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In some cases, however, the game makes it very difficult to remember that I’m working. Dark Void was one such title. As soon as Will and Ava crash landed in that lush jungle inhabited by freakin’ aliens under mysterious circumstances, I was hooked. Within a few minutes, I was sucked into the Void. The Dark Void.

I could go on about how much fun it was to sit down, grab the controller, and “get to work,” but you’d think I was just bragging (you’d be right). So instead of digressing about the job some more, let me share some nuggets of wisdom for you to employ while adventuring in Dark Void. Mind you, I learned many of these during my second playthrough.

While Archons are some of the most exciting enemies to bring down, they can also be the easiest. After slowing them down by blasting the joints on their legs, your first instinct may be to rush the Archon’s head. Don’t! Instead, rush the Archon’s tail and follow the on-screen prompts to bring them down quickly, easily, and get an Achievement (or Trophy) while you’re at it.

Perhaps one of the most rewarding enemies to bring down are the Watcher Knights. Sure they can hover out of reach and make most covered areas a dangerous place to hide, but once you bring them down, they gift you with one of the best weapons in the game! After bringing down a Knight, search through the rubble to find their large caliber machine gun! You won’t be able to run quickly with it in your hands, but you won’t need to with that kind of destructive power at your fingertips. Whenever you face multiple Knights, destroy one, grab its machine gun, and turn it on the others. You’ll shred through them in no time.

Finally, don’t be afraid to explore and locate all of the hidden Tech Orb Caches. Yes, you’ll get Tech Points by defeating enemies, but in order to get your weapons fully upgraded and gain a real advantage over the enemy, you’ll need to seek out all the extra Tech Point Caches scattered throughout the game. Fight the urge to blast to the next mission to find out what happens next and instead, do a little recon and locate some of those glowy orbs. You may not reach the next objective as quickly, but you’ll be happy you did when your weapon is maxed out toe level three and you’re mowing down the Watchers with ease.

Dark Void Prima Official eGuide

What an incredible game Spirit Tracks is. Everything that made Phantom Hourglass so wonderful has been improved. Motoring around the Overworld by train is a blast, and to my surprise, it was even more enjoyable than sailing the ocean was in Phantom Hourglass. Though the train-based combat is similar to those engaging nautical skirmishes, the biggest thrills came from the villains I couldn’t defeat: enemy trains that chase after Link’s trolley, ending his adventure if they manage to ram him. Shifting gears and altering course just moments before a head-on collision produced some of the biggest thrills I’ve experienced yet on the DS.

Driving the train was also a joy due to the constant eye candy. Rather than being surrounded by endless ocean, you’re treated to scenic views of dense forests, rolling hills, rocky mountains, and snow-covered plains. Whenever I wasn’t blasting pesky enemies or obliterating trackside objects with my trusty cannon, I found myself slowly scanning the horizon in constant awe of the visual splendor the developers were able to produce from such a tiny a game cartridge.

There’s also a big and satisfying twist! I don’t want to spoil it for you, but when you first fire up the game, it’s revealed in the opening cinematic. I knew instantly that this was going to be a memorable adventure. And that it was.

Spirit Tracks just never disappoints. The adventure is huge, the production values are top-notch, and as we’ve all come to expect from Zelda games, there’s just so much to see and do. Rest assured we’ve left no treasure chest unopened in our sizeable guide, which boasts a versatile walkthrough and pages of checklists to ensure you never miss a thing.

Turning 30 isn’t something I really wanted to do, but I was literally begging my betters at Prima for a chance to write the Spirit Tracks guide. Looking back at the project, I now recall a haze of long hours and late nights, but I couldn’t have asked for a better way to ring in my fourth decade. Thank you Prima for this special gift; it’s just what I wanted. And thank you Nintendo for continuing to innovate and reimagine, even after all these years. Growing up with you both has been a wonderful ride.

Happy Holidays!

