Versus Books
From WikiDPS
Contents |
About the company
Short version:
THEY WERE AWESOME!! Now dead... But AWESOME in the past!
Long version:
Versus Books was founded in 1996 by ex-GameFan editor Matt Taylor. In the beginning, they brought a hardcore, underground attitude, and focused on making guides that went above-and-beyond the call of duty. This dedicated and powerful impression they left on guide buyers helped establish them in a market dominated by Brady and Prima.
The writers crammed as much information into the guides as physically possible, usually because they were only allowed so many pages from the bean counters. At first they were nothing but pictures and tiny, tiny words (compared to other guides)... In fact, it would be like comparing the number of words per page in a college law textbook and an elementary school's social studies textbook.
Then... After a few years it all started to slip away. They had a few bad/boring guides and lost the flawless reputation they had earned with most of their first fifteen guides. Sad, sad days were to come, and eventually the company fell off the face of the Earth completely, early 2003 or so. Most of the writers still work in the industry, freelance or otherwise.
Fun facts:
- All Versus Books guides were in full-color.
- All guides tried to be spoiler-free. WARNING!! The Final Fantasy VII guide contains spoilers for Phantasy Star II.
- The fourth guide, to Resident Evil 2, was the first to be called a "Perfect Guide". It is also the only Versus Books guide to not have a poster of some kind.
- In 2003, The Getaway guide was written by Versus Books, published by Prima.
List of Guides
1997-1999
- 01. Versus Books Street Fighter Alpha 2 Official Strategy Guide (1997)
- 02. The Completely Unauthorized Final Fantasy VII Ultimate Guide (1997)
- 03. The Official Tekken 3 Ultimate Guide Arcade Edition (1997)
- 04. The Completely Unauthorized Resident Evil 2 Perfect Guide (1997)
- 05. The Completely Unauthorized Metal Gear Solid Perfect Guide (1998)
- 06. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Official Perfect Guide (1998)
- 07. Dino Crisis Official Perfect Guide (1999)
- 08. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide (1999)
- 09. Resident Evil 3 Official Perfect Guide (1999)
- 10. Donkey Kong 64 Official Perfect Guide (1999)
2000
- 11. Pokémon Trading Card Game Official Strategy Guide
- 12. Wild Arms 2 Official Perfect Guide
- 13. Perfect Dark Perfect Guide - Official Collector's Edition
- 14. Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future Official Perfect Guide
- 15. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn Official Perfect Guide
- 16. Pokémon Gold & Silver Official Adventure Guide
- 17. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask Official Perfect Guide
- 18. Tekken Tag Tournament Official Perfect Guide
- 19. Ridge Racer V & Moto GP Official Perfect Guide
- 20. Shenmue Official Perfect Guide
- 21. Grandia II Official Perfect Strategy Guide (DC version)
2001
- 22. Pokémon Gold & Silver Official Perfect Guide - Collectors Edition
- 23. Phantasy Star Online Official Perfect Guide
- 24. Pokémon Stadium 2 Official Perfect Guide
- 25. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons & The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages Perfect Guide
- 26. Super Mario Advance Official Perfect Guide
- 27. Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal Official Perfect Guide
- 28. Gran Turismo 3 A-spec Official Perfect Guide
- 29. Pokémon Crystal Official Perfect Guide
- 30. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Official Perfect Guide
- 31. Luigi's Mansion Official Perfect Guide
- 32. Half-Life Official Perfect Guide
- 33. Devil May Cry Official Perfect Guide
- 34.
- 35. Grandia II Official Perfect Guide (PS2 version)
2002
- 36. Maximo: Ghosts to Glory Official Perfect Guide
- 37. Sonic Advance + Sonic Adventure 2 Battle Official Perfect Guide
- 38. Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast Official Perfect Guide (PC version)
- 39. Digimon World 3 Official Perfect Guide
- 40. Neverwinter Nights Official Adventure Guide
- 41. Neverwinter Nights Official World Builder Guide
- 42. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem Official Perfect Guide
- 43. Super Mario Sunshine Official Perfect Guide
- 44. Grandia Xtreme Official Perfect Guide
- 45. Star Fox Adventures Official Perfect Guide
- 46. NBA 2K3 Official Perfect Guide
- 47. Wild Arms 3 Official Perfect Guide
- 48.
- 49. Evolution Worlds Official Perfect Guide
- 50. Phantasy Star Online: Episode I & II Official Perfect Guide
- 51. Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast Official Perfect Guide (GameCube, Xbox, PC versions)
- 52. Metroid Prime Official Perfect Guide
- Half-Life: Counter-strike Official Perfect Guide
- Massive Online Gaming
Links
VsBooks.com - First URL. Now defunct.
VersusBooks.com - Second URL, also defunct. Don't go there.
