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The Community Spotlight 2023.04.01

No jokes allowed.

Welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight! I, @zombiepie, am honored to be your host. E3 2023 is officially cancelled! While the convention itself had seen better days, there's no doubt that the last handful of years of E3 prior to the pandemic created some of the best content the site had generated. I can confirm the staff had been planning to host an L.A.-based interview show in conjunction to E3, but we'll have to wait and see if some version of that is still going to happen.

The good news is that Giant Bomb is returning to the convention circuit sooner than that! Way sooner in fact. If you plan to be in San Diego from April 7-9, you will have the opportunity to watch Jan, Grubb, Dan, and Fandom personalities host in-person panels! In fact, the Giant Bomb-led panel will be a LIVE Voicemail Dump Truck. They're asking that all call-ins be gaming related, so, keep that in mind if you plan to call in.

Tam and Lucy were presenters for the video game BAFTAs! If you missed the stream, here's a link to the Twitch VOD. Plenty of fun moments have come from the event and it's worth checking when you have three hours to spare.

Many of you continue to report issues when attempting to watch classic or older videos on the site. The engineer in charge of the issue has been trying to nail down which cookies specifically are causing the issues with old videos and narrowed it down to "__gamesVideoPlayer" and "AMCV_[a bunch of letters and numbers]." As they claim, if you delete those and refresh the page the player should work without you having to delete all cookies, and re-login.

Finally, @marino and I celebrated the 13th anniversary of us being moderators on Giant Bomb. I was doing the Community Spotlight almost a year prior to becoming a moderator, so I've likely been doing this feature for about 14 years. If you've enjoyed it, drop a comment because Father Time sure is a bastard. And you know what? I don't think I have ever mentioned in one of these that my first name is Chris. If you actually read the site-related news sections of these, there's your early "Easter Egg."

Tweets

Art

Jeff Grubb Hotdog & Other Memes (By: @Its_xcore, @NJShadowReborn, @CreakyLegs, @ogto_rt, and @CreakyLegs)

Oh my God. I guess it should come as no surprise that the internet took Jeff Grubb eating copious amounts of hot dogs and made it into a mini-meme of sorts on Twitter. As long as you did not find the segment itself queasy, enjoy!

Play It Forward Fanart (By: @gargledmesh)

I have seen Michael Thornton do the Jack O pose and now you do as well. Don't bother suing me; I'm already bankrupt.

No Caption Provided

Tam & Lucy In Resident Evil 4 +

Tam & Lucy At The BAFTA Games (By: @MOHAMMEDFI10)

Over on Twitter, MOHAMMEDFI10 had some fun making artwork for Tam and Lucy! The first imagines the two trying to survive the world of Resident Evil 4 and the second combined their visible excitement at the BAFTA Games with Charlie Brown.

No Caption Provided
No Caption Provided

Videos

Mike Reacts To Giant Bomb Reacts To Tears Of The Kingdom Gameplay (By: Jeff Grubb's Game Mess)

It's been a while since we last had videos on the Spotlight, but we have a few that are worth highlighting. With the above video you can humorously watch Mike Minotti reacting to Giant Bomb's reaction of the The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom stream.

UNDEFEATED CHAMPION Dan Returns! | Game Mess Jeopardy #13 ft. Dan Ryckert (By: Jeff Grubb's Game Mess)

Likewise, Game Mess Jeopardy is premiering on YouTube! You can catch Dan, Mike, and Grubb all going at it in a game of video game-based Jeopardy and I must say the intro to this video is especially hilarious.

Activities

Return to Monkey Island Is The 7th Game Of The UUGPGC! Finish By April 10, 2023! Mark All Spoilers! +

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion Is The 6th Year 2 Game Of The UUGPGC. Finish By 3/27/23. Mark All Spoilers!(By: @bigsocrates)

It won by a wide margin, but the next selection of the Community Game Pass Game Club is Return to Monkey Island! Do you think it lived up to the hype? Is it an honorable sequel to Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge? The Community Game Pass Game Club has also opened its previous discussions for Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion to story discussions! If you have anything to say about the game that may be considered a "spoiler," now's your chance!

The GB Album Club Cycle 3 Theme Is... "Artist You Discovered In a Video Game Soundtrack" (By: @unclejam23)

Don't forget that the Community Album Club is recruiting new members and suggestions for its NEXT CYCLE! Remember, the theme this time involves "Artist You Discovered In a Video Game Soundtrack!"

Blogs

Simply amazing stuff!
Simply amazing stuff!

Ryckert’s Island: A Mario World Hack 25 Years In The Making (By: @smashncrab)

It's finally here! Smashncrab's Super Mario World ROM Hack, Ryckert's Island, is finally upon us! If you want to read about what it took to make it and how they designed Dan, Mike Mahardy, and Merry Kish in their dream project.

Dan Wrote the Foreword to My Book! (By: @piffman2)

Piffman2 is an established game journalist and they got Dan and Grubb to write sections of their video game history book "VIDEO GAME OF THE YEAR!" Ask them all about their book and what it was like working with Dan and the contents of their book on their blog!

It Was Rough Going Back To Persona 3, But I'm Glad I Did It! (By: @zombiepie)

This game still POPS!
This game still POPS!

ZombiePie ended up using the Game Pass release of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable as an excuse to give it another go! Read why they still maintain it is their favorite Persona game, despite recognizing it as deeply problematic and crusty.

