Rating: 
Summary: Super Combo
Review: I ordered both Buono's and Miller's books in October, I noticed that people wrote angry comments becuase they had waited a long time, why be mad about that. I enjoyed both books becuase I am a beginner and I feel that they really combined to make a complete set.
Rating:
Summary: great educational tool
Review: I purchased this book as suggested by a friend of mine. I've enjoyed each page, as it really gives a gentle, complete presentation of the entire core topics involved in creating today's games. The explanations are really easy to follow, much easier to understand than other books like Real Time Rendering, etc. The book deals basically with code architecture, graphics, and AI, with minor sections on Forms, etc. As a C# student who wanted a textbook-kind of approach, this book certainly does the job. I'd miss some content on alternative platforms (mobile, PDA, etc.) as the approach is mostly PC/console centric, but that's fine with me at least...
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment
Review: I purchased this book to evaluate it for a university course I am teaching in the spring. I am planning on teaching game design using the C# language and thus this book seemed right along the right lines. It is not. A brief summery of the book would be: Intro to C# with some game examples. The problems is that the C# topics are spread, somewhat haphazardly, through out the book, and the examples are LONG. There really is no reason why complete programs need to be printed, especially after describing methods used in them. I'd say that of the 550 pages about 300 is simply code. Combined with the fact that formatting is not perfect makes the book a difficult read. Another complaint is the horrible quality of the games provided. The look bad, and play even worse. The fact that all of them run without crashing maybe seen as an improvement over some other books. Typically the reader should be impressed or at least inspired with what you can do with the knowledge in the book, this is almost the opposite, I know that I won't show any of these demos simply because it could drive people away. Finally there is almost no actual Game design. All games are one or two files with limited number of classes. The book tries to focus on object oriented design, however it is poorly done with little thought given to non-player objects, such as program structure. Program structure, or lack there of, is simply the Windows.Forms model with its event model driving the game. Unmodified this model is unsuitable for actual game creation. Conclusion. You might be able to learn C# from this book, however it will take you a while. You also might be able to make a game however you won't learn how real games are designed and made, also you won't find this book useful as a reference as once basic knowledge is acquired nearly anyone should be able to surpass this content. I won't be using this as a textbook, probably stick with a tried and true classic like LaMothe's TWGPG which does a much better job in all categories.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazingly Poor
Review: I'm amazed at the good reviews for this book. The only reason I can give for that is that perhaps the good reviews are all from the publisher, author their and many aliases.
This book's spelling, grammar, and coding errors make it impossible to use. I'm surprised that the code included on a CD even compiles. I was so frustrated after the first two chapters that I wanted to animate the book, just so I could choke it to death.
Do yourself a favor, if you want to buy this book just slap yourself in the face and save $30.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad...but not that great either....
Review: I'm guessing I should of paid more attention to the title, but "C# and Game Programming : A Beginner's Guide" is exactly what this book is. It is totally for beginners. The book does do a fairly good run down of the C# language before getting into any serious game development. And with each game, a new topic is dealt with. The first game you go through "Tennis" is perfect for the beginner because it was nothing more but a version of the legendary "Pong". Each game does get a become a little more complicated as you go on - but I did get the sense that the author is more focused on the C# language than actual game designing. Before beginning any game, the author runs you through a wordy algorythm so you can get an understanding of what you're suppose to do. Somehow, the author actually dicusses animation although I found it kinda funny since animation looks horrible in Windows Forms. There are several games that comes with the book. The author wanted to use old arcade action games as an example. Most of them are reminence of Pong, Asteroid, Bezerk, and BreakOut. Keep in mind, they are very simple and is entirely Windows Form-Based. Although the author does not go into detail of Form design(nearly everything is code based) each of these games can definately be built using the Forms GUI , which I think can be a little easier to work with but with the same result. The back cover states that the included CD contains Windows and DirectX version of the game. I already understood forms but was eager to learn DirectX. The problem with Forms is that real time game play is horrifyingly slow. The demo games listed in the book seems to run really jerky and choppy(which can be fixed). So my interest was more in DirectX. The DirectX folder was in the CD - but the folder was completely blank. Did I miss something here? Anyways, this book is perfect for beginners who are still learning the language and for those who want to learn how to build simple games. If you're already decently familiar with C# and is looking for intense high speed graphics(like me), then this is not for you. Check out "Managed DirectX 9" by Tom Miller for more advance stuff. UPDATE : If you email the author, he will respond quickly and send you the missing DirectX sources.
