The Games That Weren't - Book Review

The Games That Weren't is the latest release by Bitmap Books and, I'll admit, the first title I have purchased from the company. Written by Frank Gasking, this tome is the result of five years of research and it certainly shows. Covering over 80 unreleased games, with five hardware pieces and an "honourable mention" section that could make up a second volume (hint, hint), there are over 640 pages of videogame history here. If that wasn't enough, there is even more content available on the Games That Weren't website.

I pre-ordered this when it was announced as it appealed to my interest in videogames history. With a slight delay in release (a matter of days, really), I received an email notification on the new release date and a later email with a link to download a watermarked PDF copy of the book. Whilst I could have started reading that straight away, I wanted to wait for the book itself. This was received on the following Friday afternoon from the hands of a very cheery courier (cheers, Bob!). This was when I got my first surprise: the care and thought that went into the packaging was immediately apparent and much appreciated. Then came the next surprise - it's a hefty book, and of high quality too - the binding, hardback cover and paper quality are all excellent. For £30, I was impressed. That did not change as I started reading.

Now that is well packaged.

The author's style is easy going and very readable. His enthusiasm for the topic is plain to see and you get a sense of joy as each title is covered. Some games only get a two page entry, featuring art and a small text box. Others can be several pages in length with a lot of input by the original developers and more artwork/screenshots etc. This makes the book easy to pick up if you just want to read a couple of entries or, if you're like me, that "just one more section" pull that means you go past midnight without even realising it! For most of the titles, artist impressions have been created to give the reader an idea of what the game may have looked like. Whatever the art, the glossy high quality paper makes these jump off the page. 

There is certainly a lot of content here, as it covers a forty year period (1975 to 2015). What I really like about the author's approach is that where there is a lack of information or help, he clearly states that, which adds an air of poignancy to the book and underlines the importance of preservation for videogames. There is constant referral to the GTW website where more information can be found and the website compliments the book well. Each entry in the book also has a notification as to whether the game is available to experience today or not. 

You do get a real sense of how the industry changed from it's early years to the mass market commercial juggernaut it is now.You also get a real understanding of how much technology has progressed over time and just how cutting edge some of these titles were. Hearing about how developers struggled (and often succeeded) to get software running on some formats was extremely enlightening. It's also nice to see that the titles covered are spread out over numerous formats. As an Amstrad GX4000 fan, the chapter on Gazza 2 answered quite a few questions for me. It was also nice to see the Archimedes get a mention with Spitfire Fury and any mention of the Konix Multisystem always gets my attention, as any reader of ACE magazine and it's hardware section will attest. On a personal note, I must admit this book brought back many happy memories of the 8 and 16-bit era, with the mere mention of long-closed software houses conjuring recollections of buying £2.99 cassettes from the local newsagents.

Are there any negatives to this book? Well, if I am being really picky, I wish maybe a different coloured bookmark as my cat really, really likes that bright green. In all seriousness though, no, I have no negatives to report.

Well laid out with superb print quality.

Overall then, I think The Games That Weren't is an excellent title, one that provides not only an informative and detailed history of a selection of cancelled videogames, but an interesting view of the nature and history of the videogames industry itself. I hope that one day we'll get a follow up volume as there are no doubt many more lost games to be brought to people's attention. In the meantime, for £29.99 including UK delivery, this is a must-buy for anyone with even a passing interest in the hobby.

As for Bitmap Books, they have several other titles that have caught my eye and I think an order for The Art of Point-and-Click Adventure Games is on the cards.