Classic Game Room
Encyclopedia
Classic Game Room 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.
. Founded by Bussler, it launched on November 7, 1999 on the internet startup website FromUSAlive, with the review of Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions (erroneously called "Metal Gear VR Missions" in the review) and Driver
for the PlayStation.
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.
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. Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 for the Sega Dreamcast
was the last game to be reviewed on the show.
The show returned as Classic Game Room HD (HD standing for Heavy Duty according to Bussler) 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, 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. 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
.
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. 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 has also been a launch pad for new Classic Game Room talent. Video games journalist Ray Carsillo joined on September 9, 2010. 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. 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.
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.
Wind Squid, a squid that flies through space, first received a mention in the review of Fire Shark
for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. 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.
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." 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. 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.
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. Later, he got his own show 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. He managed to reunite with Bussler and is now hiding from the authorities.
The show also featured invented video games, Space Gar and its sequel Space Gar 2 (Ms. Space Gar), in 3 episodes.
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.
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. Bussler has no plans to revive this series at present.
. 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.
Review
A review is an evaluation of a publication, a product or a service, such as a movie , video game, musical composition , book ; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, a play, musical theater show or dance show...
show produced, directed, edited and hosted by Mark L. Bussler of Inecom, LLC. The show reviews both retro
Retro
Retro is a culturally outdated or aged style, trend, mode, or fashion, from the overall postmodern past, that has since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again. The use of "retro" style iconography and imagery interjected into post-modern art, advertising, mass media, etc...
and modern video games and broadcasts its reviews via video-sharing website YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, 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
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
accounts.
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 InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Founded by Bussler, it launched on November 7, 1999 on the internet startup website FromUSAlive, with the review of Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions (erroneously called "Metal Gear VR Missions" in the review) and Driver
Driver (video game)
Driver is a series of mission-based driving video games developed by Reflections Interactive , and originally published by GT Interactive and later by Atari. The gameplay consists of a mixture of action, driving, and third-person shooting in open world environments...
for the PlayStation.
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.
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. Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 for the Sega Dreamcast
Sega Dreamcast
The is a 128-bit video game console which was released by Sega in late 1998 in Japan and from September 1999 in other territories. It was the first entry in the sixth generation of video game consoles, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube.Dreamcast sales were...
was the last game to be reviewed on the show.
The show returned as Classic Game Room HD (HD standing for Heavy Duty according to Bussler) on February 20, 2008, now only hosted by Mark Bussler. Zaxxon
Zaxxon
Zaxxon is a 1982 arcade game developed and released by Sega. Some sources claim that Japanese electronics company Ikegami Tsushinki also worked on the development of Zaxxon...
for the Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
was the first video game reviewed under the new guise, and the first six reviews for the new Classic Game Room were all for the Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
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
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
, with a small review of Robotron X for the PlayStation, originally posted online on August 7, 2000. Mark Bussler also represented Classic Game Room at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2010
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010, commonly known as E3 2010, was the 16th Electronic Entertainment Expo held. The event took place on June 14–17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. E3 is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry presented by the Entertainment Software...
and 2011
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011, commonly known as E3 2011, was the 15th Electronic Entertainment Expo held. E3 is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry presented by the Entertainment Software Association . The event took place June 7–9, 2011 at the Los Angeles...
.
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
Cosmic Carnage
Cosmic Carnage, known in Japan as , is a 1994 2-D fighting game released for the Sega 32X add-on for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis developed by Givro and published by Sega...
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
The Dark Spire
The Dark Spire is a role-playing game developed by Success for the Nintendo DS. It was released on April 14, 2009 in North America which was published by Atlus and May 22, 2008 in Japan.-Gameplay:...
for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
from Success
Success (company)
Success Corporation is a Japanese game developer and publisher, based in Tokyo, and founded in: June 1976. They are best known for their Cotton series of shooter games , Zoo Keeper and others...
and Atlus
Atlus
is a Japanese computer and video game developer, publisher, and distributor based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for developing the console role-playing game franchise Megami Tensei. The first Megami Tensei was a Nintendo Entertainment System video game published by Namco based on a trilogy of...
