Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight and I, @zombiepie, am once again honored to be your host this week. Things were certainly… “interesting” last week, to say the least. As the doldrums of Autumn draw nigh things are about to get interesting in the world of video games. With this hailstorm of confusing news behind us there are more than a few bits of site related housekeeping worth reviewing.
- IGN’s “Nintendo Voice Chat” podcast recently had Jeff as a guest! On the podcast they disseminated what everyone knows about the Nintendo NX.
- Danny O’Dwyer got married! Wish him and his wife the best on Twitter.
- This week a number of users reported experiencing bad transfer speeds on Giant Bomb.
- Dan will be hosting an AMA on the Giant Bomb subreddit on Tuesday 8/2/2016, shortly after the live Bombcast. I can only assume that many of you have plenty of questions to ask Dan right now.
Clip(s) of the Week
See You Around(about) (By: @samcb)
Here’s a fun little Roundabout mashup video that features the “stipulation” from Jason and Dan’s Street Fighter V bet that many of you are now aware of from the 7/29/2016 UPF.
GB Hitman “Trailer” (By: @graboids)
graboids managed to create a wonderful trailer for HitDan featuring the likes of Brad and Dan spliced into pre-existing Hitman trailer footage.
Supercut Metal Gear Scanlon 1-5: Dan Says Nucular (By: @mepsipax)
Mepsipax’s latest supercut compiles all of the times Dan mispronounced “nuclear” during Metal Gear Scanlon. It’s a fun short video to say the least.
Giant Bomb Galleria
Banner – Dr. Dale Pitbull (By: bakadeshi)
Tumblr user bakadeshi created this artwork in honor of Brad’s recent Hitman accomplishment as “Dr. Sniper, the sniping doctor.”
SVC Chaos x Tattoo Assassins (By: @darkbeatdk)
DarkbeatDK created this hilarious photoshop as a result of the latest Ranking of Fighters which included the crisp sprites of SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom, and abject horror that is Tattoo Assassins.
Stranger Things x Giant Bomb (By: @fobwashed)
Fobwashed is back with another new Giant Bomb logo design! This one merges the 80s aesthetic of Stranger Things with Giant Bomb.
Community Activities
Giant ROM 3 – The Giant Bomb Game Jam Once Again (By: @havochq)
The 2016 installment of Giant ROM 3, the Giant Bomb Game Jam, has been set up! Get the details on how to join it, and how you can practice your coding abilities.
Giant ROM Boot Camp – Let’s Get Better at Making Games (By: @havochq)
Speaking of coding, HavocHQ has a wonderfully helpful guide which can assist any users wanting to participate in the Giant ROM Game Jam even if you have no game development experience!
Best of Blogs
My Interview With Alex Navarro On Giant Bomb, Its Great Community, And The Site’s Future (By: @lionheart377)
Lionheart377 had the immense pleasure of being able to interview @alex_navarro! Give it a listen, and feel free to provide him with tips for future interviews.
Metroid and Me, Part 6: Torvus Chips (By: @majormitch)
MajorMitch digs further into Metroid’s gameplay actions this week on his latest Metroid and Me blog. This week he spent most of his time discussing its creative use of platforming and puzzles.
Episodes & Scenarios & Sunday Summaries 07/24/2016: Stardew Valley & Stardone Valley (By: @mento)
Mento has run a number of case studies examining how Square Enix could possibly apply an episodic format to any of their JRPG franchises. Feel free to share your two cents about the viability of such an experiment. He also searched for an escape from the endless farming/life sim Stardew Valley, and provided another edition of his regular Sunday Summaries feature.
Furi, Principle, and Hell (By: @mooseymcman)
From Furi to Overwatch, MooseyMcMan played a smattering of games in the past month and discusses all of them!
What I’ve Been Playing 7/30/16: And What I’m Excited About! (By: @sagesebas)
Downwell and Overwatch both dominated sagesebas’s last week in gaming. Not only does he share his opinion regarding those games, but he also discusses the games he’s looking forward to.
