Books for/about - Video Games

Online Ace: A World Series of Poker Champion's Guide to Mastering Internet Poker

Publisher: ESPN Books
Authors: Scott Fischman

ISBN: 1933060123
List Price: $19.95
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 2
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Summary: Not Much Content
If you are looking for added insight to the game there are other texts with the same information and then some. Most of the descriptions are generalities with little context. It is easy to read, and some of the stories are interesting, but the advice given is not at all groundbreaking.

Summary: Lots of fluff
Most poker players will find that this book contains a large amount of 'fluff' that they will skip over. While there are a couple of good paragraphs here and there, most of the topics discussed in the book should be well known to anyone who has been playing for a while.

My main reason to purchase this book was that I was hoping for detailed discussion on strategies for SNG and multi table online tournaments. Unfortunately both of these chapters were very weak in the amount of material which was presented. IMO anyone would be better off purchasing one of many other NLH tournament books. (check the chapters out for yourself by going to your local book store)

If you are a beginner looking to get better at playing poker, there are many other books that are better to start off with.

If you are thinking of buying the book, I recommend going to the store and reading several chapters before you buy it. The book is written in an easy to read format so it will not take very long to get a feel for the book.

Summary: departure from the norm...
I thought the book was excellent; it was not a re-write or clone of everything else already out there. Although it is a niche book-addressing mostly online play- it is one of the best niche books I've read so far. Unlike many other poker books, Fischman's books teaches you how to "think" about the game in ways your opponents might not consider. There are more "nuggets" in this short text than many of the "cookie cutter" approach books coming down the pipeline.

His format and style are also very refreshing after so many rehashed "clone" type poker books. Although he doesn't provide a "hand chart" type book, his strategic ideas are worth their weight and he gives away much more in the way of "secrets" than many of the other high profile authors seem to be willing to.

If there is a drawback to his style, it is that he seems to have developed a great feel for the game which may be unique to him personally and is somewhat difficult to learn other than just by doing what he did. His insights and those shared by several other top pros are good food for thought and definitely got me thinking deeper about my game and online play specifically. He also covers several psychological factors that are not often discussed which make the book particularly valuable(tilt, burnout, boredom, etc). Overall a solid 5 for content and a 5+ for the bonus intangibles he provides. Highest recommendation.

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World of Warcraft Dungeon Companion

Publisher: BRADY GAMES
Authors: BradyGames

ISBN: 0744006996
List Price: $24.99
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 5
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Summary: Absolutly Excellent
This Book has given me all the information that I have ever needed about instances in the World Of Warcaft. The most appealing sections to me were the drop's and boss locations on large full color maps. I highly recommend this book to anyone that is serious about there gear and serious about getting the most out of there 14.99 a month.

Excellent, Excellent Book

Summary: A true handbook for those who want to know everything.
I have had this on pre-order for a number of weeks and it finally arrived, I was worth the wait.

This book has every dungeon in the game, every quest listed for that dungeon horde or alliance, it tells you how to get there, has complete maps and Mob listings as well as common and rare drops lists and it is written by actually players who have beaten them.

The first thing i noticed was just how many dungeons there actualy where!This is an impressive work and the folks at brady games have outdone themselves.

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	The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Official Game Guide) Publisher: Prima Games Authors: Bethesda Softworks
ISBN: 0761552766 List Price: $19.99 Amazon Price: $12.99 Usually ships in 24 hours Buy this book from amazon.com or from amazon.co.uk	Avg Cusomer Rating: 5 Reviews: Summary: This game is amazing After playing Morrowind, and then not hearing anything about Elder Scrolls, I was pleasantly surprised to see this game come out. It improves upon Morrowind in every way - stunning graphics, excellent quests and storyline, and just plain fun! The only thing to be careful of is if your computer is not fairly new - this game is DEMANDING, and not just on your graphics card. Summary: Not your typical game guide Most guides are either outdated by the time of the offical release or they are absent of any meaningful information. This guide breaks the mold and provides ample information on most every quest. Well organized, IMO. Worth the purchase for any Oblivion fan! Summary: Very helpful I try not to use it alot but it comes in extremely handy. Summary:

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Official Final Fantasy VII Strategy Guide

