As A GB Fan, I Gotta Say That The Last 2 Years Haven't Been Great

@Jonny_Anonymous said:

@A_Talking_Donkey said:

@Jonny_Anonymous said:

@A_Talking_Donkey said:

@Jonny_Anonymous said:

@GunslingerPanda said:

I agree. But we all know when it began, and they seem reluctant to fix that mistake, so whatever.

?

You don't remember?

Remind me?

You know, that one mistake.

Talking to you seems like a mistake

Yo, I bet he's talking about our beloved Tricky Scoops.

@ck1nd said:

I'll stand by my belief that Giantbomb has simply gotten better. There will be users that get used to the crew's antics and become jaded just like they do with anything else. Happy Hour was never that "funny" to me, and I enjoy Jar Time a lot more. It's a matter of taste and I feel that the best thing of all is that this is a completely optional form of entertainment.

Agree. Never have I watched a 1 hour video of a game I care nothing about and will never get but still get entertained.

As someone who has only been following the site for about a month now, I think almost all the content it good and I watch/listen to most of it.

Responding to all the hate on Patrick, it's obvious that he seems to be the off one out, but I do feel he adds a lot to the site and most discussions.

@MLCodest said:

As someone who has only been following the site for about a month now, I think almost all the content it good and I watch/listen to most of it.

Responding to all the hate on Patrick, it's obvious that he seems to be the off one out, but I do feel he adds a lot to the site and most discussions.

See...I find this interesting. People may say that stuff is worse or bad but it's still actually good. As someone earlier said, it seems like many members and readers just have become very jaded. I'm not suprised at all since the gaming Internet community consists of such cynics these days.

I have been here since the start and I still think they produce good stuff. My only main complaint is that they don't "produce" that much content. To record video, talk or stream and then put it up almost raw is not produced. I miss the old I Love Mondays and other small simple things that had som flair and production values. Giantbomb was really good at making cool looking stuff but 2012 have been very light on that kind of content and that's to bad. But I still enjoy the stuff they put up.

Don't you have a community zine you should be abandoning or something?

These threads happen all the time. Some of them are offering constructive criticism, most are just petulant dicks. You usually get as many in agreement as in disagreement. Just like some people are unrealistic in their expectations, others are unrealistic in their responses. "If you don't like it, you can get out." As if nobody had ever thought of that before. As if, having any criticism of something means you don't care about it and should abandon it. As if wanting something to be better means that it's not good enough. There's something to be said for loving something and still expecting more from it. For example, I love the ideals America are founded upon in the Constitution. I'm ashamed of a lot of the actions America has taken lately. Many Republicans told me that I was free to leave, since I wasn't a "real American" and was being unpatriotic for having criticisms of my country. I, on the other hand, felt that I was being MORE patriotic, because I wanted my country to be the best that it could be. I wanted it to live up to the standards it set for itself. So if that's your response to this thread, grow up.

However, Giant Bomb is a unique site, since it is so personality driven. It's the kind of site that you love, despite itself. It's a site that is constantly adding and removing features, and has begun to evolve from the days where it once began. It's not the same site it was a few years ago, and it will probably be different a few years from now. I'm sure most of the crew would admit that; and it's not necessarily a bad thing. A few years ago, they were different people, in different situations, with different outlooks and different plans. The game industry was different. They had different restraints and expectations put on them. They went from a basement, to Whiskey Media, to CBS. They've added and subtracted employees and features. Aside from the 4 main crew members and the concept of the Quick Look, this site has always been one in flux.

Practically every one of us came to this site at a different point in its growth. We each have our own picture of the "ideal" Giant Bomb. We all want different things, we all want to re-experience what it was like when WE were first exposed to it. They can't go back to that for any of us, and they won't. That would be stagnation. That would be death. Giant Bomb is constantly moving forward; constantly redefining itself. It's a lot like "Mario Kart-syndrome": everyone thinks the first Mario Kart that they played is the best one of all time, and every subsequent release was trash or a shadow of its former glory (for me, personally, it's Mario Kart 64). Mario Kart and Giant Bomb have changed, and they will continue to change, but so have we, and you can't go back again.

Offer room for improvement, request things that you want, that's fine; but don't expect it to be like it was. It won't be. Try to define what it's going to be instead.

And for fuck's sake, lay off Klepek.

Goran come back I miss u.

I think a lot of people tend to look toward early GiantBomb with rose colored glasses. Its a bit of a nostalgia trip, i think. The whole nature of the industry is changing and Giantbomb has been at the head of it because of how nimble their platform is. I think is changed for the better, and i personally don't have enough time to enjoy all the material they put on the site.

