Angry Video Game Nerd

rarisgod · #1 10-30-2010, 02:33 PM

Now I know that these videos are by no means new, but I was curious what you guys thought.
Anyone here watch AVGN?
http://www.cinemassacre.com

Just been watching them in my spare time lately, but few people I know have any interest. Maybe it's just my own childish, video-game-loving nature combined with my enjoyment of seeing someone spew angry words.

LiquidMidnight · #2 10-30-2010, 02:46 PM

I'm a huge fan of Angry Video Game Nerd (and Nostalgia Critic as well), and I eagerly await his new video every month. As an old school gamer from the 8 and 16 bit eras, I really enjoy his analyses of those games, and I pretty much agree with him 95% of the time (with the exception of Castlevania II, which I always loved).

I remember playing some of those games and thinking, "My God! This game sucks! Who designed this thing?" A lot of game developers used to just slap some crap together to make a quick buck without any real consideration to good game design or enjoyable play. I think those are the games that often end up on AVGN episodes.

I don't mind swearing, but I don't like low-brow comedy much or when a person is blue just for the sake of being blue. However, some of AVGN's profane tangents are quite hysterical. I've seen AVGN clones try and do it, and it always comes off very contrived. It's kind of how Maddox's blogs were always funny and the Maddox' clones just sucked.

Unrepresented · #3 10-30-2010, 03:03 PM

I don't consider myself a prude, but his use of profanity just for the sake of profanity makes me dislike him.

It's nice to see old school games reviewed, but I wish it were done a touch more high brow.

Oh, and this should be labeled as "NOT SAFE FOR WORK" since the links include excessive, constant potty mouthitude.

The Last Rebel · #4 10-30-2010, 03:40 PM

I love his reviews, hilarious and always true. Also, as someone who's played his fair share of video games, I totally understand his frustration and the ways he expresses it.

Brad Barker · #5 10-30-2010, 06:25 PM

man, i've been watching his stuff since 2006. sure likes buffaloes.

rarisgod · #6 10-30-2010, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unrepresented

I don't consider myself a prude, but his use of profanity just for the sake of profanity makes me dislike him..

At times I feel the same way, it's as though it's done excessively on purpose, but I don't let it get in the way of my enjoyment of the videos.

scorpionldr · #7 10-31-2010, 01:06 AM

yea, he always seems like he's scrounging to make his opinions sound more brutally honest than they actually are.

Kwesi · #8 10-31-2010, 01:54 AM

I can't stand AVGN. I prefer Zero Punctuation byfar. He's funny and his jokes are actually clever not just profanity and bashing running off at the mouth. Nostalgia critic is cool too.

rarisgod · #9 10-31-2010, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kwesi

I can't stand AVGN. I prefer Zero Punctuation byfar. He's funny and his jokes are actually clever not just profanity and bashing running off at the mouth. Nostalgia critic is cool too.

From what I've seen of Zero Punctuation, I like AVGN better because he makes fun of games that are ACTUALLY bad.

For example, ZP is the only one I've ever seen to have said Mario Galaxy 2 was bad. The only one. Anywhere.

I did find humour in his videos, but at the same time I knew I had enjoyed Mario Galaxy 2 so there wasn't a lot to laugh about. With AVGN, you can see that the games are actually bad.
Also ZP did one on Metroid: Other M. Haven't played that, but I haven't heard that it was bad either.

So while I do see the humour in the way ZP presents his material (which I admit is pretty enjoyable), I think the actual poor quality of the games that AVGN reviews adds to the humour.
Just my opinion of course.

RS · #10 10-31-2010, 12:42 PM

Big fan of his. His humor and perspective resonates with me - esp. the time he talked about waiting all week for your mom to take you to the video store so you could rent a NES game and then frustration of getting home and realizing it sucked so bad you couldn't play it the whole weekend as you planned. Classic.

Kwesi · #11 10-31-2010, 01:57 PM

The way I look at it is that one should take ZPs reviews with a bucket of salt. Either he's actually hyper critical or criticizing the hell out of everything for the lulz, and for the lulz it works. This guy has ripped some of my favorite games a new one (most recently, Bayonetta) and I couldn't help but laugh because of how he went about it. You're right about bad games actually supply more bash-ammo for any reviewer but in the case of ZP, it doesn't seem to matter either way, lol.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rarisgod

From what I've seen of Zero Punctuation, I like AVGN better because he makes fun of games that are ACTUALLY bad.

For example, ZP is the only one I've ever seen to have said Mario Galaxy 2 was bad. The only one. Anywhere.

I did find humour in his videos, but at the same time I knew I had enjoyed Mario Galaxy 2 so there wasn't a lot to laugh about. With AVGN, you can see that the games are actually bad.
Also ZP did one on Metroid: Other M. Haven't played that, but I haven't heard that it was bad either.

So while I do see the humour in the way ZP presents his material (which I admit is pretty enjoyable), I think the actual poor quality of the games that AVGN reviews adds to the humour.
Just my opinion of course.

blackriverstan · #12 10-31-2010, 08:36 PM

does he have some new stuff?

with the exception of a few crappy episodes i think he's pretty funny

Brad Barker · #13 10-31-2010, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackriverstan

does he have some new stuff?

with the exception of a few crappy episodes i think he's pretty funny

he's backed off his workload as the avgn--in order to do even one video a month, the dude busts his butt. the two vids per month days are over.

this past month, he's been releasing short movie reviews of horror movies, a tradition. i could do without it, but whatever--he's a horror film buff, so that's his prerogative.

he'll sporadically upload videos in other series, such as "board james." if you haven't seen it, definitely watch the "mr. bucket" episode from that series. (not safe for work.)

Kwesi · #14 10-31-2010, 09:44 PM

Another reason I like ZP: A New vid each week

.

SoonerMatt · #15 10-31-2010, 10:09 PM

I used to be a mod on Screwattack's forums and have met James multiple times. I can't say I watch him anymore, but his old stuff is still good.

Spraeg · #16 11-01-2010, 12:36 PM

I used to love AVGN, but I haven't watched it in about 6 or 7 months. I got into Cinemassacre through his short films and film reviews, which I think are much better than his AVGN stuff. AVGN to me has gotten away from his schtick which made him funny, and is now just being profane for profanity's sake, rather than seeming genuinely pissed off about the games he's playing.