Publisher: BRADY GAMES
Authors: David Cassady

ISBN: 1566867142
List Price: $15.99
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 2
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Summary: Terrible...
I guess this is an okay guide if you just want to get the game over with, but why would you waste your time doing that? This guide misses out on so much. I've found items on my own that weren't even mentioned in the guide. The bestiary has no organization and it's still missing many monsters/enemies. You can tell that they tried to make it in the order that you'll encounter the enemies, but many of them can be found before and many of them aren't even listed at all. The weapons, items, and materials information at the end is not detailed enough. "Side Areas" lacks organizations and it isn't very helpful. Where is the help on Enemy Skills? On the walkthrough section, they don't even tell you the right buttons most of the time (not that you need it, though). The numbering/lettering system gets a little bit confusing. A lot of their "strategies" are based on the same party that they like to use. Not everyone likes to use Aeris, especially if they have played the game before. I could go on and on but I don't want to bore you. On a side note, the PC version (black and white, I can't find it anywhere anymore) by the same author was so much better. Everything that this guide lacked was in the PC version (except for color, but they made that up by having color maps and stuff in the back).

Summary: Product damage
The service was great I recieved my package within a week, but when i opened it i noticed that the book was damaged due to the poor handling. I guess if your looking to just have the guide for reference then you won't have a problem but if you want it for keeps then you might want to order it with some bigger stuff so it doesn't get damaged on the way.

Summary: Not worth the money
I own a strategy guide for every Final Fantasy game, and this one was sorely disappointing. I think the only guide that has been worse than this is the FF9 'PlayOnline' joke (that no longer exists online).

The strategy guide leaves out several key elements of the game (such as how to find Aeris' limit break BEFORE disc 2), how you can reach certain areas, where to find items, who to have in your party in certain areas, etc. The information was blatantly inaccurate or extremely confusing. Some of the maps are mislabeled and look more like a random assortment of screenshots than a coherent guide.

All in all, don't waste your money on this guide. You're better off buying the Brady version instead.

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Final Fantasy XI Official Strategy Guide for PS2 & PC

Publisher: BRADY GAMES
Authors: Michael Lummis

ISBN: 0744003687
List Price: $19.99
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 3
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Summary: Two Years Later and I Still Use This Thing...Sometimes.
Even though it is two years old (and I've been playing for about that amount of time) it still has some helpful info. Of course it doesnt have any of the recent higher level things because when this guide came out there were'nt that many high level players. Also SE does not want to give away too much end game information. SE wants people to keep paying money to find out for themselves. Even though some of the quest are a bit dated it gives me a starting point. Without this guide to show me certain quests I wouldn't even know where to start to look online for it. Oh, and about the job info, the guide was written the way SE intented the jobs to be used, not the way the players use them now (Ninja was never supposed to be a tank you know.) But anyway...to the real points >>>

1) The guide IS 2 years old going on 3.

2) It does have a nice list of guild recepies. (I have level 49 Clothcraft and I love this list!) (However there are NPC's in game that can tell you everyhting you can make up to your current skill level.) On a side note: The way you actually have to fish has changed because of an update, so ask a fellow fisherman for help if you are just learning :-)

3) It has a decent mob list. No mobs from the past 2 years. Most of the ones that people level off of are in there, and it does show weaknesses,how they aggro, their jobs and their levels. Has no Notorious Monster information though.

4) Has a good gear list too. Yes you can see it in Jeuno if you just search through the Auction House. But it's still nice to have on hand at any given moment. It shows which jobs can use the gear and all the status info on the items. It also shows some Rare/EX gear which cannot be found at the Auction House.

5) Only covers the orginal version with the Rise of the Zilart expansion pack (although Zilart Missions are not actually mentioned in the guide. Which would have given away secrets to the then new expansion pack at the time.) It does have a decent quest list for these cities (I still can't do some of them because my fame is too low XD)

6) There is a skillchain chart. However it does not show all the skillchains (even some of the lower level SC's are missing.)

7) Only has maps of the 4 moajor cities. These maps are easily obtainable in the game itself. It does have some key NPC locations based on the quests that the guide provides so you dont have to hunt for Tapoh Lihzeh (she is an NPC that provides a low level repeatable quest that can actually help build Windurstian fame)or any other strangely named NPCs.

9) Some of the job info is no longer correct due to updates in gameplay. Most of these updates are on the advanced (unlockable) job classes, so by the time newer players are introduced to these jobs they should already have been made aware of these incorrections.

In all this is a fairly decent guide that is still useable (for how much longer is unknown.) I would still recommend it to new players ONLY if they can buy it at the suggested retail price of 19.99 or lower.

