- Classic Game Room
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Classic Game Room (commonly abbreviated CGR) is a video game review show produced, directed, edited and hosted by Mark L. Bussler of Inecom, LLC. The show reviews both retro and modern video games and broadcasts its reviews via video-sharing website YouTube, under the screen name 'InecomCompany', named after Inecom, LLC. The company also hosts the CGR website, www.ClassicGameRoom.com. Classic Game Room has its own Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Contents
History
Originally titled The Game Room and presented by Mark Bussler and David Crosson, it was the first professional video game review show on the Internet. Founded by Bussler, it launched on November 7, 1999 on the internet startup website FromUSAlive,[1] with the review of Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions (erroneously called "Metal Gear VR Missions" in the review) and Driver for the PlayStation.[2]
At first, the presenters planned to review mainly then-modern games, but after a segment on older games proved to be popular, the show began reviewing earlier titles. The show was run on a tight US$50 budget, so improvised special effects were used.[3] However, the low-budget nature of the show lead to slow episode production rates, and when revenue failed to cover the costs of running the show, The Game Room was canceled on October 23, 2000.[1][4] Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 for the Sega Dreamcast was the last game to be reviewed on the show.[4]
The show returned as Classic Game Room HD (HD standing for Heavy Duty according to Bussler)[5] on February 20, 2008, now only hosted by Mark Bussler. Zaxxon for the Atari 2600 was the first video game reviewed under the new guise,[6] and the first six reviews for the new Classic Game Room were all for the Atari 2600 console. The channel's first uploaded video was not the Zaxxon review, but reruns of well received original Game Room reviews. The first video uploaded on the channel was the review of Robotron 64 for the Nintendo 64, with a small review of Robotron X for the PlayStation, originally posted online on August 7, 2000.[7] Mark Bussler also represented Classic Game Room at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2010 and 2011.
CGR has held a yearly top-10 games show since 2009. However, not all the games ranked in the top-10 games of the year show are from that specific year (i.e., Cosmic Carnage was 2010's No. 2 game of the year, but it was released in North America in 1995). CGR's 2009 game of the year was The Dark Spire for the Nintendo DS from Success and Atlus. CGR's 2010 game of the year was Vanquish for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 from Platinum Games and Sega.
Show
Episodes of the show are produced on a daily basis. As of October 9th, 2011, there were 2,164 videos uploaded on the Classic Game Room YouTube channel.
Episodes of the show generally last from 3 minutes to 5 minutes, however, some episodes have been split into multiple parts, such as the review of Forza Motorsport 3 for the Xbox 360, which was divided into two segments. Some are also divided into multiple segments, such as Musha for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, which was divided into seven parts.[8] Classic Game Room has also broadcast a number of video game trailers; for example, the trailer of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for the PlayStation Portable, however, because fans complained, the trailers were moved off the main channel and onto another related channel, CGR Trailers.
CGR Undertow and other spin-offs
On May 6, 2010, video games journalist Derek D. Buck joined Bussler in narrating video reviews on Classic Game Room. His first was a review of Block Party for the Nintendo Wii.[9] The stylistic differences in his reviews from Bussler's led to the launch of a spin-off channel on May 10, 2010, spearheaded by Derek and entitled CGR Undertow. Since its debut, it has established its own tone and serves as a more serious complement to the humor of the main Classic Game Room show. He often reviews games in the context of gaming industry trends, and his commentary focuses on everything from game design to philosophy.[10][11] Derek D. Buck has worked in games journalism since 2007.
CGR Undertow has also been a launch pad for new Classic Game Room talent. Video games journalist Ray Carsillo joined on September 9, 2010.[12] In addition to doing game reviews, he also starred in video game news reports on CGR Undertow until launching another new channel, CGR News, specifically used for daily news coverage on December 1, 2010. He left in January 2011, though, and CGR News was cancelled soon after. The show returned on May 24, 2011, with a new host, Angela.[13] CGR Retro News, also hosted by Angela, has also been posted on the main CGR channel. On July 20, Angela left CGR News and was replaced by new host Mandi. After the hosting change, CGR Retro News was axed.
