Britsoft: An Oral History - Book Review

Something that caught my attention at the local branch of Forbidden Planet is the slowly growing range of video games-themed books they carry. As well as the rather nice looking tomes from Bitmap Books, Pen and Sword's White Owl imprint gets a look in and, on my last visit, this chunky title was also on the shelf. Never one to pass up the opportunity to read about the history of video gaming, I wasted no time in buying it.

The genesis of Britsoft comes from the documentary From Bedrooms to Billions. This was released several years ago and traced the early history of the British video games industry. As a companion to the documentary, Britsoft takes the vast amount of interviews and, under the eagle eyes of former Edge editor Alex Wiltshire, weaves the tale into a 420 page behemoth. 

The book itself is divided into eight chronological chapters: First Contact, Money Makers, Going Pro, Booming Business, Game Press, The Coming of 16-Bit, Maturing Industry and End of an Era. The layout is a tad funky, but not overly confusing - as you can see from the image below. There are three images sections: a photo scrapbook, press clipping and game artworks. Full colour is limited only to the latter section and a pre-intro photo section. Other than that it's hues of blues and purple. Green is the other main colour used, delineating the chapters as well as providing the footnotes - I'll get to those later... There is an appendix which gives brief biographies of those whose recollections were included, as well as an illustrated timeline of the various machine released in the UK between 1973 and 1992 - the period covered by this book. 

The book is an oral history and they have included many familiar (and some not-so familiar names) in the mix. The likes of Peter Molyneux, David Braben and Archer Maclean rub shoulders with Mel Croucher, Mo Warden and Tim Tyler. As these are all personal recollections, there is a small disclaimer at the front of the book about it not being a verified account and that these were personal recollections, and that's fair enough, as the various contributions combine to give the reader an excellent feel for the then young video games industry in Britain. A lovely touch is the way of navigating the entires. You can read the book linearly or you can follow each contributor in turn, with every entry showing the page number for that person's previous recollection and their next one. 

I admit to having quite a varied video games book collection but Britsoft still provided yet more information and flavour of the early period in the UK than I already knew. It can feel quite a melancholy tale, as times have definitely changed and it's an impression that I've gained from several other books I've read (Shareware Heroes and Acorn: A World in Pixels are two that spring to mind). There are some funny stories, details of personal struggles and, in a funny way, just how humbly the industry started. As someone who has stood at a trestle table helping out at a war-games show, the depiction of early computer games shows feels eerily familiar.

I only have one niggle with Britsoft the book, and that's the footnotes. There are quite a few of these and usually that's not a problem. Except, and this may just be me, in any kind of artificial light, the light green colour used for the footnotes tended to make them disappear, or at least make them very difficult to read. Could be a personal thing, but it needed pointing out. Aside from that niggle, there is nothing else I can criticise here... except maybe a follow up for the more turbulent years of the 1990's?

You can pick up a copy from Read-Only Memory directly or, if you're lucky enough, your local Forbidden Planet. Otherwise, the usual online and physical bookstores should be able to get it for you. As someone with an avid interest in video games and computing history, this is another fine addition to a slowly growing library. 

The Hunt for the Storozhevoy by Michael Fredholm von Essen - Book Review

The Hunt for Red October remains, over thirty years since its release (anyone feeling old yet?), one of the best submarine films of all time and one of the more intelligent of the genre. A peerless cast (accepting a Scots-accented Lithuanian), great effects, sparkling script and John McTiernan's taut direction combine to make it a must-watch even today. The book that inspired it, Tom Clancy's first novel, epitomised the popular 1980's and 90's genre of the techno-thriller. As with all good fiction, it was based on a grain of truth (one grain only, Vasily). This is where Helion & Co strike again courtesy of Professor Michael Fredholm von Essen. 

This is one of Helion's more slender volumes at 52 pages excluding the covers, but that is not to say its brevity is a negative. The book itself is effectively divided into two sections: the mutiny, and then the connection with the Swedish Intelligence Community, which in the case of this story, is extremely pertinent as they were a key source of information about the events that occurred. As always, there are many excellent photographs, colour plates, maps and tables galore. 

The story itself is quite a tale, worthy of the best of the 1980's techno-thriller writers. After convincing some of the crew of the Storozhevoy that all was not well with the Soviet leadership, Captain Third Rank Valeriy Sablin initiated a mutiny, the aim of which was to spread a new revolution amongst the Soviet Navy. That was, no matter your point of view, quite an ambitious undertaking, which says a great deal about Sablin's personality and state of mind.

Still, once the ship was under his control, he ordered it out into the Baltic, starting a chase that involved several pursuing surface ships, and attacks by Yak-28 tactical bombers and Tu-16 bombers. Add in a couple of friendly fire incidents and this had the making of a tragic foul up of Benny Hill proportions (period joke, geddit?). Except it nearly became one of the worst crises of the Cold War as one flight of Tu-16's were ordered to launch a missile strike that included the use of the special protocol to employ a nuclear weapon. 

