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TwitterA-Z of Cool Computer Games, The
Author: Jack Railton
Genre: Popular Culture
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 9780749082062
Pages: 288
Rights: World
Pub. Date: 1st September 2005
Avg Reader Rating:
Price: £12.99
Format: Hardback
A pot pourri of memorable games from yesteryear, an assembly of computers and consoles, and lots of data on the more bizarre and well-loved pieces of paraphernalia, attitudes and add-ons that helped define the glory years of the computing scene. A quick flick through will bring forth dormant memories of your own gaming years and make you remember how great and fabulous it was to be growing up in the age of the silicon chip.
From PacMan to PingPong, The A-Z of Cool Computer Games is the ultimate compendium of all the great (and not so great) games of the Eighties and Nineties:
The Games: From the banal (Metagalactic Llamas Battle at the Edge of Time) to the anal (Strip Poker), all the most important and best-remembered titles are lovingly recalled and humorously dissected.
Amusement Arcades: The best games; the most frightening boys and the rules of engagement.
The Social Mores: Dads believing they should be the family expert; the parlance of pirated games; computer fads.
The Computers: The systems of yore from Acorn to the ZX Spectrum; which consoles were corkers and which were just plain rubbish.
The Paraphernalia: Joysticks, Tape boxes, manuals, computer characters, colour protection codes, TV ads, magazines and loads of other ancillary ephemera.
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'I bought this book because it was cheap and I love computer games. The titles a little misleading as it's not strickly an A-Z. More of a mixture of articles on computer games, the machines, accessories and so forth. It's mostly text, not many photos in here. Just several in the middle pages. Reading the text brings back plesent memories of games I used to play and made me smile with the authors wit. All in all a read I'd recommend it if you love computer games. If you love lots of photos I wouldn't recommend it.'Mr. L. D. Chapman
'This book is EXCELLENT - It also has the one ingredient missing from some of the other efforts - a dash of (sometimes very funny as well as nostalgia-inducing) humour!
I found myself identifying with a LOT of the reminiscences in the book, and it's written in a friendly, down-to-earth way - A real nostalgia trip, and I would THOROUGHLY recommend it to anyone else who was around in the 'Golden Age' that all of us Eighties retro-heads all loved...
PS - Let me know ASAP when Jack's written another book - I've sadly finished reading this now, but it was like meeting up and chatting about the "good ol' days" with a like-minded friend - very entertaining, nostalgic, and thought-provoking...'Mr. D. P. Evans
'I myself am a huge fan of the games and systems which appeared in our homes from the early eighties onwards. I always kept up-to-date with the goings-on in the gaming world, but after reading this little treasure trove I feel somewhat humbled - it's amazing just how little I ACTUALLY knew! The book is brilliantly written in that as well as being a very easy read, it's also a very amusing one. I had many a proper giggle when reading some of Railton's descriptions! It goes through, as it says on the tin, an A - Z of games but also covers the systems on which they were released. It then goes further again and gives info on the companies responsible for producing these machines. If you are a fan of the Spectrum 48K, C64 or even the old Binatone home entertainment systems, then this book will be an absolute treat for you. Contact Santa now - you won't be disappointed! Well done Jack Railton. 10/10.'alexsmith42
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