Dated--but fun!--books from the Public Library
By Beeks. Sunday, 25. February 2007, 07:21:59
Looking for gaming literature online gave me another idea--I should check out my local library to see if they had any books on Nintendo! And so, I made my trek there early one morning before work to investigate. Some of you may know my feelings for the library--although I will give it props for the lovable poster with the baby white seal reading a book with the caption "Reading is ICE-iting!". Anyway, I wasn't expecting too much, but I was surprised to find what I did! It turns out that the public library near my town decided it would be all "up with the times" circa 1989 and thus bought scads of video game books! I found titles such as Become a Master at Nintendo! Learn the Tricks of the Trade! and A Collector's Guide to Arcade Games!, along with plenty of tricks and code books. Apparently though, my library thought these books alone would suffice for the rest of the century, because the newest gaming book I could find was from 1993. Though dated, I checked out a couple of these books because I knew they'd be loads of fun to read! I'd like to share some excerpts from one in particular, Compute!'s Guide to Nintendo Games, by Steven Schwartz.
(Kind of sounds like the Wii phenomenon! It's so hot right now!)The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is currently the hottest-selling game system in the United States. Christmas 1988 sales in the Boston area were incredible; it was a complete sellout! If you bought one, you were in excellent company. Over seven million Nintendo sets were sold in the U.S. in 1988. Toy stores and electronics outlets had the system backordered through the following February!
Here's what Mr. Schwartz has to say about graphics:
This book also lists review of all the games that were out in 1989 and includes reviews, tips, strategies, and prices! The NES sold for $100 back then, and games like Mega Man and Mickey's Mousecapade were selling at $50 a pop! (WHY Mickey's Mousecapade was that expensive, I don't know!) Every type of controller and price is also found in the book! The review system was quite entertaining as well--Super Mario Bros. scored a 9.45, Legend of Zelda an 8.85, and the Three Stooges at an 8.65. Seriously, has anyone played the Three Stooges NES game? Is it really that good? (I guess if it has a slap off, it might be...) Mega Man II was the highest rated game in this book with a 9.8!If you're like me, checking out the graphics is a good way to decide if a game is worth having. Usually, if the programmers paid attention to graphic detail, it's a good indication that they put similar effort into designing the game's plot and action.
With all this video game violence in the news, I thought it would be pertinent to bring up this book's discussion of violence. Steven Schwartz has divided all NES games into 3 categories for our benefit: High levels of violence, Moderate Levels of violence, and Low violence. Games with high levels include Metal Gear and Double Dragon, while Blades of Steel and Super Mario Bros. 2 fall under Moderate. That's right, SMB2 is moderately violent because he uses BOMBS! Look out! Can you imagine somebody setting off a pipe bomb and blaming it on SMB2? And looking back now, I didn't think Blades of Steel was that violent--the fist fights always reminded me of this classic game, pictured at the right! Perhaps in today's wording, it would be considered "Comic Mischief!"So, I'm having a pretty good time thumbing through all this old stuff. You should check out your local library to see if they carry any gems like this! Be sure to report back to me if they do!
Compute!'s Guide to Nintendo Games by Steven Schwartz, Radnor, PA.
(43%)
WIDGETIZE
risk # 25. February 2007, 07:59
seaempty # 25. February 2007, 10:33
Beeks # 25. February 2007, 15:38
NoBullet # 25. February 2007, 17:18
danielcs # 25. February 2007, 22:17
Too bad this is not true nowadays, there are lots of games out there with too much eyecandy and crappy gameplay.
DotEd # 28. February 2007, 16:26
i have a few books on my shelf, i will post on them tonight perhaps.