Push Start – The Art of Video Games: Book Review.

Push Start – The Art of Video Games is a book that all gamers should own. The book is a piece of art in its own right. It is huge, weighing in at a massive 29cm x 29cm and 394 pages, filled with images of games we all have fond memories of, from Pac-Man to Tetris and many, many more.

Each page has some brief details about the game, but it’s the images that make this book so worthwhile. The print quality is superb in every detail and celebrates each game in the manner they so rightly deserved to be. Push Start is broken into manageable and easy to follow chapters with a brief introduction on the time frame in which each chapter covers. The book also includes something of a speciality, an actual old school vinyl record which contains some classic video game music to be played on a record player (if you have one). Also included is a download code to access MP3’s of the music on the record.

Concept by Jos Bendinelli Negrone and text provided by Prof. Dr. Stephen Günzel gives a great understanding of what video game art is. Push Start promises to deliver to the reader a nostalgic trip down memory lane and successfully does so. There are, however, some small factual issues with the book in places and it always failed to mention platforms in which a selection of games appeared on. This will not, however, take away from the amazing visual experience you get from this book. In all honesty, Push Start has raised the bar for books of this nature. It is insightful, beautifully presented and, above all, worth having in your video game book collection. This book is a monolith in both size and weight and it is something to be worshiped if you love video games from all generations.

The Pros

Amazing visual content capturing each game it presents in their rawest form.

Celebrates the games rather than filling the book with laborious background information.

Beautifully printed and with an embossed cover for added presentation.

Contains a special gift of a classic vintage record album you can play on your old record player.

The Cons

Failing to mention computer and console platform in which a majority of the games appeared.

Some misquoted computer platforms some of the older games appeared.

Overall

Other than that it’s an amazing book and begs the thought why haven’t you got yours yet?

Greyfox

Creator of forth coming Coin-Op:Arcade Guide and creator of the Atari Gamer Magazine and the Atari ST Gamer Magazines. Retro gaming expert & fact finder.