Likewise, the hardware section offers a pretty nice overview of all the current and next-generation hardware on the market - from the PS3 and the Wii all the way back to Nintendo's popular Game Boy Advance and GameCube. The information is deep and covers everything from the "cell" chip that powers the PlayStation 3 to the multimedia capabilities of the PlayStation Portable. While the section isn't as long as it could be, there's some nice information and all the entries are heavily illustrated with bright and colorful photos on every page.

As a whole the Book of Games is well written, but doesn't go out of its way to be high brow or high minded in its approach. The book is definitely geared towards a general audience, which makes it a good read for teens or casual gamers. The entries in each section are small, simple and easily digestible in a short span of time. Gamers in the know will probably breeze through this book pretty quickly but it is safe to say that they'll find it an enjoyable experience. My only real complaint with this book is that it needed a little more personality and fun injected in the more open ended sections..

In the end, The Book of games Volume One is a fun and interesting read for mainstream gamers, despite the fact that it does cover a lot of familiar ground. More importantly this is a good book for those folks that only occasionally dip into the shallow end of the gaming pool because it offers some important information on a lot of different genres and platforms. It's ultimately worth a read, but hopefully the next volume will offer a bit more depth and personality.