Derek D. Buck is joined at CGR Undertow by Kevin Lind, who edits video content and also narrates video reviews. On January 4, 2011, Kevin began contributing to another Classic Game Room channel, CGR Gameplay, which provides players level-by-level walkthroughs for difficult video games. The first game to be featured on CGR Gameplay was Contra for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Kevin primarily reviews games from the NES and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. He also handles most packaging reviews for Undertow.
In July 2011, Derek narrated a two-part semi-documentary on the "rise and fall" of the "Capcom 5", about Resident Evil 4, Killer 7, Viewtiful Joe, PN 03 and Dead Phoenix, five games developed and produced by Capcom and (originally) published exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube. It tells the story about how the Capcom 5 failed to meet their expectations, describes the fate of each game and the repercussions between Capcom and Nintendo.
In early 2011, CGR Undertow added three new reviewers: Jen Shaffer, who mostly reviews indie video games, downloadable titles on the Xbox Live Arcade and more mainstream games, such as L.A. Noire, Eric Mandel, who mostly reviews sports games but occasionally reviews non-sports PlayStation 1 games, and Amanda Renzelman, who reviews mainstream titles, such as first-person shooters. Amanda, however, soon left CGR Undertow to take a break and focus on college classes. On June 25, Gabe Gurwin made his debut, and reviewed Blinx: The Time Sweeper for the original Xbox. He had previously done a walkthrough on CGR Gameplay for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. TJ was later added, with his first review being posted on July 12. TJ primarily reviews Japanese games, though he has reviewed western games, such as SSX Tricky. On November 20, Ashton made his debut with a review of Zombie Farm. Also on November 20, Jim made his debut with a review of Infamous: Festival of Blood.
On July 25, 2010, a channel dedicated to trailers of upcoming video games, CGR Trailers, was launched. This was followed by the launch of CGR Pinball, a channel dedicated to pinball tutorials, on March 19, 2011, and CGR Garage, a channel dedicated to reviewing toy cars, such as Hot Wheels and Matchbox, launched on May 25, 2011, after it became a marginally well received feature on the original CGR channel. CGR Overboard launched on June 28, 2011. A preview of the Overboard 10-part review of Minecraft was featured on the main CGR channel on July 15, 2011. On Overboard, reviews included indie games, downloadable games from Steam and the Xbox Live Arcade and lesser-known PC and console titles, in addition to more mainstream games, such as Fear 3. Amanda, who left CGR Undertow in June 2011, returned to CGR on CGR Overboard on August 11, 2011. Shortly after Jen left CGR on August 15, 2011. On August 22, 2011, Derek from Undertow announced that iOS reviews would be moved from Undertow to Overboard. Since it's inception, PC game reviews have been a staple of Overboard. Eric now contributes to CGRoverboard as well as CGRundertow.[14][15]
In early 2011, Bussler launched "Classic Toy Room" as part of the main channel. It is three-to-five minute long reviews of toys, originally reviewing toy cars, but later other toys, such as action figures. The reviews of action figures were originally video game-related, but evolved into non-video game toy reviews.
On June 30, 2011, Bussler launched CGR Macro, as part of the main channel. It is three-to-five minute long reviews of specific levels from games, such as the Gran Turismo series, Dirt 3 and Defense Grid Gold. He later expanded Macro to iRacing, an obscure PC racing simulation, and the Sega Saturn's Virtua Racing, among others.
On September 11, 2011, new reviewer Ryan was added to the CGRUndertow Team. His first review was on Ratchet and Clank for the PS2. September 11 was also the last review for Kevin on CGR Undertow. His last review, Sega Genesis 3, was posted on that day.
In late September 2011, Bussler announced the closing of CGR Overboard, CGR News, and CGR Gameplay. The news was met with overbearing amounts of criticism from fans saying the closings were not the right move.
