Even if you don't like video games, read this.
579660
for someone who doesn't like RPG games , this book was great. Took an overlooked topic, developed it and executed very well. Without giving anything away, story about people using video games to deal with or avoid events in their life until an AI gets involved and offers them a choice that will change their online and IRL personas for better or worse.
3621398
First, the griping part of my review...

Most negative reviews for this game cite that it's "not a true RPG", whatever that's supposed to mean. I guess because it puts emphasis on being fun and accessible instead of haggling over where to spend stat points, which is fun in a certain kind of game, but tons of those games already exist. A role playing game is simply... a game where you play a role. Which this qualifies as. While there aren't stats per se, you gain power as you advance, in the form of access to new attacks, health powerups, etc. but it's also meant to be accessible to people of all ages (read: children), so if it's not advanced enough for you, play a game aimed at more mature audiences, instead of hating this game for what it's not. As for complaints about the sticker based combat, that was all made very public long before the game came out. If it's not a feature you're interested in, this isn't a game you should play, just like you shouldn't play Portal if you don't want to play a game about portals.

Personally, I'd have liked to have a few options in battle other than strictly using stickers (Mario does still have his hammer in the game, not just sticker ones), maybe a weak basic attack that you use stickers to augment. It's still a very fun game, as Mario games tend to be, even if they adhere to pretty much the same story with few notable exceptions. No, it's not Paper Mario for N64, but if that's what you wanted why aren't you playing Paper Mario for the N64? (Seriously, play Paper Mario, it's fantastic). As a standalone experience, it was very fun. I like that they removed the obligatory tutorials and let you jump right in to gameplay with both feet. The puzzles were fun and interesting, but solutions weren't always obvious. Once you get a feel for the game's logic it becomes a lot easier to figure out (remember, goats eat paper... don't ask, you'll understand when you get to the part I'm referring to).

Despite a few flaws, namely the need for specific stickers at specific (unannounced) times (and not having the right sticker means you can't advance or you lose a battle) it was a fun installment in the series. I didn't hoard powerful items like I do in other games (except to put in the sticker museum) and instead had fun using a wide variety of attacks and items, which is where the sticker based combat really excels. Overall it's very family friendly and would be good for newcomers and die hard Mario fans alike.
2003615
play or play not,there is no way you can hate this game
1729368
Good.  Also i liked 'The Art of Video Games; From Pac-Man to Mass Effect'
1696480
I need to preface this by stating that Eric gave me my copy of this book, autographed and all. This was at a singles event he was somehow involved with, and that I somehow got into for free. It's nice when life throws you a bone.

Now I've met Eric - and frankly, he seems like a pretty cool guy. Social even. And, as far as I'm aware, is currently married. So if he really was a geek, apparently in the three years since this book was published he's graduated from that persona; either that, or he's figured out how to put on a good party hat.

The Geek's Guide to Dating is a fun, lighthearted read. It's written in such a way that I can't tell if it's meant to be entirely humorous, almost a parody, or if there is actual serious dating advice in there. If it's the former: brilliant. The latter? Well, I'm a bit lost.

The target audience for this book seems to be heterosexual young men who exclusively hang out with other heterosexual young men playing video games (gamers), and despite being attracted to women, have little or no idea how to begin to interact with them. As someone who grew up playing Atari, Nintendo, and finally computer role playing games, D&D, and Magic the Gathering, I totally get it. For me though, eventually something clicked and I stopped playing video games and started hanging out with chicks. It was just some sort of shift that happened organically as I was growing up.

This books seems to be written for the guy that doesn't ever have that shift - the guy that resigns to playing video games forever, as they feel that dating girls is just not in the cards for them.

Now, I don't believe that all gamers are geeks - or that all geeks are gamers. In other words, I don't believe that the terms geek & gamer are synonymous. To me, with the content in this book it would be more accurately titled "The Gamer's Guide to Dating" - as it's written with so much gaming vernacular that it feels like an old school NES cheat book. Of course, playing games & cheating have a whole other meaning in the dating world, so I can see why geeks is a safer descriptor, even if technically less accurate in this case.

