Page 12 - OSG Presents Classic Gamer Magazine #1
P. 12
Reviewed by Patrick Wong
systems, postal delivery, office e- parents went on rides.
Title: Joystick Nation: How mail, and the Internet." Ms. Herz is There is also a discussion about
Videogames Ate Our Quarters, obviously a very busy woman. Western and Eastern cultures
Won Our Hearts, and Rewired Our She begins at the birth of where she tries to break down the
Minds videogames when a Digital primary differences between DC/
Author: J.C. Herz Equipment Corporation computer Marvel comic art to Japanimation
Publisher: Little, Brown and landed on the doorsteps of MIT art. Although in the end she admits,
Company. 230 pages. $23.95 and a bunch of students "Of course, to kids playing Comix
collaborated in their spare time to Zone or Marvel Superheroes or
program a game called "Space Tekken 2, the distinction between
t would seem videogames War." From there the book lays out comic book and videogame or Asian
are marketed primarily to a timetable and Western is
males and whenever a covering completely
female shows interest, almost irrelevant. The
every guy should stand, everything “You can't talk only categories
take notice and wonder, from the they recognize are
“What's this girl thinking about?” In legendary about Asteriods, ‘fun’ and ‘not fun’.”
Joystick Nation, J.C. Herz Atari 2600 to Pac-Man and She leaves no
describes how videogames played today's Space Invaders stone unturned, as
an important part in her childhood revolutionary there is even a
and tells how “Videogames ate our Nintendo 64. before some link to chapter on Boys
quarters, won our hearts and She then Doom, Myst and vs. Girls. She
rewired our minds.” follows up Mortal Kombat is plays Pop
When first glancing at the with a Psychologist when
pages, you'll immediately assume chapter in formed.” she describes a
that Joystick Nation is more of a which she woman’s response
look back at video games of the describes to beating a level
80’s rather than a history of the gametypes in the game Tetris,
video game world. Herz fondly by their categories: Action, “Yes! The Mess is vanishing! I can
remembers, "I was toggling a Adventure, Fighting and so on. make the Mess disappear! It's not
joystick before I learned to read, She sees fit to include a few quick about blowing things up. It's about
mastered Breakout stratagems reviews on some of the various cleaning things up. Tetris speaks
before memorizing the games, "Batman Returns (a good volumes about the difference
multiplication table, conquered Super NES and Sega game), Bram between women and men vis a vis
Asteroids before solving the Stoker's Dracula (a bad SNES and videogames." She may be right.
mystery of long division." She Sega game), Home Alone and Remember Tetris 2? If Tetris is for
would definitely fit the profile of a Home Alone 2 (awful), Hunt for women then Tetris 2 is definitely for
hardcore gamer. Red October (worse), Rambo 3, men. Use bombs to clean up the
However, soon after, the book The Last Action Hero, Hook, mess! To quote Tim Allen, "More
begins an analysis of how Robocop and the Rocketeer (ugh), Power!"
videogames relate to other media Wayne's World (bogus)." There is, however, a disturbing
and everyday life. She observes, The author tries to cover as chapter on videogame porn where
"Videogames are perfect training many topics about gaming as she she writes, "Not coincidentally, the
for life in fin de siecle America, can. She includes everything from price and variety of plastic-sealed
where daily existence demands the the dark, gloomy pinball parlors of videogame periodicals corresponds
ability to parse sixteen kinds of yesterday to the evolution of to the shrink-wrapped magazines on
information being fired at today's neon sign covered video the other side of the newsstand, the
you simultaneously from arcades. It brought back memories ones that artfully pose topless
telephones, television, fax of how kids used to beg to be nineteen-year-old covergirls. It's
machines, pagers, personal left at the video arcade at curiously symmetrical: Nintendo
digital assistants, voice messaging Coney Island while their Power, Game Pro, Flux, Playboy,
Classic Gamer Magazine Fall 1999 12
