Injustice: Gods Among Us Strategy Guide Review

May 10, 2013 By Chris Nitz 1 Comment

Injustice: Gods Among Us is not the first time gamers take on the role of some of their favorite DC Comics heroes and villains. However, this game is a bit darker thanks to its comic book source material and the story leading up to the game. While the game itself is a rock solid fighter, theInjustice: Gods Among Us strategy guide from Prima does need a few patches to help balance it out.

The first few pages are full of game mechanic basics. Anyone familiar with the Mortal Kombat series will feel right at home. There are some good nuggets of info pertaining to character types and each of the stage transitions. It also helps shed some light on how the wager system works and what interactive stage props make for good ancillary weapons. Give this section a few moments of time before digging into that favorite hero.

The bulk of the guide goes to each playable character. There is a brief intro along with what that character will do with various stage props. Following that is a description of their super move, character power, and a handy screen capture of their power meter. This is a prime location for some backstory on why said hero/villain is playing a role in this new universe, but sadly, that goes to the imagination.

How can I use this while some kid is kicking the crap out of me

From here, things kind of fall apart. The strategy guide doesn’t list out every move, but instead opts to choose what they feel are the best moves from the arsenal. This same idea carries over into the combos. Accompanying the moves and combos is a brief set of frame-by-frame screenshots of the move/combo in action.

Each character receives a strategy section that helps new players understand their favorite fighter. While the strategies covered here are more a star

ting point, rather than an overall how-to, I found them useful in getting through the single player campaign with little to no issues while providing me some ground to start my multiplayer training. The idea here is to take those strategies into the training room and develop them into a fighting style that works for you.

At the end, there are some combo breakdowns, but I found these hard to quickly glance at in the heat of battle. Instead of some sort of easy button-to-button breakdown, they are all spelled out in long strings of text. It is easier to just bring up the in-game moves list and look through the combos there.

But what if I know what is best?

Following the character section is the single player campaign and S.T.A.R. Labs areas. The S.T.A.R. Labs portion is nothing more than a big checklist as all it provides is a synopsis of each goal and the three tasks for obtaining three stars. The single-player campaign is not much better, but at least each fight comes with a tip to help players from being caught off guard by some of the harder battles. These two sections feel more like fluff. The archives after these two portions will aid in unlocking that super cool 1960’s costume!

The last few pages totally stoked my fires. Anyone that knows me knows that I like art sections and this guide did not fail me there. There is some gorgeous game art to enjoy, so take the time to appreciate what the artists are capable of producing. For anyone who is reading the Injustice comic books, you will find a special comic tucked away at the very end. I still find myself thumbing through this area and enjoying the crap out of it.

I want to note that Prima realizes that fighting games go through changes and they appear to address that with a website that will contain updates to this guide. At the time of this writing, there was nothing there, so time will tell how well this strategy works out. What would really rock with this website is if they would include some pro-tips and tricks. Just a thought, Prima!

Oh yes I do!

This is not the best fighting strategy guide to grace my desk, but it is not the worst guide to come across it either. Almost all the info on the pages is found somewhere in the game, and the combos are a bit rough to read through. Diehard fans will find the Injustice: Gods Among Us strategy guide a nice piece to add to their book collections, and anyone completely new to fighting games will find it rather valuable. Veterans, however, might want to just skip this on by.

SGR Rating 3/5

Author: Sam Bishop, Carl White, Emmanuel Brito, Bill Menoutis
Publisher: Prima Games
Editions Available: Hardcover
Acquired via Publisher

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Strategy Guide Review

April 16, 2013 By Chris Nitz Leave a Comment

Kerrigan is back and this time players get to guide her on her quest to remove Mengsk from power. I’ve looked forward to this game as the Zerg are my race of choice in the StarCraft universe, and Blizzard did not disappoint me with Heart of the Swarm. Adding to this fun was my opportunity to review the Heart of the Swarm strategy guide from BradyGames.

As all good guides do, this one starts out with some basics on game mechanics. I’ll just assume most everyone knows how StarCraft 2 plays at this point, but if you don’t, take a few minutes to acquaint yourself with this section. Veterans should skim over it as it does provide info on the changes between Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm; however, the bulk of text here is fundamental base management, resource gathering, and combat tips.

Tips, everyone loves a good tip!

