The Corner Penthouse

The BradyGames Grand Theft Auto PlayStation 2 guides have had errors in the past. For example, the Grand Theft Auto 3 guide is missing information on some of the side jobs and non-mission tasks; the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City guide has numerous errors; and the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas guide has incorrect screen shots and information on the Photo Ops. However, the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories Official Strategy Guide for PlayStation 2 (ISBN-10 #0744009162 - First Printing) is the absolute worst I have ever seen. It seems that the only difference between the PlayStation Portable (PSP) and PlayStation 2 (PS2) versions of the guide is the text at the bottom of the front cover and the controls listed on pages 3 and 4.

The BIGGEST ERROR is that the PS2 exclusive content is not in the guide at all. These include 6 extra Unique Stunt Jumps, 5 extra Rampages (and 1 moved), and 6 extra Side Missions. The list is below, but for details see the PS2 Exclusive Content Guide.

* Unique Stunt Jump 1 - Little Havana
* Unique Stunt Jump 2 - Starfish Island
* Unique Stunt Jump 3 - Vice Point
* Unique Stunt Jump 4 - Vice Point
* Unique Stunt Jump 5 - Vice Port
* Unique Stunt Jump 6 - Vice Port
* Rampage 1 - Little Havana
* Rampage 2 - Starfish Island
* Rampage 3 - Downtown
* Rampage 4 - Prawn Island
* Rampage 5 - Vice Point
* Rampage 6 - Ocean Beach
* Side Mission - Playground On The Dock
* Side Mission - Rush!
* Side Mission - Hyman Memorial O.D.T.
* Side Mission - Caddy Daddy
* Side Mission - Playground At The Park
* Side Mission - Crims On Water Wings

The SECOND BIGGEST ERROR is that the guide lists tons of Multiplayer content that doesn't exist in the PS2 version. Details about this are included in the list of errors I found below.

The THIRD BIGGEST ERROR would relate to incorrect mission-related information. I have not found much of it because I have just started playing the game, but I know that there are a lot of errors in there (all of which were undoubtedly in the PSP guide too).

Here's the list of errors I've personally found, though again, this should not be seen as a complete list of errors:

PAGE 1 - Table of Contents - The listing of "Multiplayer Scenarios" on page 30 (feature non-existent in PS2 version).

PAGE 5 - The "Custom Tracks" section (feature non-existent in PS2 version).

PAGE 5 - The "Saving Progress" section mentions saving to a Memory Stick and the Custom Tracks feature, both of which only apply to the PSP version.

PAGE 25 - The VCPD Wintergreen name is on two lines instead of one. (This is just a cosmetic error and not a PSP/PS2 difference, but I thought I'd note it anyway.)

PAGES 30-33 - All of these Multiplayer Missions are NOT in the PS2 version. Heck, the first paragraph even mentions PSP and UMD.

PAGE 37 - The "Story Mode Missions" section mentions Multiplayer content (feature non-existent in PS2 version).

PAGE 37 - Mentions 30 Unique Stunt Jumps and 30 Rampages - there are 36 Jumps and 35 Rampages in the PS2 version.

PAGE 37 - The Multiplayer Unlockables: Vehicles section (feature non-existent in PS2 version).

PAGES 38-40 - All of the information on these pages is for Multiplayer Missions which is NOT in the PS2 version.

PAGE 41 - The Multiplayer "100% Game Completion Characters" column/section.

PAGE 44 - The barber shop Red Balloon doesn't seem to be on the map. It should be a bit north of #20 listed on the map.

PAGES 48-51, 157-158 - Only lists 30 Unique Stunt Jumps, while the PS2 version has 36.

PAGES 52-56, 159-162 - Only lists 30 Rampages, while the PS2 version has 35 (and one was moved).

PAGE 62 - The Hovercraft side mission says that it is available at the beginning of the game. This is false. The craft isn't there at the beginning of the game and probably doesn't appear until after the bridges open up (otherwise you could just use it to get to the second island early).

PAGE 240 (LAST PAGE) - The "Printing Code" section says "For example, 06-1 shows that the first printing of the book occurred in 2007." It should say "07-1".

BACK COVER - An interesting cosmetic error is that the sample pages shown as 14 and 15 are really 84 and 85 with some slight design changes.

