Taking its title from the easiest difficulty option from DOOM, this chunky tome from Bitmap Books presents itself as the ultimate guide to first person shooters between the years 1992 and 2002. A lofty claim, given the nature of the subject, but one that, from initial impressions, could be highly accurate.
If you've purchased a Bitmap Books publication before, you'll know what to expect with regards to the quality. Extremely well packaged, the hardback is suitably sturdy and the paper stock used is perfect for imagery and text alike. There's a handy bookmark attached and if there is one criticism, it's the actual format. I get why but it doesn't half stick out on the bookshelf!
That quibble aside, what we get is a wander through the history of the first-person shooter. There is a brief introduction to the pre-1992 era before you get to the core of the book: a year by year run down of famous (and not so famous) shooters that graced pretty much every system you could buy in the shops.
It is this coverage that makes I'm Too Young To Die such a brilliant book. Sure, you get Wolfenstein, DOOM and Half Life, all of the usual suspects, but it's the coverage of the lesser known titles, the ones that maybe weren't critical or commercial hits, that lift this book to the heights of must buy.
For example, Blake Stone is an absolute classic, but due to its release coming just as DOOM redefined the genre, it died a death in the market. Here, it gets a loving write up. Each entry varies in size: quarter, half or full pages get a half page, and the format of the tome allows the screenshots to shine, whether they be 1/16th, a quarter or a full page in size. Having covered 3DO FPS's for RVG and Fusion magazine, it was great to see several included here, even if he does prefer the PC version of Escape From Monster Manor. And no mention of the sublime song that plays over the credits! Tsk! ;-)
As I progressed through this book, I found I was making a list of titles that I had never played the first time round and that appealed now. Sure, some have issues, and inclusion into this collection is a sign of how noteworthy the game was, not that it was actually a good title to play - Trespasser being a prime example. It turned out to be quite a list, as there are hundreds of games featured, yet it is a credit to the author that his writing style is as fresh with the last entry as it is with the first. As for the jokes, well, there are some doozies included, page 314 featuring a gag that, well... yes...
It's not just about the games though, as there are interviews with key contributors to the genre, including Ken Levine, David Doak, John Romeo and Warren Spector amongst others. Each of these is packed with detail and have something of interest even though many have been interviewed many, many times before. In a cute nod, they have DOOM-style portraits included at the beginning and end of the book and, it has to be said, they seem to have suffered in the interim, aside from Mr Romero, naturally.
As you can guess, this volume is very much worth your time if the FPS genre is a go to for you and this single volume on the topic can't be beaten. I not only have a reference for future years on my bookshelf, but also a long list of shooters that, one day, I'll eventually get to the bottom of. It would be really cool to see a follow up, charting how the genre moved on from 2003 onwards - from the commercial juggernauts of the Battlefield and Call of Duty series, the more interesting narrative shooters (Clive Barker's Jericho, Singularity, the Bad Company duo), to the complete and utter mess that was Rogue Warrior: all deserve their time in the sun.Well, apart from maybe Rogue Warrior, but anyhoo... For now though, pick up a copy of this fine book and revel in the rich and illustrious history of this evergreen genre.
You can buy I'm Too Young To Die directly from Bitmap Books, and can follow the author on Twitter here.
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