Fictional creations
Classic Game Room has created a number of fictional characters during the series, including Wind Squid, Dr. 8-Ball and Lord Karnage.
Wind Squid, a squid that flies through space, first received a mention in the review of Fire Shark for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.[16] The squid was also featured as an animated character and comic book character in the short-lived Wind Squid videos. Mark frequently names characters in the reviews after the character, for example in the review of EverQuest II for PC. Classic Game Room's official forums is also named after Wind Squid being named "Wind Squid Pub". On August 30, 2011, after a long hiatus, Bussler announced that Wind Squid was returning in the form of an audio-comic book on his own YouTube channel, named WindSquid.[17][18]
Dr. 8-Ball, an evil, green-skinned character, was first featured in the Sims 3 review. Dr. 8-Ball "Is an evil genius, hot-headed, kleptomaniac, mean spirited son of a bitch who's out to destroy the world." Bussler goes onto say that "His lifetime goal is to become emperor of evil, and he likes hot dogs." Another Sims 3 character was 'Transar', a regular character who's lifetime goal was to attain "Lots of money." He was dropped in favor of Dr. 8-Ball mid-review. Dr. 8-Ball appeared as Bussler's character in the review for Dragon Age: Origins. However, Bussler says later in the review that this Dr. 8-Ball is the "poorer half cousin of the actual Dr. 8-Ball from the Sims 3 review." Another character created during the Dragon Age: Origins review was RoboStella, the dog companion of Dr. 8-Ball in-game. Stella is the name of Bussler's dog in real life, and makes occasional appearances in reviews, particularly in reviews of video game controllers, and other video game related paraphernalia, as well as a short series called "Viral Dog".
Heyzoos the Coked Up Chicken appeared in the "2010 Games of the Year" episode. He is a chicken puppet on Bussler's hand, usually screams whatever he says, and is addicted to Coca-Cola (as opposed to cocaine, which the term 'Coked Up' originated from). He eventually got his own episode of the show, depicting him auditioning for the role as the host of the Games of 2010 show. He is displayed as a parody of celebrities and incredibly high maintenance, even asking for an apology letter from CGR in "three different languages" after someone talked too Heyzoos without Heyzoos talking to them first.
Lord Karnage first appeared in the review of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, as a "silicon-based lifeform". Lord Karnage is a very good and violent golfer who "plays well...while he's naked." Lord Karnage also had to "register his hair as a lethal weapon." Bussler also "predicted" that the next EA Sports PGA Tour game would be named after Lord Karnage (which is, of course, not true). Lord Karnage can also "...cheer and dance like a little girl, because people fear him." He was also given an award in-game "...just so he would not freak out and kill anybody..." You also cannot "Look at Lord Karnage in a mirror on Tuesdays." Bussler said that the reason why he didn't play real golf was because "If Lord Karnage knew I was besmirching his game, he would feed me to his robotic alligators named Charlie 1 through 7." Bussler goes on to say that "When Lord Karnage is angered, the speed of light decreases." Lord Karnage also "owns a collection of camels named after The Smurfs [whose names] are spelled backward..his favorite camel is 'Emurg', who's rumored to be the most cheerful." If Lord Karnage isn't complimented regularly, "...someone dies."[19] He later appeared in the review of Madden NFL 11, where he quarterbacked a fictional team from the fictional town of Karnageville, Hawaii, of which he is also mayor. The team, the Karnageville Vektrekz, has players who, according to Bussler, "...were grown in vats." The players were also "...genetically enhanced...[and] named after Japanese space ship shooting games." In October 2010, Lord Karnage appeared again in the NHL 11 review for a team of Bussler's creation from the NHL 10 review, the Moosejaw Sorcerers. In this installment, Lord Karnage was banned by the NHL, so Lord Karnage "banned the league", and renamed it the "Notworthyofbeingintheprescenceoflordkarnage Hockey League". Bussler further extends Lord Karnage's arc by calling him an "omnipotent deity who keeps himself busy by playing sports...and destroying worlds." Lord Karnage is later referenced in the review for Word Zapper for the Atari 2600, saying that Lord Karnage has "an army of wind-powered squids..." a clear reference to another character in the series, Wind Squid.[20] Later during the Word Zapper review, a random sequence of letters appeared on screen, XPGCRF. Bussler later says that it's actually the name of Lord Karnage's "secret lover".
