" If you don’t need help, get it anyway, I’m sure it will still have a load of useful information for you. "

      Title: Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX Official Strategy Guide by Brady Games

      Format: Strategy guide for PS One

      Reviewing Monkey: Simi N.

      The Hype: This strategy guide will teach you everything you need to know about Matt Hoffman’s Pro BMX! Learn every move for every rider, find the best path through each level, learn how to design better parks, and find all the secrets the game has to offer.

      What This Monkey Thought...

      Layout: Once again, Brady Games has gone and shown the strategy guide world how to make a guide look snazzy while still being easy to navigate. The book is full of color pictures of all the different riders, their bikes, and the courses that you will have to conquer to beat the game. The book contains loads of useful information for those who are just learning the game as well as for those who have been playing for some time. The information is easy to access and the important points or extra tips are highlighted and separated from the main text so you can pick them out easily. 5 out of 5.

      Usefulness: Whether you’ve never seen a BMX bike in you life or you are a seasoned this guide will teach you more than you need to know to beat the game in short order. It teaches the basics of riding and all of the tricks from the simplest to the most difficult, and also tells you how to best plan your path in a level depending on what you are good at. Anybody who has trouble beating this game needs this guide, and those who have already beaten it could use it to make sure they unlock everything they can. 5 out of 5.

      Desired Content: I swear this guide has everything you want, and some things that you didn’t know you wanted. The book starts off with a bio of Matt Hoffman complete with a timeline of the major events in his life. Then takes you through every level and every mode of game play. It even tells you how to kick your friends asses in the two player modes. Every secret is listed in this game along with how to unlock them. The levels are taken down to minute detail, not only do they tell you how best to rack up points, but they also tell you what path is the best to get all of the covers in each track. And like all really good strategy guides secret codes can be found at the end. 5 out of 5.

      Accuracy: Everything from this book rings true. The tracks look like the maps this book has. The location of objects and ramps is exact. The little notes and tips truly do make the game easier. I mean hell, this book is accurate down to the time you will have left after reaching a difficult to find object. Although, I should note that every once in a while, the track maps don’t tell you what the starting point is (a minor issue, but it is there and should be noted). 4.5 out of 5.

      The Verdict:

This is an example of what a good strategy guide should be. It has all of the information that is pertinent to the game (including cheat codes) and it gives great strategies on how to beat the levels, and collect to covers that you need to do well in the game. This guide even goes the extra mile and gives you information that isn’t necessary (like Matt Hoffman’s bio) but is interesting to know anyway. And all of this is presented in a slick and easy to access format.

      The Good: Great looking, full color pages, everything you could possibly need, or want to know (and then some), and the book doesn’t ever steer you in the wrong direction.

      The Bad: Not only does it not double as your own personal slave, but it doesn’t taste very good either. Oh and on one non-competition map out of the whole book, they forgot to label the start point. Unforgivable.

      The Overall Ugly: If you need help, get this guide. If you don’t need help, get it anyway, I’m sure it will still have a load of useful information for you.

      What it's Worth: Market plus about five bucks.