Star Wars The Force Unleashed 2 Collector's Edition: Prima Official Game Guide Review

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(More customer reviews)Firstly, I need to say that I've not read the book from cover to cover. Heck, I've probably only read about two pages worth of information at this time. I wasn't looking for spoilers, and I plan to use the book on my second run through of the game.
What I would like to comment on is the quality of the book. Some little things that you may not notice when looking at a computer screen of the item. The Collector's Edition of the book is a hardcover beauty. The image of Starkiller on the front cover is actually embossed, a nice little surprise. Open the cover, and on the bottom of the inside front cover is a limited edition number. It's a six-digit number, so I'm assuming that at least 100,000 of this will/have been printed. My copy, which arrived on release day was something like 25,000 or so in its number. Again, something else I wasn't expecting, but made a nice addition.
As far as the actual content of the book? It looks to be laid out in the same manner as the Prima guide for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. The primary difference in this is that the Wii material is not broken out into its own book, it's in the main bulk of the book through the walk-throughs, with the exception of breaking out the Wii only combat section. The art in the back is pretty snazzy. Some of the concept art is traditional art, while there are some beautiful renders from the game.
Hope this helps to decide if you really want the collector's edition, or if the paperback version is all you need.

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*Limited edition numbered hardcover with stunning artwork accentuated with cover treatments!*Bonus section containing beautiful game artwork and renders!*Step by step walkthrough of every level with mission breakdowns for multiple platforms!*Detailed area maps with locations of Holocrons, saber crystals, objectives and more!*Learn combat techniques and combos!*Learn how to upgrade your Force powers!*Tips and strategies to defeat enemies including bosses!*Multiplayer and Unlockable details revealed!

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Star Wars Battlefront: Prima Official Game Guide Review

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(More customer reviews)One of the great mysteries about the game Star Wars Battlefront is why the manual is so incomplete. It provides only a limited subset of the keyboard / mouse commands (PC version), and it further fails to describe in adequate detail the key abilities of the different character types (e.g., pilot, scout, infantry, etc.).
I purchased the "Official Game Guide" in hopes that it might fill in some of this information, and, surprisingly, it didn't. For example, it includes statements to the effect "Use your pilot to heal other characters," but nowhere in the guide, or the manual that came with the game, does it illustrate HOW to do that. (For what it's worth: by pressing "g," you have to choose heal / repair as a pilot's secondary weapon. Then, right-click the mouse to deploy a healing kit.)
The manual does however provide useful maps and a decent description of the strategies either side of a battle might use to their advantage.
In sum, the manual that comes with the game is incomplete, at best, and this "official guide" does not fill in all of the gaps. It is surprising to me that there isn't a good summary of the keyboard / mouse commands, nor gamepad commands for other platforms.

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Fight the Classic Star Wars Battles any Way You Want To. ·Maps detailing command posts, vehicle spawn points, and defensive features ·Exclusive background information for all vehicles and weapons ·Tactics from the testers for all battles ·Gameplay tips and stats for units, weapons, NPCs, and items ·Team strategies for all 16 maps

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Star Trek Online: The Needs of the Many Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm a little disapointed with this one. I normally consume Trek books of any era, by any author with great delight. You don't even want to know how many copies of "How Much For Just The Planet" I have.
I don't regret buying this one, but I regret not buying it at a used book store for less.
One issue is perhaps unavoidable given the overall format. With the whole "Living History" idea, I expect some certain similarities in tone and format to World War Z. But on this one, there are a couple times when I can almost hear the rustle of pages from That Other Book in the background. Again, that could be simply because it's a "living history" about a massive war.
The other, greater issue is the author's clear and obvious choice to politicize the book. Between dedicating the book to a currently active politician, and making assorted thinly veiled references to policies of a Recent President Who Shall Not Be Named as well as current events, it gets pretty ham-handed.
Social commentary has always been an enriching element in Star Trek, but this work is somewhat tainted by it's level of current-day political commentary, enhanced by the "narrator's" penchant for wistfully sermonizing, sermons which become downright sticky and gooey sweet.
"Jake" ends up reducing the notional interviews from interviews to a socio-political soapbox for the author to use him to mumble from, a vehicle for his own commentary as opposed to focussing on the experiences and stories of his interview subjects. It's rarely a good thing when the focus of a documentary becomes the interviewer, and not the subjects or their stories. If I want to read an author's politicizing, I'll go to their homepage or blog. The digs at a recent administration and political faction become a wink at the camera that damages the immersion, and wastes type that could have been used telling a better story. (This being despite my personal dislike of said administration.)
Still, there are some good vignettes, some good bits of dialogue, but it's somewhat inferior to what I've come to expect in current Star Trek reading material.

