Grand Theft Auto IV Signature Series Guide (Bradygames Signature) Reviews

• Disappointing for owners of previous strategy guides in the GTA series

  
  By A2FBW226READ0E on 2008-04-30
  The only reason this guide gets a second star is because this guide does what it's supposed to do. It is quite helpful for getting you through the plot when you're stuck and it does contain detailed maps of the game's many extras. It also lists the Achievements for Xbox 360 and helpful strategies for Multiplayer.
  
  I find the quality of strategy guides in general have gone down in recent years, and this one is no exception. Owners of stategy guides for the previous games in the GTA series (GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas) will be quite disappointed with this one. This strategy guide doesn't contain the expected list of vehicles that previous editions had (no pictures of the vehicles and not even a text list). It is also organized quite poorly. Most of the extras are contained within the Main Story Walkthrough (side missions, girlfriends, etc). You can't look up the extras by category. For example if you want to look up the girlfriends, one is listed on page 19, a couple on page 102, one on page 146, etc. All the other extras are listed in a similar manner. Since most of everything is listed within the Main Story Walkthrough, you always run the risk of seeing plot lines you don't want to see yet.
  
  

• Professionally made, poorly organized - Xbox360 Owner...

  
  By A2M7CLVA0KIHQF on 2008-05-05
  As others have stated, Game Guides have drastically declined in quality in recent years. Some seem to provide good information but appear to be printed on home computers, whereas some have excellent appearance, but lack desired information.
  
  This book applies more to the second category. I made sure to flip through the pages before leaving the store to make sure none of the pages were crimped or blurry. What I saw was a very cleanly printed book, void of unnecessary images or intrusive background images. Game content is provided with clear and explanatory side bars and sub-plots. The information is very neatly presented and is very easy to follow.
  
  However, readers will become discouraged when they begin searching for particular information regarding side-quests, extracurricular activities, non-player characters (your "friends" in the game), etcetera. The Table-of-Contents only shows the core missions of the game, along with the necessary "side missions" that grant 100% completion. There is no index, making it very difficult to find what you're looking for. This is especially frustrating when you're flipping back and forth through pages while mumbling "Well I know I saw it in here SOMEWHERE..."
  
  There are no appendices or any other breakdown for all the other content (and trust me there's a lot of it) that GTA IV provides. This book focuses on "how to beat the game and get 100%." If you want to find easter eggs, hidden content, or just that typical, cool stuff that GTA has always provided, you'll probably have to sit near a computer and employ creative search-engine strategies.
  
  Also, be advised that though the game documents the Achievements for the Xbox 360 system, it offers no advice on how to earn them.
  
  I'm glad I got it for 20% off by buying it with the game.
  
  

• Detailed but Disorganized.

  
  By A19GWFVSEN1J8R on 2008-05-07
  Just got the book today after i have completed about 20% of the game. This guide is pretty interesting as it gives you tips here and there but like other reviewers, i find it rather disorganised. Not having the list of cars is definitely disappointed.
  
  The plus points are the tips that are inside which is very informative for busy working class people who just wants to get to the game main storyline.
  
  
  
  

• This guide is huge!!!!

  
  By A2J1REDQ1O7O68 on 2008-05-13
  This guide is very thick. It has everything about the story line and special items and activities. However, like other guides you have to take it with a grain of salt so to say because the way the writers play the game may be different from the way someone else plays the game. You can get a idea of what strategy to use, but use your head when playing because you may need to change what you do to get through the game. The guide is helpful as far as letting you know what you need to do to complete the missions and it gives good advice on strategy, so it is not all bad info. I like it and use it when I get stuck on missions.
  
  

• i like the others better

  
  By A2YJA637Y3TE42 on 2008-05-05
  i tried it and im returning it i just dont like it. but i do like the prior gta's.
  
  
• Decent guide, but not as good as past GTA Guides
  By A25IHLNKT1ZQKD on 2008-05-09
  This guide is good enough to help you get 100 percent, but don't expect anything great. You frequently have to flip back to the table of contents to find what you're looking for, as info is seemingly randomly scattered throughout the book. It's as if the guide was rushed and not edited at all. Also missing is a detailed car list that I got used to in past guides, and it'd be nice to seem them all.
  
  Regardless, it's still a decent guide.
  
  
• Great for pro-players.
  By A3VUR5QKAKSSU6 on 2008-05-09
  amazing guide thats all i can say... dont beleive other reviews , this will help you get to the top in the right way, at the begining at the game the magazine wasn't usefull at all but then when you get to the middle missions you will really need it because there are some mission whether (nico)'ll choose who kill and how you should be friends with, and other bunch of cool stuff so you dont have to repeate mission over and over again... this magazine help me a lot , also it gives you the flying rats ubication map.a poster with nico very nice.A+++
  
  
• The Best Game
  By A1MRW17KIZ287C on 2008-05-18
  this a best choice to give to your friend who loves games...my friend is enjoying this game
  
  
• Where are the cars?
  By AJFHBNOB0O0DI on 2008-05-18
  It's a fine strategy guide from Brady Games.
  My only beef is that there is no guide to the vehicles. A strange departure from every other GTA strategy guide. It's still worth it for the gamer that wants to do everything in the game.
  