In each of the six hubs, there are many different levels. Each has five story levels which take players through the stories from the movies. In addition, there are five treasure levels in each as well as five bonus levels. By the time you complete the story levels, you can go all over the playset to play the different levels whenever and however many times you would like.

One of the exciting new features of LEGO Indiana Jones II: The Adventure Continues is the driving levels. Each level offers one story and one treasure driving level for a total of twelve in the game. Players can hop into a variety of vehicles and drive around jungles, deserts, and cities crashing into and forcing enemy vehicles off of the roads. These levels are a lot of fun and add more excitement to the game.

As with all of the LEGO adventure titles, LEGO Indiana Jones II: The Adventure Continues can be played by one player individually or two cooperatively. There is even a split screen option so the two players can move apart from each other. No longer will you fail to make a daring leap across a chasm because your partner is at the opposite end of the screen. Not only is this a great game for playing with friends, LEGO Indiana Jones II: The Adventure Continues offers a lot of fun for parents and children to play together. My children and I really enjoy the driving levels as we work together to crash all the enemy cars or solve the puzzle challenges in the bonus and treasure levels.

by Michael Knight

Those of you thinking of picking up the Left 4 Dead 2 game guide should be aware that there are numerous and significant changes to the franchise, and we’ve made sure this guide’s 240 pages are crammed with only the finest (and newest) zombie-hunting information. It all begins with a comprehensive Training section, where you’ll learn how to effectively work with your team, what landmarks and scenic obstacles must be faced, and how to maximize your threat level as both a Survivor and an Infected. This is further extrapolated in the second chapter, which is devoted to biographical information of all four new Survivors, and then information on the Common, Uncommon, and Special Infected you’ll face (or play as). There’s some vital information in here, from the specific Uncommon Infected you’ll face during each Campaign (and their weaknesses), as well as a comprehensive field guide to studying the offensive capabilities of each Boomer, Jockey, Charger, Hunter, Spitter, Smoker, and other frothing mutation to encounter, or control.

Actually figuring out how to leave your undead masses twitching in their death throes with a massive torso hole or missing appendage is completely covered in the third chapter, which deals with all your weapons and equipment. Complete statistics for all firearms are given, so you know the range, firing rate, and chamber capacity of each piece of offensive ordnance. Can’t decide between a Desert Rifle and a Chrome Shotgun? Then read up on the tactical uses (including strengths and weaknesses) or each before picking one up in the combat zone. The Chapter ends with a complete list of equipment, how and when to use these helpful items, and which items are most useful in different (but no less horrific) combat situations.

The bulk of this tome is made up of complete and thorough tactical evaluations of each of the five Campaigns, from the fairground fracas of Dark Carnival to the maelstrom of wet weather and Witches known as Hard Rain. For each Campaign, we begin with a massive poster, and separate the stages so you can quickly dip into the portion of the Campaign you’re needing more information on, or read everything through chronologically. Then comes a meticulously-labeled map showing every building, vehicle, tree, and tiny, piece of scenery in unmatched detail. Every map contains the main routes, possible item locations, and most importantly, the chokepoints where the action is likely to become fraught. Then a multitude of screenshots and tactical text walks you through every section so you know what to expect, and how to deal with it. Yes, that includes the search for a gnome, and how not to miss every Campaign-based Achievement. We even include complete knowledge on how to play as an Infected in every area during Versus games, too.

The back of the game guide is bulging with tactical goodness, including full maps and strategies for the Survival and Scavenge modes, listing every tip on maximizing your combat and victory potential in each of the 16 maps. This is rounded off by an Achievements appendix. Figuring out how to obtain all the different Achievements can be a daunting task. Whether you’re throwing Bile Bombs at a Tank, killing Clowns who collect Common Infected behind them, or carrying a Gnome to a helicopter, this concluding chapter lists every single Achievement, and gives tips on ways to obtain each one.

