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Prima Games Blog

The Prima Games Blog is the place to read about new video games, get expert strategy, tips, downloads,
free walkthroughs, and insider game info by gamers for gamers.

Category: Projects
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Visiting Egypt in Sims 3: World Adventures

World AventuresYour Sims have toured the town, made dozens of friends, held down fulfilling careers, and developed all sorts of fun skills. Now it’s time to reward them – with a vacation! The Sims 3: World Adventures is the very first time your Sims have been able to leave town and go on exotic travels. In World Adventures, your Sims can visit three destinations: Egypt, China, and France. In each location, your Sims meet new people, learn new skills, and explore dangerous tombs in search of treasure.

While working on World Adventures, I did not develop a favorite between the three destinations. Each location offers something special — a certain unique local flavor. It’s not just limited to the architecture either, which is definitely different for each location. Local identity is also quite personal. You find it in the little things. Egypt, for example, is the only place where Sims can buy a snake charming basket and then start practicing this special ability. The longer your Sim charms, the better they get at it. Soon, they can snake charm for tips and even coax a cobra out of the basket. (The cobra is pretty cool. If you ever get a mummy’s curse, the cobra is one of the surprising cures for the nasty hex.) Plus, you can take that snake charming basket back home when your visa to Egypt expires and play with it there, much to the amazement of friends and neighbors.

Egypt’s tombs can get pretty intense. The first few tombs you explore while going on adventures for locals ease you into a world of traps and trickery. But it doesn’t take long before you are moving deep into dangerous territory, trying to find the right switch to turn off fire traps or poison darts. Usually, the more dangerous a room is, the greater the chance of finding rare relics and valuable treasures. In our guide, we map out every single tomb in Egypt (as well as China and France) so you get the most of each expedition. Some of these tombs are really tough, but with our full-color maps and legends that point out how to open every door and locate every secret chamber, you will emerge from catacombs and tombs laden with awesome stuff. These treasures will look great in your house back in Sunset Valley or Riverview, but if you successfully undertake adventures in each location, you can build up your visa until you can purchase a vacation home. How cool would it be to have a vacation home in France loaded up with gilded relics from Egypt?

Like China and France, Egypt is also peppered with lots of collectibles, such as scarab beetles and new butterflies. Just like our Sims 3 guide, we show you the locations of all of the new collectibles in every destination in our World Adventures strategy guide. Your house will be decorated with all sorts of new insects, gems, and metals. If you are a hardcore collector, you definitely want to scour the new destinations in World Adventures to find the new collectibles. Next week, I’ll talk more about some of the fun things to do in France, which is home of the new nectar making skill and some very cool tombs, like the giant Tomb of Isael under the Nectary. That place is huge!

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The Party Scene

Dragon Age Collector's EditionI have 300+ hours into Dragon Age: Origins, and I’m still going back for more. Not to replay the quests (I’ve done them all), not to load a new character up with fancy loot (though, admittedly, there are some cool weapons I still want to check out), not to discover a secret location in Ferelden (the unknown frontier has been colonized for me a while back). No, I miss the party scene.

I do miss chugging some ale around camp with the fiery dwarf Oghren, but it’s more about wanting to go back and see all my friends. My companions that journeyed with me from the Grey Warden Joining to the final battle against the Archdemon. Sounds sappy, maybe, but I’ve never played a game before that had this much interaction between you and your pals. We’re all used to the A.I. party member that hacks a monster in the skull to save your neck (most of the time) and slashes through a spellcaster hellbent on turning you into a campfire marshmallow (most of the time); these guys are standard fantasy fare. I was pleasantly surprised, then amazed, at how my Dragon Age buddies came to life.

First up for my party was Alistair. A fellow Grey Warden, the wise-cracking, sensitive-yet-sometimes-surly Alistair became my warrior tank from the moment we sunk our boots into the Korcari Wilds muck. His banter with Morrigan is priceless. The two act like ex-boyfriend and girlfriend with a real axe to grind, and not as prep for our next darkspawn encounter.

