Background information

This is an annotated bibliography regarding the topic of books that have been written based on video games. I have set the annotations out such that on every post, the book cover is on the left and the game cover is on the right.  Below the 2 covers I set out the annotations such that the citation of the book is directly under it.  I then wrote a few sentences about the plot of the book, the under that a personal view on why I found it appealing. Following that point, I specified the genre. I then wrote several sentences about the game about its play-style and content. Then finally I wrote a few sentences about the game developer and the author of the book.

The way I did the rating system was just purely on my own experiences with the games.

The library that I picked is Baulkham Hills Shire Council Library.

http://www.thehills.nsw.gov.au/Library.html#.UIIstobJWPU

There are a total of 5 branches in the Hills Shire Council but the Baulkham Hills Shire Council Library is my local library.  Library membership is free and you don't need to be a resident to become a member.


A bit about myself as a casual gamer.  I started playing games when I was quite young. I remember picking up the massive Gameboys and playing Mortal Kombat on a black and white screen.  The way how technology evolves and how video game developers use that technology to create games with such incredible graphics is just amazing. It really shows how far technology has come about.

As a young boy I played mainly those fun, quick and easy games such as Crash Bandicoot on the first PlayStation.  As I grew older I began to play more and more games. I started to play more computer games. The only game that I was very dedicated to was World of Warcraft. I have played that game for years but recently I have stopped as I don't have a lot of free time anymore so the games that I play mostly now are just quick/fun first person-shooter games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3

Links to other sites

Kotaku is a great site to go and visit. The site consists of computer and video game news and reviews. Gamers and new gamers will be well-informed about the gaming world.

Another site that I had a brief look at was Moby Games . I also got some brief ideas of items that I wanted to include in my annotated bibliography.

There is another website that people can visit for more gaming news. That website is AusGamers and they have a whole bunch of gaming news including forums in which people can discuss about games.

Guild Wars 2

King, J. Robert. Guild Wars, Pocket Star, 2010.

The book very fantasy based. It's about epic fantasy battles between vast forces between good and evil. Battles between dragons have also been fought. Just when they thought the mortal race may soon be over due to the battles with formidable dragons, it is a time for heroes now and 6 of them become Destiny's Edge and as one they will fight til the end.

I found the game appealing because of its role-playing genre and also because of how you can do things very freely in the game like running around and exploring.

Adventure and war are the 2 genres reflecting this.

Guild Wars 2 is an MMORPG developed by ArenaNet and published by NCsoft.  The game is set in the make-believe world of Tyria. Players control a character to complete quests, defeat monsters and obtain items.

J. Robert King is an American-born novelist. He has worked as a game designer. Books like The Chronicles of Narnia inspired him to become a writer.   ArenaNet develops video games and is a subsidiary of NCsoft and it was founded in 2000.

8/10

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II

Roberson, Chris. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, Games Workshop, 2009.


During my high-school years, I used to paint Warhammer 40000 figurines because I thought they were very interesting. Then seeing the games being released I thought to myself that this was going to be extremely fun. And I was right.

The game has a lot of content within. The genre mainly lies on war and violence.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is a real-time strategy as well as a role-playing game with a tactical edge to it. Players are able to choose from four different races at the initial release of the game. They are; Space marines, Orks, Eldar and Tyranids.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ.  Relic Entertainment is a Canadian video game developer and they were founded in 1997, It is now American-owned.  Chris Roberson writes science fiction and he also plays the trombone.

7/10

Unreal Tournament 3

Smith, Dean Wesley. Unreal: Prophet's Power. Pocket, 1998.

The story is set on a planet in a Bermuda Triangle-like section in space. Readers are immersed into a world of alien technology and fantasy.

Another first-person shoot em up which always appeals to me. Having played its previous installments, I was very happy with the game-play.

This game is quite gory as there is a lot of blood. The genre type would be about violence.

Unreal Tournament 3 is the latest instalment of the Unreal series. It is a first-person shooter and players can choose to play in different types of game mods such as; deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, duel, warfare, vehicle capture the flag, betrayal and greed.

Unreal Tournament 3 is by Epic Games. It is published by Midway Games. Dean Wesley Smith writes science fiction and is known for his Star Trek novels.

8/10

Uncharted

Golden, Christopher. Uncharted: The Fourth Labyrinth, Del Rey, 2011.

This book is about a treasure hunter named Nathan Drake.  He has to go to Greece and Egypt to underground excavations whilst having to dodge assassins. Their goal is to uncover the ancient myth about alchemy. Getting to their destination proves difficult as there is an army of lost warriors guarding the place.

This appealed to me because of its Indiana Jones likeness. Games about finding treasure, secret passages, solving puzzles to get from destination to destination make it fun and challenging and that's why I like it.

Uncharted is all about adventure and treasure hunting.

This game is an  adventure-action as well as a third-person shooter game. You play as Nathan Drake, who is a modern-day treasure hunter who travels from country to country in order to find treasure. However he encounters enemies along the way that hinder him from accomplishing his goal.

Uncharted is developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Naughty Dog is an American-based video game developer based in California and was founded in 1984. Christopher Golden writes horror, fantasy and suspense novels.

8.5/10

Tom Clancy's: Splinter Cell



Michaels, David. Tom Clancy's: Splinter Cell, Berkley, 2004.

The book is about the protagonist, Sam Fisher who is a lone field operative who has the right to spy, steal, destroy and assassinate in order to protect Americans.

Splinter Cell appealed to me because when I read news about what kind of game it was and when I heard it was about sneaking around and trying not to get seen, it immediately caught my attention.

Violence is one of the main genres with the game.

The first Splinter Cell was released in 2002. You take control of a highly-trained agent called "Third Echelon" named Sam Fisher. He possess the iconic trifocal goggles which aid him in his missions so he can complete them with as much ease as possible.

The game is published and released by Ubisoft in 2002. David Michaels is a pseudonym for the author in Ghost Recon and as well as other series.


7/10