Once Upon Atari by Howard Scott Warshaw - Book Review

Howard Scott Warshaw had two successful titles under his belt at Atari before he took on a project that would later became the "accepted" cause of the Great Videogame Crash of 1983/84 (but only if you're in the USA - it didn't have that much of an effect elsewhere), the infamous E.T. This book, written by Warshaw himself, details not only his time at Atari but also his presence at the dig at Alamogordo in New Mexico back in 2014 that saw the popular gaming urban legend (that of excess E.T. cartridges being buried in the desert) proven true. Here, then, is his tale of working for Atari and what Warshaw did both before and after those rock and roll years.

It's quite easy to criticise some memoirs as there is the inclination to treat the words of the author with more than a little scepticism. After all, surely memoirs are written to big up the author and minimise criticism? In this case, no, not at all. What you get here is a warts and all recollection of how Warshaw came to be employed at Atari, create a stone-cold classic for his first game, and then demonstrate that rare ability to create a movie tie in title that actually homaged the source and not ruin it. That game, by the way, was Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was when he accepted the challenge of developing a title based on E.T in five (yes, count 'em, five) weeks that things went a bit sour.

Warshaw tells an engaging tale, of how he ended up at Atari, how he handled the development process of E.T. and of how he thought it went wrong. There is honesty, self awareness and humility, as well as a sense of confidence developed from life experience. That life experience was never that smooth, and Warshaw displays complete acceptance of his actions, both where things were good and bad. Above all though, there is humour, and his word puns are sublime. Well, I think they are, but many, many others might disagree. After all, there are two types of people in the world, those who love word play and those who don't. The third type should read this book to find out for themselves... 

The story itself is told in a roughly chronological order, with most chapters beginning with the author at the Alamogordo dig. It's a handy framing device that works well. He does take detours away from the main story every now and again, but they're informative little tidbits and, where necessary, he explains technical issues with aclarity. Warshaw also gets quite philosophical at times and this makes the book an even better read. His journey is your window into how Atari functioned and how, even to this day, working in the industry can affect people, and not usually in good ways. 

There are only a few photographs present, but these are contemporaneous to Warhaw's time at Atari or the Alamogordo dig. Some might want more imagery but those present do what they need to and I have no problems there.

As for the subtitle, that is addressed as the story unfolds. I agree with the author that, prior to the widespread use of the Internet, E.T. was a minor historical footnote. Since then, it's regularly topped "worst games" lists but that is to detract from Warshaw's achievement. A shipped title in five weeks (with associated burnout) that sold over a million copies. Was it the reason for the US videogames market collapse? Or were there other issues at hand? I'm not going to spoil it for you here, but there are many reasons for what occurred and to blame it on one particular title would be to ignore issues with the wider market and the people who ran the key companies at the time. 

This is yet another great addition to my videogames related library, and one that any fan of "not-quite original" Atari (post Bushnell, pre-crash) should have on their shelves. It would also suit anyone wanting to see how the industry has developed (or not) since those very early years. If you want to read more from Warshaw, he's had a regular column in Wireframe magazine for a while now which are well worth a read. You can pick up a copy of Once Upon Atari at Amazon here or order it from your local bookstore. You can also follow the author on Twitter here. 

Bullocks, Grain, and Good Madeira by Joshua Provan - Book Review

It would be very easy (and lazy) for me to post a couple of paragraphs about Joshua Provan's book, Bullocks, Grain and Good Madeira, and call it a day. After all, if you've read Andy Copestake's Their Infantry And Guns Will Astonish You, you'll know that the last two chapters in his book are the topic of Mr Provan's entire tome. 

But I'm not going to do that as that would be a great disservice to Mr Provan and the effort he has put into this excellent history of the Maratha and Jat Campaigns. Let us continue, gentle reader...

As the author notes, Arther Wellesley's early career is pretty much glossed over due to his later achievements, but that detracts from the hardships and struggles of the 2nd Anglo-Maratha War, almost to the point of wiping out any real teaching of what happened during the years 1802 to 1806. And whilst Wellesley may have glory laid upon him for his victory at Assaye, that narrative neatly forgets that the final victory for the future Duke did not occur until three months later. It also completely ignores the forces of Lord Gerard Lake and the campaign against Yashwantrao Holkar. 

To set the scene, we have an introduction covering the key events leading up to the Deccan and Hindustan Campaigns (so if it's been a while since you've read Andy's book, this is a great primer), before the first section handles the forces involved, their organisation, equipment and the like. Next comes the sections on the Deccan (56 pages) and the Hindustan (33 pages) campaigns. The fight against Holkar and the siege of Bharatpur take up 44 pages, and the book ends with a section on the end of the war.

I was very impressed with the clarity of Mr Provan's writing, not only making even the most confusing of battles very easy to understand, but also giving the reader a real feel as to what it was like to be there. This is aided by the numerous quotations from contemporary sources as well as plates and maps that do an excellent job. Each side is given equal treatment and this, like Andy's book, is very much a warts and all history, so not your usual "Fisher-Price guide to British History" that I have seen in some texts (slight dig at popular history books there). Where there is ambiguity in events or motivations, the author clearly states his reasoning for choosing a particular course. 