. CGR's 2010 game of the year was Vanquish
Vanquish (video game)
is a third-person shooter video game developed by Platinum Games and published by Sega for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. The game was released in October 2010, after having been in development since 2007....
for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
from Platinum Games and Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
.
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
Forza Motorsport 3
Forza Motorsport 3 is a racing video game developed for Xbox 360 by Turn 10 Studios. It was released in October . It is the sequel to Forza Motorsport 2 and the third installment in the Forza Motorsport series...
for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, which was divided into two segments. Some are also divided into multiple segments, such as Musha
M.U.S.H.A.
M.U.S.H.A. is a 1990 vertically scrolling shooter developed by Compile and released by Toaplan in Japan and Seismic in the United States. It is part of the Aleste series. The game instantly became popular among scrolling shooter fans...
for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, which was divided into seven parts. Classic Game Room has also broadcast a number of video game trailers; for example, the trailer of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
is a video game produced by Konami and Kojima Productions that was released for the PlayStation Portable in 2010. Peace Walker is the fourth Metal Gear title for the PSP, although it is only the second to be considered part of the series' main canon, following Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops...
for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, 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. 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. 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. 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. 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
Contra
Contra is a Latin preposition meaning "against". It is very frequently abbreviated to con, which is a separate preposition. It may refer to:*Contras, Nicaraguan counter-revolutionaries opposed to the Sandinistas...
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
. Kevin primarily reviews games from the NES and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
. 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
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by multiple publishers, including Capcom, Ubisoft, Nintendo Australia, Red Ant Enterprises and THQ Asia Pacific...
, Killer 7, Viewtiful Joe
Viewtiful Joe
is a video game developed by Capcom's Production Studio 4 for the Nintendo GameCube. It was originally released in 2003 as a part of the Capcom Five under director Hideki Kamiya and producer Atsushi Inaba. Viewtiful Joe was later ported to the Sony PlayStation 2 by the same design team under the...
, PN 03 and Dead Phoenix, five games developed and produced by Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
and (originally) published exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
. 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
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
.
In early 2011, CGR Undertow added three new reviewers: Jen Shaffer, who mostly reviews indie video games, downloadable titles on the Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
and more mainstream games, such as L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire is a 2011 crime video game developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games. It was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows. It was released as a 3-disc game for the Xbox 360 console, which prompts the player to switch to another disc at certain points in the...
, 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
Blinx: The Time Sweeper
Blinx: The Time Sweeper is a platform game developed by Artoon and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released for the Xbox on October 7, 2002...
for the original Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
. 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
SSX Tricky
A soundtrack was released in 2002. It features the following songs:#"It's Tricky " - Run-D.M.C.#"Smartbomb " - BT#"Finished Symphony" - Hybrid#"King of the Beats" - Aphrodite#"Board Burner" - Mix Master Mike...
. 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
Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels is a brand of die cast toy car, introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1996, when Mattel acquired rights to the Matchbox brand from Tyco.-Models:...
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
Minecraft
Minecraft is a sandbox-building independent video game written in Java originally by Swedish creator Markus "Notch" Persson and now by his company, Mojang, formed from the proceeds of the game. It was released as an alpha on May 17, 2009, with a beta version on December 20, 2010...
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
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
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.
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
Gran Turismo (series)
is a popular and critically acclaimed series of racing simulation video games developed by Polyphony Digital.Developed exclusively for PlayStation systems, Gran Turismo games are intended to simulate the appearance and performance of a large selection of vehicles, nearly all of which are licensed...
