Welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight! I, @zombiepie am once again honored to be your host as we look back at the best community creations and site-related news from the previous week!
First, let's review some exciting news related to the site's programming. Following a lot of positive buzz from the community, Wednesday Night Wars and Thursday Night Throwdown are becoming more regular features on the site. The Wednesday Counter Strike 2 stream and Thursday's Titanfall 2 community event all went well and have all of the staff excited to do similar video streams like those in the future.
Second, Thursday Friday Night Forkin' will be returning in the near future! As many of you may recall Forkin' was meant to have a mini-revival during Giant Bomb's Not-E3 coverage, but technical issues prevented most of that from happening. Now, a proper return is right around the corner.
Now, let's talk about site-related issues. Some people are reporting political ads that espouse social and political beliefs antithetical to Giant Bomb's policy of valuing diversity and inclusion. If and when you hear anything like this, please use this thread to report the ads. Be sure to include a timestamp and a brief description of what the ad said. Doing those two extra steps will make it easier to remove the ads in question.
Some people are reporting that when they pull the GMM premium feed via the video site as instructed that it's not updating. When a new episode goes up, they need to uninstall and then reinstall the premium feed. DToast got confirmation that a fix is coming but I wasn't provided a timeline.
Finally, it seems a site update or refresh may have reset progress with the video player. It started with Firefox and then impacted all browsers. That issue should be resolved, but please report and ping DToast in the thread if you are still having issues.
Tweets
A year ago. pic.twitter.com/3qmH6QdanG
— World’s Famous Giant Bomb (@giantbomb) October 5, 2023
8-4 turned 18 (!!) today! Thanks to everyone who has supported us over the years! これからもよろしく！！🎉 pic.twitter.com/RvJyLJtmGc
— John Ricciardi (@johntv) October 5, 2023
— Giant Bomb Out of Context (@GBombOOC) October 4, 2023
Jeff Barakalar (via chucktowski in the Giant Bomb Discord) pic.twitter.com/O3wJmc1wGC
— Grubb (@JeffGrubb) October 3, 2023
User @referendaPanda is up to dark arts using transparent assets of @JeffGrubb on a SUPER SECRET DISCORD YOU CANNOT JOIN!
— GB Duders Feed (@GBDudersFeed) October 1, 2023
Can you do anything with the first image? You tell me!
Will this be an emote you see in the future? Only time will tell.... pic.twitter.com/SGbr55lsi7
Activities
Unsanctioned Unofficial Game Pass Game Club Voting Thread For Cycle Starting October 9th, 2023 +
Giant Bomb Community Announcement: Quake II Is The 21st Selection Of Year 2 Of The UUGPGC! Finish By October 9, 2023! Mark All Spoilers!(By: @bigsocrates)
The Giant Bomb Game Pass Community has a few things for you to be aware about this week. First, Cocoon, Gris, and Battletoads (2020) are just a few of the games headlining the latest round of voting for the Community Game Pass Game Club! Here's the full list and click the first link to vote for two games you'd like to play!
Also, don't forget that this time the Game Pass Game Group is playing Quake II! Whether you are playing the original or the 2023 remaster, join the fun!
The GB Album Club 042 - Nina Simone in Concert by Nina Simone (Cycle Finale!) (By: @unclejam23)
Community Album Club is wrapping up another successful cycle! The final album for your consideration for this season is "Nina Simone in Concert" by Nina Simone! Join the community discussion about this jazz legend NOW!
Art
Author's Note: I'm honestly having a hard time trying to keep track of every single work of fan art that comes out of the Giant Bomb Discord or social media. If you frequent any of these and come across Giant Bomb-themed works of art, please drop a comment in the current Spotlight and include links to works in question. My ability to share as many Grubb memes as possible this week is largely thanks to a helpful comment by AlwaysBeClothing!
The Grawn Template (By: @chucktowski)
A new Jeff Grubb emote just dropped in the Giant Bomb Discord thanks to chucktowski! If you would like to have your hand at making a different emote or .gif, here's the reference. Go wild!
The Beast Within + The Grubbruid + Grubb Total War + True Art (By: @ogto)
And now it is time to look at the memes that came out from Grubb's call for internet goofiness based on his face screen capture that I mentioned above. ogto is one of many people that had a field day with the picture.
Yeehaw (By: THECOSMICFLY)
It's meme on meme action and we all win!
AlwaysBeCarbonite (By: @alwaysbeclothing)
Hey, Star Wars fans! What are your thoughts about Ashoka? I think it has some real ups and downs with some episodes that are great and others that feel like a waste of time or are just fan pandering.
That's Grubbpossible! (By: @unusedcow)
And I get that some people were super excited that Thrawn and Ezra would be a big factor in the Ashoka show, but they seem to be distracting rather than wanting to blend the Ashoka character stuff with those two characters and their loose ends from Rebels.
Resident Grubby by Panda Chuchu (By: @referendaPanda)
This work of photoshop goodness seems to perfectly capture the fact that if I saw Grubb out in the wild making this face. My first reaction would be to either run or think a zombie virus was taking over him.
Grubb & Captain Mike (By: @KinguAmoz)
Over on Twitter, KinguAmoz was on a bit of a Giant Bomb meme making roll. First, he had Grubb rocking it out with AC/DC and then he imagined Grubb trying to prove to the world that Mike makes for a convincing Captain Falcon.
Jeff Grubb AI-Powered Stickers (By: @nikral)
The memes keep coming on the Giant Bomb Discord! Here are some stickers nikral made of Jeff Grubb's meme face with the power of AI!
