Scan barcode
A review by drdedalus
EarthBound by Ken Baumann
3.0
Weird.
Not particularly bad. Not particularly great either. A lot of movie talk and huge chunks of Bauman's past.
What really transpires well is the attempt to revive a childhood memory through this games, which in turn resonates with the games itself. Sometimes, and it's where the book is at it's best, the poetry is well transcribed and finds a strange echo in Bauman's childhood.
Rest of the book is spent rubbing Bauman's life in your face, with no particular connection to the game. Speaking about his brother or his new college, his life... A lot of meta-talk about the forums concerning the game and such things. Particular dislike for the random connection between Bauman's life and Earthbound, sometimes very random, providing strange transition. Many many paragraphs, which feels a little bit epileptic.
Overall, the book is okay and a quick read. I would have liked more talk about the game itself and it's history and less intimate details of Bauman's Life, the two not being connected by much (he indeed played other games during his childhood so why come back to this one in particular? I have not figured it out). It still intrigued me enough that I might pick up the game, having never experienced it before other than playing Ness in Super Smash Bros Melee.
I really hope that next book in the series will step the game up. I understand that this one was somehow a very personnal book and I do not expect every book to be a simple enlarged game review either. But the props were clear as day here and I would very much like to read another way to write about games.
Not particularly bad. Not particularly great either. A lot of movie talk and huge chunks of Bauman's past.
What really transpires well is the attempt to revive a childhood memory through this games, which in turn resonates with the games itself. Sometimes, and it's where the book is at it's best, the poetry is well transcribed and finds a strange echo in Bauman's childhood.
Rest of the book is spent rubbing Bauman's life in your face, with no particular connection to the game. Speaking about his brother or his new college, his life... A lot of meta-talk about the forums concerning the game and such things. Particular dislike for the random connection between Bauman's life and Earthbound, sometimes very random, providing strange transition. Many many paragraphs, which feels a little bit epileptic.
Overall, the book is okay and a quick read. I would have liked more talk about the game itself and it's history and less intimate details of Bauman's Life, the two not being connected by much (he indeed played other games during his childhood so why come back to this one in particular? I have not figured it out). It still intrigued me enough that I might pick up the game, having never experienced it before other than playing Ness in Super Smash Bros Melee.
I really hope that next book in the series will step the game up. I understand that this one was somehow a very personnal book and I do not expect every book to be a simple enlarged game review either. But the props were clear as day here and I would very much like to read another way to write about games.