Blizzard did make the single-player campaign a bit easier, so I found myself only hitting this portion of the guide when I was trying to complete a few side objectives. For example, I would hunt down the tips and maps on where certain items were scattered about a map so I could quickly snag them before a timer expired or I drove the computer to an early grave. The players who want to tackle the harder difficulties will find some solid nuggets of advice that will make dominating harder opponents that much easier. At the end, we find the evolution of the swarm along with some thoughtful reasons why a player may choose one mutation over another. Also, let’s not forget how nice it is to have maps that clearly show where that third base can go and where the enemy might be hiding! While I may not have relied on this portion too heavily, when I came here for advice, it delivered while it held my hand and gave me that achievement I lusted for.

From here, we move into the multiplayer area where I am still spending a whole lot of time. Not only does BradyGames provide a solid foundation for players to start their ladder climb with, but also there is some rocking advice for those that want to make their way from bronze to masters leagues. Everything from base management to military and economy receive plenty of attention and detail. I found myself relying heavily on the Tech Tree while I honed my skills as a Zerg player, but also to use this info to know what my opponents might be doing and how to effectively counter them. What really took my game to the next level was watching profession level players while studying the units, maps, and tips that fill these pages. Yup, I’m rocking some bronze level players, and I don’t even play that seriously. Thank you, BradyGames!

While I am still using the guide as if I were cramming for a final exam, there is one thing that hinders it, and all strategy books for that matter. This does a fine job of giving players a good foundation for both destroying the single-player campaign and some legs to stand on as they try to climb the competitive scene. What print cannot do is change as patches, or even the meta of the game, ebbs and flows from month to month. Don’t get me wrong; everyone should know their tech trees, basics of economy management, and units, but as players introduce new strategies while changing existing ones, the book cannot stay current. This is just the nature of the beast.

Know thy enemy!

At the end of the day, I love this strategy guide. Just short of the Dark Souls strategy guide, I find that this is one of the most useful books to grace my desk in recent months. I should also mention that I am reviewing the collector’s edition, so it looks really sexy next to my Wings of Liberty guide and I have to keep fighting my wife away from the paper craft toys that came with the guide. While I would have loved an art section, BradyGames did a magnificent job with the page layouts, and bringing the Zerg aesthesis to the pages. Now I am super excited to see what they do for the Protoss expansion!

SGR Rating 4/5

Author: Rick Barba, Phillip Marcus
Publisher: BradyGames
Editions Available: Hardcover
Acquired via Publisher

Ni No Kuni Strategy Strategy Guide Review

March 5, 2013 By Chris Nitz Leave a Comment

I must be honest in that I had no idea what Ni No Kuni was until I saw the cover art for the strategy guide from Prima. This simple glimpse had me digging for more info about the game and ultimately led to dropping some cash for a preorder. All I can say is that I am so glad I snagged this game, and even more so that I was able to use this guide throughout my many hours of playing in this unique and wonderful world.

To start, the Ni no Kuni strategy guide wreaks of quality. I don’t know what Prima did, but even just thumbing through the pages I noticed they felt thicker with a hint of a waxy coating. I found this hard to believe so I had my wife flip through it and she confirmed my feelings. Whatever Prima did, and factoring in that this may seem like a small detail to some people, it is a wonderful touch to bring up that quality feeling for the consumer.

Yummy yummy details

That attention to detail only carries over into the content that fills those waxy pages. While the game does a decent job of breaking down all the mechanics over the span of a few hours, the strategy guide provides a bit more detail. Anyone that might struggle with swapping familiars in and out or what to look for in enemies as to when to prep for a devastating attack, this section is the missing manual. I found myself reading through this a few times just to pick up more tricks to aide my combat skills. There is a lot to Ni No Kuni, so do not just skim over the first 22 pages, but rather take the tips and tricks to heart as they can save a controller from being thrown across the room in frustration.

Now usually the main walkthrough would start after the game basics, but Prima drops in the giant section for familiars. As these are the lifeline of the game, a lot of time goes into studying every drop of info here. Every familiar contains an easy to read breakdown of what they are capable of, their metamorphoses, unlock conditions, and strengths and weaknesses. Seriously, at 432 pets to collect, prepare to spend a good amount of time here. The last few pages provide a handy listing of all the fighting tricks these battlers are capable of performing.

Mr. Drippy has all kinds of advice for you

Finally, the walkthrough section begins. He we find not only a play-by-play of how the story unfolds, but some nicely detailed maps of where main quests, tasks, provisions, armor, and so much more might be found about the world. I also found the boss breakdown to be of great help as it prepared me for what to look for, what to avoid, and ultimately led to simplifying some very brutal battles. I should also note that this saved me some time in trying to get chests that I was not able to get until I acquired a new tool and trick.

