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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Michaels, David. Tom Clancy's: Ghost Recon, Berkley, 2008.
This book is about a group of U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers. However, there are rumours that there might be an even more feared and stealthy group, known as the Ghost Recon.
These kinds of tactical, military, shooting kind of gameplay always appeals to me. All these shooting games have their different styles and content. I am always keen to try different games to get a feel for them.
The main genres shown here are violence and war.
This game is one of many in a series of military tactical shooters. Players take charge of a fictional new squad in the U.S. Army Special Forces in which their missions are kept highly classified. They are unlike other special forces in the world.
The game is created by Red Storm Entertainment and the game development studio is partly founded by Tom Clancy. Red Storm Entertainment (now called Ubisoft Red Storm) specialises mainly on Tom Clancy works. David Michaels is a pseudonym for the author in Ghost Recon and as well as other series.
The book is about 2 characters, Sev and Rico, who must complete their mission by themselves, after a nuclear bomb wiped out the entire Special Forces. This was because the 2 of them killed Visari who was a violent Helghast dictator.
Any first-person shooter with a good story-line does it for me, that's why this game appealed to me.
War and violence are the main genres reflecting the game.
Killzone 3 is a first-person shooter and it is the 4th installment in the series. Players are able to play in plenty of different harsh environments. Additional features have been added to the combat system such as an improved melee system and new weapons.
Killzone 3 is developed by Guerilla Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Guerilla Games is a video game developer and is a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment. It is based in Amsterdam.
Dietz, William C. Hitman: Enemy Within, Del Rey, 2007.
The book is about a hitman named Agent 47. He is the Agency's top assassin. As other similar organisations attempt to destoy the Agency, their number 1 priority is to eliminate Agent 47. Following a failed attempt on him, he is sent to figure out who is leaking information about the Agency to enemies. In order to do this, he has to fight his way through dangerous countries.
I found this game somewhat appealing due to its play-style of a hitman. I like the idea of also using stealth to eliminate the enemies.
The genre is mainly about violence.
The game revolves around the ideas of being a hitman. In this game you play as Agent 47 and he is sent to assassinate various targets using an array of weapons. The way players are rated on their performance in a mission is by rankings. Lowest rank being "mass murderer" in which players who did not use stealth and the highest ranking being "silent assassin" in which players completed the tasks as the game originally was intended.
The game is developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive. IO Interactive is a Danish-owned video game developer currently owned by Square Enix. William C. Dietz is a best-selling author of New York Times of more than 40 novels.
Traviss, Karen. Halo: Glasslands, Tor Books, 2012.
This book is about interstellar wars between humans and the Covenant and how billions have perished as a result. As though it seems the war has stopped, and that peace seems just right around the corner, the war proceeded underground.
This game appealed to me because for one, it's a first-person shooter and also because of its futuristic style. I have never really played it because I play more on PlayStation 3 and PC. This is only on Xbox.
The genre mainly falls under wars and violence.
The game is a multi-billion dollar science fiction game. The game centers on Master Chief John-117 who is an enhanced human super-soldier. It is a game with lots of futuristic weapons and vehicles.
Halo is created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. Bungie is an American-owned video game developer established in May 1991. Karen Traviss is a novelist and a science fiction author from England.
Traviss, Karen. Gears of War: The Slab. Gallery Books, 2012.
This book is the last in its series of 5. It is about how the Locust Horde are advancing on the last defended area for humanity, Ephrya and the main character Marcus Fenix goes off to find his father Adam Fenix. He finds out that his mansion has been reduced to rubble and he believed his father was trapped under there and thinks he has died. He is trialed for dereliction of duty and has to serve 40 years in a brutal prison known as the Slab.
The game somewhat at the time appealed to me. However I was focused more on other games and I never really played this game properly.
The genre revolves around war and violence.
I have never played this game properly compared with other games. I played this game, I think it was once or twice at a friend's house. It was quite fun but I still prefer my first-person shooter games.
Gears of War is developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Karen Traviss is a full-time novelist and is an author of science fiction from England.
Williams, Sean. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. LucasBooks, 2010.
The story is about the protagonist, Starkiller, who is an apprentice to Darth Vader is sent to eliminate the last of the Jedi Order. The ruthless killer fell for an Imperial fighter pilot, Juno Eclipse. He was purged of his memories with her and he is back deadly as ever. However Starkiller and Juno slowly reunite but Vader isn't too happy about that because he is afraid he will lose his apprentice a second time.
As a young boy, I have always been into the Star Wars films and then books. The thought about space and lasers and futuristic technology appealed to me.
This is all about science fiction, wars and adventure.
The game is an action-adventure video game. The main character is a renegade clone of Starkiller. The main weapons used are the Force and a lightsaber. Players are also able to perform combos with their lightsabers and using the Force.
The game is developed and published by LucasArts. LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American-owned video game developer and publisher. They mainly publish games based on the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchise. Sean Williams is a best selling science fiction author who is Australian.