On several pages throughout the guide it says to press UP when in the PS2 version it would be R3:
* PAGE 15 - The Ambulance description.
* PAGE 16 - The Cabbie description.
* PAGE 18 - The FBI Rancher, FBI Washington, and Fire Truck descriptions.
* PAGE 19 - The Hunter description.
* PAGE 21 - The Rhino description.
* PAGE 24 - The Taxi, VCPD Cheetah, VCPD Cruiser, and VCPD Enforcer descriptions.
* PAGE 25 - The VCPD Wintergreen description.
* PAGE 57 - The Taxi Driver "Details" section.
* PAGE 58 - The Paramedic "Details" section.
* PAGE 59 - The Vigilante "Details" section.
* PAGE 60 - The Fire Fighter "Details" section.
* PAGE 110 - The "Cancelling Empire Missions" section.
* PAGE 127 - The "Air Speed" section.
* PAGE 163 - The Air Rescue "Details" section.

Before I wrote this review, I wanted to give BradyGames the chance to do the right thing: recall the first printing, release a new correctly-written version, and offer replacements for all those folks who bought the vastly-erroneous first printing. In other words, I wanted them to make a *REAL* PS2 version of the guide and give me a copy in exchange for the absolutely almost-useless "PlayStation 2" guide I bought that they currently have on the market (which they should recall and destroy - or rebrand as "for PlayStation Portable").

Sadly, BradyGames not only chose NOT to do the right thing, they chose to simply ignore my e-mails altogether.

Over two months after the book was released, BradyGames finally posted some updates on their site with the missing information and error corrections. Of course, this is only a "patch" for the problem, and not a solution. They should recall all copies of the First Printing, add this new information and corrections, and offer revised copies (Second Printing?) free-of-charge to all of the people who bought the error-ridden First Printing. It isn't nice to make the customers download and print out several pages of new information and make hand-written corrections.

I don't think that BradyGames has ever published a corrected version, which they could offer in exchange for the flawed version. However, they have released corrected information on their website a long time ago. It's all been deleted by now, but thankfully, I saved all of the original text, images, and PDF files, which I present to you.

PS2 Updates

* Rampages (7.6 MB, PDF)

* Six New Stunt Jumps (4.8 MB, PDF)

* Five New Pastimes (3.2 MB, PDF)

* Yellow Markers are now Pink Markers.

* References to Up should be R3.

* Page 5: No Custom Tracks in PS2 version.

* Page 14: 37 Sniper Rifle and 38 Rocket Launcher are not available until eastern island is opened.

* Page 25: The Violator boat is not included in Vehicle Showroom.

* Pages 30–33: No Multiplayer in PS2 version.

* Page 35: Bulletproof Sanchez ($4000) is unlocked at your first safe house for completing Conduct Unbecoming.

* Page 35: Bulletproof Ventoso ($2500) is unlocked at the Downtown King Knuts for completing From Zero to Hero.

* Page 35: Marquis ($4500) is unlocked across from your first safe house in the water for completing From Zero to Hero.

* Page 35: Skimmer ($4500) is unlocked at the dock behind the Clymenus Suite safe house for completing From Zero to Hero.

* Page 35: Squallo ($4500) is unlocked in the water behind the Compound safe house for completing From Zero to Hero.

* Page 62: Hover Craft Race 1 (Pastime) Availability should be after completing From Zero to Hero.

* Pages 37–41: No Multiplayer Unlockables.

* Page 73: You get the Pistol inside the barracks instead of the M16.

* Page 77: Round 4: Assault Rifle. You need to score 2000, not 2500. Round 5: Sniper Rifle. You need to score 2500, not 3000.

* Page 77: "See #17 and #18" should be "See #7 and #15."

* Page 95: There is always a Regina parked on the sidewalk outside Louise's sister's place.

* Page 99: You do not get New Multiplayer Mode Content for completing To Victor, the Spoils.

* Page 122: Reward: None for Jive Drive.

* Page 135: There is no Multiplayer in the PS2 version.

* Pages 154–155: The screenshots for Red Balloon 73 and 81 have been swapped.

* Page 190: The Bovver '64 is unlocked for purchase at your safe house for completing White Lies.

All info came from the old BradyGames website.

The Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Official Strategy Guide for PlayStation 2 contains a vast amount of errors in regards to the Photo Ops and Horseshoes. I don't think that BradyGames has ever published a corrected version, which they could offer in exchange for the flawed version. However, they have released corrected information on their website a long time ago. It's all been deleted by now, but thankfully, I saved all of the original text, images, and PDF files, which I present to you.

San Fierro Photo Op Updates

The Photo Op location lists have been updated. This is available for your viewing and downloading pleasure. Use these lists, descriptions, and shots to cross reference the maps on pages 84 and 127. Enjoy your sightseeing and remember it's best to seek these shots at night.

Page 85 – Photo Ops Descriptions (136 KB, PDF)

Pages 128 – Photo Ops Shots and Descriptions (13.2 MB, PDF)

Page 131-133 – Horseshoe Map, Shots and Descriptions (5 MB, PDF)

Las Venturas Horseshoe Updates

Horseshoe 25: The northeast corner of Las Venturas Airport, near the runway.


Horseshoe 28: Just west of the north end of the Las Venturas Airport's main runway.


Horseshoe 43: Here is an updated image.


All info came from the old BradyGames website.

Although the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Official Strategy Guide for PlayStation 2 is probably the least error-ridden volume in BradyGames' Grand Theft Auto strategy guide series, it does contain a few errors. BradyGames hasn't (to my knowledge) released a corrected-version, but they have released some corrected information on their site (which has since been deleted):

Page 9: Robbing Shops
The correct location of the Deli is as follows: Deli (Cafe Robina) - The cafeteria in Little Havana where you receive the CUBANS: Umberto missions.


Page 144: Pizza Delivery Missions - 150 Max Health
During this side mission, you're tasked to complete a certain number of pizza deliveries. It starts out with one delivery, followed by two, three, all the way to 10. Successfully complete all 10 separate deliveries (from 1 to 10) in one attempt to unlock Max Health of 150hp.

Page 147: Having trouble finding the PCJ Playground Odd Job?
First, check out our Odd Jobs map on page 133. See where it says "Street Race 2"? Now find the little orange square just below the word "Street" on the map. That's where the PCJ Playground mission takes place (on a corner where Washington Beach becomes Vice Point). The PCJ cycle is parked right beside the wall of the apartment building on the NE corner of that intersection. If it's not there when you arrive, then perform a jump on the nearby ramp with any vehicle. When you return to the correct spot, the PCJ 600 will definitely be there.



Page 172: Having trouble finding Hidden Package #43?
It is still located in Studio C on Prawn Island, but there isn't a bathroom stall. In the movie studio lot, enter the first building on the right. The hidden package is located just inside to the left.



Page 175: Airport Hidden Package #97
This hidden package is located in Gate 1-8, not Gate 8-1.

Hidden Stat Line: Keepie-Uppy beach ball
Visit Starfish Island and go to the house across the street from Diaz's mansion, then find the beach ball in the empty pool in the back. Run into the ball to knock it into the air, then get it to bounce off Tommy's head. This adds the line "Highest score with Keepie-Uppy beach ball" to the Stats page.



100% Completion
If you are stuck at 99% complete, try the following: Return to shooting range downtown and get a score of 45 or higher.

All info and images came from the old BradyGames website.

The Grand Theft Auto III Official Strategy Guide for PlayStation 2 is one of the worst Official strategy guides you could ever buy. Sure it covers all of the missions, but some of them are not covered any more fully than what you get from playing the game itself. It briefly covers SOME of the side jobs and non-mission tasks, but an Official guide should cover ALL of them! There is no detailed information on the Rampages and Unique Jumps, and the Hidden Packages are only covered with a map and short sentence. DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE GOOD REVIEWS THIS BOOK RECEIVED, BECAUSE IT DOESN'T DESERVE THEM.

I own this guide and the one released eight months later for the PC version (Windows 98/2000/ME/XP). Although the PC guide is smaller (but much thicker) and in black & white (there are color maps in the back), it covers EVERYTHING (except cheat codes) about the game and with much more detail. Even if you own the Playstation 2 version of the game, you'd be better off buying the PC guide. The only difference gameplay wise are the controls mentioned in the book and a few little things like rewards for some of the vehicle missions.

