The Community Spotlight 2024.10.12

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 previous week!

It was a rather eventful week for Giant Bomb with Lucy spearheading a new Blight Club mini-series and @turboshawn getting us a wonderfully edited travelogue about Dan's adventures in Japan. To everyone that gets every single anime reference Shawn snuck in that video, I tip my hat to you.

As mentioned last week, Fandom is celebrating its 20th anniversary. To mark that occasion, it will be having a presence during the New York Comic Con, at the Hard Rock Hotel on October 18th. Fandom will also be hosting a panel at the New York Comic Con about the development and construction of the newest area in Universal Orlando hosted by GameSpot staff.

Finally, it is that time of the year again when Giant Bomb begins it recruitment efforts for EXTRA LIFE! I have been told that while the team sets their own plans, the site wants as many of you that can join and participate to start doing so as soon as you create your own donation pages. Game Day is November 2nd this year! For now, we just have Dan confirmed to be hosting some Extra Life fun, but more news about Giant Bomb's plans are coming soon!

Tweets

Gallery

Grubb & Mike Star In Joker: Folie à Deux (By: @kone)

So, it seems like people really do not enjoy this new Joker movie. I have to be honest, while I am happy to be proven wrong, I refuse to believe this Joker movie is as bad as people are suggesting. Nonetheless, Kone had some fun imagining Grubb and Mike as a few members of Joker's gang and the results are unsettling to say the least.

The Hollywood reporter Presents: Your New A-Listers (By: @JeffDunhamBlaze)

Earlier this week, The Hollywood Reporter posted an article and expose on what it considered the "New A-List" based on people that were, as they say, "hip with the kids." Mike's brother, A.J. then asked that Mike and Grubb be photoshopped into the promo photo-op and JeffDunhamBlaze happily obliged.

Lucy As A Peanuts Character (By: @MOHAMMEDFI10)

With Lucy doing her time for this site as part of her Blight Club obligations, it felt appropriate to bring attention to this fun work of fan art by MOHAMMEDFI10 imagining her as a character from Peanuts. I'll leave you to decide what her character gimmick would have been in the comic strip or TV series.

Videos

MITCH MAGIC - (COMPLETE Season 4) - An Animated Giant Bomb Series on Alone in the Dark (2008) +

HOTWIRE LECTERN - (Season 4 FINALE) - An Animated Giant Bomb Blight Club Series (By: Pickle Giraffe)

I often refer to various editions and outings of Blight Club as "must see content", but with Mike's Alone in the Dark series, I genuinely mean that with all of my heart. Mike, if you are reading this, I want you to know that your insane journey through a scuffed Wii port of Alone in Dark stands as my favorite thing done on Giant Bomb this year, and I know I am not alone in saying that.

This week, Pickle_Giraffe did what they do whenever we round off the conclusion of a new series of Blight Club: they compiled all of their episodes into a single video. If you haven't been following the previous episodes, this should be an absolute delight. However, if all you want is the series finale, I have included that as well.

Activities

Evil West Is The 21st Game Of UUGPGC Year 3! Finish By October 21! +

Bros! Broforce Is The 20th Game Of UUGPBC Year 3! Finish By Octbrober 7! Sbroilers Bropen! (By: @bigsocrates)

Hey, Giant Bomb community! To get into the spirit of October, the latest pick for the Giant Bomb Game Pass Game Club is Evil West! Have any of you given Flying Wild Hog's mix of horror and the Wild West a shot? If so, join the discussion!

Also, don't forget that Giant Bomb's Game Pass Game Club has opened its discussion thread for Broforce to SPOILERS! What were your favorite levels or bosses and what other works of developer Free Lives have you enjoyed?

Blogs

Unlike Most, I Find It Impossible To Remain Optimistic About Halo's Future Even After The Recent News (By: @zombiepie)

ZombiePie gets why some people feel optimistic about the future of Halo following the Unreal announcement and rebranding of 343. However, as they explain, they just don't trust another series reboot. Not after Halo Infinite was promised to be the definitive Halo video game vehicle for an entire console generation.

What's the Greatest Video Game: Ogre Battle 64 (By: @imunbeatable80)

For the glorious return of their "What's the Greatest Video Game" feature, imunbeatable80 looked at Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber! Is this strategy RPG from Quest worth the hype? How well does its design hold up?

There Goes The Sun With The Trip Still On (By: @infantpipoc)

Journey to the West is one of the most important works of literature in the world with hundreds of derivative works both in the past and present. So, infantpipoc decided to give it a read and has this book report to share!

