I’m Too Young to Die: The Ultimate Guide to First-Person Shooters Review 💥 @bitmap_books @BrittRecluseuk

We’ve covered several Bitmap Book releases here at GF, and each has been cause for celebration, from the sheer scope of 'A Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games' through to the oddly enchanting 'A Gremlin in the Works', their books always get hips deep into their subject matter and yank my trousers off, regardless of how firmly I’ve initially buckled them. 

In the case of I’m Too Young to Die: The Ultimate Guide to First-Person Shooters, it was the sections on oddities and ultimately unsuccessful titles that had grazes with greatness that really caught my attention.

It was eye-opening to find out just how much experimentation was going on, especially in the world of PC gaming in the mid-’90s, and I found myself marking a page to watch some gameplay footage of these games - that had somehow passed me by in my formative years – before continuing my reading and inevitably repeating the process a few pages later, always a good sign when reading a book such as this.

Arriving in the usual Bitmap Books ‘yes, this parcel will survive a nuclear blast’ packaging, the layout of the book is in landscape – as was the aforementioned 'A Gremlin in the Works' – with the cover showing be-skulled versions of some of the FPS genres’ most recognisable characters. The monochromatic image works well against the bright red font and text.

Opening the book shows a double-page spread of something that we gamers have been staring at for over thirty years (in some cases, at least) - targeting reticules! It’s a great design point and surprisingly fun to see how they vary from title to title. I’d be extremely impressed to see someone recognise the game that each one comes from, that’s a proper ‘pushes glasses up nose’ moment waiting to happen for someone out there.

The early sections of this 420+ page behemoth covers items such as an introduction from the author - establishing his credentials; a foreword from the wearer of funky shirts - John Romero; as well as an overview of what makes a first-person shooter, breaking down the criteria required to separate them from say, first-person RPG titles -  as there’s certainly an overlap there, one that Stuart Maine manages to expertly layout in order to clearly clarify the choices of games covered in the book.

For the most part, the book works through the genre chronologically, punctured with interviews from key figures - such as Warren Spector, David Doak (the man who is slowly turning into Mick Fleetwood) and Ken Levine - in tightly-edited interview segments that cram as such information and insight as possible into a handful of pages.

When originally receiving the book, I wondered at the ceasing of the timeline in 2002, but it does make sense in that, by then so many genre tropes were in effect, and the level of experimentation had slowed as the genre hit dizzying heights with the explosion of widespread, worldwide online competitive play, leading it to become the monolithic money machine that it is today. In that regard, it does very much feel like a tale for another book, as opposed to here where the focus is on unearthing the different approaches taken by inventive folks in a burgeoning and exciting new genre.

In summary, this is as awesome as I quite frankly have come to assume that a Bitmap Books release will be. It’s very clearly a passion project from Stuart Maine, backed up by crisp visuals, a layout that allows both the text and screenshots to shine, as well as coming on paper that’s so luxurious that I feel like I’m turning two or three pages at once.

The friendly narrative approach of the text belies the level of research and knowledge that is contained within the book and means that you don’t feel like you are being bombarded with jargon, or wading through tedious technical details.

BITMAP BOOKS Product Link:

https://www.bitmapbooks.com/products/i-m-too-young-to-die-the-ultimate-guide-to-first-person-shooters-1992-2002