Product Description* Two Books: a $40 value - The Collector's Edition will include the FULL Mass Effect strategy guide PLUS the 192 page exclusive Mass Effect Art Book.
* Concept Art and Commentary - Prima's Mass Effect Art Book will include commentary from the developers at BioWare on the evolution of Mass Effect's elements, from ships to aliens to locations.
* Clean Box Art - Prima's one sheet for the guides will fall away when the shrinkwrap is removed, leaving pristine art, unmarred by logos, barcodes, or taglines.
Great for art fans into game design (Rating: 4 out of 5) I got this for the art book, so I don't have a strong opinion on the guide. That said, the guide is useful for completionists like me. The "collecting" side quests may be quite hard to complete without any help as many of the objects don't show up on the maps until you get near them. This book will save you a lot of time by marking them out for you. Although you can get all the information you need online, it's handy to have a printed version while you're within the game.
The art book contains a lot of gorgeous concept art that really shows how much attention has gone into the design of this fabulous game. Mass Effect has one of the best game stories I've encountered, and if you love the story as much as I do, you'll enjoy reliving the game via the artwork and seeing how the design of the characters and aliens evolved into their final versions.
The chapters cover the gamut: characters, races, environments, vehicles - there's even a "details" sections that covers miscellaneous stuff like furniture. The pages are dominated by the pictures, descriptive text is present but minimal; the way it should be.
I would give the art book a 5 star, but overall the set receives a 4-star because the guide is pretty straightforward, and there's nothing really special about this so-called collector's edition.
A great Mass Effect complement (Rating: 4 out of 5) This collectible book is rich of a beautiful illustration set and show the creation process of a such great game as Mass Effet. If you consider a video game as a piece of Art, you will find this item as a must have. It give you the opportunity to continue the Mass Effect journey.
Beautifull game, beautifull images (Rating: 4 out of 5) What I like the best of this game is the atmosphere, the art of the game, and in the Artbook I have had what I expected, very good.
The guide looks very very very complete, but it has A LOT of text and tables. It's a complete guide but not a funny read
Great value, good purchase (Rating: 4 out of 5) Considering the Art-work had been given as well I couldn't recommend this one enough, this was a great guide, informative and helpful if only a little lack-luster when providing alternative strategies and approaches to certain bosses and enemies.
Still, if you're like me and like extended manual's that you can pick up and start reading wherever you go, this one is great.
A recommendation though, even as it is a guide and should be obvious, more guides should implement "SPOILER" warnings before key plot element's are given away.
Game Guide With Art Book (Rating: 4 out of 5) I found the hint guide to be very helpful, While I only referred to it after finishing a section or when getting stuck for awhile. It has information on all equipment, powers, locations and charecters and maps for all locations too.
The art book was nice, with lots of background information, though it lacked the depth that went into Half Life 2 Raising the Bar, its a good addition to any collection.