Rating: 
Summary: Will Never Get Old
Review: This book could be called 'The Fun Way to Learn Java'. I think it's the best introduction to Java in print... all the examples in the book just happen to be games! (I learned to program writing BASIC games for the TRS-80 Model I in the late 70's and early 80's and still think games are the best way to introduce someone to algorithmic thinking)This book will stay in print along time, which is more than can be said for almost every other Java book.
Rating:
Summary: This book helped me write a few games
Review: This book is pretty cool. THe only thing is that it is really old. THe guy who said it doesn't compile is wrong. You have to compile it in Java 1.0 not Java 1.1. Duh!
Rating:
Summary: old and outdated...true...but don't let that fool you
Review: this book is pretty old, but if your a beginner to both game programming and java then there is no other better book than this...it will teach you about classes, interfaces, inheritance...and all the while making it fun and iteresting... you'll develope little games along the way and learn about some simple AI too...so old and outdated...true...but worth every penny!!!
Rating:
Summary: NOT INTENDED FOR BEGINNERS
Review: This book is very comprehensive. The chapters are and teachings are organized properly, and it has clear explainations. However, it is intended for intermediate level J++ programmers. The cover doesn't say that. I give it 5 stars, nevertheless, because it discusses every aspect of game programming in complete detail. Polygons, 3-D animation, and more! Other books don't compare!
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good - For the Most Part
Review: This book is very old (in computer years) but still useful as long as you know enough about Java to update the code yourself. The section of the book that covers 2D games is very good. I use a lot of the techniques described there in my own games. The 3D section is another story. It tries to cover all of 3D programming in one chapter then build a 3D game in the next. Needless to say it skips over a lot of important stuff. The 3D engine supplied on the CD and partially explained in the book is pretty good but the code is not very well documented. They should have left out the games section and replaced it with more 3D chapters. Why did everyone stop writing new Java game books?
Rating:
Summary: Great Game Concepts Introducation
Review: This book was a great introduction to game concepts and the object oriented design planning behind them. At the same time, it's a great intro to java itself. Now, certainly, the Java 1.0 code isn't going to compile with jdk 1.1 or 1.2; java has changed too much. I found this made a good working pair with Sun Press's books on Java Swing for Java 2.0. It brought the tech up to date and provided me with the new options for some of the technology (such as MVC approach, UI delegates, and less buggy threading). The book doesn't give complex examples. If you're ready for those, go get yourself an expert level book. But this is great if you've only written games very little, or not at all, and need something to organize your thoughts and your code. You'll find yourself approaching it with a lot more planning and more reusable code.
Rating: 
Summary: Java not a solution...
Review: This book was generally very good. It suffers in that it is very old for a programming book and uses a lot of deprecated Java API. It also barely touches on some essential topics such as MediaTracker (for example, how do you implement a load bar for your game?) which is important for most games which will be played over the Internet. But it does have some very useful sections and will hand-hold you through building a 2D game. It also discusses how to build multi-player Java game applets, a topic I haven't seen discussed anywhere else. If you are new to game programming or game programming in Java, this book is an excellent source of information.
Rating:
Summary: Good for an introduction to Java game programming
Review: This book was generally very good. It suffers in that it is very old for a programming book and uses a lot of deprecated Java API. It also barely touches on some essential topics such as MediaTracker (for example, how do you implement a load bar for your game?) which is important for most games which will be played over the Internet. But it does have some very useful sections and will hand-hold you through building a 2D game. It also discusses how to build multi-player Java game applets, a topic I haven't seen discussed anywhere else. If you are new to game programming or game programming in Java, this book is an excellent source of information.
Rating:
Summary: Essential to those who hope to build impressive online games
Review: This book will quickly took me from web hack to game master. Well thought out examples show you the step by step progression from writing small shootem ups to large multi player games
Rating:
Summary: marvelous!
Review: This was my first java book, today I'm a successfull selfemployed game developer. Need I say more?
| 
