Attack of the Flickering Skeletons by Stuart Ashen - Book Review

The follow up to Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of, The Attack of the Flickering Skeletons once again takes the reader of a rollercoaster ride of videogame nostalgia as yet more titles find themselves under the ever piercing gaze of Mr Ashen and friends. And yes, those of you who are old enough to remember those dark years may have many an unpleasant memory or two resurrected...

As with the first book, this is an Unbound published title, so there are no issues with the physical quality. It's a colourful tome and you really do want to show it to your friends, especially if they're of a younger generation who never had to suffer the trauma of buying random pocket money titles from the local newsagents. 

Games covered include Butterfly, Castle Top, Deathkick (I remember that one well, and yes it was complete poop), The Flinstones, and Roland on the Run (another classic so to speak). There's more, of course, so below is the contents page. As with the first book, there are plenty of screenshots so you know exactly what you're looking at as you read about the features (ahem) of each title and why they are included. The sense of humour is still here as well, and let's face it, you had to have a sense of humour back then, because if you didn't, you'd cry. Some of these games really are that bad.

Alongside the author's selections, there are contributions from the likes of Jim Sterling, Daniel Ibbertson, Laura Kate Dale and others. There are also sections on Commodore C64 arcade conversions, the worst joystick ever and the weird tale of Hellraiser: Prelude and Finale. That was a piece of videogame history I did not know about and it was great to learn about such a grandiose folly. 

As with the previous volume, there is a list of the Unbound supporters at the back of the book, as well as an index that is as funny as anything else you'll read in the book. It's that good.

In fact, this second volume more than matches the quality of the first, and it's a shame that there hasn't been a third one, or at least, not one I can find. Still, you have this and Terrible Old Games... to keep you occupied and I really do recommend you pick both of them up. You can buy copies from Amazon here and you can follow the author on Twitter here, where you'll also find a link to his YouTube channel.