Xplay
X-Play (previously GameSpot TV and Extended Play) is the highest rated video game review show on television. The program airs on G4 and is hosted by Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb. Sessler is the original host of the program; he has co-hosted in the past with Lauren Fielder and Kate Botello, respectively. X-Play began on ZDTV in 1998 as GameSpot TV where Sessler co-hosted with Fielder for the show's first year, then co-hosted with Botello up through 2002. The show was renamed to Extended Play in 2001 after ZDTV changed to TechTV and the partnership with Ziff Davis' GameSpot ended. Botello left in early 2002, and Sessler hosted the show by himself up until April 2003, when Webb joined the cast and the show was renamed to X-Play. It is the only show to entirely survive the May 2004 merger of G4 and TechTV.
The show revolves around Sessler and Webb's banter between reviews and previews of popular video games and occasionally quirky skits. The humor on the show is inconsistent, but tends to skew lowbrow.
Reviews and coverage
The video game reviews on X-Play use a five-point rating scale;
- 5 - Phenomenal. No problems whatsoever, a must-own game.
- 4 - Great. The game may have a couple of faults, but it's still worth buying.
- 3 - Average. Nothing special, possibly worth a rental or purchase for casual fans of the game or genre.
- 2 - Mediocre. Can only be recommended as a rental for serious fans of the game or genre.
- 1 - Terrible. The game is very poorly designed, to the point of actually being unplayable. Avoid at all costs.
Games that score a 5 and many that score a 4 are compiled for both an annual holiday buyer's guide episode known as the Non-Denominational Winter Season Buyer's Guide, and an end-of-the-year "Best Of" show that categorizes the games according to system or genre (racing, platformer, etc).
X-Play is also known for its in-depth coverage of video games at annual conventions including the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Tokyo Game Show, and Electronic Entertainment Expo (E³), although the latter two events have been covered by the entire channel since TechTV merged with G4. Similar to the holiday review guide, an annual Best Of E³ episode showcases buzzworthy games for all of the current systems, leading up to what X-Play believes to be the most promising game of the year. The show has also been known to cover the Game Developers Conference (GDC).
Trademarks
The disembodied voice announcer begins each episode with an often over-the-top introduction to which the hosts usually respond or comment. In March 2005, production assistant and disembodied voice announcer Jason Frankovitz left X-Play. After a period of experimentation with various joke announcers, a legitimate new announcer was chosen.
Sessler occasionally says "Dik-Dik", and in the days of TechTV regularly wore a Dik-Dik t-shirt on-air. This is in reference to the manga and anime Ultimate Muscle, which contains a character named Dik-Dik Van Dik, whose Japanese name is "Gazelleman." Sessler has said in interviews that he likes the phrase "Dik-Dik" because it's a subtle way to legally use questionable words on TV. Due to a G4 policy stating that all on-air talent must be supplied with a stock wardrobe (as opposed to TechTV, where personalities were allowed to wear their own clothing on-air), Sessler no longer wears the Dik-Dik shirt on X-Play.
Celebrity "impressions" are done once in a while, via cut-out images of celebrities with a moving stationary mouth. Past impressions have included Steven Segal, Tom Cruise, Paris Hilton, Sean Connery, Patrick Stewart, OJ Simpson, Pete Rose, The Beatles, Barry Bonds, Ozzy Osbourne and former FEMA Director Michael Brown.
During reviews, cropped images of kittens are often used to censor particularly violent or grotesque sequences. In a similar fashion, images of puppies were used in a review of Dead to Rights 2 and images of babies were used in a review for The Suffering: Ties That Bind.
Sketches and segments
Sketches are sometimes shown between reviews. These sketches normally deal with video game related topics. For example, one episode had a sketch about poorly done Japanese-to-English translations in video games, while another documented games you should never buy. Adam and Morgan are often seen playing recurring character roles in many of these sketches.
SHOCKED! with Shad Grimgravy
Sessler's trademark character is Shad Grimgravy, an excessively flamboyant, poetic and melodramatic Rip Taylor-like "news correspondent", who humorously covers various video game topics, such as the aforementioned Japanese-to-English language sketch, violent games, children's educational games, the Dance Dance Revolution phenomenon, and the strange web games that are created by companies such as Hershey's and Frito-Lay to try and attract customers.
