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Reviews

BOOK THE BOOK OF

GAMES (VOLUME 1) (gameXplore) 000

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Given how popular videogames are, there’s a strange lack of books on the subject. Indeed. it’s hard to think of a bookshop with a gaming section. Beyond the walkthroughs and gaming guides that proliferate at electronic retailers. gaming literature remains a fairly untapped market. Now two compendiums have hit the shelves mere months apart: The Book of Games (volume 7) and the BFl’s 700 Videogames. Both take seemingly contradictory approaches to the medium.

At first glance, lovingly presented hardback The Book of Games is the answer. Page upon glossy page of screenshots and listings of some of the biggest

PLAY

games around, with profiles of the current and next-gen machines and a selection of essays on various subjects in the gaming world such as MMORPGs and ‘From Games to Movies'. The hardware profiles in particular are excellent, if that’s your bag. But when it comes to the games singled out for consideration you have to wonder at their often bizarre choices. only profiling the latest addition in a series makes sense but the inclusion of such clunkers as Deer Hunter 2005 doesn't. And there's an over reliance on licensed film and TV titles, even when dealing with such limited space

and the sheer volume of 2

games released year in year out (though this is perhaps a reflection on sales figures, licensed tosh still sells by the bucket—load despite their complete lack of quality control). While entries for each game are short and bereft of

any real information. the

essays are interesting but cursory and you long for more than the seven offered here. That said it's hard to deny The Books of Games

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COMEDY

looks great on the coffee table despite its flimsy content.

(Henry Northmore)

BOOK

1 00 VIDEOGAMES (BFI) coco

700 Videogames is woefully short on screen shots. In fact most entries don't come with one and the rest are in black and white. But when you delve into the text you realise what an exhaustive labour of love this is. The choice of games that have had an impact culturally and technically is second to none (from Snake on the mobile phone to ancient home computing favourite Jet Set W/I/y through to the more obvious Tekken and Tomb Raider). lntelligently written by James Newman and Iain Simons and placing gaming's position in wider society at its core. this is a fascinating history of the medium. told via the most important games, with the added bonus of also being a thoroughly entertaining read. (Henry Northmore)

The P83 may well have just been launched but there’s still life in the P82 yet. Capcom’s Okami is an epic adventure where you take control of the white wolf god, all with unique, sumptuous graphics. And we have a really rather nice Okami giveaway. One winner will get Okami for P82 and a T-shirt, while two runners up will bag themselves a T-shirt. For your chance to win a copy just send an email marked ‘OKAMI’ with your name and address, to clubsOlist.co.uk by Tue 27 Mar.

It's impossible to surf the web without bumping into ninjas, pirates and even (god forbid) a pirate ninja jesus. Who to turn to in such unpredictable times? Try Ask A Ninja. Members of the public can submit questions for perusal and he might proffer a video reply. Or he might kill you. www.askaninja.com

To boldl go...

lain Davidson looks at Sony’s latest entry in the next-gen console wars, as the PlayStation 3 hits

I the UK

as your choice of gaming console ever been

teenagers scrapped over minor

hardware differences. now gamers A must choose their console with

care. It‘s a tricky decision. exacerbated by the PS3 release. Let’s get the Trojan Horse bit out

the way. This is part of Sony‘s .

strategy for winning the race to the next-generation DVD format.

The PS3 is a Blu-Ray player.

costing half the price of similar players and bringing high definition movies to you at a reasonable price. It also allows

game developers to fit more

information on their discs. All of this sounds like a win/win for the gamer. doesn‘t it? Well, not if you

just want a console. For a cheap .

Blu-Ray player the PS3 is an

THE PLAYSTATION HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE SEXY CHOICE

expensive games machine.

But is it really a games machine? As well as the movie player. the PS3 can manage most forms of media. from your digital camera to your iPod. A connection to the web also allows uploading and

downloading. making the PS3 the §

hub of your entertainment centre. Of course. the PlayStation has always been the sexy choice.

Though bigger than the Xbox 360 ' it‘s sleek. shiny and silentfi

begging to be shown off with pride. The controller retains that recognisable Dualshock shape. though now wireless. and. having swapped its rumble for a motion sensor. it is just as comfortable to use. For surfing the net or

v

so varied? Where once fanboy i

managing media it lags behind the Wii Remote. while the 360 joypad navigation is far superior thanks to its interface design.

Sony is relying on the games element to drive the uptake. but at

the moment it is sub-par. MotorSIurm looks the most exciting. its graphics pushing the boundaries while the gameplay promises a bucketload of fun. Resistance: Fall ()fMun is also a nice looking title but does it really get the juices flowing? Developers need time with new consoles to get the best out of them but with the competitors having such a head start. is it possible for the PS3 to catch up?

And are the 360 and Wii really competitors? The Wii is bold. accessible fun at an affordable price. It has shunned the technological arms race in favour of experimentation and has caused quite a stir in gaming. Meanwhile. Microsoft‘s grey

behemoth has latched on to hardcore gamers and has

absolutely nailed online gaming.

Sony‘s unique selling point is still unclear. The product boasts huge power but there are currently no games that utilise this. It is dripping with potential but will that ever be fulfilled? Time alone will tell. So there you have it: three vastly different machines. with divergent philosophies. For the first time in gaming history. the choice is yours.

Television Without Pity is a monument

PlayStation 3 is available from Mar 23, at around £424.99.

l

I

to the guilty pleasure of American TV dramas. lts lovingly brutal dissections of 30 or so current shows (with more in the archives) allow you to indulge an unhealthy emotional involvement in facile entertainment while still maintaining an air of cultural hipness. www.televisionwithoutpity.com

96 THE LIST 15—29 Mar 2007