Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (Wii U)

NERD_BOXI hate to admit it, but I have to say that I’m a little jealous of these game reviewers who have YoutTube channels.  Many have achieved quite a bit of notoriety and fame, and are taking the E3 press pass spots I used to be able to get with ease.  I worked hard in college getting a degree that would help me do things like this, and even got a good start writing for The Dallas Morning News.  But things change and life happens, you know.  I guess I could figure out how to do a YouTube channel myself, but with a full-time job and other commitments, plus a lack of time, materials, and knowhow, it doesn’t seem likely.  I still enjoy writing reviews and don’t plan to stop anytime soon and I really love writing here at GamerDad, but I’m only human and can’t help but be a little jealous at these upstarts.  And to make matters worse, now one of the more prolific long-time YouTube reviewers is getting his own game!  Originally on Steam, now you can download Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures on the Nintendo eShop for Wii U!

In the Angry Video Game Nerd video series, a gaming enthusiast reviews several old, retro titles and complains about how bad or hard they are.  Many of his videos have insightful commentary on how poor game design can ruin an experience, and shows us that many of the classics we may have high regard for aren’t quite as good as what we remember.  Unfortunately, the videos are also littered with rampant cursing and other adult humor, so they are for grown-ups only.

The Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures title on Wii U is the same way.  It’s a great parody of the hard games in the 8-bit era, but it’s filled with so much mature content that only adults should play it.  In the game, you play as the title character, who has been sucked into a bad game along with his friends, and now he must fight to escape.  Armed with what looks like a NES Zapper and a Power Glove, the Nerd stars in his very own run and gun 2-D platformer.  He can shoot in 8 directions as well as nab power-ups, many of which are references to gags in the videos.  There are plenty of secrets to unlock as well, such as hidden characters you can switch to!

After the initial area, you can choose from 8 stages in any order you please.  These levels are great parodies of classic 8-bit titles.  There is a Castlevania-like stage, a colorful candy coated romp out of a Kirby or Mario game, and even a future level reminiscent of Mega Man (complete with those annoying disappearing platforms and insta-death beams).  Although I will say the levels based on the legendary Atari 2600 porn games was a little TOO much.  Yuck!

The game is meant to be super-hard and frustrating, but with three difficulty levels, even I could finish all 8 levels with unlimited tries and plenty of ‘toaster’ checkpoints.  I still couldn’t get past the final stage, though.  While the game has solid play control and plenty of fun parodies and catchy 8-bit tunes, only adults who remember these titles or are fans of the Angry Video Game Nerd videos will get full enjoyment out of this.

NERD_SCREEN

Kid Factor:

Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures is rated M for Mature with ESRB descriptors of Violence, Blood, Suggestive Themes, Nudity, Strong Language, and Use of Alcohol.  When you shoot enemies or die yourself, lots of 8-bit blood and goes explodes all over the place.  Your life is represented by bottles of beer, and you collect more to refill when you get hit.  There is lots of bad language in the text, and even when you first turn on the game, you’re greeted by the F-word right away.  There is also an entire level based on the legendary Atari 2600 porn games (yes they did exist, look them up if you are a grown-up).  This level has very blocky depictions of breasts and other naked body parts, and while you can’t really tell what they are supposed to be, it’s certainly implied.  This isn’t really a BAD game per se, but it should only be played by adults only.

Hey parents, when I went to PAX South, I attended a Gamer Parenting panel and one of the topics was which YouTube videos were safe for kids to watch.  While I don’t know of many myself, I do know of one YouTube reviewer who doesn’t curse at all and his videos are pretty funny (but I’m still jealous).  So next time you’re on YouTube and your kids want to watch gaming videos, look up “Peanut Butter Gamer” and see if that would be OK for your kids to view.

Now I’m starting to think about if I had my own game where I had the starring role, what kind of game would it be?  My brother Jeff said it should be a point-and-click adventure where I “Blue Skaddo” in and out of various games, but I don’t know.  What kind of game do you think I would be in?  If you were in a game, what kind of game would it be?  Let me know in the comments section!  –Cary

One Response to “Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (Wii U)”

  1. Not sure of videogame channels in general, but the only Minecraft channel my young boys are allowed to watch is “PopularMMOs”.. A guy and girl who comment on things and fiddle around in Minecraft in a fairly amusing way. Worst language is “Oh my god!” – which happens a lot, but otherwise is quite clean.

Discussion Area - Leave a Comment




Tired of typing this out each time? Register as a subscriber!