clagnaught's Articles

Clagnaught's Game of the Year, 2021 Edition

Just like impending doom, we still have videogames. But first, some housekeeping. Honorary Awards: Old Game of the Year: Hitman / Hitman 2 Best Game I Am (Somehow) Still Playing: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Best Game I Played Like 0.122474487139% Of: NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... Best Game I Suck At: Forza Horizon 5 Best Game I Liked That Also Weirdly Stressed Me Out: Unpacking Best "Yeah,...

Clagnaught's Game of the Year, 2020 Edition

I mean, at least there were some good games in 2020. But first, some housekeeping: Honorary Awards: Old Game of the Year: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Best Game I Played Like Two-Fifths Of: Kentucky Route Zero Best Game That Lost The Plot: Doom Eternal Best Game I Suck At: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 Best "I Don't Know...This Is Fine... " Game: Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout Best Use Of Hatsune Miku...

Giant Bomb Paused: An Art Collection

The year: 2014. The day: Halloween. The show: Unprofessional Fridays. This was the moment Jeff Gerstmann dressed up in a penguin costume. Gerstmann as Penguin (2014) This was also the moment I happened to pause the video, was amused by the results, and decided to start saving screenshots from random paused moments in various Giant Bomb videos. Why? Uh... It is Halloween once again. It is also t...

Thoughts On the Ending of The Last of Us Part II [Spoilers]

In case you somehow missed the spoiler tag in the title, hey spoilers. Here's a picture of a True Legend if you need some time to bail out of here. My Not Quite Review of The Last of Us Part II Since I finished The Last of Us Part II a week ago, I've been processing how I feel about the ending to the game. The overall experience is without a doubt exceptional. The graphical fidelity and art is...

I Went to NieR: Orchestra Concert re:12018: A Report From the Scene

Last weekend, I and many other people traveled to the faraway land of Chicago to attend the...wait, what was this thing called... ..."NieR: Orchestra Concert re:12018".... Sure, yeah, the NieR concert they're touring around right now. Here is my detailed report. Before The Show: Since the release of 2017's NieR:Automata , there's been no shortage albums, concerts, and NieR chill music mixes to...

Clagnaught's Games of the Year, 2019 Edition

We continue to be in the worst timeline, yet the games still come. But first, some housekeeping: Honorary Awards: Old Game of the Year: Valkyria Chronicles 4 Best Game I Put On My List Last Year: Slay the Spire Best Game I'm Waiting To Leave Early Access: Hades Best Game I Wish I Had Other People To Play With: Remnant: From the Ashes Best Game I Don't Know How To Play: Dota Underlords Best Prem...

Giant Bomb 2018 Year End Review

Hiya folk! So this isn't the most timely of blogs, but for the past year or two, I thought about writing a blog that highlights some of my personal favorite Giant Bomb moments and videos from that given year. While Nuke.com is a great anime site, it can be hard to uncover those hidden gems and standout episodes, series, and playthroughs, especially when you go back a few years. This has been do...

Clagnaught's Games of the Year, 2018 Edition

Huzzah, 2018 also sucked, huzzah! Here’s hoping 2019 is better, huzzah! Let’s talk about videogames. First, some housekeeping: Honorary Awards: Old Game Of The Year: The Sims 4 Best Opening Act: Life Is Strange 2 Best Prequel to the Prequel: Life Is Strange: Before the Storm , "Farewell" Best "Oh Right, This Early Access Game" Game: Wreckfest Best Game That Needs More Songs (On PS4): Beat Saber...

Best of Giant Bomb's Shenmue Endurance Run

Episode List: Episode 1 : Vinny must find sailors, Dan wants an Amiibo of Tom, and Alex's son is also named Fireboylt (Parts 1 through 6) Episode 2 : Vinny bumps into Fuku, Dan doesn’t remember this sneaking mission, and Alex can’t believe how long it takes to find that key (Parts 7 through 12) Episode 3 : Vinny fights a monster man, Dan sings Thunder Road, and Alex loves how much this lady suc...

Clagnaught's Games Of The Year, 2017 Edition

2017! What a shitshow! But also what a season, what a season! Thankfully there were a lot of great games that came out this year (and just as many I haven't finished or haven't had the chance to play yet). But last year my GOTY list was like five months late, so it's perhaps best I get this one out at least on time. There's a lot to cover, so I'm just going to jump in. As always, first some hou...

