Poll: Internet reviewers/comedians: do you like their "epic" stuff?

[Neverhoodian]

Topic inspired by the latest Spoony video review/riff of Final Fantasy XIII:

I like myself some snarky internet reviews from time to time. AVGN, Nostalgia Critic, Spoony, Linkara (to name a few), they all provide entertaining forays into the various subpar games, books and movies of the past few decades. They also have something else in common: they try to shoehorn in half-baked "epic" storylines and/or subplots that fall flat.

You know the drill. Their fictional, misanthropic reviewer persona suddenly becomes humanity's only hope against some evil being or power that's singled them out for some inexplicable reason. Cue the earth-shattering final battle that takes place in...their living room, complete with poorly choreographed fight moves and bad Photoshop particle effects. Bonus points if they lift a one-liner from a well known movie or game before adminishing the coup de grace. Yawn.

I think you can deduce where I fall on whether or not I like such sequences. Simply put, I don't. While not usually a deal breaker for me since it mostly happens at the end of the review (and thus easily skippable), I can't help but roll my eyes whenever it happens. I find them boring at best and aggravating at worst.

Now before someone brings it up, no, I could not do better. I lack the talent and skills necessary for such a thing. That's the thing, though; I know my limitations. It's like these reviewers are suffering from the George Lucas Syndrome: thanks to their success, there's nobody to rein them in anymore when they start coming up with crazy shit. I'm not saying that they should never mix things up (I love the Nostalgia Critic musical reviews), but they should keep it grounded in what they do best: parody and satire with a sprinkling of analysis.

Having said all that, I know I'm in the minority on this one. The fans must be enjoying these stunts, otherwise they wouldn't keep putting them in. That's where you come in. Do you like or dislike "epic" stories and boss battles for video reviews, and what is your reasoning?

 

[Queen Michael]

I like Linkara's storylines very much, and I absolutely love the anniversary specials from Channel Awesome. I actually enjoy the Nostalgia Critic's storylines most of the time, too. THe Catwoman one wasn't my cup of tea, but I usually dig the other ones.

But apart from those, it's not my thing.

 

[FalloutJack]

You left out indifference. I am not particularly affected one way or the other on this matter. If some people like it, then some people like it, and therefore it works for them as an entertainment venue.

 

[Raikas]

As long as they're titled/labelled in a way that makes it obvious that they're not regular reviews, I don't care - other people like them, so they might as well make the things, I just don't want to watch them myself.

Personally though, if I'm watching a reviewer's channel, it's because I'm looking for reviews, so I have zero interest in seeing them try to act out some random scenerio.

 

[takemeouttotheblack]

I think it depends what I'm watching the review for; if I want to know whether I should go to see/buy a film, then I watch MovieBob or Mark Kermode on the BBC, or read a review in a paper or on IMDB; they're often still entertaining, but I mainly want to get the information and then get out.

If I'm watching Nostalgia Critic or the like, then I'm doing it for the sake of entertainment, and for the most part, I find the stuff pretty entertaining, mainly because there's only so many times you can say something stinks before the entertainment value of watching someone get angry gets dull; I should know, I did a weekly film show for three years, and by the end was burned out like nothing else.

Long Story Short, yes, I like them generally, although it depends on the review.

 

[Sectan]

I like them in the "So bad it's good" sort of way. Spoony and The Guardian was full of tropes and 1 liners, but I think he was well aware of that when he was planning it out.

 

[necromanzer52]

I think they're ok from time to time, but I'd rather the person just stay on-topic. My biggest complaint with the nostalgia critic since he returned is that almost every single one of his reviews now contains some kind of a story that keeps interrupting the review. They aren't all bad (I loved the pearl harbour review). I just think it worked better when that only happened on special occasions.

 

[Something Amyss]

I've liked a couple of Linkara's, but most of them (even his) are pretty lame. I have absolutely no interest in them most of the time, and it annoys me that time that could be spent dealing with the content of the review is then spent on shitty greenscreen effects and attempts to play some internet reviewer as the hero.

 

[TheIceQueen]

The storyline stuff is generally why I never watch The Game Overthinker, despite being at least interested in hearing Bob's viewpoint.

They were also rather weird and disgusting when the AVGN did it.

If that's what they want to do, though, and that's what people want to see, I won't begrudge them that.

 

[captainballsack]

Topic inspired by the latest Spoony video review/riff of Final Fantasy XIII:

I like myself some snarky internet reviews from time to time. AVGN, Nostalgia Critic, Spoony, Linkara (to name a few), they all provide entertaining forays into the various subpar games, books and movies of the past few decades. They also have something else in common: they try to shoehorn in half-baked "epic" storylines and/or subplots that fall flat.

You know the drill. Their fictional, misanthropic reviewer persona suddenly becomes humanity's only hope against some evil being or power that's singled them out for some inexplicable reason. Cue the earth-shattering final battle that takes place in...their living room, complete with poorly choreographed fight moves and bad Photoshop particle effects. Bonus points if they lift a one-liner from a well known movie or game before adminishing the coup de grace. Yawn.

