Rating: 
Summary: Invaluable resource in improving to mastery
Review: AOK is a complex game, and you won't be able to get all its nuances without help. This is the help you need. By giving insight into the AI of various units, you come away with winning strategies during single-player action. Insight into the strenghts and weaknesses of each unit prove absolutely indispensible to network play. And the sections on the making of the game give anyone with even an inkling towards game design a better idea about the process of creating one of the most solidly playable games on the market.Most strategy guides are either rehashes of the obvious, or so incredibly detailed they take much of the fun out of playing. This one strikes the right balance by giving you detailed information about the capabilities of the various units and empires, while never asserting a "proper" way to employ that information. If you want to get maximum enjoyment out of your software purchase, this is the guide that will get you there.
Rating:
Summary: Invaluable resource in improving to mastery
Review: AOK is a complex game, and you won't be able to get all its nuances without help. This is the help you need. By giving insight into the AI of various units, you come away with winning strategies during single-player action. Insight into the strenghts and weaknesses of each unit prove absolutely indispensible to network play. And the sections on the making of the game give anyone with even an inkling towards game design a better idea about the process of creating one of the most solidly playable games on the market. Most strategy guides are either rehashes of the obvious, or so incredibly detailed they take much of the fun out of playing. This one strikes the right balance by giving you detailed information about the capabilities of the various units and empires, while never asserting a "proper" way to employ that information. If you want to get maximum enjoyment out of your software purchase, this is the guide that will get you there.
Rating:
Summary: Great-Great book!
Review: Bought AOE the day it came out. Same with ROR & AOK. Am ranked on the zone & play quite a lot. This book is a delight. Its lovely. If you are an AOE/ROR/AOK addict like me, this is your bible. I have nothing whatsoever to gain from these comments. But I just had to say my thanks & could not bear to read the stupid & unqualified 1 star comments from the "1" guy who seems to have written them all. THIS is a strategy book. What is NOT here, yuu can get from the manual.
Rating:
Summary: One heckvabook
Review: Every strategy available....what to do and when to do it...written by the best AoK players in the world...man 1 good book.
Rating:
Summary: Rookies and Newbies- Buy this book!!
Review: For anyone just starting out in AoK, plus all you intermediate players, this book is a must. With experts and champions like Out4Blood, Helegator, Medierra, The_Sheriff you can be sure that it's good. After reading it (and with practice, of course) you finally won't have to play in the rookie only games at the zone in order to wi
Rating:
Summary: Great book, Bruce Shelley REALLY DID WRITE (with out4blood)
Review: Great players anyone ? the people who wrote this book are the terrors of AOK. READ IT and ignore that very poor Mark Walker book which IMO is good for a laugh only. 30 Villagers in Imperial and 12 in Dark ? LOL try 30 in darq and 150 in imperial ! :-)
Rating: 
Summary: Immediately worth the purchase price!
Review: Having played AOK for about a year (mainly against the computer - some online) I thought I was an OK player. I had strategies that worked for me most of the time and I could generally hold my own against any civilization up through the moderate level of difficulty. With this book, I learned three strategy tips the in the first several chapters that immediately made the game more enjoyable and my efforts much more effective against the bad guys. There are tips sprinkled throughout the book from players who don't work for Ensemble Studios but who are very successful players. These tips were generally helpful as well, and gave some insight into some unorthodox strategies at times. Shortcuts and hot keys are emphasized and highlighted throughout the chapters. This guide will definitely have you practicing the use of hot keys more than ever (if you don't already). There is considerable information related to multi-player games as well, such as how to complement your partner and how to know what opposing forces can lend each other in terms of help. I am not sure what the "hard-core" multiplayer readers who rated this book poorly are looking for, but it gave me great insight into being a better team player. The book does not go into the minute detail of what steps you should takein what order, in every game and every scenario. Certain AOK websites have taken this process to the level of art, and maybe that is what some people are looking for. The book does, however, provide insight into Ensemble's mindset in designing the game and also gives the average-above average player a great boost in terms of knowledge. If you want to be sure that you are employing as many time-saving tips and shortcuts as you can, and you want to hear what tactics are employed by outstanding players, buy this book. If you are a highly rated Zone player, or can smoke the computer on the Hard difficulty level or above, you probably do not need this guide anyway.
Rating:
Summary: Immediately worth the purchase price!
Review: Having played AOK for about a year (mainly against the computer - some online) I thought I was an OK player. I had strategies that worked for me most of the time and I could generally hold my own against any civilization up through the moderate level of difficulty. With this book, I learned three strategy tips the in the first several chapters that immediately made the game more enjoyable and my efforts much more effective against the bad guys. There are tips sprinkled throughout the book from players who don't work for Ensemble Studios but who are very successful players. These tips were generally helpful as well, and gave some insight into some unorthodox strategies at times. Shortcuts and hot keys are emphasized and highlighted throughout the chapters. This guide will definitely have you practicing the use of hot keys more than ever (if you don't already). There is considerable information related to multi-player games as well, such as how to complement your partner and how to know what opposing forces can lend each other in terms of help. I am not sure what the "hard-core" multiplayer readers who rated this book poorly are looking for, but it gave me great insight into being a better team player. The book does not go into the minute detail of what steps you should takein what order, in every game and every scenario. Certain AOK websites have taken this process to the level of art, and maybe that is what some people are looking for. The book does, however, provide insight into Ensemble's mindset in designing the game and also gives the average-above average player a great boost in terms of knowledge. If you want to be sure that you are employing as many time-saving tips and shortcuts as you can, and you want to hear what tactics are employed by outstanding players, buy this book. If you are a highly rated Zone player, or can smoke the computer on the Hard difficulty level or above, you probably do not need this guide anyway.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Helpful Guide
Review: I bought this book along with book published by Prima (read it). This book is geared toward multiplayer for beginning and intermediate level. It offers good strategies and combination of civ. to use in multiplay. The chapters on campaigns are quite weak (not very clear) IMHO as the AI in some campaigns attack more frequently even at EASY level. Anyway, the chapters written by Bruce Shelley on ES' AOK game development are worth the money for this book. I read both books cover to cover and I believe they complement each other very well.
Rating:
Summary: Good for beginner and intermediate, and insights of ES.
Review: I bought this book along with book published by Prima (read it). This book is geared toward multiplayer for beginning and intermediate level. It offers good strategies and combination of civ. to use in multiplay. The chapters on campaigns are quite weak (not very clear) IMHO as the AI in some campaigns attack more frequently even at EASY level. Anyway, the chapters written by Bruce Shelley on ES' AOK game development are worth the money for this book. I read both books cover to cover and I believe they complement each other very well.
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