I have a big issue with most gaming documentaries: they feel like propaganda.
It's usually the same core story: Atari -> The 1983 Crash -> Nintendo -> Doom -> PlayStation -> Xbox; then by followed by awkward self-promotion, about how games are culture, how they bring people together, how cool celebrity X likes games, how they make a lot of money, how they don't promote violence at all... It all comes across as a giant advertisement for the industry - a quite self-conscious and insecure industry.
Not here. Gameplay: The Story of the Video game Revolution covers not only the console generations, but the arcades, the computers, the social gaming, and - perhaps more interesting - the business behind everything.
You will learn about the groundbreaking games, the technological revolutions and the visionaries, but also about the clever and dumb business decisions, the lawsuits, the shady practices, the criticisms of gaming, its darker sides... all presented through stylish 3D animations, amusing historical footage and a solid, well-written narration.
Unlike other gaming documentaries, Gameplay isn't here to confirm what you know and make you feel awesome for being a gamer. Over its 90 minutes, this documentary will show you things you never heard about, tell you some hard truths and make you think. I suspect this is the reason why it got so little promotion within the gaming press.
My only complaint is that it could have more: longer run-time, more interviewees, more stories of pioneers like Roberta Willians, EA, the Amiga, etc...
But that's a rather unfair criticism. As it stands, Gameplay is already miles ahead of any other game documentary.
