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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.

All posts tagged with ‘guide’
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Ready for the 40th Day?

Today marks the release of Army of Two: The 40th Day, featuring Salem and Rios in another fist-bump-worthy adventure. I had a lot of fun with the first game, but this one is a whole new beast with some welcome additions and tons of super-cool new features. And I’m not saying that just because I wrote the guide. I really feel the latest installment is a huge improvement over the original. So what are some of my favorite innovations? I absolutely love the one-button melee attacks. It’s especially satisfying to sneak up behind a distracted enemy and dispatch them with your bare hands…or a bayonet. Grenades are also now assigned a button of their own making it much easier to frag thugs during a heated firefight. But that’s just the beginning.

Perhaps the most exciting feature of the new game is the weapon customization option. Not only can you buy a large assortment of assault rifles, sub machineguns, shotguns, sniper rifles, and light machineguns, but you can tear each weapon apart and apply its parts to different weapons in your arsenal. Want to add that AK-47 stock to your M416? No problem. Or maybe you just want to attach a shotgun beneath the barrel of your semi-automatic grenade launcher? The customization options are absolutely insane allowing for the creation of some truly brutal implements of war. I made sure we paid a great deal attention to this feature in our guide, complete with stats and info on every weapon and weapon part. We even put together a helpful quick reference table in the back of the guide showing all these stats.

Army of Two was one of the first games to take co-op gameplay seriously, taking a ground-up approach in its design. I’m pleased to see that the co-op experience is even more fluid this time around. For example, co-op sniping can be initiated at any time; a great way to eliminate two target simultaneously. Plus you can perform some awesome new co-op actions such as the mock surrender. But the co-op interactions don’t end with the gameplay. Your team’s choices can affect the outcome of the story. Throughout the campaign there are a variety of co-op choices requiring you and your partner to make a tough decision. Are you in it for the money? Or are you more interested in helping your fellow man? Even better, none of these decisions are real cut and dry. But don’t worry; we cover all the co-op choices in the guide, describing the rewards and consequences for each. Also, if you’re a completionist you’ll be happy to know that we also have labeled maps illustrating the locations of all collectibles including weapon parts, radio transmissions, civilians, cash drops, and Maneki Neko cats.

Late in the project we had the chance to play through the different multiplayer game modes with the developers. And I’m pleased to say that we didn’t get totally embarrassed. Still, it helps when you have experts on your team. In all there are four game modes: Control, Co-Op Deathmatch, Extraction, and Warzone. Of all these modes, I had the most fun with Extraction, requiring you and three buddies to hold out against wave after wave of AI-controlled enemies. It’s a very tough mode but the teamwork required to come out on top is very rewarding. The developers even took the time to write some tips for each map pointing out crucial locations and tactics necessary for achieving victory.

After this one, I’m eager to see what’s next for Salem and Rios. I’m happy to see EA is investing in this franchise, complete with a new comic book set to release this month from IDW—we have the first few pages of the debut issue in the back of our guide. These characters are perfect for a comic series and I’m sure it will help maintain interest while we wait for the next video game adventure. I know I’ll be checking it out every month.

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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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Street Fighter IV Guide vs. CE Hint Book

I’ve been getting quite a few questions concerning the difference between the Hint Book that comes with the Street Fighter IV Collector’s Edition game and the Official Street Fighter IV Strategy Guide. Since I wrote both manuscripts, I figured this would be a good time to clarify the difference between the two.

The Hint Book is a very bare bones introduction to the four new characters introduced in Street Fighter IV. These include Crimson Viper, El Fuerte, Abel and Rufus. Within the pages of the Hint Book you’ll find one combo for each, as well as a few special moves, all wonderfully drawn by Udon (the people behind some of the SF comic books).

As a collectible, the Hint Book is a must have for SF fans. The artwork is very nice and it has a comic book feel that you won’t find in the Official Strategy Guide (although you will find plenty of artwork). However, it’s in no way a replacement for the Strategy Guide. You won’t find any frame data, character strategies, general strategies, or anything remotely similar to these assets.

Hopefully that helps to clarify the difference between the two for people on the fence about choosing between them. Collectors will probably want to pick up both, while people looking to take their game to the next level, or simply learn the basics should opt for the Strategy Guide.

Now that I’ve covered that, I’m off to do some Soul Calibur IV training. I just came off of a displeasing 5th place finish at a regional qualifier over the weekend, so I need to ensure I do better at the next regional qualifier in San Diego this coming weekend.

Don’t forget about the $2,000 DEVASTATION Street Fighter IV tournament in June, or Evolution in July.

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Street Fighter IV Guide Update

It’s been a couple months since I first started work on the Street Fighter IV strategy guide. I would’ve liked to have had more time, but when it comes to fighting game guides, there’s never enough time to include everything you want. I could spend weeks on a single character and still not be satisfied, but I am pleased with what I was able to include in the SF4 guide.

The layout is looking phenomenal; huge props to Jody for hooking up a stellar layout and using the high resolution Capcom artwork perfectly. I’m generally not a big fan of game artwork, but the SF4 art is really nice. In addition to the artwork scattered throughout the guide, there’s a small art section in the back with a few character montages.

I think this guide should appeal to the new players and the returning veterans. Coming from a Tekken and Soul Calibur background, I had to change the way I think about high level play. Playing a 2D fighter at high levels is very different from how a 3D fighter is played. But while I learned the differences (playing on a local SF4 arcade machine before heading to Capcom), it helped me develop the early chapters of the guide, informing newcomers about the intricacies of SF4.

For the advanced players, there’s a frame data index in the back of the guide. It only covers the 17 arcade characters, but it’s more than you’d find in most US-based strategy guides and the first time I’ve been able to include frame data in one of my fighting game guides. I ask for it every time because it’s something that high level players use regularly and something that I personally use religiously, but I always have to import a Japanese guide to obtain it. Now the SF players have it in the US SF4 guide.

The guide should be heading to the printer very soon to release alongside the game on Feb 17th. I’ll be gracing the Capcom Unity blog later this week with info on the new characters, along with another Prima blog next week.

For you tournament goers, keep in mind that there will be a $2,000 SF4 tournament at DEVASTATION 2009 in June. In addition, Evo 2009 was just announced to include SF4 when it takes place in July.

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Completing the Guide


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Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise was a wonderful first guide to write, giving me an amazing opportunity to work with seasoned authors like Bryan Stratton and David Hodgson. Their patience and willingness to work with “the new guy” truly made all of the difference in my taking on the mantle of strategy guide author. The Product Management and Editing teams were likewise great to work with. In addition to being a lot of fun, co-authoring Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise really gave me the experience I needed to tackle my first guide alone.

As of September 18th, at around 4:00 PM PST, I had officially turned in the last portion of my first solo project, The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon. In roughly two and half weeks, I managed to write the entire guide, compile screenshots, and label all of the maps. Try as I might, I don’t think I can fully convey the sense of accomplishment that comes along with being able to say that. Despite the tight deadline and long hours, I had a lot of fun putting this one together. The game was a blast, offering me a nice change of pace from the tactical first-person shooters that tend to serve as the staple in my gaming diet. It had truly been a while since I played a good platformer.

As my second completed guide for Prima Games, I have to say I’m feeling more and more confident. Naturally, I still have a lot to learn, but if you had told me a few months ago that I’d have one book out on shelves and another rolling to print by this stage, I wouldn’t have believed you. Thanks a bunch to my Copy Editor, my Editor, Product Manager, and everyone else at Prima for helping me conclude my second project. Most of all, thanks to my wife and kids for their patience.