Rating: 
Summary: A poor attempt at gaming book writing
Review: Ok I bought this book based on the recommendations of a few posters before me. I had heard a little about this book in magazines like EGM and CGW, so I thought it would be atleast ok. Well, I was wrong. This Stephen Poole doesn't seem to have played games before PlayStation. He constantly talks about Tomb Raider and as a hardcore gamer, I feel that even mentioning Tomb Raider in my presance lowers my gaming skills. Also, the few times he mentions old school games, he talks constantly of there graphics and not of what made (most of) these games great: Actuall gameplay! Obviously this man is not used to games outside of Fragging and Button Pushing. Another thing I disliked about this book was that there were gramatical errors in it. Ok, I understand that mistakes do happen, but there were quite a few instance of gramatical errors. Another thing is that he didn't seem to quite know the names of the important industry people. THIS IS SAD. What ever you do, do not buy this book. If you see it in a store, shield your eyes and avoid breathing.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice... but where's the rest?
Review: Poole has a good point to make, and he makes it in the first chapter (that gamers are not social outcasts and games are a form of storytelling every bit as viable as film or literature). Unfortunately, he has about fifty other half-points to make and never finishes a single one of them. He makes a huge deal out of gender (hello... women have made up a nice percentage of gamers since the Pac-Man days!), which seems really counterproductive. His memoir-like descriptions of E3 and its Tokyo equivalent are entertaining, and he is a gifted writer, but 'Trigger Happy' reads like a conversation with a friend who missed an entire generation of gaming.
Rating:
Summary: Nice... but where's the rest?
Review: Poole has a good point to make, and he makes it in the first chapter (that gamers are not social outcasts and games are a form of storytelling every bit as viable as film or literature). Unfortunately, he has about fifty other half-points to make and never finishes a single one of them. He makes a huge deal out of gender (hello... women have made up a nice percentage of gamers since the Pac-Man days!), which seems really counterproductive. His memoir-like descriptions of E3 and its Tokyo equivalent are entertaining, and he is a gifted writer, but 'Trigger Happy' reads like a conversation with a friend who missed an entire generation of gaming.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply Excellent...
Review: Poole knows games and writes a compelling academic look at where they came from, where they're going, and what makes a game, good. I picked the book up and read almost all weekend until I was finished. This isn't a dry history of video games, or a heavy-handed defense of games as art. This book is about looking at why we like video games, what makes some better than others, and where the industry might be heading. Poole has read almost everyone else's 'history of video games' book, and cites things he has found as worthwhile. He also has read and researched the heck out of this subject leading to an amazing set of references not to mention 200+ pages of thoughtful dialogue. This book will lead you to other worthwhile subjects and solidify your current understanding of the 'aesthetics' of games. Bottom Line: If you like video games at all, or are in any way involved with the industry...read it, read it, read it.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Genius
Review: Simply one of the best books I've ever read. As a longtime gamer it's wonderful for a really good writer to come along and analyse the boots off my electronic passions. Every page has a revealing insight - whether it's into the theoretical limitations of "interactive storytelling", the important differences in "cameras" between films and games, or the parallels between the evolution of perspective in art history and in videogames. Later on the book gets pretty hardcore, but the results - including the amazing chapter on semiotics - sure are worth it. And the guy's funny, too. Basically, anyone interested in videogames really needs to read this brilliant book.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Piece of Literature
Review: This book is not a list of dates and events, it is an insightful look into what videogames really are, and their paradoxes and parallels to the real world. I normally dislike reading books without a story, but I literally had trouble putting this down. "I should go to sleep... one more page... okay, lemme just finish this chapter." Buy it now.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Piece of Literature
Review: This book is not a list of dates and events, it is an insightful look into what videogames really are, and their paradoxes and parallels to the real world. I normally dislike reading books without a story, but I literally had trouble putting this down. "I should go to sleep... one more page... okay, lemme just finish this chapter." Buy it now.
Rating: 
Summary: Bland at best.
Review: This book refers to the psychological impact of games, or rather, it tries to. Author Steven Poole even admits to not enjoying playing games, so what business does he have writing a book about them? Somewhat informative, but very dry. Print quality is also average--The pictures look as if they were photocopied in a convenience store.
Rating:
Summary: Awful. Juuuust awful.
Review: This book takes itself WAY too seriously... It does an adequate job of describing the various genres of games, but if you've any experience at all with gaming, you'll find the first third of the book useless. I might recommend it to my grandfather to read as an overview, but no-one under 50. Moving past the content, the writing style itself is horrid. It smacks of journalism school and grammatical showmanship. It swings wildly between "adverbially rich, and stuffily haughty" (a phrase one might expect to find in the book) and "tragically hip":... And get your motion sickness bags out for this beauty on the subject of realism in games:... Bottom line: it's just not a good read. I couldn't get past the writing style to enjoy the content, which, from what I could see, covered a hodge-podge of topics to an apparently random depth, leaving you wanting more at times and starved for the next chapter at others. Unless your granparents are curious about why you spend so much time with videogames, pass this one up. For the love of Mike, pass it up.
Rating:
Summary: Essential Reading
Review: This groundbreaking study of the culture of video games has got to be essential reading for anyone alive in the twenty-first century. Poole argues convincingly that video games are a putative art form, and supports this fascinating thesis through reference to literature, drama, art and film. This is the treatment gaming culture has been crying out for: intelligent, insightful and profoundly thought-provoking, with relevance not just within the game industry but throughout culture as a whole.
|