What I did like is that the various tasks (side quests) not only have their own section (right after the main walkthrough), but they also have small blurbs about them in the main walkthrough. This saves a good amount of time flipping back and forth, as there is a lot of that already with the familiar area.

This does bring me into the task section. For those that may want more info on the abundance of side objectives, this section will make for a happy life. Any prerequisites, rewards, small descriptions of what to do, and when each task is unlocked may be found right here. The reward even details how many stamps one gets upon completion. I so loved this when I had limited time to play, but I only need two or three stamps to fill out my card.

The last section is an appendix that contains a thorough breakdown of enemies, items, important (see storyline necessary) items, and trophies. I didn’t spend as much time in here as I thought I would, but I did find myself coming here to find various weapon information as well as studying the various stats for some of the more difficult creatures in the latter part of the game.

I must also compliment Prima on their Heart of Ni No Kuni portion. This is at the very end of the book and it contains interviews and concept art for one of the most gorgeous games I have enjoyed in recent months. I recommend any fan take some time to read the interview portion as it really provides some meat to what it took to make this game and bring the vision to life, while the concept art is just a wonderful look at how the artists mind works when designing the assets.

Easy navigation for the win!

One big thing to note here is how Prima even simplified navigating through the Ni no Kuni strategy guide. If you look at the side of the book, you will notice dark markings in a staggered pattern. These also correlate to a change in page colors. The main walkthrough, for example, is the middle marker on the yellow pages while tasks are the fourth marker down on green pages. While this may not seem like such a big deal, I found that I started to use this coding system for quickly jumping into the different areas of the guide if I had closed it during my play session.

I am extremely pleased with this strategy guide. If you are on the fence about this guide, just splurge and pick it up as it is worth every penny. The quality is superb and the amount of time it will save you in the long run is totally worth the investment. It also looks nice on the coffee table!

SGR Rating 4.5/5

Author: Howard Grossman
Publisher: Prima Games
Editions Available: Hardcover
Acquired via Publisher

LittleBigPlanet: Karting Strategy Strategy Guide Review

January 22, 2013 By Chris Nitz Leave a Comment

I am a big fan of kart racing games. Ever since Mario Kart first dropped on the SNES, my enjoyment of these games has spanned over eight consoles and covered everything from Crash Bandicoot to Diddy Kong. Now I get to take my favorite SackBoy for a romp in a kart through cardboard courses and collect stickers along the way, all thanks to LittleBigPlanet: Karting. It is sooooo much fun!

Prima also seems to like the world of imagination and racing because they pumped out a LittleBigPlanet: Karting strategy guide for us wannabe Mario Andretti racers. One would expect that cracking open the guide would immediately lead to the basics of how to control that amazing Bento Box, but this is not the case. Instead, we find concept art for stages, characters, and stickers. While this caught me by surprise, I loved it as it warmed me up the whimsical world I was about to partake. Don’t worry, the basics of braking, prize bubbles, and drifting come right after this, but take a moment to enjoy the art assets that the developers work hard at producing.

Better than GPS

After the basics, it is time to dive into the story mode. The authors breakdown each new event type, how many prize bubbles are scattered about the track, and list all the rewards earned for that stage. This is where the detailed maps of every race come in handy as they show where one may find all the prize bubbles along with things such as launch points, jet packs, weaponators, and such. Concluding each race, they go into detail on what to watch out for during the event, how to obtain some of the harder to find items, and general tips on how to defeat the opponents. While this might be a racing game, I found that studying each event before I jumped into it in the game very helpful and led to fewer missed items and a lot less retries.

Scattered amongst the story section are the challenge races that unlock as the game progresses. Take some time to read these as they offer great advice on how to tackle each challenge, as these are no joke. For example, the first one that unlocks is a drifting course where the only way to unlock all the loot is to score 60,000+ points. The guide breaks down the course and offers up that it is best to use the first drifting boost instead of building it up to the maximum, as it takes far too long to snag that big burst of speed. Completing these challenges still ultimately comes down to player skill, but the advice offered here is invaluable.

Excel, eat your heart out!

The last few pages go to the creation mode and end with the trophy list. Anyone who spent time in LittleBigPlanet 1 or 2 will immediately feel at home and so the creation section is more of a refresher on popit use as well as explaining the details behind the unique items available to track building. Newbies to this whole world building process will want to spend some time reading the pages here as they do offer up a bit more info than what the game does. There is good stuff here for all players, and master designers will find themselves coming back to this section during their building process.

