything great. You frequently have to flip back to the table of contents to find what you're looking for, as info is seemingly randomly scattered throughout the book. It's as if the guidewas rushed and not edited at all. Also missing is a detailed car list that I got used to in past guides, and it'd be nice to seem them all.
It is the year 2524. Harvest is a peaceful, prosperous farming colony on the very edge of human-controlled space. But we have trespassed on holy ground--strayed into the path of an aggressive alien empire known as the Covenant. What begins as a chance encounter between an alien privateer and a human freighter catapults mankind into a struggle for its very existence.
But humanity is also locked in a bitter civil war known as the Insurrection. So the survival of Harvest's citizens falls to a squad of battle-weary UNSC Marines and their inexperienced colonial militia trainees. In this unlikely group of heroes, one stands above the rest...a young Marine staff sergeant named Avery Johnson.
Reviews: A review by J. Currens This is a different type of Halo book, no SPARTANs, but still a good read for any true Halo fan. This book fleshes out Sergeant Johnson, the brutes (Tartarus in particular), A.I.s, and the first Human - Covenant contact.
Compared to other Halo books (like; Fall of Reach) this book is lacking in the heroic fight(s) category. It does have plenty of action but not on a huge scale. I would also add that the ending seemed somewhat lackluster or abrupt.
All-in-all I would say as a stand-alone book it would not have rated as high of marks, but as it is full of interesting Halo tidbits I highly recommend this book to all Halo fans.
Description:Product DescriptionThe official novels of the award-winning Xbox game! This set contains The Fall of Reach, First Strike, and The Flood -- the complete chronicles of the bloody Human-Covenant War on Halo.
The Fall of Reach As the bloody Human-Covenant War rages on Halo, the fate of humankind may rest with one warrior, the lone SPARTAN survivor of another legendary battle . . . the desperate, take-no-prisoners struggle that led humanity to Halo--the fall of the planet Reach. Now, brought to life for the first time, here is the full story of that glorious, doomed conflict.
First Strike The Human-Covenant war rages on as the alien juggernaut sweeps inexorably toward its final goal: destruction of all human life!
The Flood The Human-Covenant War, a desperate struggle for humankind’s very survival, has reached its boiling point on the mysterious, ring world called Halo. But the fierce Covenant warriors, the mightiest alien military force known, are not the only peril lying in wait.
Bungie, Halo, Xbox, and the Xbox Logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Used under license. (c) 2001-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved Reviews: A review by Michael J. Bench Any anticipation of what this series offers should be thrown out the window. This group offers so much more than the games ever could. So many attachments to characters are developed throughout the series only to to be lost to a seemingly unwinable war. It would very much stand alone as a saga without ever having played the games in the sci-fi world, for young and old alike.
Description:Product DescriptionEvery advanced society in the galaxy relies on the technology of the Protheans, an ancient species that vanished fifty thousand years ago. After discovering a cache of Prothean technology on Mars in 2148, humanity is spreading to the stars; the newest interstellar species, struggling to carve out its place in the greater galactic community. On the edge of colonized space, ship commander andAlliance war hero David Anderson investigates the remains of a top secret military research station; smoking ruins littered with bodies and unanswered questions. Who attacked this post and for what purpose? And where is Kahlee Sanders, the young scientist who mysteriously vanished from the base–hours before her colleagues were slaughtered?
Sanders is now the prime suspect, but finding her creates more problems for Anderson than it solves. Partnered with a rogue alien agent he can’t trust and pursued by an assassin he can’t escape, Anderson battles impossible odds on uncharted worlds to uncover a sinister conspiracy . . . one he won’t live to tell about. Or so the enemy thinks. Reviews: A review by S. H. de Keersmaeker As the game finally is coming to PC I decided to first buy the book. The book is a great introduction to the Mass Effect universe, the alien races, the locales, the history of how humanity fits into the picture. The story is pretty straightforward fare about good vs bad but everyone seems to have their own agenda nevertheless.
If you are purely after a great sci-fi story you might want to look elsewhere as this isn't exactly the most fascinating sci-fi story but if you plan to play Mass Effect then I can certainly recommend this book.
I will certainly be getting the second book once I have played the game.
The whole concept of adding a book into a gaming franchise with the aim of immersing you into the overall story you is a great idea!
Description:Product Description• Full Walkthrough for All Four Discs: Solve the mystery of Kaim's immortality. All side quests, optional areas, and super bosses revealed. • Complete Area Maps: Detailed maps reveal every hidden item, invisible chest, and treasure-hunting spot. • Full Data on Every Boss and Monster: Learn the weaknesses of each foe and discover elaborate strategies for beating Lost Odyssey's challenging boss monsters. • All Rings, Skills, and Accessories Revealed: Learn deadly skill combos and find the hidden accessories that hold the game's most powerful abilities. • Find Every Slot Seed: Max out your immortals by earning all 48 Slot Seeds. • Earn All 1,000G Worth of Achievements: Everything you need to know to completely master Lost Odyssey and earn every Achievement on the way. • Complete the Thousand Years of Dreams: Solve Kaim's mystery by finding each of his hidden dreams. Reviews: A review by Neil Schindelar I didn't buy this guide until I was on the third disc, and man was that a mistake! There are so many neat and fun side quests you can do in this game and so many items you would never find without this guide! It's a must!