Where this book also scores is its portrayal of the logistical effort required to support even a moderately sized force in the field, and credit is due in how the author makes this part as engaging as the actual battles. This also works from the point of view of showing how the East India Company's Native Army developed into a highly capable fighting force. The refusal to fight by some of the European troops of the 75th and 76th of Foot at Bharatpur was shown up by the actions of the 12th Regiment of Native Infantry, and that was an event I hadn't known of. However, the siege of Bharatpur was both hard fought and shambolic in equal measure, so there should be some understanding here and, despite their bravery, you can guess what happened to the 12th Regiment... 

There are numerous colour plates and illustrations throughout, alongside appendices on the British forces at Assaye, the Regular Corps of Gwalior State, and the Grand Army of the Doab and Yamuna and Ganges at the same period. There is also a very comprehensive bibliography. 

Bullocks, Grain and Good Madeira is an excellent addition to Helion's From Reason to Revolution range, providing an even handed, informative and detailed history of a period so often glossed over as just "Welly in India." It is a handy and well suited companion piece to Their Infantry and, ideally, they should be purchased together. There is much here for both casual historian and wargamer, and you can purchase both this book and Andy's directly from Helion. 

Florin's Haul of ZX Spectrum Games by Paul Davies - Book Review

Florin's Haul of ZX Spectrum Games by Paul Davies takes its name from the character Florin, who starred in a game called Spellbound back in 1985. This was one of the many Spectrum games that captured the imagination of a young Paul Davies who, in later years, took the character's name as his writing tag. The subject of his writing? The ZX Spectrum, of course, the continuation of which has led to this cracking little tome published by Fusion Retro Books. 

A 194 page (roughly A5) hardback book, Florin's Haul is Paul Davies' love letter to the many varied games of the ZX Spectrum. With a foreword written by Spellbound's creator, David Jones, and an introduction that firmly establishes Davies' credentials for writing the book, the author's enthusiasm for the topic is openly on display even before we get to the actual games.

Naturally, we start off with Spellbound. After all, this is the game the author "acquired" his writing tag from, and a game he really really does love. As with quite a few of the entries here, he sets the scene with a brief intro to the world events, films and TV programs of the year the game was released before getting to the game proper. Then he describes the title, how it played and what it was that appealed to him, the description aided by some lovely colour screenshots, including the title screen and some in-game action. 

Davies writes from the heart and it feels like he could be in the pub describing his favourite game over a couple of beers. He comes across as eager and, dare I say it, almost evangelical in his fervour describing Spellbound. To carry the religious links further, this title feels like it was an epiphany for the lad. No wonder it's the first game to be covered in this book. 

This is followed by an Arcade Games section, featuring the likes of Operation Wolf, Rampage and Chase HQ. Again, there are screenshots galore and a distinct lack of cynicism, the author looking at each title with fresh eyes, unconcerned about the effects that the passage of some near 30 to 40 years has had on these titles. There is self-deprecating humour galore, humour that continues to the next section of the book.

You cannot talk about Spectrum games without a Willy popping up somewhere. And so it is that Manic Minor, Jet Set Willy and Jet Set Willy 2 get some proper loving. After reading this section, I put the book down for a couple of hours, as I just had to get my hands on some hot Willy action (safely via an emulator, you understand) before a sense of propriety returned and I laid down the Willy for some pulped-wood enjoyment. That means continuing to read this book, you dirty-minded so and so's. 

HARD! (Stop sniggering at the back!). HARD is the next section. Cheers, Yoda. We're now in the world of Spectrum games that would make any Dark Souls (or should that be Elden Ring? It's so hard to keep up with the youngsters these days) fan weep. The likes of Airwolf, Dynamite Dan and Navy Moves amongst others get a thorough airing and whilst you might think that such difficult titles should be left to the sands of time, you would be mistaken. I did try to play Airwolf and can confirm that it's fudging hard! I would never have played it if it hadn't been mentioned in this book so I feel I am a better person for having not seen that elusive third screen. As it is, each game in this section gets a rating out of ten for hardness (his words, not mine!) and I can find no reason to disagree with the author here.

Those of you with a nervous disposition and a fear of your joystick breaking at the most inopportune moment (seriously, stop sniggering back there! Honestly, pure filth you lot!), what follows will have you coming out in hives. Yes, it's Daley Thompson time. I cannot emphasise enough to the younger readers of this blog (so you thirty somethings then...) just how much joystick waggling Daley Thompson took(!). Daley Thompson's Decathlon had plenty of track and field action to put your wrist in an ice pack, whilst Daley Thompson's Super Test was not just a test of your skills. Oh no, this was a game to test the tensile strength of budget plastic. A test many a joystick failed. A moment of silence out of respect please...

...

