| 1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/c875733e6e587c53625def38b3f470d0_1826.jpg]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | ''Unskippable'' was a weekly web series hosted on Website/TheEscapist, that ran from November 19, 2008 to March 30, 2015. Graham and Paul [[DeadpanSnarker snark]] over the opening {{cutscene}}s of various video games, [[AlternateDVDCommentary in a style]] [[WordOfGod inspired by]] ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''. |
| 4 | |
| 5 | The show was born as part of the Escapist Film Festival, where its pilot episode garnered enough votes to become a regular feature. It proved successful with the site's audience (who liked a bit of [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation game humor]]). |
| 6 | |
| 7 | Cutscenes are chosen based on several factors ([[ArtifactTitle and yes, they can be skippable]]). Terrible writing, poor pacing, and [[ClicheStorm Cliche Storms]] are a plus, but even great cinematics can get the Unskippable treatment if the duo can think of enough silly things to say about them. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | In 2009, Unskippable finally took on Hideo Kojima, the king of overwrought cutscenes, with [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Metal Gear August]], a satirical look at ''Guns of the Patriots''. As expected, the game was so cutscene-heavy that it took them 5 episodes to get through an amount equivalent to most of the other games they review. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | The episodes can be [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbVf5zNs2YjTcDKMuauTAE3xxgdaHzOyk found here.]] A wiki page covering the ''Unskippable'' series can be [[http://wiki.loadingreadyrun.com/index.php/Unskippable found here.]] |
| 12 | |
| 13 | In 2015, after six years of episodes, Graham and Paul ended the series along with their departure from ''Website/TheEscapist'', for reasons that are best gotten [[http://loadingreadyrun.com/blog/2015/03/25/leaving-the-escapist/ from the horse's mouth.]] Their final episode covered VideoGame/MetalWolfChaos as a send-off to the show. Graham and Paul can still be seen in their other shows. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | The snarkers in question, Graham Stark and Paul Sanders, are also the creators of ''WebVideo/LoadingReadyRun''. They have also experimented with a live LetsPlay, found [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/lets-play/2031-Legaia-2-Part-1 here.]] This morphed into a new series called Graham & Paul Let's Play, found [[http://loadingreadyrun.com/videos/archive/gplp/date/desc here.]] |
| 16 | |
| 17 | A SpiritualSuccessor to the show separate from the Escapist began in 2017; ''[[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV_qemO0oatj0hM35g_ILqRhyqoR5wjVL Running Start]]'' is a blend of ''Unskippable'' and the aforementioned Graham & Paul Let's Play. The two snarkers once again tackle the beginnings of games in their usual style, with two main changes: first, in addition to the intro cutscenes, they also go through the first ~20 minutes of actual gameplay to see what else astounds them. Second, they lean more towards games that they have little to no experience with, resulting in unscripted commentary without losing the ''Unskippable'' flavor. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | In 2022, Graham revealed during a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KdqAs_2tIw channel shakeup announcement]] that Bionic Trousers Media (and thus [=LRR=]) had finally reacquired the ownership and rights to ''Unskippable'' and its entire archive, allowing them to start re-posting the [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUJZ7wYykOYx2zI3Co-Gwa7SZwNZ3POJQ original episodes]] to their [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5cCITw_rzNdLelWJCw5L1A new [=LRR=] Videogames channel]], along with a revival. |
| 20 | ---- |
| 21 | !!This series provides examples of: |
| 22 | |
| 23 | * AerithAndBob: Noted in ''VideoGame/MagnaCarta2'': "Schuenzeit, Rzephillda, and... Alex?". |
| 24 | * AllMenArePerverts: |
| 25 | ** Watching ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'': |
| 26 | ---> '''Paul:''' Are we allowed to keep watching this? |
| 27 | ---> '''Graham:''' ...I hope so! |
| 28 | ** Also during their ''VideoGame/DarkMessiah'' review. After complaining about the touchy master wizard twice, they change their tune when a succubus is summoned. |
| 29 | ---> '''Graham:''' Did I say workplace touching was inappropriate? I was wrong. |
| 30 | ** Paul hints at it with a comment about the girls' outfit in the ''VideoGame/{{Vanquish}}'' review. |
| 31 | * AlternateDVDCommentary: The whole point of the series. Directly parodied in their ''Wolverine'' review: |
| 32 | -->'''Narrator:''' In the not-too-distant future... |