Rating:
Summary: Another example of "Type now understand later (if ever)"
Review: I've gone through half of this book and will not be completing it.
Despite this being a "beginner" book the author quickly overwhelms the user with advanced examples while providing nearly zero explaination of what he is doing or why he is doing it.
Only the simpliest of concepts (data types, casting, etc) are discussed before getting to some of the first extremely long and extremely complex examples.
From the beginning there is no discussion of code and very little in the way of explainatory comments. After 200 pages the author STILL has only mentioned "using" a few times and hasn't even brought up a discussion of namespaces. Yet these items are included in every sample.
Many of the items being used are never explained, there is no step by step process that tells the reader what any particular command does or why he's using it.
My criteria for a "good" book is that by the time the author starts an example he/she should have previously explained what the purpose the example serves. Is this an example that will re-enforce the graphic manipulation discussion of the most recent chapter? Is this an example that will show me in practice the simple coding practices the author explained in the last 100 pages? None of this is there. The author jumps from talking about datatypes to using some advanced C# libraries in a sample without any explaination ever provided.
This book expects you to type in dozens of pages of code (or get it off the included CD) and learn by osmosis the point of the sample; why it works; and what the key elements/procedures are.
Maybe some people can somehow mystically connect to the authors train of thought and understand unexplained code through this method, but I am unfortunate to not be one of them.
If you really want to learn C# and are a true beginner than Petzolds Programming in the Key of C# is probably the best book I've read to this point (I have high hopes for Murach's C# but am just starting that one).
Unfortunately I haven't found any acceptable books that link C# and games programming yet that discuss the subject at a newcomer level.
Rating: 
Summary: This book has a lot to offer
Review: I've read a lot of books and I've read a lot of review, half the time someone loves it, the other half they hate it. In the end it really comes down to comparing it to its alternative. In this case, the alternative is really nothing - sure there is Managed DirectX 9 by Tom Miller (which is great for directX), but it doesn't really cover Game Programming nor does it cover C#. There's also .Net C# game programming (which doesn't come out until Feb 2004). The inside scoup is that this book is a pretty good for learning both C# and Game Programming the GDI+ games run really fast, and the DirectX stuff is fixed through an email patch (the email address is in the book). I've also gotten some help with compiling, right from the author, which is cool.
Rating:
Summary: Seriously, buy this book
Review: If you don't know C# and are interested in game programming, buy this book. It is instant game programming gratification. The code samples are flawless and fun. This was such a refreshing and fun change of pace. When I got my first image to appear on the screen it brought me back to the innocence and wonder of my first "Hello World!". I spend a few hours every night just reading through this book and doing the examples - and besides the fact that they are fun, they are well-designed and easy to understand. You learn how to design games from the ground up and get to build useful reuable components.
Seriously, buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: a very good survey
Review: If you want to learn all the foundational techniques to game programming, this is *the* book. Not nearly as deep as Real Time Rendering, specific as Game Programming Gems, this book covers a wholly different scenario: imagine you know nothing about game development, and need to get a nice jump-start course that puts you up to speed. This is what this book is all about. I'll use it as the companion textbook in a game programming subject I'm going to be teaching but beware: the book is probably too long and deep for a short course, better suited for a full-year academic program
Rating:
Summary: A Must have
Review: Most books on .NET cover winforms..after all, it's probably the first thing you address as a programmer. However, this book had wonderful examples of real world things you do with forms. The writing is great, the layout is very easy on the eyes, and whether you are using it for a reference, or trying to get new ideas from it...you'll be glad you bought this book.
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