  
• Very detailed, informative, and reliable.
  By AR2LXIUPV45GE on 2008-05-27
  This is a real solid guide for GTA 4. The only beef I have with it is that it does not include a checklist that you can use to keep track of your 100% completion goals, but it does tell you what you have to do to get said 100%. The maps are accurate and reliable, the strategies are good ones to use, and it tells you the little things, like what activities your girlfriends enjoy, when your friends and GFs are available, and the appearance of hidden characters, which I think is nice. Overall, a good companion to help you make sense of the large and insane world that is Liberty City!
  
  
• Good guide.
  By A2FE7GJY8WWYI8 on 2008-05-28
  This is an excellent strategy guide. It gives a very detailed explanation for each mission you incur. The maps show the locations of weapons, businesses, cars, characters, hidden items, etc. A lot of work went into the guide. My only complaint is that it does not show pictures of all the cars in the game. The San Andreas guide had that. This is why I give it a 4.
  
  
• Niko, you'll be needing this
  By A24PXB7FZ48G0B on 2008-06-10
  The game is huge in scope, and so is this book. It guides you through just about everything, so I play with it on my lap. I've been pretty unimpressed by guidebooks before, but this one has a ton of content, down to every single flying rat, with pictures of them! Having accurate maps of all the pickups goes a long way, and is a time saver for folks who want to focus on the missions.
  
  
• Great guide, but not perfect
  By A3G0ILGXENTQH3 on 2008-07-10
  The Grand Theft Auto series of games have always been crammed full of things to do in addition to following the main story -- there are tons of hidden secrets and various other activities and missions.
  
  The Bradygames Guide has literally everything you need to know about GTA IV, in order to obtain 100% completion. Considering how much information is involved, this is no small task. The book has a ton of colorful pictures, as well as detailed descriptions on beating every mission and finding every. last. secret. period.
  
  The only downside to the book, and it is a major one, is the way in which the information is organized. The book is laid out from the standpoint of "this is what will happen next if you play the way we played". In other words, there is no organization of topics, only a 'flow' of information from one event to the next.
  
  The problem with this methodology is that because GTA IV is an open ended game, it is extremely unlikely that anyone will play through the game in the order the book was written -- this means that you're not going to be able to easily find specific information in the book unless you also know what event preceded it in the main story.
  
  Anyway, even though the data organization is a major annoyance, the fact remains that this guide has everything you ever wanted to know about GTA IV, so it is a must buy! You can find the same information scattered across a variety of websites, but the book is cheap and is very convenient to have next to you on the couch!
  
  
• Great guide
  By A2YRUKLX8AZN95 on 2008-05-01
  Contains all information to compleate game and even tells you if something is or is not required for 100% completion. Well organized if you read the table of contents and fold out map. If you want to cmplete 100% you will need this guide.
  
  
• Grand Theft Guide
  By A1O3MVD69GOZKL on 2008-05-18
  esta guia es simplemente sorprendente, con ella te sera facil poder encontrar todos los colectives y difinitivamente si quieres completar el 100% sin muchos problemas es esta tu mejor obcion, no dudes en comprarla,
  
  
• I hated the game, so I don't blame the game guide
  By A30XHH1CPK1CYM on 2008-06-15
  Game wasn't very much fun, but if it had been, this guide would've been okay. A little confusing, but manageable.
  
  
• Help every step of the way!
  By A1IN7D1QGP4LC9 on 2008-06-15
  There is so much to GTA IV that without this guide, it would be extremely hard to hit that 100% completion.. This guide takes you though all the details of the game, mission by mission.. Also includes things like location of every stunt jump and flying rat.. Details of the jobs for Jacob, Brucie's Wanted Car List, Stevie's Wanted Car List, Street Races, Random Characters, Most Wanted Missions, Assassination Missions, and also all your friends and girlfriends favorite activities..
  
  The only thing I do not like about this guide is the odd jobs and friends activities are mixed in with the missions.. So I have to flip back and find what I'm looking for.. If they had kept that separated it would be a little easier.. All in all I consider this guide a necessity.
  
  
• GTA IV guide book
  By A13GGXDZJUGLNZ on 2008-06-18
  This is a great product with an extensive range of information to assist you with missions and various other need to knows. Would have been good if they included a car guide.
  
  
• gta 4 guide
  By A1R4KML82GCKBG on 2008-06-19
  i bought the guide just to find out what there was to do in the game. the guide was straight forward and easy to use.
  
  
• Pretty good
  By AJX9BUNP7SZYH on 2008-07-10
  I found this book really helpful, although I had already finished the game by the time it got to me.
  
  

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