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The games industry is bigger than Hollywood and 2004 saw the
total sales of video games far exceeding sales of cinema tickets
and DVD sales combined. This book focuses on the fifty greatest
games of all time, vividly recreating what made each title
so great and giving key information on the development and
success of each title, but above all it tells the reader where
to find and play it now...
Game
On! is
a bit of difficult book to review. Firstly there are plenty
of online sites that list the industry's best loved games,
so why do we need a book on the subject? And secondly it's
all so subjective really isn't it?
There
are many omissions from this collection, but the biggest crime
is the fact that Tekken is not listed in the top 50
games. Tekken 2, along with Tomb Raider, was
the title that ensured that the take up of the Playstation
2 was as successful as it was. Also, as this collection also
lists arcade games, what happened to Donkey Kong, Gauntlet
or Rampage?
In
their introduction the authors admit that this is more a "patchwork
tapestry of videogaming brilliance, picking out the fifty
highest points from across gaming's beautiful spectrum."
Ah, so that explains why Super
Monkey Ball is included. Sure, it's a good
game but I'd never dream of putting it in my top 50.
While
a lot of the inclusions in this book deserve their place,
there are a few too many that seem to have been added because
of their quirkiness. The
authors have tried to include at least one game from each
genre - hence the bizarre inclusion of EyeToy: Play.
Would anyone really put that in their top 50 games? It's not
a bad example of a party game, but why then is Bust a Move
not included?
It's odd choices like this that let this book down heavily.
And while old personal computer games, like Elite,
are represented what about classics like Manic Miner?
or Jet Pac?
There
are plenty of games that I would have chosen as worthy additions
to this collection (although worry not as they are not included)
because, on a personal level, they are games that I still
revisit from time to time, but I doubt many people would agree
with me. These include Worms, Hogs of War (sorry!);
and Wipeout. Having said that, I bet more people would
stick those three games above Guitar Hero or Virtua
Tennis.
This
book also tells you where you can buy versions of some of
the old arcade games, as well as the still in circulation
console games. But a warning would have been helpful too.
For example on the OutRun listing they tell you about
the new PC or console versions, including the latest OutRun
2006: Coast to Coast, but fail to mention that
these new updated versions don't always live up to the expectations
of the original.
At
the end of the day this is really designed to be a Christmas
stocking filler - a last minute gift for that gaming fanatic
you know. Although I'd think long and hard before you part
with your money.
Nick
Smithson
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