Morgan Von Webb
Morgan Webb's darker alter ego is Morgan Von Webb, a mad scientist with a deliberately bad Transylvanian accent.
Only 2 segments have been made with the Morgan Von Webb character;
- "Webb of Destruction", where Morgan tests the physical durability of three game consoles (GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 2) to see which system(s) could still successfully function afterwards. Her tests included dropping a 10-pound weight on each of the consoles, hitting the consoles with a 20-pound sledgehammer and dropping them off a 15-foot-high ledge. The GameCube was the only console to completely survive the tests. Afterwards, Morgan seductively proclaims that "Ze losers must be punished", and she proceeds to destroy the other two consoles with the sledgehammer.
- "RPG Radiculopathy", starring Adam as Morgan's test subject, who has played so many role-playing games that he starts confusing and incorporating events from his games into real-life experiences. For example, after trying unsuccessfully to get into a nightclub in real life, Adam initiates a turn-based RPG-style battle with the bouncer. The sketch culminates with Adam fighting in real life against a character of his own imagination (Ratty Handpuppet), who ends up biting Adam's head off (parodying a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail).
Sensitive Sess with Adam
A parody of daytime talk show dramas and a contradiction of the segment's own title, Adam interviews and insensitively mocks gamers (played by X-Play's Interns) who have been unfortunate in life, such as a man who lost his thumbs, and a Pokémon card player who has no friends and crosses paths with a violent Yu-Gi-Oh! playing street gang. After the gang physically assaults the rival Pokémon player, Sessler steals the kid's wallet.
Games For Cheap Bastards presented by EBGames
Games that scored a 4 or 5 in the previous year that have since been reduced in retail price to $20 or less are reshown in this segment.
Weird Games presented by EBGames
Odd or unusual games, such as Katamari Damacy and Cubivore, are featured in this segment.
Constant themes
Constant themes show up throughout the series. Such themes include Adam and Morgan's eternal hatred for card battle games such as Yu-Gi-Oh! and Japanese dating simulation games. There is also the hosts' constant abuse of the show's interns, and the vitriol towards Adam and Morgan in viewer e-mails sent by Dragon Ball Z, Inuyasha, and Fullmetal Alchemist fans. Sessler is also known to make remarks expressing his lack of bladder control, his bad luck with females, hatred for his own life, and occasionally even alludes to suicide.
Recurring characters
These characters/personalities have made numerous appearances on the show, either as part of the show's theme or as part of the game review.
- Ratty Handpuppet, an obscenity-spewing hand puppet first introduced during a review of NRA Varmint Hunter (known for the phrases "oh snap!", "suck it bitches!" and drawn out "damn!") On X-Play's 2005 holiday special it's revealed that Ratty is Jewish
- Johnny Xtreme, a caricature and personification of the "X-treme" sports genre, usually feels the need to hit himself in the crotch with a beer bottle.
- Guy LaFleur, aka Canadian Guy, a blatant French-Canadian stereotype and hockey fanatic, who "walked off" X-Play after Morgan gave a 3 out of 5 score to EA NHL 2006 and made jokes about the Montreal Canadiens. Guy was replaced by Le Adam Sess le'uer and Webb de Morgan, parodies of Guy performed by Adam and Morgan, who wear down-filled coats and Ushankas similar to Guy's, and who speak with bad Quebecois accents. Guy returned a few episodes later, only to be shot, sparking a mystery as to who shot him (a parody of the Dallas "Who Shot J.R.?" storyline).
- Roger "The Stan Lee Experience", a foul-mouthed, perverted stand-up comic parody of Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee, used when X-Play needs (but doesn't bother to get) the real Lee's insight into the latest Marvel-licensed game. Performed by X-Play's associate producer Michael Leffler.
- Governatuh Ah-nuld, a gap-toothed, musclebound, sunburned parody of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Also performed by Michael Leffler.
- Sniff, a shady looking individual who's nose is always covered in white powder (supposedly cocaine, but this is never actually explained), and who sniffs and snorts anything he sees.
- Drunk Link, an alcoholic parody of Link from the Legend of Zelda series, performed by Michael Leffler.
