Go Straight: Beat em ups book. A first look review | GamesYouLoved

As a fan of Beat em up games over the years I was really excited to see a new book of the genre was on the horizon. Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’Em-Ups

Get yours here: https://bit.ly/bitmapbooks

Now we have our hands on it what is it like? Lets get into it…

The first thing I noticed is the sheer size of the book. From my jaded memory of the early beat em ups of the 1980s, into the 90s and a beyond to present day – I personally wouldn’t have thought that Bitmap Books could have even filled 200 pages, yet alone 400+! 

But this is a genre somewhat recently left in the past that has started to build and continue here and there to gather steam. Beat em ups are back with a vengence! This book is here to do that justice…

Before we jump to the more present – we have to start with the beginning and the past.

Quite honestly the bit WE love best!

Beat em ups really started in the arcades for me personally and I expect for a certain age of gamer for them too. The mid to late 80s graphics were getting better and the gameplay faster, this is a important factor for beat em ups.

From a content point of view – what you need to know is how much this book  does. This book reallty does games justice. Even to the point of taking the story over a number of pages and often a very impressive gatefold 4 page spread. As shown here (above) with Kung Fu Master.

The type of coverage in the game itself goes beyond what you’d expect – combining narrative with Dave Cook as the editor along with guest intros that really make this a weighty tome.

From the gameplay, icons, logos, backdrop art, skills, style of play etc – everything has been touched on and in great detail too. This is not just a backdrop with a few words overlayed. This is a serious journey into the Beat em up genre for fans.

Every page is reproduced to a high level. The colours pop and the use of all the key elements from the game are there. This is a quality book through and through.

Overall I’d say for anyone getting into the Beat em up genre this is the most thorough introduction you’ll ever get.

For those who have lived with the Beat em ups like me over the years its a fantasitic reminder of what has come and gone – along with alot of new games and even old(new) games you may not have experienced before.

So what next? Well for me its to read up and play! I love using these books as a reference tool for reasons to play  

Watch our video review – First Look of the book itself:

From Bitmap Books

Get this and a massive range of retrogaming book titles here: https://bit.ly/bitmapbooks