Who is Mega64?
Mega64
What would video game characters look like in real life? What if the characters just went around in public doing their business as they did in their games? In Mega64’s comedy skits they take those ideas and capture how the public reacts to them through hidden cameras. Mega64’s actors don’t just wear costumes but actually give specific performances, acting out what the characters do in their video games, like rapping as Parappa the Rapper or moving about quietly in stealth mode as Altair in Assasin’s Creed. The actors deliver some funny bold performances, especially when they play as the dancers from Elite Beat Agents, performing the video game moves right in front of strangers. For their skits, folks usually stare for a while, tell them to go away, or get real irritated if they are being bothered.
Playing the prince in Katamari Damacy, one of Mega64’s guys dresses up in a tight green suit rolling around a ball in the business areas and on a baseball field as kids stare and wonder just what the heck is going on. One guy gets pretty upset about this strange man and his ball that he’s asked to leave the field immediately.
That’s pretty much what many of Mega64’s comedy skits are: watching people react when they see a real live version of a video game character quoting lines or performing actions straight from their game. Playing the shopkeeper in Resident Evil 4 is probably Mega64’s best skit, as he walks outside near a pizza restaurant quoting to people lines straight from the game: “What are you buying?”, “What are you selling?”, “Got lots of good things on sale stranger.” It’s a very entertaining skit since the costume and voice was very accurate.
Mega64 has been a success story in the online world of comedy, with skits already made for Ubisoft, MTV, Spike TV, and GameTap.
The Angry Video Game Nerd
James Rolfe is The Angry Video Game Nerd, a reviewer of awful old school games (Shaq-Fu, Superman 64, The Simpsons), consoles, (Sega 32x, Atari 5200, Sega CD), and accessories (Power Glove). His knowledge and insight on retro games gives him credibility, but his brand of humor will never get him a job as a reviewer for Gamespot or IGN. You’ll know why once you see his series of video reviews on Youtube.
Sitting on his couch, The Angry Video Game Nerd is usually swearing and drinking beer while reviewing another terrible game from the old school days. He’s angry mostly because the games are downright frustrating. When he reviews Back to the Future for the NES, he wonders why avoiding bees, hula girls, and sewer holes has anything to do with what the films were about. The humor comes when he makes a good point about how a bad a game is while using his brand of inventive profanity and physical comedy. While enduring the torture of reviewing Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout for the NES, The Video Game Nerd takes a few breaks beating the living daylights out of a real life Bugs Bunny who stumbles into his home. A game or console can be so terrible he might be tempted to destroy the thing altogether, as he did by blowing up one item with explosives. Plain goofy, Looney Tunes, SNL style comedy. Thanks to these informative and entertaining reviews from The Angry Video Game Nerd, even though he doesn’t enjoy the job sometimes, he’s willing to suffer for our sake so we can keep ourselves away from those awful games.
Red vs Blue
Anyone who has played the Halo games should feel right at home with show Red vs Blue. The series revolves around the lives of two teams (Red and Blue) of Halo troopers battling for a box canyon in the middle of nowhere. Thanks to the wonderful voice actors, these soldiers are funny to watch as they debate and argue with their teammates on the strategies for taking over the box canyon. Besides the funny dialogue, there is still some phycial comedy and action as these guys ride in vehicles and blow each other up.
The show is also a parody on First-Person-Shooters, gaming culture, and anything geek related. In one episode two soldiers debate which of the three current consoles is the best, as topics range from how much the Wii sucks, to why the Xbox 360 is superior to the PS3. You think a web show featuring Halo soldiers would be more about action, but Red vs Blue actually has a fair amount of storytelling, satire, and references to pop culture.
