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 community-created works from the previous week.
Well, I guess an explanation is in store from me on why things on the forums are the way they are this week. As many of you probably noticed, a spammer bumped about 200+ threads and articles. The spammer has been banned and nuked, but you as you can see, my articles continue to clog up the forums. The issue is being investigated, but it appears anything posted by staff members might have some kind of immunity against reverting threads to their normal spots. This is not intentional, and the engineers are working on identifying why this is happening.
For more context on why The Spotlight in particular seems popular with spambots, this has been an issue for years. For example, search "Giant Bomb Community Spotlight" on Twitter and be amazed at how many bots retweet these articles. As things stand, we are banning and nuking bots when they appear as soon as possible.
In terms of something you all can do to help the site get back to "normal," I have an idea. As you view this edition of the Spotlight, when you see a blog or thread you find exciting, please, drop a comment in support of that blogger or drop a relevant on-topic reply in the thread. If we can get even a handful of people to do this, the amazing things everyone posted and created will finally return center stage, which is what they deserve in the first place.
Finally, Tamoor ended up guesting on an episode of Nextlander's movie podcast to talk about Demolition Man. To give this podcast a listen, consider joining Nextlander for $10 a month! With that out of the way, let's jump into the Community Spotlight!
Tweets
LRT every post about Chat GPT going wrong just makes me want to watch the Giant Bomb Bot Colony video again pic.twitter.com/AZqmEJMXtu
— Steven (@StevenWallaby) February 14, 2023
Tender Loving Care is $2.99 on GOG https://t.co/Pwevn5JP03 #ad
— Wario64 (@Wario64) February 14, 2023
Giantbomb - Slice of Pizza https://t.co/3b72QsrFvE pic.twitter.com/sV7aawMgoY
It’s hard to watch Ant-Man 3 and not imagine Ryan Davis laughing uncontrollably every time M.O.D.O.K. appears on screen.
— Brad Lynch (@MarinoV1) February 17, 2023
If you don't remember this Quick Look, trust me, it's a real good one (and it's a decade old). pic.twitter.com/3xrlQrEbiy
— Moosey. (@MooseyMcMan) February 15, 2023
Congrats to @JeffGrubb on conquering BUBSY 3D, something that is about fifty times harder than beating Mike Tyson in Punch-Out. Bask in your glory, and rest easy knowing @DanRyckert has to play more Sonic 06 🫡 pic.twitter.com/mfGb2yaatu
— VoidBurger (AKA Jess) 🍔🎮 (@VoidBurger) February 16, 2023
Me watching that new Psychonauts documentary pic.twitter.com/JT1PRujJoL
— Steve Kim (@Fobwashed) February 11, 2023
Activities
The GB Album Club 024 - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie (By: @unclejam23)
Talk about a classic! This edition of the Community Album Club is for The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie! If want to discuss Bowie or you are interested in joining the fun, click the link!
The Legend of Tianding Is The 3rd Selection Of UUGPGC Year 2! Finish By Feb 13 2023! Spoilers Open!(By: @bigsocrates)
Coffee Talk is the 4th game selected for the Community Game Pass Game Club! If you have any non-spoiler impressions of the game, its structure, and general aesthetic choices, feel free to share them in the first thread.
The Game Pass Game Club also opened its discussion for The Legend of Tianding to SPOILERS! If you have any thoughts or impressions of the game's story and its commentary about class, share them in the thread!
Blogs
The Tower Of Dubious Horror Games 11-18: I Might As Well Finish These Write-ups (By: @arbitrarywater)
ArbitraryWater's "Tower of Dubious Horror Games" feature makes a valiant return after an extended hiatus! This time, however, they decided to tackle the "cult classics" Countdown Vampires, The Evil Within 2, and Corpse Party!
Indie Game of the Week 307: Prodeus +
Mega Archive: Part XXX: From Amazing Tennis to Tiny Toons (By: @mento)
For this edition of Mento's "Indie Game of the Week" feature, they decided to give Prodeus a shot! Click the link to read why they think Prodeus is absolutely what it presents itself to be, almost to a fault.
Likewise, it's time for a new Genesis/Mega Drive retrospective blog from Mento! This entry in their Mega Archive feature talks about David Crane's Amazing Tennis, Out of This World, Rolo to the Rescue, and Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure!
