Rating: 
Summary: Arcade Glory & Nostalgia: Revisited
Review: Mr. Sellers has compiled what is essentially a time capsule packed with vivid recollections of adolescent indulgence laced with ribald wit. Clearly an homage, Arcade Fever is transcendant. The feel of thick carpet, black light, Sbarro's pizza and pocketfulls of quarters fills the synapses while the pages turn. Replete with nostalgia, this title is perfect for anyone who skipped class to shoot B&W rocks or navigate a corpulent carpenter upward a steely skeletal edifice. The only drawback-- the realisation that scenes from Flynn's Arcade in Tron have ceased to exist. The games are harder to enjoy now-- victims of changing tastes and a market that dried up seemingly overnight. There are no downers though, and as a love letter (which this text obviously is) it didn't end badly at all. Now excuse me while i scrounge a quarter or two and find the nearby Asteroids machine at my local movie theatre...
Rating: 
Summary: This One's For You Johnny Fever!
Review: Ok, so I may have been a bit harsh on Mr. Sellers. It's true that when I originally read his book I thought, "what the heck am I redain? This really stinks, where's Nolan Bushnell, Al Alcorn, Bill Gates and Apple Computers? Where's my dose of comedy about the employees at Atari fighting with Ray Kassar and smoking dope in the back room while whipping together a quick video game that probably went on to make millions."
Well, I didn't get any of that, what I did get was a brainstorm several months later. I realized that this book is not about Activisions departure from Atari or the takeover by Time Warner and the loud mouthed antics of Manny Gerard. I already read all that in a many other books. This book is about the fun, something I forgot, I forgot the party atmosphere of sitting around the Atari playing some terrible game because it's easy to understand and everyone can quickly join in on it (...) and your girlfriend who hates video games even joins in on the action. A great time is gauranteed to be had by all. Well, this book is just that, a good time.
Don't sit down with this book in hand and expect to read the indepth details of how Chuck-E-Cheese was started and how much money was used for the startup of the Atari 7800, just sit down and enjoy this book. It has wonderful glossy pictures of quite a few games and is actually entertaining. So before you get angry about not owning another instruction manual on the life and times of Atari, take a second and realize your no supposed to be reading that here.
So I retract my original statement to "run and escape while you can." Because I understand now what this book is meant to be.
For Johnny Fever. Hope you like this one!
Rating:
Summary: The book I've been waiting for all my life.
Review: Okay, maybe "all my life" is an exaggeration, but this is still one of the coolest books I've seen in a long time. The writing is consistently entertaining, informative, and very often hilarious. And the visual design of this book is first-rate, with hundreds of color screen shots from every game you can think of. There's even a photograph of the Pac Man Board Game, and an interview with the guys who sang "Pac Man Fever." (If you're old enough to remember the people who sang "Pac Man Fever," then you'll love this book!)
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing Flashback - A Quick Review
Review: PROS: Enjoyed cabinet photos and art. Hit most major arcade games of the era. Contained interesting side notes on some games. Interviews were okay but more interesting subject matter could have been included. Some game memorabilia shown from the time was nice.
CONS: Lacked enough interesting content to be worth it for me. Did not understand the author's potty-mouth descriptions and lame jokes in the book. - a major negative. Too much irrelevant filler text that could have been used for more info on the games. Did not include notable people who you would expect to be mentioned. Book was printed in China.
FINAL CALL: Worth flipping thru twice or for a much-too-shallow overview. Those wanting to remember the era and arcade freaks should look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Great list of great arcade machines!!
Review: Sellers arbitrarily picks 50 arcade games he considers to be classics or of note. He does a fantastic job, reviewing these machines from the eyes of an eager kid growing up in the dawn of the video game age. The writing is factual, but punctuates with sidenotes and stories of someone who lived through it all. This in itself makes this a priceless book. You can feel his enjoyment and excitement come from the pages. Sprinkled throughout are fantastic pictures of the games *and* the machines that housed them. Throw in some great anecdotal tales from the people who made the games and you have a true fanatic's book here!!