So back to the book - it's a fun read! Whether there's any practical dating advice in it however is beyond me. Even with my gaming background, it's hard for me to read this with the intention of actually learning anything, as every line is bleeding with gaming analogies, so much so that I'm completely distracted from whatever message happens to be buried in there.

tl;dr: <--if you know what that means, well, maybe you're a geek after all. but is this book for you? maybe. if you speak the gaming language and have no idea where to begin with dating, or are someone who enjoys gaming culture looking for an entertaining read with some basic dating information encrypted between the lines, you might really enjoy this. At the very least, for $10, it will make a great coffee table book for when your buddies come over for an all night WoW LAN party. And, like I wrote earlier, if the author was a geek, he sure doesn't seem like one anymore. There's hope for you too.
3292988
Some punk wrote this crappy reveiw about gamers, here is exactly what the kid said

 = Fun = Overall

This is so funny, you guys take video games too serios, December 18, 2005

A Kid's Review

Both DS and PSP fans suck. You kids are so gay. You actually waste your time arguing on what video game system is better. Get on with your lives. You are such video game geeks. You probably don't get no girls. It's not that serious, you guys are really into video games too much. Especially you dumb nintendo fans! Even though all of this is true, everyone else is saying psp is good, so I'll give it five stars. Even though it is gay

first, "gay" has two meanings and neither of them are insulting.

second he's a frickin kid. what's he talkin 'bout when he says "you kids are so gay". this just annoys me. anyway i don't compare the psp and the ds. there's no point they both are good. it's all about preferance. i love my psp. it's great. but if you want a ds get it. who cares? doesn't matter to the people who make a big deal about it anyway.
2761937
At the risk of rolling some eyes, I'm stating for the record that Grim Fandango should be in every entertainment collection, videogame or not. If you find it for sale, please do yourself a favor and spend the few dollars it takes to own this fine game.
Grim Fandango is not at all fast-paced compared to games in action or sports genres, but it is impossible to get bored while playing this game: the characters are fantastic (the first cutscene involving Meche--where she and Manny meet--is impressively gentle and touching in its brevity, two genuine feelings generated so naturally in Grim Fandango and unmatched in any other game I have played); the humour is unparalleled in videogame-dom ("What a relief. I was beginning to worry that our car wasn't ostentatious enough."); the world is absolutely fascinating and inexplicably natural in its surrealism; and Manny actually turns out to be one heck of a hero.
The puzzles are completely organic to the situations in the game, with a couple minor exceptions. However, upon a second play-through even the trickier puzzles usually become much easier to comprehend within the context of the game.
This game is a marvel. I suspect that every player will remember Grim Fandango warmly.
1033546
Well, I guess video games aren't the underlying cause of the violence in our society.  It's the vampires that are devising them.  Who'd have thought!

I'm not really into the vampire entertainment culture, but this book has a unique twist that got my attention.  Being a novelette, character development & backstory are kept to a minimum.  But the protagonist does describe his existence through different lives.  I read the book in one sitting, but if it was longer, I would have had a hard time putting it down.

I give it 5 Stars for  entertainment, storyline and readability.
2543854
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.  The geek factor of this book wasn't so overwhelming that as a non geek I still found it appealing.  I'm not a gamer, and really neither is Dahlia, our protagonist.  So it was still completely understandable for me, a problem I had with a previous game related read..  And funny!  There was a solid mystery along with some minor romance and a bunch of laughs.  A great diversion.
2460885
I never was a big fan of reading novels based on videogames. I always thought of them as nothing more than just another way of getting our money by telling us a side story, most people won't care about. But then again, ICO isn't your average game. Everything about this game has a very special meaning to me. So out of curiosity I bought this book. I was actually quite surprised that just how much the book added to the overall mythology of the game. The way the author set up the setting of before the the game starts and her character development is very good. I would totally recommend this book to the fans of the game but also to people who like a good fantasy novel in general and you don't even have to play the game to understand the book. A truly great read.
3985742
Whether you're a gamer or not, if you have any experience with the Atari and growing up in the 80's you'll love this book.  It's a fast read that provides not only a lot of nostalgic fun, but also divulges loads of fascinating information and trivia about the gaming industry, the programmers who made the games, and the games themselves.  The writer has an infectious enthusiasm for the topic and obviously knows his stuff well.  Reading this book made me wish our old family Atari system was still alive and well so I could pull it out and play some of those games again, this time with a new appreciation for what they represent.
1588291
I probably don't need to tell you that this game is good, 10/10 reviews from every major game site already illustrate that. However, what I can say is that upon finishing it, I felt sorry for my friends who lacked the time, inclination, or skill to play video games. They would never experience the masterpiece of sci-fi story-telling and world creation that is Bioshock Infinite.

