" The inclusion of all the hidden objects, though, pushes it right over the tip and makes it definitely worth picking up. "

   Title: Vampire: The Masquerade- Requiem by Brady Games

   Format: Hint Book

   Reviewing Monkey: Dungapult

   The Hype: Not so much a hint book or cheater as a walk through, VtM-R by Brady is the Official Strategy Guide for the game.

      What This Monkey Thought...

   Layout: There is a fine line in hint books between being overly "flowery" (or dealing too much in the world of the game) and being just plain dull. Fortunately, VtM-R does a pretty damned good job of finding that middle ground. Written often from an in game perspective, the information is to the point and enticing but still keeps straight forward. Inclusion of down right coldly written attrition directions such as "slaughter them before moving on" and "kill them all…Let no one escape" help add to the dark and sadistic humor of the game. 4 out of 5

   Usefulness: Vampire, as a game, is not ridiculously, or even overly, hard. However, there are definite times when having some insight on what to do or where to go is incredibly handy. We had two different players use this book during their campaign through Vampire- one in a step by step fashion and one only when he got stuck, and both found it cool, but not mandatory, to have. The inclusion of all the hidden objects, though, pushes it right over the tip and makes it definitely worth picking up. 3 out of 5

   Desired Content: Not a whole lot to say here…It is a good walk through, list of objects and items, and strategy guide. However, it is pretty obvious as you go through that the whole thing is, at essence, little more than an expounding on the actual instructions from the game. The info on the weapons, disciplines, and baddies aren’t a whole lot more than you can find in the instructions and the multiplayer section isn’t much more helpful either. I really wish they would have taken a little extra time to find out what the real problems the players would be facing were and write on them rather than just taking what Activision said they would need. Oh and, there is one glaring flaw...NO MAPS! Wait, let me say that again...NO MAPS! So, if you think that a hint book is actually going to help you find your way around you are way frickin' off. NO MAP. Shit. Who's idea was that? "You know, it's a role playing game with a lot of dungeon cralling...But, nah. Why should people know where they're going?" The apex of this (and to show you why it could be useful) I quote from the actual hint book that says, "The factory is harder to describe than to play." So don't describe it, you baboon jerkers, SHOW IT! 2 out of 5

   Accuracy: Overall, the accuracy for this hint book is pretty good. However, it immediately becomes VERY obvious that it was written based either on Activision’s word or by playing it only a single time through. Several of the items they say will be in various crates will be different (because the game randomly generates several of those items) and some of the hint book listed magic items aren’t there- probably pulled in stages of game development that occured after the hint book was started. 3 out of 5

   The Verdict:

       Personally, I think this is a handy book to have around. Not, by any means, essential…But handy. I’d pick it up if you’re having problems or think you may have missed something.

   The Good: Nice balance between dry strategy guide and annoying overly characterized book.

   The Bad: No maps, not as accurate as I would like, and doesn’t have some of the things I really would have liked it to.

   The Overall Ugly: Good if you need a walk through but passable if you’re doing okay on your own.

   What it's Worth: Market