The Community Spotlight 2020.12.05

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight and I, @zombiepie, am honored to your host as we look back at the best user-created works from the last week. I don't always do this, but I have to start this week's Spotlight with a bit of a "disclaimer." There was a huge trend of people making comical deep fakes featuring Giant Bomb staff members, and I suspect the results will haunt your dreams until the day you die. And before you ask, I'm not sorry that I am sharing these with you. That said, I wish all of you good health. Things are getting worse in parts of the United States and across the world when it comes to the pandemic. Remember, stay indoors as much as you can, wear a mask, and distance yourself from other people when going outside. We are all in this together. So, with that in mind, let's jump into the couple of housekeeping items this week.

• Pre-orders on the Giant Bomb Track Suit will close at 12/16/2020! They are expected to ship at December 21st, so, consider them a "late" Christmas gift if that is your plan.
• Users have pointed out that Vinny has stopped posting his "updates" in the Staff Goings-On thread and Vinny is aware of this. He's mentioned current events have cropped up and that the popularity of these posts took him by surprise. So, when things settle down, expect to see the thread to get updated.
• It's not every day that I wake up and I see "We almost named our cat 'Jeff plays Mario Party'" in Reddit, but that happened.

Tweets

Galleria Of Art

Thank You Abby (By: @morehandclaps)

morehandclaps uses this work of art to thank Abby for all of the laughs while they were on Giant Bomb! Don't forget to use the link to share your support for their artistic creation on Twitter!

Big Garfield Fan, Huh? (By: @monkeyman04)

User monkeyman04 made a thing featuring Jeff and Garfield. I had to look at it and now you do too!

Sorry/Not Sorry!

Community Activities

World of Warcraft Alliance/Horde Community Link (By: @rorie)

In light of various updates, Mr. Rorie is attempting to gauge interest in reviving the World of Warcraft Alliance/Horde Giant Bomb groups! Share if you have checked up on the old community alliances and what you would like to see!

Official Santa Hat Extravaganza 2020: Pandemic Version (By: @mightyduck)

IT'S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN! It's time to don your Giant Bomb avatar/profile picture with a Santa hat! Get help if you need it using the link! Or, you're MattyFTM and don your avatar with Soviet imagery!

Blogs

How Do I Know When I'm Satisfied? (Why I Don't Like "Post Game" Content) (By: @sweetz)

sweetz uses their latest blog on Giant Bomb to talk about Final Fantasy XV and use it as a case study on their struggles to know if and when they are satisfied with a game's ending.

Gaming Memories: Ocarina of Time (By: @majormitch)

MajorMitch continues their series where they replay the video games of their childhood with a look at The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time! Give it a read and discover why it still stands as the most formative game in their life!

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age Out Now On Gamepass (By: @raven10)

Raven10 picked up Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age on Game Pass and discusses the many anachronisms they felt while playing a Dragon Quest game on a Microsoft-led service while also enjoying the game!

Until G4 Reckons With Its Past, I'm Not Watching (By: @zombiepie)

Moderator ZombiePie uses their latest blog to talk about G4's recent holiday reunion and why it made them uncomfortable and unwilling to support the network's recent revival going forward.

Indie Game of the Week 199: Forager + Welcome to Go! Go! GOTY! 2020 (By: @mento)

Once again, Mento has a smattering of blogs for you to read this week! First, Mento continues their "Indie Game of the Week" series with a look at Forager by developer HopFrog! Read why they think the resource gathering sim is missing an "edge" to put it over other games of that type. Finally, to make things easier for Marino and I, I'm just going to link to Mento's master post regarding their GOTY series on the site. This week they Devil's Kiss, the elaborate Ren'Py joke included with every purchase of Lair of the Clockwork God, and Assemble with Care!

Discussion Threads & Forums

Vinny's Dad Jokes (By: @holycrapitsadam)

Whelp, it was bound to happen eventually! We finally have a community thread that is attempting to chronicle every single dad joke Vinny has told on the Giant Beastcast! Be part of the fun using the link above!

