Rogue Cinema - Classic Game Room (2007)

Classic Game Room (2007) - By Duane L. Martin
Posted on Saturday, September 01 @ Mountain Daylight Time by Duane

In 1999 Mark Bussler and David Crosson, two guys who loved video games...especially classic ones, jumped on the new wave of internet video. The combined their video production experience with the love of gaming to create Classic Game Room, a website with video reviews of classic games that carved out it's own special niche in the internet world of the time. (It's amazing how things change on the internet in such a short time isn't it?)

This film is essentially a documentary about the making of this highly entertaining review show, which also treats us to some of their favorite reviews. Some are cheesy, some hilarious...but all are fun.

I think this film / documentary appealed to me on a few levels. First, I'm also a huge fan of classic video games. My first game console was Pong, and I just kept going from there. Yes, I'm old...thanks for reminding me. Second...it's funny. These guys have a great sense of humor, and that shows not only in the reviews themselves, but in the production of the documentary itself. Speaking of the production itself, the production quality here is just phenomenal. Everything from the editing to the content is all just wonderfully put together in an informative and entertaining way. Finally, these guys are just flat out likable. They seem like guys you'd love to hang out with and just play games, drink beer and BS about whatever.

I put this film in the same category as Frank Delle's, Keep Drinking Men!, which was a documentary about the making of Beer Drinkers in Space. You can find the review for both of these elsewhere on this site, but the point is, in both cases you're treated to a documentary, lovingly crafted by people who loved what they did and wanted to share the story behind it with the world. You just feel good when you finish watching these films, because you come away with a feeling like you wish you could have been a part of it. It's a good feeling, and the feelings of nostalgia really come through.

This film comes in at around 100 minutes, but by the end, you'll most likely be sorry it's over. Naturally people who are into classic video games are going to identify with this film more than those who aren't, but even for those who aren't, you'll likely still find this to be a highly entertaining and just flat out interesting story that shouldn't be missed.

If you'd like to find out more about this film or pick up a copy for yourself, you can check out the film's website at http://www.classicgameroom.net.