Anyone who has ever played a two dimensional Sonic the Hedgehog game knows that the crux of success resides in being able to run from left to right, as quickly as humanly possible. The skills required to effectively complete the game are essentially having good reflexes and a penchant for collecting gold rings. It is amusing to note that right out of the gate, the Sonic Generations Strategy Guide acknowledges the fact that nothing within the pages of the book will ever be able to teach that. If I am not mistaken, the author is pretty much admitting that as a strategic resource, this book is fairly unnecessary in order to be successful. This level of candor is refreshing, yet troubling all at the same time.

For those that haven’t had the opportunity to play Sonic’s most recent iteration, the game is a collection of ten worlds, all of which can be played through with both the “current” three-dimensional and “classic” two-dimensional Sonic characters. Due to the frantic nature of the actual gameplay itself, it is almost implied that each section’s walkthrough should be read through and committed to memory before beginning each stage. Luckily the maps at the head of every chapter help to streamline the process rather significantly. This helps seamlessly give the reader an idea of what is happening and where they are located through every juncture in the walkthrough.

What follows is a baby stepped blow-by-blow through the entire campaign, with probably more depth than would ever be necessary. It is amazing how the author has managed to compose full detailed paragraphs about what would otherwise be a matter of a few split seconds of game time. As stated in the introduction, the key goal of the commentary is in order to help players avoid the most frustrating aspects of the game, by preparing them in advance. This mandate is executed on perfectly, often giving things almost more focus than really necessary, in order to assure the issue is addressed thoroughly. Where this attention to detail is especially useful is when stages have branches in the path. After reading each of the potential pathways, it becomes much easier to determine which is the optimal approach to finishing a stage.

One aspect of the guide itself that is irreplaceable to every completionist are the cutouts, containing the positions of every “Red Star Ring” in the game and the exact process to attain acquisition. Better yet is the fact that the cutouts actually appear in the walkthrough, were they should appear while actually progressing through the stage. For those that are not the collecting type these sections may prove to be a bit intrusive due to abruptly interrupting the layout of each walkthrough, but really it is much better than the alternative of forcing the player to backtrack, or worse yet, replay a stage unnecessarily.

A final inclusion to the actual guide portion of the book are descriptions and basic strategies for completing the game’s thirty Challenge Stages. Depending upon the complexity and involvement of the level itself, the lengths and depth of each write-up varies significantly. That said, where it is necessary, things are broken down rather explicitly, spelling out each step to victory.
As a neat extra, the last couple of pages in the book (aside from the closing credits, of course) are dedicated to interviewing Takashi Iizuka, a producer of Sonic Generations and a member of Sega’s Sonic Team. The piece may not exactly be Pulitzer Prize worthy material, but it still gives an interesting glimpse behind the title’s development. Though there aren’t really any ground shattering revelations in the eight question Q&A, it certainly provides more perspective as to where the developers were coming from when designing the game. Plus, it is a quick read and a neat way to tie a nice bow around completing the campaign.

If there were one aspect to the guide’s design that left something to be desired it would have to be the lack of consistency when it came to the amount of content on each page. Some pages seemed as if they were bursting at the seams with images and text, while other had huge barren chunks of white space, usually near the bottom of a page. Many times it appeared that this was due to random art assets from the game (not the actual screenshots) that very obviously were supposed to be the focal point of the reader’s attention. Layout issues aside, the division of each stage and act were clearly noted on the edges of each page, making navigating the text a breeze. Players who choose to jump around to different levels should have absolutely no problem getting their money’s worth from this book.

For a guide that in many cases might be considered unnecessary given the type of game that Sonic Generations is, it is impressive that they were able to squeeze out more than two hundred pages of information. There is a wealth of very useful knowledge waiting for the reader, should they be patient enough to read everything through thoroughly before jumping into the next stage. For the hardcore completionists out there looking to snag every item in the game, this guide should be right in your wheelhouse. While not a reflection on the quality of the book itself, everyone else might be better off running from left to right and testing their luck on their own.