Reflecting on Buying All of Those Overwatch Loot Boxes

The last few months of 2017 has one of the easiest PLEASE STOP! trends in videogames that I can remember. It is becoming clearer and clearer that loot boxes are a problem. Their permutations are excessive and have infiltrated games regardless of their genre, whether they impact single player or multiplayer, or the game's upfront cost. The worst part about the rise of loot boxes is arguably how...

Goodbye Greenvale: On the Endurance Runs, the Best of Series, and My Mixed Feelings with Deadly Premonition

While I was wrapping up my own Endurance Run of sorts-- The Best of Giant Bomb’s Persona 4 Endurance Run --I was quietly working my way through both of the Deadly Premonition Endurance Runs. Unlike Persona 4 , which I considered to be my favorite videogame , I didn’t really know what to expect going into these dueling Endurance Runs. Years ago, I heard about how Deadly Premonition was one of th...

Best of Giant Bomb's Deadly Premonition Endurance Run--10 & 11, The Grand Finale

Episode List: Episode 01 : Vinny goes racing, Brad meets the Raincoat Killer, Jeff meets Zach, and Ryan sees "F K" in the coffee. (Covers: The beginning through Anna's autopsy) Episode 02 : Vinny hides, Brad runs away, Jeff meets Harry, and Ryan sees a shotgun. (Covers: Greenvale General Hospital through the Lumber Mill) Episode 03 : Vinny calls for Thomas, Brad goes fishing, Jeff meets Forrest...

Best of Giant Bomb's Deadly Premonition Endurance Run--09

Best of Giant Bomb's Deadly Premonition Endurance Run--08

Best of Giant Bomb's Deadly Premonition Endurance Run--07

Best of Giant Bomb's Deadly Premonition Endurance Run--06

Mario Party Party: The End of Giant Bomb

After making a mashup of Giant Bomb and Cruel Angel's Thesis over a year ago , I knew I wanted to do some kind of mashup between Giant Bomb and The End of Evangelion. In the end, I decided the best way to capture the madness of The End of Eva was a descent into Mario Party Party. (Also, I originally wanted to upload this video on December 31, 2016, so if everybody could pretend that is the date...

Best of Giant Bomb's Deadly Premonition Endurance Run--05

Best of Giant Bomb's Deadly Premonition Endurance Run--04

Best of Giant Bomb's Deadly Premonition Endurance Run--03

Best of Giant Bomb's Deadly Premonition Endurance Run--02

Best of Giant Bomb's Deadly Premonition Endurance Run--01

All Gone: On the Ending of The Last of Us

[Obligatory spoiler warning for the ending of The Last of Us] This is a blog I wanted to write--and tried to write--on and off in various forms over the past two years. With the news that, indeed, The Last of Us Part II is happening, I decided to try again and write about some thoughts I've had about one of my favorite videogame endings of all time. Although The Last of Us is one of my favorite...

DDR: Dance Dan Ryckert--Dancing All Night

Dan Ryckert dancing. This is basically a combination of three videos I wanted to make. I started working on this in mid-October when Dan mentioned dancing and DDR. About a week later, Dan actually played DDR on UPF while a bunch of other people spent 4 hours building half of a computer. And there was much rejoicing. Dan dancing on Unprofessional Fridays I was planning on using footage of Jeff d...

Alex Navarro Vs Fletcher (Giant Bomb Extra Life x Whiplash Mashup)

Well, this video shouldn't exist, but here it is. Hope you guys enjoy: [Note: This video features some of the ending to Whiplash] Donate to Giant Bomb's Extra Life team: http://www.giantbomb.com/extralife/ Alex's Complete Extra Life Stream: Part 1 & Part 2 A Spotify playlist of Alex's setlist (Made by someone else; I'm not sure who): https://open.spotify.com/user/1235282706/playlist/5ejtErpUhFO...

Goodbye Persona 4: On the Endurance Run, Making the Best Of Series, and Saying Farewell to My Favorite Videogame

Today, with this blog posting, I am officially saying goodbye to my favorite videogame of all time. A game that has been with me on and off in various forms for almost eight years, or a little under a third of my life. When I first heard about Persona , it was from a friend who told me about this weird JRPG where teenagers shot themselves in the head to summon monsters. I picked up a copy of Pe...