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Prior to the terror-filled times of the Long War—the seemingly endless struggle against the Undine, a paranoid, shape-shifting race once known only as Species 8472—enemy sleeper agents quietly penetrated every echelon of Federation society, as well as other starfaring civilizations throughout the Alpha and Beta quadrants. The ensuing conflict shook humanity to its very core, often placing its highest ideals against a pure survival instinct. All too frequently, the Undine War demanded the harshest of sacrifices and exacted the steepest of personal costs from the countless millions whose lives the great interdimensional clash forever altered.Drawn from his exhaustive research and interviews, The Needs of the Many delivers a glimpse of Betar Prize–winning author Jake Sisko's comprehensive "living history" of this tumultuous era. With collaborator Michael A. Martin, Sisko illuminates an often-poorly-understood time, an age marked indelibly by both fear and courage—not to mention the willingness of multitudes of unsung heroes who became the living embodiment of the ancient Vulcan philosopher Surak's famous axiom, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

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Star Wars Battlefront II (Prima Official Game Guide) Review

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(More customer reviews)Star wars battle front 2 is a good game and the game guide is just as good.do not listen to these people.Lets say you are a jedi and lets say your mace windo.it will tell you the quickest way to kill CIS droids.This game guide gives specific details and great maps.

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Fight the Star Wars® battles any way you want to.• Tips for earning all Medals and obtaining the rank of General• Strategies for every multiplayer game type, including Conquest, 1-Flag CTF, 2-Flag CTF, Hunt, and Assault• Comprehensive walkthrough for solo missions• Maps for all battlefronts, showing locations of command posts, vehicle spawn points, and support droids• Tactics for obtaining Hero status and keeping it longer• Vehicle, weapon, and troop stats• Exclusive tips from the LucasArts Testers

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The Dark Side Sourcebook (Star Wars Roleplaying Game) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Star Wars RPG, even in the hands of West End Games, never ventured to the Dark Side. As far as we can tell, Lucasfilm never wanted to detail material on playing the darker side of the Force in campaigns since they feel Star Wars is a story about good overcoming evil.
Of course, if you are an avid Star Wars roleplayer, you've probably just ventured out onto your own. Now, you have official material that draws together quite a bit of EU books and comics and gives you a solid reference on the history and power of the Dark Side. As a book that summarizes the history of the Sith and the what we know about the villains of the books and movies (so far), it succeeds.
So why not five stars? This book is a double edged sword. The rewrite of Darth Vader's stats continues to illustrate the problems with the armor rules (see my review of the Core Rules for more info here). Dark Side character concepts are presented as Prestige Classes. However, some of the prestige classes have so little requirements that they are practically base classes.
Where else does the book succeed? There is an excellent chapter that is written as an antithesis to the chapter on The Force in the Core Rules. Written in identical style and format, the book intriduces you to the Dark Side's seductive and controlling power. It's a good read for GM's who need to portray this to PCs in their group that are wobbling on the edge.
Depending on your taste for EU, you may appreciate or not appreciate the powerful Dark Side equipment that is more than a match for the game mechanics of the Jedi. Sure, some GM's were looking for a game mechanic based challenge for their Jedi, but others (like myself) felt the constant challenge of tempering the Force with the Jedi Code was difficult enough to roleplay.
Nearly every Star Wars GM will love some parts of this book, and dislike others. That's because covering the Dark Side fully, by necessity, means covering the EU as well. Your own personal taste will come into play when deciding what rules to adopt, and what to leave out. But that's okay, it's a normal part of roleplaying. This one is a good buy.

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If only you knew the power of the dark side....The Force is an all-encompassing energy field generated by all living things. It binds the galaxy together, bringing balance through its two sides. While the light side promotes knowledge and peace, the Force also has a dark side. Anger, fear, and aggression emanate from the dark side, providing a corrupting power to those willing to draw on its destructive nature.• New dark side classes, skills, and feats• Advice on running and Gamemastering dark side heroes and villains• Game statistics for iconic dark side characters from the Star Wars universe• New prestige classes for dark side characters• Dark side opponents, creatures, equipment, locations, and adventure hooks• A history of the dark side, providing advice on how to use this material in any Star Wars era, including the Tales of the Jedi era.To use this sourcebook, a Gamemaster also needs the Star Wars Roleplaying Game.

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