Aircraft Nerd Alert! I do like a good old Yak!

You see, if Sablin had been on any old ship of the Baltic Fleet, the response might not have been so heavy handed, but the Storozhevoy was a very new ship - not quite two years had passed since its commissioning. That meant it was equipped with the latest and greatest Soviet kit for its assigned role and there was no way that could make it to the West. That assumption, by the way, very much highlights the paranoid nature that was prevalent in the Soviet Union's higher military and political leadership throughout the Cold War. They neither knew no cared that dissent of the kind that had driven Sablin to act existed.

Fortunately for the wider global population, the missile strike was never launched and the ship returned to port with the obvious consequences for Sablin. The incident was hushed up as much as possible but, thanks to the SIGINT (signals intelligence) and HUMINT (human intelligence) abilities of the Swedes, the incident was picked up and their records have been used for this superlative account.

Despite much enjoyment from reading the likes of Clancy (the early days, not the right wing textbooks his later tomes became - controversial, maybe, but he wore his politics on his sleeve and got more than a little "preachy" shall we say, especially as a counter to the Clinton years), the real world inspiration for his debut novel is much more engaging and fascinating. Mis-guided politics, hubris and desperation all combined to permit a series of events that very nearly altered the nature of the Cold War irrevocably. Some may find this an interesting divergence point for a game, others a detailed and timely reminder of how even "monolithic" entities are in fact no such thing. In either case, The Hunt for the Storozhevoy is an excellent read and one that is definitely worth your time.

You can buy The Hunt for the Storozhevoy directly from the Helion & Co website here or, if you check out their social media links, pick up a copy in person at the various shows they attend. The next one of these will be the Battleground Show in Stockton tomorrow.

System Gamer Magazine Level 1 - Review

Way back in August, when the sun shone and times seemed so much simpler, I looked at a couple of issues of Cool Sh#t magazine. I liked it a lot but had just caught the tail end of its run as the team behind that magazine had other plans for the future. Well, that future has now arrived and the first issue (sorry, Level) of System Gamer is now available to buy. 

The cover: it looks busy but sets out the mag's stall effectively. I have to say that I really like it. As for the A5 magazine itself, it's a fairly slim 50 pages but each page is packed with text and artwork. They really have crammed the content in here but it's not too small a layout to get tiring to read, at least for these jaded forty-something eyes. 

An introduction by the System Gamer themselves kicks off the overall theme, followed by a contents page that displays the five sections of the magazine. Each is fairly explanatory: Incoming Intel (news), Past Missions (retro reviews), Briefings (features), Future Missions (previews) and Current Missions (newer games reviews). 

Production values are incredibly good, that cannot be denied. Everything is is full colour, there is artwork and screenshots galore, and whilst yes, the layout mirrors the cover in that it's very busy, it's still an easy enough read. I believe the page count is about right and I don't think I could manage say 80 plus pages of this presentation but, for the format used here, it's works a treat. 

The titles covered in the various sections are a relatively broad mix, platforms, racing and fighting, and in that sense, it follows pretty much the early 1990's style of gaming - those being three very popular genres at the time. It's obvious they are still popular now given the range highlighted here. 

Previews are rated with an anticipation factor, which in this first issue seems stuck to 100%. Can't say I blame them for that, as why feature a forthcoming title that you're not excited about. Reviews are rated similarly out of 100% and again, the scores here are high. The intro does state that the aim is to bring news and reviews of all the greatest games for the greatest systems. 'Suppose that knackers the chance of any GX4000 or C64GS reviews, but one lives in hope.. As for the scores themselves, I have only played TMNT Shredders Revenge and I would agree with the score given here. The writing throughout is good, with style and clarity making this an easy read. 

I think my favourite piece in the whole magazine was the MegaDrive catalogue for 2022/23. This lists 16 games and an add-on that are on their way to this most evergreen of 16-bit formats. It really is heartwarming to see that level of support for Sega's second best machine (Dreamcast first, no apologies. And you can't burn me for this - I live in a rural area where The Wicker Man is a training video...).

System Gamer is a great looking follow up to Cool Sh#t magazine and I look forward to Level 2, previewed as it is on the inside back cover. For £5 excluding postage, this is a worthy read and you should check it out here. You can also follow them on Twitter (presuming that's still a thing when this post goes live!) here. It's always great to see new small-scale publications and System Gamer joins the ranks of those I'd be more that happy to keep reading. 

