Top 10 Best Things About Cinemassacre
The Youtube channel Cinemassacre is probably most well known as the channel for (in my eyes) one of the greatest online entertainers of all time. James Rolfe. He's been a popular user from the golden age of Youtube, and is still making quality content to this day. Here's 10 reasons why I think this wonderful guy deserves all the subscribers he has, and more. Note: I know Cinemassacre videos feature several different people, but most of it is James' work, so often I will refer to the whole channel as 'He' or 'Him' just to make things easier. You'll still get the point.
This is probably the series that James is most well-known for. What started out as a one-off joke spiraled into an internet phenomenon, where he relives the frustrating games from his youth and has a jolly good rant in the process. He's reviewed many bad games and sometimes good ones, providing some very entertaining angry rants. If you haven't seen this series yet, you're missing out. He is the quintessential retro game reviewer.
Of course. That's where 80% of his fans are from.
James' first episode of The Angry Video Game Nerd was made as early as 2004. He started to gain more popularity around 2006, throughout the golden years of YouTube, and he's still making quality content all these years later. Sometimes it feels like James Rolfe is all we have left in this dark age of YouTube. He's someone who can hearken back to those good old days before YouTube ran rampant with neo-political ranters.
This is something I can really respect about James. He may not put out AVGN episodes as frequently, but when he does, he always likes to keep his material fresh, trying out several different styles and filming techniques (I mean, he is a film student, after all). So whenever a new episode of AVGN does get released, it feels more special. This is more than I can say for Nostalgia Critic, who I lost interest in a while back.
While a lot of AVGN is character-based, he still doesn't let that get in the way of being honest about the games he reviews. Sure, he exaggerates at points, but he always tries not to lie about the game. When he's not in character, James Rolfe comes across as a very down-to-earth guy. Whenever he's talking about movies or his behind-the-scenes stuff, he seems so chill, and his no-BS honesty really helps with his overall likability.
James may best be known for The Angry Video Game Nerd, but he's also had other series, such as You Know What's B*******, Board James, and most recently Rental Reviews. He also likes to come up with characters for each series that reflect different parts of his personality, and occasionally these characters meet up with each other.
It's fun to see him talk about what he hates, but when he loves something, you can tell it's something that means a lot to him. For example, when he reviewed the Castlevania series, he discussed what the games meant to him and all the fond memories he's had with them. Also, whenever he makes a new review, he takes his time and doesn't rush it out. It shows that he genuinely cares about what he does and giving the fans something good.
We all know online drama isn't pleasant. It causes a lot of misery and arguing. James has been the subject of some internet drama in the past, most notably when he did a video on why he had no interest in the 2016 Ghostbusters movie. The media wrongfully accused him of being sexist. He could've easily put out a video or two defending himself and clarifying his points, but he decided the best course of action was not to kick the hornet's nest and just stay out of the drama.
One series I like on the channel is James and Mike Mondays, where every Monday James Rolfe and Mike Matei just sit down, play a game, and talk about it. It always feels so natural, like a kind of gaming session you would have with your mates. We get them discussing the games in a much more unscripted format, as well as giving their personal recollections with the games.
Gaming is something James grew up with throughout his childhood (even doing a couple of game reviews as a kid). Therefore, he has a lot of knowledge about video games. While some of his older reviews are still funny, it wasn't until later that he started to gain more critical experience and analyze the games in greater detail. He went from being a simple angry ranter to someone who can be very informative and articulate about games.
Yes! That's why some of his reviews are incredibly long and descriptive.
I can say that James was the one who got me into retro gaming, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. If he hadn't shared his love of retro games, I wouldn't have discovered some of my favorite games, such as Contra and Mega Man 2. I have much to thank him for.