Bioshock Infinite is a classic. It may not be to the tastes of all gamers, but if you are among the small minority of gamers who find it off-putting, wouldn't you still rather have a first hand experience with a game that will be talked about for many years to come? If you consider yourself a gamer you owe it to yourself to play this game, at least in order to better understand the boundaries of what is being done with the medium.
2332407
Alot of people dislike this game, it's graphics aren't the best, and the battle system isn't the best, but I really enjoyed it. I loved the storyline. I thought it was interesting. I had alot of fun playing this game and felt that the reviewers in the gaming magazines weren't exactly fair. Every once and awhile I still read sarcastic comments about Kartia in gaming magazines, although one has to wonder about the opinions of those guys. o. O. If you want to get this game, don't get it with any expectations. Also if you don't like to read, forget it. But if you like good storylines and fun, different gameplay, it's a good choice. But... don't judge it on the first hour of gameplay. ^_^
3995085
I am a veteran from the VG industry having worked in it for over two decades, and having played videogames for over 35 years.  I am also the father of 3 grown children now who were exposed to a lot of videogames growing up.  I know a little bit about the industry; I'm not Richard Garriott, nor Shiheru Miyamoto, nor Will Wright - but I've seen some stuff.  I enjoy games and game design immensely and I have often been personally offended and defensive when Senators or the Media unfairly make blatant assertions about the woes of society being placed squarely on the VG industry.  It's dumb.  The Romans never had videogames. So what was their problem?  Probably TV.

This book does an extraordinary job disecting with a critical eye the inner-workings of children, families, and the relationship videogames have in a family dynamic.  How videogames might influence social structure or the underpinnings which make our children who they are; but most importantly, and this is key, it does so objectively.  (The authors talk about that many of the staff involved with performing the study went into the study with differing perspectives and points-of-view; so all sides were represented)

Sometimes the book is rather dry with lots of statistics being thrown your way, but it's an easy read and not too difficult to get the general message.  I like the book very much and recommend it to all my colleagues in the industry - because I think it provides some insight into the industry that until now was really being held victim to biased politicians looking for a spotlight.  Or whackjobs appearing on night talk shows doing the same.  About 99% of the time most of the idiots don't even play the game they're crucifying; a great example is Lieberman attacking Digital Pictures' "Night Trap" because young women are tortured and murdered by the player.  In the game, actually the young women are being rescued by the player not killed - but whatever.  We believe what we want to believe; to make whatever points or score whatever minutes of fame we desire.  (The ESRB was a direct result of Mortal Kombat and Night Trap; the ESRB is a good thing (perhaps not perfectly executed - but can provide a service to parents) but also the people involved with coming up with the ratings - lets just say their "practices" could benefit from some redesign.)

This book simply provides unbiased analysis - or as close as you can come. I suggest reading it and deciding for yourself. Parents should read it before they make restrictions on how their child spends their time; why?  The book points out why.  You'll be surprised by their findings.  I'm a parent, and the findings were very interesting to me.  I don't think society's woes are because of Grand Theft Auto or other games like it.  Parents should be parents, children know games are games, and some content is purely not intended for young children. Simply fact.  The world is full of situations that we must monitor what the kids see - games are no different. But we often don't give the kids enough credit - as the book points out.  And the politicians really should spend their time on bigger problems.
3728245
I've been marinating over this book for a bit. I enjoyed it - it introduce me to a new style of literature that I liked, however, there were opinions and thoughts in the book (in regards to religious beleif) I did not agree with and for a small portion of the book it went to a place there was unnecessary, and I would have preferred it had not gone there. In the beginning I was tempted to toss the book aside and forget reading it.

Taking those to points aside this was a very addicting, and well written book. If you grew up in the 80's you'll appreciate this book and all of it pop culture/nerd references. I will admit when I finished reading I wanted to find another book with the same concepts behind it.

The Characters in the book for me, were very relatable and realistic and written in a way that any gamer will appreciate/relate to.
252039
I have read many history style books based on video games.  This one took the approach of systematically looking through many different types of hardware with which to play video games.  It has many interviews with people involved in the design of the hardware and is generally quite in depth.  After each chapter the writers put fourth their favorite games on each of the pieces of hardware reviewed.  I say that it has a lean towards Europe because many of the interviews are with non-American/Japanese designers.  This is a breath of fresh air after reading so many first hand accounts of the Japanese or American contributions to the industry.
3491665
I was delighted to discover this book. Poole is one of the few reviewers I've found who begin to understand the rather unique position video games occupy in the intellectual environment. I liked it so much I subscribed to Edge, in which these essays were originally published, and bought Trigger Happy 2.0. I found, alas, Poole didn't seem to strike lightning repeatedly, so I recommend this book as sufficient to understand Poole's thought. I also would recommend it as necessary to understand the role gaming plays in contemporary culture.