Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

by Danny "Ralsu" Gourley

Information in the Bundle
Three weeks after they were published, the hard copy of the guide has fairly current, solid information. While I would argue that gamers can get all of the information on the classes of WAR that they need right here at Ten Ton Hammer, owners of the Prima guide would have the luxury of thumbing through the spells tables offered in the guide while logged into WAR without bogging down their machine with an Alt + Tab to access the Internet. Or perhaps a gamer who is looking for a little reading material on WAR for a road trip or bathroom break would appreciate the hard copy. The copious lore entries in the guide are very worthwhile. Six months from now, the lore may be the only thing worth reading in the hard copy.

The contents of the atlas are far more likely to retain their relevancy even through changes, and the entries are geared more for quick access during gameplay. Again, I would insist that the Ten Ton Hammer RvR guides will be the most current information found on WAR, but the atlas has the added benefit of being in hand for quick reference in the middle of a battle.

Both the guide and the atlas show signs of quality editing. Readers will find few typos or erroneous entries. The bundle will be a great purchase for the Warhammer fanatic who will appreciate the lore in the guide and the maps in the atlas. Gamers who want a guide to the top and don't care for lore should only get the atlas.

The Electronic Updates
Players who choose to buy the eGuide version of the Warhammer Online Guide and Atlas Bundle will have the option to purchase the Extended Download Service (EDS) at the same time for only $2.99 more. Paying the fee for the EDS ensures that the customer can download every update Prima Games makes to the books. It does not appear that consumers can purchase the EDS with hard copies of the bundle, and the Prima website indicates that EDS must be purchased along with the eGuide, making it sound as thought buying the service after the fact is impossible.

Without a doubt, the EDS purchase is a must to anyone buying the eGuides. In fact, EDS is the whole reason a guide for an MMOG you plan to play more than six months after launch can even be considered a worthwhile expense. The sad thing is that customers lose the benefits of the hard copy of the book, which is an impressive tome of lore passed on from Mythic. Similarly, one of the best features of the atlas is the ability to have it on-hand during gameplay. Gamers may find themselves looking to print the needed portions of the electronic version of the atlas so that they can have the maps on their physical desktops while gaming instead of having to switch over to their virtual desktops.

The good news is that Prima plans to break down some of the bits of lore in the eGuide into separate eGuides. A tabletop Warhammer player who is a Greenskin until death can get only the eGuide that covers the struggle of Dwarfs vs. Greenskin. At publishing time for this review, the links on the Prima site to the smaller portions of the eGuide all led to the page for the full eGuide. Players who love their lore should keep an eye on this, as it may change.

All in all, Prima Games is taking a necessary step forward with strategy guides for the Warhammer Online Guide and Atlas Bundle. The massive amount of lore packed into the guide makes a hard copy purchase of it a good gift for Warhammer lore fans even after the statistics inside become outdated. The hard copy atlas is a great tool to have at the computer while playing. The eGuides are a terrific way to keep the purchase useful for the long haul with the addition of the EDS purchase.