The Community Spotlight 2021.08.07

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight! I, @zombiepie, am once again your host as we look back at the latest community-created efforts from the last week. This week, a lot of new stuff hit the site.

• Jan and voice actor Matt Shipman started a new podcast series, Armed an Dangerous in which they recap four episodes of Power Rangers starting with the first season.
• The Two Minutes to Late Night crew debuted ALBUMMER! with the first episode panning Van Weezer.
• The first episode of The Very Online Show brought together Jeff Bakalar, Lucy James, and Tamoor Hussain to do a deep dive on M. Night Shyamalan nonsense.

VoidBurger will be debuting a new video essay series on the site called "Hot Takeouts" and the first episode will detail why they think the Super Mario Bros. movie should be made "canon" in the Mushroom Kingdom. VoidBurger is good people and you can check out their earlier works on their YouTube account. But, if you want a recommendation, might I suggest their retrospective on Phantasmagoria?

During the 08/03/2021 Bombcast, Jason shared his recent health struggles which culminated in the amputation of one of his toes. As he stated on the Bombcast, he's doing much better now, but here's a community thread sending him good will and thanking him for his return. If you want to share how glad you are he's back, this is the thread for you!

• As was the case with the previous batch of premium content on the site, all of the aforementioned shows will have their first episodes available to all users both on the site. Moving forward, all subsequent episodes will be only available to premium subscribers.
• The situation with Swedbank refusing to process payments for Giant Bomb has not improved. If you are affected by this, reach out to support@giantbomb.com and Rorie will assist in trying to get you an alternate method of payment.
• Speaking of Rorie, he recently guested on a movie and film podcast, "Defending Your Movie" wherein they discussed their time editing Screened, Giant Bomb's former movie-based sister site.
• Five old t-shirt designs have returned to the Giant Bomb Emporium! The situation with Canadian and international shipping continues to be less than great, but check out the store to see what has returned!

Galleria

Three Jeffs and a Rorie Poster (By: @mynameisfatmike)

Rorie shared this during the 08/06/2021 Relaxed Stream, but over on Twitter, mynameisfatmike made this poster to show how much they have been enjoying the new content on the site. It is simply amazing stuff.

Tweets

Activities

Pokémon Unite Online Hookup Thread (By: @meant2live218)

Jan has officially sold Pokémon Unite to some members of the community as we now have an online hookup thread! Use the link above to see if you can play with other Giant Bomb users!

Blogs

A Better Difficulty II: Forza Motorsport 6 (By: @gamer_152)

Moderator Gamer_152 continues their series looking at difficulty in games and uses Forza Motorsport 6 as a case study on how games can help players level up their driving skills.

The Ascent - Game Discussion (By: @humanity)

Humanity played The Ascent for a good amount and uses their latest blog to talk about their early impressions of it! If you have also given the game a shot use the link below to join their conversation about the game!

The Dredge of Seventeen: July + Indie Game of the Week 231: The Last Campfire (By: @mento)

Moderator Mento talks about ELEX, Giga Wrecker, and Old Man's Journey on their July video game wrap-up blog! Give it a read and see if they recommend any of the big projects they played last month! Likewise, Mento has a new episode of their "Indie Game of the Week" series on the site and this episode is all about The Last Campfire!

What's the Greatest Video Game: Super Mario Bros 3 (By: @imunbeatable80)

imunbeatable80 has a real heavy-hitter this week for their latest "What's the Greatest Video Game?" blog series: Super Mario Bros. 3! Find out where they stand in the Super Mario Bros. 3 vs. Super Mario World debate.

Get Chrono Crossed: Part #3: This Game Was Kingdom Hearts Before Kingdom Hearts! (By: @zombiepie)

Moderator ZombiePie has another highly entertaining episode to their retrospective on Chrono Cross up on Giant Bomb! If you want to learn more about the game's many wacky twists and turns, then click the link.

Discussion Thread

How Do You Keep Track Of A Game's Story? (By: @sunie)

Do you take notes while playing a game with a complex story or massive cast of characters? What are your strategies for remembering terms and proper nouns in games chock-full of them?

Bourne to Run: The Tuna's Dream (By: @seriuzbiznus)

Well, Tamoor joked about it during the announcement for "The Very Online Show" but we now have a speculation and theory thread for Danny's "dream sequences" in Bourne to Run. If you have any theories as to what they mean, join the conversation!

Windows Is Rolling Out An Update To Fix Performance Issues In Games (By: @rorie)

A big update is coming to Windows 10 to address performance issues with games and you can read all about what the update plans to do using this thread. Did you encounter any issues playing games on Windows prior to this patch?

Would You Love To See A New Installment Of Wipeout For PS5? (By: @gtxforza)

Do you miss futuristic racing games like Wipeout and F-Zero? Do you think either could make a "comeback" this generation? Why do you think publisher or developers have been so hesitant to revive the sub-genre?

Why Don't Other Companies Take Panic/Playdate's Approach To Pre-Orders? (By: @altdimension)

Here's a thread debating Panic/Playdate's approach to pre-orders! Do you want more game companies allow people to put their money down with the guarantee that you will eventually receive what you paid for?

Has Meme Culture Been Monetized By Corps + People Think They Influence But Their Following A Trend Configured From Market Teams (By: @topcyclist)

What is your reaction to major corporations monetizing or commercializing memes, especially ones that are publicly shared? Can you think of any games that have utilized memes well?

Bojangles: Must Try? (By: @actionman85)

There's a new discussion thread on Giant Bomb debating if Bojangles should be considered a "must try" when visiting the American South. If you have thoughts about the matter, feel free to share them!

Series X vs Series S For A Non-4K Gamer (By: @junkerman)

There's an active discussion on the forums debating if someone who is not invested in 4K should buy an Xbox Series X or Series S. If you have anything to share about the topic, use the link above!

Lists

Guilty Treasures (By: @marino)

Marino whipped up a list of ten games he thinks properly qualify for Danny's "Guilty Treasures" feature that he could ramble on about for a documentary. Give it a read and consider making a list of your own!

User Reviews

• @vookatos's Mega Man 9 review discusses why they found the game to be "too retro for its own good" and how its throwback stylings and gameplay annoyed them more than anything else.
• @infantpipoc's Death's Door review shares why it is a solid experience for anyone looking for a NieR-like game or Zelda-like game on a smaller scale.
• @infantpipoc also decided to check out FAR: Lone Sails. Read why they were completely impressed by its road trip experience through an apocalyptic wasteland.
• @yyninja's The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure review on the site leads you through how it mixes up The Legend of Heroes formula mostly to its benefit.

Wiki Pages

Metroid celebrated its 35th anniversary last week and it might surprise you to know that Giant Bomb is your go-to source for information about everything related to the Metroid franchise! Whether it be the game that started everything, the monster that serves the franchise's namesake, or the franchise itself; Giant Bomb has you covered!

• Metroid (Franchise Page)
• Metroid (Concept Page)
• Metroid (Game Page)

The introduction of Jan and Matt's show has a typo. Should be Armed and Rangerous.

had no idea about "Hot Takeouts" until just now. Can't wait!