disappointing - Rated 
When I first looked at the strategy guide, I thought it looked like just what I wanted but when I came to play the game it just seemed to be set out in the most haphazard way.
I wanted clear maps with details about where pokemon/items/key characters could be found. I got pictures of pokemon which could be floating about somewhere on the page if they could caught with a key which I didn' understand. I often missed the pictures or had to look to find them in between all the bright colours and often random text boxes. The items were labelled on the map, but not what the items. There was a key below the map saying which items could be found in the area but say if I wanted to find a shiny stone I'd have to guess which pokeball on the map contained it. As for key characters, forget it.
Important pages, like how to improve your pokemon's happiness was just inserted randomly, and was not easy to find again when it was needed. I didn't think the descriptions of locations on these pages was very helpful.
Oh and I was also annoyed that the guide stopped as soon as you defeated the elite four. I appreciate that that is pretty much the end of the shinnoh game but at least a little about the large portion of the map that can now be accessed would be nice.
however, maybe I'm being unfair and it does have the things I want from it (allbeit somewhere random) in it somewhere but I've become so frustrated with being unable to find what I want at a glance and resorting to the internet for tips, that I sorely regret buying it.
New and Old - Rated 
Now let me tell you i liked this game though having played all the others this seemed good new start ..... this guide is very thick and does have allot of tips, plus a guide too all the pokemon in the game that you can capture in Sinho .... i dont like the idea of buying volume 2 becasue i though it would of all been in volume 1 like in the original pokemon Blue walk through it had the guide adn then a big pokedex including facks adn figures about each and every pokemon in the game ...... why o why couldnt they put it all into one instead of making you buy more than you should have to ..... this is nintendos tactics and just like they have done with the wii controllers
Gotta catch em all... wait, it'd be good to know what they all are first! - Rated
While I don't disagree with the other reviewer, I would hasten to say that the guide is laid out in an extremely confusing manner, with events that you cannot do until halfway through the game mentioned near the beginning of the guide, and areas which you won't be able to explore yet mapped and covered as soon as any portion of that area Could be entered.
What I'm saying might sound confusing - that's because it's a really confusing way to lay out a guide! I found myself having to flick back and forth through the guide many times to play through the game in a linear fashion.
My other gripe is that some of the information in this guide is missing, or just plain wrong. It's nothing huge, it's just very obvious that the people who wrote this guide (or at least those who typed it up) have never played the game.
My final disappointment is that the pokedex is not included in this guide and that we'll have to pay another £10 or whatever if we want detailed info on each pokemon. Not very good value for money.
Having said all that - If you really want a pokemon diamond and pearl guide, this one will do!
Gotta catch 'em all (again) - Rated 
This is another weighty tome; weighing in at just a shade under 300 A4 pages. I play the Pokemon RPGs purely to beat the 8 gym leaders and win the Pokemon league. So all I'm interested in is the walkthrough which is more than adequately covered. You have either a 3 page, 95 point quick walkthrough, or a 172 page highly detailed walkthrough that not only tells you what to do but introduces all the pokemon extras. Impossible to go wrong.
For those of you wanting to delve deeper into the Pokmon world, everything else is covered. Contests, wireless play, underground info, trading, TMs, HMs, berries, etc. All this information is presented in a very clear manner and would be accessible to young children.
The only thing missing is a detailed Pokedex listing all the Pokemon, their evolutions and learned moves, and where to find them. This will be avaiable next month (Sep 2007) in the companion volume: Pokedex Vol 2.
I would have given this guide 5 stars, but for the fact they've split all the info over 2 volumes. It could have been squeezed into 1 volume (the Emerald guide being a great example).
|