All 3DO and Jaguar Games In Order: 1993 Round-Up +

All Saturn Games In Order: February 1996 (By: @borgmaster)

borgmaster couldn't justify covering the 1993 game releases for the 3DO and Jaguar separately, so they decided to look at their "quality" game releases together this time! Did either console have a good year? Read to find out! Additionally, it's time for another exhaustive look at the games that came out for the Sega Saturn in North America with borgmaster! This episode is all about Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, Cyberia, Clockwork Knight 2, and more!

This is certainly a controller.
This is certainly a controller.

Indie Game of the Week 313: Cradle+

64 in 64: Episode 28 (By: @mento)

Moderator Mento is back to talk to you about indie games that you may have forgotten about! This time they talk about Cradle, a game with a story they loved, but block puzzles they absolutely dreaded!

It's also time for a new blog about the Nintendo 64 from Mento and this episode examines Body Harvest and International Track and Field 2000 / Ganbare! Nippon! Olympics 2000! Has either game aged well? Read to find out.

I Caved: March's Backlog Battle (By: @jeremyf)

jeremyf is back on Giant Bomb to review their recent efforts at making a dent on their video game backlog! This month, they managed to give Cave Story, Pikmin 2, and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne a whirl, and you can read all about it.

Oh, it is the game that everyone was talking about in 2008!
Oh, it is the game that everyone was talking about in 2008!

What's the Greatest Video Game: Dorfromantik (By: @imunbeatable80)

How many of you out there have heard of the "relaxed puzzle game," Dorfromantik from Toukana Interactive? Well, it's the topic of imunbeatable80's latest blog and you can see if its hex-grid city building is any good!

Checking In - March 2023 (By: @danielkempster)

danielkempster makes a valiant return to discuss what they have been doing, why their last few blog project on the site failed, and an incredibly recent development with his marriage. Wish them well whenever you can!

Diablo IV Open Beta Impressions +

Gaming Goals #1: April 2023(By: @toolzz360)

This is something different, but in a good way.
This is something different, but in a good way.

toolzz360 spent a chunk of their time playing around with the beta for Diablo IV. Read what their initial impressions of what they played are and if they expect to buy the full version when it releases. Additionally, toolzz360 has a problem that they decided to share on: their video game backlog has reached a ridiculous level. As such they have set some pretty ambitious goals for what they expect to play and finish in April that you can read!

Discussion Threads

Yeah, maybe this event is totally dead.
Yeah, maybe this event is totally dead.

E3 2023 Is Cancelled; ESA & ReedPOP Have Yet To Confirm Plans/Hopes For E3 2024 (By: @zombiepie)

So, E3 2023 is dead. Are you sad? Do you think this means the convention itself is entirely dead? What do you think the odds are that E3 2024 is still on or is being actively planned?

Jason Is Back On The Internet! (By: @bakoomerang)

Join the rest of the Giant Bomb community in celebrating Jason's glorious return to video game streaming! Get the link to their Twitch account, wish him the best, and join the discussion on which games you can't wait to see them play!

Support The Internet Archive however you can.
Support The Internet Archive however you can.

The Internet Archive Loses First Case In Federal Court. Promises To Appeal (By: @zombiepie)

The Internet Archive lost its first case in U.S. Federal Court. Do you have worries what this could mean for "fair use" and the gaming community? Join the rest of the community in discussing the news and what it could mean for the gaming community.

WarTales Hits 1.0 on April 12th, 2023 (By: @allthedinos)

Wartales hits 1.0 on April 12th! How many of you are excited to give this open world RPG a shot when it crosses this hurdle? Share your excitement levels in this discussion thread by clicking the link to join the community discussion!

Does this game have a chance in an incredibly crowded field?
Does this game have a chance in an incredibly crowded field?

LEGO 2K Drive Discussion Thread (By: @gtxforza)

How many of y'all have been following or are excited about LEGO 2K Drive? Do you think it has a chance to differentiate itself in the growingly crowded field of arcade racers?

Lists

2023 has been decidedly good for video games.
2023 has been decidedly good for video games.

The First Quarter Of 2023: Reminders Of A Decade Or Two Ago (By: @infantpipoc)

infantpipoc took the time to look back at what they think are the five biggest and best gaming highlight from the first quarter of 2023! Read all about the games they enjoyed the most during the first chunk of 2023!

Disney Mirrorverse Character Wishlist (By: @captainofthestars)

captainofthestars considers Disney Mirrorverse "another predatory freemium game" but hey also couldn't help themselves in imagining characters they'd like to see in it that are not already in the game.

User Reviews

Yeah, this game seems good.
Yeah, this game seems good.

@infantpipoc played Resident Evil 4 non-stop for two days and sat down and wrote a review for the game. Read why they agree with the universal praise the game is getting and also what it was like playing it on a Steam Deck.

@yyninja's Iconoclasts review relays why they really enjoyed its charming Metroidvania hooks, clever puzzles, and varied boss fights. However, there's one part of the game they were not too please with and you can read about it.

@blimpsgo180 finally took the plunge to become the owner of an arcade cabinet, but you can read why they still love arcade game compilation packs like Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection by checking out their review!

Wiki Of The Week

Marino's photo gallery alone is worth seeing.
Marino's photo gallery alone is worth seeing.

E3 1999

With the convention itself likely dead forever, let's throw things back to a time when E3 was the industry leader for getting people excited about video games. E3 1999 might not be the first E3, but it was the first year back in LA after a 2-year detour in Atlanta.

This page has a rundown of the show's highlights, a comprehensive list of what games were at which booths, a full list of exhibitors, a list of Game Critics Awards winners, and over 300 photos from the show floor including swag from the event!