The Prima Guide for GT4.

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GrahamTurismo
I work in the mall, and just about every day on my break I run over to EB and ask the guys about the GT4 guide. I went today, and they had it! I got it just because it's always handy to have right next to me when I'm playing to refer to, and also I need something to keep me entertained when the nights go slow at work when closing (like tonight). After briefly skimming through it I noticed a couple things that I thought I could share. Looking through here (just speculating, now) I noticed why exactly the guide might have been delayed for so long. Surely we all know about the rumors that the guide was delayed due to copyright issues, there are a couple pictures in the Tuning Logic section that have a copyright notice on them. Also in the Manufacturer Analysis section certain Manufacturers have trademark and reserved symbols on their pages. Perhaps Prima (and/or Kaizen Media Group) neglected to 'cite their sources properly' and the companies raised heck about it. Have a look:

guideproblems2jw.jpg
 
Dori-san, thanks for posting that info. So now we probably know why it was delayed.
A quick question, is the guide worth the money you paid for it? Would you recommend it?

Thanks,
Duck7892
 
Some of the info like tuning info is the same from the GT3 guide...like the definition of oversteer and understeer is copied right from the gt3 guide...and some other stuff but its still a great book worth it too.
 
I never buy these guides. I usually go to a bookstore and page through them. Sometimes I'll look at them if I'm planning on buying the game.
 
i just got the giude yesterday. funny thing is, i had to drop my bro off at work (walmart) but didnt feel like running in to see if it was there. instead i went to barnes and noble, eb, and gamestop which none had it except walmart.

i like the guide, pretty handy and good ready material when usin the boys room. :lol:
 
Can you give a quick summary of what is being discussed in the book? How complete is it? Does it give background info on cars? Does it step by step help you gold the licenses? Is there any need for you to buy this guide if you completed most of the game already?
 
smellysocks12
Can you give a quick summary of what is being discussed in the book? How complete is it? Does it give background info on cars? Does it step by step help you gold the licenses? Is there any need for you to buy this guide if you completed most of the game already?
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Quick summary:

GT4 Overview - 8 pages. Basic info that everyone already knows.
Driving Techniquies - 14 pages. I haven't read yet. Might be of help to people new at the game.
Tuning Logic - 6 pages. Not much more than what you see in the game.
License Tests - 20 pages. Not much more than what you see in the game.
Manufacturer Analysis - 100 pages. Info about the cars. Some pictures. Some blurbs. Some specs that you'll find in the game.
Individual Track Overview - 96 pages. For each track: a 1 page diagram and another page with 3 columns which includes a column of "GT4 Dictionary" of stuff not related to the track, a column of pictures, and a column of basic info about the track.
Special Features - 22 pages. Behind the scenes info and what-not about the game.
GT4 Checklists - 22 pages. The Car Checklist at least shows the HP for all cars. The rest: well...meh.

"Does it give background info on cars?" -- The Manufacturer Analysis section has 100 pages of info on the cars.

"Does it step by step help you gold the licenses?" -- No. There are 20 pages devoted to the license tests. Four licenses per page. Not much more than what you get in the game.

"Is there any need for you to buy this guide if you completed most of the game already?" -- Depends. If you want to better your lap times, this guide won't help. It is a collectors item. If it helps anyone it is people new to the series.

HTH,

ABC

Edit: Typo. There might be more. LOL.
 
Ryosuke_Gumna
Does it worth it?
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Depends on what will make it worth it to you. I think it's most useful for people new to the game or driving games in general. The information is generally at the basic level, but it's all there on paper. You can read the book and not have to have the game running.

For people already familiar with the game, it won't really help lap times. As far as I've seen so far, there hasn't been anything that has made me go "Wow. I didn't know that. I'll have to give that a shot."

The Manufacturer Analysis, Individual Track Overview, and Special Features sections are an interesting read for anybody however.

HTH,

ABC
 
Thanks for the summary, I don't think I'll get it. If it would have described everything in detail I might have bought it, but since a lot of the info is already in the game I don't see a reason why this book would add that much more value to the game. Also some help with a couple of the licenses would have been nice, if I wanted to see general explaination of the test I might as well turn on my PS2. :-/
 
I ordered my Guide through Walmart.com. I received an email stating that I would receive my guide on or about April 28. April 27 rolled around and I checked my email and then was told that I would not only NOT receive my guide on April 28, but that it was backordered until July 28. Needless to say, I canceled my order. I called Software Etc. at our local mall and they said that they had 7 of them on the shelf. I asked if he would hold one for me, which he gladly did. When I picked it up I asked why it took so long, and the story he got was that TOYOTA was rather miffed at their section in the guide, therefore Prima had to do some re-editing before it could be shipped out.
 