Unfortunately, since I mostly played a mage, Morrigan got left home as soon as I hooked up with Wynne at the Circle Tower. Alistair got me again there, when he once asked Wynne to mend his socks because he’s a guy and she’s a motherly grandmother type. Hilarious stuff. There is a lot to love about Wynne and her nurturing wisdom, but probably the coolest thing was when her Vessel of the Spirit ability appears. This ability seals the deal for Wynne as the best healer in the game, but you only get it after a series of events at Party Camp and after a tough boss fight in a random encounter.

As a human male character, I choose to seduce Leliana, our rogue who joined the group at Dane’s Refuge in Lothering. Little did I know that she’s the hardest one to woo: She needs a 100 approval rating to fall in love, unlike companions like Morrigan and Zevran who enjoy their flings. Leliana’s a bard, and when she broke into song—the whole thing: music, lyrics, and all—just for me at Party Camp, I was floored. What other game gives you that much as a “throwaway” moment in camp? Amazing.

There are just too many moments in the lifetime of one character to chronicle. Dog’s fetching antics, grumpy Sten, discovering the gender-bender golem Shale in the downloadable content—moments I’ll remember forever, not because I killed a foe in .2 seconds flat, but because I made a connection with these characters.

Like a good book, I’m excited to get to the end of Dragon Age: Origins, and when I get there, I’m heartbroken that it’s over. Luckily, this story can be retold in many ways, and each time I’ll catch another Alistair joke or a disparaging Oghren comment that seriously makes me pause and think, “Did Bioware just create life with this game when I wasn’t looking?”

 

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To access the official Dragon Age strategy site visit www.DragonAgeWalkthrough .com.

 

 

The Prima Collector’s Edition Guide and Prima Official Game Guide to Dragon Age: Origins are available wherever games are sold.

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Dragon Age: Origins – A Lesson in the Fade

Dragon Age Origins Official StrategyYou can’t trust anything in the Fade. The dream realm that borders on Ferelden’s material world hosts demons, allies that become enemies, and enemies that may be allies. When the Veil tears and the Fade’s magic permeates the world of Ferelden, nothing is what it seems.

And you enter that insanity to save the Circle Tower in the “Broken Circle” quest line.

My party chose the “Broken Circle” quest line as its first major challenge, and wow did it get the adrenaline flowing. You hook up with the exceptional mage healer Wynne at the base of the Tower, then fight your way through a series of abominations, blood mages, and other monstrosities that have overrun the magi’s home. The ultimate bad guy in this mess, however, won’t go down easy and has other plans for you when you meet up at the top of the Tower. Instead of the expected boss fight, you’re cast into the Fade…alone…your companions scattered and lost in nightmares.

It’ll take all your wits and strength to escape. Separated from your companions, you only have your skills to rely on. In each “island” realm within the Fade, you must navigate through vile creatures and a maze of puzzles to escape the area and get closer to finding your friends.

The Fade is so dangerous, however, that it’s impossible to beat on your own. You need to tap into the Fade’s magic to overcome the obstacles, and since form follows one’s imagination inside the Fade, you have access to special shapeshifting abilities. You’ll shrink to the size of a mouse to crawl through mouse holes, or grow into a huge golem to crash through massive doors. Spirit Form grants you access to ethereal portals, and Burning Man Form allows you to walk through fire. All your shapeshifting forms give you cool, new powers to play with as you explore the Fade and battle its myriad denizens.

You’ll spend hours, maybe days, in the Fade, and you can easily get lost. Fortunately, Prima’s Official Guide to Dragon Age: Origins devotes more than 20 pages to the “Broken Circle” quest, packing in detailed maps, step-by-step walkthroughs of each encounter, locations of every monster and piece of treasure (including special essences that permanently increase your stats!), shapeshifting play tips, and all the info you need to ace the quest from the moment you step foot in the Lake Calenhad Docks to the final battle in the Harrowing Chamber.

My favorite quest might be yours, or you might go nuts for another part of Ferelden. It’s all covered in our Dragon Age Official Strategy (www.DragonAgeWalkthrough.com). Let the Dragon Age’s secrets be yours.

by Mike Searle

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Bakugan Battle Brawlers eGuide Available Now!

