Zero Punctuation: Difference between revisions

Less than a month later, he was hired by ''[http://www.escapistmagazine.com The Escapist]'', an online magazine with a big boat made of money (see the page quote), to release one of these video reviews a week. That explains the origin of '''''[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation Zero Punctuation]''''' in the driest possible way, but not the popularity of it; the combination of [[Accentuate the Negative|caustic humour]], [[Motor Mouth|rapid-fire delivery]] and [[Visual Pun|visual gags]] made Zero Punctuation an instant success. The result is quite a polarising, [[Love It or Hate It]] series.

 

 

 

Previews of the next video were shown on ''[[X-Play]]'' for a brief period in 2008.

 

Do not confuse with [[No Periods, Period]] or [[No Punctuation Period]].

* [[Chaotic Neutral]]: Yahtzee claims to be this alignment in his ''[[Spider-Man: Web of Shadows]]'' review and encourages his fans to argue on the forum as to whether he is or not.

* [[Chew Bubblegum]]: A [[It Makes Sense in Context|zombie Duke Nukem]] says "Time to kick ass and chew brains" in the ''[[Bad Company]]'' review.

* [[Cluster F-Bomb]]: At least once per episode. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in his review of ''[[Wet]]'', where he claims the protagonist Rubi considers [[Cluster F-Bomb|swearing to be wit]], yelling out "[[Hypocritical Humor|That's my thing!]]"

* [[The Coconut Effect]]: Discussed in his ''Extra Punctuation'' column on [[Boss Battle]]s.

** He has accused the Zelda series of all its entries being the same game. However, he has also shown he actually hasn't played the series that thoroughly. By the time the show started, he only had played two games ([[The Wind Waker]] and [[Twilight Princess]], which he claims to like) and yet, he made that accusation right from his first Zelda review ([[Phantom Hourglass]]). In other words, he only knew 3 out of 14 games. He also admited in his review of the [[Nintendo 3DS]] version of [[Ocarina of Time]] that he barely played the original game, and in his [[Skyward Sword]] review, he shows those five are the only games in the series he has played and finished. That means he still only knows one third of the series. See [[It's the Same, Now It Sucks]] below.

** The fact that he always includes [[Majoras Mask]], of all games, inside the "all Zelda games are the same game" statement (via background images), makes it even clearer. If people complain about something in that game is, precisely, [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks]]. ''[[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link|Zelda II the Adventure of Link]]'' and [[The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures|The Legend of Zelda Four Swords Adventures]], two games that severely change the Zelda formula, have appeared that way too at some point.

* [[Continuity Nod]]: In the ''[[Mass Effect]] 2'' review, Yahtzee's Shepard dons hot pink armor in memory of Gareth [[Meaningful Name|Gobulcoque]], his character from ''[[Tabula Rasa]]''.

* [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]]: Apparently whoever designed the inventory system for ''[[Resident Evil]] 5'' should be sent to a special Hell where he has to pack shopping for old ladies...or just punched in the stomach.

* [[Ensemble Darkhorse]]: In-universe example: In his review of ''[[Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]'', he notes that he's always preferred Luigi to Mario, since he at the least isn't Peach's personal gopher. He also wonders why Tails gets so much more hate than Sonic despite the fact that he's basically Sonic with flight.

* [[Escalating Punchline]]

{{quote|Er... thanks for your input, Mr. Poster Man, but I wasn't talking it down for not being extreme enough. Or 'ironic' enough. I doubt emptying an entire lorry full of toddlers into the woodchipper would have improved my opinion any.}}

* [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]: Referred to by name in his Lego Indiana Jones review.

* [[Fail O'Suckyname]]: Not Yahtzee himself, but he has a fondness with abusing the naming system whenever one exists. Examples include [[NieR|Twattycake]], [[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|Fuckme]], [[The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass|Fagballs]], and [[Mass Effect|Titty]].

* [[Limited Social Circle]]: "I asked everyone I know and neither of them had heard of it either." (''[[NieR]]'')

* [[Marth Debuted in Smash Bros]]: He never even heard of Marth before playing ''Brawl'', and based on his other reviews, shouting "[[Fire Emblem]]" loud enough near him [[Brown Note|will cause his brain to explode.]]

** Jim Sterling of the Jimquisition has now joined the panel.

* [[The Mean Brit]]: Though currently living in Australia.

{{quote|"It's like wrestling an excitable dog in a paddling pool full of disembodied breasts. *[[Beat]]* Don't think too much about that simile, I certainly didn't."}}

** Especially when it's a hot summer day and his AC isn't working. "Really good like...something...[[Buffy-Speak|good]] that's...made out of chocolate..."

* [[Milestone Celebration]]: Spoofed with his 100th episode, where he decides to review... exactly the same game he would've reviewed otherwise (''[[Call of Juarez]]: Bound in Blood'').

* [[More Dakka]]: His review of ''[[Spore]]'' shows the civilization stage as imps strafing other imps cities from the air, with the caption "Dakka Dakka" under the war planes.

* [[Nightmare Retardant]]: [[In-Universe]], He states that [[Alice: Madness Returns]] made [[Creepy Doll]]s not creepy just by the fact that the game uses it constantly to the point where players just get used to it.

