" A fun quick read and then turns into a handy dandy coaster. "

      Title: Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Strategy Guide by Brady Games

      Format: PC hint book

      Reviewing Monkey: Mojo Jojo

      The Hype: One of the toughest FPS that's hit in years is up and running Brady thinks you'll want a hint guide to help with it. Are they right? Read on, my monkeys. Read on.

      What This Monkey Thought...

      Layout: Hard to argue with a good thing, and Brady takes one of their classic layouts for this new hint book. The book begins with an introduction to the game and a historical overview and then flows into the weapons, characters, and set ups you'll be encountering. It then offers a mission-by-mission walk through, multiplayer ideas and strategies, and some overall tactics overviews. All in all, it's laid out logically, conveniently, and includes a nice index to help you find your way. No complaints at all. 4 out of 5

      Usefulness: I've said it before and I'll say it again, for the life of me I don't understand why people make narrative strategy guides ("Now run to the left and hit the button. Then look up and right and find the sniper. Now, turn around and go back…"). I mean, sure- if you're an absolute idiot and need to be walked through each step of the way I'm sure you think these things are God's gift…But if you're like the rest of us and only want to use the guide when you get stuck, trying to figure out where you are amidst their linear directions is a pain in the ass. And since this one goes the extra step towards complete frustration by listing things in arbitrary landmarks (i.e. "there may or may not be a guard dog here…Turn left.") the only time you'll actually end up using the walk through is if you've completely botched a mission, are too frustrated to keep going, and want to restart from scratch so you can use the guide. It's annoying, it wastes too much of my time, and it makes me want to pop someone's head like a zit. 2 out of 5

      Desired Content: Well, it's got a full walk through (despite my frustration with it), a weapons guide, and some overall strategy- all of which is good. What moves to great, however, is the inclusion of developer interviews, background material, and some mood setting art sections that all add to the general appeal of both the book of the game. This is some really neat extra material and I sincerely don't understand why more strategy guides don't include it. Really, the only thing that's missing are the cheats (which I also wonder why more books don't include) but that's a fairly minor annoyance. 4 out of 5

      Accuracy: Given it's narrative nature, it gets to be really hard to judge the accuracy of the Medal of Honor hint book because you're never quite sure if you are where it wants you to be. That not withstanding, however, there are definitely some glaring errors in some very key sections which means half the time you actually need it you'll be pulling the book out as more of a "idea" guide (as in "there are snipers somewhere kinda out there sort of…") than an actually hint book. 2 out of 5

      The Verdict:

A lot of people argue that hint books for FPS' are worthless and this book doesn't go far to smiting their plight. Narratively written, often inaccurate, and lacking cheats I honestly didn't find it very beneficial and I doubt you will either.

      The Good: Lots of extras.

      The Bad: Not enough of the stuff you need.

      The Overall Ugly: One of those guides that are a fun quick read and then turns into a handy dandy coaster.

      What it's Worth: 5 bucks if you're stuck or want the background.