| 33 | -->'''Graham and Paul:''' ''(singing)'' [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Next Sunday, AD...]] |
| 34 | ** And becomes a brick joke in their ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' review: |
| 35 | --->'''Opening Text:''' In the not-too-distant future... |
| 36 | --->'''Graham:''' ''(singing)'' [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 In the not-too-distant future...]] |
| 37 | --->'''Paul:''' We've already done this joke. |
| 38 | --->'''Graham:''' Well it's not my fault it starts the same way as Wolverine! |
| 39 | * AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Invoked. Graham and Paul interpret ''VideoGame/AtelierTotoriTheAdventurerOfArland'''s Totori as the worst roommate ever thanks to some dialogue in the opening cutscene. |
| 40 | * ArbitrarySkepticism: In their ''VideoGame/{{Damnation}}'' video: |
| 41 | -->''"I don't think [[FanService that shirt]] is historically accurate."'' |
| 42 | -->''"And the robots are?"'' |
| 43 | -->''"...Yes?"'' |
| 44 | -->''"Okay."'' |
| 45 | * ArtifactTitle: Originally the idea was to make fun of actual unskippable cutscenes, but they now mock skippable cutscenes as well, and even not-particularly-interactive first-person sequences. This is usually [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]], such as in the ''Videogame/QuantumOfSolace'' episode, and the ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' episode. |
| 46 | * BaitAndSwitch: |
| 47 | ** ''Venetica'' Part 2's [[TheStinger Stinger]]; |
| 48 | -->"And so begins the adventure of an unlikely hero. But he got killed, so now we get to watch his girlfriend get clothes from the blacksmith." |
| 49 | ** Their whole ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' is this. After the opening intro of the episode, which shows some clips form ''XIII'', the video cuts to the title screen of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII''. After much lampshading about the "missing X" from the title, the video then proceeds to show ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'''s intro cutscene. |
| 50 | * BigNo: In their ''[[VideoGame/RedFaction Red Faction: Guerilla]]'' video, when [[spoiler: the brother dies]]. |
| 51 | * BookEnds: Since the very first episode there's been a RunningGag (as noted by the show's title) with them not being able to skip cutscenes, or not knowing how to. In the final episode, they ''finally'' manage to skip a "cutscene" of sorts. |
| 52 | * ChaoticStupid: In the video for ''[[VideoGame/WarhammerMarkOfChaos Warhammer Battle March]]'', they joked that the forces of Chaos weren't chaotic enough, and should have been this trope instead. |
| 53 | --> '''Paul:''' For people who are supposed to represent chaos, they're surprisingly well organized. You'd expect a couple to come in backwards, maybe a few guys go early, some falling from the trees, one guy just doesn't show up at all. I mean, they're chaotic, right? |
| 54 | * CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys: Subverted. They doubted other countries would do much better against the demon invasion in ''VideoGame/Onimusha3DemonSiege''. |
| 55 | ** However, in an episode of their ''[[VideoGame/LegendOfLegaia Legaia 2]]'' Let's Play, they joke that the "Flag of Retreat" that they just found is France's flag. |
| 56 | * ClusterFBomb: They tend to mock its use as filler or generic intensifies, often by pretending its literal meaning is intended. |
| 57 | * ColorCodedCharacters: Parodied in the E3 2010 trailer of ''VideoGame/TronEvolution: The Video Game'', where they mention that your enemies will be easy to stop due to glowing orange all the time. |
| 58 | * ContinuityNod: These are usually the same as their running gags. The ''VideoGame/GrandiaIII'' episode included a throwaway reference to a joke from their ''VideoGame/TheGetaway1'' episode. |
| 59 | ** And again in the ''The Bouncer'' episode with a reference to their ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'' vid. |
| 60 | *** And again in their ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' episode. This appears to be a trend. |
| 61 | *** The Darkness spawned a running tally on the theme of "And that was the ''Nth'' time I died", for whenever the protagonist loses consciousness while in first person. |
| 62 | *** [[ShoutOut It even popped up]] in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8Kvuu68Xlo&t=1h3m22s first episode of]] ''LetsPlay/SpoilerWarning'' (a LetsPlay of ''Franchise/MassEffect''), done by fellow Escapist contributors, [[Webcomic/DMOfTheRings Shamus Young]], Josh Viel, and Randy Johnson. |
| 63 | --->And that was the seventh time I died.\ |
| 64 | (laughs) I don't think we can use that joke, Randy. |
