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 as we look at the best offerings from the Giant Bomb community. With EVO 2018 in full swing, Ben and Jason were away to attend the event, but that didn't stop Giant Bomb from churning out the hilarious and wonderful videos we all enjoy. Alex's new Mass Effect video series has garnered a massive positive reaction outside of its title, which we will address in a little bit. Also, the Giant Bomb Game Jam ends this week. With that in mind, this and next week's edition of the Spotlight will include many of the submissions to the Giant ROM 5! With all this in mind, let's jump into the site related housekeeping!
- All of the Giant Bomb staff have been interviewed by the 1099 podcast. If you wanted a thread with links to each of their interviews, the podcast's host, Lionheart377, has you covered.
- Last week, the Monster Hunter: World championship was hosted and, if you were not aware, a team representing the United States competed as "The Exquisite Corps."
The Giant ROM 5 Game Jam
If you haven't done so already, check out the Giant ROM 5 itch.io page and give the games created during the Game Jam a shot. Many of the creators are taking input from the community in how to make their games better. If you are still not convinced, here are screencaps from some of the games on the page thus far:
Giant Bomb Galleria
BANNER - Alexy Quest (By: @ridleydeckard)
User RidleyDeckard isn't happy with the title of Alex's new Mass Effect feature, and neither am I. Here's their High-Res banner of what they think it should have been called.
Bane Breaking Brad & Doom x Alexander And Friends (By: @boiter & @cynicologist)
The latest Breaking Brad is popular with the Photoshop crowd. Here's a quick but hilarious photoshop of Brad from Breaking Brad: Alexander and Friends by Giant Bomb user boiter. Also, Giant Bomb user cynicologist combined their two favorite Brad video features into one photoshop!
Commander Navarro (By: @blackno99)
Disappointed by the lack of Mass Alex fanart, but luckily Giant Bomb user blackno99 created this photo-shopped nightmare fuel.
I Made A Dumb Logo Thing To Commemorate The End Of Exquisite Corps (By: @notnert427)
To commemorate the end of The Exquisite Corps, Giant Bomb user notnert427 created this logo in honor of Dan! NEVER DOUBT THE ABOMINATION!
Clips Of The Week
Jeff Gerstmann Announces Giant Bomb On X-Play | March 6th, 2008 (By: VinnCo Collection)
You may recall a few weeks ago the staff unsuccessfully tried to find the original announcement of Giant Bomb during UPF. Over on YouTube, someone found Jeff's announcement of Giant Bomb on X-Play! Give it to watch if you are still celebrating Giant Bomb's tenth anniversary! March 6th, 2008 seems so long ago.
Dan Ryckert: Wildcard (By: stephen C)
Over on YouTube, someone created a compilation video of Giant Bomb's team follies in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds in an attempt to prove Dan is the truest definition of a "wildcard" when the staff play multiplayer games together.
Tweets Of The Week
I am having way too much fun with this #giantrom jam;
— Ellian (@ThisIsEllian) August 1, 2018
Here are some of the portraits I'll be using in the cutscenes!
I can't wait to put it all together god pic.twitter.com/w5MdYcIxcm
I did the thing, feat. @giantbomb pic.twitter.com/AShinWbtfu
— Wraith (@EasyToType) August 1, 2018
Can't participate in the gamejam but can whip up a quick mock of what I'm thinking. A Kairosoft style sim where you build the website and keep the company afloat for 10 years. I want to play this dumb game >,< pic.twitter.com/hQ7uz47AJf
— Steve Kim (@Fobwashed) July 31, 2018
This is going to be fantastic! Also, a throwback. pic.twitter.com/BoDxCs9K5h
— Mohammed Abdullah (@Mystic_Mile) July 31, 2018
Best Of Blogs
Mechanised: An Analysis of Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (By: @gamer_152)
This week, Moderator Gamer_152 dove deep into Assassin's Creed Syndicate to talk about its use of traversal mechanics, technical stability, language in games, and much more.
CPT Update 07/30/18 (By: @mago)
Giant Bomb user Mago updated their Capcom Pro Tour player rankings to include recent events and tournaments before the "big one." Check out their blog in preparation for EVO 2018.
