The good stuff: video game videos edition

This morning, waking with a fuzzy brain and distinct lack of creative energy, I decided to go on YouTube to catch up on reviews with Zero Punctuation, and I had two thoughts after finishing the latest videos. The first was, “Is there any point to watching Zero Punctuation in HD?” Because I don’t think there’s much reason to see his cartoony presentations without blurry jaggies. I’m not coming for the graphics anyway, but for the fast paced delivery of snark and innuendo.

My second thought was, “Hey, why don’t I make a list of the video game videos I watch most frequently and sell others on checking these shows out?” I mean, sure most of the people I follow already have big audiences, but hey, the more the merrier, right? Right! So here be my list, which I’ll follow up with a thought and *GASP* a request for feedback and suggestions for other shows I might be missing out on. But first…

Zero Punctuation (Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw)

I’ve been watching Zero Punctuation for a long time, usually waiting a few months at a time before marathoning all the verious episodes that have been uploaded in the meantime. I also go back and watch old episodes, mainly because Ben Croshaw’s blazing fast delivery of lines guarantees I’ll have forgotten half the jokes a few minutes after I’ve heard them. The jokes are funny, obviously, or I wouldn’t keep watching, but in a five minute video, Ben manages to skewer the latest games a hundred ways with a delivery so fast that I can usually only remember one or two jokes near the end of each video.

The thing is, Ben’s complaints about games often highlight a lot of issues I have with the same games, so if I want to know what sucks before I buy it, I go to Zero Punctuation first. This is not to say I won’t still buy the game. But I go into it knowing where some of the prickly sticking points will be.

The Angry Joe Show (Joe Vargas)

I don’t always agree with Joe Vargs. His taste in games and mine have only a few areas of overlap. If was had to be in a Venn diagram, the area of overlap would be the nope zone. But I do like watching his videos even for games I don’t plan on playing because Angry Joe is a passionate reviewer. If he loves a game, he’s going to take the time to break down every little thing he loves, and then he’s going to add “having said that,” and launch into a list of flaws. He’s thorough, he’s blunt, and he doesn’t gloss over the flaws of a game he likes. Conversely, if he hates a game, oh, man, you’re going to hear every little thing it did wrong before he tries to find something positive to highlight. In either case, he’s going to add in footage of him playing the game along with his reactions, and when he goes off on a tear, I point to him and tell my hubby, “See? I’m not the only gamer with a temper!” (Hubby thinks I get carried away. He has no idea how explosive I was as a kid. This is probably a good thing.)

Joe’s show also features skits and jokes, and his production values are surprisingly high, with a green screen allowing him to report from inside his high tech base or to do little jokes inside game worlds. It’s a slick looking show, and if there’s any downsides, it’s that Joe’s co-host “Other Joe” doesn’t quite have the same bombastic acting chops that Joe Vargas does. He’s always a bit muted and flat in his delivery, and that’s a shame because he sometimes has some really funny roles that might be better if he just put more effort into his performances.

The Angry Video Game Nerd + James and Mike Mondays (James Rolfe and Mike Matei)

The Angry Video Game Nerd is a show all about validation of my youth filled rages about bad games. My parents would always tell me that I was wrong about cheap tactics, bad gameplay, and wonky graphics. So if I wasn’t having fun with a game, it wasn’t that the game was bad, it just wasn’t for me. So along comes James Rolfe to say, years later, “No, you were right, those shitty games sucked ass.” Even if I can’t tell my parents “see, I told you so!” I can at least nod my head and fantasize about telling them I was right all along.

James’ Angry Video Game Nerd is a character, and his show often involves some absurd guest stars or situations. The editing and special effect are pretty low tech, but in this way it kind of reminds me of old public access shows. So it’s nerdy validation of my gripes and stroking the old nostalgia boner at the same time.

James also does another show with Mike Matei that’s out of the nerd character, Jame and Mike Mondays, and they play and review all eras of games in a more laid back way. They talk about random stuff while playing, and I like the show because it has such a simple premise: two friends playing games and gabbing about whatever crosses their minds at the time.

The Jimquisition (Jim Sterling)

The Jimquisition isn’t so much a show criticizing games as it is a critique of the industry. Jim Sterling also does game reviews, but the episodes I enjoy most are those that highlight certain trends withing games or the community itself where Jim explains his feelings on the topics. I can’t recall a single episode where I disagreed with the points he’s made, and no matter what subject he’s choosing to take on, I know it will be interesting to watch.

Feminist Frequency (Anita Sarkeesian)

I got to the end of this list and realized what a sausage-fest the whole thing was. I thought if I knew any women game critics, and that got me thinking about Anita Sarkeesian. I’ve seen her Women VS Tropes videos, and I follow her on Twitter. But I’ve never really thought of her as a game critic in the same way as the guys because she’s tackling a specific problem in the industry and trying to bring about a positive change. This is good, and I do like her videos. I just sometimes wish she’d do another series of videos where she played games and gave impressions on them, even if it was just to highlight games that she felt bucked the industry trends.

This brings me around to the point of asking for help from my readers. I’m sure there must be women reviewing games in the same way as Joe Vargas, Ben Croshaw, and James and Mike. But when I go to YouTube and look for reviews, it’s almost always dudes. There’s ProJared, JonTron, Pat the NES Punk, and many others. But I never see anything suggested for women game reviewers. Maybe it’s a side effect of the videos I’ve watched, and now YouTube simply isn’t giving me anything but dudes. Still, I’d very much like to see some equal representation and maybe put together a future reviewer update that isn’t so dude heavy. So if you know a woman game reviewer that you like, give them a shout out in the comments and I’ll check them out. And thanks in advance for the help.