| 65 | ** Many references to Samanosuke from ''VideoGame/Onimusha3DemonSiege'', and "That guy from ''VideoGame/LostOdyssey''". "Well hello there, Mister Resilient. Didn't he just get blown up? Twice?" |
| 66 | ** And the shouting of "MATILDA!!!" when the planes took off in ''VideoGame/{{Haze}}'', a nod to an emotional cutscene from ''VideoGame/AceCombat6FiresOfLiberation''. |
| 67 | ** Flowers coming from "scenic [[VideoGame/EternalSonata Tenuto]]" |
| 68 | ** [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/unskippable/1431-Darksiders A reference]] to the "Bernie" cutscene character from ''VideoGame/LostPlanet'', which goes all the way back to [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/unskippable/394-First-Place-Unskippable-01-Lost-Planet the pilot episode]] (which some viewers might not have seen, because the pilot wasn't available among the regular episodes initially). |
| 69 | ** When they did ''VideoGame/JakIIRenegade'', they equate the Dark Jak transformation with a Werehog. When they actually ''do'' ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', One of the lines used for Sonic's transformation scene is "I'm gonna kill Praxis!" |
| 70 | ** Their riff of ''VideoGame/GrandiaIII''' involved them mistaking a particularly hot mom for the main character's older sister. The very next video had them purposely going out of their way to avoid referring to the characters' relationships to avoid a repeat mistake. |
| 71 | ** From their ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany'' episode: "And thus is the curse of the controllable vehicle section at the beginning of first-person shooters. ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'', ''VideoGame/FarCry2'', ''Bad Company''... you will never end one ''conscious''." |
| 72 | ** Several times now, if a crow (well, it was a raven once) shows up in the cutscene, they refer to him as "[[Creator/RussellCrowe Russell]]," and even act as if this is the same bird throughout the various games. |
| 73 | *** In the episode for ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'', they refer to an undead vulture as "Russell's evil brother from the Netherrealm." |
| 74 | ** ''VideoGame/DeadRising''. "It's quiet." "Yes, [[VideoGame/EternalSonata almost strangely quiet...]]" |
| 75 | ** VideoGame/LostOdyssey: [[VideoGame/EternalSonata "Hey, I thought you said puddles don't make waves."]] |
| 76 | ** ''{{VideoGame/Dishonored}}'': "So ''these'' were the guys that attacked Bayman in ''[[VideoGame/DeadOrAlive DoA]] 5!'' It all makes sense now!" |
| 77 | * CrazyPrepared: The bandits from the ''Fist of the North Star'' game, who evidently put up cages in ten foot increments across the ''entire desert''. |
| 78 | * CreditsGag: Since most of the cutscenes that they lampoon are the intros, they get a lot of mileage out of this type of joke. |
| 79 | * {{Crossover}} with ''WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation''. Yahtzee joined them for ''Star Ocean'', and in return Graham gave a brief ''X-Blades'' review as an opener for Yahtzee's ''Halo Wars'' video. |
| 80 | * CutscenePowerToTheMax: |
| 81 | ** In the ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'' video, when Vincent jumps up, flips over a helicopter, and shoots it out of the sky. |
| 82 | -->'''Paul:''' [[LampshadeHanging You know, this seems like a really fun game to]] ''[[RunningGag play]]''. Maybe we could get to do that at some point. |
| 83 | -->'''Graham:''' Yet somehow I suspect when you actually do get to play the game, you can't do any of those things. |
| 84 | ** Also in the video for ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry'', when Dante activates a power he doesn't have to heal a bunch of cuts on his back after a night of rough sex. |
| 85 | -->'''Graham:''' Wait, he has a HealingFactor?! That's not part of the gameplay! |
| 86 | -->'''Paul:''' Unfortunately it only works on sex scratches. Most enemies don't do that to you. |
| 87 | * DarkReprise: Graham gives the main ''VideoGame/KatamariDamacy'' theme one in ''Cabela's Survival: Shadows of Katmai'' |
| 88 | * DeadpanSnarker: Two of them. Plus a third in the episode where [[{{Crossover}} Yahtzee shows up.]] |
| 89 | * DefconFive: Averted in their review of ''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2'': |
| 90 | -->(screen lists Defcon 4)\ |
| 91 | '''Paul:''' ''(sarcastically)'' Oooh, Defcon 4. Just so you know, Defcon 4 is not that scary. The US is ''currently'' at Defcon 3.\ |
| 92 | '''Graham:''' Defcon 3 is worse, by the way. |
| 93 | * DesignatedVillain: {{Invoked}} often, usually when a game opens with a battle between two sides the player knows nothing about and has no stake in, but the game clearly expects the player to take sides anyway. |
