Tiny Review: Videogames Hardware Handbook
I’ve slowly made my way through a fifth of this giant, 256-page “bookazine”, but I figured I should post a review for it now while it’s still on store shelves instead of waiting a month from now when your only option to buy a copy will be to import one through Imagine’s online shop.
Currently available at your local Barnes & Noble shop, the Video Games Handbook collects almost three dozen articles on home consoles, computers, and handhelds originally published in esteemed British mag Retro Gamer. Each piece covers the subject system’s history, significance, hardware details, advertisements, key games, and more.
Four details that are fab:
- Lots of amusing anecdotes scattered throughout each article. In the Game & Watch section, for example, the handbook briefly covers legendary game designer Gunpei Yokoi’s early years at Nintendo, when he caught the attention of the company’s president after creating an “extendable arm” toy to entertain himself while working on the Hanafuda factory assembly line.
- The handbook offers a list of “Perfect Ten Games” at the end of each console’s chapter.
- Because this is put together by a British magazine, this covers a lot of micros that most Americans will have no familiarity with, like the Dragon 32 and Amstrad CPC 464. If, like me, you’ve put off learning about these systems, this hardware handbook will get you up to speed.
- Though this is essentially a huge issue of Retro Gamer, you’ll find very few advertisements, other than a few reminders to subscribe to the magazine.
Three details that are butt:
- There’s no chapter for SNK’s Neo Geo. The much lusted after system has a feature article included in this month’s issue of Retro Gamer (which is excellent, so you should pick the magazine up if you go out to buy this book), but I guess it wasn’t finished in time to include in this publication. [Update: Someone on NeoGAF noted there’s no chapter for the PlayStation, either. How did I miss that?!]
- I would have liked an extra page in several chapters devoted to that system’s accessories.
- It’s $20! Which doesn’t sound so bad when you remember that’s barely enough to buy two imported issues of Retro Gamer.
Score:
- If you enjoy reading about video game hardware at all, it’s a must buy.
See also: G3: The Encyclopedia of 8-Bit Heroes
tags / reviews / videogames hardware handbook / retro gamer / ec / permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)
