The Angry Video Game Nerd
The Angry Video Game Nerd (abbreviated AVGN or The Nerd and formerly, Angry Nintendo Nerd), is the main character and title of a series of farcical retro-gaming video reviews created by and starring James Rolfe (born July 10, 1980). The show generally revolves around retro game reviews that involve bitter rants against games he deems to be of particularly low-quality or poor design. Such games are often associated with movie tie-ins.
The series began as a feature on YouTube, and later joined ScrewAttack Entertainment, which would later have three of its features, including the AVGN, transferred to GameTrailers exclusively. The show, formerly known as The Angry Nintendo Nerd, was renamed because the show started reviewing games on other consoles, and also to prevent any trademark issues with Nintendo.
The Nerd is a short-tempered and foul-mouthed video game fanatic. He derives comic appeal from excessive and inventive use of profanity, frequent displays of explicit gestures, and a habitual consumption of beer (Rolling Rock). A particular characteristic, which has become something of a trademark of his character, is for him to describe, in great detail, extremely repulsive and painful, usually firmly scatological acts, and to claim that he would rather endure them than to play the game that he is reviewing. Varying amounts of physical comedy are mixed into the verbal abuses. Many of his longer episodes also feature storylines to them, and sometimes the Nerd is literally joined by some of the characters from the games and media he reviews.
James also invents and creates a variety of characters to act with or use as companions in his episodes. Super-Mecha-Death Christ, a powerful superweapon which first appeared in Cinemassacre's Wizard of Oz 3: Dorothy goes to Hell, uses Mechagodzilla's chest laser and M.O.G.U.E.R.A.'s chest maser as part of his attacks.
In 2009, the Nerd played Godzilla: Monster of Monsters, Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters, Super Godzilla, Godzilla: Kaiju Daikessen, and the Gameboy Godzilla. He then played Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, Godzilla: Save the Earth and Godzilla: Unleashed. Amazed at the massive difference in quality of the games, he dropped an almighty f-bomb, and then proceeded to swipe SNES and Super Famicom games off his shelves while emitting Godzilla's roar. Then, his final response was to say "I was born too ****ing early!"
The following year, in his Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Revisited episode, he remarks: "Did you know that this game was created by Toho, the company that made the Godzilla films? No wonder Godzilla's been pissed off lately!", making reference to Toho's active role in video games throughout the 1980s and 90s.
He has also reviewed every Godzilla movie, including the 1998 film in a chain of videos called the Godzillathon. The reviews can be seen here.
In 2013, he and his close friend, Mike Matei, decided to review Godzilla: Unleashed on an episode of James and Mike Mondays, and were very positive about its gameplay, although James stated that the trilogy of 3D Godzilla games had the same style of gameplay. They also talked about the then-upcoming 2014 film throughout most of the review.
In many of his videos, several Godzilla toys and a poster can be seen in the background, including a 1-foot-tall Godzilla figure which he briefly showed off in one of his Godzillathon episodes.
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