Hello! 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 best user-created endeavors from the community!
First off, let's give Jean-Luc Seipke a huge round of applause. For the past two weeks he has been filling in for Jan and did an amazing job. As I mentioned last week, you can catch him over on Twitter if you are interested.
The bigger issue, however, are the general site issues this week. Especially during the Friday stream, people encountered 500 and 404 errors when trying to log into chat. If this happens to you again, try refreshing and see if chat comes up. If it does, hopefully you should see the video! Likewise, people have noticed the front page of the site seems to be buggy with announcements of streams that are not actually up. If you notice this, let Giant Bomb know on Twitter, but be aware the engineers are working to address these issues as best they can.
In more positive news, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 turned thirteen this week and the community cannot stop talking about the Steam Deck! With all of this in mind, let's jump into the site-related housekeeping!
- Borne To Run Ep. 2 is out! Full episode is on Giant Bomb for those with a Premium subscription using the first link. Shorter episode on YouTube is available for those that are not subscribers (~21 minutes). Speaking of which, here's the abbreviated version of this week's version of GrubbSnax (~13 minutes).
- Engineers are working on the site-related issues but please be patient for resolutions over the weekend. If, for example, you notice the front page is announcing a livestream that is not real, let Giant Bomb know on Twitter.
Tweets
It's been a lot of fun helping out on @giantbomb the last two weeks with the Bombcast as well as today's Friday stream. GB is a major reason I wanted to be in video production so feels pretty wild to actually be on it.
— Jean-Luc Seipke (@JeanLucSeipke) July 16, 2021
ALSO huge thanks to @_janjerome for all the prep help! pic.twitter.com/d9QamFsXza
When does a McChicken become fatal?
— Giant Bomb Out of Context (@giantbomb_ooc) July 14, 2021
- Jeff Gerstmann, 2019
I think this was from the work-in-progress test site when Giantbomb was redesigning its layout. pic.twitter.com/jplyr8UwFh
— Ryan Bloom (@BlazeHedgehog) July 13, 2021
So massive thanks to @unastrike, @_janjerome, @JeanLucSeipke, @danauer, @mondoben, @tamoorh, @jeffbakalar and (whoever I'm forgetting) for all the production / admin helps these past few weeks. 🙏
— danny o'dwyer (@dannyodwyer) July 15, 2021
And @JeremyBJayne, @FrankHowley & @megancomposer who make Noclip happen. 🤟
Finally got my @giantbomb dad hat after months of it being sold out ☺️ pic.twitter.com/xodpoGR0hv
— Giuseppe Stromboli 🤌🏼 (@MikeFavata) July 12, 2021
Persona 4 was originally released in Japan 13 years ago today on July 10, 2008 for the PlayStation 2. pic.twitter.com/f56bJFPuNH
— Persona Central (@Persona_Central) July 9, 2021
Videos
GrubbSnax Selects Ep. 03: Steam Deck, Loki, and Meat Sweats&Phalanx For the Lovely Knight - Borne to Run FREE s01e02 (By: Giant Bomb)
Blogs
Some Thoughts On Final Fantasy (By: @danielkempster)
The Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters inspired danielkempster to reexamine their relationship with the Final Fantasy franchise and the highs and lows they have had following the series.
I Own A Series X And A PS5, So Why Am I Playing 2016's Gundam Breaker 3? (By: @nillock)
Nillock has an Xbox Series X as well as a PlayStation 5 and can't stop playing old games. Right now, they are enamored by the mediocrity of Gundam Breaker 3! Read all about it using the link above!
Indie Game of the Week 228: Picross S3 (By: @mento)
If you are in need of some Picross in your life today, moderator Mento has you covered! For their latest "Indie Game of the Week" they checked out Picross S3 and assess where it stands among picross games.
Revisiting Pyre - An Experimental Hades? (By: @wunder_)
wunder_ finally got around to playing Pyre from Supergiant Games and muses how necessary that game is, its flaws included, for Supergiant to make Hades the masterpiece it is.
They're Never Making Another Persona Ending As Ballsy As Persona 3's (Spoiler Warning!) (By: @zombiepie)
With the 25th anniversary of the Persona franchise, moderator ZombiePie goes back to Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 and shares why they think Atlus is never making a Persona ending as powerful as 3's ending ever again.
What's the Greatest Video Game: Tony Hawk's 1 & 2 Remaster +
What's the Greatest Video Game(s): Tiny Lands & Journey of the Broken Circle (By: @imunbeatable80)
First, imunbeatable80 is no stranger to "quality" skateboarding games and this week checked out Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2! Second, they also wrote an indie two-for-one deal examining Tiny Lands AND Journey of the Broken Circle! See which indie game ended up leaving a longer lasting impression.
Discussion Threads
Steam Deck Discussion Thread (By: @frytup)
As mentioned in the introduction, the community is still buzzing about the Steam Deck! Are you excited for the handheld device? What do you think is the "X Factor" that could make or break the system?
Did Anyone Reserve A Steam Deck? (By: @nick)
Are there any users out there that managed to snag a Steam Deck reservation? for those that couldn't get one, what are your next steps? For those that did, what pushed you over the edge?
What Is Handheld Gaming To You? (By: @gundato)
Finally, with the Steam Deck, the Playdate, Switch OLED, and Analogue Pocket is it time to redefine what everyone considers "handheld gaming?" Do all of these portable devices change how you look at the future of handheld games?
Most Memorable "Point Of No Return" Moment (Possible Spoilers) (By: @purpleshyguy)
Video games employ the "point of no return" trope a looooooooooot. Therefore, what are your favorite uses of the plot device that you have encountered? The Mass Effect and Final Fantasy franchises comes to mind for me.
Since We're A Little More Than Halfway Thru The Year, What Are Your Favorite Games Of 2021 So Far? (By: @mocbucket62)
We are now more than halfway done with the year, but what are the games vying for your 2021 GOTY spot right now? Is it a small indie title or one of the bigger releases? Share and discuss your game or games!
What Sort Of Spin-off/Cross-over Games You Would Love To See? (By: @gtxforza)
There's an active discussion thread on the Giant Bomb forums about "dream crossover games." Can you think of two or more franchises that are a match made in heaven if they existed in the same game?
Due to Gaming Sub Services I May Not Be Buying Any Full-Price Games the Rest of the Year (By: @deckard)
We have a handful of users who are signed up for a video game subscription service and they do not think they will purchase a single full-priced video game this year. If you fall into the same boat join the talk!
Judgment Sub-franchise To Come To An Abrupt End? (By: @dochaus)
The recent news surrounding the Judgment sub-franchise coming to an end has taken many users by surprise. Who do you blame for the situation? Also, what are your favorite memories of the Judgment games?
List
Ranking The Yakuzees (By: @vookatos)
In light of the news surrounding Judgement, user Vookatos tried their hand at ranking all of the Yakuza games. See how they ranked your favorite titles and consider making a list of your own on the site!
OG Xbox Fighting Games (By: @pappy29)
The original Xbox is not exactly known for its catalogue of fighting games, but Pappy29 went ahead and annotated their favorite fighting games on the platform with a few "guilty treasures" to boot.
User Reviews
- @infantpipoc wanted to see if The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay has stood the test of time. So, they checked out the Chronicle of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena on PC through GOG and wrote a review about it!
Wikis
With the Persona franchise and Persona 4 celebrating important anniversaries, it seems appropriate to highlight both this week in the wiki section. Let's be honest, many of you reading this article right now are users because of a particular video series about 4.