@s10129107 said:

I think a lot of people tend to look toward early GiantBomb with rose colored glasses. Its a bit of a nostalgia trip, i think. The whole nature of the industry is changing and Giantbomb has been at the head of it because of how nimble their platform is. I think is changed for the better, and i personally don't have enough time to enjoy all the material they put on the site.

I agree completely. That and that people generally don't like change? Do you remember how much negativity the community sprouted when they moved to new offices and shared the same place as Tested, Screened and Comic Vine? People preached about doom and gloom and how they didn't want to see those others on the sites videos and stuff. But in the end? Now we miss Will, Norm, Rory and all the others that were there... things change and people don't like change.

@Wrighteous86: Best response I have seen lurking in this thread. I love the Mario Kart analogy. I think that is also true for GTA.

yeah i kinda agree. Giantbomb has become my favorite site for the forums and not the content.

The quicklooks and i love mondays lately have been really long videos of them just winging it ( i really liked the old i love mondays opening) and the lack of video reviews (text reviews are nice but they are much stronger when matched with footage of the actual game). Also i never saw a reason to subscribe as i could get the same content form other people for free

I pretty much go the gametrailers or independent reviewers (angry Joe, yahtzee) to watch video reviews or catch up on the latest gaming news(which giantbomb reports days after other sites.

overall i love this site for the forums and community, but i go elsewhere for content

This thread +1000.

I never thought I'd consider not renewing my membership, but I just might not. The boys need to kick Klepek out of the inner circle, and get their groove back.

@Anwar: Other than popping into the rare thread to post a few words here and there they don't post much and I don't recall them ever posting much. It used to be a really weird contrast back when they were whiskey media. Back then I used to post on Anime Vice all the time, so much so that I left GB for a good 3-4 months and just never posted on here and only watch the videos, and the staff over there posted tons in every article, tons of PMs and I honestly got to know them very well outside the site as well and was deeply sad when they got kicked out. They really interacted with the community over there and it made you feel like you were apart of something. While not as much as Anime Vice, Tested and Screened posted in a lot of the articles and tried to talk to the community, but then you came to GB and there was nothing. Which I always found funny since GB had the largest Staff of the bunch.

@planetary said:

This thread +1000.

I never thought I'd consider not renewing my membership, but I just might not. The boys need to kick Klepek out of the inner circle, and get their groove back.

That's not going to happen get over it

Giant Bomb is less like war, and more like war. Unlike war, Giant Bomb has changed, much like war has changed, in contrast to war, which never changes, which is something you can't say about Giant Bomb, which is more comparable to war, in that it has changed.

@Animasta said:

@planetary said:

This thread +1000.

I never thought I'd consider not renewing my membership, but I just might not. The boys need to kick Klepek out of the inner circle, and get their groove back.

That's not going to happen get over it

You're absolutely correct, but I still think that Patrick Klepek could work on his presentation skills. He doesn't need to tell us everything about an indie game he's showing us. We really only need to know how and where to get it.

@adam1808 said:

I present to you my rebuttal:

Giantbomb is still awesome and continues to become more awesome as the guys find new ways to do awesome dumb things.

My rebuttal is actually the preview still in your video. Jeff punching everyone (except Konamiman) in The Goonies II was probably the highlight of my week last week.

@GoranP: I will admit there was a lull in the content after they moved to CBS, but honestly the past few months have been fantastic, and for the love of Jeff there was a close to 4 hour bombcast last week!

I can honestly say the only time I turn on the TV anymore is to watch new content on the boxee every night.

Sadly, I agree. I can't stand many videos now. They often know nothing about the game, have bad chemistry or are just not entertaining. Plus, they got longer. Just a bad combination. But it's hard to say something like this on the site, you're just a hater or whatever. But for many years I watched almost everything and that's not possible anymore.

edit: Another bad sign: they put everything they do up on youtube, but haven't gathered any significant following. Their QLs get around 5000 views, which is nothing.