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--18, The Finale (Parts 151 to 155)

Episode List: Episode 01 (Parts 001 to 015) : Funky Student, Everyday's Great At Your Junes, and luchador masks. Episode 02 (Parts 016 to 030) : Young Detective, Mysterious Fox, and balls Episode 03 (Parts 031 to 045) : Ghoul, weird feelings, and how popularity leads to intimacy Episode 04 (Parts 046 to 057 + Behind the Scenes) : Mystery Food X, Risette, and taking quests Episode 05 (Parts 058...

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--17 (Parts 145 to 150)

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--16 (Parts 136 to 144)

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--15 (Parts 131 to 135)

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--14 (Part 130, "Judgement")

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--13 (Parts 123 to 129)

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--12 (Parts 116 to 122)

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--11 (Parts 109 to 115)

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--10 (Parts 101 to 108)

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--09 (Parts 095 to 100)

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--08 (Parts 088 to 094)

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--07 (Parts 079 to 087)

I Went to a Hatsune Miku Concert: A Report From the Scene

Last night, I along with around a thousand or so other individuals gathered in downtown Dallas, TX to see Hatsune Miku , the universe's most popular virtual idol, and other Vocaloid s perform live. Here is my detailed report: Footage I recorded that definitely won't be pulled from YouTube: What Is A Hatsune Miku Concert? Here is your obligatory, standard issue Hatsune Miku picture. Since this i...

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--06 (Parts 069 to 078)

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--05 (Parts 058 to 068)

Angels, Noise, and Rock & Roll: The Music of Silent Hill

Boss. When I look back over my history with video games, there are only a few composer's whose music has impacted a game franchise for me as much as Akira Yamaoka 's original score for the Silent Hill franchise. Silent Hill in general has always been an odd and fascinating thing to me. Even though I've only managed to play through Silent Hill 2 to completion, that franchise has had a profound i...

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--04 (Parts 046 to 057)

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--03 (Parts 031 to 045)

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--02 (Parts 016 to 030)

Best of Giant Bomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run--01 (Parts 001 to 015)

Giant Bomb Loves Warren (Life is Strange X Power Moves Mashup)

[Heads Up: Minor spoilers from Life is Strange] So here's a video that didn't need to exist: The video is pretty self explanatory, but basically I replaced Warren , notable handsome gentleman of the spinning dropkick featured in The Worst Fighting Game of All Time ( according to Science circa January 2016 ) , Power Moves/ Deadly Moves , with Warren from 2015's Life Is Strange . This video was o...

Giant Bomb x Evangelion Anime Intro Mashup

Happy 2016 everybody! What better way to start off the new year than with ANIME!!!! I was inspired by some of the work Fun Punditry ( @somestickguy_ ) has been making throughout 2015, and decided to create my own TV intro mashup. Behold! A mashup of everybody's favorite anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion . Hope you guys enjoy! Some behind the scenes stuff for anybody who is interested: Some members...

A Game of the Year 2015 List by a User Named Clagnaught

It is that time of year to write up a list of my favorite games. This time for the year 2015. Here we go! First some Special and Honorary Awards, where I highlight some notable games that didn't quite make my Top 10 list, but were still noteworthy games for me. Special and Honorary Awards Best Game I Played Like 5% Of: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt I’m at the part with the Bloody Baron and I met a w...

The Old Games--My Old Game Backlog Project

There are a lot of video games I have not played. It is impossible to play everything that comes out today and I certainly didn't play (or even know about) all of the games that came out when I was growing up in the Nineties. In 2014, between having a PlayStation Vita , a PS4 , and a new-ish PC , I felt like I was pretty much done with the PS3 , that generation, and playing old games on old pla...

The Choices We Make: Narrative Consequences in Life is Strange (and Other Games)

[Just a FYI, I don't spell out what actually happens in these games, but I specifically talk about the story changes and the impact some decisions have on the following games: Life is Strange, Mass Effect 3, Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, and Until Dawn . I do not say how these games end, what are the main choices you make, or even what these games are really about. So not really a spoiler warn...

Why The Ending to MGSV: The Phantom Pain Made Me Feel Empty <Spoilers>

SPOILER WARNING: This blog post is about what I felt like after I finished the story to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain . Although this blog is an analysis focused on one character, I do talk about and reference a lot of events, plot twists, the ending throughout the game. So yeah, spoilers! Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a hell of a video game. It is without a doubt the best play...