Fallout New Vegas Collector's Edition: Prima Official Game Guide

The book is pretty thick at 480 pages and packed with information. The type is fairly small, but not cringing small. The difference between this and the normal edition is the hardcover and there are 32 pages of extra content (art and behind the scenes stuff). Mine's numbered 97590, so I guess they printed a lot of collector's edition. The book is split into a few main parts: Training, Main Quest, Side Quest, Tour of Mojave Wasteland and Appendices. The Training section basically talks about the game mechanics and character development. There's an explanation for all the attributes, perks, skills, etc available, all of which I find very useful as I'm new to Fallout. There are also suggested character builds with recommended stats and suggestions on how to spend you Skill points. And of course, there are weapon information and enemy profiles. The walkthrough section is detailed and complete with all the items you can find during any particular quest. To avoid spoilers, just skip the text and follow the quest flowchart which is basically a list the prerequisites required for the quest. Items you can find are marked by big icons. Side quests come in at an overwhelming 150 pages, more than twice the pages for the story quest. Wow. They are as detailed as the main walkthrough. This where you can find cool items, gain extra experience and visit strange places. I might take a year traveling through the desert to find all these side quests without the guide. You can be sure you won't miss any even if you miss talking to any characters. Maps come in a few form and they are very useful. The pullout poster map has 3 maps showing the roads, enemy hangouts and collectibles respectively. In the book, the maps are close-ups of areas and blueprints of buildings with details down to the room level, and the list of collectibles and quests. If you're a collector-type of player in the game, then this book (or the paperback edition) is for you. I'm not too sure the extra 32 pages of art/stuff/hardcover is worth that extra $6 or so - but it's not too much anyway. (There are a few pages from the art pages on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

As a frame of reference, I am a Fallout "junkie". I have played every Fallout iteration, and most recently spent nearly 400 hours in the east coast wastelands of Fallout 3. My constant companion through that journey was David Hodgson's excellent Collector's Edition Guide. And I'm happy to report this guide for Fallout New Vegas is no different. David has a wonderful way of including non-spoiler strategy and character creation sections at the start of both of these guides, which allows you to safely plan for your upcoming journey without worrying about stumbling across a story element you really wished you hadn't seen. You can decide exactly how you want to allocate those SPECIAL points (No, really, SPECIAL - Strategy, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck...S.P.E.C.I.A.L.). And key to that initial allocation is knowing which Skills to summarily choose, and then which Perks you want to gain access to during the game. With the change to only gaining 1 perk every 2 levels (instead of F3's generous 1 per each level), planning these out based on your style of game play is critical. Like to talk your way out of battles? Perhaps a high Charisma and Intelligence, which could lead to choosing Speech and Science for your TAG skills, and then select skills like Confirmed Bachelor of Lady Killer for extra conversation options. Personally, I like to play the sniper, so a high perception and agility came into play. The guide has helped me through over 100 hours of Fallout New Vegas so far, reach level 28 out of 30. It let me plan my skill progression, choose the two traits (back in Fallout!) that best suited my game play. But there is so much more. A detailed fold out map, that references locations specifically spelled out in the guide. Sections of companions, enemies and NPCs, armor, weapons and ammo. Want a step-by-step through the main quest? It's there. Want help with just one side quest? They are there in alphabetical order. Wondering what is inside that tempting mine entrance you just stumbled across while running from a pack of Deathclaws? It's in there. I highly recommend this to EVERY Fallout player, new to the series or a hardened veteran of the wastes. Congratulation to David for creating another wonderful guide that lets every user choose their level of help and their level of "spoilerage". See you all in the wasteland...I'll be the one playing Caravan at the Mojave Outpost, drinking a whiskey with Cass and wondering if I'll ever get to visit California beyond that locked gate...

I've played the Fallout Series all the way from the first two, then tactics, even Brotherhood of Steel which was the original Xbox's attempt at a Baldur's Gate style game, now, I play the second Fallout title by Bethesda studios and what can I say? Better, bigger and bolder, they've refined it, given it more of that wasteland feel and added twists and turns at every angle, therefore, I decided to buy the guide a few days after I purchased the game, why? I want it all, I need to explore every inch of this game, I want to play this game as fully and complete as I did in the previous Fallout titles. The guide, well, it's a great publish, I set out by starting again, following one of the "Archetypes" it recommends for the "Hardcore" play through, I tried to reed little bits at a time and found my self with the game on pause for 10 - 15 minutes at a time as I read up on quests, info, tips, extras, alternate options and found my self enjoying the read more than I thought, I was pleased to find that you can be shown all available outcomes and items obtained (As well as amount of Xp) also how to tackle each obstacle depending on your play style, be it silent and stealthy, rugged and rough, or go in all guns blazing. As for content of the guide, you will not be unsatisfied, it has load outs of all statistics, a huge bestiary, weapons and armoury section and secrets/hidden objects and also shows where there are differences between this game's mechanics and that of Fallout 3 for those who played it (Like me) and think, "pfft... Yeah, I was pro at Fallout 3 so I'll smash through this new one in no time" - only to find out it's not quite the same as it's predecessor. The look and feel of the guide is neat and tidy, it's a rigid hardback book, clear and readable text, not to busy or confusing and has some great artwork within which the standard guide doesn't, and there is an issue number stamp that gives it a great feeling of authenticity. All in all, I rate it hugely, 5 of 5 stars.

A mi hijo le encanto ya que es un gran fan de la saga fallout y le gusto que fuera una guía estratégica de sus entregas favoritas

Essential giude if you want to roam the wastland!

This book is a must have if you own Fallout: New Vegas the game. There are so many locations and places in this game that even the most thorough gamer may miss a few. I know that part of the fun is to find a new area on your own without help from a book, but seriously this helps with the frustration of finding something you've spent hours looking for. It also describes the enemies and items to be found at all the locations. So you know if its worth it to investigate an area or not. Also the book details all the missions, enemies, items and a little back story to the game. The book is well presented with a detailed hardback cover and is over 200 pages and also includes a seperate map pinpointing all locations of interest in the game. Overall I would give it 10/10.

Fallout guides are the benchmark.