| 94 | ** In the episode for ''VideoGame/{{Genji}}'', the expository narration lays out that the villainous Heishi have already been defeated, and the opening cutscene is basically an extended conspiracy by the Genji clan, who are supposed to be the heroes, to carry out an ethnic cleansing campaign against the no-longer-a-threat Heishi. This leads the guys to a sudden realization: |
| 95 | -->'''Paul:''' You know, the more I hear about these guys wanting to exterminate the Heishi, the more I realize we only have these guys' word to go on that the Heishi are the bad guys. |
| 96 | ** Also used in ''VideoGame/ArcRiseFantasia''. |
| 97 | -->'''Graham:''' Now, 'cause of the music we're immediately biased against the dragons, but this is just two sides going to war. We don't know what's up. Maybe the humans are invading the dragons' airspace. |
| 98 | * DiagonalCut: In ''VideoGame/{{Genji}}''. "Good to see this game's hitting on all the right cliches." |
| 99 | * DisturbedDoves: Commenting the wedding at the start of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' must have had a Creator/JohnWoo fight scene in there. |
| 100 | * EnsembleDarkhorse: The guys declared the chicken in the opening of ''VideoGame/FableIII'' to be the "most compelling" character of any cut scene they watched.[[invoked]] |
| 101 | * EpilepticTrees: In-universe. Paul guesses that Sophie from ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' is a flower transformed into a human, based on the fact that her past is unknown, she is first encountered laying in a bed of wildflowers, and her hair is the same color as said flowers. |
| 102 | -->'''Paul:''' Seems pretty obvious to me. |
| 103 | * FakeNationality: [[invoked]]In the episode for ''Unearthed: Trail of Ibn Battuta'', as the credits list off American-sounding names of voice actors playing Middle Eastern characters, like "Jeff Rosick as Faris Jawad." |
| 104 | -->'''Graham:''' Also starring really white sounding people as really not-white sounding people!\ |
| 105 | (And later...)\ |
| 106 | '''Graham:''' It's refreshing to see non-white protagonists. It is kind of funny to me that they sound whiter than we are, and we're Canadian. |
| 107 | * FakeOutOpening: Done for their AprilFoolsDay 2010 episode. [[spoiler: Instead of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', they riff the opening cinematic and credits for ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Final Fantasy III (USA).]]]]'' |
| 108 | * FauxToGuide: Their 100th episode was about how to make more cutscenes like those they mock. |
| 109 | * FlatWhat: |
| 110 | ** Their response to the weird ending to the opening of ''Cursed Crusade''. |
| 111 | ** Their response to ''a horse doing a barrel roll'' in the opening of ''Dynasty Warriors 8''. |
| 112 | * ForgotICouldFly: Mocked in VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 when Sonic stands there as Robotnik's ship flys off. |
| 113 | -->'''Paul:''' That ship is going really fast. You'd need some kind of super speed running power to keep up with it. |
| 114 | * FranchiseZombie: InUniverse comment. "You get the impression Sonic Team really wants to be making other games, but they aren't allowed to, so they keep having to ram Sonic into the games they'd rather be making?" |
| 115 | * FreudWasRight: CreditsGag in ''VideoGame/ShadowsOfTheDamned'': "Let's just say what the developers were all thinking: PENIS PENIS PENIS PENIS" |
| 116 | * FridgeLogic: Invoked in the ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine Uncaged'' video. "[[ShootingSuperman Were these guys]] ''[[ShootingSuperman briefed]]''?" "Why would you arm your men with weapons you ''know'' won't hurt him?", etc. |
| 117 | ** They also wonder where all the skeletons that make up [[VideoGame/DarkSouls Nito, First of the Dead]] came from if there wasn't anyone to die and make skeletons. [[invoked]] |
| 118 | * GameplayAndStorySegregation: Thoroughly mocked in several episodes. In their ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'' video, they actually took a moment to demonstrate this, showing a comparison between Trish's InASingleBound jump in a cutscene against Dante's standard jump in-game. |
| 119 | %%* GenreSavvy: They sorta have to be to spot all the clichés. |
| 120 | * GilliganCut: DoubleSubversion. In ''VideoGame/JakIIRenegade'', they called one, it didn't happen, but another cut happened, and they were happy. |
| 121 | * GoodMorningCrono: Mentioned in the closing stinger for ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfGraces Tales of Graces Æ’]]''. |
| 122 | --> "There are two ways to start a JRPG. Being woken up by your mother is one of them. This [[note]]finding an amnesiac sleeping in a weird place in the wilderness and deciding to take them in[[/note]] is the other." |
| 123 | * AGoodNameForARockBand: |
| 124 | ** From the video for ''VideoGame/TheGetaway1'', "Eyebrows and the Thugs" (though said to be light contemporary jazz, not rock) which is re-used in several more videos. |
