Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight and I, @zombiepie, am honored to you host this week! With everyone getting back into the swing of things, and GOTY a distant memory, I hope all of you in the Northern Hemisphere have been able to stay warm and comfortable this last week. As the winter weather bites at your bones, there's so much to talk about this week regarding the Giant Bomb Community AND video games in general! Many of you are still wracking your brains on what was the most notable release from 2017 was, and if it was a hallmark year for games. Others already set resolutions or took a valiant stab at your backlogs. Regardless, thank you for being here, and let's transition to the site related housekeeping.
- The biggest bit of housekeeping has to be about the site's new search engine. First, if you notice any issues with the new search engine to post them in our official bug reporting thread for search.
- The new search has been designed to consider relevancy more than the previous version. For example, searching for "Super Mario" will now return Odyssey on the first page instead of 50+ results deep.
- The staff have a three-day weekend. 01/15/2017 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States.
2017 GOTY User Created Content
Author's Note: This is the last week I will be showcasing user-created GOTY content separately on the Community Spotlight. I'm not against promoting belated lists or blogs within the normal categories on the Spotlight, but be aware, this is the last time you'll see distinct categories until 2018 comes to a close.
User GOTY Lists
- GOTY 2017 (By: @pistolpackinpoet)
- The Games That Were: 2017 (By: @drm2thej)
- Finding A Top 5 In 2017 (By: @mwinz)
- Best of 2017 (By: @pyjamarama)
- Community GOTY 2017 (By: @riven)
GOTY Blogs And Threads
GOTY. The Best Games I Played In 2017 (By: @daltimond)
daltimond's 2017 GOTY blog only has five games on it, but that doesn't mean you should avoid reading it!
Game of the Year 2017 (By: @cjduke)
CJduke blogged about his favorite and least favorite gaming experiences from 2017. Learn all about the games in question over here.
2017: Ranking the Rest (By: @majormitch)
MajorMitch discusses the 2017 games that almost managed to crack his top ten list. Read all about the games, and what prevented them from making his list.
My Top 10 Games of 2017 (As of Jan 2018) (By: @thewildcard)
TheWildCard's 2017 GOTY list was late because he got busy tackling games on his backlog. Read all about his favorite experiences from the year.
Looking Back (2017) / Forward (2018) (By: @infinitespark)
On InfiniteSpark's latest blog he looks back at his accomplishments in 2017, as well as his exciting plans for 2018. Read it to learn about his gaming resolutions for 2018.
Clips Of The Week
Best of Giant Bomb's Shenmue Endurance Run (By: @clagnaught)
Remember to support clagnaught in their quest to compile the best moments from Giant Bomb's Shenmue Endurance Run. I think working on this video series is having an impact on their quality of life.
Giant Bomb FGC Weekly Weekend Recap Jan 5-7 (By: @ps_vam)
PS_Vam has another fun video summarizing the many tournaments and activities the Giant Bomb FGC Discord was up to last week!
Giant Bomb FGC Tekken Tournament #7 (By: VectorSpecter)
Speaking on the Giant Bomb FGC, here's an archive of the first Giant Bomb FGC tournament for Tekken 7: Fated Retribution in 2018! Give it a watch to find out who came out on top!
Giant Bomb Galleria
BANNER - Dazzling DJ the Magic Man (By: @eidderf)
He may be late to the game, but Eidderf whipped up this AMAZING poster inspired by Dan's magic antics while playing Cuphead during Extra-Life 2017.
Don't Call Norm (By: @beachthunder)
BeachThunder was inspired to create a Don't Call Norm logo in the style of Better Call Saul after the Spring Semester 2018 livestream. (But seriously, don't call Norm. Don't be a jerk!)
Tweets Of The Week
— Derek (@HeyDerekStone) January 7, 2018
Quick Look: Dark Void Demo
— Brad Lynch (@MarinoV1) January 8, 2018
Posted by @drewscanlon | Jan. 7, 2010 9:00am@giantbomb pic.twitter.com/8TqDVSt67l
For those of you that spotted this on the arcade cabinet - a real life picture of Ben and I: pic.twitter.com/syyj5oa9W1
— Jan Jerome Ochoa (@_janjerome) January 13, 2018
Community Activities
DBFZ Casual Fight Night & Tournament - Open Beta Jan 14-15 (By: @mikefightnight)
The Giant Bomb FGC is organizing a casual tournament for Dragon Ball FighterZ! Learn how you can join the fun by clicking the link above!