The result is a packed guide designed to maximize the amount of gruesome screenshots I took; a book with Valve Software’s seal of approval, and one that really helps you fend off the doggedly-determined hordes of Infected, no matter how overwhelming the situation becomes. Y’all come back now, y’hear?

by David Hodgson

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LotR: Conquest Product Manager, Todd, modeling the sleek Elven Shield

That’s right!  Only one week left to enter the Lord of the Rings: Conquest Replica Contest!  Remember, just tell us which character class from The Lord of the Rings: Conquest do you feel resembles you most & why? and you’ll be entered to win the War Helm of the Witch-king, a Gandalf the White Staff, a High Elven Warrior Shield or a Second Age Gondorian Shield.

Contest ends February 12th!

I watched it ooze across the office like mold in a steambath full of old bread, only less pleasant. It begins with our licensing manager. When you see him buzzing as though he’s had way too many quad-shot espressos and with eyes like those of a deer about to discover just what “MACK” means then you can tell he’s signing up titles like a fiend.

Titles that will soon hit our schedule. From there it’s a few trickles of projects that get spread to the various teams. These are usually guides for games so popular your grandmother has heard of them. If we’re lucky we get them early so we have as much time as possible to panic.

Then the floodgates open and we are inundated with the Holiday Titles. Games that will be crashing onto store shelves in time for the Thanksgiving shopping season and, failing that, the pre-Xmas buying month.

It’s a madhouse. In a weirdly quiet way. It’s not like the scenes you see of crazy news rooms with guys in disheveled clothes, cigarrettes dangling, running between desks waving crumpled sheets of paper screaming “Stop the presses!” while phones ring and radios blare. Instead it’s a slow psychic implosion.

Talking is at library volume instead of our usual system of shouting across the top of the cube walls. Keyboard keys being struck is the most prevelant noise. Phone calls are muted and low. Everyone walks softly and approaches co-workers as you would approach a wild creature that you suspect may not have eaten in a week. You can hand them a memo or a page to look at but it’s no sure thing you’ll pull back a complete arm.

This is when it gets hairy. Crises are rife and are clubbed into submission or simply run over on the way to the finish line, either way they are overcome quickly. Subtlty is a rare commodity.

The reward for all this is that when the holidays roll around there’s very little to do. The big games are out already and we had to be done two weeks before they hit stores. It’s then that the talk gets louder and the jaws unclench. But until then…

I watched it ooze across the office like mold in a steambath full of old bread, only less pleasant. It begins with our licensing manager. When you see him buzzing as though he’s had way too many quad-shot espressos and with eyes like those of a deer about to discover just what “MACK” means then you can tell he’s signing up titles like a fiend.

Titles that will soon hit our schedule. From there it’s a few trickles of projects that get spread to the various teams. These are usually guides for games so popular your grandmother has heard of them. If we’re lucky we get them early so we have as much time as possible to panic.

Then the floodgates open and we are inundated with the Holiday Titles. Games that will be crashing onto store shelves in time for the Thanksgiving shopping season and, failing that, the pre-Xmas buying month.

It’s a madhouse. In a weirdly quiet way. It’s not like the scenes you see of crazy news rooms with guys in disheveled clothes, cigarrettes dangling, running between desks waving crumpled sheets of paper screaming “Stop the presses!” while phones ring and radios blare. Instead it’s a slow psychic implosion.

Talking is at library volume instead of our usual system of shouting across the top of the cube walls. Keyboard keys being struck is the most prevelant noise. Phone calls are muted and low. Everyone walks softly and approaches co-workers as you would approach a wild creature that you suspect may not have eaten in a week. You can hand them a memo or a page to look at but it’s no sure thing you’ll pull back a complete arm.

This is when it gets hairy. Crises are rife and are clubbed into submission or simply run over on the way to the finish line, either way they are overcome quickly. Subtlty is a rare commodity.

The reward for all this is that when the holidays roll around there’s very little to do. The big games are out already and we had to be done two weeks before they hit stores. It’s then that the talk gets louder and the jaws unclench. But until then…