An encyclopedic collection of computer adventure games, with content derived from the hardcoregaming101 website.

Purchased a bundle containing this ebook, and have read that it is the preferred format to read this in - the printed version has grey scale pictures and isn't easily searchable ;). This large tome contains reviews of a TON of graphic adventure games and series. Sections are sorted by company, with a huge end section of single titles. These sections also contain a bit about the company or series in question, and there are a few choice interviews as well.

The reviews are written by individuals, and vary widely. While this is useful to get a feel for a game, it is not at all useful to compare between games played by different reviewers. My understanding is that this is collected from material on the website. While not as useful or complete as wikipedia, it was nice to have it in one volume to read through. And yes, I've spent months reading through this, entry by entry, and at times it was like reading an encyclopedia. That said, I encountered plenty of games I have never heard of.

For Zork and Spellbreaker, they included the text adventures that launched the series. It wouldn't have been many more pages to include all of Infocom's work, and it may have been more relevant than including a few RPGmaker games towards the end. Minor quibble - I will visit their website next to see if those games (particular favorites of mine) are there.