I'm back this week with a review of my pick for "Game of the Year," Legend of Grimrock! An awesome game for so many reasons, Grimrock has the added advantage of being independently produced and available for only $15! Get it direct from the developer and you'll still get a Steam key for sharing achievements.

*Warning.* My video contains a few minor spoilers. Nothing that should ruin your fun, but if you're worried about it, just listen to the audio or watch it after you've completed the game.

Grab the mp4 here!

The reviews are starting to roll in for our new book, My Xbox: Xbox 360, Kinect, and Xbox LIVE. You can see a few of the reader reviews from the Amazon link, listen to the Lautering Bytes Podcast segment discussing it (starting at ~18:12 mark; great comment: "...the manual you wish came with your Xbox..."), and a Game Vortex review. Of course, we can't forget Matt Barton's mention of the book at the end of Matt Chat 137, which covered Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. As more reviews come in, we'll of course keep you posted.

My Xbox: Xbox 360, Kinect, and Xbox LIVE is available from booksellers everywhere in both paperback and ebook formats. If you have a copy and posted a review, let us know, or just sound off in the comments below. All feedback is much appreciated. Enjoy!

Pete's Game Room has done a nice unboxing video with 5 great videogame books.

First, if your wondering "Huh? Why the heck is HE reviewing it?" don't worry I am not offended as I just
found out last night and am pretty shocked myself lol! That said, there is some reasoning behind it, if
you check out the the ATARIMAX website and go to the USB 128in1 Colecovision Multi Cart page, a little

My first attempt at a REAL intro for all future MaximumRD videos. Hope you like it (Be gentle, I am no expert at this stuff LOL!)

It was very interesting meeting with three of the publishers we either have been working with or will be working with on books. The most sobering aspect was how the behind-the-scenes machinations work in the book industry, which is to say it's a tough business. One of the aspects that was pointed out to us was the value of people posting reviews on Amazon.com (or any regional Amazon). In short, the more reviews - good or bad - the better for a book, as the higher it shows up in searches and the more likely it's to be paired with another book in the auto-recommendations. So, as usual, we're asking for your help. If you want to see more books like this, please be so kind as to let your thoughts be known on Vintage Games and write a review on the relevant Amazon site. Thanks, everyone!

When I first about Rob Smith's new book Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts, I knew almost instantly that it'd be a valuable book for those of us concerned with videogame history. LucasArts (known earlier as LucasFilm Games) is one of the most important and influential of all videogame developers. While many, many people fell in love with classic graphic adventures like The Secret of Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Sam & Max, Full Throttle, and my personal favorite, The Dig, earlier aficionados will remember the equally revolutionary Koronis Rift and Ballblazer. The task Rob Smith set for himself with Rogue Leaders was to give us an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at how all these games got made--and, without question, the man succeeded brilliantly. The only way you could immerse yourself more deeply in this topic would be to jump in a time machine and get a job at LucasArts Games yourself!

"When you want to publish the first announcement of a new LucasArts game, you pull out all the stops," writes the author in his introduction. One might very well apply that to "the first book about LucasArts." Smith has pulled out all the stops to create one of the best books I've seen yet on my favorite topic: videogames!

Phantom of Venice: Nancy, dancing in a cat suit.I thought AAer's might like to know that ACG has recently published my review of the latest Nancy Drew installment. This one was particularly good, and Her Interactive has certainly redeemed themselves after the so-so 17th game. Phantom has a number of nice innovations and fun minigames, such as a DDR-inspired dancing sequence and singing gondoliers. All in all, it's a great game and well worth checking out if you're into adventure games. Like most other ND games, you'll actual learn something, too--this time a lot about Venetian culture and the Italian language.