lmtherapyst
I ordered my Guide through Walmart.com. I received an email stating that I would receive my guide on or about April 28. April 27 rolled around and I checked my email and then was told that I would not only NOT receive my guide on April 28, but that it was backordered until July 28. Needless to say, I canceled my order. I called Software Etc. at our local mall and they said that they had 7 of them on the shelf. I asked if he would hold one for me, which he gladly did. When I picked it up I asked why it took so long, and the story he got was that TOYOTA was rather miffed at their section in the guide, therefore Prima had to do some re-editing before it could be shipped out.
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Needless to say, after I picked up my copy, we had to stopped at Wal-Mart for household goods, and lo and behold, they had them on their shelves, after emailing me and telling me that I would not recieve my order til July. Should have brought my email receipt and complained and got it at the internet price of 13.74, rather than 16.82. My guess is, Wal-Mart got greedy for my 2 dollars and some change, and figured store shelves will bring in more profit before mailing me my discounted Guide.
 
Yes there is an officail prize car list and a "full" car checklist. But one thing pisses me off. After all this waiting for this guide to come out, Puegeot is not even included in the guide. It's not in the info or the checklist. Now, they're not my favorite cars, but they have made it to GT and they deserve a spot in the guide. I mean, why would they leave out a manufacturer that has been in the GT series since GT2? It seems like too big of a mistake for it to be an accident. Well......................besides that the guide is a great addition to GT4. I like haveing the official checklist and prize list, while it is also fun to read.
 
i just got my guide abot 5 min ago, i bought it just to have it lol, i have all 4 guides and almost every gt game/demo 👍
 
I wouldn't say it's a worthwhile purchase, unless you have a need to have a complete collection of GT4 "stuff".

I found it very amusing to read in the GT4 Overview section the page about GT Mode. The first sentence declares that GT mode is the bulk of the game. Then the strategy guide goes on to spend ... get this ... one ENTIRE page on GT Mode. And that page is 80% a list of the names of the driving missions and mission hall races. No mention of what they are, what the requirements to enter them, hints on how to win them, no nothing.

Most of the guide is pictures and fluffy text about the cars. The track maps are ok, but certainly not "the racing line for every track". The nubrugring gets no more space than Motorland. Two paragraphs on the nurburging in fact indicate that if you manage to stay on the course you're doing great and better than the people who wrote the guide.

My son grabbed it from me when I brought it home Friday. Then on Saturday morning his first words to me were, "this guide sucks." I must admit my impressions were that the more I spent with it, the more I was disappointed with it.
 
LoveMyMiata
Two paragraphs on the nurburging in fact indicate that if you manage to stay on the course you're doing great and better than the people who wrote the guide.
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That's a good boost for the ego, but I guess it means there's no detailed write-up on Mission 34... :dopey:

I quickly came to the same opinion about the 'Driving the Game' book I picked up with some of my EB store credit. I knew it wasn't a 'game guide', but I was hoping for more than ho-hum photomode pics and a couple sentences per page of bland praise and Kaz quotes. They also have a horrendous habit of mislabeling pics - what the hell is a Mitsubishi Lancia Evolution?
 
CrackHoor
That's a good boost for the ego, but I guess it means there's no detailed write-up on Mission 34... :dopey:
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No detailed write up? Try no write up at all. There is no mission of the driving missions other than to list their existence.

If I get sufficientely motivated, I'll drop a line to Prima Games to find out what they were thinking when they released this.
 
I HAD reserved one when I bought the game,but after the last delay I went to Gamestop and got a refund.I just couldn't take the bull*&^( anymore..plus I had a feeling that the book would be of no use to me now anyways.

Well,I was right! Basically,it sucks.I looked through it cover-to-cover and the only thing that looked like it may be of any interest were the track overviews..until I read them.Total fluff,and the errors are unexcusable(Mitsubishi Lancia? etc..) especially for as long as it was delayed.I really shouldn't have expected much more,though.It will help beginners maybe,but there really is nothing of substance that isn't already in the game.
 
LoveMyMiata
No detailed write up? Try no write up at all. There is no mission of the driving missions other than to list their existence.

If I get sufficientely motivated, I'll drop a line to Prima Games to find out what they were thinking when they released this.
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Sounds like every other Prima 'Guide' I have bought... little more than a collection of screenshots, blurb from the game itself and a re-write of the manual!

Does it even tell you how to activate NOS? At least that would be one step forward, better than PD managed!
 
Could somebody put up a couple of images of at least two track over views? I'd like to see what kind of diagram they have for the tracks as i'd like a nice, official, and accuratre detailed map view of each track and if they are sifficiant i'll try get a hold of this. Thanks.
 

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