My attentions in this blog entry turn to the entertainer known as the Angry Video Game Nerd. AVGN (for short) is an online show starring James Rolfe, an independent filmmaker, and it deals with the nerd character reviewing bad old games and consoles. The focus of the show is on retro gaming so the vast majority of the games are from the 80’s and early 90’s. The show began as a two small reviews done by Mr. Rolfe for private viewing amongst friends. In these firs two reviews the nerd bashes “Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest” and “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” both for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The character was originally dubbed the “Angry Nintendo Nerd” and Mr. Rolfe began to post his videos on Youtube.com but when it became a feature on Screwattack.com the title was changed to the Angry Video Game Nerd to avoid copyright problems and to show that the scope of the show had changed. Soon after the show was put on Screwattack, Gametrailers.com bought the rights to post the videos on their site. Now the nerd videos are only available on Gametrailers.com.
What is interesting about the show is the emphasis on retro gaming, everyone is talking about the newest tech and it is funny and unique to hear someone ranting about a game that is 20 years old. The shows can also be somewhat informative because there are many consoles and games that are featured that I hadn’t heard about until watching the show. Then of course there are the games and systems that I have played and that makes the reviews even more fun because I have personal experience to back up the content of the review itself. Many of his reviews are tied into the release of a new movie in the franchise (like his recent review of Indiana Jones games the day before the new one came out) or to the time of year especially his annual Halloween and Christmas Specials.
The “nerd” character is just that, a character that James Rolfe plays in these videos, many people believe that he is like this in real life but he and everyone who knows him assure us that he exaggerates to be funny on camera. The nerd utilizes foul language and many of his phrases have become quite popular, however I won’t repeat them here. The range of games and systems that the nerd has covered is very large and some of my favorite episodes are his Sega CD review, his Sega 32X review, his Silver Surfer review, his Ghostbusters 3 part review, and his Chronologically Confused video where he talks about weird numbering in both movies and video games. To date, the nerd has put out more than 50 reviews and has no plans to stop which makes me very happy. His reviews are not for everyone so if you are a young child or are easily offended by foul language steer clear but if not you will find the videos quite enjoyable.
The first volume of AVGN episodes is available right now on DVD for purchase at Screwattack.com, though you can watch all of the episodes for free online. If you go to www.cinemassacre.com/new you can find links to all of the AVGN videos and to Mr. Rolfe’s other works, I highly recommend “Legends of the Blue Hole” it is an interesting story about a fabled, bottomless pit in New Jersey. Mr. Rolfe also reviews movies on spike.com, and you can find out what he is doing by going to his page. Have fun watching the videos and come back to blog soon, I have a lot more planned for the coming days.
What is interesting about the show is the emphasis on retro gaming, everyone is talking about the newest tech and it is funny and unique to hear someone ranting about a game that is 20 years old. The shows can also be somewhat informative because there are many consoles and games that are featured that I hadn’t heard about until watching the show. Then of course there are the games and systems that I have played and that makes the reviews even more fun because I have personal experience to back up the content of the review itself. Many of his reviews are tied into the release of a new movie in the franchise (like his recent review of Indiana Jones games the day before the new one came out) or to the time of year especially his annual Halloween and Christmas Specials.
The “nerd” character is just that, a character that James Rolfe plays in these videos, many people believe that he is like this in real life but he and everyone who knows him assure us that he exaggerates to be funny on camera. The nerd utilizes foul language and many of his phrases have become quite popular, however I won’t repeat them here. The range of games and systems that the nerd has covered is very large and some of my favorite episodes are his Sega CD review, his Sega 32X review, his Silver Surfer review, his Ghostbusters 3 part review, and his Chronologically Confused video where he talks about weird numbering in both movies and video games. To date, the nerd has put out more than 50 reviews and has no plans to stop which makes me very happy. His reviews are not for everyone so if you are a young child or are easily offended by foul language steer clear but if not you will find the videos quite enjoyable.
The first volume of AVGN episodes is available right now on DVD for purchase at Screwattack.com, though you can watch all of the episodes for free online. If you go to www.cinemassacre.com/new you can find links to all of the AVGN videos and to Mr. Rolfe’s other works, I highly recommend “Legends of the Blue Hole” it is an interesting story about a fabled, bottomless pit in New Jersey. Mr. Rolfe also reviews movies on spike.com, and you can find out what he is doing by going to his page. Have fun watching the videos and come back to blog soon, I have a lot more planned for the coming days.
No comments:
Post a Comment