Description:Product Description·Detailed annotated maps for all levels ·Learn how to dominate multiplayer matches with information on weapon locations and expert tips ·Learn about every enemy, vehicle and weapon — their strengths and weaknesses and how you can exploit them ·Confidently navigate the huge Campaign mode with our exclusive maps and step-by-step walkthrough ·Complete list of all Achievements and how to unlock each one Packed with tips, tactics and techniques direct from Bungie Reviews: A review by Bryan M. Pavelchik Very detailed strategy guide. The artwork is awesome and the level of explanation from the writers is incredible. A must have for any Halo fan.
You are a cast-away in Rapture, an underwater Utopia that has been torn apart by civil war. Caught between powerful forces, and hunted down by genetically modified “splicers” and deadly security systems, you have to come to grips with a deadly, mysterious world filled with powerful technology and fascinating characters.
Comprehensive Walkthrough
Horror is waiting around every corner; use this guide to survive unscathed. Learn how to fend off the Splicers, bring down the Big Daddies, and overcome the lunatics that populate the underwater metropolis of Rapture.
Illustrated Maps
Discover the best route to each of your objectives and learn the location of every safe, secret, and enhancement that this strange world holds.
Evolve Today
Uncover the secret powers of plasmids and unlock your genetic potential. With these genetic mutations you can shock, freeze, and incinerate enemies, use telekinesis to move objects, and enrage foes to make them fight against each other.
U-Invent
Use our guide to create valuable upgrades to all of your weapons.
Exclusive Foldout
An exclusive poster features art from the game and a full list of Xbox 360 achievements on the reverse.
Platform: Xbox 360 and PC
Genre: Shooter
This product is available for sale worldwide. Reviews: A review by Sean A. Rhodes Bioshock is an incredible game, no matter how you look at it. In truth, it's a game that one should explore on his or her own. However, that doesn't mean you won't get stuck, and if you happen to get stuck, this guide is a pretty good tool to use overall.
I must say something on a personal level, though. Bioshock is a very very extraordinary game. I highly suggest one go through the game without the guide first because a strategy guide (for better or for worse) can ruin some of the fun of the game and some of its better surprises. That doesn't mean the guide is bad, it just means you're using it at your own risk. For what it's worth it's a GOOD guide and does exactly whatit's supposed to do, but as with purchasing any strategy guide, you run the risk of having a less fulfilling gaming experience. If you must use the guide however, use it as you go and try your best not to read too far ahead.
Anyway, now onto the review of the actual guide.
The guide begins with a prologue and a bit about the guide on its own. The prologue doesn't spoil anything. It merely tells you what Andrew Ryan tells you within the first five minutes of the game. Nothing that'll give away any part of the storyline, but more or less introduce you to the philosophy of the game itself. It'll then tell you about the guide in a short intro before jumping into all the stuff you want from the guide.
It first introduces you to the cast of characters in the game. The main guy doesn't have a name though (the guide commonly refers to him throughout the walkthrough as "Jack"), but it'll introduce you to other characters and tell you a bit about them. The guide then goes to talk about the adversaries you'll face along the way, even giving you a couple of tips to defeat them.
The guide then jumps into the game basics section entitled: "Life Underwater." This is more or less the game basics section. Here you'll learn of the basic controls and basic combat skills. For anyone new to the game who doesn't want to read the instruction manual or learn the game for themselves, they can use this as it is a rather helpful section of the guide. Most probably won't need it too badly but it is there just in case. For the most part, though, these are some pretty good tips. Even some of which you won't find in the instruction manual, and some of which the game doesn't tell you about either. So even for those well experienced with the game you might find something good.
We then go into weapons. Here the guide tells you about just about everything. About the upgrades, how well they perform in a firefight and how to effectively use them. It also tells you how much ammo you'll need. Again, a pretty basic thing and the guide gets through it pretty quickly.
Then we get into the Plasmids section of the guide. Here, the guide will tell you about the Plasmids and list what they think are the best five. It'll tell you how to effectively use them, and give you a list of Plasmids you can buy with the ADAM you find. The guide does a remarkable job here. In addition here, it also tells you about all the tonics and like they did with the Plasmids, they listed their top five favorites. But the guide does talk about each and every one of them as well.
To wrap up the game basics it then shows you about inventing items. It's pretty much the same as the two sections before it. But it is just as detailed and just as helpful to anyone who needs it.
We finally get into the last section of the guide: The Walkthrough. Aptly titled, "City Directory." The guide is divided into sections. Each section represents a chapter of the game. For example, the first chapter is called "Welcome to Rapture" in the game, and so the first chapter in this guide is titled the same thing. In addition to that the guide also lists all the objectives you have to perform, and again, they're also titled exactly as the game titles them. The guide will also list "Any new discoveries" that you'll make. This includes Plasmids, Tonics, Weapons and enemies.
The walkthrough is then divided by the Objectives. So even though it list them, it'll also provide a section for them outside the list and tell you everything you need to know in a detailed manner. It's very organized and goes on for a while.