Another character was Edit-Station 1, a Textronix 4010-1 computer, who fictionally edits the show. He was adopted by Classic Game Room for the purpose of completing the DVD movie Classic Game Room: The Rise and Fall of the Internet's Greatest Review Show.[21] Edit-Station 1 did a good job on editing the film but "committed suicide" when a different editing system had to be used to add color to the finished product.[21] Later, he got his own show [22] and got to review Halo 3 alongside Ms. Pac Man before being arrested for cow tipping. Edit-Station 1 subsequently tried to flee to Canada but went missing.[23] He managed to reunite with Bussler and is now hiding from the authorities.[24]
The show also featured invented video games, Space Gar and its sequel Space Gar 2 (Ms. Space Gar), in 3 episodes.[25]
Fictionally, the show is produced inside an underwater base called A.L.F.A.R. (Aquatatic Laboratories For Awesome Reviews). It is hundreds of feet below the surface, and is reinforced by steel and concrete. They use the base to produce the show and hide Edit-Station 1 from the authorities. [24] CGR Undertow is also fictionally produced from A.L.F.A.R., though the reviewers on Undertow call it the "Underwater Base".
During the running of the original Game Room, there was a web comic series called Agent 0040oz (a James Bond parody). The comic first appeared in Mark Bussler's student newspaper in 1996, and was published as a full length comic online in 2000. The name also appeared in an original Game Room episode, reviewing Colin McRae Rally for the PlayStation 1, as the name of the user-created driver in the game.[26] Bussler has no plans to revive this series at present.
DVD
A film, Classic Game Room - The Rise and Fall of the Internet's Greatest Video Game Review Show was released on August 28, 2007, on DVD. It is 100 minutes long and featured footage from a number of the original reviews and commentary from Bussler and Crosson. The film was directed by Mark Bussler.[1]
Reception
Since the relaunch, Classic Game Room has been a success. On June 2, 2011, Classic Game Room's YouTube channel was exactly 154,075 subscribers, and by July 9, 2011, CGR had 162,894 subscribers. Also as of June 2, 2011, the most viewed video on their channel, the Ben 10 Alien Force review, has over 40,000,000 views.
References
- ^ a b c Mark Bussler (2007). Classic Game Room: The rise and... (DVD). Inecom LLC..
- ^ Classic Game Room - METAL GEAR VR MISSIONS
- ^ Sega-16.com - Interview: Mark Bussler at the Wayback Machine (archived May 1, 2008)
- ^ a b Projectgames.com at the Wayback Machine (archived March 2, 2001)
- ^ Behind the Scenes: Panasonic DVC Pro Deck
- ^ ZAXXON Review
- ^ Robotron 2084 Review
- ^ Musha Review Part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- ^ Block Party Review
- ^ Derek on Game Design
- ^ Derek on Philosophy
- ^ CGR News - DUKE NUKEM RETURNS!!
- ^ CGR News New News - News Returns!
- ^ This review of Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony is by Eric on CGR Overboard.
- ^ This review of Terraria is by Eric, and is on Overboard.
- ^ Fire Shark Review
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/user/InecomCompany#p/u/2/XilWSq_bA74
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/WindSquid
- ^ Tiger Woods PGA tour 11 Review
- ^ Word Zapper Review
- ^ a b Edit-Station 1 Saga Part: 1 2
- ^ Edit Station 1 Show - Ep. 1
- ^ Classic Game Room 2.0
- ^ a b UPDATE - May 4, 2010. Underwater!
- ^ Space Gar Trailer 1 2
- ^ Colin McRae Rally Review
External links
Categories:- 2008 establishments
- Video game review websites
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