Best Of Blogs
Mirages: An Analysis of ISLANDS: Non-Places & Outlines: An Analysis of Scanner Sombre (By: @gamer_152)
Read all about why moderator Gamer_152 thinks ISLANDS: Non-Places provides more than a series of surreal vignettes for those who play it. Also, a lot of people passed on Scanner Sombre when it first released, but Gamer_152 found plenty to enjoy in the first-person exploration game.
This Is The First JRPG I've Played In Years And I Can't Help But Love It (By: @sweep)
Giant Bomb moderator Sweep played Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and it was his first JRPG in years. Give his blog a read to learn how it was a wonderfully positive experience.
Hard To Rate The Game. The Bad And Good [Spoilers!] (By: @st4r_playr)
St4r_PlayR shares his mixed impressions of NieR:Automata on his latest blog over here. Read all about what he loved and hated in the game.
My BackBlog - Week 1 (By: @big_denim)
Big_Denim started a new blog series detailing his attempt to make a dent in his video game backlog. Read all about his progress in Cuphead, NieR:Automata, Pyre, and MORE!
"Alex Navarro" Is The Greatest XCOM 2 Soldier Ever (By: @asmo917)
Asmo917 created a soldier in XCOM 2 named "Alex Navarro" and shares how he went on to be the most badass soldier he's ever seen in XCOM 2.
The Backlog Break (By: @aiomon)
aiomon starts 2018 the only way he knows, by tackling his gaming backlog! Read about his impressions of NHL 17, Gears of War 4, ReCore, and Assassin's Creed Origins.
A Sampling From Itch.io(By: @wemibelle)
Wemibelle played a bevy of games only available on Itch.io! Check out his passing thoughts about what he played, and how it was a positive experience.
January Vita Lineup And Upcoming Titles (By: @blacklagoon)
BlackLagoon has the January lineup for the PlayStation Vita all on one easy to read blog! Check it out and learn all about the fun experiences coming to the platform.
Saturday Summaries 2018-01-13: Back On My Wiki BS (By: @mento)
Mento details his wiki plans for the year in brief as well as talking about Demon's Crest, ActRaiser, SteamWorld Dig 2, Persona 5, the new Jumanji movie and the Mob Psycho 100 anime.
Join The Discussion
AGDQ 2018 Has Started!!! (By: @schindigg)
How have you been enjoying AGDQ 2018? Share your favorite memories and any donations you have made with the rest of the Giant Bomb community.
PUBG Cheating Is Out Of Control (By: @njdohert)
Have you found that cheating has worsened in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds? Join our discussion and share your experiences over here.
Is VRChat The New Second Life? (By: @driveuplife)
Is VRChat morally better or worse than Second Life? How do the two compare? Does Virtual Reality need a nightmarish playground like VRChat?
New Destiny 2 Developer Update from Bungie (By: @hestilllives19)
Any thoughts about the recent developer update for Destiny 2? Whether your impression is positive or negative, share it with the rest of Giant Bomb's Destiny community.
Nintendo Direct 1/11/18 Discussion Thread (By: @nicksmi56)
Do you have any gut reactions to the 1/11/2018 Nintendo Direct? Which announcement or reveal has you the most excited about Nintendo's future?
Metal Gear Survive Single Player Trailer Discussion Thread (By: @mythdark)
Are any of you excited for Metal Gear Survive based on the announcement video? Is Metal Gear back? Join our community discussion for the teaser trailer.
How Long Do You Typically Wait Between Major Upgrades To Your Gaming PC Hardware? (By: @dpep56)
How long do you typically wait between major upgrades to your gaming PC hardware? Vote and discuss the matter, and I'm glad to see I'm not alone on this poll.
Overwatch League Skins Now Live And In-game! (And Tournament Info Too) (By: @themanwithnoplan)
How about those new Overwatch skins? Are they over-priced nonsense, or fun representation of the recent Overwatch tournament?
Lovable Lists
Conquests VII: The Games Awaken (Games I Beat in 2017) (By: @bobafettjm)
bobafettjm completed 48 games in 2017. Read all about his gaming highs and lows throughout the tumultuous year.
Best Soundtracks of 2017 (By: @donuts)
Donuts ranks and rates his favorite gaming soundtracks from 2017. Check out his list and see if you agree with his rankings.