There are a few potholes to all this, however. I found the guide took some time to sift through to find the current race I was on or the challenge mode I was tackling at the time. I also found a few prize bubbles I could not snag and the strategy guide said nothing about how to obtain them. These are far and few between, so they don’t necessarily constitute a deal breaker.

For a game that does not immediately feel like a strategy guide is necessary, I found myself using this a lot. Sure, there are a few points that I wish contained more detail on how to grab this or that, but overall this is fairly thorough and useful. Anyone that wants to have every sticker and kart customization piece available to them, the LittleBigPlanet: Karting strategy guide is your Bible!

SGR Rating 4/5

Author: Dean Leng and Ronald Gaffud
Publisher: Prima Games
Editions Available: Paperback
Acquired via Publisher

PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale Strategy Guide Review

December 20, 2012 By Chris Nitz 3 Comments

I sure have reviewed a mess of fighting games this year, and I am ending it with a brand new entry into the genre. PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale is an ambitious game in that it combines some of my favorite PlayStation icons, throws them into an arena where only one may survive, and then lets me fight it out ala Smash Bros style. Boy was I glad to have Prima‘s PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale strategy guide by my side for this jaunt into unfamiliar territory.

Like all good fighting game strategy guides, Prima started with a look at the game mechanics. Now what threw me for a loop is the fact that this is the first guide to include an actual Vita button scheme breakdown. I would also normally recommend that veterans skim this portion of the guide while novices invest some time reading every detail. However, with this being a totally new game, I found it to be extremely useful. It made walking into the arena that much more bearable as I was not futzing around trying to learn how this fighter worked, how the UI presented info, or how combo strings worked. So spend some time here, as there is a good amount of info that will aid any brawler.

Level breakdowns…OMG!

After readers wrap their head around how a ring-out works or how the nudge mechanics alter your movement, it is time to pick that favorite character or three and read up on their techniques, strengths, and weaknesses. The authors do a nice job of going into great detail for each playable character in this game. What I enjoyed is that it is not all charts and move listings, but rather some text allowing readers to figure out how to incorporate a particular move or combo into their fighting toolbox. Seriously, spending some time studying this portion while utilizing the training room made life so much easier.

Now we get to what is probably my favorite section of this guide: the levels chapter. This caught me by surprise, as I have not had a chance to see something like this in other fighting game guides. Things like how a stage changes over the course of battle, trouble spots, Easter eggs, and strategies all get their moment in the sun here. It not only helps players learn the battlegrounds, but it also shows how much effort went into making fun and unique arenas.

From there it is onto the extra pieces that bring this game together, starting with the various items for use. This includes a small detailed section on what an item does, its game of origin, and some stats on why one may want to use an LR-3 Railgun over a Leech Beam.

Following items is a small portion dedicated to getting people through the arcade mode. I found this rather thorough in how to handle each fight, while not being overly preachy. I did rely on the characters portion a bit as well to help me finish this mode with ease.

Completionists will undoubtedly spend a bit of time in the combat trials area. The writers break down what needs to be accomplished in order to succeed in obtaining every rank and bonus. The description is also a key to handling the various trials, but these are no joke so be prepared to get frustrated as no amount of reading can prepare one for the skills necessary.

The last pages contain all the rewards, goals, and trophies. Anyone looking at how to obtain a Fat Princess icon or Sly Cooper wallpaper will find these areas invaluable. I do admit, looking through this again, I want to go back and try to score a few trophies and eye candy items. Completion junkies, this is your bread and butter.

So much eye candy to collect!

I guess the downside to this strategy guide lies in the character breakdown section, and honestly this is just a minor nitpick. Each character ends with a nice chunk on advanced strategies. I found these more as a starting point on how this fighter differs from others and some basic techniques I need to nail down before jumping online. As any fighting veteran knows, duking it out online requires a completely new skill-set versus playing AI opponents. In addition, as Sony introduces game balances, these strategies may shift and change throughout the life of this game. Again, this is not the fault of Prima but rather the nature of the beast.

While I have my issues with how PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale plays and behaves, this is one of the best fighting strategy guides I have reviewed. The stage section and goodies portions make it worthwhile alone. I must also say, I played the Vita version of the game and this guide required almost no translation to provide its full benefits. This is the missing manual for the game.