Good video games always leave you wanting more. Sequels take time to make, and waiting for the next game doesn't satisfy the immediate craving that comes when the credits finish rolling across the screen. That's where video game novels come in.

For certain games, you've poured in so much time and energy into it that you're almost immersed in that fictional universe. With that in mind, gamers often want to learn more about this exciting new world. Video game novels attempt to provide that desired information, but many fall short.

My first encounter with a video game novel is Halo: The Fall of Reach. After playing the missions in Halo: Combat Evolved with my friend over and over again, I've grown fond of the game and the series. Admittedly, I was more interested with the action and the shooting than the storyline when I played the game, but that is also one of the main reasons why I decided to read the novel. I wanted to learn more about the back-story to the game. Being a prequel, the author of Halo: The Fall of Reach had a lot of freedom to create his vision of what had happened. The writing quality wasn't comparable to those of bestsellers, but that was to be expected. However, that wasn't the only problem I had with the book. Confusing action sequences, drawn out events, and mediocre characters are all little details that could be improved.

Now I'll talk about the parts that I did enjoy. I liked reading about the training of the Spartans and the fact that the book wasn't completely centered around the popular protagonist, Master Chief. I've also learned more about the conflict between the UNSC and the Covenant that I would've never discovered from the original game. The book wasn't bad by any means and was actually a decent read even with those faults. I didn't expect too much picking up this novel, so I'm fine with what I got. However, this book is seen as one of the higher quality video game novels, which makes me more skeptical of reading others in the genre. I got lucky once and continuing with this genre might lead to much disappointment, so I decided to stop while I was ahead.

Avid fans of certain video game franchises can definitely appreciate some of these novels, as some actually provide an insightful look into the game's universe. Yet, some of the information in these books should also be taken with a grain of salt. I've heard from many people that it is not uncommon that details from the book contradict those from the video game. Just like how there are filler episodes in anime, I see video game novels more as filler than sources of accurate information. If used for purely entertainment purposes, video game novels have a positive impact as they can be exciting and fun to read. On the other hand, the questionable credibility of some can negatively impact fans who want to fully explore a game's history and lore. My advice to potential readers of video game novels is to be careful not to expect too much because you never know what you're going to get.