You’ve raised the anchor, lowered the sails and you’re ready to set sail on your next Sea of Thieves adventure. There’s just enough time to make sure you’ve got all the essentials a tough and scary pirate needs on the high seas – eye patch: check. Pirate hat: check. Parrot: check. Guidebook featuring lovely places to visit, beautiful sights to see and preferred shopping destinations: err, check.
Rough Guides, the British travel guide publisher, has released a book that gives gamers the ultimate insight into some of Xbox’s most amazing worlds, detailing the things you should see and do as if you were there in person.
The Rough Guide to Xbox aims to show players the most stunning parts of eight Xbox One X Enhanced titles: Forza Horizon 4, Sea of Thieves, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Anthem, Halo 5: Guardians, Metro Exodus and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
You can now easily find that tropical island, look for a lost city and perch on a pyramid to capture that perfect, 4K screenshot to post on social media.
Neil McQuillian, author of The Rough Guide to Xbox, said: “Rough Guides has always been a reflection of the way people travel. In-game travel and photography has become such a phenomenon that they had to make a guide to it.
“People take in-game photographs and videos of scenery so often now, it’s clear that people really do feel like they are visiting these worlds. They aren’t just playing these games for the characters, but also to explore the worlds as if they are travelling in it themselves.
“But this book isn’t just for gamers. We hope other people will be pick it up and be given a different perspective on gaming.”
In the chapter on Sea of Thieves, McQuillian offers a detailed overview of the world, as well as guides to the most scenic spots in the game, the top five taverns that gamers can visit, a map showing every island and places you shouldn’t miss – the palm-tree-filled Golden Sands Outpost, the wooden fortress of the Kraken Watchtower, the volcanic Devil’s Thirst and the treasure-filled Sunken Grove are all on the list.
The section on Forza Horizon 4 gives drivers everything they need to know about showcase events, property to buy and cars hidden in barns, as well as maps and in-depth looks at locations such as Edinburgh Castle, Derwent Water and Glenfinnan Viaduct.
Other stunningly beautiful places Rough Guides recommends you visit include the White House in The Division 2, the lost city of Paititi in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the Eden-like Eddian Grove in Anthem, the alien world of Genesis in Halo 5: Guardians, The Taiga valley in Metro Exodus and the region of Arkadia in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey.
In a blog post, Rough Guides wrote: “For a long time, video games … just weren’t that immersive. Sure, you were having fun playing, but the distinction between you and the character you were controlling was clear-cut.
“That distinction has now been eroded. Game graphics are so immersive and all-consuming, you don’t just experience the gameplay – you experience the very world in which the gameplay unfolds. That thrilling feeling of being somewhere new is no longer the exclusive domain of real-world travel.”
The first Rough Guide – on Greece – was published in 1982 and now covers more than 120 destinations across the world, recommending budget and luxury experiences that are regularly updated by a team of writers.
The Rough Guide to Xbox is available to buy today from Microsoft’s online store.
