Category: Gaming Personalities

Is IG’s History Of Video Games Still A Thing?

Browsing through the Interwebs and I noticed that the Bores uploaded his latest chapter on the ever-sludging-about History Of Video Games for dummies who don’t know anything about the history of video games. This episode is about the old Intellivision console and features a thumbnail of Bores biting into a phone cable that is the cord for said console’s controllers. By this point, this sort of “angry” reaction on the thumbnails is somewhat played out with everyone else doing it and usually when I see this, I’ll just tune out and look for something else.

But since it’s Bores, I might as well give him a quick view.

There used to be a time when I could smile or even offer a mild chuckle at the stupidity of these sorts of videos. But I watch this latest Bores offering and find myself scratching my nose, rolling my eyes, and falling asleep. I never thought I’d see the day when Bores would fail to offer some mild entertainment through his sheer incompetent and pig-headedness, but lo and behold, it has finally happened.

Or maybe I’ve just outgrown this sort of humor and it’s just not funny anymore.

I’d like to think that, but watching old ragetown Armake21 or UrinatingTree videos from half a decade or so ago still give me the giggling fits. Hell, I’ve even laughed at a couple of old Kenny The NC17 Guy videos for all the wrong reasons.

Even the Nerd… wait, never mind. I wouldn’t go THAT far. Even he’s fallen off the rails for me.

Man, it’s a good thing Classic Game Room is still a thing on Youtube and…

Oh wait.

The Nerd Does Bad Game Box Art… because sure, why not?

So this year, as part of an “advent” event, The Nerd does bad video game cover art… because sure, why not?

On the one hand, it’s not a bad idea to showcase some horrific covers. After all, sometimes a game’s cover is the only determining factor in whether it’s going to get your money and that cover has to convey exactly what the game is going to be about. Sometimes, it works and other times, it doesn’t. I’m sure the subject of game covers have been touched on, but bad game covers has only been the subject of shitty top 10 videos or lists. So a video series focusing on bad covers isn’t such a bad idea.

On the other hand… it’s the Nerd.

In the hands of a capable person, this could’ve been a good series. In the hands of James Rolfe, it’s just another excuse to dwell into bad jokes and pseudo-intellectual bullshit that will fool people into thinking that there’s deep and thought-provoking humor in here.

The first two entries, thus far, have been underwhelmingly bland. As a funny look into bad box art, it somewhat fails, with the only humor coming from the box itself and not necessarily any of the Nerd’s words. As something that could be an examination of these artistic missteps… it’s the Nerd. Nothing of any real worth comes out of these episodes that you can’t just look up on Wikipedia or the aforementioned shitty Top 10 lists.

But, hey, you know what? There’s hope that this’ll develop into something decent. After all, it’s hard to base an entire series on two mere entries. Maybe there’s something to do that that will eventually emerge after a while.

But, then again… it’s the Nerd.

Classic Game Room… Sigh.

So… if you haven’t heard the news, Mark Bussler of Classic Game Room fame has announced that the show will be scaled back considerably to a smaller form factor come 2016. This means the end of CGRUndertow (which I never cared for, but it had its fans), the end of the current CGR website of which I was a proud user of, and far fewer videos compared to the output of the past several years.

Apparently, Youtube revenue or lack thereof is to blame here and CGR can no longer sustain itself as a business… hence the scale back.

This is the harsh reality of making income based strictly on Youtube. One day, you’re making huge bank and everyone loves you… and then all of a sudden, it’s all gone and you’re forced to look elsewhere.

I am going to be flip-flopping on the issue for quite some time, but for the moment, I can only wish Mark and company all the best in their future endeavors and hope all goes well in the coming years.

In the meantime, I’ll go back and watch that Kasumi Ninja review.

Bores Has Special Editions of Breakout and Night Driver

The title of this post says it all. That explains how he was able to play those games with the standard Atari joystick, rather than the paddle controllers that you’re supposed to be playing with.

Context: Chris Bores’ latest edition of his long-running, long-waiting History of Video Games was recently put up, covering Atari games from 1978 to 1980 in relatively quick fashion. How quick? The whole episode was roughly five minutes long and a good chunk of it was dedicated to some rather poor sketches and unfunny gags. In addition, there are some minor errors, such as playing paddle games with the standard joystick, as well as showing footage of the arcade Space Invaders and passing it off as the VCS version.

There’s also a notable lack of attention to the dates in which certain things took place; Nolan Bushnell’s exit from Atari was in 1978, but this fact isn’t mentioned until the end of the episode as though it took place in 1980. However, Bores does make an effort in bringing up the fact that Bushnell founded Chuck E. Cheese. Because breakfast is ruined or something.

Look, I’ll be honest, here. This latest episode did very little for me. Even though the run time is roughly five minutes, it was probably the longest five minutes I ever sat through. It felt as though the very essence was being sucked away as the seconds withered away. But hey, look on the bright side! It’s not another lazy AVGN Clip Collection.

Then again, that’s not saying a whole lot, is it?

Alright! New AVGN… oh wait, it’s just a clip collection.

No doubt what some AVGN fans (want to) believe James Rolfe thinks of them. See? I can do stupid meme images too.

I think the comments on the YouTube video in question – another one of “those arguments” see – is what inspired this post… and mind you, it’s something that’s been on the back of my mind in case this particular brand of video rears its ugly head again… but in any event…

Yeah… for those wanting a new AVGN episode for whatever reason, you’ll have to settle for another lazily put together Top 10 list. Cryptic gaming moments is the theme this time around and… it’s an AVGN Clip Collection video. Lazily put together to appease those wanting new AVGN and forcing to settle for something that takes even less time to put together than an Irate Gamer video about Skylanders. Sure, nobody wants to see endless videos about Skylanders from a guy with a somewhat spotty and dubious YouTube career… but even those videos have more effort put into it than these Clip Collections do.

I’ve got two takes on this.

Continue reading “Alright! New AVGN… oh wait, it’s just a clip collection.”

Random Thought on AVGN Seaman

That sums it all up, really.

If you want a genuinely funny Seaman video that isn’t pretentious, well… you know where I’m going with this already.

EDIT: I was apparently told that this horrible episode was dedicated to the late Leonard Nimoy, who provided narration for Seaman. I was also told that people on “that blog” consider this a “proper” tribute. Sure, pal. Whatever you say.