Misplaced Pages

#627372

106-588: Kirby and the Rainbow Curse carries on the style of gameplay from Canvas Curse , presenting the game with a unique modelling clay look. Players use the Wii U GamePad to help Kirby , who is stuck in a ball form, move across the level by drawing rainbow colored lines on the touchscreen to guide him. Making Kirby go through loops will speed him up, while touching him will put him into a spinning attack to use against enemies. For every 100 stars Kirby collects, Kirby can perform

212-488: A "constantly creative adventure that offers players something they won't find anywhere else." He praised the claymation aesthetic calling it "astoundingly beautiful," while also complimenting the number of collectibles and challenges. Nearly one month after its release in Japan, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse had sold roughly 58,000 units, with 83,000 copies sold by the end of June 2015. Wii U GamePad The Wii U GamePad

318-461: A Quick Look. In April 2012, video game localization company 8-4 announced that they would be entering a partnership with Giant Bomb in which the website would become the new host for the bi-weekly 8-4 podcast. In September 2014 it was announced that Giant Bomb had entered into a partnership with Midroll, a podcast advertisement company. The Giant Bombcast is Giant Bomb ' s weekly podcast , released on Tuesdays. As of June 2022

424-490: A Star Dash which increases his size, allowing him to charge through normally-indestructible blocks. Similarly to Kirby's Epic Yarn , Kirby can gain various forms throughout the game, such as a submarine, a rocket, and a tank. These forms help him progress through the game and provide certain elements that alter the gameplay. Up to three additional players using Wii Remotes can play as Bandana Waddle Dees , who can assist Kirby by carrying him around and attacking enemies. During

530-512: A contractor role, would be joining the site as a full-time employee. Gerstmann confirmed in a later episode of the Giant Bombcast that the San Francisco office would be closing and the site would be permanently shifting to a remote work environment. On June 6, 2022, Giant Bomb announced Jeff Gerstmann's departure from the website. The following day, Gerstmann confirmed he would be starting

636-477: A definite view of it is the direction in which video game reviews are moving towards. The annual game of the year awards features multiple podcasts which are live-recordings of the staff's deliberations. Additional comical awards created by Giant Bomb has included the Best Use of Nolan North , otherwise known as The Northies, an award North himself acknowledged. During the awards week, individual top 10 games of

742-717: A few will swear by it." Giant Bomb Giant Bomb is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news, and reviews, created by former GameSpot editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by Time magazine as one of the Top 50 websites of 2011. Originally part of Whiskey Media , the website was acquired by CBS Interactive in March 2012 before being sold to Red Ventures in 2020, then to Fandom in 2022. After being terminated from his position as editorial director of GameSpot , Gerstmann began working with

848-494: A game where two GamePads were needed, adding "there needs to be a game that drives that implementation". The Wii U GamePad received mixed reviews from critics. Stephen Totilo, from Kotaku , praised the GamePad, stating he did not find the controller "too heavy" due to the inbuilt screen. Totilo also praised the "superb connection" between the GamePad and the console, believing "The GamePad screen's ability to stay in constant sync with

954-557: A memorial episode dedicated to Davis's death along with guests Pachter, Jessica Chobot , and Kyle Bosman. The German musician C418 , known for his work on the Minecraft soundtrack, released "Taswell", a musical tribute to Davis. Giant Bomb announced two opening vacancies in 2014 for senior editor and video producer positions. At the same time, Caravella announced that he was moving from San Francisco to his home-town in New York following

1060-426: A mix of both entertainment and critique , combined with the essence of a Let's Play video. The feature has been used to profile highly anticipated games, give mention to lesser-known games, or to intentionally showcase bad games for humorous purposes. Quick Looks by Giant Bomb of lesser-known games are often more publicized by their respective developers or communities, such as the fighting game community, as

1166-665: A more three-dimensional version of the DS game's painterly style, while the framerate of the animations was kept low so the game would look like it was made in claymation . Waddle Dees were chosen as the multiplayer characters because the developers felt that Meta Knight or King Dedede were not as well-suited to protect Kirby. The game was first announced at E3 2014 . Kirby and the Rainbow Curse received mixed to positive reviews. It received an aggregated score of 75% on GameRankings based on 50 reviews and 73/100 on Metacritic based on 72 reviews. Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu awarded Kirby and

