Some of the beats in this feel a lot like Alex's original video, i wonder if it's a knowing homage. And man, the look of these AVGN videos has changed a lot, too.

Anyway, link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6DtVHqyYts

I might just be more mature at this point, but even though I used to like AVGN, I just don't find the "Hey, look at me. I'm a video game journalist who hates everything" shtick not funny anymore.

I thought this video was real bad.

It wasn't good and I don't mind his newer stuff . I think part of it is big rigs is over done, it peaked with Alexs review

I think it's one of the better AVGN episodes in a while. Pretty consistently funny, and not too over-the-top. The fake promo video is gold.

He says he did it because of overwhelming numbers of fan requests, so I'm guessing that (at the very least) it's the fans who keep requesting it due to Alex's review, even if James himself may not be familiar with it.

I like him best when he's not playing up the "angry" AVGN character too much, and just sort of being his normal self. (Though, even his faux-angriest episodes are probably pretty tame compared to the shitty angry YouTuber fad that's going around lately.)

@turboman said:

It's the Seinfeld Effect. Everyone has been ripping off AVGN for so long even the original seems cliched at this point.

I should also point out that James Rolfe is a super cool dude. I mean, super cool. One of the most genuine and nice people I've ever met.

@oldirtybearon: I'm sure he is, whenever he used to do some sort of top ten list, you can tell that he's super passionate about the things that he actually likes, but we rarely ever see that because he's stuck with the AVGN character.

I still think he's really funny.

@turboman: Try watching the James and Mike videos that are posted on Mondays. He's just his regular self in those videos. No goofy characters or fancy premise.

His newer stuff is definitely not as angry. His review have gotten longer and more interesting as well. I think he's done better reviews recently but this is a good one. His other work for cinemassacre is also excellent. Go check out his Batman review thing, it's great.

I really like AVGN, I am not sure why, maybe because at the time in I would say 04/05 he really was producing content that was unique. It may seem common now, mainly because it is, but effectively making these videos to highlight the retro games that haunted most of our childhoods just wasn't being done at that point, or at the very least being done well. This is always the problem when you start to run so long, it's sort of like the simpsons, it exists and people watch it because we have just become so accustomed to it. Similarly, I will always watch AVGN but either I have gotten old or the quality isn't what it used to be. This review wasn't bad, but I remember finding his content a whole lot better even 3 or 4 years ago.

I really liked this one. It felt a lot calmer and funnier than usual.

It's the polar opposite of the Lloyd Kaufman episode. I adore Lloyd and Troma, but that one was really rough.

the only thing I know about AVGN is that his VGCW character is a face and I don't understand why

You know Big Rigs isn't unlike the Mako in Mass Effect.

And there are some crazies out there that like the Mako.

Pretty funny episode. I'm glad he resisted the temptation to make it like Alex's and made it a bit different.

The Big Rigs commercial was hilarious.

Well you obviously haven't seen his other stuff. I mean, its kinda weird you think he hates everything, its that he hates bad games, don't we all? But I enjoy his reviews of shitty consoles like the Jaguar and 5200. And he has other videos where he goes through games he likes or games that should not have been made, obscure stuff like the CDi sequel to Super Mario World. Weird. And his Genesis vs Super Nintendo video was entertaining, definitely not a, I hate this shit video.

I agree with you for the most part, except he didn't do any videos in 2005. He released the videos he did in 2004 onto the internet, they were really popular, so in 2006 he started to do his show.

It was definitely at its strongest from around 2006-2009 or so, after that it steadily declines, and now you can just really tell he's tired of the character. Once his movie is released, I wouldn't be surprised if he announces that he is done with the AVGN for good.

As for the Big Rigs episode, I thought it was a pretty fresh take on the game, since usually everyone hates on it while they play and says how bad the game is. It wasn't a great episode, but it wasn't that bad either.

I wonder if the AVGN movie would warrant a Steam release.

Huh?

@pr1mus: Can the Big Rigs trucks do this? HUH?

yea, that part caught me as well, to the best of my knowledge AVGN has never professed to be a journalist.

James is awesome. Saw this the other day, and immediately hoped people would start tweeting Alex with "HEY REMEMBER THAT BIG RIGS REVIEW YOU DID??"

Because he loves that.

@hailinel: I'm sure. I know that he (the person) is very intelligent when it comes to video games. I just don't care for his character anymore.

How about "internet personality"? For more examples if you're confused: Yahtzee, Angry Joe, That GameTrailers guy that pissed off Phil Fish, There's about 12 of them on Machinima, etc.

@turboman: I wouldn't say I was confused, I just felt it deserved a distinction, but I understand what you are saying.

Yea, that sounds better.

Also, fuck these guys. Just throwing that out there.