Have You Ever Found That A Cheat Or Cheat Engine Tends To Make An Ok Game Great? (By: @topcyclist)

Have you ever used cheat codes or cheat engine to make a game you thought was just "okay" into something "amazing?" Share and discuss your picks using the link above!

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Discussion Thread (By: @rorie)

To everyone playing World of Warcraft: Shadowlands! What have your impressions been of the latest WoW expansion set? Does it make a compelling argument to return to Azeroth?

Gaming Detox (By: @berfunkle)

The topic has come up during the Bombcast, but have you done a "gaming detox" during the pandemic? Do you have any tips to other users trying to unplug from gaming and social media?

When (If Ever) Did You Learn to Manually Save? (By: @raven10)

Here's a REALLY FUN discussion thread on the forums! What was the game that taught you the "importance" of saving your game manually? For me, it has to be Fallout 2 and the rat god in Klamath!

Cyberpunk 2077 Digital Release & Preload Times (By: @frytup)

Cyberpunk 2077's digital releases and preload times have been revealed! Do the dates and time stick out to you? Are you excited to download the game before you give it a try?

Immortals: Fenyx Rising Impressions Thread (By: @bigsocrates)

Are there users playing Immortals: Fenyx Rising right now? Feel free to join the community discussion about the game using the link below! Share your impressions whether they are positive or negative!

"Dirty" Arcade Machines At Non-Arcade Places (By: @slaughts)

This is an interesting forum topic inspired by the latest Bombcast for some of the older gamers on the site! What's the weirdest place you have encountered a dirty or rundown arcade cabinet?

The Big Ron Zone - GB Learns Mahjong (By: @ratamero)

Inspired by Jan's new video series, we have a TON of users who are interested in learning how to play Mahjong! If you have any tips or tricks, or can send these users in the right direction, use the link above!

Oscar Isaac To Star As Solid Snake (By: @potatispress)

It sounds like Oscar Isaac might be playing Solid Snake in a Metal Gear Solid movie! As to be expected, this news has been met with a great deal of skepticism on the forums, but feel free to join the debate as well!

Do You Still Enjoy MK Fatalities? (By: @giant_gamer)

Here's a forum thread debating the state of Mortal Kombat fatalities. Do you feel like they are starting to become repetitive? Also, has the move towards realism hurt your enjoyment of them?

Empire of Sin Discussion Thread (By: @norm9)

Are there any Giant Bomb users out there that have picked up Empire of Sin, the Prohibition-era strategy game published by Paradox? If you have played the game, share your thoughts about the game's use of the theme and its mechanics!

Okay Elder-gamers, Confess Your Sins! What's The Oldest Game You've Played On Xbox Series S/X Or PS5? (By: @bigsocrates)

Here's a fun discussion thread for everyone who has taken advantage of backwards compatibility on the new video game consoles: What's the oldest game you've played on Xbox Series S/X or PS5? Share the old classics you have been playing!

Lists

Only Games I Would Break Down and Spend $70 to Play (By: @freedo)

freedo uses their latest list on Giant Bomb to annotate the games they know for a fact they will be buying at full price at launch. Give it a read and think about making a list of your own!

The Big List Of Best Games I Played Over The Past 2 Years (By: @cornbredx)

cornbredx didn't make a GOTY list last year on the site so they went ahead and made a list of their favorite games in the past two years. Give it a read using the link

User Review

• @danryback's Mugen no Frontier EXCEED: Super Robot Taisen OG Saga review talks about why they think this entry in the Super Robot Taisen franchise is screaming for a reboot or remaster.
• @danryback's decided to play what is considered to be one of the worst games of all time: Action 52. Check out their review of the game to learn why they find the circumstances that led to the game riveting!
• @frontman12 has been looking for a new baseball game outside of MLB The Show, and feels like they finally found it with Super Mega Baseball 3! Give their review a read to find out why they love the game!
• @senorsucks2suck's Crackdown 3 review shares why they ended up enjoying the game as a fun Game Pass distraction as they transitioned to bigger and better titles.