Anyway, back to the haul, and it's not over yet. There is the "Other Games" section, and this takes up nearly a hundred pages, all specially arranged (I know this because the author says so), covering games like Jetpac, Skool Daze, Aliens and 3D Deathchase. Oh, there's more, much more, but I can't be bothered to list all of the titles and it appears neither could the author - he said there is a contents page, but there isn't. How does this affect you, gentle reader? Well, you'll need to buy the book to find out what other titles fall under his gaze. Whilst not all titles get the introduction regarding its year of publication, they do get a great write up by Davies, warts and all. He might be a dedicated fan of Sinclair's Wonder Box but he also fair and just in his approach. 

What we have here, in Florin's Haul, is a loving, slightly irreverent but highly entertaining look at a hefty number of 8-bit games. Some are classics, others less so, but all are noteworthy and are given the affection and attention they deserve. This is a worthwhile and high quality book on the subject and I have no qualms in recommending it.

You can buy this book directly from Fusion Retro Books here (at the time of posting this, the price was discounted from its usual £15 to just £9!!!) and you can follow the author on Twitter here.

Was That Film Really That Bad??? - Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

The "difficult third album" is only a cliche because it happens to be true in many cases. Indeed, the same could be said of any art, and never more true of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Not only did this film have to meet heady expectations raised by the seminal Wrath of Kahn, but it also had to juggle the difficult task of reintegrating a fan favourite character in to the series. Over the years, it has become a commonly held belief that the odd number entries into the Star Trek series are crap whilst the even numbered ones are held in high esteem (or at least in higher esteem than the odd-numbered entries). In the case of TSFS, it was too early for such simple labelling, so it must be asked of Star Trek III, was that film really that bad???

The film opens with the Starship Enterprise returning to Earth after the dramatic events of the previous movie. Looking much worse for wear, the ship is due for decommissioning and the crew are held to silence following the political fallout of the Genesis Project. When it becomes clear that Bones is carrying the soul of Spock and must be reunited with his body on the Genesis planet, Kirk and company resolve to steal the Enterprise and save their friends. 

I'm sure that'll buff out...

The Klingons want the Genesis device as a weapon and attack the science vessel dispatched by the Federation (the USS Grissom), whilst taking Kirk's son and Lt Savik (who were on an away mission to the Genesis planet) prisoner. Once the Enterprise arrives, it all kicks off, the Enterprise is destroyed, Kirk's son is killed, but the crew get Bones and a reborn Spock back to Vulcan. 

Ok, that will definitely NOT buff out.

It's a pretty simple tale and one that is delivered well. With a slightly higher budget than WoK, the space bound effects are top notch but the decision to film all of the Genesis planet scenes in a studio (and the sets are quite impressive at times) means that the film at times comes across as a standard TV episode writ large and paradoxically a little cheap. 

A Toast! To the set designers and construction gang!

The usual cast members return and, for a change, they are given a bit more screen time. After the first two films, it's nice to see Koenig and Takei actually have something to do, though Nichelle Nicols is criminally underused - and that is a trend that continued into the fourth movie. The sole returnee from WoK was Merritt Butrick as Kirk's son, David Marcus. Kirstie Alley didn't come back so the role of Savik was recast with Robin Curtis picking up the reins. A touch of class is provided by Dame Judith Anderson as a Vulcan high priestess and it's always good to see Mark Lenard as Sarek. The star of the show is Christopher Lloyd, playing a pitch perfect foil to Shatner's Kirk as Kluge, the Klingon commander chasing after the Genesis device. 

He's just dropped one and appreciates the ambience it provides.

The Search for Spock was a financial success, making $87m off a $16m budget, but it took less than WoK ($97m against a budget of $12m) and critical reaction was less favourable. No, it wasn't as slow or po-faced as The Motion Picture, but neither was it as action packed and dramatic as WoK. TSFS sits somewhere in between these two films but the key thing to remember is that it expands on the world outside of the Enterprise as well as allowing some of the cast to breathe a bit more. There is a enough humour to raise the odd smile and all told, this is very much a more personal story, relying as it does on the core trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy. 

The space effects are really good though.

Maybe that's not what general audiences wanted. Maybe they wanted more of the ship combat and scenery chewing that WoK delivered. Or maybe not. Consider the next film in the series, The Voyage Home which was essentially a film about whale-napping, was a huge success for the series ($133m against $21m), as well as finishing off the story arc which began in WoK.

That guy at the back "Hey, Spock, do you like Sci-Fi movies?"

Is The Search for Spock really that bad? No. Thematically and stylistically, it fits in perfectly with the prior and later films. Yes, the studio work is obvious but hey, these weren't mega-budget films at the time. Compared to the likes of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Ghostbusters, TSFS had roughly half the budget and put bloody impressive SFX onscreen. Perhaps best binge watched with the second and fourth films, The Search for Spock delivers the story it needs to in a poignant and respectful manner to the characters. And after all, wasn't it the characters and the story that kept us enthralled with Star Trek in the first place?