Gamertell

After a pretty lackluster literary performance, WAR seems to have hit a pleasing note in terms of the literature backing it up. Dark Storm Gathering, sequel to Empire in Chaos, made a lot of really interesting fixes that made the story a lot more compelling. Also, as an added gift,… Continue Reading »

In Iowa, a 32-year-old man may spend 20 years in prison for possession of Japanese manga and will face penalties under the PROTECT Act (18 U.S.C. Section 1466A). Christopher Handley is still in big trouble because of the manga he purchased from Japan in May 2006 that the government claimed… Continue Reading »

Title: The Horus Heresy: Galaxy in Flames Author: Ben Counter Publisher: The Black Library Release Date: 2006 Price: $7.99 Rating: Two thumbs up, 90/100, B+, **** out of five. Pros: Quick pace, gives more explanation to different events, develops all major characters wonderfully, fixes most of the problems that popped… Continue Reading »

Title: Game Boys (aka Game Boys: Professional Videogaming’s Rise from the Basement to the Big Time) Author: Michael Kane Price: $24.95 (hardcover) Release Date: June 23, 2008 Publisher: Viking (part of Penguin Putnam, Inc.) Pros: Conveys the excitement, personality and seriousness of competitive gaming in a readable tone. A good… Continue Reading »

Gears fans, did you play the game for its story? Probably not but that isn’t stopping Epic games and Del Ray publishing from releasing three novels based on the games. The first one out the gate is Gears of War: The Battle of Aspho Fields, by Karen Traviss. It’ll be… Continue Reading »

Orson Scott Card is an author who has earned respect for political commentary in his science fiction epics. And the fact that many of his books can be adapted into games. Empire is a beautifully horrific book that had been rumored to become a new game from Chair Entertainment. That… Continue Reading »

Title: Dungeons & Desktops: A History of Computer Role-Playing Games Author: Matt Barton Publisher: A.K. Peters, Ltd. Price: $39.00 Overall: A great resource guide that proves to be an educational, insightful and enjoyable look at computer-based role-playing games. A surprisingly readable history book that will certainly inspire a new appreciation… Continue Reading »

Product: Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition 2008 Price: $19.95 Pros: A good-looking book with plenty of pretty pictures, trivia and, oh yeah, some world records. Cons: This is more a trivia book with some fan gushing (and opinions) than a catalog of game-related world records. Some of the rankings are… Continue Reading »

On Bioware’s news page, it lists a news nugget about an upcoming mass Effect novel, titled Mass Effect: Ascension. From the site: Del-Rey Books and author Drew Karpyshyn have announced the title of the second volume in the Mass Effect series of novels: Mass Effect: Ascension. Set between the first… Continue Reading »

No matter where you fall on the videogames as art debate, there is still plenty of respectable work being done by professional artists for videogames. To celebrate some of the often unseen and under appreciated masterpieces created for games, Midway has released the full-color, flatbound paperback book, The Art of… Continue Reading »