Here is an excerpt from the author in the Acknowledgement's section of the PC guide:

"Beyond the satisfaction of playing the game a few more times, I was even more delighted to add features to this guide that I didn't have time to include in the PS2 guide. And with Tim Cox's phenomenal assistance, as well as his passion for the game, time was no longer the enemy. We are proud to bring you the most comprehensive Grand Theft Auto III guide in existence."

So, that explains why this guide (PS2) sucks. The author was rushed to complete the book, in time for the release of the game, no doubt. Right there in black & white the author of both guides tells you that the PC guide is the most comprehensive guide, and thus the best one. (I have no idea if the X-Box Double Pack guide is based on the PS2 or PC versions, so proceed with caution when getting that one.)

BradyGames posted some corrections on their website a long time ago (they have since been deleted). Luckily, I saved the text and the images.

Unique Jump Correction
(PS2: Page 14, PC: Page 230)
Sorry, the Callahan Bridge from Portland overlaps the Staunton Island map and obscures the location of the Unique Jump at the Newport Docks near Asuka's apartment. It's the jump near the docks on the mound of dirt found near the shipping area where all the truck trailers are located.



Missing 1st Rampage Location
(PS2: Page 15, PC: Page 226)
Waste 20 Triads with a shotgun. Trenton - in alley beside Mean Street Taxi.

Here is a detailed list of all of the Easter Eggs found on the Wanted Blu-ray (also sold in a Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack and a Blu-ray Gift Set). I found a lot of these on the DVD and was able to re-find them, without any help, on the Blu-ray.

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Undoubtedly, if you've been to a Target store, you've seen the "cards and collectibles" section at the end of the checkout lanes. It's where you'll find all of the sports cards, Garbage Pail Kids, Wacky Packages, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and all of that other overpriced junk. I almost always look at what's there, but rarely every buy anything as I can't justify the prices - especially considering the "blind bag" nature of these things. If I'm gonna spend $4 to $5 on a few measly cards, I at least want to know what I'm buying.

On a recent visit to my local Target, I saw these red Wrestling mystery repack boxes from The Fairfield Company (a division of Excell Marketing), which I expected to be priced at $15 or $20 each. Imagine my surprise when the price checker showed them to be a mere $4.99 each. I bought all four boxes that my local Target had, as well as another box at a different Target. So, five boxes in total, at a total cost of $25.00 (plus tax). The big draw for me were the Teenymates packs, which my Target was also selling individually for $3.99 each. Getting TWO packs for $4.99, PLUS three packs of cards, and two packs of erasers was a much MUCH better deal than just one pack of Teenymates for $1.00 less. (Note: The photos accompanying this review were taken at different times, so they may not show everything I mention in my text.)


Each one of these boxes contains the following:

• 2 packs of WWE Teenymates (2015) (regularly $3.99 each)
• 2 packs of WWE Eraseez collectible puzzle erasers (2015)
• 2 packs of Road To Wrestlemania 2014 cards
• 1 pack of random WWE cards (2010/2013/2014 series, in my case)

That's not a bad haul for the price, but did I really get my money's worth. Let's crack these open and find out.

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Back in the 1990s and 2000s I used to be an autograph collector. I had quite a large collection featuring a wide variety of actors, actresses, singers, models, voice actors, animators, wrestlers, and wrestling personalities. A good chunk of it got destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in late 2012. The majority of the rest I was forced to sell after my father died in early 2014. I did keep a small portion of the collection, which I am displaying online here: Ghostbusters and Everything Else. Some of the wrestling autographs from my collection is displayed at the top and bottom of this post. They are not for sale.

Around the mid-2000s, I bought a large portion of my wrestling autographs from online stores. At the time, I made an online list of my favorite sellers, with notes about my experiences buying from them, and direct links to their wares. I figured that since I put so much work into it, I would move this list here to The Corner Penthouse. Do note that I have not ordered autographed photos from any of these dealers since 2012 or before. I am recommending them under the assumption that they still provide the great service and quality merchandise as I experienced many years ago.