* [[Nintendo Hard]]: Yahtzee prides himself on as having been playing video games since early childhood and frequently recalls how hard they were back then. He routinely mocks prospective critics who complain about the difficulty level in games these days. That said, games with [[Sonic Unleashed|ridiculously impossible sequences]], he blasts with both barrels.

** However he did enjoy ''[[I Wanna Be the Guy]]'', though he states that no person, unless it's for charity should ever try [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Impossible difficulty]].

* [[No Fourth Wall]]: Technically doesn't qualify as there's no suspension of disbelief, but a review still pushed back the boundaries when Yahtzee addressed the viewer as "Adrian", and noted that while that's not particularly likely to be any given viewer's name, "it was worth it to freak out all the Adrians in the world."

** ''[[Mass Effect]] 2'': "Press X To Not Care" ("You can't just spend the whole game knocking back Singapore Slings on a beach all day")

* [[The Problem with Licensed Games]]: [[In-Universe]] Oddly averted. One of Yahtzee's favorite games is the licensed tie-in for ''[[Spider-Man (film)|Spider-Man]] 2''.

* [[Product Placement]]: Branston Pickles or '''GAME TRADERS ROBINA'''.

* [[Promoted Fanboy]]: A college kid by the name of Daniel Floyd created a video heavily inspired by Yahtzee's show. A few months later, he was hired by ''The Escapist'' and started a show called ''[[Extra Credits]]''.

** "A [[Nerd]], after all, is someone who obsesses over something, like the cultural impact of gaming, or people who criticise same in silly internet videos."

* [[Sequelphobic]]: Yahtzee is not ''inherently'' against the idea of sequels, but he's extremely critical of most due to their alleged lack of innovation. Franchises that go in new directions are preferred, and several of his liked games (''[[Half Life]] 2'', ''[[Silent Hill]] 2'', ''[[Thief]] 2'', ''[[Spider-Man]] 2'', ([[Running Gag|Arsenal: 3]])) are all sequels.

{{quote|"I do have a guilty enjoyment for ''[[Alone in the Dark]]'' and ''[[Mirror's Edge]]''. They’re wracked with issues, but I find games that try to do something new and fall apart far more compelling than the merely mediocre games that don’t have an original thought in their heads."}}

* [[Serial Numbers Filed Off]]: Has accused many games of being this, most notably ''[[BioShock]]'' to ''[[System Shock]] 2'', and ''[[Dante's Inferno (video game)|Dantes Inferno]]'' to ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]]''.

** When reviewing "Risen 2: Dark Waters", he mentions that the combat system "can kiss [his] [[Doctor Who/Recap/S32/E03 The Curse of the Black Spot|black spot]]".

* [[Sincerest Form of Flattery]]: In his ''[[Resistance|Resistance 3]]'' review, Yahtzee grows more and more suspicious of the game's marked (if well-executed) similarities to ''Half-Life 2'', culminating in [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|accusing them of murder and dismemberment because the scientist Deuteragonist has the same style of beard as Gordon Freeman]].

** He starts his review of ''[[Brutal Legend]]'' by professing his adoration for [[Tim Schafer]], including stating that if he had a doomsday machine he'd reduce the entire population of the world to himself, [[Tim Schafer]], and one woman if she promised to wear a [[Tim Schafer]] mask.

* [[So Bad It's Horrible (Darth Wiki)|So Bad Its Horrible]]: In-universe, this is his opinion of ''[[Sonic Unleashed]]''. He even uses the same line graph as [[Xkcd]].

** He handily applies this trope to user-made content as well, during the ''[[LittleBigPlanet]]'' review.

{{quote|"I feel there's a fundamental difference of philosophy between me and the developers of ''[[LittleBigPlanet]]'': they believe every single person is an extra-special god-child with a bud of creativity aching to burst out into a single perfect flower; and I believe every single person is a tosser, and any flowers that pop up are going to be buried under garbage, fiery penises and countless reproductions of levels from Super Mario Bros."}}

* [[Suicide as Comedy]]: Pretty much a [[Running Gag]] where he will try to kill himself.

* [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]]: See [[Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?]] (not gay.)

{{quote|Short answer: No. Long Answer: [[Big No|Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo]][[Overly Long Gag|oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.]]}}

* [[Too Many Cooks Spoil the Soup]]: He brings this up frequently about the large-name corporations running the big-budget titles, and even brings up how such lack of discipline ruined ''[[Dead Space 2]]''.

* [[Trademark Favorite Food]]:

** Branston Pickle, which is typically used as a metaphor for "so unique you have to try it".

** Cadbury's Creme Eggs and chip sandwiches show up infrequently.

** He also mentions Cornettos several times in his earlier reviews.

* [[Troll]]: Yahtzee once reflects that he's seen as a "professional troll," which he imagines as a hulking creature lurking under a bridge, handing out business cards.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Notable Quotables]]

[[Category:Rant Comedy]]

[[Category:Web Animation]]

[[Category:Video Review Show]]

[[Category:The Escapist]]

[[Category:Pages with working Wikipedia tabs]]