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The Ultimate History of Video Games is one of those fantastic books that will keep you awake and you will have a hard time putting down. I have read it at least 5 times and am getting ready to get a clean new copy. Some books like Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and The War Years (Carl Sandburg) are fantastic books, but will quickly put you to sleep. If I had to choose between reading this book or playing a video game, I would read this book. And when you do put it down you will find yourself reaching for it often. That is something to say about such a large book. It is fun, exciting, and never boring. At the time I picked it up, I figured it might be ok.
Ultimately, Kent provides the reader with a wealth of research and interviews, warranting the 4-star rating given by this reviewer. Kent's "History" is more a history of the business decisions and financial climates under which the gaming industry thrived and suffered and much less an account of the particular games, game designers, and technological breakthroughs that marked the milestones in the progression of the art form. While Kent steers clear of pandering to the hardcore gamer crowd in this volume, he also proves to lack deep or unique insights into the nature of the Video Game form. TUHOVG is a long and intriguing book that covers the earliest interactive computer experiments and progresses pseudo-chronologically through each major movement up to the start of the new millennium. The account provided for the early years of gaming is particularly detailed and well crafted while the details on gaming history post-80's lacks the same luster.
great reading I would have given this 5 stars but there were hardly any pics of any of the retro game machines ,and I think more could have been written about atari I mean it was the company that started it all.It kind of seemed geared more to nintendo in my opinion with chapter after chapter devoted to them.but all in all a good read.
The size can be a bit intimidating, but any fans of video games will fly right through this.Highly recommended for any former video game addicts from the 80's like myself. I think this book should be renamed to "The Ultimate History of ME." cause it pretty much tells the story of my life growing up with consoles and trips to the arcade. It's a wealth of knowledge, the most concise history of video games you'll find out there - and best of all it's a fun, exciting read.
The book focuses more on the successes and failures of the companies involved (Atari, Activision, Nintendo, Sega, etc). I learned a lot of interesting little tidbits of information packed away in video game history that I've never even heard working at a game store for the last year.Now on to my problems with the book.the biggest one is that I've been more into computer games than consoles since Doom came out in 1993, and this book is severely lacking in any PC Gaming storyline. A lot has happened since then. What the heck.
Having been playing games since 1989, when I was four years old, I feel like video game history is a part of my own personal history. than the evolution of gameplay, but not so much that it loses the average sitting-in-front-of-the-TV gamer. Update, please.All in all, this book is a must-have for anyone that grew up on Mario and Sonic. I picked this book up to satisfy my nostalgic needs, but I do have a few problems with it that left me wanting more.
As if Age of Empires, Warcraft, Diablo, Everquest, Ultima Online, or any other '90s computer game wasn't as important as the countless Mario and Sonic sequels.Another problem with the book: It's seven years old. I just wish out of 624 pages the author could've dedicated more to PC games, and that an update would come out soon. First off, I want to say that this book is a quick and easy read, and it is incredibly informative about the history of console and arcade games, ranging from the origins of company histories, to the Atari, all the way to the Playstation 2. The book does talk about DOOM revolutionizing the 3d graphics in computer games, and details a little bit about "Doom clones" such as Duke 3D and Quake, then says nothing about PC games for the rest of the book.
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