I just picked up Contact: Harvest, Metal Gear Solid, Mass Effect: Ascension, and a book of concept art for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Has anyone else read gaming novels?

Not novels, no. I had a walkthrough book (and a crap one at that) for Final Fantasy X with a load of cheats for loads of PS2 games in that back. But no novels :(

I've heard good things about the Halo books. I read the first few hundred pages of the first one, but got abit bored and stopped.

I once read a halo one, but it was really cheesy I must say.

I have always wanted to, but I rarely have time to read educational stuff let alone books for pleasure. One day I will finally read Demonsbane By Robert Marks or maybe The Sin War by Richard Knaak.

I'm getting Johnny Got His Gun for my birthday, which is the inspiration for the song 'One' by Metallica, which is in Guitar Hero 3/ Guitar Hero Metallica.

Will that count?

I have always wanted to, but I rarely have time to read educational stuff...

Well in 2525 Dr. Halsey created the Spartan II project and began to create super soldiers help the UNSC fight a number of human rebels, but then the Covenate invasion that started on Harvest and the Spartans were re purposed. That date might off, It's been a while since I have read any education books as well...


I have only read the Halo ones. I might pick up the Mass Effect one, not sure though.

I've read the Halo books, I'd suggest starting with the 3rd one if you're going to read them because the first 2 are basically told in the game.

Only the best ones ever written,

Worlds of Power. If you haven't read any of them, I suggest you do so.

Of which, the Titles are...

Worlds of Power Castlevania II: Simons Quest

Worlds of Power Blaster Master

Worlds of Power Ninja Gaiden

Worlds of Power Metal Gear

Worlds of Power Infiltrator

Worlds of Power Bionic Commando

Worlds of Power Before Shadowgate

In all honesty, these were the first "video game" books back in the day when the NES was still rocking on everyone's shelves. They aren't too well written, but for anyone that enjoyed the games they were based upon it was a neat way to experience the game without having to play all the way through it (level 3 of Ninja Gaiden comes to mind). Plus, as an awesome bonus, in the back of every book, there were pro tips to help you conquer the games. I'm sure the latest round of gaming books are leaps and bounds better, possibly even light years.

I just generally read fantasy books so sorry, not me

Magicians Guild by Trudi Canavan Ftw! :w00t:

Does The Lord Of The Rings count? That got turned into a video game.
Or does the book/novel have to come after the game's release. If so, then the answer to your question is no.

I'm getting Johnny Got His Gun for my birthday, which is the inspiration for the song 'One' by Metallica, which is in Guitar Hero 3/ Guitar Hero Metallica.

Will that count?

Thats an extremly tedicous link, I dont think it does :lol:

Thats an extremly tedicous link, I dont think it does :lol:

Tedicous?

And ok :sad:

Looking back, what the hell is tedicous... or is it tedious just with an error... I'm young, might be missing the obvious here

Ive read all of the halo books and they are AWSOME!!!!!!!! i absolutly love them (and before anyone says anything im not a Halo fanboy, i don't own an Xbox and am a commited PS3 user) and my favourite out of the lot is ghost of onyx, then end of that book is simply amazing (to me anyway).

I have also read the first Mass Effect book and planon picking the second one up soon! :thumbsup:

One thing I didn't like about the original Halo was how quickly everyone seems to die in the book. It revolves around master chief and two of his his squad mates. The most highly trained, genetically superior, super soldiers known to man, that have been biologically altered to make them killing machines and all whilst wearing the finest armour ever designed, yet the first mission they embark on one of the three of them dies.

I've read *almost* all of the halo novels, and 1 splintercell book

Read EVE: The Empyrean Age recently, didn't know it was from a game before picking it up (EVE online). Was OK-ish, not gonna change the world of fiction any. And it pretty much just ended, as if to say now go play the game...

I have read all of the Halo books (Fall of Reach, The Flood, First Strike, Ghosts of Onyx, Contact: Harvest, and the Halo graphic novel), and I have also read the Gears of War book. Other than that, I have not read any game books.

I feel like a game's story should stay within the game. If they want to give backstory, release a dlc pack or have in game collectibles giving backstory like infamous or hears of war. I don't want to have to go out and buy a book and spend time reading it to find out what is going on in a video game.

ive read army of two dirty money and star wars force unleashed which are both graphic novels. do they count?

Tedicous?

And ok :sad:

Looking back, what the hell is tedicous... or is it tedious just with an error... I'm young, might be missing the obvious here

Tedicous isn't a word - think SamVII means tenuous, given that he was commenting on the loose link between Johnny Got His Gun/Metallica/Guitar Hero: Metallica?

Never read any game-based books no. As a kid I used to read Star Wars books, and I thought 70% of them were so crappy that they started to taint the franchise for me - I think the problem is that the original creative/script writing team aren't involved in most cases - people can just make it up and it ends up being derivative. If we were meant to know sub-plots, origins and such, they'd put it in the game.

Who wants to know about what Master Chief has for breakfast, and what he does in between blowing shi the eff up and having a slightly awkward relationship with a hologram? Not me.

I may be dating myself far before my time here, but I've read some of the Wheel of Time series. That was turned into a MUD.

I've also read both The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead, and World War Z multiple times. It's like the boyscouts say- Always Be Prepared/

Since there are zombies in almost every game that is out recently, and even one that takes place during a war-time era, do any of these count?

Ah, when I saw the title of this thread I thought it meant academic books, rather than novels, so I got excited as I have recently read a gazillion of them while writing my dissertation and there are a load of really intelligent people writing some really good papers on videogames.

If anyone wants to know about what is out there and who's work is interesting then send me a message.