| 125 | ** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the ''VideoGame/MagnaCarta2'' video: |
| 126 | --->'''Narrator:''' ...formed by Count Alex and the lords of neighboring cities.\ |
| 127 | '''Graham:''' Despite the name, Lords of Neighboring Cities is actually a solo artist. He and Alex used to be roommates, so they formed an army. |
| 128 | ** "The Power The Baby Gave Me" in ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM''. |
| 129 | ** ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' gives us "The Witch of Izalith And Her Daughters Of Chaos", as well as the indie rock band "Furtive Pygmy" and Graham's Furtive Pygmy cover band, "Foggy Forest." |
| 130 | ** Not to mention their cover band from ''[[VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution Deus Ex: Human Revolution]]'', "Backblast Problem". |
| 131 | ** Disgaea 2 gave them "Massive Demon Power Vacuum". |
| 132 | * GratuitousNinja: Civil War Ninjas in ''VideoGame/{{Damnation}}''. |
| 133 | * GratuitousPrincess: The guys accuse ''VideoGame/AtelierMeruruTheApprenticeOfArland'' of this. |
| 134 | --> '''Paul:''' You can see a bunch of people sitting around the marketing table being like "There's something missing here. The series isn't appealing to girls enough. I know! We'll make her a princess!"\ |
| 135 | '''Graham:''' Genius! |
| 136 | * HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic: |
| 137 | ** Mocked in the episode for ''VideoGame/{{Haze}}''. |
| 138 | --->'''Game Character:''' You don't want a liability in the field. Believe me, buddy.\ |
| 139 | '''Graham:''' Does having senior ranking infantry not wear helmets on active duty count as a liability? |
| 140 | ** Also mentioned in the video for ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine''. |
| 141 | --->'''Paul:''' Can we wear helmets this time?\ |
| 142 | '''Graham:''' Yeah, I mean, I know it's canon and all, but I feel really vulnerable over here. |
| 143 | * HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: Used for a quick joke in their ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' video: |
| 144 | -->'''Bayonetta:''' You look tired. Let me tuck you in.\ |
| 145 | '''Paul:''' By which I mean, punch you in the face repeatedly.\ |
| 146 | '''Graham:''' ''(verbal shrug)'' That's how my mother used to tuck ''me'' in. |
| 147 | * {{Homage}}: Noted in the video for ''VideoGame/HuntedTheDemonsForge''. |
| 148 | -->"This shot courtesy of ''Series/GameOfThrones''." (later) "This shot courtesy of ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers The Two Towers]]''." |
| 149 | * HostileShowTakeover: Graham took over ''WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation'' on AprilFoolsDay 2009 (Yahtzee regains power less than two minutes in). |
| 150 | * HoYay: Hooo boy, [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry4 Dante vs. Nero.]] "Stop it, now I'm seeing symbolism in everything!" [[invoked]] |
| 151 | * HurricaneOfPuns: The ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'' video. "All right, you guys might wanna settle in, [[LampshadeHanging we got a million of these]]." |
| 152 | * InsistentTerminology: Like a fair portion of the old-school Sonic fans. From the ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' review: "It's ''Robotnik''!" |
| 153 | * LamePunReaction: In the ''VideoGame/ArcRiseFantasia'' video, the hero and a dragon are falling from the sky, and Paul says the game should be called "Arc ''Fall''Fantasia". Graham imitated a shout, saying "Get off the stage!". |
| 154 | * LaughablyEvil: A variant. They think [[VideoGame/FarCry3 Vaas]] would be fun to hang out with 75% of the time, and "ungodly terrifying" the remaining 25%. |
| 155 | * LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: Played with in ''VideoGame/RadiataStories'', but also in ''VideoGame/{{Genji}}: Days of the Blade'': "Oh, there's an actual flute in the scene. I thought that's just what Japan sounded like at night." |
| 156 | * MadeOfIron: That chicken at the start of ''Fable 3''. Hoo boy. However... |
| 157 | ** [[spoiler:ShootTheShaggyDog: Eventually its luck runs out.]] |
| 158 | * MemeticBadass: They think the dog in ''VideoGame/DeadToRights'' is way more badass than his owner and suggest that to underscore this there should have been a scene of the dog lapping up whiskey out of a bowl.[[invoked]] |
| 159 | * MemeticLoser: Quite a few, but notably Capell the Soother from ''VideoGame/InfiniteUndiscovery'', who becomes their baseline comparison for any particularly stupid or wimpy protagonist.[[invoked]] |
| 160 | * MumLooksLikeASister: The two were rather surprised and somewhat disturbed when they learn that Miranda of Grandia III is actually Yuki's mother rather than sister as they originally thought. |
| 161 | * MundaneMadeAwesome: "FRANK WEST, ACTION PHOTOGRAPHER" |
