Rating: 
Summary: A bit heavy for beginners, but very useful
Review: Although I had to reread a couple of the pages, I think this is probably the best book for both non-OO and OO programmers to pick up, who want to start learning C# and .NET application development. After reading this book, I believe the .NET SDK documentation would be sufficient to fill in all the gaps. The language of the book is technical, but quite understandable. I've dabbled with Java and C/C++ before - but after reading this book I finally have a proper understanding of the fundamentals of object oriented programming.So for all those programmers who have been thinking about .NET for the last few years but just haven't gotten around to learning it, this book is probably the best place to start. C# is complicated, like all object oriented languages.
Rating: 
Summary: Read this book
Review: An excellent book that is extremely easy to read, not because of lack of depth, but because of excellent writing style. The author's ability to take complex concepts and explain them in easy to understand terms makes this book a real pleasure to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly edited and incoherent
Review: Based on the reviews here, I thought this might be a decent book to get my feet wet on game programming. I'm an advanced C# business application programmer by trade, but thought the simple approach would be a great refresher while taking me into a new programming area. Unfortunately, this book is the most poorly written computer book I've ever read. The writing is incoherent and a spate of bad editing throughout chapters 1 and 2 make me wonder if this book even *had* an editor. There are several places where the sample C# program listing have syntax or other errors (such as mixed case variable names in the same section that it explains how this can cause problems). Also, the general organization of the concepts is horrible. It darts all around in the introduction to C#, leaving some concepts unexplained after talking about their significance. As a seasoned C# programmer, let me assure you, this book is NOT an adequate introduction to programming, game or otherwise.
Rating:
Summary: Commended as being a superb self-teaching reference
Review: C# And Game Programming: A Beginner's Guide is a hands-on instructional by Salvatore A. Buono that teaches the basics of the C# computer language through applications of classic arcade games. The topics covered include data base concepts, sorts, object-oriented design, and more. Games are built using Windows with event-driven means, and complete source code for games such as Battle Bit, Asteroid Miner, Space Fighters, Rat Race and more are included. An accompanying CD-ROM offers source code for all the examples and games in the book, pre-assembled projects, and DirectX and Windows versions of the games. C# And Game Programming is commended as being a superb self-teaching reference and resource for aspiring and practicing computer game programmers.
Rating:
Summary: Worth buying
Review: His book is targeted towards people who don't know C# and who want to learn both C# and game programming without waiting a few years to do so, like college students, for example. It covers specific concepts ranging from the various game components that programmers will need to understand such as graphics, Interface/Input Code, the Windows froms, and DirectX 9 programming (although you'll need the packet, which the author emails you if you write him - his email address is in the book). There is a lot of specific technical information in the book, but it also covers some broad concepts such as C# standards and an introduction to some advanced programming concepts. I would recommend this book to any beginner programmer or to an intermeditate programmer from another language.
Rating:
Summary: 3 chapters on games
Review: I don't normally write reviews, but I wanted to point out that every word of the C# language is covered and there are 100's of live code examples listed on the CD. The projects are actually on the CD too, so you don't even need to know how to build a project to get them to work. The first example starts with a simple do nothing program, and it builds from there - you can't get simpler than that. C# is entirely .Net so there is nothing in C or C++ that would work or that you'd need to know. The only thing hard about it would be that .Net is bigger that old C or C++ and there is more to know, and the games are build in Windows - so as part of the book you have to learn windows programming too. But, that's just the way with C# and .Net.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Beginner book
Review: I feel this is the best intro book to Game Programming. It covers a lot of cool stuff in an amount that I think is perfect for a beginner. It mixes a pretty good blend of theory and practice, explaining some mathematical techniques where necessary, and then relying on C# and GDI+ for other things to make us more productive. One of the beauties of this over other DirectX/C# books is that it remains focused on 80's Arcade and doesn't try to be a huge bible covering all aspects of game development. All in all I would recommend this book to a friend so 5 Estrellas!!
Rating:
Summary: This book is a good jumpstart for C#
Review: I had pretty high expectations for this much anticipated book, and I had been waiting for this book to come out for 6 months. After many months of publishing delays, it finally arrived. I am pretty disappointed because this book had so much potential, and clearly a lot has been removed from the book since its initial concept. That being said, the book does provide a great way to learn C#. Most introductory books use examples that are fairly boring. This text uses pretty cool games. This is really captivating and a great way to introduce C#, especially to younger readers. The original information about this book suggested that it would cover DirectX programming as well. However, it appears this chapter was removed at the last minute, and the sample CD is also missing those examples. If you email the author, he will send you the missing samples. If you want to learn C# and you want to enjoy the process, this is a great book. I can't recommend the book if you are looking to learn about DirectX, though if you request the DirectX samples from the author they will provide you with a great starting point.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for learning game programming
Review: I have practically every book on learning game programming with the C++ and now C#. The author is very knowledgeable on the subject and go over 2d programming, ai, ... This is the kind of book i want when i buy a book on game programming. I highly recommend this book and can't wait to start developing my own games.
Rating:
Summary: You need this book
Review: I have purchased a lot of programming books and even a computer based training package in the last few years. None of them covered the concepts of programming as well as this book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a novice programmer who wants to learn C# as well as the basics of game programming. The games included are basically clones of Pong, Space War, Asteroids, Space Invaders, Break Out, Brezerk, and Pac Man, but again, these are a good start for a beginner.
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