Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 12
 Great strategy guide, though not perfect November 20, 2009
Anne Victory (Louisiana)
This is probably the best strategy guide I've seen. After reading some of the other reviews, I think that has to do with what *I* look for in a guide for an RPG. I don't really use the walk-throughs that much - primarily I like discussion about character and party development. I think that's the discrepancy between my review and the others. So - here are the pros and cons:
PROS:
1) Beautiful design - the cover is very nice, and the interior pages are FULL color, even the background looks like parchment with some blood smears on it.
2) Very in-depth character build discussion. Each class has several pages discussing possible builds, pros and cons, ideal gear for which levels, etc.
3) The lore section (in the Collector's Guide ONLY) is very rich. If you play Pen-n-Paper games, you could probably cobble together a Fereldan campaign based on this. (As a side-note, Green Ronin is releasing a pen-n-paper game for Dragon Age)
CONS:
1) Not all items are listed, especially not all gifts, and that irritated me.
2) Very spoilerish, as someone else pointed out. I found out by reading the "Important People In Fereldan" section what should have been a very emotional plot development. It still was, but not as much as if I'd been hit out of left field with the event.
Hope this helps you decide whether or not you'd like the book!
 Could have been better November 19, 2009
Elvick (British Columbia, Canada)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
When I bought this I was expecting that it would help guide me through the moral choices easily. Or at least provide a solid way to go through the game without getting a reaction I didn't want out of an NPC. However, I've found myself struggling to do so. The maps are cluttered with the same color of triangles, squares and diamonds. Making it hard to find whatever letter or number, let alone shape you're looking for. They should have at least had different colors for the different shapes to make it easier and faster to navigate.
Most moral choices that are in the game are not well discussed in the guide. It boils down to, 'You can do this or that' and nothing more. When it should be telling me what happens if I do -this- or do -that-. Or if it just doesn't matter at all. I've encountered many places where items are that are not listed in the guide at all as well. Which makes me look around the guide thinking I'm on the wrong page, when I'm not.
The guide is well made. The cover is great, as are the pages and the design. The character pages are very useful however contain many spoilers, the artwork as well as the interview with Bioware are awesome.
It's useful to an extent, however it could have been a lot more efficient, user friendly and useful.
 Only slightly helpful, but basically useless November 18, 2009
Shoefaroots
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was greatly disappointed in this book. Usually Prima is the name in game guides, but this one borders on useless.
The first 70 or so pages are basically an extended version of the instruction manual. It does have maps of some of the zones, but there are also several that are completely absent. The equipment guide offers a decent look at all the weapons and armor, but offers no place they could be obtained or purchased. The bestiary offers short blurbs on the monsters, and hits at different sub sets, but it does not list the subsets. The maps do list monster groups, chests, and three or four plot points, but the scrolls, runes, books, etc., needed to progress some of the quests, are absent from the maps. The descriptions given are about a paragraph in length, and offer no real help. When I looked up a city I had just arrived in, the map told me that there were many side quests to be done, if the player wanted to take a few hours break from the main story line, but it gave no indication of where to go or what to do. The list of quests in the back, offer little help how to start, or accomplish, the quest, as well as don't tell you the reward.
Overall, this is a very poor book, and is well below what is expected from a Prima book. Save your money.
Very Weak Guide November 17, 2009
TwoSpade (Colorado, USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Strategy guides, particularly for epic RPG games, are typically designed and laid out in such a way to assist you in finding ALL of the content in a game, with helpful maps, descriptions of how to unlock every side-quest, and sometimes even just Easter-Eggs. This book fails to deliver.
The first 70 pages reads like an extended instruction manual, although this is typical and sometimes appreciated by new players.
The Companions section is surprisingly the most helpful part of the book. They list the gifts, dialogues, romances, personal quests, etc. that each character is a part of. These are useful details.
The Equipment section is a mixed bag. Notably, several unique weapons and armor are listed, but no locations of where to find them are given. Another notably absent piece of information is in the crafting section, where component locations are not listed. A minor saving grace is the inclusion of Recipe/Plan locations and Gift Locations (however there are no maps of these locations here or later).
The Bestiary has some useful information about how monsters scale, however it still lacks important information such as the loot dropped by monsters. It is also noticeable that they acknowledge that each creature is an archetype and that variations exist, but they fail to list all of the variations!
The Walkthrough section will indeed help you plow through the game. It lists objects you can search such as chests, barrels, and shelves, but not what the contents of them are, even if they are plot specific, key items from your party members, or unique items. It will list Side Quests, however it will not explain how to do them unless you flip to another section, despite it requiring you doing something in the specific zone mentioned! These are all key pieces of information that are THE REASON you buy books like this!
Unfortunately, the Side Quest section ends up being disappointing anyway, as it gives barely enough information for you to formulate how to complete the tasks. There are no maps and only one screenshot per quest. Some of these quests list 5 different locations that you have to FIND things. There are also multiple outcomes to almost every quest, and the best/worst paths are not given. These are all key pieces of information that are THE REASON you buy books like this!
The Random Encounters section, like the Side Quest section, only lists basic information. No loot information, no difficulty, no strategy, just a basic breakdown and location of the encounters. Also, no maps or screen shots.
They include an Achievements and Trophies section that, short of "secret" achievements being listed, has NO information. No hints or tips on how to achieve these, it just lists them. Tragically, I don't think this book will help me get them all for my system, and I'll have to refer to the Internet for help.
"Thanks" for the Traveler's Guide, Bioware Interviews, and Artwork sections, I get that is the added bonus of the Collector's Edition. Fun stuff.
In short, this guide fails to live up to the standard set by Prima Game Guides that had such thorough walkthroughs and useful information with other recent titles in the genre (like Fallout 3, Oblivion, and Mass Effect). This book was a completely disappointment with only a few helpful bits of information and an interesting section on the history and development of the game. Not recommended for those trying to get Achievement/Trophy help or those interested in finding ALL of the games content.
Worth it to me... November 17, 2009
Chris Martin
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have played the game through Lothering and the guide has honestly helped me quite a bit. I do not like having to stop a game and go check online for hints. I like guides that just tell you what the quests are and then let's you decide how to accomplish them. This guide has done that for me.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 12
|