The maps presented throughout the walkthrough are pulled straight from the game itself, but for the most part they tell you where things are located, including all the radio diaries if you're interested. For the most part, however, Bioshock is a pretty straightforward game, and with being able to view the ingame map any time you want, you can actually make the maps in this guide a great ally. The in game maps don't point out all the items, but the BradyGAMES guide does, in other words, you can coordinate yourself and it's rather easy to do. You shouldn't miss a whole lot with this guide in that case.
There are boss strategies for the games bosses and they're not so bad. For the most part they help. In fact, some of the suggestions are a must.
There are a couple of other neat things about the walkthrough. The guide has pulled quotes from the game itself. This makes the guide very well artistically designed. Some guides have bland and boring pages, but here the pages present the look and feel of the game. From the artwork to the very font of the guide itself. So you definitely feel as though it's a companion. Equally appealing are the crystal clear screenshots taken in widescreen. They aren't grainy and clearly depict what has to be done.
The only real problem with the guide is that it's chalk full of spoilers. As I mentioned earlier, it's the risk you run when purchasing a strategy guide, but when I say it's got spoilers I'm not kidding. A lot of the games surprises are ruined by this guide. It's a great companion, but if you're someone who is bothered by spoilers there are quite a few big ones here.
On the whole it's a good guide. Minor spoilers aside, it is a good companion and a helpful one for when you're in trouble. Overall it's a good guide, but still you run the risk of getting a few things spoiled for you.
The Good
+Really great look and feel to the guide... you definitely know it's for Bioshock
+Crystal clear screenshots
+Detailed well organized walkthrough
+Complete list of Plasmids, Tonics, U-Invent and weapons
+Good, basic, and helpful tips
The Bad
-Story spoilers
-Achievements section is a foldout. Not that it's a big thing, but if you lose it, you've basically lost your secrets section! Probably would've been better off had it been included in the walkthrough itself.
Description:Product DescriptionTo get the full effect, you need this guide
•Full mission & optional assignment walkthroughs •Massive galactic codex section for all the background you could want •All Achievements and how to get them •Mass Effect warfare secrets revealed Reviews: A review by LostJohnny This game is highly customizable. You can customize your background, psychological profile, and most notably, your appearance.
Playing around with the various sliders in the appearance creation is so deep, you could spend hours messing around with that feature alone!
The gameplay is awesome. It uses a 3rd person perspective, and plays like a 3rd person shooter, HOWEVER, you must open up menus mid-battle to select abilities that you can aim towards one enemy or more (with your squad). It definitely require brain-power and strategy during firefights. All of your weapons and upgrades make a big difference in battle, so you must be aware of all your items, and what would be most useful with what enemy type.
The story is quite epic (and awesome). Your choices in dialog affect certain (not all) situations. There are 2 mission types: story, and side missions. The missions for the story are much longer, yet there are few of them, maybe 5. You can get through the main story in one weekend, but you need to do the side-missions to level up, and there's TONS of those.
The missions are varied, though the indoor environments are not. This isn't really a big deal because it's still tons of fun to play. My first playthrough clocked in at 39 hours, and that was with 99% completion of all missions.
If you own a 360, you like RPGs (NOT turn-based), and sci-fi interests you, then you MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST own this game.
Description:Product Description• Detailed walkthroughs for every adventure in all six episodes! • Locations for all LEGO canisters, Challenge canisters, and red power bricks! • Exclusive maps! • Extensive tips for Freeplay mode! • New characters, vehicles, and game features revealed! • All-new quick reference guide with detailed information for every level! Reviews: A review by Art Miller If you want to get everything in Lego Star Wars: TCS then you will most likely need this book.
While some of the directions on how to get places, or to do things might not be quite straight forward enough in some places, the maps and listings more then make up for it!
Description:Product DescriptionXNA Game Studio Express: Developing Games for Windows and the Xbox 360 is the ultimate resource for hobbyists and students who want to write games for Windows and the Xbox 360 game console. Learn how you can create your own games using the amazing tools of XNA and Game Studio Express, the free game development tools and APIs from Microsoft, based on the incredibly popular Visual Studio IDE. You'll begin with an introduction to the XNA platform and the Game Studio Express development environment. From there, you'll examine many different game genres and will develop your own working games. You'll also cover writing components and libraries and will develop reusable code that can be plugged into your game projects. Wrap things up with a collection of more advanced topics.To get the most out of this unique guide you will need a working knowledge of programming, but readers with a variety of backgrounds will still benefit from the comprehensive coverage found inside. XNA will turn players into developers, doing for game creation what YouTube and myspace have done for music and video. Reviews: A review by Steven A. Lowe Caveat: I have known and worked professionally with the author, Joe Hall, for a few years, and found him to be highly qualified, extremely sharp, laser-focused, and very well-spoken. So naturally I had very high expectations for this book.
I was not disappointed... in fact I was pleasantly surprised!
Joe gives enough information so that those new to game programming can follow along and figure it out, but he does so without boring the more experienced reader. Buy it, read it, do it - it's fun!
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