Thom reviewed 8-Bit Apocalypse by Alex Rubens
Review of '8-Bit Apocalypse' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
I put this on my reading list shortly after hearing about it. Now that I've read it, I can review it - scathingly. My strongest words are for acknowledged editor Adam O'Brien, who did NOTHING.
Run-on sentences that take half a paragraph, repeated paragraphs only slightly reworded, and did I mention the repeated paragraphs? I blame the author for jumbling the timeline (Reagan's SDI came years after Missile Command was released), irrelevant chapters, and never mentioning Atari's preferred description of "Trak-ball". Further blame to the author for blatant misstatements of what arcade gamers thought at the time - I am guessing he was born more than a decade later. Finally, I blame myself for not returning this book to the library after the first chapter.
Can I find something good here? The foreword is good, though I wish Jeff Gerstmann had read the book first. I am glad that Alex …
I put this on my reading list shortly after hearing about it. Now that I've read it, I can review it - scathingly. My strongest words are for acknowledged editor Adam O'Brien, who did NOTHING.
Run-on sentences that take half a paragraph, repeated paragraphs only slightly reworded, and did I mention the repeated paragraphs? I blame the author for jumbling the timeline (Reagan's SDI came years after Missile Command was released), irrelevant chapters, and never mentioning Atari's preferred description of "Trak-ball". Further blame to the author for blatant misstatements of what arcade gamers thought at the time - I am guessing he was born more than a decade later. Finally, I blame myself for not returning this book to the library after the first chapter.
Can I find something good here? The foreword is good, though I wish Jeff Gerstmann had read the book first. I am glad that Alex Rubens tracked down Dave Theurer to get his story, assuming that's the way it really happened. I would have rather flipped through his raw notes than read this book.
If you are considering this book, don't bother.