Reviews on the Run
Reviews on the Run (formerly known as Judgment Day in the United States and "Reviews on the Rock" in the earlier seasons of The Electric Playground) is a video game review TV show hosted by Victor Lucas and Scott C. Jones (permanently replacing the position vacated by Tommy Tallarico). The show is produced by Lucas' company Greedy Productions. The two hosts rate games independently on a scale of .5 point increments from 0 through 10, with 0 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.
| Reviews on the Run | |
|---|---|
 Logo used since 2012 | |
| Genre | Video games |
| Created by | Victor Lucas |
| Developed by | Greedy Productions Ltd. |
| Directed by | Victor Lucas |
| Theme music composer | Audio Network Canada Westar Music Tommy Tallarico Studios |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Victor Lucas |
| Producer(s) | Victor Lucas Rob Koval |
| Production location(s) | Vancouver, British Columbia Toronto, Ontario San Francisco, California Los Angeles, California |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Greedy Productions Ltd. |
| Distributor | Greedy Productions Ltd. |
| Release | |
| Original network | G4 Canada City |
| Original release | 2002 – 2014 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | EP Daily Greedy Docs The Lab With Leo Laporte |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The show has aired in Canada on G4 Canada and City, with pre-2006 episodes airing on G4 in the United States. The show was previously shown in Canada on CTV Two, Space, Razer, and OMNI.1. The show came to an end in 2014, where it reverted into segment on The Electric Playground (now known as EP Daily).
The show is filmed on location at several different locales around Vancouver, British Columbia. Episodes are also occasionally recorded in other cities, such as Tokyo, Japan. A common trademark of the show is to have the hosts stand in frame as video game footage is projected onto an object in the background such as a billboard or the side of a building. The show is filmed over the course of several hours and later edited to fit the show's thirty-minute time frame.
History
Reviews on the Run began as a segment on The Electric Playground at the end of each episode. In 2002, the show was spun off into its own half-hour program. For the United States audience, it was renamed to Judgment Day and launched alongside the G4 channel in April 2002.[1]
On January 13, 2006, Lucas announced on the G4 forums that Judgment Day was no longer going to be produced for G4. The program continued to run internationally (including on G4 Canada) as the original Reviews on the Run.[2] Specific details about the negotiations have not been disclosed, and the show has not returned to U.S. airwaves with new episodes since then, other than as a segment on The Electric Playground.
On December 31, 2006, Lucas announced on The Electric Playground forums that Greedy Productions had canceled its contract with CHUM television, which broadcast Electric Playground and Reviews on the Run on Space and A-Channel, and signed a two-year exclusive deal with Rogers Communications, to broadcast the shows on G4 Canada and then additionally on other Rogers owned TV stations.[3] Reviews on the Run aired on OMNI.1 from January 28, 2007 to September 3, 2007. On December 15, 2007, Reviews on the Run premiered on Citytv Toronto and Citytv Vancouver. On June 2, 2008, G4 started airing episodes of Judgment Day as a part of their G4 Rewind block.
On February 17, 2010, Lucas announced on The Electric Playground forums that Reviews on the Run would become a daily show, beginning March 1, 2010, and that the scope of the show would be expanded to include reviews of Blu-rays, movies, gadgets, tech, PC and console gaming peripherals, hardware and graphic novels.[4]
On February 19, 2015, Lucas announced that the standalone Reviews on the Run show would not continue.[5] The final new episode aired in Canada on Citytv and G4 on December 12, 2014.[6][7] Reviews would once again be featured as a segment in the 25th season of EP Daily. Starting with the review of Gods of Egypt, released on February 25, 2016, the segment became truncated.[8] After that show ended its TV run later in the year, the Reviews on the Run brand has continued to be used for short videos released on the Electric Playground YouTube channel hosted by Lucas and the occasional guest.
Cast
Reviewers
Victor Lucas and Tommy Tallarico have been both co-workers and good friends since their first meeting at E3 in 1995. Onscreen the two enjoy plenty of brotherly scraps, with Tallarico typically playing the role of a more aggressive, even gutter-minded gamer and Lucas being more businesslike and sedate. During the "Hardware" segment of Reviews on the Run, Tallarico has occasionally taken the video gaming hardware (console controllers for example) that they were reviewing, and put it down the front of his pants he was wearing, to the disgust of Lucas.
Due to commitments with Video Games Live, Tallarico was absent for six episodes from the 2006 season, and the majority of the last two seasons (though he has returned for a few select episodes) Geoff Keighley co-hosted with Lucas in all of the 2006 episodes. Tallarico missed the 2007 and 2008 seasons of the show, which featured a number of guest hosts, including Keighley, Scott Jones, Tom Russo, Marc Saltzman, José "Fubar" Sánchez, Ben Silverman, and Steve Tilley.
