nwobhmeternal Reviews

GameSpot TV (1998–2022)

Started good, sunk quickly

[5/10 · 8 October 2007]

As Gamespot TV, this was a great show. Adam and Kate alike were both enthusiastic about games, and the show stayed true to its primary focus.

The show was equally excellent in its Extended Play format. Even when Kate left, Adam carried this show - quite well might I add. This guy knows his games and is quite enthusiastic about them,

When this show became X-Play, it went down the crapper overnight.

Morgan Webb is incompetent. Kate was a great co-host, but Morgan is biased and thick- headed. I love Adam, he still does a great job at what he does. But Morgan's got to go. Adam needs to be the ONE host of this show. Less hosts means less time wasted insulting one another.

The show takes on a very ludicrous tone and never takes itself seriously, which is one of its greatest flaws. Judgment Day kept a serious tone with occasional humor, and it served that show well. It's a far superior game show. Why's it gone and this garbage is still on the air?

The absolute worst part of this show is FILLER SEGMENTS. That's right. Filler. Segments that have NO RELEVANCE TO GAME REVIEWS and exist purely for humor and filling time. This time could be better spent reviewing accessories/systems/etc.

Another flaw is that some shows rehash old reviews, and some are theme shows. Want to watch X-Play, but it's an all-Sports game show, and you don't like sports games? tough luck.

The reviews are biased and come from a similar perspective. The hosts riddle each other with useless banter and never have a productive conversation. They never debate, they always go along with each other on reviews. Judgment day, on the other hand, is the Ebert and Roeper of game review shows.

There are also far too many commercial breaks. THREE IN A HALF HOUR PROGRAM!? Give me a break!

Don't go out of your way to watch this show. If it's on, fine, go ahead and watch. Otherwise just get your reviews from the internet.

Judgment Day NEEDS to come back.

Judgment Day (1997–2014)

The "Ebert and Roeper" of game review shows

[10/10 · 8 October 2007]

Judgment Day was a far superior game review show to X-Play. I can't believe this show has gotten the boot, while the vastly-inferior X-Play remains on the air.

Judgment day gives you TWO perspectives on each product reviewed, whereas X-Play usually just gives you a single, narrow-minded perspective. It's great to see more than one point of view at work. It works for movie reviews, and it works for game reviews too.

In addition, this show does NOT have the filler segments that ruined X-Play. Nor does it have an incompetent co-host like Morgan Webb. These two guys LOVE all genres of games and it shows.

Perhaps one of my favorite things about this show is that in addition to games, accessories also get reviewed, and branded with a recommended/not recommended tag. Thinking about a particular controller/game accessory? This show will let you know if you should get it or pass.

Overall a great show, and definitely better than the horrid mess that is X-Play.

Ultimate Albums (2002– )

Started great, had potential, died too soon

[6/10 · 6 March 2007]

Here's an absolutely great idea for a television series - spend an hour talking about one of the greatest albums of all time. Get the inside story, and talk to the guys who made the album, produced it, and those who were influenced by it.

As a die-hard music fan, I fell in love with this series immediately. Too bad things didn't last.

The show started excellent, and VH1 even gave it top billing in its early days. The first few episodes covered true rock classics (Def Leppard, Metallica, and plenty of other excellent bands got coverage.) Then the show took a turn for the worst, in more ways than one.

First of all VH1 could never keep a steady time slot for the show. It was on whenever they damn well felt like putting it on. This accounted for low ratings, one of the things that likely killed the show.

Second of all is the content. The first few episodes featured what could truly be considered classic music. Then it's like VH1 sold out and just put whatever is popular on there. There was even an episode for an Eminem album (I've got nothing against the guy, but if it came out that recently, it's sure as hell not classic yet. And it can't be an Ultimate Album if it's not a classic.) I'd love to see VH1 give this show another chance sometime, but that doesn't seem to likely. Fortunately, another show they've created and air on VH1 classic called "classic albums" has the same basic concept, minus the flaws of that show.

Long story short - this was the predecessor to Classic Albums, which is indeed one of the best shows VH1 Classic has going for it right now.