Episode 143's terrible.


What the hell was that? I was expecting to watch AVGN review a game like he usually does but instead he and Keith just kept on breaking everything in the room and whatnot.

Just.. 

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Yeah to be honest I felt like this was by far easily the worst AVGN episode ever. It's the only one I never enjoyed, there were no commentaries. I expected this to be like the Sega version of the NES accessories episode. I get that they want to try something new but slapstick doesn't really work when the execution looks so obviously fake and painless, which felt like the case here IMO. This is the only AVGN episode I'll never go back to. This episode seemed like an excuse to have the guest in it and in my opinion does it poorly. I think Toxic Crusaders was a better episode, I still liked that episode, despite having similar problems, at least it had commentary. I'll be generous and give this episode a 5/10, but that's just me though.

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You're definitely a very generous person to give this episode a 5/10.

I want AVGN to be as good as he used to be but he just isn't and this is yet another example.

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Indeed its by far the worst episode. One of the only few I did not like.

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I am sort of conflicted, as I want to be fair, but I also see the bad.

AVGN did give us a plethora of good stuff, but then something started happening, and we get sudden turds like this.

On the other hand, who would buy ANY of this awful junk they 'review' in the episode - even as an idea, it's mind-boggling that someone thought to make it.

AVGN and game corporations both have a 'blindness' problem. Corporations don't seem to understand, that it's better, if a game doesn't involve your whole body and physical activity, because you tire faster that way, and it DOES NOT ADD to the immersion, at least as much as some people obviously think. Playing a golf game on your gamepad, mouse and keyboard, or Wii controller is almost equally immersive. You are immersed in the game if you see, hear and control it - that's it.

It doesn't HAVE to involve any 3D-gimmick, your physical body, 'actual gun', 'actual golf club' or whatnot for you to enjoy it maximally. It does not ADD to the enjoyment that you have to ACTUALLY swing a bat, when you can just use gamepad and see the swing happen. I'd rather play Epyx's 'Street Sports Baseball' over ANY kind of 'super realistic virtual baseball' ANY day, because it will be more immersive, more fun, more quickly and has more personality, but most importantly involves your imagination.

AVGN's blindness comes from not always seeing what the perfect balance is - it's not enough to jump into cardboard for 15 minutes and throw styrofoam brix at some guy no one knows, you HAVE to have information as well. The NES accessories videos were good, they had some organic humor (like the Rollin' Rock and Roll 'n Rocker stuff) that didn't feel manufactured and scripted or over-the-top, but most importantly, they had actual commentary, experimentation and expression of the experience-result of that experimentation.

You need INFORMATION to balance out the skits - if you have 10% information and 90% 'skit', it doesn't work.

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Because video games are meant for your MIND, it's actually just DISTRACTING, if you have to involve your physical body too much.

I think Wii does it well, the archery stuff and tennis is a lot of fun, but your hands get tired, and then what do you do? You go back to the gamepad, your joystick, your keyboard and mouse.

The immersion happens within yourself, so when your physical side is involved too much, it actually takes you OUT of the game, and makes it LESS immersive. This is what game corporations don't seem to understand.

Also, to make a narrow-field controller boggles my mind - you can use gamepad for gold, fighting games and baseball games, but you can only use the golf club for golf games and so on. Why would anyone buy something SO LIMITED?!

AVGN gets the skit vs. information-balance correct sometimes, but in this particular episode with the Sega accessories, there's barely even any commentary, it's about 99% 'skit' and 1% not even proper information whatsoever.

I want to know:

1) Does the thing work
2) How does it feel / what is the experience
3) How does it compare to conventional controllers
4) Is there any point of using it
5) How powerful is it (is the backpack actually painful, etc.)

But I get NO information.. I might just as well watch some stuntmen practicing on jumping on cardboard, and it would probably tell me more about Sega Accessories and whatnot.

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By far the worst episode. There's been a few episodes I thought were mediocre, but this is the first one I actually disliked. The guest was unfunny, the slapstick was unfunny, and it was all wasted on something that should have been a great and interesting episode. My favorite episodes are when he talks about gaming accessories like the ones in this episode.

Anyway, I'm not gonna go all *beep* over one bad episode. I admire James for doing something different once in a while, but this just didn't work for me at all. I'll be looking forward to new episodes in 2017.

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Agreed on all points.

I never thought I would say this about an Angry Video Game Nerd review but, wow, that was painful to sit through.

I'm also okay with the fact that he likes to try different things. Who knows, maybe it would actually turn out to be fantastic. I guess that was the complete opposite in this case.

Maybe he'll take the hint and just save the slapstick humor for his other videos. His AVGN reviews should stay in the same format as they were from the early era (2006 - 2010).

Remember his guest review with Lloyd Kaufman in Toxic Crusaders (2013)? People disliked that one as well, complained loudly enough, and James heard his audience.

It's a shame that we receive less reviews as the years go on. If one of them is bad, then you have to wait several months before he produces another one.

I understand some of them take time (anywhere from up to a month), but, if he stopped trying to add scenes like he did in the Berenstein Bears (2016) review, then he could easily go back to doing one or two a month and still produce his other weekly videos with Mike Matei & Co.

To add, even the Beavis and Butthead (2016) was lackluster.

Since he doesn't have a two week deadline anymore like he did working with Screwattack and GameTrailers, he just kinda produces them at his own pace now.

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The man deserves to produce at his own pace, I'm surprised he hasn't burnt out after making these videos for years.

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"Since he doesn't have a two week deadline anymore like he did working with Screwattack and GameTrailers, he just kinda produces them at his own pace now."

The pace is not the problem, the quality and end result is.

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