| 162 | * MundaneUtility: In the episode for ''VideoGame/Onimusha3DemonSiege'', upon seeing Samanosuke summon a tornado from his sword in order to land safely after jumping off a giant monster, the guys comment that they like the idea of a character using their ultimate attacks for practical purposes. |
| 163 | * MyGodYouAreSerious: Paul and Graham mention in the first episode for ''VideoGame/AtelierMeruruTheApprenticeOfArland'', that when they first heard about the game they thought the person telling them about it was just making fun of the franchise. |
| 164 | * NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Mocked in the VideoGame/{{Prototype}} episode. "Gent- *sigh* ...Has anything good ''ever'' come out of a company called Gentek?" "No. Not once." |
| 165 | * NinjaPirateZombieRobot: (From ''VideoGame/{{Damnation}}'') "What, mechs ''and'' Lincoln?! Fingers crossed for [[HistoricalHilarity Mecha Lincoln]]!" And later, Zombie General Mecha Grant. |
| 166 | * NoOSHACompliance: From ''VideoGame/FableIII''. |
| 167 | -->'''Graham:''' This looks like an armageddon factory! What do they make here? |
| 168 | -->'''Paul:''' Fire. |
| 169 | * NoYou: From ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga''. |
| 170 | -->'''Graham:''' That's a terrible strategy. |
| 171 | -->'''Paul:''' YOU'RE a terrible strategy. |
| 172 | -->'''Graham:''' ...Ouch. |
| 173 | * ObviouslyEvil: From their ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' episode. |
| 174 | --> We know he's a Sith, but just to make sure, let's make him ''look like {{Satan}}.'' |
| 175 | ** The also commented that Queen Catalina in ''{{VideoGame/Trapt}}'' could look a little more evil. Her [[GoodHairEvilHair hair could be black]] and [[HighCollarOfDoom her collar could be even higher]]. |
| 176 | ** They see Heng Long from ''VideoGame/MarlowBriggsAndTheMaskOfDeath'' as a veritable checklist of how to make someone ObviouslyEvil. |
| 177 | --> [[BadassInANiceSuit Black suit, red tie]], [[BaldOfEvil bald]], [[SinisterShades sunglasses]], [[SamuraiPonytail pony]][[YellowPeril tail]], [[EvilCripple cane with silver head]], [[SarcasmMode I'm sure this guy's not evil]]. |
| 178 | * OnlySixFaces: |
| 179 | ** In the episode for ''VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw'', where they comment that all the girls in the photo of the San Romero cheer squad look the same, but with different hair. The stinger claims they were created by the "Sexy Archetypes Cloning Program." |
| 180 | ** Also ''VideoGame/OnePieceUnlimitedWorldRed''. |
| 181 | ---> '''Graham:''' It's kind of curious how the two women are exactly the same except for their hair, and all the other characters look like they were designed by a random number generator. |
| 182 | * PreAssKickingOneLiner: Amazingly, they manage to get one in ''Onimusha 3''. Right before the main character drops a large tank of liquid (that they previously referred to as Jell-O) into the brain of a large monster: |
| 183 | --> '''Graham:''' Wait a minute... there's always room... ''for Jell-O!'' |
| 184 | * ReferenceOverdosed: There are more episodes with at least one reference, than episodes with none. |
| 185 | * ReversePsychology: Though probably unintentional on the fans' part, the guys mention that they weren't originally going to do a part 3 for ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'', but that they decided to do so specifically because they heard so many of their fans say that they couldn't possibly make [[spoiler:a little girl dying]] funny. |
| 186 | * RunningGag: |
| 187 | ** The line "And that was the [number]th time I died," every time a cutscene ends with the main character's apparent death. Discussed in the stinger for ''VideoGame/TheDarkness 2'' where they mention they considered retiring the gag but it just comes up too often. |
| 188 | ** Also from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII: VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'': "I've got my eye on you, moon." |
| 189 | ** Today's soundtrack brought to you by Eyebrows And The Thugs. |
| 190 | ** This is Three Dog, Aooooo! |
| 191 | ** "Hey X, you're a Y." "So are you. Shut up." |
| 192 | ** " That's the second [adjective]iest [noun] that I've ever seen!" |
| 193 | *** ...which is a ShoutOut to ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' or ''Series/GetSmart''. |
| 194 | ** The frequent appearance of a [[Creator/RussellCrowe crow named Russell]] to talk to the audience whilst he eats dead bodies. Apparently the pun in Russell's name wasn't even intentional, but once they realized it they decided they had to go with it. Also [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in their ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' video. |
| 195 | ---->''"You know, I never noticed how many crows there are in cutscenes."'' |