I Played Two Games Popular In The Creepypasta Reddit Community To See If Their Reputations Were Warranted (By: @zombiepie)
ZombiePie mixes things up with their latest blog on Giant Bomb with a retrospective on Osamu Sato, LSD, and Eastern Mind: The Lost Souls of Tong Nou. If you want to read about some REALLY WEIRD GAMES, this is the blog for you!
Two Is Greater Than One - A Yu-Gi-Oh! Tag Force 4 Retrospective (By: @raycarter)
Where have all the Yu-Gi-Oh! video games gone? That question is at the heart of RayCarter's blog this week wherein they check out old games based on the IP. This week, they tackle Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 4.
All PS1 Games In Order: Part 018 (By: @borgmaster)
Striker '96, Alien Trilogy, Psychic Detective, and Brain Dead 13 are the subject of borgmaster's latest retrospective write-up about every game to have released on the PS1! See if any of these had survived the test of time.
What's the Greatest Video Game: Super Mega Baseball 3 (By: @imunbeatable80)
Super Mega Baseball 3 is the subject of imunbeatable80's latest "What's the Greatest Video Game" post! Does the third game continue the tradition of its predecessors of being fun alternatives to MLB The Show? Read to find out!
Log Eater – Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD (By: @apewins)
apewins is starting to get back into the Metal Gear Solid franchise and penned a MASSIVE blog detailing their attempt to 100% Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker! Read which parts of the game drove them crazy the most.
I Finished Horizon Forbidden West And It's Just Like [Redacted] Spoilers Inside. (By: @bigsocrates)
bigsocrates finally finished Horizon Forbidden West and pens a quick essay on Giant Bomb why they can't help but think about a different AAA game from the past with a similar story and plot structure. Be warned, this blog has SPOILERS!
Haunted: The Influence of Environmental Storytelling (By: @gamer_152)
Moderator Gamer_152 fought through an illness to bring you this blog about about how environmental storytelling has shaped games and how it hasn't while looking at games like BioShock and Gone Home as case studies.
Discussion Threads
Mamma Mia, Pizza Tower Is Fantastico! (By: @glots)
Anyone out there that have played Pizza Tower? If so, what do you make of its retro-styled 2D art and fast-paced platforming? Share your thoughts about the game in the community thread linked above!
What Made You Drop A Series Of Games? (By: @topcyclist)
Have you ever "dropped" a video game series or franchise before it concluded a trilogy or multi-game storyline? For example, we have some who are pinpointing different times when they stopped following Assassin's Creed.
Your Most Difficult Choice In A Game (By: @nuttism)
What are the hardest story or dialogue choices you have ever encountered in video game history? Has a game ever made you think about something and you still think about it to this day?
Great Games You Think People Forgot About (By: @blorphman)
Here's a fun discussion thread on the forums! What are some games from the past you think everyone has forgotten but you? To get your brain juices flowing, here are some community replies that nail the concept. Comment now!
Best Instruction Manuals Ever! (By: @tradee9691)
What are your favorite game manuals of all-time? Many are citing EarthBound, but how many of you remember Assassin's Creed's manual that had a story wherein the evil professor annotates how much they hate the game?
What's Your Favorite 2000s Game? (By: @boomby20)
It's weird to think about, but many games from the 2000s are turning twenty! What are your favorite games from the decade? Which games from 2000 to 2009 got you hooked on video games?
Lists
Each Game of the Year Since Super Mario Bros. (By: @edsone)
edsone decided to take up the monumental task of going through all of the years they have been playing games since the original Super Mario Bros. to crown a GOTY for each year. See which retro and modern games were their favorite!
User Reviews
@infantpipoc's Metroid Prime Remastered review applauds it for bringing back classic, but can't help but think about why it took this long and if it's enough to keep them invested in the Prime series.
Editor's Note from @marino and totally not a user review:
Go play Theatrhythm Final Bar Line! It's an incredible celebration of 35 years of Final Fantasy. And there's a free demo where progress carries over.
Wiki Of The Week
This is a fun wiki concept page that is obviously too cool for Wikipedia. Also, looking at the current page, it is in dire need of more examples. If you can think of games that feature this concept, please, add them to the page!