I don't disagree with most of what the OP said, but I still find GB to be entertaining. The one thing that has really annoyed me lately is Jeff's CONSTANT bashing of Zombie mode in Treyarch's CoD games. At first all he did was say he didn't get it and just sort of ignored it, and that really was fine given that it was just one very simple map. Now I just feel that it's a little ridiculous to ignore this game mode, seeing how complicated and beloved it has become. I don't care that Jeff doesn't like it (Jeff doesn't like a lot of things) but I just hate that he seems to always dedicate one paragraph to Zombies, but instead of explaining what's new this time he just reiterates that he does not get Zombies, that it should have it's own game, etc etc. For every Treyarch CoD game I inevitably have to go read other reviews because they have actual information about the mode and critique it for what it is. And this all just fits into the way Jeff seems to always dismiss co-op play for ANYTHING. I understand that co-op isn't for everyone, but playing Zombies without a few close friends is pointless, so it's really no wonder Jeff doesn't "get" Zombie mode. It's just a little frustrating to see Jeff pick apart something that relies so heavily on having buddies to play with, and even more frustrating to see him constantly dismiss the mode as nonsense. And again, this all started out as Jeff just being baffled about why this "throw away" game mode has gotten so popular, but it seems to have evolved into all out hatred. I understand completely that Jeff doesn't like Zombies and doesn't want to play it. What I cannot understand, however, is why Jeff now seems utterly disgusted that the mode is included on the disk, even though it's an optional mode that has no impact whatsoever on any other part of the game. And why he needs to put a mini-rant about it in every review for a Treyarch CoD is just beyond me.

But yeah, that is honestly the most important issue with GB I have right now (which is to say, I really don't have any important issue).

I don't disagree with most of what the OP said, but I still find GB to be entertaining. The one thing that has really annoyed me lately is Jeff's CONSTANT bashing of Zombie mode in Treyarch's CoD games. At first all he did was say he didn't get it and just sort of ignored it, and that really was fine given that it was just one very simple map. Now I just feel that it's a little ridiculous to ignore this game mode, seeing how complicated and beloved it has become. I don't care that Jeff doesn't like it (Jeff doesn't like a lot of things) but I just hate that he seems to always dedicate one paragraph to Zombies, but instead of explaining what's new this time he just reiterates that he does not get Zombies, that it should have it's own game, etc etc. For every Treyarch CoD game I inevitably have to go read other reviews because they have actual information about the mode and critique it for what it is. And this all just fits into the way Jeff seems to always dismiss co-op play for ANYTHING. I understand that co-op isn't for everyone, but playing Zombies without a few close friends is pointless, so it's really no wonder Jeff doesn't "get" Zombie mode. It's just a little frustrating to see Jeff pick apart something that relies so heavily on having buddies to play with, and even more frustrating to see him constantly dismiss the mode as nonsense. And again, this all started out as Jeff just being baffled about why this "throw away" game mode has gotten so popular, but it seems to have evolved into all out hatred. I understand completely that Jeff doesn't like Zombies and doesn't want to play it. What I cannot understand, however, is why Jeff now seems utterly disgusted that the mode is included on the disk, even though it's an optional mode that has no impact whatsoever on any other part of the game. And why he needs to put a mini-rant about it in every review for a Treyarch CoD is just beyond me.

But yeah, that is honestly the most important issue with GB I have right now (which is to say, I really don't have any important issue).

Drop Patrick and the site will get way better.

Drop Patrick and the site will get way better.

i know right! Since the formation of the coalition government GB has really gone to shit. increase of uni fee's, increase of tax's, whilst david cameron and the conservative have just been looking after their own by lining their back pockets. i think it dispicable that we the people just sit by and watch this happen and do nothing.

@Vinchenzo:

Flight Club and Random PC Game are amazing subscriber content! Well worth the subscription for me.

Interesting read. I agree with you about the Quick Looks. I'd like a little bit more preparation for the QLs. I feel like they miss out on highlighting interesting parts of the game because it's only the first or second time they've jumped into the game and they're not that familiar with it. Even though it's a Quick Look I would still like for it to be an informative one, and most of the time it is. Some of the QLs are a bit boring cause they're fumbling through menus trying to figure stuff out.

It also does seem that they focus a lot on the negatives of some games to an excessive degree even though they claim to like the game. I know they don't want to BS their viewers about the negative aspects of a game but sometimes it seems excessive. Maybe the guys are so tired of having to play the same derivative stuff over and over again, for example. Perhaps their fatigue of this generation is showing through. I don't know.

I think there have been some good comments on this and I think a lot of them boil down to

a) the GB crew has changed over the years,

b) the gaming industry has changed over the years,

c) we, as gamers/website consumers have changed over the years

-- and everything after those points comes down to how those changes all interact for each individual user.

Personally, I would agree with lots of the comments that I'm feeling a little jaded with a lot of the triple-A games, and so because of that, I don't mind hearing that the GB crew is also feeling that way. I also find that I come here less to be informed and more to be entertained, so I don't mind it as much when there's ghost problems more and game info less. I've been following since the Arrow Pointing Down days and I think some of my favorite moments have happened in the past couple years (FMV Game-of-the-Year, Phantasmagoria ER, TeamBrad, Dead Island Trucks!).

