Devil May Cry Official Strategy Guide [Paperback]

Dan Birlew (Author)

Book Description

Series: Signature Series | Publication Date: October 17, 2001

BradyGames Devil May Cry Official Strategy Guide provides a detailed walkthrough and area maps to guide players through the castle. A complete listing of weapons and items is included along with boss strategies on how to defeat the dreadful enemies. Solutions for puzzles and game secrets.

This guide is part of BradyGames' Signature Series line, a strategy guide format that showcases quality product design to produce true collector's edition books for avid gamers. Some of the features include: heavier paper and special cover treatment, art gallery and behind-the-scenes secrets, and an exclusive Secret Missions Pack.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

BradyGames Devil May Cry Official Strategy Guide provides a detailed walkthrough and area maps to guide players through the castle. A complete listing of weapons and items is included along with boss strategies on how to defeat the dreadful enemies. Solutions for puzzles and game secrets.

This guide is part of BradyGames' Signature Series line, a strategy guide format that showcases quality product design to produce true collector's edition books for avid gamers. Some of the features include: heavier paper and special cover treatment, art gallery and behind-the-scenes secrets, and an exclusive Secret Missions Pack.

About the Author

Capcom Entertainment, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom, Co., Ltd. of Japan. A leading force in the multi-billion dollar interactive entertainment industry, Capcom's legacy spans 22 years of entertaining video gamers. Capcom develops, markets, and distributes home video games for the PlayStation® game console, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo 64 game consoles, Game Boy Systems, personal computers, and coin-operated games. Worldwide recognizable product lines include the Street Fighter, Mega Man, Breath of Fire, and the Resident Evil series. World headquarters in Osaka, Japan, the company also has offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, London and Sunnyvale, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Brady Games; 1st edition (October 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0744000947
• ISBN-13: 978-0744000948
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #202,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dan Birlew is an author and video game expert who has been writing official, published video game strategy guides since 1999. His original career goals included acting and directing. Video games always excited Dan since he was seven years old, but at the age of twenty-six he began honing his playing skills with the goal of becoming an expert gamer. He enjoyed publishing online documents regarding games, known as "FAQs". Dan inadvertently created an online persona for himself when he wrote and self-published on the Internet a plot analysis of the highly popular survival horror video game, Silent Hill. "The game's story was somewhat vague, and demanded that someone try to explain it," says Birlew.

Upon receiving an overwhelming number of positive responses from other Silent Hill fans, and after some gentle nudging from his wife, Birlew decided to set aside his acting and directing activities to establish a career as a video game strategy guide author. He sent writing samples to several publishing companies. Based on the merits of his very first submission, he was hired by a major publisher within 24 hours. Birlew says, "It was as though I had won the lottery."

Birlew has authored over sixty published video game strategy guides and seeks other methods of publication, such as review columns, articles, and other non-fiction video game-related books. Birlew says of his passion for games, "I love exploring video games, the industry, the culture, the fans -- and there is so much of it about which I can analyze and write." He also bears a strong desire to publish fiction, and is currently working on a novel concerning the paranormal.

Dan Birlew is a native of St. Louis, Missouri, and has lived in Pennsylvania, Texas, and California. He now resides in Las Vegas with his wife of seventeen years. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 1993. Besides video games, Birlew also enjoys Japanese films and dining with his family and friends in the restaurants and clubs of Las Vegas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough and Concise, November 20, 2001

By 

"photogrrrl" (Sin City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Devil May Cry Official Strategy Guide (Paperback)

Addressing the previous reviewer: Dan Birlew didn't even write the Xenogears guide, someone else named David Cassidy did. And why would you compare Mr. Birlew to Casey Lowe who writes guides for Pokemon? That's comparing apples to apples seeds. As for the maps, they were obviously not done by the author, just read the credits. Now for a more mature and observant review: This particular Devil May Cry guide is concise and thorough. It's written for an audience that is intelligent and sharp, a compliment to all gamers. The writing style does not talk down to the reader, as some guides tend to do. The slick design and stylized cover are done in such a way that it attracts gamers like me--adults with jobs and money to spend on toys. Overall, this guide is perfect for those gamers who do not fall into the "living in my parent's basement" stereotype. Kudos to BradyGames for targeting mature gamers with jobs!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to follow strategy guide, October 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Devil May Cry Official Strategy Guide (Paperback)

Dan Birlew (better known to survival horror fans on the web as "President Evil") penned this easy-to-follow strategy guide.

I'm one of those players who doesn't have great reflexes and normally gets sliced to ribbons playing a game like this. But thanks to Birlew's guide, I was able to survive some of the toughest bosses, bad reflexes and all. The book points out the bosses's strengths and weaknesses, how to attack them and how to avoid them, as every good game guide should.

Oh, yeah, I did find one mistake in Birlew's guide: he states that you can't purchase untouchables (items that temporarily make you invincible). In fact, untouchables can be purchased at any time, though it'll cost you. Perhaps this was a change in the game that was implemented after Birlew's guide went to press.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ..., December 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Devil May Cry Official Strategy Guide (Paperback)

Even I have to admit that Dan Birlew is getting much better. After that FFIX guide I thought this guy would be bad. Anyways, to start off. I've been a HUGE collector of video game guides (I may be 15 and have high expectations for a guide such as they do need to help me a give me a gaming experience in the process) and I know a good guide when I see it.

This guide is defenitely good. Anyways, I read the other reviews, and Dan Birlew didn't do the Xenogears guide nor did David Cassady, it was Ronald Wartow, its right there on the fron cover. The maps are easy to read while I do admit they get tiresome every guide does. I know the maps aren't done by Dan Birlew but still they could use a little work. I look more at the detail in the walkthrough rather than how flashy the maps and screenshots are.

The walkthrough helps you out a lot and doesn't give off any spoilers at all and gets right to the point. I like this guide because the walkthrough is put together organized and doesn't look like it was rushed to get out. Its 160 pages and the guide has extremely good detail to it. Unlike the Prima (only 90 pages) and VERSUS BOOKS (112 pages) this guide has a ton of info.

I'd recomend this guide for anybody who likes strategy guides as much as I do.