This book is about the protagonist, Jim Raynor, a former marine lance corporal. It delves into a period in his life which was unforgettable. Set in the year 2494 and almost 5 years ago after standing up to their corrupt commanding officer, Raynor and a friend Tychus Findlay were forced to go AWOL. Both of them are outlaws and since they ran away, they have been spending their money in various places. It is only a matter of time until their past catches up to them.
I found this game very interesting. Having played its predecessor Starcraft, I was keen to see what number 2 brings to the table. Strategy games have never been my forte but nevertheless it is still a great game to play.
The genre revolves around war and violence.
Starcraft II is a military science fiction real-time strategy game. It is developed and released by Blizzard Entertainment. Players choose from 3 species to play with, each having their own strengths and weaknesses; Terrans (human exiles from Earth), Zerg (bug-like creatures which are assimilated life forms) and Protoss (technologically advanced with mental powers). Single player and multiplayer and campaign are available
The game is by Blizzard Entertainment. Christie Golden is an American author. She writes fantasy, horror and science fiction and has written over 30 novels and several short stories of them.
Golden, Christie. World of Warcraft: Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, Pocket Books, 2009.
The story is of once crown prince of Lordaeron, Arthas Menethil, who obtained the sword 'Frostmourne" from a frozen pedestal. The sword has an evil history, having belonged to Ner'Zhul (the previous Lich King), whoever takes the sword would basically have their soul claimed and that is what happened to Arthas. After he obtained the sword, he became the new Lich King, possessing great power and his intentions weren't good.
Having played Warcraft III years ago, playing the campaign helped me get somewhat familiar with the story and lore of the different characters. People who are into online role-playing games where you can play with your friends or people from all around the world, this is the game for you.
This game is about fantasy, adventure and somewhat violent.
Out of all the games I have played, I have put a lot of time and effort into this game... and I mean a lot. I started playing just before the first expansion was released (The Burning Crusade - January 16, 2007). The game is up to its fourth expansion (Mists of Pandaria - released September 25, 2012). The game allows you to create a variety of different characters from; humans, dwarves, gnomes, night elves, draenei, undead, orcs, tauren, blood elves, trolls etc. From that you can then choose the type of class you want to play for example a warrior, who is a melee class in which you use swords and maces and what not to fight. Or you could choose a ranged class such as a hunter who uses bows or crossbows to shoot the enemy or a mage who uses spells to cast at enemies.
Players start from level 1 and basically run around and complete quests in order to gain experience to level up and gradually obtain armour, weapons and skills according to their class. Players can also choose to play Player Vs Player (PvP) or Player Vs Environment (PvE). When I first started playing, I mainly played PvP for fun. However as the new expansions were released, when it got up to Cataclysm (released December 7 2010) I began to get serious and start raiding. Raiding involves either joining a guild or grouping with randoms to enter what they call a 'raid instance' to defeat difficult bosses.
This game is an MMORPG which stands for Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. It requires you to pay a subscription fee in order to play the game. At its peak as of October 2012, subscribers to the game have reached 12 million people, making it the world's most subscribed MMORPG.
World of Warcraft is by Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard is an American video game developer and publisher which was founded on February 8, 1991 which was under the name Silicon and Synapse at the time by three UCLA graduates named Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce.
Grubb, Jeff. Warcraft: The Last Guardian, Pocket Books, 2002.
This book is all about fantasy and wars. Set in the world of Azeroth, Beings with magical powers inhabited the continent and it was all very peaceful until the Burning Legion, led by Lord Sargeras arrived and chaos spread like wildfire.
When the first Warcraft game was released, I was a bit too young to understand the game. So what I did was usually watch my cousins and older brother play the game and I was just fascinated by what strategy games was all about; like building armies and weapons. Different tactics you can use to conquer your enemies.
This is all about fantasy and war. Anyone who has a knack for fantasy will definitely enjoy this.
Warcraft is a real-time strategy game where players build and command their own armies to destroy other opposing forces. It is a game based on fantasy and war. Players can choose to play against a computer-controlled enemy, or online with people from around the world. In the first Warcraft, players can choose to play as humans or orcs.
Jeff Grubb is a games designer as well as an author. Warcraft is created by Blizzard Entertainment and is a franchise of video games and novels.
Benson, Raymond. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Del Rey, 2009.
The main character in this book is a former FOXHOUND agent, Solid Snake. He is going to infiltrate a ship called U.S.S. Discovery which contains generation of Metal Gear. However, things take a turn for the worst and a rookie agent named Raiden is sent 2 years later trying to figure out what happened that night.
Ever since the first Metal Gear Solid game was released, I was drawn to it pretty much very quickly. Its genre got me for one, and also that play-style of tactical espionage, sneaking around and blending in with surroundings in order to achieve the objectives also appealed to me.
The game is about war and violence and will appeal to those who enjoy games with a play-style like this.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is a stealth action game who is directed by Hideo Kojima. This is the fourth game in the Metal Gear game. This tactical espionage, action-packed game with a well-written story behind it will definitely keep you playing for hours. There are many different weapons to choose from, different manoeuvres that Snake can perform in order to eliminate his enemies.
