Customer Reviews

Resident Evil 5: The Complete Official Guide (Prima Official Game Guides)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Whenever a Piggyback Interactive guide comes around, you know exactly what to expect. A lot of depth. And not just for those wanting to get through the game... for those wanting to conquer it all. Even better is that the guide could be useful whether you're a veteran of the series or new to it all together. It's an easy guide to navigate and use.

The "How to Play" section might be worth a peak, even for Resident Evil veterans, if only to learn a bit more about cooperative play. It goes into a lot of detail on mechanics old and new. If you mastered Resident Evil 4, however, you might find this section repeats a lot of what you already know. However, if you're new, this is a good place to learn about some of the basics. It covers both the 360 and PS3 versions of the game, so it doesn't matter which version of the game you have.

The walkthrough is more than likely what you picked the guide up for in the first place. It works in a very well organized way. There are a lot of symbols to remember, but over time they'll become second nature to you, and there's only one moment where you have to worry about going higher than a second floor.

What makes the guide well-to-do is how it's designed. On left hand pages, there are quick references called out on the maps, which are very detailed in and of themselves. It's done in a fashion in which A is on the map and then you can find A in a text box and read. Here it might just say something like, "Take down the Majini here..." Most of it is pretty in depth, but these moments don't go into nearly as much detail on how to dispatch your adversaries. It's more designed just to give you an idea of what's coming.

On the right hand pages, however, is where it goes into a lot more depth, calling out all the new enemies whenever you encounter them and giving you a briefing on the tactics that work best to defeat them. There are also much more in depth boss strategies here. It also calls out new weapons and gives you a bit of advice on how to use them. Along those lines there are also call out to the treasures you'll find, and it'll tell you more on how to get them. These tactics are mostly designed for those attempting the game on Veteran mode, but they work just the same for normal as well. Which is another nice thing about the guide. The fact that it covers all difficulty levels instead of just the standard.

In short, the left hand pages (with the maps and such) are designed for clarity and general guidance, while the right hand pages are designed for advanced tips or for what you might want to do if you're incredibly stuck. The guide is well suited to the type of gamer who wants to explore, and the kind who wants to know what's under every nook and cranny. And there is a lot to explore in Resident Evil 5.

After this it goes into the inventory where it'll tell you which weapons are good and to use them. Every weapon is designed in such a way that it has something that might make you want to use it over the others in its class. The guide does its best to recommend what might be the beset to take in its class. However, they leave the decision up to you and show you all the upgrades available for a weapon. It also talks about the grenades and different types of ammo for the Grenade Launcher. For an inventory chapter... it's has quite a bit of info. Along those lines, there's also a section at the back which gives you the tips on the best places to go to get more weapons and gold for those looking to really make the best of what they have in their inventory.

After the inventory, we get into the Bestiary, and are presented with the first of many warnings. That beyond the first turn of the bestiary pages are possible spoilers. The guide will warn you about spoilers three times in all. The walkthrough itself is spoiler free, but it's hard to go into the list of enemies, or the extras without revealing a few things you might want to be kept a secret. Yet the Bestiary is really useful. It helps to get you settled on taking enemies down depending on which difficulty you're on as well. It also gives you tactics for all the enemies, mini-bosses and bosses overall in case you didn't find them in the walkthrough. It can be a little confusing at first with the chart and all the different kinds of numbers, but it helps you get adjusted. Resident Evil 5 has a mechanic where it adjusts how tough enemies are based on not just the difficulty level, but also with how well the player is doing. Piggyback helps you in both cases.

After that, there's the extras chapter. Once again, it warns you of spoilers for those who haven't finished (and it'll also warn you again when you look at the trophies/achievements list). Yet there are a lot of tips, including for the Mercenaries game and more (I wouldn't want to spoil for those who've yet to complete the game, myself). What you might be interested in is that the guide has a separate walkthrough for those attempting a speed run, or attempting to go through the game on professional. These are tips for advanced players who know the game inside out. It's a quick walkthrough that only details what's needed for the best time.

Lastly, there's a lot of high concept art and interviews from developers. Those wondering about the development of Resident Evil 5 might be curious about reading this section.

With all the info in this guide, it can be a lot to swallow. And indeed, it is. But the information is organized in such a way that it's easy to find. If there's something you can't find, though, there's an index at the very back. Even here, the guide has a way of preventing spoilers by highlighting things in Red if it's located in a section that holds potential spoilers.

This is a good guide to get for Resident Evil 5. It covers just about everything and is made with veteran gamers in mind, as well as beginners. There's a lot of info here. It can definitely feel text heavy at times, but it's designed in such a way that you don't have to read every word in order to prepare for what lies ahead on your journey. And with a walkthrough that's free of plot spoilers, you can be content in knowing that you can browse the walkthrough freely and still be kept in question to what happens throughout the game's story, which has a lot in and of itself to swallow.

I got most RE guides, MGS4 and even the old FFVII guide. I go to say this is one of the most accurate guides out there.

This help me saved time and frustration with finding all the items, BSAA emblem, and treasures. All the maps and items found are exactly like the PS3 version of the game. Image of the maps and screenshot are very clear to understand. There are a lot of texts here also. All the weapons grade, level-up, bosses tip and strength are well done. Have a few pages for verse mode also. The layout on the walkthrough is like this. One page (left side) got the map a 50-75 percent of the page. A couple of 1x2 inch screen shoots. The right page is mostly texts and some artwork background and some screenshots also.

The only think I found that isn't in the book is you can knock out the light beam (laser) in the worship area in chapter 4-2 with a couple of hits from the rocket launcher.

Most guides are useful to find all the items and tips, but RE5 can be easily beat by most people without the book, especially with co-op online plays.

I was so very impressed with this guide. One of the biggest and best thing they did was not spoil the cut scene's and surprises that were ahead. The art and detail were awesome and everything you needed to know was all in this book.

why are strategy guides so wordy. it's like reading a boring instruction manual. just a few pictures per page is ridiculous. doesn't these people realize that most strategy guide buyers like step by step PICTURE instructions like how they USED to be. most of these editors don't take the time to really go step by step with PICTURES. it's hard to visualize words when one has never played this game before. part of buying strategy guides is to alleviate frustrations of blindly going thru a game hence the guide however reading this guide's WORDY instructions were hectic and frustrating. I did enjoy all the extras like enemy stats, weapon stats, speed guide and in-depth info on everything else EXCEPT the most important aspect which was the WALKTHROUGH. Reading the free gamefaqs was actually alot more helpful.

Tells everything about RE5 without spoiling it for you. Words are easy to read and understand and everything is placed in such a way to help you find it. They give tips on how to beat professional mode as well as a speed walkthough. Info on all the weapons and enemies is also included. Overall a well put together book.

Ordered this to help with somethings in resident evil 5, some collectibles i couldn't find, and because i collect guides, and this guide is awesome. It has everything you need, and for people who havent beatin the game yet, dont worry. It helps you without ruining the story. when i got this in the mail, it was brand new and sealed. 5/5 quality.

First of all I don't know why amazon sent my a book with different cover, but I think it was because is a new version of the book, the book has images and is very easy un understand, it's very useful !!

This guide is great and detailed. I only paid around 17 dollars on amazon when I would normally have to pay 20 at a retail store. Definately worth it!

this game is great. it has one of the best graphics i have ever seen on a video game.

good price on book. but to be expected the game is over a year old. Check marks in the back of book. If tnot for marks in book it would have been a great buy.