There is no one that could possibly fill the role of Dan Rykert at Giant Bomb.
I have to admit, Dan took a while to get used to. He was an ball of never ending energy and almost blind optimism. While I do not remember the specific moment that he warmed up to me, I do know it was when he did a video with Drew. I noticed they had unbelievable chemistry and was ecstatic when some time later they did Metal Gear Scanlon.
When Drew left, it was sad, but thanks to him I had warmed so much to Dan. Later, it was one the podcasts that made me love him even more. I have so rarely seen someone really gel with Jeff, but its like these two were brought up together. Seeing them interact became one of my favorite parts of the show, and when it was announced that he would be transferring over to Giant Beast, I was crushed. I was afraid of losing that dynamic between that crew, but little did I know he would become a perfect addition. And Alex's frustrations (genuine and playful) seemed to be the cherry on top. And seeing Dan and Vinny interact, two people with hearts the size of mountains. Its enough to bring tears to your eyes.
Dan is funny, genuine, and one of the most well meaning people I have ever seen. If Aliens came down and wanted to see the best of humanity, Dan would be one of the people I would tell them to abduct. Hearing his departure from the site brings a tear to my eye, but I know he will go on to do great things.
Another piece of the very heart of the site has moved on, and we will feel that void until your next visit. Thank you for all the memories, Dan.
Insert witty comment about how Destiny, a game I sunk hundreds of hours into, is actually a terrible game made by a bunch of nitwits at Bungie. And about how this might actually be a GOOD Destiny, even though they basically fixed most of the problems with the first game with the release of the DLC and Destiny 2 is shaping up to be more of the same but better. Heres hoping that the same company that brought us such amazing, award winning classics like Mass Effect: 3 and Mass Effect: Andromeda dont drop the ball like Bungie did with Destiny.
@monkeyking1969: "Over fifty percent of Xbox One users have used backwards compatibility..." Well, they did once...for five minutes...and then never used it again.
You gave yourself away bud. Sony conference is later.
Drews trip to North Korea was the first Premium Video that I watched. I personally will always remember how he was the one that finally made me come around on Dan. Their chemistry together was simply unmatched. And he made me warm to Dan to the point where I couldnt really see this site without him.
From the North Korea Video, to watching all those flight quick looks, to Metal Gear Scanlon; I will always appreciate and remember what you brought to the site.
Good luck in the future, and may you always fly on the wings of success.
@rohsiph: Well I genuinely disliked Deadly Premonition even though I tried desperately to enjoy it. And you can like things that are bad, but you cant argue that better design choices would have made DP a better game. Its self-destructive game design to purposefully program in annoyances. And when your game has been in development hell for about a decade, the last thing you want to do is annoy your fanbase.
I cant help but think about something Jim Sterling said in his review when Alex was saying that he sometimes enjoyed the fact that Trico wouldnt listen to him. "Intentional bad game design is still bad game design." It isnt fun when a button in a fighting game just randomly doesnt work. It isnt fun when your gun just wont fire no matter how many times you hit the trigger. While I could go on, all I am saying is when you hit a button or do something in a game it needs to be responsive. Unresponsiveness in a video game is pretty much always a negative, no matter how you try and spin it.
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