I think you can deduce where I fall on whether or not I like such sequences. Simply put, I don't. While not usually a deal breaker for me since it mostly happens at the end of the review (and thus easily skippable), I can't help but roll my eyes whenever it happens. I find them boring at best and aggravating at worst.

Now before someone brings it up, no, I could not do better. I lack the talent and skills necessary for such a thing. That's the thing, though; I know my limitations. It's like these reviewers are suffering from the George Lucas Syndrome: thanks to their success, there's nobody to rein them in anymore when they start coming up with crazy shit. I'm not saying that they should never mix things up (I love the Nostalgia Critic musical reviews), but they should keep it grounded in what they do best: parody and satire with a sprinkling of analysis.

Having said all that, I know I'm in the minority on this one. The fans must be enjoying these stunts, otherwise they wouldn't keep putting them in. That's where you come in. Do you like or dislike "epic" stories and boss battles for video reviews, and what is your reasoning?

This is what Jontron is about entirely, and he pulls it off magnificently, so I'm going with 'like.'

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

I...tolerate them, I guess you'd say most of the time. Like you mentioned the storyline bits mostly serve as more of a kind of intro/outro to the main bulk of the actual review so it's not too intrusive even if at times it can get a bit cringe-worthy and whilst I might have gotten the odd chuckle from a sketch here and there, I can't say I'd be crestfallen if most of these guys were to hang up the goofy costumes from this point forth.

 

[Ishal]

I've liked a couple of Linkara's, but most of them (even his) are pretty lame. I have absolutely no interest in them most of the time, and it annoys me that time that could be spent dealing with the content of the review is then spent on shitty greenscreen effects and attempts to play some internet reviewer as the hero.

This.

I think there is a distinct fine line between making your content entertaining and becoming an entertainer. I dislike the latter. If they want to be entertainers or artists then take off the critic hat and put on a beret.

I can't stand thematic stuff like that, yeah it can be funny at times but I think if they take it too far they should just go the extra mile.

 

[babinro]

Dislike

I can't think of one time where they did something outside of their schtick and I truly enjoyed it. This doesn't only apply to their 'epic' stuff but to all storylines as well. I've watched every episode of Atop the 4th wall and am bored until he gets to the comic review. Admittedly, I just skip to the review these days so I don't follow the story anymore.

For this reason I fully expect the AVGN movie to be amongst his absolute worst work. I intend to buy it in support of James Rolfe but I'd be surprised if it gets more than a couple laughs out of me. His 100th AVGN ROB video was difficult to sit through and I'm picturing the movie in that vein. The nerd is at his best when he makes things simple...Silver Surfer remains my favorite review of his to this day and I've never even played that game.

 

[TheEvilCheese]

I love JonTron's forays into the workings of Sonic Team.
But I don't watch the game overthinker because of exactly this.

If it appeals to my personal sense of humour yes, but generally find them quite annoying.

 

[Something Amyss]

I think there is a distinct fine line between making your content entertaining and becoming an entertainer. I dislike the latter. If they want to be entertainers or artists then take off the critic hat and put on a beret.

At the very least, stop wrapping it up in the reviews. "The world is ending! Quick! Let's review this movie/TV show/comic/game!"

 

[Something Amyss]

Don't like them, don't care for them, I think they detract from the videos.

I think they're an expression of their sadness for not being movie directors. Or something.

I often wonder if it's not a lack of confidence in their own work. Like, people don't care enough about so-and-so's reviews, so so-and-so feels the need to give them something else.

Then again, they're so frequently vanity projects that it could simply be a chance to pump their egos.

 

[MrBaskerville]

Nope, i hate it and i try to skip over it whenever it starts. While it's rarely as bad or as embarassing as Irate Gamer/ Game Overthinker i don't really think it ever works. It just doesn't seem to have any relevance and i don't care much for the shoddy effects and poor acting. The exception is Redlettermedias Half In The Bag (And Jontron), but that's only because it makes me laugh for the right reasons. Spoony's a funny guy, but i don't think his sketches work that well and same goes for Linkara and AVGN (except Linkara is never funny).

I get why one would include sketches as segues between different parts of the review, but i don't see how we ever reached the point where it was neccesary to include endless epic storylines. If it has nothing to do with the thing you are reviewing, why isn't it in a separate video? (Probably because it forces people to watch it^^). It all comes down to this: I like it if it makes me laugh and if it is kept short, unfortunately it's mostly terrible and unfunny. A lot of reviewers should know their limitations and if they want to make movies, they should probably make movies and keep it separate from their reviews.

 

[AnarchistFish]

I find most of these kinds of people unbearable anyway.

But yeah, those segments are especially bad.

 

[StriderShinryu]

I'm not a fan. If I'm watching a video for information on a game, then that's what I want. I don't want a stupid story or bad acting from an amateur comedian. Now, that doesn't mean I don't like comedy in my gaming videos. It does, however, mean that I want to come from the personality of the presenter(s) and not some extra garbage.