Tale Of Wuxia Is A Beautiful Mess (Also, Requesting Opinions On The English Translation) (By: @francium34)
Francium34 loves Tale of Wuxia and considers it the most complete wuxia simulator one can dream for, but concedes it's the "drunken master" of modern translation jobs.
The Keyblade Chronicles - Episode Two (Kingdom Hearts Final Mix - Parts 06-09) (By: @danielkempster)
Part two of danielkempster's blog series on Kingdom Hearts continues! This episode details the myriad of Final Fantasy VII and VIII cameos in the game and the game's less than stellar boss fights.
Switch City, Vol. 4: Enter the Gungeon (By: @jeremyf)
JeremyF played the Nintendo Switch version of Enter the Gungeon! Give their blog a read if you want to know if that version is worth playing (hint: they think it's a quality port job).
Summer Fun With Robits (Titanfall 2) (By: @notnert427)
notnert427's latest blog extrapolates why Titanfall 2's single-player campaign is the PERFECT summer game! Give it a read over here and see if you agree it's a modern gaming summer jam.
Saturday Summaries 2018-08-04: Confluence Edition (By: @mento)
Mento's weekly round-up includes some game design talk, more chronological Genesis games, the Rorie-friendly puzzle game Puzzle Puppers, and a deep dive on Starbound.
Join The Discussion
No Man's Sky Tips And Tricks NEXT Edition (By: @bofooq)
Do you have any No Man's Sky NEXT tips or tricks? Are there any missions or instances you feel people should go out of their way to check out? Feel free to share what you had to learn the "hard way" in the game over here.
Is No Man's Sky Broken Even More Than Before? (By: @depecheload)
The internet seems to be buzzing about glitches and technical issues in No Man's Sky NEXT. How has the game been treating you? Share your positive or negative experiences.
No Man's Sky Picture/Video Sharing Thread (By: @mirado)
If you've been enjoying No Man's Sky NEXT, remember to post awesome pictures and videos of your space-faring adventures in our official image sharing thread! Here's a taste of some recent uploads.
Show Off Your No Man's Sky Character (By: @alistercat)
Now that character customization has been added, share screenshots of your character with the Giant Bomb community using the link. Here are a few community creations.
Favorite Job Combinations In Octopath Traveler? (By: @gerrid)
Calling all Octopath Traveler owners! What are your favorite job combinations in the game? How do you balance elemental or physical damage? How about equipment slots?
Who Did You Chose As Your Main In Octopath Traveler? (By: @emphulio)
Speaking of Octopath Traveler, which character is your go-to main in the game? Do you prefer the magic or physical characters? Vote and discuss the matter in our official poll/thread!
What Was The Last Game That Got You Excited Like You Used To When You Were A Kid? (By: @slaps2)
What was the last game that got you excited like you used to when you were a kid? Have any AAA games the past five years thrown you into a childlike state of whimsy?
Mass Alex Watitng Room (By: @glots)
Have you enjoyed Alex and Vinny's new Mass Effect series, "Mass Alex?" Well, feel free to join our official discussion thread and "Watitng Room" for the feature, and share your nostalgic memories of Mass Effect.
Yakuza 0 PC Version Discussion Thread (By: @zurv)
To everyone who enjoys the Yakuza games, how is the PC port of Yakuza 0? Join our discussion about the port job over here, and share if you think it's a good starting point for people who have never played a Yakuza game.
Games You Finished After A Long Break? (By: @glots)
Here's a fun discussion thread! What are some games you completed after a long break? What games took you months or years to complete? Share and discuss your picks.
Lovable Lists
NamCompendium: Game Boy RANKED (By: @jeffrud)
Giant Bomb user jeffrud definitively ranks Namco's forays into the original Game Boy from best to worst. If you must know, there will be Pac-Man.
Useful User Reviews
- @riostarwind went down the many paths of Stories: The Path of Destinies to reach the game's "true destiny" and reviews why it was worth it.
- With the death of LawBreakers nigh, Giant Bomb user @morecowbell24 tries to get to the bottom of its failure on their review for the game.