- The Drunk Writer, a female staffer (and girlfriend to Drunk Link) who wears a shirt bearing the words "I Need Drink", who is always seen chain smoking and drinking from a bottle of Southern Comfort, performed by X-Play senior writer Blair Butler.
- The Screaming Intern, who only communicates in loud high-pitched screams.
- Evil Star Wars Fanboy, who tried on two separate occasions to kill Adam and Morgan after they gave a 2 out of 5 score to Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, performed by X-Play editor Jason Cheung.
- Jedi Master Morgan Windu, the fictional divorced widow of Star Wars character Mace Windu, who fights evil fanboys using her late husband's signature purple lightsaber (which she claims to have won during their divorce hearing). Performed by Morgan.
- Lando Sessler, Adam's cosplay of Star Wars character Lando Calrissian.
- Slippy the Fish and Slappy the Fish, real red snappers used as comedic props during the less-than-exciting GDC conferences (Slippy was also featured in the review of Aquaman: The Battle for Atlantis).
- Cobra and Mongoose, badly drawn Flash-like cartoon spoofs of characters from the movie Top Gun.
- Old Man Stumpy Hazleton, the senile, wheelchair-ridden X-Play video game historian.
- Telly The FCC Standards & Practices Vole, a prudish rodent with a monocle and pimp hat who butted into a review for Mr. Driller Drill Spirits which had crude sexual humor, threatening to report Adam and Morgan for violating FCC standards by yelling 'I'm gonna report you!' (despite the FCC having no oversight of basic cable networks like G4).
- Special Agent Bob and Secret Agent Steve, the best offical unoffical splinter cells in the United States, characters from Splinter Cell Co-op Theater, X-Play's machinima series based on the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell games. Bob also believes that his name is "Thor-Axe the Impaler" and dubbed Steve as "Steve the Vagina." Bob and Steve occasionally argue about seeing Brokeback Mountain, Bob refuses to see it while Steve edges him on. The agents are given their assingments by Sam Fisher, the main charactor of Splinter Cell.
- Rodney, a mentally challenged intern who wears wrestling headgear and enjoys "playing Xerox" (unnecessarily printing blank paper from the office Xerox machine).
Not so-recurring characters
These characters/personalities have made one or two appearances on the show but are not really considered 'regulars'.
- Adam V, a robot intern who murdered most of the X-Play staff until Morgan stopped his rampage by falling in love with him and teaching him about sacrifices in the name of love.
- Raoul Sessler and Amelia Earhart, parodies of the Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo characters from the Hunter S. Thompson story Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas. Performed by Adam and Morgan in a Fear and Loathing parody episode of X-Play, when they venture out to the New Mexico desert in search of the infamous missing E.T. cartridges.
- Adam 2.0, a "clone" of Adam, performed by his real life twin brother Jonathan Sessler.
- The Reservoir Geeks, featuring Adam, Morgan and other X-Play staffers dressed in two-tone suits, discussing the Madonna song Like A Virgin and how it relates to video games, directly parodying the opening diner scene from the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs.
- Grover the Crack Squirrel, a drug-addicted squirrel puppet introduced in a review of the M-rated game NARC.
- The Resident Evil 4 Merchant, who haunted and annoyed the cubicles of the G4 offices with the constant queries of "What'r ya buyin'?" & "What'r ya sellin'?", until Morgan killed him during one of the merchant's "sales meetings".
- Kratos the God Killer, the main character from God of War who tried a new life as an intern after killing inferior gods.
- Mr. Nemeesis, the "Nemesis" character from Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, who temporarily worked for X-Play as a production assistant. Performed by outgoing executive producer (and ZDTV/TechTV veteran) Peter Hammersley.
- Albert the Happy Intern, Featured in the preview for Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, Albert is an intern who is incredibly happy and adds a lot of enthusiasm into whatever he says, such as, "I look like a complete tool, 3D is AWESOME!".
X-Play Video Podcast
On November 11, 2005, G4 started offering a video podcast feed of X-Play. Short videos of popular segments and reviews from the show are offered freely for download for people to view on their computers and portable devices.
The interns
- From Los Angeles, California: Gene, Chuck, Issac, Eric, Albert, Chris W, Geoff, Brian, Russ, Emily
- From San Francisco, California: Chris I, Kevin , Matt , Desiree, Robert, Jana, Blake, Kevin