Jimquisition: Too Cool To Be Cool

[Allan Foe]

This episode rather more entertaining than usual, although I'm a bit sad that he broke down and explained the whole shtick of his character, presumably, for everyone who's been blissfully ignorant of the intensive air traffic that's been going on above their heads. Alas, poor Jim, though I know in your heart of hearts you just want to be loved, this style of humour is not for everyone.

 

[cairocat]

People take Duke Nukem seriously? God, I hope not

Apparently it happens, Alot.

 

[Falseprophet]

This is the first time I laughed out loud at a Jimquisition. I hope the trend continues.

Am I alone here? I never felt Duke was intended to be taken seriously, but more of a tribute to/parody of 80s action heroes. It's not that he should be idolised or considered "cool" in any way, but simply be thoroughly entertaining with his completely over-the-top badassery. It's the same kind of appeal as making a villain a playable character - you get to have fun blowing crap up without any sense of duty.

Duke Nukem doesn't have nearly enough homoerotic subtext to be a parody of 80s action heroes.

 

[LiquidGrape]

I've been a fairly harsh critic of Jim Sterling in the past. I'll likely continue to be so, all things considered, and I'm still not very fond of his format.

But on this particular point, I must say I agree 100%.

There is nothing about DNF which has led me to believe Gearbox knows what they're doing
Press conferences at strip clubs, "capture the babe" with butt-smacking to boot, idolising a character which was never intended to be perceived as anything but a satirical exaggeration of male chauvinist tropes...

I do think it's problematic, and I find it rather sad that anyone could seriously believe this approach is relevant in this day and age.

 

[Stabby Joe]

And now here's Jim Sterling giggling at Jon St John's Duke one liners:


While I agree for the most part with his points, mostly towards Sonic, I'm not really sure what he thinks of Duke Nukem a little.

 

[TheAngryMonkey]

Funny episode, they are getting better and better.
Nice rip on all the Trolls, laughed out loud a bunch of times.
I love all the people who want you gone, I was wondering why when I went to the stable today they were all out of High Horses.
Keep improving, because it's showing.
Looking forward to the next one.

 

[Hagi]

I'm actually quite a fan of this show by now.

While the points brought up aren't as good as in Extra Credits and MovieBob the complete lack of pretentiousness in this show makes it quite refreshing (not saying EC and MB are very pretentious, but there's definitely some of that there and watching it too much can get tiring.)

He can't compete with Zero Punctuation but overall I think he's filling a good niche on this site.

 

[itomeshi]

In response to one of the Facebook comments:

I'm not generally offended by him, I'm just not amused by him either. It's strange, because I was reading something I thought was funny (about how vapid Final Fantasy has become), and it was spot on with a good tone. Then I saw his pic at the bottom and realized it was him on Destructoid.

I think Sterling is or at least can be a good writer, and if his videos weren't such grating self-aggrandizement - even if it is with tongue planted firmly in cheek - I'd enjoy them quite a bit more. Contrast this with Zero Punctuation: it sounds like Yahtzee has a big head, except for, well, the dozens of times that he makes self-deprecating remarks.

In short, I seldom feel his content is wrong or bad. But the tone of his obviously fake persona is so grating, I can't seem to enjoy it. The Rosa Parks comment? It's not funny, it dragged on far too long, and it sounds like it's too honestly denigrating her work. That's a horrible trio.

 

[Brian Hendershot]

Jim you are starting to grow on me (and thanks for getting rid of that terrible yellow hat you had on the last episode). I think I'll watch your show more often. But here is something I don't get...why...do people do things Ironically? Or like stuff ironically? I don't get that at all.

Also, am I the only person who is totally not impressed by Duke Nukem and probably won't get it? (This is coming from a guy that totally Bulletstorm and freaking loved it).

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

This was actually a pretty good video, normally I'm neutral with his past few ones, but I liked this one.

I agree with what he has to say about DNF, I've been wondering about it for a bit since the game is going to be coming out soon. Maybe I'm a little nervous since that game has been in production hell for years, and as much as I like Gearbox, I'm wondering if they know that he's supposed to be a parody of all the macho man tropes.

I also wonder if it's still gonna be just as funny as it was back then, I don't know, and that's worrisome to me. Duke isn't supposed to be taken seriously, but I wonder if that's going to be in conflict with the player a lot during the game.

 

[veloper]

Duke is comedy without the writers needing to resort to any self-depreciation; that would actually make it less entertaining.

Duke should be played straight, because the humor comes from just crossing the line of what is acceptable and good taste.

Wrong is fun, within a certain narrow bandwidth.

The best thing is, we all play a part in the joke, like ALWAYS BET ON DUKE.

 

[Sylocat]

Wait, he actually thinks that Duke Nukem is played straight? That he's meant to be taken seriously? Duke Nukem is a PARODY, you can tell that from the goddamn trailer.

Oh, and check out my CAPTCHA:

 

[Random Argument Man]

While you make good points and you manage to touch certain sensitive spots in gaming lately, your humor is kinda off.

If I were you, I'd focus on arguments rather than humor.

 

[vxicepickxv]

Indeed, Jim. What kind of arrogant cock would say "Thank God for me"?

Meta.

The guy who says it in the ironic hipster way?

 

[Sylocat]

Indeed, Jim. What kind of arrogant cock would say "Thank God for me"?

Meta.

The guy who says it in the ironic hipster way?

Jim himself is living proof that saying it "ironically" doesn't automatically make it any more endearing.

 

[maninahat]

I thought it was alright. I think this latest incarnation of Duke is supposed to be somewhat ironic and self-depricating, as compared to the original. Whether or not it actually pulls this off though, we'll have to wait and see?

 

[Drake666]

Jim fails at funny again.

I agree whole heartedly. I believe there was even a poll that asked the escapist if they wanted to keep this feature, and the highest vote was "NO".

And here we are, so poll = petition, and no one takes internet petitions seriously.

You know, if you watch his show, you're saying to the Escapist that you want to see more... it's the same thing if you watch shitty movie, play shitty video games or go to a bad restaurant...

A petition means nothing if there's no intention behind it

 

[Drake666]

And now here's Jim Sterling giggling at Jon St John's Duke one liners:

Ok, that's a weird contrast

 

[GLo Jones]

Haha, excellent video. I love the fact that you've actually had to spell out your approach to the viewers here so they can get it, and yet you still manage to keep it in context.

 

[Namewithheld]

Did you play Bulletstorm? It was almost anticipating the return of Duke and parodied the fuck out of the "too cool to be cool" character. Many dismiss Greyson as simply a "generic bad-ass space marine" but frankly in the games he's the only person who thinks he is cool. Everyone else thinks he's the dick he definitely is, and rather than being the god of his world he often causes catastrophic fuck ups based on his rash and indefensible behaviour. Bulletstorm, despite being a comedy at heart, is also quite a strong piece of character satire.

And more than that, it has a shockingly effective character arc for Greyson, as he slowly comes to realize just how badly he fucked up, and how many lives he's ruined. He actually grows as a character, as do the two supporting ones.

I actually really enjoy Bulletstorm's story UNIRONICALLY, because while it does have a lot of campy fun...it also has actual character, actual character growth, and I wasn't expecting that at all.