In early 2010, Jeff Cannata, co-host of The Totally Rad Show, joined the cast as a guest reviewer. Shortly thereafter, he accepted daily duty, reviewing newly released Blu-rays alongside Miri Jedeikin.
On June 11, 2009, Lucas announced on The Electric Playground website that Scott Jones would be joining him full-time as his co-host on the show.[9]
Segments
- The majority of Reviews on the Run consists of review segments for individual games on a current major console or on PC. Prior to December 2007, both hosts gave a recap of the "hits" (positives) and "misses" (negatives) after the review ended, with the host who gave the higher rating stating the positive side of the game. Three of these review segments occur in most episodes. On occasion, handheld or downloaded games will be featured in this format.
- Pocket Reviews – Lucas or Jones reviews a game on a handheld console or device.
- Buried Treasures – Lucas or Jones talks about a game they felt was great, but overlooked by consumers. Originally, a Buried Treasure game was not scored and only recommended but now it is both scored and recommended.
- Classic Reviews – A flashback from an older episode is shown, with a condensed review of an older title. In most cases, the game being reviewed ties in with a game reviewed on the same episode.
- Hardware – The two hosts review a video game peripheral device, system, add-on, or controller. Occasionally, a game can also be reviewed here if it requires the hardware in question to play it. "Hardware Girls" (including Evangeline Lilly) are shown demonstrating and modeling the hardware in question during the review. Instead of rating the device on a scale, the hosts will either "recommend" or "not recommend" the device. Occasionally, the hardware device will be "not recommended with an asterisk" (e.g. the device is not worth its current price, or not recommended if you currently own an older model).
- The Playlist – The "Playlist" segment is a 2010 new feature every Friday, where Victor and Scott review the best games and/or movies of the week that are worth the time to play or watch until the next week's show. It's also been known to assist viewers in building their weekends. Up until 2006 Lucas provided a quick rundown of the top five games in a particular category, such as a particular genre, or a given system in the "Shit / Hit List."
- Second Opinion - A game is covered by a different set of hosts who give their thoughts and scores of a game.
- Reboot - Reboot has the hosts review a game they already reviewed in the past that they feel wasn't given enough attention but deserved to. It's similar to Classic Review and the Second Opinion segments.
- Versus – The two hosts review and compare two or three games of a similar genre or subject. They typically break down the review by comparing the graphics, audio, and gameplay of the games in question, with both hosts naming which of the games was better in each category. The games are scored by both hosts, with the game with the highest cumulative score being named the winner of the Versus segment.
- $5 Dollars In Your Pocket – A segment that comes at the end of the show that recommends multiple games that are 5 dollars or less.
- Cameo – Someone usually connected to the film and video game industry who tells everyone what they're up to and what movie or game they're currently enjoying.
- Recap - After the end of the show recaps of the reviews are featured. It briefly goes over, the positive and negative features of each. A listing of the positives and negatives used to be given alongside the vocal listings but are no longer part of the format.
- Rogers Video Game of the Show / Rogers Must-Buy Of The Day – The highest rated game or Blu-ray featured on that show is awarded the title of Rogers Video Game Of The Show.
- Every December, an episode is aired where the hosts rate the current major video game consoles, and the PC, on the titles released that year for that platform. The episode was called "Holiday Reviews on the Run" in 2006 and "Year in Review" in 2007.
- Rocket & Raygun Awards - A monthly version of special episode features recaps of the best games of the month. A year-end version of Rocket and Raygun Awards episodes are presented in award show format, featuring show hosts voting the best games of the year for the selected categories.
Video games with perfect-score reviews
The following is a list of games that have been given a perfect 10/10 score by both hosts since the expansion to the half-hour format.
| Game | Reviewers |
|---|---|
| Grand Theft Auto III | Victor Lucas Tommy Tallarico |
| Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | Victor Lucas Tommy Tallarico |
| Burnout 3: Takedown | Victor Lucas Tommy Tallarico |
| Burnout Revenge | Victor Lucas Tommy Tallarico |
| God of War II | Victor Lucas Tommy Tallarico |
| Halo 3 | Victor Lucas José Sánchez |
| The Orange Box | Victor Lucas José Sánchez |
| Grand Theft Auto IV | Victor Lucas Scott Jones |
| Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned | Victor Lucas Scott Jones |
| Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots | Victor Lucas José Sánchez |
| Flower | Victor Lucas Scott Jones |
| Assassin's Creed II | Victor Lucas Scott Jones |
| Pac-Man Championship Edition DX | Victor Lucas Scott Jones |
| The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection | Victor Lucas Scott Jones |
| Resident Evil 4 | Victor Lucas Scott Jones |
| The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages | Victor Lucas Scott Jones |
| The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword | Victor Lucas Scott Jones |
| Mass Effect 3 | Victor Lucas Scott Jones |
| Dishonored | Victor Lucas Scott Jones |
| Super Metroid | Victor Lucas Scott Jones |
| The Last of Us | Victor Lucas Scott Jones |
| Pokémon X and Y | Marissa Roberto Shawn Hatton |
| Super Mario 3D World | Marissa Roberto Shawn Hatton |
| Grand Theft Auto V | Marissa Roberto Shawn Hatton |
| Rayman Legends | Marissa Roberto Shawn Hatton |
| The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds | Victor Lucas Scott Jones |
This list includes games that were given a 10/10 score by a reviewer, but was not unanimous.