Mega Archive: Part XLIV: From TMNT: Tournament Fighters to Tinhead +

Indie Game of the Week 391: Strangeland+

The Kobashotty Mario (By: @mento)

For those of you with a more retro streak in the community, Mento has a new entry of their "Mega Archive" feature! Whether it be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters or Tinhead, enjoy some Genesis classics over here!

Mento also has a new edition of their "Indie Game of the Week" feature tackles Strangeland, a point and click adventure game set in a surreal carnival. After playing their share of adventure games for this series, how does this one stack up? Read to find out!

Finally, there's a new Super Mario 64 ROM hack and it gives Mario a shotgun. No preamble, that's what it promises to do and as Mento discusses here, it delivers. Maybe a fun joke ROM hack Dan, Mike or Grubb might be interested in.

Schlocktober '24: Evil West Is A Prime Example Of Flawed But Still Enjoyable Gaming Schlock (By: @bigsocrates)

Evil West marks the start of bigsocrates' "Schlocktober '24" coverage! Read why they found the game entirely enjoyable schlock, despite some niggling issues with its gameplay and technical polish.

Every UFO 50 Game Reviewed! - Barbuta (By: @amlabella)

Friend of the site, amlabella wrote a brief blog with a fun video on UFO 50 and has taken up the herculean task of reviewing every "game" in UFO 50! See which games they loved and loathed, and share your own reviews.

Discussion Threads

Metaphor: ReFantazio Review Round-Up & Discussion Thread - Reviews Seem To Say Atlus' Latest Project Is A Banger (By: @zombiepie)

The early reviews for Metaphor: ReFantazio are in and it sounds like Atlus and Studio Zero have made another banger that oozes style! What's your reaction to the reviews and do you trust or believe the unanimity of the game's positive reception?

Alien: Isolation Sequel Announced (By: @darthbotto)

An Alien: Isolation sequel has just been announced and many in the community are pleasantly surprised by the news. Are you surprised? Did you enjoy the first game? Join the discussion by clicking the link above! And for reference, until we get more information, the page for this game will remain as Untitled Alien: Isolation Sequel.

Do You Trust Hideo Kojima? (By: @finaldasa)

Hideo Kojima is drumming up excitement for a few of his video game projects on social media. However, now that he has at least one post-Konami game out, do you trust him now that he's divorced from Metal Gear? Should you trust him?

Star Wars Episode I Jedi Power Battles Got A Remake! What Is Your Dream PC Game Remake? (By: @skuski)

Out of nowhere, Star Wars: Episode I - Jedi Power Battles got a remaster that made it shockingly playable on modern hardware. That has left some in the Giant Bomb community to wonder, what are some other PC games that deserve a similar treatment?

It Sure Is Something That Microsoft Had To Vocally Debunk A Single Report It Was Exiting Saudi Arabia & The Middle East (By: @zombiepie)

It sure is SOMETHING that Microsoft and Xbox had to address rumor that they were possibly pulling hardware out of the Middle East, but what does it say about the current state of Xbox hardware that they needed to in the first place?

That The Ubisoft Executive Who Is "Ashamed" Of Gamers Is A Monetization Director Makes Him The Wrong Messenger (By: @bigsocrates)

One of Ubisoft's directors has issued statements online that they are worried there's an online effort to troll the company in hopes of seeing it fail. Catch the details and discuss in this thread how much you buy this narrative.

Ubisoft Responds To Rumors Of A Tencent Buyout By Saying It "Regularly Reviews All Its Strategic Options." (By: @zombiepie)

Speaking of Ubisoft, the publisher has finally issued a statement addressing rumors that it has or is exploring a Tencent Games-led buyout to keep the company going. What do you make of Ubisoft's current predicament and is it at all surprising to hear the company on the verge of losing its independence?

Lists

Completely And Thoroughly Unorganized List Of Japanese IP Games Not Released In Japan (By: @stopallthewords)

stopallthewords is working on a list of games based on Japanese IPs that never released in Japan. Unsure what that means or what games would be included? Here are some examples thus far!

Reviews

@pauljeremiah's Titan Souls review relays why the game still stands as an ultimate test of patience even as there appears to be an endless supply of top-down boss rush games these days.

Wiki Of The Week

Aliens: Colonial Marines

With everyone excited at the prospect of a sequel to Alien: Isolation, let's throw things back to one of the most notorious games to bear the Aliens name: Aliens: Colonial Marines. As our wiki page for the game explains, the game released to universal criticism and is widely regarded as one of the messiest development cycles in the industry, which you can also read about using this wiki page!