• HighSpots (No NY Tax, PayPal Accepted)

• Michael Kopel (BallParkCo) - (No NY Tax, PayPal Accepted) (Gives Certificate of Authenticity)

• Maniac Joe (No NY Tax, PayPal Accepted) (Gives Certificate of Authenticity)

• Ringside Collectibles (PayPal Accepted) (Gives Certificate of Authenticity)

• Sports Fan Promotions on eBay - (User ID: bart6667) - Located in New Jersey. (No NY Tax, PayPal Accepted) (Gives Certificate of Authenticity)
- COMBINED SHIPPING TIP: When I purchased some from him on eBay on 3/14/2010, his listings all stated,  I'll be happy to combine auctions won in a 7 day period to save you on shipping costs.  However, eBay's checkout system was charging me $4 for EACH photo. I ended up having to go into PayPal and use the Send Money link, and select eBay Goods, in order to be able to change the shipping to $4 for the entire order.

• Wrestling Superstore (No NY Tax, PayPal Accepted)

WWE and 2K released a new trailer for the new WWE 2K17 video game (due out in two weeks), and as I was watching it last night on Raw, I couldn't help but notice a bunch of Easter Eggs. I knew that I would have to get an HD copy from the web in order to even try to catch them, and BOY were there some good ones that you would miss unless you went through this sucker frame-by-frame like I did. I'm also tagging this as a filming location article because I actually identified one of the central locations used in the trailer. That was completely unintentional. Sometimes I'm just that damn good. Lots of images after the jump, click on them to enlarge.

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Page 1 - Introduction
* Page 2 - The Funeral
* Page 3 - A Life In Pictures
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm going through a bad case of deja vu. Last year I lost my father, and last night my mother, Linda Joyce Rudoff, passed away at the age of 67.

I really don't even know how it got to this point. She originally took ill on September 9th, but was continually making progress every week, with the occasional setback. If anything, she seemed closer to death when this all started than she has been recently. This was completely unexpected. Those of you who follow me personally on Facebook will have been following along every step of the way these past eleven and a half weeks. In lieu of writing more to this blog post, I'll just repost all of my Facebook updates, which will show you the highs and lows of this whole ordeal.

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For a few years now, I have done Halloween Treats on my Ghostbusters website, Spook Central. I started off this site/blog with a Halloween Treat last year. While I can't promise that it will be a regular feature on this site, I do have a treat for this year. In fact, I have two of them!

I have a small movie and television script collection, which is mostly Ghostbusters-related. However, two of my scripts have nothing to do with Ghostbusters, and so they wouldn't really be appropriate to use on Spook Central. I figured that I'd post them here as the Halloween Treats for this year. I scanned them in, and you can download the PDFs by clicking on the images below.

The first one is "Who Shot Roger Rabbit" (third draft), which later hit the screen as "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". This script features a lot of elements that were dropped from the final film, making it a MUST READ for Roger Rabbit fans. The second one is "Arcade", a 1993 direct-to-video release from Full Moon Pictures starring Megan Ward, Peter Billingsley, A.J. Langer, John DeLancie, and Seth Green. It probably won't be of interest to as many of you as Roger Rabbit, but it's a fun little early-1990s "virtual reality" sci-fi flick. I rented the VHS from Blockbuster around 1993, and my friend Mark and I *loved* the film. I loved it so much that I actually bought the script direct from Full Moon for $20, signed on the protective cover by Full Moon head honcho (and the film's executive producer) Charles Band, and stored it in a binder with full-color cover art and a four-page sell-sheet! The cover art is included at the head of the PDF, and the sell-sheet is included at the end of it. The signed protective cover was irrelevant to the script, so it wasn't scanned in.


Who Framed Roger Rabbit is available on Blu-Ray, 2-Disc Vista Series DVD (alt url), and the original letterbox 1999 DVD with the original "no panties" version of the movie. Arcade is available on individual DVD and in the Full Moon Classics Vol. 1 DVD Box Set. You can also read a plain text copy of the "Who Shot Roger Rabbit" script at The Daily Script.

Back in the late 1990s, I hand-transcribed the Arcade script, as well as the scripts for Men In Black and The Wizard Of Oz. I gave copies of them to one site and one site only - and that site is no longer online. However, other people have taken the three scripts and placed them all over the internet. The good ones kept my transcribers credit intact. The bad ones removed it. You should have no trouble finding any of the scripts using the Google search engine. Sci-Fi Scripts is one of the good sites for The Wizard Of Oz script.

For another Halloween Treat, check out Spook Central where you can read about the time that Spider-Man teamed up with the cast of Saturday Night Live.