9780307465764It has been a long way for kids across the United States as Bakugan Battle Brawlers finally makes its way to retail shelves. Activision has pleased fans by putting the game on every modern videogame platform, including the Nintendo Wii and DS, Sony PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Xbox 360. All of the games play relatively similar, with the primary difference in the console versions coming from the variety of controllers. The Nintendo DS version has a few other differences dealing with the control options and the stats of the Bakugan and cards, but the main game is still very similar to the console versions.

The official strategy guide covers every version of the game, offering detailed strategies to compete against the computer characters and human opponents. While every player wants the freedom to create a Bakugan deck any way they please, the official strategy guide allows you to do this, while still offering strategic recommendations on how to level up your Bakugan and which cards work well in varies deck builds.

If you’re looking for tips on the single player Story Mode, the official strategy guide won’t let you down. There’s a detailed walk through of the entire game, including strategies to win every tournament match. You’ll also learn who is available to challenge in the Park area, and how to unlock every card and Bakugan to build your decks exactly the way you want them.

One of the most important aspects of the official Bakugan Battle Brawlers strategy guide is the fact that it’s made for kids and parents to easily understand. A vast majority of the people playing Bakugan Battle Brawlers will be younger kids. Some will have the aid of their parents while others will be going at it alone. The official strategy guide is designed with this in mind and structured to make it easy for kids and parents to get the most out of the strategies within.

By Bryan Dawson

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Rock out with your clock out!

Read more about Brutal Legend Game Guide

Brutal Legend Official eGuide

If there was any one thing I noticed while playing Brutal Legend, it was how quickly time passed when I was playing. Well, I guess that might actually best be stated as one thing I didn’t notice. I’d start up the game, grab a frosty brew (root beer, I’ll have you know), start playing, and before I knew it, six hours had passed.

So now that you have the game in your grubby little hands and the guide sitting right next to it (right? If not, get it now. I can wait….. Ok. Good.), I’d like to impart one final piece of advice for you that was not included in the strategy guide. Grab a clock and set it right next to your TV. If you have an egg timer, that works too. Set the timer, hop into Eddie’s kickass world, and hope you make it to bed on time tonight.

If you haven’t grabbed the game or guide yet, there’s still plenty of time to do so. The game is unlike anything you’ve played before and the guide has everything you need to make the most of your experience in the World of Metal. Not only does the guide contain every single enemy, a highly detailed walkthrough (which I’m very proud of, by the way), all Deuce upgrades, weapon upgrades, and combo information, but it also contains the location of every Bound Serpent and Secondary Side Missions. If you can’t find it in the book, it ain’t in the game!

For those of you that dig on cool rock-&-roll covers, the guide’s got some of that too… sort of. Included in the back is a giant pull out poster. On one side is Eddie Riggs, master roadie and ass-kicker extraordinaire. On the other side are several maps with the locations of… well… everything!

by Fernando Bueno

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Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition Guides are Go!

I began the mammoth undertaking of writing a strategy guide for Fallout 3 on May 24th, 2008, along with a huge amount of help and support from everyone at Bethesda; our efforts have culminated in the newly released Game of the Year Edition guide, now available in softcover and limited edition, numbered hardcover versions. Over a year in the making, these take the very finest elements from the previous Fallout 3 guides, add a huge number of exclusive sections, and squeeze everything into 752 packed pages. Heck, we even added an index.

The first thing you notice about the guide is its sheer weight. The hardback version, for example, is a full pound heavier than the previous iteration, and it should be: there’s every possible piece of information you’ll ever need in there. But it’s the content inside that matters, and I’m happy to say that everything I and the team at Bethesda wanted has made it into both these weighty tomes. Glossy paper makes the screenshots pop. The Capital Wasteland map has new content areas labeled. But let’s delve into the guide on a chapter-by-chapter basis:

From the very start, we’ve revamped the guide to make it user-friendly, giving brief descriptions of what each chapter contains. This begins with the Training, which runs through all the statistics you need during character creation, along with general character development and Perks all the way to Level 30. Chapter 2 is the Factions and Bestiary, charting the machinations of every Wasteland clan and association from the Bandits to the Brotherhood of Steel, the Aliens to the wig-wearing Ghoul Guard. Then comes statistics for every single enemy in the game.

