flexmentallo's review against another edition
funny
reflective
fast-paced
3.25
A solid and engaging look back at the story behind an obscure Christian video game developer from the NES era -- the games, the people behind them, and how they came to be. Unlike some other Boss Fight Books titles, the personal reflections here are tied perfectly into the material, illuminating some of the core ideas around faith and culture that fit neatly with the games.
altruest's review against another edition
4.0
A pretty good overview on a strange sub-genre of retro games, with little sprinkles of surprisingly thoughtful insight on religion as a whole. I enjoyed it.
4/5 stars
4/5 stars
tronella's review against another edition
4.0
A detailed look at a company that produced Bible-themed video games.
Another good one, although I think that's enough video game books for a while!
Another good one, although I think that's enough video game books for a while!
djotaku's review against another edition
4.0
It was interesting to read about this game from someone that had a similar upbringing and encountered it for the the first time at church, as did I. It was always a weird thing to exist, especially since I didn't know at the time why it was a blue cartridge. He does a great job of reviewing the history behind the company that ended up creating the Wisdom Tree subsidiary. It was a crazy time to be in the games business and the company was no exception. I also enjoyed the look at the games that came out after Bible Adventures and how they were similar and different in scope and intent. As always, I love the personal story adject of the book as well.
boithorn's review
2.0
I really wanted to like this book, given that the subject matter seemed interesting and (relatively) undocumented.
Ultimately, what turned me off was the shifting tone of the work. The straight-and-narrow threading of various firsthand accounts from employees at Wisdom Tree was great, along with the research put into the niche Christian bookstore market. The descriptions of the games themselves were pretty thorough, but not super interesting to read (maybe I should've played along with the book?). The personal connections from the author to the subject matter were underdeveloped and distracting, mainly because they would interject into the journalistic narrative without adding much additional insight into the motivations of the subjects. Finally, the book has a few too many unnecessary references that I feel like are going to be dated within the next five years (even for gaming culture).
I'm definitely interested in reading more books from this series, but this one didn't connect with me unfortunately.
Ultimately, what turned me off was the shifting tone of the work. The straight-and-narrow threading of various firsthand accounts from employees at Wisdom Tree was great, along with the research put into the niche Christian bookstore market. The descriptions of the games themselves were pretty thorough, but not super interesting to read (maybe I should've played along with the book?). The personal connections from the author to the subject matter were underdeveloped and distracting, mainly because they would interject into the journalistic narrative without adding much additional insight into the motivations of the subjects. Finally, the book has a few too many unnecessary references that I feel like are going to be dated within the next five years (even for gaming culture).
I'm definitely interested in reading more books from this series, but this one didn't connect with me unfortunately.
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