Mass Effect 3 Collector's Edition: Prima Official Game Guide [Hardcover]

Fernando Bueno (Author), Alex Musa (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 6, 2012

The Mass Effect 3 Collector's Edition guide includes the following exclusive content:

• Hardcover with a metallic finish - Protect the quality 80# interior paper
• Behind-the-Scenes at BioWare - Exclusive photos, art, and interviews. Learn how the team created the Mass Effect universe from Cinematics to Characters, Art, Audio, and more
• BONUS Digital Guide Access - With interactive multiplayer maps and video strategy
• See Mass Effect 3 like never before - Discover environments and parts of the game you won't see anywhere else. Panoramic views will leave you amazed

With this guide you will:

• Fight YOUR Way - Multiple approaches to every key battle
• Dominate in Multiplayer - Comprehensive maps prepare you for battle and help you survive
• Choose the Best Gear - Every weapon and piece of armor revealed, including mods and upgrades
• Take Earth Back - Class breakdowns and build recommendations give you the advantage you need against the reapers
• Avoid Spoilers - Special callouts strategically placed and text turned upside down at critical story moments ensure your experience won't be spoiled

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Prima Games; Har/Psc Co edition (March 6, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 030789150X
• ISBN-13: 978-0307891501
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #80,990 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Computers & Technology > Games & Strategy Guides > Internet Games

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 42 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor game guide, nice extras March 12, 2012

By TwoSpade

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The previous Mass Effect guides had several advantages over this guide, so I consider it a step backwards. This guide will indeed help you walk through the campaign and provides some information about different weapons and your squadmates and their abilities, however some of the things that would be the most helpful are left out and the formatting leaves something to be desired, as things are presented as individual pictures when they should be in table form for quick reference.

The biggest weakness is there are no maps other than the ones that are provided in game. The previous Mass Effect guides had maps and locations of where powerups and other loot could be found on the various levels (including side missions). This guide provides no maps. It also has no maps (or even a list) providing you with what you can find with regard to war assets in the various systems accessed from the galaxy map or where you can scan in the system to find them.

The weapons show bar graph stat differences between the first level and tenth level of an upgraded weapon in separated pictures, but no comparisons to each other so you can determine which weapon you would like to use in a list form, which would have been the most useful way to determine what weapon you would want to upgrade and use by the end.

It is completely unacceptable that the only place achievements are listed and talked about are on a single page near the back of the book. The walk-through should provide tips and explanations on how to get them. This guide only lists them with the exact same description as they give in game on a single page, and does not explain the best/easiest way to achieve them.

I completed the game, including all side missions, and only "used" this book twice to make sure the moral decisions I was making would keep characters alive (or not). The index was so poor, that looking up the information I wanted was more thumbing through to the right part of the book than knowing exactly what page it was on. Other weaknesses of the index include not listing any of the systems, war assets, and several other obvious terms that you would think to look things up by (they tie into previous weaknesses as well, such as, I should be able to pick up this guide, look up an achievement by name, and learn how to achieve it).

I only give a star here for the material quality of the book and the artwork and extras provided. It is otherwise a very poor game guide, especially in comparison to Mass Effect 1 and 2 guides. It is not very useful unless you want to read (without maps) how to get from A to B, and no table comparisons of stats to determine what the best equipment and powers are to use.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice book...should be accurate though April 5, 2012

By Real Time

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Nice book; hundreds of pages and lots of great information. Prima did such a good job with the ME1 and ME2 guides I ordered this one without checking the buyer's reviews. That will be the last time I make that mistake.

Sadly, the index is only fair at best, I could not find a decent table of contents and the weapon ratings (weight, capacity, etc...) are a bit off which make it difficult to use the descriptions as a reliable guide. There are a couple other items, like where they simply parrot the exact words one can read in game, but I want to keep this short.

Having played through ME3 twice before ordering the guide (wanted to see if I missed anything) it turned out I hit everything mentioned in the guide, and even matched several of the 'builds' for my NPC companions. It 'is' a nice book, but I doubt anyone that has played ME1 & 2 will need it. Even if you start with ME3, the forums are a better source of information, in my opinion.

Though I am not completely satisfied with my purchase, I am "OK" with it; hence the three of five stars.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat glad I bought it March 21, 2012

By Mateo Dante

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Pros
It's not the most complete, nor does it have everything like the internet. BUT without it, I seriously would have been lost on mission directions because the quest journal is not clear on where to go sometimes and other times it does not update when you completed missions or how you completed them.

Cons
1. I took 1 point away because I really don't mind being spoiled by a guide book. But the guide book says it won't provide spoilers. To me, what's the point of a guide book if it's afraid to spoil the reader. So because it doesn't spoil, I wished there were some information it would provide on how exactly to reach the desired ending, ie what dialogues to choose, etc. Instead I had to resort to watching YouTube videos.
2. MAPS!! This book is missing the Galaxy resource map. A huge omission.