| 196 | ** "''(I) blame the taint''." referencing the [[UnfortunateNames unfortunate name]]for the forces of evil from the ''VideoGame/TwoWorlds'' intro cutscene |
| 197 | ** "Traffic chopper nine, we have serious [event] here" whenever a helicopter appears. |
| 198 | ** Evil porpoises, and of course their relatives, the vampire whales from ''VideoGame/VampireRain''. |
| 199 | ** Whenever a character is named in front of them (Example: Jack in Syndicate), they say, completely {{deadpan|snarker}}, "Hello X". |
| 200 | ** Whenever a StandardEstablishingSpaceshipShot is used, they'll sing "Rip-off, this is a rip-off! Get to the show!" to the tune of the ''Franchise/StarWars'' theme. |
| 201 | ** Whenever someone is referred to as the elder, they'll insist the elder is not that old. |
| 202 | -->''I'm only a couple of years older than you, stop calling me the elder.'' |
| 203 | ** Not used quite as often, the name Chad gets mocked quite often, particularly in the episode for ''VideoGame/XMenDestiny'', when they declare that both male playable characters are clearly named Chad. |
| 204 | * SayMyName: Thoroughly mocked in the ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'' video. |
| 205 | -->''"Nero!"'' |
| 206 | -->''"Kyrie!"'' |
| 207 | -->''"Dante!"'' |
| 208 | -->''"KRATOS!"'' |
| 209 | -->''"SPAARRTAAA!"'' |
| 210 | * ShootingSuperman: |
| 211 | ** Commented on in the video for ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged''. "Were they not briefed?" |
| 212 | ** In the ''VideoGame/{{Prototype 2}}'' review they call out James Heller for his repeated attempts to kill the near-invincible Alex Mercer by stabbing him despite this not even messing up his jacket. |
| 213 | --> "Your knife is not doing anything! Stop trying to use it!" |
| 214 | * ShoutOut: Many. |
| 215 | ** To ''Radio/TheGoonShow'', of all things: |
| 216 | ---> Game: "She's a spy!" |
| 217 | ---> "She's a shepherd." |
| 218 | ---> "SHEPHERD SPY!" |
| 219 | ** And in the Dark Sector episode ''Six String Samurai''. |
| 220 | ** In the ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' episode: |
| 221 | --->'''Alicia:''' Flowers, bugs and fish. |
| 222 | --->'''Graham and Paul:''' [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Oh my.]] |
| 223 | ** There's a subtle one in the Assassin's Creed 2 video. |
| 224 | --->Game: "Time is precious, doubly so these days." |
| 225 | --->"[[Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Is it lunch-time]]?" |
| 226 | ** In the Tales of Graces F video, there's one to [[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner Homsar]] |
| 227 | --->'''Paul:''' (in a Homsar voice) I do what I'm told. |
| 228 | * SkewedPriorities: Commented on in the video for ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarezTheCartel''. |
| 229 | --> '''Character:''' Listen, I have another meeting to get to.\ |
| 230 | '''Graham:''' More important than ''this'' meeting? What, was a ''different'' government building bombed? |
| 231 | * SpaceWestern: |
| 232 | ** When seeing a duster-and-fedora-clad man pull out pistols in the trailer/opening cutscene of ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', they remark that Star Wars was always a Space Western, but they'd never seen it have a ''space cowboy'' before. |
| 233 | ** Also mocked in the episode for ''VideoGame/{{Starhawk}}''. The guys joke that the cowboy-themed outfits are the result of a villain stealing everyone's clothes while they were at a cowboy-themed costume party, thus forcing them all to wear their cowboy costumes full time. |
| 234 | * SpaceX: If a spaceship was full of slaves, they should be rowing with space oars. |
| 235 | * SpecialGuest: Ladies and Gentlemen, [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/unskippable/644-Star-Ocean-The-Last-Hope Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw,]] of ''WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation''. Graham returned the favor. |
| 236 | * SpoilerCover: The guys comment on this with ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'', as they notice that the guy in the opening cutscene is the guy from the box art... but the girl from the cutscene '''is not''' the girl from the box art, foreshadowing [[spoiler:that she's shot and killed at the end of the opening sequence]]. |
| 237 | * StatingTheSimpleSolution: In the video for ''VideoGame/DeadSpace3'', the narrator mentions the "Marker Crisis" where humanity keeps building copies of the alien markers that drive people insane and turn them into necromorphs. |
| 238 | --> '''Graham:''' Or, or... and I know I'm harping on this, just don't... don't make them. Because it seems to me that the problem happens when you make them. So just don't make them. |
| 239 | * SteamPunk: "Oh man, I wish steam power was ''this'' cool." |
