Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures Not Reading Analog Stick

He's gonna take y'all back to the past…

For years, James "Angry Video Game Nerd" Rolfe has suffered the worst that retro gaming could toss at him for the sake of your amusement. Why does he do information technology? Is he a masochist? Does the rage that burns inside with every sudden expiry and game-breaking bug fill him with purpose? Why does the pain requite him and then much power?

To know the Nerd, you lot have to become the Nerd. You tin't just motion-picture show yourself playing any ol' NES game, spout a few curse words, mail the poorly edited footage onto YouTube, then phone call it a day. It's non that simple. No, we must dive into the deepest corners of his psyche.

There was once a Z-form motion picture of sinister renown called MANOS: The Hands of Fate, which was recently translated into videogame form past FreakZone Games. AVGN show partner ScrewAttack knew that the simply fashion to do a Nerd game justice would be to assign development to a squad with experience making palatable the most unpalatable of media dreck. Only by folding pain over pleasure could we truly begin to sympathise.

Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (3DS, PC [reviewed], Wii U)
Developer: FreakZone Games
Publisher: ScrewAttack Games
Released: September 20, 2013 (PC) / 2014 (3DS, Wii U)
MSRP: $14.99
Rig: Intel Core i3-380M, 6GB of RAM, GeForce GT 425M, Windows 7 64-bit

The games that the Nerd typically plays fall under one of iii categories: otherwise decent games that feature relentless difficulty, boilerplate games with a number of very curious or backwards blueprint choices, and outright festering ass. The concluding group is his main claim to fame, just for an official Nerd game to work, it would take to draw inspiration from all 3 categories while at the same time being enjoyable plenty to play over prolonged periods.

In other words, FreakZone had to take shit and simultaneously make it not shit. Quite the paradox, but one that FreakZone achieved quite handily.

On the surface, Adventures is both an homage to and parody of the AVGN web series. The Nerd and his friends are sucked into the television and transported to Game Land, divided into eight levels inspired by the show'due south many themes. At that place is "Assholevania," a send-up of James Rolfe's own love for the Castlevania franchsie; "Beat It & Eat It," a puerile domain filled with the sights and sounds of Atari porn software like Custer'due south Revenge; "Blizzard of Balls," a wintry hell born out of the AVGN Christmas specials; and others.

Long-time Nerd fans volition annotation many nods and Easter eggs to the show's history in everything from the enemies and items to the obstacles and backgrounds. Y'all consume Rolling Stone to refill wellness and acquire tokens to summon the Glitch Gremlin or Super Mecha Death Christ. You fly atop the board from Silver Surfer, go toe-to-toe with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and detect Shit Pickle hiding in various locations. Then there's the final stage, a foul monument to one of the Nerd's most despised game companies.

Several classic Nintendo games are also paid tribute. In the introductory level, you lot get instructed by Naggi, the greenish-hued cousin of Ocarina of Fourth dimension'due south Navi, much to the Nerd'southward displeasure. The disappearing blocks from Mega Homo and the behemothic goblin heads from Air Man's phase in Mega Man 2 feature prominently, as does Doom's Cacodemon, remade out of feces and appropriately dubbed "Cacademon." Even FreakZone'south own MANOS is best-selling with a dominate boxing pulled straight from that title.

Simply what really gives Adventures the AVGN affect is the running commentary. Every so oft, the Nerd volition make some kind of rant or observation, although the fact that it's text-based makes it hard to read during particularly harrowing platforming segments. Whenever you lot die, the Nerd volition spout one of his famous curse-laden analogies (e.thousand. "This game is rotten fungus coming out of a badger's sphincter!") with keywords randomly generated from a pool of submissions from the game'southward Facebook page. The current pool isn't all that large, thus many phrases are repeated; mayhap ScrewAttack volition proceed to update the game with expanded word banks.

All the references and potty humor in the world wouldn't be enough if the cadre game wasn't compelling. Thankfully, there is a solid quest beneath the surface dressing that even those completely unfamiliar with the Nerd's exploits would exist able to savor.

If you happened to have played MANOS, y'all'll notice that Adventures feels like an extension of that, with many shared elements and environmental hazards — I wouldn't consider that a knock against this game, though. There's a classic "Nintendo hard" degree of challenge, but it'due south tempered by very solid controls and plenty checkpoints and beer bottles to carry you towards the boss. Oh, and it'due south got a pretty bangin' soundtrack to keep your fighting spirit high!

Y'all begin the game every bit the Nerd with a multi-directional NES Zapper for a weapon, and careful searching will atomic number 82 you lot to three additional party members — Guitar Guy, who can run fast and shoot wave beams through walls; Mike, with a super high jump and the ability to spot destructible walls and invisible platforms; and Bullshit Man, who can double jump and lob actress powerful lumps of poo. Only past swapping characters on the fly and using their abilities can y'all reach formerly inaccessible areas filled with one-ups, health, and weapon upgrades. You may fifty-fifty spot a few NPC cameos, like brentalfloss, Egoraptor, and our very own Jim Sterling and Mr. Destructoid!

Every obstacle in the game operates on very simple patterns that tin can exist observed from a distance before being approached. Spikes that emerge from the flooring? Burn pillars or laser turrets that trigger at regular intervals? Maces that circle the bricks they are chained to? Just count the seconds and time your progress. Your mistakes are entirely your own.

Naturally, the last level throws everything plus the kitchen sink at you at one time, but that's what terminal levels are supposed to practice.

Nonetheless, there is i persistent obstacle — a skull-faced block that causes instant decease upon touching — that caused me great grief. Such blocks announced in clusters and typically blink in and out with the same rhythm as the disappearing blocks. They are everywhere, in every single level without fail, even so they always feel completely out of place. I hateful, death blocks that kill you with a mere graze? What's up with that?

In a manner, decease blocks are a quick and easy way to crash-land up a phase's difficulty without the need to create unique environmental hazards. Sounds rather creatively bereft, no? But if you were the Nerd, wouldn't such an obstacle become the focus of your rage and frustration, the breaking point afterwards which righteous obscenities starting time flowing like wine? If the designers' goal was to put you in the Nerd's shoes, such an evil element would be necessary to trigger that transformation.

Adventures is no insurmountable wall, but neither is it a welcome carriage. On Normal mode, you are given 30 lives and unlimited continues, which should allow anyone with enough drive to at least go far to the concluding boss within a couple of hours — whether yous tin can actually beat the final boss is another affair, the god-modding bounder. Beyond that are even tougher difficulty modes that prevent saving between levels and reduce your amount or wellness and retries.

As a pseudo NES-era throwback, information technology nails the conscientious residue between cruel and inviting. As a tribute to the Nerd, it does a decent job covering his entire career, although repetitive dialog lessens the humorous affect on repeated playthroughs. As an authentic Nerd "experience"… well… your mileage may vary, but I'd similar to think information technology is.

Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures is not a cowa-fucking-piece-of-dog-shit, that's for sure!

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Source: https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/review-angry-video-game-nerd-adventures/

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