SGR Rating: 4/5

Author: Dan Birlew
Publisher: BradyGames
Editions available: Paperback
Acquired via Publisher

Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to one of the greatest superhero games of all time, Batman: Arkham Asylum. Arkham City expands on everything that made Arkham Asylum great and adds an amazing open-world game environment to the mix. The Batman series under Rocksteady is known for its secrets and Metroidvania-esque exploration elements, so Arkham City requires a great guide with plenty of depth. BradyGames’ Batman: Arkham City strategy guide is that guide for the most part, but does have a few noteworthy trouble spots.

On one hand, the guide does cover plenty of content in Arkham City well. It gives a good walkthrough and most times offers great strategies on how to beat the game, offering advice that gamers of most any skill level can follow. The guide is also well designed and easy to navigate, with clear (as in, not cluttered) white pages and some really well designed call-out boxes. The combat sections have a nice degree of detail and provide some tips about combat in Arkham games that may otherwise take some gamers a bit of time and experience to uncover.

Something else the guide does well–and this is difficult to explain–is teach gamers how to think about approaching a section in Arkham City, maybe akin to a survival guide. The guide points out instances where Batman’s gadgets or a combat technique can be used. When the gamer recognizes that situation happening again, they’ll have learned that technique and know how to use it. Batman: Arkham City is a game that’s easy to learn and play but sort of difficult to master (because gadgets and techniques have straightforward uses and somewhat different instances of use for combat or Riddler Trophy collecting), so the guide gives gamers a kind of “skill arsenal” to use to their advantage.

The Riddler Trophies section is also quite good, providing precise solutions on how gamers can grab every single one in the game. Each map for the Trophies section matches the in-game map and is numbered, so that gamers can find where they are on the map and then find the number in the guide to get the Trophy–a vital tool for the 400 (or more for gamers who have the Catwoman DLC) Trophies in the game. Also, on the issue of collecting, the guide points out a number of objects that can be destroyed or collected for XP or count as Riddler Trophies that just aren’t made evident in the game itself.

On the other hand, though, the guide has a few shortcomings. Every once in a while, there’s an odd moment where it doesn’t explain itself well or is missing a tiny step. In one instance, for example, the guide said: “…grapple above the Joker’s group. For an easy victory, detonate the ceiling above the goons…” However, the guide does not mention that the Line Launcher must be used to get Batman in the correct area so that he can grapple up into the room and use the Explosive Gel there. The guide has a few of those moments throughout the main walkthrough, where the next step isn’t as clear as it could be or offers some really general advice on how to progress. Please note, though, that this problem wasn’t found with the boss fight sections at all.

The guide did have a different kind of trouble spot with one of the trickier areas in the Story mode, which requires careful use of the dive bomb technique. The guide provided advice that I couldn’t get to work for at least two of the sections. The repeated requests to dive had a tendency to leave Batman too low to complete the objectives. Often, getting Batman a solid dive at the beginning, followed by an upward glide and then gliding or diving downward only when necessary was the best overall technique (albeit with somewhat minor variations for particular instances) for this section in the game.

The guide also did not mention Catwoman’s final “loot” mission in the game or provide any advice on how to use Catwoman for the Riddler’s Revenge section at all, with the exception of medals and combo score tables for the Combat Challenge Rooms. Now, Catwoman is technically DLC and while the guide can’t be faulted for not listing techniques for Robin and Nightwing, her content is different because it’s offered free to every single person who purchases the game new. The Predator section says that much of the same advice offered for Batman can be used for other characters, which usually is not true for Catwoman. She has lower HP than Batman, completely different gadgets, and can’t instantly grapple up to gargoyles.

A note on the game’s story: the biography section in the front of the guide spoils every Batman character cameo in the game, major or minor, main mission or side mission. The final boss battle has a surprise cameo which is somewhat spoiled by the character’s inclusion in the main Biography section. The decision to include that particular cameo there is confusing, especially when the Biography information is listed again in call-out boxes in the Story mode and side mission sections.