| 240 | * SticksToTheBack: Mocked in the ''VideoGame/TwoWorlds'' episode. |
| 241 | * StockScream: |
| 242 | ** Mocked in the intro of ''VideoGame/RedFaction: Guerilla''. |
| 243 | ** Also in the Bionic Commando intro, when there is a particularly out-of-place Wilhelm scream. |
| 244 | * StoppedReadingTooSoon: The episode for ''VideoGame/DeathByDegrees'' plays this straight during the discussion of an upcoming spy mission. |
| 245 | -->'''Character:''' ...execute a video recon...\ |
| 246 | '''Paul:''' Execute! Got it!\ |
| 247 | '''Graham:''' No, no, no! Execute ''reconnaissance'', not just execute! Stop... stop killing people! |
| 248 | * TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch: When a woman in the ''Vampire Rain'' intro feels like she's being followed on a brightly lit street, [[TooDumbToLive she ducks into a dark alley]]. The crew comments that in horror movies, this is clasified as a suicide. |
| 249 | * ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: "Huh, I guess arrows are for sissies, real men throw swords." |
| 250 | * TranslationConvention: "Why is it that everyone was speaking English in feudal Japan, but now in modern day France they're speaking French?" |
| 251 | * UnnecessarilyCreepyRobot: A variant, they question the choice in ''VideoGame/{{Defiance}}'' to have the [[HolographicTerminal EGO interface]] manifest as a creepy ghost that appears behind you. |
| 252 | * UnnecessarilyLargeInterior: Really called on ''VideoGame/{{Vanquish}}'' for having this on a space station. |
| 253 | * UnskippableCutscene: Sort of. |
| 254 | ** In the ''Videogame/QuantumOfSolace'' video, Graham suddenly realizes that there's a Press A To Skip prompt in the corner and seemed embarrassed. |
| 255 | ** Likewise, in their review for ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'', both are taken by surprise at the ability to skip the cutscene that they scramble looking for the controller, only to find it has run down its batteries, forcing them to continue to watch. |
| 256 | ** For their LetsPlay of ''Legaia 2'' Graham noted that he was pressing every button he could to try and skip the opening. |
| 257 | ** In the episode for ''VideoGame/DeadIsland'' a "Press O to Skip" prompt appears in the corner, but the guys refuse to press it for fear that it's a trap. |
| 258 | * UnstoppableRage: ''Wolverine Uncaged'' - "Good ''lord'' man, do you have a stabbing quota?" |
| 259 | * UselessProtagonist: A lot of protagonists from the games they do are accused of this, often rightly. Used by name to describe Rush Sykes from ''VideoGame/TheLastRemnant'', calling him the "useless, nameless protagonist." |
| 260 | * VillainyFreeVillain: [[invoked]]Combined with AlternativeCharacterInterpretation for the villainous kidnappers in VideoGame/TheLastRemnant. |
| 261 | -->'''Graham:''' ''*as monsters appear from a portal in the sky*'' Wait, is this who their parents sent to pick them up?!\ |
| 262 | '''Paul:''' ''*in a growling voice*'' Did somebody order an Evil Taxi? We'll take you where you want to go but be unnecessarily evil about it! |
| 263 | * WallOfText: ''Franchise/{{Zoids}} Assault''. "Did you load a ''book'' into the 360?" |
| 264 | * WeirdMoon: A RunningGag is that the moon in (especially JRPG) cutscenes is "so big that if real, the Earth would long ago have been torn apart by tidal forces". Seeing a big moon in a non-JRPG game sometimes causes them to quip "Is this set in Japan?" |
| 265 | * WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: [[invoked]]''VideoGame/JakIIRenegade'' shows content they say makes parents regret buying this cartoony game. |
| 266 | * WhyDontYouMarryIt: Joked about in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheLastHope''. |
| 267 | * WishingForMoreWishes: From the episode for ''VideoGame/AtelierRoronaTheAlchemistOfArland''. |
| 268 | --> '''Narrator:''' To thank the traveler, the reigning king granted the traveler one wish.\ |
| 269 | '''Paul:''' Crafty bastard wished for more wishes and bankrupted the whole town.\ |
| 270 | '''Graham:''' The king was new to this whole "wish" thing. |
| 271 | * XCalledTheyWantTheirYBack: "Todd [=McFarlane=] called. ComicBook/{{Spawn}} wants his cape back." to Vincent's cape in ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus''. |
| 272 | * YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe: Made fun of in the ''VideoGame/TwoWorlds'' episode. |
| 273 | * YourMom: courtesy of [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]]: |
| 274 | -->Oh yeah? Well I think I gave his mum a "small straight" last night. AND SHE LOVED IT. |
| 275 | ** In the ''Viking'' video, Paul does this to ''himself:'' |
| 276 | -->'''Narrator:''' ''What was once green and fertile was now soured and barren.''\ |
| 277 | '''Paul:''' ''Hey! Leave my mom out of this!'' |
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