You’re low on health, out of ammo and only have one grenade left. Somehow, you’ve stupidly backed yourself into a corner. The moans of the mindless infected get louder as your breathing quickens. But what’s this? A small opening in the ventilation shaft? YASS freedom. You use the last of your energy to pull yourself up just as the doors burst open. Ha ha! Not today, zombie scum! No one can defeat me. You turn around and…oh shi…you accidentally nudged a button, the button to throw your grenade… BOOM! GAME OVER You are dead. Continue? Welcome to the wonderful world that is video games.
Today I am on the blog tour for Fuck Yeah Video Games (Published 19th September 2019) By Daniel Hardcastle. A big thank you to the publishers Unbound for sending me a copy to review. And also to the lovely Anne for the invite. Thank you. Right, stock up on plenty of snacks, energy drinks and get ready for some serious gaming.
About The Author
Daniel Hardcastle, aka DanNerdCubed, is a YouTube gamer who has accumulated more than 2.6 million subscribers over the course of his 4000 videos. He lives with his partner, Rebecca Maughan.
Fuck Yeah Video Games
As Daniel Hardcastle careers towards thirty, he looks back on what has really made him happy in life: the friends, the romances… the video games. Told through encounters with the most remarkable – and the most mind-boggling – games of the last thirty-odd years, Fuck Yeah, Video Games is also a love letter to the greatest hobby in the world.
From God of War to Tomb Raider, Pokémon to The Sims, Daniel relives each game with countless in-jokes, obscure references and his signature wit, as well as intricate, original illustrations by Rebecca Maughan. Alongside this march of merriment are chapters dedicated to the hardware behind the games: a veritable history of Sony, Nintendo, Sega and Atari consoles.
Joyous, absurd, personal and at times sweary, Daniel’s memoir is a celebration of the sheer brilliance of video games.
My Review
I have many, many fond memories of playing the Sega Mega Drive, riding fire-breathing dragons while wielding an axe before zooming along at high speeds collecting rings as a blue blur. Then came the arrival of the N64 and discovering one of the most awesome games ever, Goldeneye. Weekends were spent running around a statue graveyard on a spilt-screen while trying to take each other out. Not to mention the fun additions of special unlock-able characters and weapons, LAZERS! You see dear reader, like books, games have always been a part of my life. When I was younger I would play them with my older brother, then in my teenage years I got my own PS2 and spent most of my pocket-money renting them out at good old Blockbusters. Now as an “Adult” (yes, I did the whole quotation thing) I find myself married to not only a drummer but an avid gamer. So you can imagine my pure delight when given the chance to relive fond memories by reviewing this hidden trophy. *Squee*
Where to start? I loved this book. It’s nostalgic, witty and just generally awesome. The footnotes alone could make up a stand-alone book. Normally I find footnotes a pain but here I found myself excited for the next set, to say they are amusing would be an understatement.
Hardcastle brings a buttload (yes I just said that) of personality to this book. He doesn’t bore and overload the reader with endless facts, figures and information but talks to you like a much aquatinted friend. He writes about his personal experiences of growing up playing games and has tonnes of comic anecdotes to tell. It made me itch to play, to dive back into some of my favourites while experiencing some new discoveries.
“ Metal Gear Solid 2 is a mindfuck. Where most games are happy with rug-pull right at the end, MGS2 is a tower of rugs that are ripped out from under you one by one, exactly when you don’t expect them to be.”
The reader is taken on an adventure through the past 30 odd years of gaming and shown some real beauties and one particularly bad rotten egg; it must not be named. With each game Hardcastle reminisces, we are given a short bio of developer, platform, release date, what it’s about, and my personal favourite; what it’s really about. At the end of the book the reader is treated to a list of the top 101 games of all time which brings light to some much loved forgotten favourites. I highly approve of the top entry, so, so many hours playing that game and nibbling haribo. It was the taste of my teenage years! It was SO GOOD! I won’t spoil it for you dear readers, you’ll have to give it a read to find out.
I have to admit, I was a little wary of reading the Hardware History sections. But fear not, for surprisingly I found it all rather fascinating. It wasn’t all bore, bore, bore with dull tedious information that made me want to fall asleep. He brought new life and humour into the fold which was fun to read and relatable.
I am not in the least bit surprised that this is the most successful book in UK crowdfunding history, having been funded in as little as 42 minutes with over 9,000 supporters. That’s INSANE! I suppose having over 2.6 million subscribers on Youtube kinda helps but still, that’s dedication that needs applauding.
“Rom, it turns out, is actually quite lovely. Yeah, she looks like the pubic lice of Cthulhu, but at least she doesn’t look like a spider. Too many legs, a butt made of dandelion fuzz and the whole ‘vacuous’ title put me at ease. This was going to be fine.
Then it started to rain spiders.”
This book is a must read for any gamer, not only does it feature a foreword by the legendary game designer Tim Schafer but there is also a guest chapter from Youtuber Stuart Ashen (aka Ashens). Seriously, check him out if you have no idea who I’m talking about. His humour is electric!
“Games, are about connecting people, whether it’s the people on your couch, friends you’ve made online, or even the people who make them to share the stories in their heads. This world of ours is better when we work together, when we understand each other, and games are brilliant at helping us do just that.”
I also have to give a big round of applause to the illustrator, Rebecca Maughan. With Hardcastle’s writing and her loveable sketches this book felt even more personal. They are adorable illustrations that bring my high pitched squee out whenever I see something cute. They made me smile and remember my gaming days fondly. It is the perfect included DLC to this book, I can’t imagine it without them…in fact I don’t want to.
I give Fuck Yeah Video Games By Daniel Hardcastle a Five out of Five paw rating.
Just YES! I have totally geeked out over this book and rightly so. It’s just so amazing that we live in a world where books with devoted passions such as gaming are becoming the norm. Because it does bring people together and makes you feel not quite so alone. The mythical beast of the avid gamer living in their mum’s basement is just a façade. Gamers are often the most lovely people out there and what is more mind-blowing than being able to plug into another world to experience an endless supply of adventures. Become a hero, legend and sometimes even a goat. (Goat Simulator…less said the better).
I’m off to kick some butt as a Panda against my husband because let’s face it, she is the best character in the whole Tekken series…she’s a PANDA! Happy gaming readers.
Don’t forget to follow the rest of the blog tour, dates below, enjoy!
Links
Buy A Copy 
@DanNerdCubed
Hop hop wiggle wiggle
Bunny’s Pause 
I love this! Thanks so much for supporting the blog tour x