The bonuses that come with the Limited Edition guide are nice, but not must-own for anyone except hardcore Batman fans. The guide has six nice lithographs and a pin-up poster with suggestive poses for Harley Quinn and Catwoman, but Quinn’s pose is the exact same as her lithograph pose. The guide has a sneak peak at the Arkham City graphic novel as well (the sneak peak may or may not be available in the regular edition), which is nice, but also not must-own. The two available covers to choose from, the hardcover for the guide, and great page quality are all bonuses that gamers picking up the guide may want to consider picking up the Limited Edition for, though.

The Batman: Arkham City strategy guide from BradyGames is a more than solid guide and a good purchase for gamers new to Arkham City or gamers trying to collect all 400 (or more) Riddler Trophies. Otherwise, because Batman: Arkham City is a fairly straightforward game, anyone who has beaten Arkham Asylum or isn’t having difficulty playing the game won’t really need the guide to progress. The guide provides gamers with some much-needed tips in some areas like Riddler Trophies and Batman’s Riddler’s Revenge mode, but without the need for that, anyone playing through the game won’t really need the guide for much.

SGR Rating: 3.5/5

Authors: Michael Lummis and Michael Owen
Publisher: BradyGames
Editions available: Signature Series and Limited Edition
Acquired via Publisher

 

It’s the perfect time of year to go on vacation, so pack your bags and be sure to pack plenty of sun screen, swimming trunks…and hatchets. Because we are going to Dead Island! This place is HUGE so you will want a tourist guide to see all the sights on your stop here.

When you first get past the opening experience the game opens up and allows you to tackle objectives at your own pace so it is not as linear of an experience as most games. This is where the Dead Island strategy guide comes in, with a somewhat open world type game there are always collectibles and little “off the beaten path” easter eggs.

Going through the main quest and side quest walk throughs the guide will let you know when you are near an ID Card or one of the many facts and tapes in the game, of which collecting a certain amount of them of course leads to a precious Trophy/Achievement. Usually to get a better look at where a collectible is on an open world game, you have to look it up on YouTube to see it in game and get a better idea of where it is, but the guide shows you a map and a picture of it in the game making it easy to snatch it up!

There are four characters each with their own skill tree and abilities, and the guide tells you all about them and the play style they take on. I have never seen a way to reset the stats on the points you spend so reading all about the skills in the guide helps to make a decision on what to dump points into.

The maps for each act help give you bearing on where to go as it is easy to get lost and wander off when trying to go after collectibles. Before using the guide I found myself being distracted running around trying to search every single room for a card or fact. With the guide I was able to get every collectible in the first play through so on subsequent play throughs all I had to do was enjoy the game.

Now on to the downside of the guide. I never really had to use the guide for quests as the game tells you plainly where to go and even throws you a GPS guided dot system. This is not the guide writers fault, but it does make the guide less useful for knowing how to complete a quest and more useful for collectibles/maps.

In Dead Island you get to craft your own weapons, kind of like Dead Rising 2. There are quite a few combinations you can throw together to make devastating zombie killers and this guide does tell you what the ingredients are, but it does not tell you where you can get these items. The stores that sell items are often randomized but there are places you can go that always have for example duct tape or batteries and wires and so on when loading that zone. They could have thrown in that “Two rolls of Duct Tape are always found in the Lighthouse Tower repair room beside the repair table and a spool of wire directly across from the table.”

One other negative I have for this guide is that there are no extras. Usually with every guide I have reviewed so far there are concept art galleries, developer commentaries and just neat little facts about the game. This guide has none, but I will say the artwork and illustration of the guide are very well set up, I would have just liked to see some extras though.

Overall I would say the guide is not mandatory reading, but it does help for collectibles. In my opinion I would have rather used this guide for the collectibles than looking them up on the Internet. Reading about the character classes was useful too, but if you do not care about stuff like that or hoarding collectibles for a Trophy/Achievement and just play the main quest line, then you will not necessarily need this guide. I give it 3/5 zombie hands.

Guide Authors: Tim Bogenn, Michael Owen, and Kenny Sims
Publisher: Brady Games
Editions Available: Paperback
Acquired via Publisher