Welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight! I, @zombiepie, am once again honored to be your host as we look back at the site-related news and best community creations from the Giant Bomb community!
Last week, some people were slightly confused about the Giant Bomb X/Twitter account teasing an upcoming "positive" announcement. For those wondering, that announcement involved the reveal of the first batch of guests for Giant Bomb @ Nite 2024!
Other programming news relates to there not being a BCR podcast this week. Jan and others revealed that the Giant Bomb staff had to use the normal recording time for the BCR podcast to prepare for other events and things. It will return next week.
I don't have any major updates about the fixes for the video player this week. The staff and Dylan have signaled that the prep work for the site's Summer Game Fest streaming plans have taken a major priority, but I promise to have more details this time next week.
Giant Bomb's NOT-E3 2024 Information
E3 is dead and buried, but that doesn't mean that Giant Bomb @ Nite is also dead. In fact, this year Giant Bomb may have the most ambitious GamingEventInJune plans it has ever had, which you can learn all about here!
GET EXCITED, IT'S A LOCKDOWN BABY!The Not-E3 2024 Time Zone Chart - Many thanks to @marino for once again making a handy timezone chart for all of the big conferences and streaming events during Not-E3 2024. The chart has been updated again this week to include two more showcases!
Giant Bomb @ Nite LIVE! - A few hours after the Xbox presentation on Sunday June 9th at 8 PM (PDT), Giant Bomb will be doing GB@Nite live in-person at The Bellwether in Los Angeles. Regular tickets are $40.
Special Note For Premium Members! - For those of you with an active Premium Subscription, you have the option to get a "VIP Package." The benefits of this package include being guaranteed to sit in the first three rows, early entry into the theater, and being able to watch an exclusive Q&A panel. To get the details on how to nab this premium package, head on over to the Giant Bomb Discord and find the "Q-and-A-Questions" section of the Premium field.
The Dark echo continues to be the Giant Bomb gift that keeps on giving.
The Dark Echo Echoes as Grubb's Blight continues. Featuring Jeff Grubb, Dan, and Mike with a special appearance by the Dark Echo himself, Jeff Bakalar, and a Mister Jan Mosquito.
Oh, wow, will you look at that! Kone made something that is bound to haunt your dreams! I don't know if it is the legs or pouch that bothers me more in this nightmarish work of Photoshopery.
Additionally, Kone decided to mix Jan and Dan at WrestleMania with this latest Call of Duty advertisement that seems to have gone viral for being a little on the dramatic side.
Earlier this week, Lucy shared some pictures of her attending an official event for the upcoming Elden Ring stuff. An eagle-eyed Giant Bomb fan pointed out that due to the angle of her picture, the way she was sitting made her look like a Hobbit from The Lord of the Rings, and as you can see below, people sure did run with that!
Please remember to click the usernames as it will direct you to each of the individuals that made these hilarious creations.
Little Kitty, Big City is the latest pick for the Giant Bomb Community Game Pass Game Club! Share your thoughts about the game and its adorable world and cast of characters in the first thread linked above.
Also, as you can see in the second thread, the previous Game Pass Game Club pick, My Friend Peppa Pig, is now open to spoiler discussion! Are there any spoilers to discuss? WHO CARES! Overall, what are your thoughts about Peppa Pig in general?
Oh, you just knew this site would have something covering the most recent Amico news!
Moderator ZombiePie wrote an essay on why they want to implore everyone in the press and gaming community to stop citing Iwata anecdotes whenever layoffs hit gaming studios. Review their core thesis on this blog.
Grubb is now not the only person that has nightmares about Bubsy.
Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore is often billed as a spiritual successor to Zelda CD-i games. bigsocrates penned on essay on why that's definitely the case, and why they enjoyed it despite some stark gameplay contrivances.
There's also a lot of Amico news to mull over this week and you KNOW that means bigsocrates is on the site with a post all about what's happening with the video game white elephant. Also, how much sympathy should be extended to Amico supporters?
It's time for another tour through the "wonderful" world of Atari Jaguar gaming with borgmaster! This week, they join Grubb in exploring the Bubsy IP. Is the Jaguar Bubsy game as bad as Bubsy 3D? No, but it still sucks.
It's weird to think about nowadays, but Gearbox was the studio in charge of Half-Life for like... five years.
This edition of moderator Mento's "64 in 64" series tackles Star Wars: Rogue Squadron and The New Tetris! Do either games hold up all that well? Also, how much fun can someone have with them in just 64 minutes? Read all about it!
Likewise, Mento has a new edition of their Indie Game of the Week feature and this one is all about Carrion! Did they enjoy the highly visceral Metroidvania action in this title? You'll just have to read to find out!
Remember that weird period when the Half Life franchise was being managed and kept alive by Gearbox? What is the legacy and influence of Half-Life: Opposing Force if any? Read Gamer_152 's latest blog to read what they think!
Can Steam make this godforsaken interface/marketplace less shitty?
It's a topic that drives a lot of debate, but do you consider this round of video game consoles an overall flop? Is the Switch the only real highlight when it comes to console gaming with an identity? Join the debate and share what you think.
What's your gut reaction to all of this news about Steam having compatibility with the next set of Xbox hardware? Fundamentally, do you think it's technically possible and who benefits from it the most?
This week also marked the first time Dan made a poll in the Giant Bomb chat. This will obviously not have any consequences we come to regret.
Atari has bought the Intellivision name and library. However, the modern Intellivision company will use this compensation to finally publish an Amico console. What's your reaction?
What's your reaction to the release and reception of Senua's Saga: Hellblade II? Are you excited to play the game? Are you surprised that the reviews are all over the place?
What do you think the gaming press looks like just two years from now?
IGN Entertainment/ZiffDavis has acquired GameIndustry.biz, Eurogamer, VG247, Rock Paper Shotgun, and more. Likewise, employees at all of those sites have been made redundant. Is there a risk of gaming becoming an information/news desert?
Compared to the past, of the current major console makers, who has gotten better at making ergonomic or comfortable controllers? Who has gotten worse over time?
What do you make of the reviews for this game being all over the place?
Have any of you in the community checked out and watched the rediscovered 2004 video interview with Satoru Iwata? If you haven't catch it over here and feel free to share your overall thoughts about the man!
With EVO Championship Series 2024 looming, here's a discussion thread for the internet fighting game community? What do you think is to blame for the sad state of the Dead or Alive series? DLC? Immaturity? Team Ninja moving to ARPGs?
Dragon's Dogma II is still a game some people are talking about as we near the halfway mark of 2024. So, Hellscream decided to play every single Dragon's Dogma game as well as consume all of the tie-in Dragon's Dogma media as prep. Which of these works do they recommend? Read the list to find out.
Reviews
Still one of the greatest racing games of all-time?
@pauljeremiah's Ridge Racer Type 4 review tries to make the case why this arcade racer deserves the "classic" label. Click the link to read why they don't think it's just nostalgia that makes the game have staying power.
@pauljeremiah's Day of the Tentacle Remastered review talks about why this version of the game is the one to play and the many ways that it does a legendary adventure game justice!
@geimers' Rise of the Robots review affirms why they think the game is as bad as people make it out to be and why it has a claim as one of the worst games on the Genesis, despite having a fairly in-depth system of mechanics.
There's been some rumormongering about Steam either being bought by Microsoft or teaming up with the Xbox consoles. Regardless of how much you buy into these rumors, Steam has certainly come a long way since being the exclusive way to buy Counter-Strike: Source. Read all about how the marketplace has evolved on our wiki concept page for it!