The game is directed by Hideo Kojima, originally developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and published by Konami. Raymond Benson is an American author who is best known for writing the James Bond novels from 1997 until 2003.
The book is based on the 2005 video game, God of War. It is about a ferocious warrior name Kratos who is a slave to the gods of Olympus. He longs for freedom and to do so, he must slay Ares, the god of war and he must obtain the only relic which is powerful enough to complete his mission. He is aided by Athena and his signature weapons, the deadly chained 'Blades of Chaos'.
If you are into all that Ancient Greek mythology, you will find this game interesting. I personally found it quite interesting. It is a fun game to kill time.
The genre of the game is a variety. It is about war, adventure and fantasy.
This game is single-player. You control Kratos, who is the main character who throughout the game, acquires more weapons and magical skills. He is tested constantly by various trials by formidable opponents.
The game is produced by SCE Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Stover is a writer of American fantasy and science fiction novels. His four Star Wars novels are most likely what he is famous for.
Kenyon, Nate. Diablo III: The Order, Gallery Books, 2012.
This book is about a character in the game called 'Deckard Cain' and also the 'Horadrim' which is "The Order" in which he is the last surviving member of. This book will enable readers to understand the story through Cain's perspective. It talks about his family and about his mother telling him about demons, angels and his destiny. People who just play the game won't be able to know about Cain's past intimately until they have read this book.
This game highly appealed to me at first. As I have played it's previous version, Diablo II, I have become more interested into the lore of the game.
This is all about fantasy and about the war between good and evil. There is plenty of adventure in this game as players venture out into various lands to complete quests, obtain powerful weapons/armour.
Having being a dedicated player of it's previous version, Diablo II, the long-awaited Diablo III was at first very fun. It has been 10 long years since Diablo II and honestly Diablo III did not really live up to my expectations. It didn't really offer the end-game material that I was hoping for but I guess that can be still worked on as the game only came out earlier this year.
Diablo III is by Blizzard Entertainment and it is the third installment of the Diablo series. Kenyon is an award-winning author of science fiction, horror and suspense.
This book is about a marine whose call-sign is 'Alcatraz' who ended up in New York City which is now occupied by aliens after a mission was blundered. Being wounded and all, he found a special suit which enhances his combat-effectiveness allowing him to retaliate. Unknown to the fact that the suit had previously belonged to a man who was targetted for interfering with alien invaders and private army in which both had their own ideas.
The game Crysis appealed to me because I enjoy first-person shooters, especially when you are able to customise your weapons and accessories so that it would suit your play-style.
This is a novel about war and violence with a bit of a story behind it.
The game is very outstanding. Having only played it a few times, my first impressions were positive. I thoroughly enjoyed the campaign where you play as a soldier who goes on a mission to stop enemy alien forces from over-running the city.
Peter Watts is a science-fiction writer. Being a very good writer in this genre, Crysis is able to benefit and be brought to life. People who read the book are keen to understand more about the underlying story about the suit in which Alcatraz possesses and the way Watts tells the story makes it more authentic and makes the main character seem not your typical tough gun-wielding hero but rather gives him a real personality. This book will appeal to those who play Crysis 2. Crysis 2 is developed by Crytek and published by Electronic Arts.
McNab, Andy. Battlefield 3: The Russian, Grand Central Publishing, 2011.
This book is truly entertaining as it reflects most accurately what a military operation is like. Written by Andy McNab, an ex-SAS operative, this book truly gives readers an accurate insight to behind operations. The book is about real world conflicts and is mostly set in Iran which is slowly crumbling from within. The problems arise as a defector sides with Iranian extremists and the Russians are attempting to recapture the lost suitcase nukes.
The genre of the book is clearly about war and violence.
This game is just absolutely amazing. Being a big fan of first-person shooters/military-style games and its previous instalment, Battlefield 2, the release of Battlefield 3 really attracted me to it. With its amazing graphics made possible by the Frostbite 2 game engine and different game-play selections such as campaign, cooperative and multiplayer, this game definitely takes the top as my favourite first-person shooter.
The author Andy McNab is a former SAS operative and soldier. He has received many awards for his outstanding achievements while he served.
The game is developed by EA Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts.
Bowden, Oliver. Assassin's Creed: Revelations, London : Penguin, 2011.
This book is the fourth novel in the series. This novel is based on the video game which is also called Assassin's Creed. The protagonist, Ezio Auditore, a master assassin must go on a dangerous journey to Constantinople to search for the truth in which the Templars, who are his enemies, hinder his progress.
Having played this game myself, I definitely recommend this game to anyone. The game has a great storyline to keep you entertained and also amazing graphics to back that up.
Before even playing this game, by just looking at the game and seeing the title will alert players to the genre of the game. It is a violent game as the point of the game is to assassinate people.
Developed and published by Ubisoft, this game is a historical action-packed video game. There are plenty of tasks to do. You can choose to play single-player, or multiplayer, either way it is a guaranteed enjoyable experience.
