Brent Smalley's Videogame World

Brent Smalley's Videogame World is an online series featuring a nerd with a unique voice and an over-enthusiastic personality that reviews Video Games. However, to distinguish it from The Angry Video Game Nerd and the many other angry nerd clone videos out there, Brent Smalley's Videogame World features a reviewer who is the exact opposite of the AVGN: he enjoys seemingly every game he plays despite how terrible they are (or at least he did at first), starting off with a glowing review of none other than E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial for the Atari 2600 in the debut episode.

After his ridiculously positive review of E.T., Brent reviewed a series of basketball games in a much more subdued manner (as the games were much better, at least in comparison to E.T.)

After this point, Brent Smalley suffered a major Character Derailment, which, while managing to still be as hilarious as before, changed him into more of an Angry Video Game Nerd clone such as those he originally was the antithesis of, during his review of the (previously AVGN-reviewed) Back to The Future game for the NES. He retained the strange mannerisms and showboating style that made the character unique, but, like the AVGN, openly lambasted the game as being one of the worst of all time (later refusing to play parts II and III on the same grounds). This is somewhat odd as, in the opinions of most gamers, E.T. is the worst game of all time; Back to The Future isn't especially held in high esteem either, but it is nonetheless unusual to find someone who considers E.T. so appealing while hating ?Back to the Future? so much. This video also broke the Fourth Wall for the first time, showing Brent before the review starts, and the camera normally used to record the reviews is actually shown on-camera being switched on before the review starts, giving this episode a particularly cinematic look.

While still not 100 percent positive in his opinions, his next review, actually a short series of reviews (in the style of the basketball episode) of various videogame adaptations of The Blues Brothers, seemed to bring the character back to his roots as an over-the-top enthusiastic gamer who takes even the worst videogames in his stride.

His Blues Brothers review was followed up by a review not of a videogame, but a TV series: the obscure 1970s Hanna-Barbera series Fred and Barney Meet the Thing, which was a collection of Flintstones episodes aired together with episodes of a bizarre take on The Thing from Fantastic Four, who, in this version, is not a member of the Fantastic Four at all, but a strange amalgam of the Wonder Twins ("Thing Ring") and Billy Bastian/Captain Marvel ("Do Your Thing!"). Once more, he openly criticized the show for its ridiculous premise, massive Adaptation Decay from the Fantastic Four comic source material, and overall poor quality, though he also maintained that he loves crappy cartoons, which arguably keeps this episode in line with the character?s original tendency to love everything no matter how horrible, albeit without obliviousness this time.

His last review to date was focused on the various forms of The Punisher the Marvel Comics Anti-Hero. This video, which featured comments on both old and new Punisher videogames, along with all three movies and the infamous Archie Meets The Punisher comic book, marked the full return of Brent Smalley's entirely upbeat, enthusiastic and positive attitude. Nonetheless, it still did not quite retain the full form of the debut episode, as the games reviewed are not known for being particularly bad in the first place, the movies are all generally well-received (with the exception of the 1989 DolphLundgren version, perhaps) and "Archie Meets the Punisher" is beloved for its intentional ridiculousness. Still, Brent's nerdy joy and enthusiasm continued to carry the spirit of the series forward.

While The Punisher episode was his most recent review, a new Brent Smalley video, a two-part episode, has been released since, though this one breaks entirely with the review format. Brent and an un-named friend feature in part 1 reading negative comments on his videos and mocking them, before stumbling upon "Trent Biggie's Videogame Universe" a rival videogame review-based online series starring a nerd with the exact same mannerisms as Brent, and many of his trademark expressions (this video was in fact produced without the direct knowledge of Sexy Lizard, the creative team responsible for the Brent Smalley series). Enraged, Brent issues a challenge to Trent by way of a dictated angry email, only to have his challenge accepted almost instantly after sending it.

In part 2, Brent is confronted by Trent. They argue over who ripped off who, with Brent accusing Trent of ripping him off, and Trent accusing Brent of ripping off the Irate Gamer. They come to respect each other after an intense all-night videogame battle, and then they decide to play a friendly game of Rock Band. However, they discover that they can?t get along after all (due to their equal frustration at Trent's inability to play the game), and things go very badly for Trent.


