The Arcade 1971-1999 by Paul Drury to release next week from Bitmap Books

by William Schwartz | Sep 24, 2026 | 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Arcade, Arcade Spotlight, Atari, Bookshelf, Gaming

  Earlier today Bitmap Books confirmed via their website that their new title The Arcade 1971–1999: The Stories Behind Classic Coin-Ops, Told by Their Creators by Paul Drury will be available for purchase on October 1st. A source close to the publication has also...

A review of GoldenEye 007 from Boss Fight Books

by William Schwartz | Aug 13, 2026 | 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s, Bookshelf, Console/Handheld, Reviews

  Though clearly a fan of GoldenEye 007 herself, Alyse Knorr has a surprisingly functional depiction of the Bond Team at Rare in the late nineties. Her Boss Fight book, centered as it is around the working environment of the developers, provides a compelling...

A review of Dragon Age II from Boss Fight Books

by William Schwartz | Aug 5, 2026 | 2010s, 2020s, Bookshelf, Console/Handheld, Reviews

  By Charlotte Reber’s own admission, Dragon Age II is a somewhat counterintuitive choice for a Boss Fight book. After all, Dragon Age: Origins is the main famous, well-regarded game of the series, a fantasy epic role-playing game in the Bioware house style...

A review of Life Is Strange from Boss Fight Books

by William Schwartz | Jul 11, 2026 | 2000s, 2010s, 2020s, Bookshelf, Console/Handheld, Gaming, Indie Built-Retro Inspired, Opinions, Reviews

  With a release date of 2015, Life Is Strange is another one of those games that’s kind of pushing it in terms of the “retro” designation, although if you’ve ever seen the game in action, graphics aren’t the strong suit and Life Is...

A review of The History of Silent Hill

by William Schwartz | Jun 21, 2026 | 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s, Bookshelf, Console/Handheld, Gaming, Reviews

  Earlier this year, Pen & Sword Books released The History of the Pokémon Games, which I reviewed here. At the same time, they released the much less obviously marketable The History of Silent Hill by Samantha Morris. Similar titles notwithstanding, these...

A review of Red Dead Redemption from Boss Fight Books

by William Schwartz | Jun 19, 2026 | 2000s, 2010s, 2020s, Bookshelf, Console/Handheld, Reviews

  As far as “retro” games go, Red Dead Redemption is kind of pushing it. The 2010 open world game was already released well into the modern AAA game production environment. Matt Margini’s tome from Boss Fight Books implicitly acknowledges how...