The Whisky Days have nice nostalgia attached to them, but I'm super excited for where they are now and where they are going to.

@planetary said:

The boys need to kick Klepek out of the inner circle, and get their groove back.

And if they do that, your dream fan fiction will get so much closer to being true! Your tiny little circle jerk with other drones dense enough to sincerely believe that Klepek is the malicious tumor that brings the site down (because obviously Patrick got into the staff to usurp power from a pack of grown men past 30) will get so much more wind after that happens. Boy, it's going to be glorious. Your mancrushes will get the whole deal.

I find that the content lately is just too long and lacking direction. Think of how many ql's have been about an hour long recently? That's not quick, and it stops being informative after a point. But my bigger issue is the bombast. I wish they would try and reign it back two a 2 hour-2.5 hour length. But beyond that, the discussion used to be more spirited and fun during the podcast, and they would never stay on one topic for too long. The tangents can be fun, but 30 minute discussions about bbs' and cable providers aren't compelling. Someone needs to just keep things moving so that nothing drags on

I do have to agree. Although this site is miles better than most out there, there seems to be a certain unpreparedness that's been slowly but surely creeping in. From the I love mondays, to the quick looks (as described by the OP), the TNTs haven't been as good. I do like Klepek's articles mind you. In a lot of cases it all seems last minute (and in some cases, they'll even admit to it). I keep thinking back at the PAX panel in 2011 where Rich Gallup told the whole community that to keep this site awesome, it was up to us to speak up when things are slipping.

I do think unless there's some good changes with the new move, this is the last year i'm subscribing. I planned on doing it this year but it got auto-renewed (by my fault obviously!)

I thought it was just me who was getting jaded with the industry and games in general, but I am glad to see I am not the only one. I thought I had gotten to a point where I just didn't like video games anymore. I used to be able to play games for at least four hours straight every night, and now I find it hard to play ANYTHING for much longer then an hour...

I agree with some of the things you are saying, particularly with less premium content and misinformed/long QL's. However, I have always felt that the name was kind of misleading, because they have never been "quick." On the other hand, there are some great features that have been introduced to the site in the past few years, such as Encyclopedia Bombastica. I think it's a mix of general jaded feelings about the industry at large and the resultant lull in new innovative games and franchises, and a lack of time to devote to other features. It would be nice to see things such as TANG and Endurance Runs making a return, but I personally don't think that will happen any time soon; especially after the debacle of people harassing Ryan on twitter during the Chrono Trigger ER.

My advice would be to hang in there and hope things will pick up again when we finally get to the next console cycle. Perhaps we will have a small taste of what's to come with the Wii U launch. It wouldn't be uncommon to assume many sites are going through the same issues with this (too) long console cycle.

@Milkman said:

@Vinchenzo said:

Drop Patrick and the site will get way better.

No.

@SirOptimusPrime said:

@Vinchenzo:

Thankfully I don't come here for the invalid opinions of the GB community.

What the fuck ever happened to Quests? I used to look forward to those.

I feel that they do not have the fire in their bellies anymore because they have achieved everything they set out to do. They started from scratch, used a bottomless pit of energy to be entertaining, dynamic, hip, groundbreaking and hit every target they took aim at.

They peaked a while back. This happens to most nice things.

Admittedly, I have never laughed as hard listening to a bombcast as much as I did during their discussion of the infamous 'Never' quote on the Nintendo Wii E3 advert. And that was years ago.

However, I came close to gutting myself over the whole HAM radio saga.

But yeah, they have peaked.

Yeah, I agree with a lot of the complaints here to at least some degree. The content ain't what it once was. The site has been transitioning from fun and informative to boring and misleading. Well, that sounds too harsh, but you get the point. I'm not on a nostalgia trip or anything; stuff just isn't as good these days. The last few weeks have been a little better, but still.

@Milkman said:

@Vinchenzo said:

Drop Patrick and the site will get way better.

No.

@SirOptimusPrime said:

@Vinchenzo:

Thankfully I don't come here for the invalid opinions of the GB community.

Compared to 600 it's a relatively small number. The definition of original in my post relates to the base models of the franchise. Not the expansion packs or mobile/handheld products. I said nothing about originality if that's what you're trying to get at. Original and Originality are two very different words. The Call of Duty franchise doesn't need to be original, it just needs to be pressed on the disc and people will purchase it.

