48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book is more smart than bomb, November 11, 2005
The genre of history books about video games is becoming crowded. Most of the books are good. All of the books repeat the same stories. Look, there are only so many legends to be written about in a history that is only 34 years old. Every book is going to talk about why Willy Higgenbotham created Tennis for Two, how Nolan Bushnell founded of Atari, how Shigeru Miyamoto explored the caves of Kyoto as a boy, and how the guys from id Software created Doom.
What separates the great books from the good ones is what the authors do next. Some books feel like they were cribbed from earlier works. You know what, Bushnell must be getting tired of every author asking him to recount stories about the creations of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese.
If you are looking for the same old stories, by all means you can find them in just about any book on video games. If you want something more, the field narrows. And that is where Smartbomb comes in.
The authors of this book made some great choices. Sure, they interviewed Bushnell and all the usual suspects, but they also went to Cliff Bleszenski (before his star rose to new heights) and to a host of new faces.
Chaplin and Ruby expanded the old stories--the sign of great interviewers--by getting Miyamoto, Steven Russle, Al Alcorn, and others to tell their stories in more detail than ever before.
I think this is their most valuable contribution. They have expanded and clarified some of the persistent legends. They have also captured the culture of modern gaming and modern game designers far better than any book since David Kushner's "The Masters of Doom."
And then there is the question of writing. Most books on gaming are written with in a straight forward, unsophisticated style. Dean Takahashi's "Opening the Xbox" may have been the most stylishly written book on the topic.
I think, though, that Chaplin and Ruby, talented New York writers, have brought some of the most lively and readable prose to the gaming bookshelf. "Smartbomb" is very, very readable.
It is not the most complete book on gaming and makes no pretense of being such. Chaplin and Ruby are generous about attribution to classic works such as Lenny Herman's "Phoenix: The Fall and Rise of Video Games."
All in all, I think "Smartbomb" is one of the four or five best books ever written on video games... and certainly the best book on the modern industry. I highly recommend this book.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A slice in time of the videogame revolution ..., December 13, 2005
This book is an engaging look at some of the movers and shakers in today's videogame production world. The author breathes life into the characters, and she makes you appreciate their humanity, although often her physical descriptions of people tend to be not quite right and sometimes just plain wrong. Is in no way comprehensive but is a quick and fun read on a slice in time of the videogame revolution.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely Bloody Fantastic!, October 29, 2005
I'm not really that into videogames and yet...I could not put this book down! It is completely engaging and interesting. Reads like one of those perfectly delightful New Yorker magazine stories or profiles that you wish would never end. I highly recommend to gamers and non-gamers alike. You will be charmed by the many amazing, eccentric characters behind the rise of the now massive video gaming industry.
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