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brett72's review against another edition
1.0
These reviews of horrible video games from the dawn of the UK computer market are worth clickling closed a pop-up ad on a website, but not actual money.
heartpages's review against another edition
3.0
I actually did know 2 or 3 of these, but I enjoyed the rest and that it was crowdfunded publishing.
I am also surprised that there was a highlander video game - and sadly not surprised that it sucked.
I am also surprised that there was a highlander video game - and sadly not surprised that it sucked.
tapeloadingerror's review against another edition
3.0
I'm a fan of YouTube and all-round internet celeb Ashens and it was impossible not to read this in his sardonic tones.
It avoided the usual terrible videogame punch bags such as 'ET' and 'Superman 64' which was refreshing. Instead concentrating on obscure British computer games which may have only cost a couple of pounds, but still stabbed the hapless buyer with a jagged 8-bit knife of disappointment. As the dreaded realisation hit that you'd spent your meagre pocket money on an unplayable pup of a cassette. yes, I've been there, done that...
What was in the book was very enjoyable, with the poor targets providing many laughs and a few guest writers chipping in too. The problem was that it was a slim volume and was all over very quickly. I was having great fun and then it was finished. Leave the crowd wanting more I guess.
I hope Mr. Ashen writes another volume, or ten, I'll certainly be onboard, but a little more content per load would be lovely.
It avoided the usual terrible videogame punch bags such as 'ET' and 'Superman 64' which was refreshing. Instead concentrating on obscure British computer games which may have only cost a couple of pounds, but still stabbed the hapless buyer with a jagged 8-bit knife of disappointment. As the dreaded realisation hit that you'd spent your meagre pocket money on an unplayable pup of a cassette. yes, I've been there, done that...
What was in the book was very enjoyable, with the poor targets providing many laughs and a few guest writers chipping in too. The problem was that it was a slim volume and was all over very quickly. I was having great fun and then it was finished. Leave the crowd wanting more I guess.
I hope Mr. Ashen writes another volume, or ten, I'll certainly be onboard, but a little more content per load would be lovely.
redgates0742's review against another edition
3.0
I'm a fan of YouTube and all-round internet celeb Ashens and it was impossible not to read this in his sardonic tones.
It avoided the usual terrible videogame punch bags such as 'ET' and 'Superman 64' which was refreshing. Instead concentrating on obscure British computer games which may have only cost a couple of pounds, but still stabbed the hapless buyer with a jagged 8-bit knife of disappointment. As the dreaded realisation hit that you'd spent your meagre pocket money on an unplayable pup of a cassette. yes, I've been there, done that...
What was in the book was very enjoyable, with the poor targets providing many laughs and a few guest writers chipping in too. The problem was that it was a slim volume and was all over very quickly. I was having great fun and then it was finished. Leave the crowd wanting more I guess.
I hope Mr. Ashen writes another volume, or ten, I'll certainly be onboard, but a little more content per load would be lovely.
It avoided the usual terrible videogame punch bags such as 'ET' and 'Superman 64' which was refreshing. Instead concentrating on obscure British computer games which may have only cost a couple of pounds, but still stabbed the hapless buyer with a jagged 8-bit knife of disappointment. As the dreaded realisation hit that you'd spent your meagre pocket money on an unplayable pup of a cassette. yes, I've been there, done that...
What was in the book was very enjoyable, with the poor targets providing many laughs and a few guest writers chipping in too. The problem was that it was a slim volume and was all over very quickly. I was having great fun and then it was finished. Leave the crowd wanting more I guess.
I hope Mr. Ashen writes another volume, or ten, I'll certainly be onboard, but a little more content per load would be lovely.
tiggum's review against another edition
3.0
After reading this book I can only wonder how video games ever managed to become a successful medium. When you could pay the equivalent price of one of today's big-budget, hours-long, fully animated and voice-acted games and end up with something that was practically unplayable, would get tediously repetitive within minutes, or just didn't work at all, why did anyone keep buying video games?
The book, though, is pretty good. If you like Ashen's YouTube videos or have any interest in old computer games, you'll probably enjoy it.
The book, though, is pretty good. If you like Ashen's YouTube videos or have any interest in old computer games, you'll probably enjoy it.
tripleeyejosh's review against another edition
3.0
I have a hard time with this one. On one hand, it's great learning about all these terrible games I have indeed never heard of before. Each entry is written in an entertaining way, giving facts about these games's release, how they were made, how they play, and how reviewers looked at them at the time (if the even did). But there are two big problems that really hamper this book.
While it's not a boring read by any stretch, it's also not funny. I find Stuart Ashen hit or miss in his videos - he often finds interesting objects to talk about, and when he has something good, you can see it inspires him. But whenever he's not inspired, it shows. He'll often repeat jokes or just shout at something like so many angry boys on the internet shouting about video games. That's pretty much the case with this book as well, it's just not funny. Throughout reading the entire thing, I didn't so much as chuckle. None of the attempted humor was cringe-worthy, mind, it just fell flat.
The bigger problem is that there's no reason for this to be a book, in fact, it only barely works as a book at all. Terrible Old Games You Probably Never Heard Of began as a series of videos, and that medium works so much better for this kind of thing - both because Ashen is more used to it and does it more naturally, and because you can actually see the games he's talking about in action, and don't have to settle for a couple of screenshots and brief descriptions.
This book would have worked much better if it detailed more of Ashen's personal stories with these games. Maybe spending more time talking about his childhood with these, or his more recent attempts at playing them, giving some amusing anecdotes about how frustrated he got or maybe how he actually kind of enjoyed some of these games. Instead, he goes for more of a clinical autopsy, and while that works fine, again, I'm not sure that was the best route to take.
Still, there are some amusing write-ups, some interesting interviews and guest-written entries that are better written. This is one of the most difficult books to review, because while good, you can tell it had the potential to be great, it just doesn't quite get there.
While it's not a boring read by any stretch, it's also not funny. I find Stuart Ashen hit or miss in his videos - he often finds interesting objects to talk about, and when he has something good, you can see it inspires him. But whenever he's not inspired, it shows. He'll often repeat jokes or just shout at something like so many angry boys on the internet shouting about video games. That's pretty much the case with this book as well, it's just not funny. Throughout reading the entire thing, I didn't so much as chuckle. None of the attempted humor was cringe-worthy, mind, it just fell flat.
The bigger problem is that there's no reason for this to be a book, in fact, it only barely works as a book at all. Terrible Old Games You Probably Never Heard Of began as a series of videos, and that medium works so much better for this kind of thing - both because Ashen is more used to it and does it more naturally, and because you can actually see the games he's talking about in action, and don't have to settle for a couple of screenshots and brief descriptions.
This book would have worked much better if it detailed more of Ashen's personal stories with these games. Maybe spending more time talking about his childhood with these, or his more recent attempts at playing them, giving some amusing anecdotes about how frustrated he got or maybe how he actually kind of enjoyed some of these games. Instead, he goes for more of a clinical autopsy, and while that works fine, again, I'm not sure that was the best route to take.
Still, there are some amusing write-ups, some interesting interviews and guest-written entries that are better written. This is one of the most difficult books to review, because while good, you can tell it had the potential to be great, it just doesn't quite get there.