The Sino-Soviet Border War of 1969 - Two Book Review

One of the joys of perusing through Helion & Co's @war back catalogue is that you get to find publications on some pretty obscure conflicts. Whilst I knew the 1969 Border War had happened, my knowledge about it was very limited. At the recent Border Reiver show, I managed to turn up and have a chat with the chaps on the stand as well as pick up a few books, including this lovely two-parter by Dmitry Ryabushkin and Harold Orenstein. 

Volume one sets the up necessary background and the first battle of the conflict. You first get a potted history of the region and the political machinations that occurred between the Russian Empire/Soviet Union and China. What then follows is a description of the build up to the initial clashes before the authors take us through the battle of Damansky Island in painstaking detail. This is necessary as both the Soviet Union and the People's republic of China were extremely focussed on propaganda and it has been with some difficulty (and the receipt threats) that the most accurate account the author can convey has been written. Never underestimate the power of the state to try to control its own history, a warning that should be obvious even to the most laissez faire of people today. You can almost hear the (modern day) cry of "fake news" echoing through the "reports" of events. Volume two concludes the account of the conflict with a very detailed description of the confrontation at Lake Zhalanashkol and the general aftermath, where both sides took count of their actions.

It must be said that the sheer volume of contemporary imagery that has been included here is much to the author's credit, and whilst reader discretion is advised (war is never clean and you will see the consequences of combat), these merely emphasise the brutality of the fighting. It is also important to note that wherever possible, the authors have included the names of those killed, providing recognition of the men who died in the service of their respective countries.

As is the usual for Helion&Co publications, there are plenty of maps and artwork, all to the usual high standards, and combined, these two volumes form an in-depth introduction to one of the less well known conflicts of the Cold War period. Detailed bibliographies are included, as are prodigious notes to details in the text, and it is plain to see that a lot of effort has been put into these works. Aside from the historical angle, these two volumes will also give you everything you need to know if you wish to re-enact the conflict on the table. 

You can buy these rather superb volumes directly from the publisher here or keep an eye on their social media channels (at the bottom right of the page displayed by that link) to see which shows they're attending. 

Secrets of Video Games Consoles by Michael Hart - Book Review

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Yes."

"Good, so can I."

Fortunately for us, Michael Hart cannot. Or at least he is willing to part with the secrets he holds in exchange for money. Which is a very capitalist thing to do and any talk of Communism is just a... red herring...

(Bonus points if you know which fabulous movie I've butchered there... hint: Don't ask Jeeves, ask Wadsworth...)

Anyway, here we have another gaming-centric title from the White Owl imprint of Pen and Sword books and, once again, it's a cracking read. Secrets of Video Games Consoles wants to tell you some of the funky facts, figures and stories behind some of the most popular (and some of the most iconic - the two are not synonymous) home video games consoles since they first hit the market in the early 1970's. From the Maganvox Odyssey to the Nintendo Switch, Michael Hart has written a book to reveal (almost) all. 

I think the first thing to say is that you may already have a vast encyclopaedic knowledge of gaming consoles. If so, then your mileage with this book may vary. But (and this is a big but, I cannot lie...) it's way he tells 'em that matters and this is where this book comes into its own. 

The author can write, that much is obvious, but it's the warmth, sincerity and humour that he laces into the text that demonstrates why this tome should be on the shelves of anyone who loves console gaming. Some machines just get a couple of facts, others get a dozen, but each format is dealt with care and attention to detail. Complex topics (for example video games censorship) are handled with aplomb and I have to say that I would love to see a follow up volume.

A follow up, you say? Yes, yes indeed, as despite covering 31 systems with 236 facts, he's left some out, and who doesn't want to know more about the Casio PV-1000, the Apple Bandai Pippin or the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (its Sunday name)? There's the Commodore 64GS, and the Amstrad GX4000 missing too! Although, as Alison Moyet sang, that last console a) needs a love resurrection but at the time it was on sale, required b) a little divine intervention to have been successful in the first place. Look, it's a slow day, okay?

Anyhoo, in this book, along with the facts (and just the facts, ma'am), there is imagery of the hardware and screenshots galore, presented cleanly and with just the right amount of white space per page. It looks neat and tidy, and is very readable too. As for the facts, well, they're a varied bunch and even with an interest in the topic lasting close to forty years and with nearly four shelves packed with books about it, I still found out stuff I either didn't know or, if I was dimly aware of it, had it explained to me in a funny and easy to understand way. 

That is the main strength of this book. It covers some of the more well-known points on some machines as well as some rather esoteric tidbits as well, so there is something for everyone. I'm pleased to have bought my copy and I do hope the author comes back for another go, this time covering the machines that missed out, with maybe some handhelds and the post-2017 consoles as well. That is only something I can hope for, but in the meantime, do yourself (and your mind) a favour and grab a copy of this book as soon as you can. 

Secrets of Video Games Consoles is available direct from the publishers here, as well as from the usual online and physical book retailers.