 * All Just a Dream:
 * Arson, Murder, and Admiration: Brent dictates an insulting, curse-filled, extremely vulgar email to Trent Biggie, but makes sure to begin it with "Dear Trent" and end it with "Sincerely, Brent," Cause you always wanna be nice. Trent's reply, in which he angrily accepts the challenge offered by Brent, goes so far as to sign it "Love, Trent."
 * Ascended Fanboy: The character of Trent Biggie, who features as the primary antagonist of the two part "Brent VS. Trent" episode, started off as the star of a homage/parody/fan video before being featured, along with a clip and song from the original fan video, in the series itself. It isn't particularly incredible, however, as the creator of Trent Biggie, who also plays the role, is a friend of the creators of the Brent Smalley series.
 * Ascend to A Higher Plane of Existence:
 * Bizarro Universe: Although not made by those who created the original series, "Trent Biggie's Video Game Universe" epitomizes this trope as a homage. A short time later this rip-off/tribute crossed over with the original series during the two-part "Brent VS. Trent" episode as a collaboration between Sexy Lizard, creators of the Brent Smalley series, and Grandma Grunch Productions, creators of the homage/rip-off.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: Subverted, as the series actually BUILDS a Fourth Wall in a couple of later episodes rather than the talking-to-the-camera style used earlier. Especially noticeable in the Trent VS. Brent two part episode, which actually features on-screen co-stars for the first time and Brent talks to the viewer only once or twice. In his review of the NES game "Back to the Future," the action begins and ends with a fourth wall and presents "behind the scenes" action through it, as Brent prepares for the filming of a review (we see him switch on the camera before we see him through the camera view) and later we see him in an All Just a Dream sequence without any Fourth Wall -breaking commentary. The pre-review opening of this episode seemed intended to make it feel more epic, as if this was Brent's example of The Movie. It arguably looked much more cinematic.
 * Canada, Eh?: Brent comments that Trent Biggie is a ripoff-parody who "must be from Canada," used purely as a derogatory term with no other context.
 * Canon Dis Continuity - In the first episode, the series is referred to as a TV show on the fictional "Fox Cable Access Network," whose slogan is apparently "All Live, All the Time," but later referred to openly as being hosted on Youtube, with the network never being mentioned again.
 * Catch Phrase: "Baby!" Brent seems to add the word "Baby" to the end of sentences more often than any normal person probably ever would or ought to. He's also fond of using the phrase "Once again?" with increasing frequency when something repetitive continues to occur during a game. The latter was parodied by Grandma Grunch Productions' "Trent Biggie's Videogame Universe" as a part of an overall parody/homage/ripoff of the Brent Smalley series, with Trent saying the phrase again and again increasingly rapidly a ridiculous number of times in succession as he gets hit or runs into things in the SNES game "Taz-Mania." It wasn't really too far removed from Brent's use of the phrase in the debut episode.
 * Choose Your Own Adventure: Brent invited viewers to vote on what his next review would be at the end of his review of the Punisher franchise, though this may count as a subversion as over two months have passed as of the time of this writing and none of the choices offered have appeared in a new video yet. There has been a two-part new episode since then, but, uncharacteristically of the series, it was not a review of anything: it is actually a battle between Brent and his ripoff Trent Biggie, who previously appeared in his own fan-made video.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Brent Smalley is arguably a Cloudcuckoolander, first for his appreciation of extremely horrible graphics and gameplay as somehow being "advanced," and secondly, Brent qualifies for this trope simply for his use of bizarre non sequitur expressions: [When reviewing E.T. the Extra Terrestrial for the Atari 2600] it features mind-blowing graphics, even for it's time!? (The way this is phrased, by use of the word "even," makes it sound like the game came from the future, or from a past in which graphics were even better than they are now. If he'd left the word "even" out, or replaced it with "at least," then the statement would make much more sense. This is, though, a fairly mild example of Brent's odd phrasings.)
 * Contemplate Our Navels: Trent does this before their videogame battle ensues, reflecting on the anti-intellectual consumer culture of the younger generations, (which is in itself a kind of Take That) reflecting on the modern obsession on childhood and nostalgia,.
 * The Dark Side: Brent reveals "The Dark Side of Gaming" to Trent at the end of the "Brent VS. Trent" "saga".
 * Death Cry Echo-
 * Downer Ending: Subverted
 * Drunk On the Dark Side: Brent appears to be drunk on the Dark Side when he.
 * The End - Or Is It?:
 * Evil Twin: Trent Biggie,
 * Gross Up Close-Up: During his game reviews, Brent Smalley seems to prefer positioning the camera so that it faces up at him, with his crotch a little too close to the viewer's eyes to be tolerable. Wearing short shorts does not help. Squick.
 * Go-Karting With Bowser: Subverted, as Brent and Worthy Opponent Trent Biggie initially battle using videogames rather than physical violence, because both are un-athletic nerds, [{spoiler: before tensions escalate and Brent slays Trent using a lightsaber]].
 * The Khan: Brent screams this after being faced with the prospect of playing Back to the Future II and III on the NES,.
 * Laser Blade:
 * Mirror Universe: Although subtle, it should be noted that while Brent Smalley curses very often, Trent Biggie does not, the closest he comes being a subdued "What the F?!"
 * No Fourth Wall: The premise is based on videogame reviews, though later this changes to some extent (see entry on Breaking the Fourth Wall).
 * Obi-Wan Moment:
 * Overly Long Gag: Not a gag per se, but the montage during Brent and Trent's all-night videogame battle seemed to go on for a very long time (1 minute and 35 seconds) with little in the way of actual humor.
 * Proud to Be A Geek: arguably a major part of the series' premise, and presumably the philosophy of those who created it. Brent often encourages the viewer to "keep playing those videogames" or generally watch more of whatever medium he's reviewing.
 * Refuge in Vulgarity: Brent, especially as the series has progressed, has resorted to an Angry Videogame Nerd-like rant about the NES "Back to The Future" game (which, incidentally, the Nerd himself famously reviewed and the Irate Gamer infamously appears to have ripped off) and has done so again when hearing the comments on some of his videos read to him (and once more during his email correspondence and confrontations with Trent Biggie).
 * The Rival: Trent Biggie.
 * Rival Turned Evil: Trent Biggie; however, the rivalry was NOT a friendly one to begin with,
 * Take That: Brent slams "High School Musical 3" during his review of The Punisher franchise. Also, Trent's rant about the current generation of anti-intellectual videogame reviewers obsessed with childhood past-times is a fair example, aimed at the aforementioned generation. Trent also scores another Take That when he remarks that Brent ripped off The Irate Gamer, an online videogame reviewer infamous for his extreme similarity in style to The Angry Videogame Nerd.
 * Trapped in TV Land:
 * Worthy Opponent: Trent Biggie, Brent's Bizarro counterpart. Trent actually calls Brent a "worthy adversary." Brent echoes his sentiment. But the mutual respect does not last long.