Classic Game Room - THE ART OF VIDEO GAMES book review

The Art of Video Games book review. Classic Game Room reviews THE ART OF VIDEO GAMES: FROM PAC-MAN TO MASS EFFECT from Chris Melissinos and Patrick O'Rourke published by Welcome Books in 2012. Roger Ebert says video games can never be art, this book shows quite the opposite and cites examples and captures developer interviews to prove its point. As video games are embraced as a new emerging art form the Smithsonian American Art Museum holds an exhibit called The Art of Video Games exhibit. This book is written by Smithsonian curator Chris Melisinos and features examples of art in video games from the past 40 years. Marvel at the art and creative work that went into games like Combat, Space Invaders and Pitfall on the Atari 2600. Chris then compares the early examples to '80s 8-bit classics such as The Legend of Zelda and 16-bit masterpieces like Phantasy Star IV. Modern releases like Bioshock, Minecraft and Mass Effect 2 complete the picture as developers earn bigger budgets and more advanced tools to complete their visions... but does it make better art? This hard cover book is a great addition to any gaming collection and makes a nice coffee table showpieces as well. Printed on glossy, high quality paper with great pictures and interviews you'll dig The Art of Video Games the most.

[TAoVG]

Mark! Thanks for the review of the book. I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I did writing it. Oh, and thanks for having me on the show recently. Would love to come back on to discuss more retro games with you. Cheers!

Chris Melissinos

[tomwann]

this is why i love your channel you review stuff other game reviewers wouldn't!

[ElliottGeorgeEdwards]

I was smiling thoughout this video. Mark, I love your stuff xD Keep up your independent reviews, I love them to bit :P

[DegeratX]

I popped up to the Art of Video Games exhibit in Washington the other week. Was pleased to note that the Dreamcast game on display was Shenmue.

[necrogenesis]

This is an amazing book, some of the best money I've ever spent. As a bonus I got a ton of autographs in my copy from developers at the opening weekend of the exhibit :D

[necrogenesis]

You can get it at the smithsonian while the art of videogames exhibit is going on. I think you can also still buy it at amazon and a few other places.

[culiaochicken]

Thank you for making my childhood. I used to watch your videos before you changed the content :, )

[tubeyou]

Dude, you guys are awesome. I really enjoy your channel. Keep up the great work!

[whodatninja]

Mark has the awesomest voice in the history of awesome voices!!!

[MySteamStation]

Can you please tell me the name of the music playing at the beginning?

[shoopdawoopreviews]

I just got this book, and it's awesome! I'm going to the exhibit at the Smithsonian for my birthday!

[GamingPalOllieMK]

Speaking of video game books and Okami, I have a HUGE 288 or page Okami Art Book called The Complete Works of Okami or something like that, it's absolutely incredible and I think every Okami fan should own it.

[electricadventures]

Added to my Amazon wish list, now just need to wait for next pay day - thanks for the review :)

[GamingPalOllieMK]

I got the book a few weeks ago and it's great, but it does have a few flaws.
One minor issue I had with it is the greens on some games didn't come out in print, but my biggest problem is the lack of good, quality screenshots for some of the newer games like Pikmin 2, Uncharted 3, Zelda OoT and so on, they really chose some bad screens there that don't do the games' art justice at all.
I'm probably going to make my own review of this soon if I'm not too lazy :) I love the book a lot

[ZonifiedPlus]

I just bought this book thanks to this video. I can't wait to get my hands on it!

[NESComplex]

There have been some fantastic gaming related books lately... Ready Player One and this looks excellent! My poor bank account! Oh well, I guess I can survive sans a kidney.

[TheBlindDyslexic]

yep Pitfall, Space Invaders (and the Atari Force comic book), and Combat-yes it was one of the many games that came standard with the 2600

[Alevamltd]

I was was happy to see "Attack of the Mutant Camels" included in this book.
Jeff Minter FTW!

[sonicmario]

"Star Fox Assault" is featured in this book?? Sa-weet! That's the best game in the Star Fox series (to me, anyway), and is a seriously underrated title! :D

[bobopatchigglerrulez]

I'm definitely going to use this the next time I have an argument with Roger Ebert.