| Reviewer | Games |
|---|---|
| Victor Lucas |
Super Mario 64 |
| Scott C. Jones | InFamous Limbo Joe Danger Donkey Kong Country Returns Fifa 10 Ninja Gaiden 2 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Dead Rising 2 Portal 2 God of War: Origins Collection Mark of the Ninja |
| Jose Sanchez | Gears of War 3 Gears of War 2 |
| Tommy Tallarico | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Beyond Good & Evil Sly 2: Band of Thieves Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Ico |
Lowest-rated game
The lowest rated game ever on the show was Halo Jump for the iPad, which reviewer Shaun Hatton gave a -10, making it the third game to score less than 0 on the show. The first 0/10 was given by Tallarico for the game High Heat Major League Baseball 2003; he hated the game so much he stormed off partway through the review, followed by sounds of a car screeching away. Tallarico's hatred for the game would end up being a running gag throughout his stint of being host. The lowest rated handheld game was Wacky Races: Crash and Dash (Nintendo DS), which received a 0/10 from Tommy.
Highest-rated portable handheld games
Here are a list of games that got perfect 10 on handheld on the show since it went on from Victor, Scott and Tommy:
Namco Museum Battle (PSP), New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo DS), Ken Griffey Jr's Slugfest (Game Boy Color), Yoshi's Island Advance (Game Boy Advance) and God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP). Flipnote Studios (Nintendo DSi) and Sketch Nation (iPhone/iPad) both got a 10/10 since the show went daily by Victor, making the highest-rated downloadable games to date since it the show became daily. Papa Sangre (iphone/Ipod) received a perfect score from Scott Jones. Plants vs. Zombies (DS) is the first 10/10 by New host Shaun Hatton
Differing opinions
Sometimes, the two hosts will have completely differing opinions on a game, with one giving way different scores than the other. (An example of this was the 2005 review of We Love Katamari; while Lucas enjoyed the gameplay and pointed out the good of the game, Tallarico hated the game, particularly its music. The result: Lucas gave it an 8.5/10 while Tallarico gave it a 3/10.) Another example of this happened while reviewing The Green Hornet: Victor enjoyed the movie giving it an 8.0/10 while Scott Jones gave it a 4.0/10.
In popular culture
- In the series Mega64, Judgment Day is parodied as Judgmental Night, hosted by Tommy Tallarico and "Luke Victorious". Tommy Tallarico appears in the skit as Hairy Gary the Feral Child; however, the Tommy Tallarico character in the same skit is portrayed by Derrick Acosta.
Opening logos
The original Reviews on the Run logo, for stations outside the US. Used from 2002–2007..png)
The American Judgment Day logo. The show ran from 2002–2006 on G4.
References
- "G4 NETWORK ANNOUNCES ALL-ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING SLATE". Comcast (Press release). Los Angeles. 2002-04-09. Archived from the original on 2003-06-09. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
- Victor Lucas (2006-01-13). "What's up with JD? - From Vic & Tommy". Archived from the original on 2007-03-11.
- Victor Lucas (2006-12-31). "Huge 2007 News For ROTR and EP!!! Need Your Help! :)". The Electric Playground Forum. The Electric Playground. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
- Victor Lucas (2010-02-17). "ROTR Daily starts March 1, 2010!". The Electric Playground Forum. Archived from the original on 2010-02-21. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
- Victor Lucas (2015-02-19). "EP Daily Is Back in Action! All-New Season Premieres Monday, Feb 23". The Electric Playground. EPN.TV. Archived from the original on 2015-02-22. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
- "CITY-TV Broadcast Log for December 2014". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
- "G4 Tech TV Canada Broadcast Log for December 2014". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
- EPNdotTV (2016-02-25), Gods of Egypt Movie Review - EPN Reviews on the Run, retrieved 2018-01-30
- Victor Lucas (2009-06-11). "Scott Jones joins me on ROTR!". The Electric Playground. Archived from the original on 2009-06-14. Retrieved 2018-12-05.