List of Books About Video Games - Gaming Compendiums

Gaming Compendiums

1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die

(ISBN 978-0-7893-2090-2) is a book about 1001 video games worth playing. The main editor is Tony Mott, editor-in-chief of Edge, as well as other gaming journalists. It also includes a preface from Peter Molyneux

Hardcoregaming101.net Presents: The Guide to Classic Graphic Adventures

(ISBN 146095579X) compiled and edited by Kurt Kalata. Published in 2011, it catalogues over 300 graphic adventures, mostly from between 1984-2000, including full reviews, box pictures and screenshots. It also includes several developer interviews.

The Video Games Guide

(ISBN 0752226258) is a book by Matt Fox first published in October 2006 by Boxtree Pan Macmillan. The Video Games Guide is similar in format to a traditional film guide with A to Z reviews of over 1000 video games. Accompanying each review are: the year of release, the system first released on, the developer and publisher, information on sequels and conversions, and a rating between one and five stars. Each ‘classic’ game that receives five stars has a colour screenshot in a glossy section in the Guide’s centre, and these screenshots are arranged by date - providing a visual timeline of game graphics.

The Vid Kid's Book of Home Video Games

(ISBN 0-385-19309-2) by Rawson Stovall. Published in 1984 by Doubleday, The Vid Kid's Book of Home Video Games is a collection of reviews for 80 different video games for the Atari 2600, the Intellivision, the Atari 5200, the Colecovision, the Odyssey 2 and the Vectrex. Many of the reviews first appeared in the syndicated newspaper column The Vid Kid syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate.

Ken Uston's Guide to Buying and Beating the Home Video Games

(ISBN 0-451-11901-0) by Ken Uston. Published in May 1982 by Signet in New York, "Ken Uston's Guide to Buying and Beating the Home Video Games" was a 676-page strategy guide for many console games in existence at the time.

Score! Beating the Top 16 Video Games

(ISBN 0-451-11813-8) by Ken Uston. Published in 1982.

The Book of Games Volume 1

(ISBN 82-997378-0-X) by gameXplore. This book is the first in the The Book of Games series and was published in November 2006 by gameXplore. It describes 150 games from the period 2005-2006. Each game has a short description about the gameplay and challenges accompanied with nine screenshots. The book also has some feature articles about game topics such as MMORPGs.

The Book of Games Volume 2

(ISBN 82-997378-2-6) by gameXplore. This book is the second in the The Book of Games series and will be published in November 2007. It describes 100 games from the period November 2006 to November 2007. Each game has a short description about the gameplay and challenges accompanied with nine screenshots. It contains several feature articles and interviews with well known game developers.

Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984

(ISBN 0786432268) by Brett Weiss. This thoroughly researched reference work provides a comprehensive guide to popular and obscure video games of the 1970s and early 1980s, covering every official United States release for programmable home game consoles of the pre-Nintendo NES era. Included are the following systems: Adventure Vision, APF MP1000, Arcadia 2001, Astrocade, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, ColecoVision, Fairchild Channel F, Intellivision, Microvision, Odyssey, Odyssey2, RCA Studio II, Telstar Arcade, and Vectrex.

Classic Home Video Games, 1985-1988

(ISBN 0786436603) by Brett Weiss. Weiss follows his 2007 volume (Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984) with this follow-up, which covers games made for the Atari 7800, Nintendo NES, and Sega Master System, with the bulk of the text devoted to the popular Nintendo system. The entry for each game lists the publisher, developer, possible number of players, and year of publication. Sound, graphics, and levels of play are briefly described, and the author--an experienced collector and gamer--provides his well-educated opinion on the quality of play. Arcade games and other systems for which the game was also ported are listed. A glossary and index provide further information. For as far as it goes, this reference is professionally executed and an obvious labor of love.

Classic Home Video Games, 1989-1990: A Complete Guide to Sega Genesis, Neo Geo and TurboGrafx-16 Games

(ISBN 0786441720) by Brett Weiss. The third in a series about home video games, this detailed reference work features descriptions and reviews of every official U.S.-released game for the Neo Geo, Sega Genesis, and TurboGrafx-16. This trio of systems ushered in the 16-bit era of gaming. Organized alphabetically by console brand, each chapter includes a description of the game system followed by substantive entries for every game released for that console. Video game entries include historical info, gameplay details, and, typically, the author’s critique. In addition, appendices list and offer brief descriptions of all the games for the Atari Lynx, original Nintendo Game Boy, Neo Geo CD, Sega CD, Sega 32X, and TurboGrafx-CD.