Rating:
Summary: Rock your joystick with this stupendous sybaritic saga
Review: The adrenaline and pheremone soaked arcade nights of the golden age of gaming boogie alive! If you can't find your favorite arcade fixations among the 60+ games profiled...you've got to be screen dead. H U N D R E D S of gorgeous full-color photos, (cabinets, screen shots and assorted trivia) plus tons of fax and vital stats, historical funk, interviews and more. A fun read that is fascinating, never dry with a stale aftertaste. Sellers has truly jumped the shark with this baby. 'Fever is the definitive v-game junkie read for 2001! (hi Molly!)
Rating:
Summary: POOYAN FEVER!
Review: This book is a MUST-READ for any fan of video games who grew up tossing quarters into games like: Donkey Kong, Centipede, and Defender. Mr. Sellers does a great job of giving the early history of video games and then hitting the mainstay games from 1977-1984. The color pictures are great reminders of these games from yesterday, and there's plenty of surprises too!One of the books strong points is that Sellers is obviously a huge fan of video games, both arcade and home. Anyone who can mention "Tunnels of Doom" (the best TI-99 game ever) is definately in "the know". The book has plenty of fun pages that include topics like: Bizarre Games, What were they thinking?, and bad sequels to games. Trust me, if you remember games like PENGO and POOYAN then you'll want to read this book. The only weak part of the book is the fact that if you have a strong memory for the mainstay games, then you may not learn much more. There's not lots of insider information, just a brief synopsis and overview of the game topic and play. I was hoping for a bit more in depth research on facts that the normal joe may not have known. All-in-all this is an excellent read. I hope Mr. Sellers tackles the later years of arcade gaming (Rolling Thunder, Double Dragon, Tekken) and maybe even looks at the history of homegaming...Commodore 64 anyone? So the next time you need a break from all your X-boxing or Gamecubing, pull out this book and treat your eyes and brain to a different treat!
Rating:
Summary: Pop down to Nostalgia Arcade!!!
Review: This book is not particularly in depth, but then again it has no intention of being so.
There is no attempt to be 'completist' about gaming history, and basically the author says it all in the title. He's enjoying a nostalgia trip through the games he's loved, and is inviting us along. And I enjoyed the visit.
It has some wonderful photographs of the early arcade hits of the '70s/80s, and the descriptions alongside do not go into huge depth, merely loving memory joggers in which the author tries to capture the flavour of the games, and time at which it was king. Some reviewers seem to think of this as 'self indulgent.' Perhaps it is, but I enjoyed the style.
Personally, I love this book for a light read. It highlights the obvious games from the past, and I was pleasantly surprised to find 'lesser' games and sleeper hits mentioned too. If you miss the arcades of the eighties, you'll enjoy this book. Just think of it as an enjoyable memory jogger, and coffee table photo book, and you won't be disappointed. Think of it as a complete arcade guide, and you will. Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for a quick trip back, but not much else...
Review: This book is OK, but not very deep. It's a decent "period" piece for you nostalgia buffs. Indeed, I found myself thinking back to those days at Kentwood Arena, Funway Freeway, and Someplace Else; banging away on those controls while battling alien invaders and climbing skyscrapers (Crazy Climber). I didn't care much for the sidebars and sprinkling of useless personal trivia from the author, and some of his comments are a bit juvenile and unnecessary. You get the impression that the author was trying to have fun while putting this book together, but the "fun" gets irritating after a few pages. The interviews, while short, are decent, and the pictures of the games are nice. This book is good for a quick trip back to those halcyon days of youth and Pac-Man, but don't expect any deep historical record. For that, you need to check out The Ultimate History Of Video Games by Steven Kent.
Rating:
Summary: Good for a quick trip back, but not much else...
Review: This book is OK, but not very deep. It's a decent "period" piece for you nostalgia buffs. Indeed, I found myself thinking back to those days at Kentwood Arena, Funway Freeway, and Someplace Else; banging away on those controls while battling alien invaders and climbing skyscrapers (Crazy Climber). I didn't care much for the sidebars and sprinkling of useless personal trivia from the author, and some of his comments are a bit juvenile and unnecessary. You get the impression that the author was trying to have fun while putting this book together, but the "fun" gets irritating after a few pages. The interviews, while short, are decent, and the pictures of the games are nice. This book is good for a quick trip back to those halcyon days of youth and Pac-Man, but don't expect any deep historical record. For that, you need to check out The Ultimate History Of Video Games by Steven Kent.
|