I’m particularly happy with Chapters 3 and 4: brand-new Wasteland Census and Gear information. The Census showcases every single person with a name that appears in Fallout 3. And I mean EVERYONE, along with where to find them, their biography, and their related Quests. Each Wasteland dweller has their own portrait too; a screen-taking process that took 72 hours alone to accomplish. But you will be able to look up information on anyone you meet, whether it’s Split Jack the Bandit or Leaf Mother Laurel. The Gear features every available weapon (along with a render of it), and all the wearable equipment you can find, with statistics and advice on how (and where) to find each type. Naturally, this includes associated Quests, unique weapons, custom weapons, and every other possible piece of information you need.

Next comes the familiar Main Quest, all the Miscellaneous Quests, and a thorough Tour of the Capital Wasteland. Did I just sum up pages 149-464 in one sentence? Yes, I think I did. Not to worry, there’s still close to 300 additional pages of content to peruse. This encompasses Quests and extensive Tours of every location you visit (and many you haven’t even spotted yet) during Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt, Broken Steel, Point Lookout, and Mothership Zeta. Finally to finish, there’s an Appendix listing Achievements, Trophies, and the location of hundreds of important items. Did I mention we have an index now, too?

The man-hours on this project and the social activity missed because of it cannot be understated, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. This book was created with great affection for the game, the series, the developer, and most importantly, the gamer. I hope it helps your Wasteland excursions for months to come.

David S J Hodgson. October 13, 2009.

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prima games podcast, the nineteenth

Dante’s Inferno! Halo 3 ODST! ODST Again! Listen!

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the sims 3: sunset valley or riverview?

Sunset Valley or Riverview: which town should you settle into? Although both Sunset Valley and Riverview hold some of the same features such as a stadium for Sims to begin the athletic career, the two cities you can choose as a hometown for your Sims have very different vibes. Riverview is much more laid back than Sunset Valley, it has the atmosphere of a small town that was once a simple farming community. Progress has certainly moved into Riverview as evidenced by the industrial waterfront, but the citizens have taken great pains to make sure their burg maintains some classic charm. That’s why the downtown area in the heart of Riverview has a walking plaza lined with quaint features like a reading room and antiques museum.

Sunset Valley, on the other hand, is more of a metropolis. It has a central park that is the social focus of the city, but its buildings are not only larger, but much more spread out and connected by wider, busier streets. Whereas the science center in Riverview is nestled on the waterfront right next to the stadium and military base, these three buildings are on completely different sides of Sunset Valley. The military base in Sunset Valley is pushed back into one of the hillsides that help define Sunset valley as a valley. The science facility in Sunset Valley is much larger than its Riverview counterpart. Because it needs more space, it is also set up into the hills above the city.

Four Bridges Park is a major part of downtown Riverview's plaza.

Four Bridges Park is a major part of downtown Riverview's plaza.

There are some substantial differences between the Sunset Valley and Riverview, too. Riverview does not have an oceanfront like Sunset Valley; instead, Riverview is defined in large part by the freshwater river that snakes through the farmland surrounding the downtown area. Without any way to catch saltwater fish in the wild in Riverview, Sims must instead visit the hatchery to reel in these beauties. Riverview has far fewer lakes and ponds than Sunset Valley, too. But there is no shortage of freshwater fishing thanks to the lengthy rivers in Riverview.

The locations of collectibles like butterflies, beetles, and gems are also completely different. If you’ve already exhausted the discovery of rare collectibles in Sunset Valley – how many rainbow gems do you have? – then move into Riverview and start the grand hunt all over again. Just make sure you give your Sims a day or two for collectibles to appear in Riverview before searching them out. After a few days (which you can easily fill by starting a career, meeting Riverview citizens, and developing a skill or two), then start scouring the town to find the goodies. Prima is publishing the location of all of the collectibles in the upcoming The Sims 3: Neighborhood Resource & Map Pack.

However, let me give you a little Brownie Bite before that’s released. In the shadow of the Jones mansion above the waterfront, you will not only find aquas, emeralds, yellows, tanzanite, and diamonds, but also the super-rare pinks. The minimum value of the smallest pink gem is 1,200 Simoleons. That’s quite a payday. You’ll find cool tips like that and more in The Sims 3: Neighborhood Resource & Map Pack, which I just finished writing earlier this week and is coming soon.

