Web series discussion of the week: AVGN

Number 1/5 should read: ASSSSSS!

Unlike the Nostalgia Critic, the AVGN is still funny and doesn't carry on like someone stole one of his testicles.

As of the Trespasser episode, I am officially fed up with AVGN. I was watching the show in the early beginnings; I think the first time I saw an episode was either 2006 or 2007, back when they were still being hosted on Gametrailers. At the time the show was funny and was considered an internet sensation, comparable to how big content creators like Pewdiepie are nowadays. But once episode 50 rolled around the show started to go downhill rather quickly, and was hit-or-miss from that point on. Some episodes like the Atari Jaguar 2-part special were still funny, but many others felt tired and/or repetitive. I can't remember when I officially lost interest in the show, but I think it was around episode 100, which was something like 2010 or 2011 I think?

Anyway, the show has ceased to be funny at least five years ago, and I have lost all respect for James Rolfe for not canceling this washed up crap. I've noticed that now the show doesn't even have the trademark qualities it used to, like Mike Matei's nifty title cards. In recent years I had been doing my best to avoid it, being click-baited here and there whenever he reviewed a popular retro game that I had played, although these reviews were never funny and in fact were a massive waste of my time. But it was the Trespasser review that made me lose all respect for the show. Jurassic Park Trespasser is a game that I've been wanting to play for years, and I've been wanting/waiting eagerly for one of the more computer-literate youtubers like Clint of LGR to do a video on it. I had also always wanted to hear the great Seamus Blackley talk about the game, since he had never spoken publicly about Trespasser since it's release in '98. So when I saw James's review of it in my recommend list, I felt obligated to watch it, and learned that not only did a fan send this computer-illiterate clown a copy of the game AND a Windows 98 computer, but also it featured a phone interview with Seamus Blackley, I there and then withdrew any shred of respect I had for AVGN and James Rolfe. He could've had the courtesy to say "look, I'm not that computer savy, so I'll let another Youtuber do a video on Trespasser", but instead he got greedy for views and decided to do the video on the game. By this point I feel that AVGN is not only completely washed up but also having a negative effect on Youtube's other better content creators.

So, to sum up my feelings on AVGN:

-It absolutely sucks nowadays
-It hasn't been consistently funny in at least a decade
-James Rolfe is NOT a "nerd" (your average 10 year old Fornite player knows more about computers than he does)
-It uses clickbait tactics
-It steals views from other content creators

Yeah, Jame Rolfe might not be a sadistic, narcissistic, trash-talking douchebag like Doug Walker is, and in fact seems to be a pretty nice guy, but he should know better than to keep this shitty show on life-support. And for that reason I don't respect AVGN anymore. I'm not even kidding when I say that I get more enjoyment from watching even the most pointless Watch Mojo.com videos than I do from any of James's recent AVGN stuff.

I proudly award AVGN a 1/5 rating. The next time I get click baited into watching a new episode I'm going to dislike it, false-flag it and spam curse words in the comments section.

Spirit Bomb - But then, the Chex Quest episode immediatelly before Trespasser was quite nice, being both informative and with funny moments.

The series is very hit or miss nowadays, but it's clear that James treats it as a "fan favorite" that he sometimes goes back to - otherwise, I think he would be concentrating on his movie-related videos. James always said that he is much more of a movie nerd than a video game nerd, and it shows (he has a vast knowledge of classic cinema, especially horror films - just look at in-depth videos like the one about the house from Psycho).

Anyway, AVGN was always this tongue-in-cheek sketch not meant to be taken seriously at any level - it is not meant to review games, but to portray them in a funny light, as a sometimes very frustrating and absurd hobby. One thing that I miss from the classic episodes is the portrayal of the nerd himself: before, he was this hot-tempered dude that would get excited to play a game because he thought he would have a good time, then would become frustrated by the bad design (and comment on them), then would become angry in an over the top way. On the later episodes, he is a reviewer intentionally looking for bad games, which changes the tone of the series.

That said, while modern AVGN isn't close to be as funny as the older episodes, it is a harmless little show - it doesn't "steal" views from other shows or something, as there's nothing stopping you from watching a LGR of whatever episode after it; it ends up being actually good for other less known channels, because they are sometimes referenced (in the Trespasser episode, for example, we see the guy from Boundary Break, and I think LGR itself got a shout-out in the Chex Quest one, at the very least in the video description).

Also, Trespasser being featured on AVGN may bring more attention to the game so other reviewers may do future videos about it, which can only be good. I still hope Clint does a video on it someday.

Well the poll on this thread basically asks "how do you feel about modern AVGN?", and I think it's washed-up trash. Yes, it was fresh and funny (if immature) at first, but haven't enjoyed an episode in years and I'm officially fed up with being click-baited into watching it. It's that simple.

That would be glorious.