, Dirt 3
Dirt 3
Dirt 3 is a rallying video game and the third in the Dirt series of the Colin McRae Rally series, developed and published by Codemasters. However, the "Colin McRae" tag has been completely removed from this iteration...
and Defense Grid Gold. He later expanded Macro to iRacing, an obscure PC racing simulation, and the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
's Virtua Racing
Virtua Racing
Virtua Racing or V.R. for short, is a Formula One racing arcade game, developed by Sega-AM2 and released in October 1992. Virtua Racing was initially a proof-of-concept application for exercising a new 3D-graphics platform under development, the "Model 1". The results were so encouraging, that...
, 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
Fire Shark
Fire Shark, known in Japan as , is a shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Toaplan. The player controls a biplane and builds up a score by shooting a variety of military targets.-Gameplay:...
for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. 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
EverQuest II
EverQuest II is a 3D fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Sony Online Entertainment , based on EverQuest, and shipped on 8 November 2004...
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.
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
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age: Origins is a single-player role-playing video game developed by BioWare's Edmonton studio and published by Electronic Arts. It is the first game in the Dragon Age franchise...
. 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
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
(as opposed to cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, 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
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 is a golfing simulation video game in the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series developed by EA Tiburon and published by Electronic Arts. It was released in North America on June 8, 2010 for the PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360 and iOS. The game is the first in the series to support the...
, as a "silicon
Silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. A tetravalent metalloid, it is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon, the nonmetal directly above it in the periodic table, but more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table...
-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
Speed of light
The speed of light in vacuum, usually denoted by c, is a physical constant important in many areas of physics. Its value is 299,792,458 metres per second, a figure that is exact since the length of the metre is defined from this constant and the international standard for time...
decreases." Lord Karnage also "owns a collection of camels named after The Smurfs
The Smurfs
The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...
[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." He later appeared in the review of Madden NFL 11
Madden NFL 11
Madden NFL 11 is an American football video game based on the National Football League published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 22nd annual installment in the bestselling Madden NFL video game franchise. It was released on August 10, 2010 in North America, and on August 13 in...
, where he quarterbacked a fictional team from the fictional town of Karnageville, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, of which he is also mayor. The team, the Karnageville Vektrekz
Vectrex
The Vectrex is a vector display-based video game console that was developed by Western Technologies/Smith Engineering. It was licensed and distributed first by General Consumer Electric , and then by Milton Bradley Company after their purchase of GCE...
, 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
NHL 11
NHL 11 is an ice hockey video game celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the NHL series. The game was developed by EA Canada, published by EA Sports, and released in North America on September 7, 2010, with all other regions receiving the game within two weeks...
review for a team of Bussler's creation from the NHL 10
NHL 10
NHL 10 is a video game in the NHL series developed and released by EA Canada and published by EA Sports, and is the 19th game in the series. The game debuted at Hockey Fest '09, a three-day interactive festival celebrating the sport of hockey and the Los Angeles Kings, which took place in downtown...
review, the Moosejaw
Moosejaw
Moosejaw.com is an online retailer specializing in outdoor recreation apparel and gear for snowboarding, rock climbing, hiking, and camping. It was founded in 1992 by two wilderness guides. Moosejaw is known for its nonsensical marketing called "Moosejaw Madness"...
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. 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.
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. Later, he got his own show and got to review Halo 3
Halo 3
Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2...
alongside Ms. Pac Man before being arrested for cow tipping
Cow tipping
Cow tipping or cow pushing is the purported activity of sneaking up on a sleeping, upright cow and pushing it over for fun. As cattle do not sleep standing up, cow tipping is a myth.-Myth and reality:...
. Edit-Station 1 subsequently tried to flee to Canada but went missing. He managed to reunite with Bussler and is now hiding from the authorities.
The show also featured invented video games, Space Gar and its sequel Space Gar 2 (Ms. Space Gar), in 3 episodes.
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.
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
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
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
Colin McRae Rally
Colin McRae Rally and more recently; Dirt, is a racing video game series developed and published by Codemasters.Started in 1998, the franchise has been a critical and commercial success and is generally acknowledged as a pioneer of realistic rally sports racing games...
for the PlayStation 1, as the name of the user-created driver in the game. 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 DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. 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.