Lawbreakers Alpha Impressions – You Can Shoot Backwards (By: @humanity)
Humanity spent a fair amount of time tinkering around with the alpha of Cliff Bleszinski’s latest outing, LawBreakers! On his blog he welcomes you in sharing your impressions related to the game.
The Sad, Bad World of Sonic the Hedgehog’s 25th Anniversary Party (By: @gamer_152)
Gamer_152 comments on the psychedelic mix of bafflement and pity that he felt while watching Sonic’s 25th Anniversary Party. This blog is NOT approved by the Official Sonic Twitter Account to say the least.
Adventure Afterlife 20 Years Of Adventure Games – Part 3 1994 (By: @azuresama)
From Beneath a Steel Sky to Tex Murphy, azuresama blogs about the notable adventure games released in 1994 and how these games have shaped his perception of video games as a medium.
Uncharted: The Fourth Labyrinth Book Review (By: @ono_sendai)
Did you know that there was an Uncharted book? Well Ono_Sendai read and reviewed Uncharted: The Fourth Labyrinth on his latest blog, and you can discover if it is an adventure worth reading about.
Join the Discussion
Could You Only Play Retro Games For A Year? (By: @lozz)
Could you only play retro games for an entire year? Profess your love of CRTs and pixel art, as well as a list of games that could bide your time, over here.
If Battleborn Went Free-to-play Tomorrow, Would You Play It? [Poll & Thread] (By: @spaceinsomniac)
If Battleborn went free-to-play would that motivate you to check it out or get back into it? Discuss if you think the free-to-play model is the panacea that the game desperately needs right now.
The International 2016 Official Discussion Thread (By: @zomgfruitbunnies)
The International 2016 is all set to begin less than a week from now! Join our discussion thread for the event and share which team you have pegged to reign supreme in the end.
Headlander Impressions/Opinion Sharing Thread (By: @mathj)
Do any of you have early impressions related to Double Fine’s latest offering, Headlander? Join the community effort to discern this perplexing science-fiction game.
We Happy Few Early Access Discussion Thread (By: @hach)
We Happy Few is currently available on Early Access! Feel free to orate how your effort to get off your “happy” pills went with other users that have tinkered around with the game.
Neverwinter – Questions, Answers, and Tips Thread (By: @spaceinsomniac)
SpaceInsomniac has created a helpful guide filled to the brim with tips for the PS4 version of the MMO Neverwinter for anyone that may be interested in exploring the game soon.
Are Big Video Game Franchises A Dying Breed? (By: @katpottz)
Will this generation of gaming mark the end of AAA game development? Or will the industry be able to maintain a happy balance between big budget releases and smaller indie games?
Lovable Lists
Volcanic Rock (By: @mento)
Which games feature the best lava level music? Moderator Mento created this top ten list to answer that exact question, whilst also downing a couple of pineapple daiquiri during a luau.
Games Where YOU Are The Monster! (By: @warcat777)
warcat777 is working on a comprehensive list of games that allow players to control hideous monsters! Right now he’s taking requests in order to make his list complete!
Party on the Go (By: @ladyhobbit)
Which Wii U games would most benefit from the Nintendo NX’s fabeled portability? LadyHobbit was able to think of a few games that could benefit from being docked to a TV.
Useful User Reviews
- @riostarwind’s Kirby: Planet Robobot review shares how everyone’s favorite pink marshmallow’s latest outing is a compelling package.
- @riostarwind also extrapolates upon the flaws that held back his overall enjoyment of Headlander.
- @jaypb08 discusses the raucous time that he had with Hyper Light Drifter, and why he recommends everyone try it out.
- @stordoff reviews how The Magic Circle‘s aimlessness occasionally hinders an otherwise interesting story about the perils of game development.
- @stordoff assessment of Adventure Lamp discusses how it’s a charming puzzle platformer that surprisingly avoids becoming tiresome.
- @vert_vermillion analysis of 7th Dragon III Code: VFD, shares why it may be worth your time to try out this mechanically sound JRPG.
Wonderful Wikis
Marvel Ultimate Alliance & Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
Both of the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games have been re-released on the current generation of video game consoles, which is a wonderful reminder that both games have some of the most well done wiki pages on the entire site. So give them both a view whenever you have the chance.
