Nonfiction

An Illustrated History of 151 Video Games: A Detailed Guide to the Most Important Games

An Illustrated History of 151 Video Games: A Detailed Guide to the Most Important Games

  • Downloads：3122
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-03 09:55:56
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Simon Parkin
  • ISBN：0754823903
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Whether you are playing as a supersonic hedgehog， an athletic archeologist， or a moustachioed Italian plumber， video games allow their players to inhabit spaces where the usual parameters of existence do not apply。 The medium's history is chronicled through the individual stories of 151 of the most iconic video games。 Beginning in the early 1970s， the book charts five decades of the pixel revolution。 The story of each game is accompanied by trivia and quotations， and illustrated with photographs， screenshots and artwork。 This celebratory reference and history， newly updated， will enthrall any video games aficionado。

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Reviews

Дима ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Dnma

Laura ，

There's a lot of really interesting stuff here， including loads I didn't know before。 However， there are a few typos （notably several 1990s games are listed as being released in the 2000s）。 Also， I'm not sure I feel entirely comfortable with the way Parkin talks about mental illness。 There's a lot of really interesting stuff here， including loads I didn't know before。 However， there are a few typos （notably several 1990s games are listed as being released in the 2000s）。 Also， I'm not sure I feel entirely comfortable with the way Parkin talks about mental illness。 。。。more

Katelyn Jenkins ，

I loved the anthologies expressed through this read！！ I only wish it included more games。 I found myself flipping page to page and thing "awwww， no， they forgot ______！" Very good， definitely left me wanting more！ I loved the anthologies expressed through this read！！ I only wish it included more games。 I found myself flipping page to page and thing "awwww， no， they forgot ______！" Very good， definitely left me wanting more！ 。。。more

Anthony Alvarez ，

A great resource for any video game fan out there。

Martin ，

Really informative and entertaining， too！ There is so much information in there， especially about the early video game systems， anyone who is even remotely interested in video games will enjoy this book。 Though this book is only four years old at the time of writing this review， here's hoping for either a revised/expanded/updated second edition， which would include the new systems & games since this book's publication。 Really informative and entertaining， too！ There is so much information in there， especially about the early video game systems， anyone who is even remotely interested in video games will enjoy this book。 Though this book is only four years old at the time of writing this review， here's hoping for either a revised/expanded/updated second edition， which would include the new systems & games since this book's publication。 。。。more

Eugene ，

Я бы сказал， что эта книга скорее дополнение к ранее прочитанной Replay！。 Но всё равно приятно было。

Brian ，

In this book， we look at 151 video games， along with the systems that debuted， up to the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360。 Each game has between a quarter page and two pages and talks about the history behind the development of the game。 The book is mostly interesting to read except for some of the recent entries that I knew about and didn't care about。 The issues are that there are a lot of mistakes in the editing。 A few times I saw a caption that did not match the picture underneath it。 I also wish In this book， we look at 151 video games， along with the systems that debuted， up to the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360。 Each game has between a quarter page and two pages and talks about the history behind the development of the game。 The book is mostly interesting to read except for some of the recent entries that I knew about and didn't care about。 The issues are that there are a lot of mistakes in the editing。 A few times I saw a caption that did not match the picture underneath it。 I also wish more detail had been given on some of the games， such as talking about their gameplay or story more instead of details about the sales and development。 。。。more

Justin ，

Very well written and packed full of history。 It was cool to see some of the games that the author mentions are games that I've played in the past and have such fond memories of。 This is a pretty rad book！ Very well written and packed full of history。 It was cool to see some of the games that the author mentions are games that I've played in the past and have such fond memories of。 This is a pretty rad book！ 。。。more

Jackson ，

Good to see some relatively obscure gems highlighted （Black Onyx， ICO， etc。） and the writing is （rudely） serviceable。 Desperately needed a an extra copy editor or two， as there are numerous typos and dumb captions。 The Master System page listed the must-play titles for the PC Engine。 Embarrassing how many mistakes made it to print。 I can overlook the flaws because there is a fine canon of games assembled here。

Nick ，

This is a fun read with lots of interesting background information on some of the most amazing video games ever created。 It is also rife with editing mistakes， including dozens -- dozens （！） of caption errors whereby picture captions refer to pictures which don't exist！ Additionally， there are some notable game exclusions， including Unreal Tournament and Skyrim， and the author's vocabulary of esoteric terms is incredibly repetitive， with him saying 'cat's cradle' almost as often as glaring editi This is a fun read with lots of interesting background information on some of the most amazing video games ever created。 It is also rife with editing mistakes， including dozens -- dozens （！） of caption errors whereby picture captions refer to pictures which don't exist！ Additionally， there are some notable game exclusions， including Unreal Tournament and Skyrim， and the author's vocabulary of esoteric terms is incredibly repetitive， with him saying 'cat's cradle' almost as often as glaring editing errors appear。True Rating: 2。7 Stars 。。。more

Micah ，

Lots of good pictures。 Not much new info。 Really a history of console gaming with a few nods thrown in。

Patrick ，

I wouldn’t normally buy one of these ‘big list’ books， but this one happens to have been written by one of my favourite writers on video games， so that alone was enough to convince me it was worth a look。 It’s sort of a large hardback coffee table type-thing， but it’s not just a lot of pretty pictures: there’s plenty of actual writing here too。 The format is a little unusual for neither being a list of the ‘best games ever’ （are the best games also the 'most important'？） nor a long-form history I wouldn’t normally buy one of these ‘big list’ books， but this one happens to have been written by one of my favourite writers on video games， so that alone was enough to convince me it was worth a look。 It’s sort of a large hardback coffee table type-thing， but it’s not just a lot of pretty pictures: there’s plenty of actual writing here too。 The format is a little unusual for neither being a list of the ‘best games ever’ （are the best games also the 'most important'？） nor a long-form history of the medium， but taken together， the games gathered here do form a sort of suggested canon。 Pretty much every type and genre is listed， and there are separate entries for each significant home console。 The writing is， much as I expected， very good。 The origins story and basic development history is sketched out for each title， but again， this isn’t a deep history book， and in this regard there’s a pleasant reliance on wry anecdotes and intriguing facts， some of which are better known than others。 The games aren’t ‘reviewed’， and the author offers little in the way of personal commentary on each one， but there’s a nice hint of subjectivity in the imaginative and richly adjectival style at work here。There’s a few things which are frustrating about the book。 While some of the designed elements look very good， the whole thing looks a bit…cheap。 Much as I enjoyed the author’s writing， I had the constant sense that it could have used a closer editorial hand。 It sprawls a bit， and after a while I began to wonder if it wouldn’t have been stronger with an overarching narrative or editorial thesis。 In some ways it vaguely resembles a gaming magazine from the 90s， which wouldn’t be so bad except that in this case it doesn’t seem to have been produced/edited by people who know anything about the subject matter。 In particular， there’s a really weird and near-constant discrepancy between the photos/screenshots provided and the captions under those images， to the extent that these often seem to have nothing whatsoever to do with one another。 But still: it is a nice book to peruse at one’s leisure。 Keep it by your PC or console and you’ll always have something to flick through during that next interminable loading sequence。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=An Illustrated History of 151 Video Games: A Detailed Guide to the Most Important Games

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=An Illustrated History of 151 Video Games: A Detailed Guide to the Most Important Games&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,An Illustrated History of 151 Video Games: A Detailed Guide to the Most Important Games&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0