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prima games podcast, the eighteenth

Ratings! PEGI! ESRB! Censorship! Scribblenauts! io9.com! Listen!

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Fallout and about: Game add-on pack 02. Blog 01 / 01

The guide follows the rule of having increasingly more awesome Brotherhood of Steel action poses.

The guide follows the rule of having increasingly more awesome Brotherhood of Steel action poses

Darting through Old Olney, the guide tells you when to fear the Deathclaws, and even reveals more about Kidd and Witt's demise

Darting through Old Olney, the guide tells you when to fear the Deathclaws, and even reveals more about Kidd and Witt’s demise

There's a fully detailed map of Point Lookout, showing absolutely everything you can find. And we mean everything.

There’s a fully detailed map of Point Lookout, showing absolutely everything you can find. And we mean everything.

My Wasteland wandering took a turn for the swampy over the past couple of months when I attempted a meander through the wilds of Point Lookout, and furthered my cunning adventures across the Capital Wasteland in Broken Steel. The information I accrued, including some delicious Easter Eggs never seen outside of the Bethesda compound, are all bundled up nicely in the third (or fourth) official strategy guide, on sale now (August 25th). Naturally I was more than eager to explore every nook, cranny, and deranged Russian bear nest around, and thankfully the good folks at Bethesda were there for the highs (setting fire to an occult tome of fearsome power) and the lows (weeping at the headless torso of a favorite robot), as well as the stuff only the truly deranged would ever find (like that sunken ocean treasure with no buoy marker).

Those with previous Fallout guide experience will be familiar with the format. To start with, there’s an entertaining Foreward written by a Bethesda staffer, then a chapter all about the new entities, Perks, and other matters that affect your character’s ongoing well-being. Tips on all the new Perks you receive throughout your increased level cap are of particular interest, but there’s also complete statistical evidence for every new item, weapon, and inventory piece that sometimes borders on the insanely-meticulous. Did you know, for example, that the Police Hat is the only headgear you can wear with “that scar” on your head? If you did, you’ve probably been playing this game too much, but even so, you’ll still need to add this tome to your collection.

Due to the fact that Point Lookout receives a thorough inspection and trek, the Enhanced chapters are only for the additional items you receive during the two new content releases, which is what this guide is mainly all about; Broken Steel and Point Lookout. When you’re ready to embark on an Enclave-culling campaign, you’d expect there to be copious and detailed notes on every move you can make throughout Broken Steel… and you’d be right. But you’ll also be happy to find newly-updated maps showing exactly how the Capital Wasteland has changed since the invention and distribution of Aqua Pura. Every single new occurrence is logged, as well as all the Miscellaneous and Freeform Quests so you don’t miss a trick. Whether it’s befriending Bandits or shaking down a Ghoul with a bad wig, there’s a wealth of information to share here. So we did.

The gloomy and violent Point Lookout has an atmosphere so thick you could cut with a spoon. So we chartered a Ferryboat and turned over every rock and dived into the ocean depths to locate every single item in this brand-new region. Aside from taking you through the Main, Miscellaneous and Freeform Quests in these parts, there’s an extra-massive Tour chapter with dozens of secondary locations. Need to know the precise location of the downed Jet pilot, and know what was on his Blackbox voice recorder? Maybe you don’t, but we’re telling you anyway. Heck, there’s even a trip back to the Dunwich Building for a certain, supernatural Quest.

We sincerely hope you enjoy perusing through this guide as much as I did blasting Ghouls and Ghoul hunters in Plik’s private safari. After a quick trip around low-earth orbit for an extra-special final guide later this year that could cause a hernia if you lift it, my year-and-a-half rampage through the Capital Wasteland may soon be at an end….

Purchase the original guide HERE or the Limited Edition Collector’s Edition HERE.

Purchase the Game Add-On Guide for Operation Anchorage and The Pitt HERE.

Purchase the Game Add-On Guide for Broken Steel and Point Lookout HERE.

A smattering of never-been-seen-before art finishes off this tome nicely.

A smattering of never-been-seen-before art finishes off this tome nicely.