The Irate Gamer

The Irate Gamer is seriously one of the worst gamers on the internet, and in real life. I wouldn't have a problem with Irate Gamer but he chooses so many bad choices and that makes him bad for the good reasons. He wants to copy James Rolfe's identity, use it in a corny way, and make his own show cashing in "The Angry Video Game Nerd". It's like The Asylum taking a hit block buster, raping it, and turning it into a special FX fest with poor acting. The special FX in here aren't so special as it weren't you, gamers. The physics in Chris's world don't apply. Now on to the rant on the Irate Hack! He is, you know what that means, not funny. That one joke he made in his ROB the Robot review, was one of the worst jokes in existence. Don't get me started with his other jokes, they're as corny as you think. He is also a very bad actor, and I mean very bad. His friends give out terrible roles as well. Well, he only has little friends, that's why the additional characters are all played by him. He isn't so irate, he just makes these faces like he's taking the biggest dump in his life, and oh boy, overacting. Gotta add the over acting! His research is as thick as his acting, I can't explain it, and I must say that I'm disappointed that this hack is still alive!

Now, when I write a review, I like to write a positive and negative paragraph...There is no way I can do this on this review. So I guess this interview will be only two paragraphs, the introduction and what is bad. This is because there is no good that comes to mind when I think of the Irate Gamer.

The show, if you can call it that, is nothing but a shameless knock off of the "Angry Video Game Nerd". Even with that aside, the show is without a doubt thoughtless and horrendous. The jokes are predictable and dull, the information is downright inaccurate at some points, and the production is half hearted. To conclude, this show is to the AVGN what Turkish Star Wars is to Star Wars.

Whether you see him as a AVGN knock-off (which he was by his own admission) or as the underdog funny-man of YouTube, you have to hand it to Chris Bores for being one of the veterans from the early days of online comedy reviewing to have lasted as long as he has. But with this in mind, is the show any good? Even taking into account Bores' low-fi, DIY YouTube heritage, the "classic" episodes have not aged well and while in the later years, Bores began to develop the show with more characters and After Effects, the quality overall is pretty underwhelming.

Chris Bore has always come off as a forced, frat-boy version of the AVGN character. His comedic range as a writer is limited it is sometimes mildly-entertaining in the same corny way that weird uncle can be at Christmas parties (as with his Woody Allen-eqse Ronnie The Skeleton). But like that uncle after a few to many drinks, it gets old really fast.

There is an extreme controversy that has leaped to the forefront of internet culture over the past few years. Pertaining to web-critic Chris Bores, a man better known by the title of "The Irate Gamer."

For some background, "The Irate Gamer" is a series in which Bores appears in character, and "reviews" video-games. Often games that are considered too difficult, of a poor quality, or flawed in some way. Within the context of the series, Bores is a short-tempered man, who will eventually reach such a point of frustration, he will begin to rage (becoming, as the title implies, irate), generally culminating in a flurry of insults using all sorts of colorful language that IMDb will definitely not let me repeat.

The series also features a number of running gags, secondary characters and other assorted elements to keep the material fresh.

That's a fundamentally solid set-up for what promises to be a good, fun series. Which is where the controversy comes in- Bores wasn't the first person to do this. And in fact, much of Bores' shtick is heavily inspired by (if not outright plagiarized from) the well-known internet critic "The Angry Video Game Nerd." (created and portrayed by James Rolfe.) Bores has even gone so far as to admit that the "Nerd" was a heavy inspiration for his character. (Though he has since attempted to deny this) And many rightfully feel Bores has been shameless in stealing material from Rolfe's series. (As I said above, he's borderline plagiarized Rolfe's material on several occasion) And this has lead to a lot of bad blood and extreme backlash between Bores and the numerous individuals online who view his content. And it is an issue that will likely remain controversial for years to come.

But I'm going to attempt to remain neutral on this issue, and give my thoughts on "The Irate Gamer" without factoring in this ongoing controversy. And it's unfortunate, but even beyond the controversy, I don't believe there is much to like here.

Bores just isn't charismatic or likable enough in his delivery or look for this sort-of material. Nor is there enough of a wit to his writing.

I really hate to use these words (as I don't want to appear mean), but Bores comes across as far too awkward and forced when he's on-screen, and his look and general demeanor don't quite fit with what he's going for. You never really buy the idea that he's becoming angry. And you definitely do not buy the idea that he really means what he is saying. He has too much of a sort-of dopey "everyman" feel to him, and he just cannot emote the anger he is going for. While his heart may be in the material, you just can't feel it. I don't think this is necessarily Bores fault. Some people just cannot pull off certain types of material. But by attempting to force it, Bores makes the episodes almost hard to sit through, because it feels too much like a performance. It's unnatural.

Adding to that, Bores has also exhibited a degree of selfishness and spitefulness in the series several times. Even becoming sort-of a bully to people who do not like him. And it's not in the context of his character. It's clearly a bit of narcissism on his part coming through in his writing. I've watched quite a few of his episodes out of curiosity, and I was shocked by the pettiness he displayed at times. Dismissing everyone else. Being incredibly mean-spirited. Even throwing rather nasty "Easter Eggs" into at least one video that take subtle swipes at the "Angry Video Game Nerd." (Despite the fact that Bores has taken his material in the past.) I can be accepting of Bores being un-charismatic, because that's not necessarily his fault. But to become so spiteful at times is uncalled for and I have a much harder time forgiving that.

The writing leaves much to be called for. Bores doesn't seem to necessarily understand the art of writing jokes. Or how to string together sentences or cuss-word-loaded exclamations in an amusing fashion. Bores has tried to introduce narratives to his reviews, but I find that they are ill-structured, and often feel a bit meandering and underdeveloped. The humor is far too random, and includes many moments that will leave the audience scratching their heads.

While he will sometimes bring up valid points, and even deliver occasional good, original content, I find that his pattern of consistent sub-par writing, his lack of presence on-screen and his occasional attitude problems rob too much of any potential likability and watchability he might have otherwise had. His episodes that do work are too few and too far between.

And I cannot help but interject that the clear stealing of material from other internet critics (obviously most notably James Rolfe) is a huge problem.

I am giving "The Irate Gamer" a 2 out of 10. I don't believe he's quite as bad as he has been made out to be, but I still find his work of a generally exceedingly poor quality. And I think it's best to skip it.

The Irate Gamer is seriously one of the worst gamers on the internet, and in real life. I wouldn't have a problem with Irate Gamer but he chooses so many bad choices and that makes him bad for the good reasons. He wants to copy James Rolfe's identity, use it in a corny way, and make his own show cashing in "The Angry Video Game Nerd". It's like The Asylum taking a hit block buster, raping it, and turning it into a special FX fest with poor acting. The special FX in here aren't so special as it weren't you, gamers. The physics in Chris's world don't apply. Now on to the rant on the Irate Hack! He is, you know what that means, not funny. That one joke he made in his ROB the Robot review, was one of the worst jokes in existence. Don't get me started with his other jokes, they're as corny as you think. He is also a very bad actor, and I mean very bad. His friends give out terrible roles as well. Well, he only has little friends, that's why the additional characters are all played by him. He isn't so irate, he just makes these faces like he's taking the biggest dump in his life, and oh boy, overacting. Gotta add the over acting! His research is as thick as his acting, I can't explain it, and I must say that I'm disappointed that this hack is still alive!