Summary: Outdated, and polluted with bad editorial and misinformation
Final Fantasy XI is an MMORPG's with a developer actively supporting it as well as a dedicated user base creatively finding new ways of putting play mechanisms in more and more clever uses. It's a living environment, which no book can ever come close to detailing, and no book can present you with anything better than an incomplete snapshot in time, forever left behind by all the regular game mechanism tweaks and new item additions.

That said, this guide is especially bad, even for a book. Lacking newer items and information on the different updates aside, it has a very misleading section on the different jobs ("classes") and their uses in game. It also fails at helping readers understand the dynamics of grouping ("partying") for gaining experience points and levels, and does not provide any realistic strategy to level crafting for beginners.

For a real guide on how to play the game, the best way is to just play it--and ask for advice from players in the game. Join a "Linkshell" (often called "guild" in other MMORPG's), and hang out with new friends. There is no better or more fun way to learn about the world of FFXI.

For information on various items, quests, missions, crafting, etc., look toward the Web. You can find just about any information you need out there; here's a short list of good sites to start with:

ffxi.somepage.com
ffxi.allakhazam.com
mysterytour.web.infoseek.co.jp/ffxi/us/
wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/index.php/Main_Page

So, skip this book--it'll just put wrong ideas into your head, which you'll have to unlearn. Play the game to understand it, and use the Web as your reference book instead.

(BTW, ignore all the pretty "buy gils now" advertisement on the web pages--buying virtual currencies is rather frowned upon by many players.)

Summary: Good For Those Who Are Just Getting Into The Game On Their Own
Like my title for this review states, I'd say that this guide is pretty good for how "old" it is (or how long it has been out for). But it helped me get into the game and get started pretty well once I started playing Final Fantasy XI on the PC for the first time. For those who think it is there to guide you all the way through this great MMORPG, think again, because it is just to help you get around in the beginning, not complete the game. In my experience and with the experience with my friends that play "MMO's" it is quite difficult to complete a MMORPG, especially one like FF XI. If you're one individual that is just getting into MMO's, pick up FF XI and the guide to help you with your first few adventures in the grand world of MMORPG's.

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	World of Warcraft Atlas Gift Pack Publisher: BRADY GAMES Authors: BradyGames
ISBN: 0744006961 List Price: $29.99 Amazon Price: $18.89 Usually ships in 24 hours Buy this book from amazon.com or from amazon.co.uk	Avg Cusomer Rating: 4 Reviews: Summary: Excellent Totally useful. I've been playing this game for a couple of months and i have a lvl 60 already, and this book is helping me a lot in my travels. If you have the Strategy Guide and the Atlas you'r game experience will be different. Totally recommended. Summary: World of Warcraft Atlas Beautiful book! Well done, quaility publication. It could use a few more helpful facts, but overall, for the price a nice collector's set. Summary: good time saver Nice hardcover atlas that lays flat when opened for easy reference. The index includes all of the NPC's and their locations - very handy. Rare mobs and their locations are listed as well as profession and class trainers. Well defined flight-paths help you find and establish routes. The town maps are especially helpful, as they are not always detailed in game. Overall, this atlas will save you plenty of time and frustration, and you won't have to check Thottbot all the time. Summary:

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Final Fantasy XI Atlas

Publisher: BRADY GAMES
Authors: Ed Kern

ISBN: 0744004012
List Price: $19.99
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 4
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Summary: It's a supplemental guide, not a stand-alone strategy guide
This book doesn't give as much information as the actual thick FFXI Strategy Guide. Heck, it's not even a strategy guide to begin with. It's a book that contains many of the maps of FFXI, both cities and dungeons. Take note, "many of the maps". There are a lot of missing maps and areas for some oddball reason.

The maps are personally drawn, meaning they don't use graphics from the actual maps from the game. This is good in some cases, especially the annoying maze-like Yuhtunga and Yhoator Jungles, where the actual map provided in-game does not include visible underground passageways, you can still get lost despite the map provided to you. The maps in this book include "dotted line" pathways just so you could "see" those underground passageways and where they are located on the map.

This may or may not be good for some of you, but it also has extra information and advice that you may or may not need, like Notorious Monster spawnpoints and an explanation on what these Notorious Monsters drop and why you need them (I call these monster drops "droppings"). It also has supplemental advice on where to buy good weapons, whether items are better bought in the Auction House or in NPC shops, the works. Personally I find these paragraphs a lot more interesting than the maps themselves.

