Hooray?

I'm not too sure how I discovered Giant Bomb. I think it was during the rounds of hunting for Wheelman PR that I found a Quick Look of the game in action (Or was it the demo? So long ago...) and the guys narrating over the footage not only sounded like they knew their gaming onions, but they were kind of complimentary about the game too. I think that Quick Look soon led to the discovery that there were many more Quick Looks, and from there I investigated further. There's something kind of hypnotic about watching these dudes play games from a direct feed and give opinion; something more pure than a manufactured review. You're seeing first-hand how the game plays, how it looks... almost as if you're creepily behind the sofa watching them play.
 
I soon discovered that one of the dudes of Giant Bomb was Jeff Gerstmann, who I remembered give an honest opinion about Kane and Lynch. it was the right opinion, though Eidos didn't see it that way. All that shiny full-page Gamespot advertising didn't sit pretty with the review, and thus Jeff ended up here. From there, I soon learned about the other  heroes who fed original - and most importantly - entertaining content to the gaming masses. I think there's a sense of non-bullshitting and honesty which you don't normally get on other gaming sites. That was one of the reasons I stumped up for an annual subscription.
 
The other reason is guilt. Guilt can be a great motivator at times. I had obsessed over the excellent Deadly Premonition Endurance Runs - watching both versions of them as they came out, and I'm still seriously considering buying the game based on these runs if only to experience what they did. My walks to work were enhanced by Jeff G's hilarious WiiWare/DSiWare game line-ups and I have spent sometimes a bit too much of my life obsessively hunting down all those quests like some kind of OCD sufferer. I've tweaked with Wiki entries and sometimes contributed a bit to the forums and discussions. Most importantly though, I didn't get the sub for all of those subscriber benefits, the shiny gold medal and the swanky t-shirt. I got it because not only did I feel guilty for enjoying all of that delicious free content, but also I would have gladly paid for all that free content anyhow; Whiskey Media have just given us the opportunity to do so.
 
I think it's important that websites like Giant Bomb stay not only active, but also constantly updated with new and interesting content. The fact the users of the site can contribute in so many ways also strengthens this place in the eyes of myself and gamers everywhere. We know there's going to be no irrelevant Kotaku-style news stories about an obscure Japanese cosplay event. We know the evil PR men can't sway or entice any of the members of the Bomb into giving higher review scores. We know what we're getting is genuine and dependable.
 
So thank you, Whiskey Media and those fine Giant Bomb staff members who have helped me get through the day. More power to you, sirs.

This is strange. It's dark. There's nothing to see except the black glare of a monitor on the floor and what looks like one of those Microsoft Kinect things in front of it. Hang on, someone's coming out. He's wearing gloves and doesn't want to show his face. 
 
What's that? He's appeared to have made some kind of ritualistic arm motion to the techno-altar. Hmm. Curious.
 
Hang on. I think I recognis- HOLY SHIT. SHAPES! COLOURS AND SHAPES! MUSIC!
 
He appears to be manipulating - hang on, nono. That can't be what I think it is? Surely not. Such a recognisable noise... sounds like it's locking on to...
 
HOLY SHIT. IT'S REZ 2. HE'S PLAYING REZ 2. IT'S MIZ! 
 
The next five minutes were a blur. They zipped on by, but stoked my desires of always wanting that next gen version of Rez with lush visuals and insane sound. Imagine it in 3D. Imagine it projected onto the biggest wall you could possibly imagine. Imagine it pumped directly into your brains. 
 
It's the future. It's here. Almost.
 
 
 
 

Hang on. Laser tag? WTF, Ubi?

 We can do this.

I've been working on Flash assets today for the Flash presentation thing I'm doing for Craig, our studio head, and people are coming up and saying how lovely things look. This surprises me sometimes because I consider myself a bit shit on Photoshop, but I suppose I can blag artwork quite easily. I've been productive though, which is the main thing - a busy mind is an occupied mind. Every time I see the demo, it fills my heart with hope - it looks delicious and today I was checking out the demo stuff which has been worked on for the on-foot chasing and combat. In both cases, they do a good impression of showcasing our sprawling cityscape. Necessary Force has a three-tiered social structure - the slums for the lower classes, heading up to the main roads and the supported middle classes, then up to the highest tiers - the skyscrapers - and the rich and famous.

Essentially the game is a huge network of missions and detective work with combat, interrogation, gun-play and driving thrown in. When you look at the thing, it's the anti- Wheelman in looks - it's dark, grotty and grim though still manages to have its own character. We've got a super-sexy cop car which is affected by the dynamic rain, we've got a rain-soaked copper (who I still don't think has a name) and we've got that environment. Oh, and the mood video - which looks good enough to go on GameTrailers for a unsuspecting audience. I think a lot of people think we're just twiddling our thumbs, but we're busy. We got a catch-up e-mail from one of the producers regarding how well we're working - I've been waking up to the sound of the bloke upstairs, and heading into work early. I'm not actually that annoyed by this - in fact, it's almost like being called by Mum to get out of bed and grab some breakfast. I've been sticking around until 6.30 though to make up time - I'm even going to come in on Saturday afternoon and evening to get even more stuff done. I want this thing to shine.

I think we've got a Braveheart mentality now - and the attached image which was in response to this attitude confirmed it. I'm excited. Dave, the bloke who cleans up the studio and who still doesn't know my first name (maybe I haven't told him it..) talked to me outside the studio before I left - he reckons the studio is half optimistic and half pessimistic when chatting to some of the guys while he does his stuff in our kitchen. We compared our mind-notes and realised that we have got something very special, plus the studio is a bargain. If people don't snap us up, it's going to be a tragedy. We have high hopes though and I left the studio today with a spring in my step.

I checked up on mortgage insurance just now - £30 a month to cover my payments. It's tempting, though I may never need it. A quarter of all homes don't have this insurance either. I wonder why... I'm going to hold off for the moment though. I have good feelings jumping about my bones about all of this.

Why do I love Giant Bomb? 

The Quick Looks. They're better than any review. Take the Tony Hawk : Ride Quick Look, for instance. We were all curious to see what was up with that, and our fears were confirmed. A big clunky mess of a game with a big clunky mess of a peripheral. The Quick Looks are almost like you're sitting with the Giant Bomb guys on their big Giant Bomb sofa as they play the game and comment on it. I don't really trust many reviews online, but I trust those Quick Looks.
 
Also Deadly Premonition. Ohmy. I think the Endurance Runs are slowly persuading me to pick that game up. Sure, it's bad at a lot of things, but it also has a sackload of character which is gleefully picked up upon.
 
Oh, and those quests. Lovely, lovely quests. Thank you, Giant Bomb!