Haynes recently sent me their latest manual for review. When people think of Haynes in the UK, it’s normally car manuals that come to mind. In this case we are actually reviewing “The Video Gaming Manual” which is described as the essential guide to modern and retro gaming platforms.
On the cover of the manual are a bunch of old computers and consoles ranging from a ZX Spectrum, to a Sega Master System, on to a Game Cube and then to a Playstation 3. The book starts off describing what video gaming is, when it first started and the steps it took to get to where it is today. Each page is printed in full colour and each page also has plenty of images from various games with many of them being very familiar and popular games of the past.
After the introduction to gaming the manual moves on to to video gaming basics which covers subjects such as refresh rates, media, TV systems, region locking, import games, connectivity, peripherals, online gaming as well as collecting.
After the 2 chapters of introductions we get to consoles themselves with the first one being an overview of the Atari VCS/2600 moving on to the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Acorn Electron and then on to games consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System up till the latest consoles that we have today.
Overall it’s an impressive manual that covers a lot of the gaming from 1977 onwards. As I was born in 1977 this was a fascinating read for me as I have used all but 2 of the games consoles and computers mentioned in this book. The Video Gaming Manual by Haynes has an RRP of £17.99 in the UK. You can buy the manual direct from Haynes for the full price, or catch it on Amazon.co.uk today for £12.59 with free delivery.
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