Ichiban Kasugrubb (By: @basicallilexi)
And now we have your weekly dose of EYE BLEACH. This one comes from a recurring guest! Lexi has been on several editions of Game Mess Mornings as well as other videos on the site, and could not help but get on the Grubb memes. How they ended up using the Grubb face can only be described as nightmarish.
Blogs
What's the Greatest Video Game: Theatre of Sorrows (By: @imunbeatable80)
imunbeatable80 has a new edition of their "What's the Greatest Video Game" series and this episode tackles the Lovecraftian 2D roguelite, Theatre of Sorrows! Read why they were left unimpressed by the game.
All Saturn Games In Order: April 1996 (By: @borgmaster)
borgmaster has a fun tour of the games that released on the Sega Saturn in April 1996! Read all about X-Men: Children of the Atom, Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei, and Guardian Heroes and why the PS1's victory was not yet assured!
Schlocktober '23: Pumpkin Jack Is A Generic Spooky Platformer That Didn't Do It For Me
The Shark! Shark! Release Is Probably As Close As We're Going To Get To Amico Closure (By: @bigsocrates)
bigsocrates is starting a new blog series called "Schlocktober '23" wherein they play nothing but Halloween-themed video games of questionable quality. For their first entry, they checked out the 3D action platformer Pumpkin Jack!
Shark! Shark! is a game was originally an Intellivision Amico exclusive, but last week launched on Switch, Xbox, and Steam! bigsocrates reviews how the game's questionable quality speaks to the doomed state of the Intellivision Amico.
Lethal Weapon Sixteen Fifty-One (By: @infantpipoc)
infantpipoc has a review/blog for Fate/Samurai Remnant! Is the game a fun musou? Is it a cheap cash-in? Is it an easy on-ramp for those new to the Fate franchise? Click the link to read the answers to all of those questions!
Games of the Mid-Year 2023: Celebrating More Also-Rans (By: @allthedinos)
For their latest blog, ALLTheDinos reviews a handful of games they thought would have a stronger claim on their 2023 GOTY list, but most definitely will not. Read why games like Inkbound and Diablo IV didn't tickle their fancy.
Foamstars Seems Cool. Foamstars Seems Doomed. (By: @zombiepie)
Foamstars seems cool. Foamstars seems doomed. Moderator ZombiePie writes why they think both statements are true and why they have ZERO CONFIDENCE this game lasts more than one year in a crowded market of team-based shooters.
Crispy Critters: Breaking Down the Awfulness of P-3 (By: @gamer_152)
Moderator Gamer_152 wrote an essay about Atomic Heart's protagonist, P-3, and why he's maybe one of the worst main characters they have seen and reviews the art of the bastard protagonist.
Mega Archive: Part XXXVI: From TechnoClash to Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition +
Indie Game of the Week 340: Flipping Death (By: @mento)
TechnoClash, Rocket Knight Adventures, and Street Fighter II': Champion Edition are some of the headliners in Mento latest blog looking back at every game that released on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive!
Additionally, Mento's latest "Indie Game of the Week" is all about the adventure/puzzle game Flipping Death? Do you remember when the indie fandom was singing the praises of this game about five years ago?
Discussion Threads
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp Friend Code Share Thread (By: @thepickle)
Nintendo didn't exactly make it easy to play Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp with friends, but we have a new effort on the site trying to revive the game's online modes and features with new community-run activities!
The Saga Is Over - Microsoft Expected To Complete Its Purchase Of Activision Blizzard Next Week (By: @zombiepie)
Multiple news networks are reporting that Microsoft is likely to close its deal to buy Activision-Blizzard some time next week. What's your reaction to the news? Do you worry about the possible impacts to competition?
How Do You Feel About The Future Of AI In Games For NPC Dialogue? (By: @wollywoo)
What do you think about the prospect of video game developers using AI to guide NPC dialogue? Is it bound to happen at some point? Will large language models ever be ready for the challenge?
Sega Cancels Hyenas; Budget Estimated To Be $100 Million; Sega Expects To Record Losses Of 14.3 Billion Yen (By: @zombiepie)
The Creative Assembly's heist game, Hyenas, has been cancelled. The details surrounding why are shocking. Are you surprised at the game's cancellation? Does the rumored price tag of $100 million surprise you?
Forza Motorsport Launch Trailer And Release Day Discussion Thread (By: @gtxforza)
Forza Motorsport, the soft reboot of the mainline series, is less than a week away and just dropped a new trailer! Have you been reading the game's early reviews? Give the launch day trailer and join the discussion thread if you are excited to give it a try on October 10th!
Nintendo Ending Support For Wii U And 3DS Online Early Next Year (By: @bigsocrates)
It's officially official. Nintendo is ending support for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS online early next year. What is your reaction to the news and what does this mean for video game preservation?
Lists
Resident Evil Series I've Finished (By: @hellscream)
Hellscream has played a decent number of Resident Evil games and uses their latest list on Giant Bomb to assess every RE game they have played. Their list is in chonological order, and if you enjoy the idea, consider making your own list!
Reviews
@pauljeremiah's review for Bionic Commando Rearmed tries to get to the bottom of whether or not the game has survived the test of time. Read why he thinks this nostalgic throwback still has merits and is worth playing today!
@pauljeremiah's review of Valiant Hearts: The Great War relays why he thinks the game is a great art piece with a powerful message that sometimes gets muddled with gameplay bits.
Wiki Of The Week
With the cancellation of Hyenas and the studio in a slightly compromised state, let's throw things back to brighter times for The Creative Assembly with this edition of "Wiki of the Week!" The site's wiki page for Total War: Shogun 2 reviews the game's campaign and multiplayer features as well as faction choices all on a handy wiki page worth checking out if you haven't already.