@mordukai: He clearly loves it because he sponsors it right? Oh. Nevermind. I love the site, and I don't appreciate people complaining who don't even pony up any cash, and expect more content. This is a small community (in the grand sense of gaming websites on the internet) and it's a tight community.

China Don't Fucking Care. And neither do I.

I think they just simply need to spend 30-45 minutes to play/research a game before they quick look. I am not one to bitch when they misrepresent a game, but there have been a few quick looks where they are just butchering the game.

@SSully said:

I think they just simply need to spend 30-45 minutes to play/research a game before they quick look. I am not one to bitch when they misrepresent a game, but there have been a few quick looks where they are just butchering the game.

Depending on the game, I don't necessarily mind them going in blind. The only issue with it is when they go in blind, and then they also rush through tutorial prompts and have no clue how to play or what to do.

@Chaser324 said:

@SSully said:

I think they just simply need to spend 30-45 minutes to play/research a game before they quick look. I am not one to bitch when they misrepresent a game, but there have been a few quick looks where they are just butchering the game.

Depending on the game, I don't necessarily mind them going in blind. The only issue with it is when they go in blind, and then they also rush through tutorial prompts and have no clue how to play or what to do.

Agreed. I can't even count the number of times they are stuck in a quick look because they ignored a previous prompt, or are just straight up not seeing a tutorial prompt on the screen saying what to do.

Hey man they just moved into a new office. Give it time! Sheesh.

@handlas: "What the fuck have you guys been doing for the past few months?"

- Will Smith(TF2-TNT)

People hating on Patrick are just jealous of his luscious frock. Klepek is the only one with energy around here. The rest of the staff went to sleep, asked to be woke up when the next generation of consoles arrived.

Ya Patrick is fine... you realize without him half the content on its site would pretty much gone. Spookin is good. I want more Jurassic Park games tho.

@Ghostiet said:

@planetary said:

The boys need to kick Klepek out of the inner circle, and get their groove back.

And if they do that, your dream fan fiction will get so much closer to being true! Your tiny little circle jerk with other drones dense enough to sincerely believe that Klepek is the malicious tumor that brings the site down (because obviously Patrick got into the staff to usurp power from a pack of grown men past 30) will get so much more wind after that happens. Boy, it's going to be glorious. Your mancrushes will get the whole deal.

Or, you know, some people may not like the way he acts on video.

But that's ok, your "sheeple drones hurr durr" argument was so much better than the people who actually come up with reasons for liking/disliking things.

@DystopiaX said:

@Ghostiet said:

@planetary said:

The boys need to kick Klepek out of the inner circle, and get their groove back.

And if they do that, your dream fan fiction will get so much closer to being true! Your tiny little circle jerk with other drones dense enough to sincerely believe that Klepek is the malicious tumor that brings the site down (because obviously Patrick got into the staff to usurp power from a pack of grown men past 30) will get so much more wind after that happens. Boy, it's going to be glorious. Your mancrushes will get the whole deal.

Or, you know, some people may not like the way he acts on video.

But that's ok, your "sheeple drones hurr durr" argument was so much better than the people who actually come up with reasons for liking/disliking things.

Get over it.

I agree with you that the amount of apathy in most of their coverage is really off putting. I am a cynical enough person as it is, I don't need to watch a half hour quicklook of a game, or listen to a three hour podcast of sighs and groans.

i agree somewhat , i agree it sounds entitled , but i believe we need to have these discussions regularly , i mean if anything the most articulate and vocal criticisms come from people who have been following these guys since gamespotting or earlier (who the fuck is that i dunno but they are out there)

i feel we owe it to ourselves to bring these matters and discuss them in hopes that the staff do take note.

we cant let the best site that we all love become lazy and rest on its laurels , we need to consistently provide the demand for them to try even better etc .. that being said its very easy to get into one sided debates where most of the criticism gets lumped on a single person , ill gladly dump on ryan at any oppurtunity as to me hes got the most abrasive personality , but i also acknowledge the site and especially the podcast wouldnt be what it is without him , even if i love the episodes where ryan isnt there and shit breaks lose , i genuinely appreciate his role and voice .. but on a quicklook/tnt where he barely gives a fuck .. welll..fuck ryan davis.

these discussions will never stop , the point is , we can have them without losing our shit , and generally get over it much quicker if we just acknowledge this as a crucial part of the site and community at large ..we just need to lose all the ppl who dont understand how criticism works and are just here to pick on ppls poor grammar (i know it sucks) , or come up with a blanket rebuttal to your statements when they dont actually give a fuck ..

PASSION BITCHES !