Be mindful though, and I can't stress this enough. THIS IS NOT A STRATEGY GUIDE, BUT IT'S EXTREMELY USEFUL IF YOU BOUGHT IT TOGETHER WITH THE ACTUAL THICK FFXI STRATEGY GUIDE. Don't buy this alone unless you already own the FFXI Strategy Guide. If you do buy it but don't own the actual FFXI Strategy Guide then IMO it will definitely leave you hanging, but not necessarily a waste of money.

Summary: Inexcusable; Brady should be ashamed
Do not waste your money on this steaming load. Not only is it missing a TON of maps (CoP zones, I can understand.. but no Boyahda, Quicksand, Onzozo, etc.?); for the maps it does have, that's just about all you get - a map. There's a little info on some NM pop locations, but that's it. This guide doles out useful information very sparingly. Not a single damn coffer pop location.

As if being an ATLAS WITHOUT MAPS wasn't enough, the guide is spotted with misinformation here and there. For example, don't try to use this guide if you need to go to a specific location in Western Altepa Desert - the grid is completely wrong.

The one useful thing you get from this guide is level ranges and aggro information for different mobs in different zones. Knowing whether raptors in the Valley link or not is a good thing.. for this, I give the Brady Atlas 1 star.

Summary: Good, but not great.
This atlas, in my opinoin, is pretty good, but not complete at all. It does give you a lot of maps, but only the ones you start off with, or can buy/quest - none from coffers. (Maybe with the exception of Castle Zvahl, I can't remember how you get that map)It does give you a fairly accurate list of monsters and nms along with reccommended levels and some pop locations. Also, it does have maps of towns with some usefull NPC locations. So, if your a beginner, I would definetely reccomend it, since it can get you around for quite a few levels, but the more experienced players don't really need it, unless they really want to save a few gil by not buying maps.

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Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas(tm) Official Strategy Guide (Signature)

Publisher: BRADY GAMES
Authors: Rick Barba

ISBN: 0744004292
List Price: $16.99
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 2
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Summary: Get It But Expect Some Disappointment
The main goal in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is not to actually complete the game, but to get 100 percent in the process, and that is a difficult thing to do without a guide. Problem is, this guide isn't perfect and there really aren't many out there that are perfect, so this is the best there is.

Basically, it's a run-down of mission after mission as they become available, with a few sections along the way detailing side missions, the weapons and vehicles, and plenty of maps. The problems, however, come with the actual layout of the book. Instead of having appendixes, each section kind of runs into each other, and the Odd Jobs section sits directly in the middle of the book. It makes it very difficult to reference. Another problem, and this one is huge to me, is that there is one huge typo of a map in the "Las Venturas" section. None of the horseshoes in that section are right and are actually about a half-inch to the right of where the strategy guide indicates them to be on the map. It was a frustrating thing to discover and one I'm happy to share here. And finally, this book is filled with spoilers.

The sad thing is, like I said before, there aren't many options. This is the only real in-depth strategy guide that can be found for San Andreas, and one I think is absolutely needed in order to make an attempt at 100 percent. So, if you have the game and want to attempt this, then I would recommend this guide. Just be prepared to be disappointed along the way, as at times this guide just isn't helpful at all.

Pros and Cons:
+ A big book with no introductory chapter; it gets right into the game
+ Does well to lead you through the story in proper order
- One major typo in the middle of the book
- Poorly constructed
- Has lots of spoilers

Summary: buy or not to buy
I found the book for the most part useful. The breakdowns of the missions are very handy. some of the hints they offer slow the mission down if you use them. the main reason i bought it was for the maps for the oysters and other little goodies that need to be found. And this is where it gets a little weak. They use big dots on the map to show where each location is. well that makes it a little bit of guess work. it gives you a general location. the photos they use are also very tiny and sometimes of little use. but overall the book is good and helpful!

Summary: Its sad really...
I, like so many other's, was stupid enough to buy this guide not realising the mystery's within. I still havnt got %100 thanks to this guide and can say now that i will never buy a Bradly guide again.

Everything is all mixed up in there,(Locations of all inportant things such as Horseshoes, tags ect) there must of been no proof reading what so ever... SO I SUGGEST TO EVERYONE, DONT WAIST YOUR MONEY ON THIS PIECE OF... ...GUIDE.

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