SECTION 10

#1733086159628

1272-490: A mysterious hole opens in the sky, draining all the color from Dream Land and stopping everything and everyone in its tracks. Elline, a paintbrush fairy from the land of Seventopia, goes through the portal in order to escape several "grab hands" and uses her powers to bring color back to Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee. She reveals that her best friend, Claycia, suddenly became evil and has used the colors from Kirby's planet, Popstar, in order to create seven worlds, which are made from

1378-696: A nation still recovering from its time as the Democratic Kampuchea under the Khmer Rouge regime, led by Pol Pot from 1975 to 1979. Following the 2011 Evo Championship Series in which Rising Star award winner, 8 year-old Noah Solis made the top 48 players in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds , Klepek interviewed Solis and his father Moises Solis who praised video games alongside education in avoiding Los Angeles organized crime . In 2013 Microsoft unveiled their eighth generation video game console ,

1484-402: A new independent podcast, "The Jeff Gerstmann Show", funded via Patreon. Gerstmann elaborated in the podcast's first episode later that day that the decision to leave Giant Bomb was a result of feeling overly stressed and creatively stifled by the increasing bureaucracy and time spent on business and management while working under a corporation, coupled with a desire to spend more time focusing on

1590-456: A new podcast and streaming project, "Nextlander", the following month, gaining over 5000 Patreon subscribers within its first day of activity. In a statement made to GameSpot following the departures, Gerstmann confirmed that they would be "using this as an opportunity to rethink what this site is. It's a chance to introduce new personalities from different backgrounds and explore categories and topics that [ Giant Bomb ] never have before." On

1696-432: A new site. Talking with Tyler Wilde of GamesRadar , Gerstmann said that their intent was not to make a site that would compete with GameSpot , but rather create "a really great and fun video game website ... that we like and that we would use, and that users will have a blast using as well." In the process of deciding on the name for the website, over seventy different domain names were considered. Gerstmann wanted

1802-607: A publishing partner. Giant Bomb chose not to review the game. In December 2011, prior to the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic , the website streamed Star Wars Galaxies during its final 5 hours before being shut down. Kotaku reported events as they happened on the Giant Bomb stream, including a player versus player event between the Star Wars factions the Galactic Empire and The Rebels, as well as an appearance from

1908-405: A reviewer's scoring of 7.5 for Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction , for which Sony Computer Entertainment America had threatened to pull advertising money. The second concerned Gerstmann's 6.0 Kane & Lynch: Dead Men review, which provoked further threats by Eidos Interactive. On the third call, some time after the release of the review, Gerstmann was informed that his contract

2014-474: A scenario in a game. The screen can also be used to play a game strictly on the GamePad screen without the use of a television display. Conversely, non-gaming functions can be assigned to it as well, such as using it as a television remote. The development of the Wii U GamePad began alongside of the main Wii U console, beginning in 2009. The Wii U GamePad can be used in conjunction with other controllers compatible with

2120-548: A second office established in New York City in 2014. Following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, both offices were closed and the website permanently shifted to a remote work environment. Content on Giant Bomb comes from the site's staff as well as its community, which contributes to the site's video game wiki database that is open to editing by all registered users. The Giant Bomb staff covers video game news and new releases in

2226-558: A second weekly podcast, the Giant Beastcast . Released every Friday, the show was recorded in Giant Bomb ' s New York office and was hosted by Caravella, with weekly guests during its tenure including Navarro, Bakalar, Walker, Ryckert, and Russell. The show followed a similar format to the Giant Bombcast . The podcast was retired in May 2021 following the closure of the New York office and

SECTION 20

#1733086159628

2332-465: A sign of mainstream recognition. In covering Quick Looks, Dave LeClair of MakeUseOf focused on the format only on the entertainment merit of the Giant Bomb staff playing a given game, citing Quick Looks of Euro Truck Simulator 2 , Wipeout: The Game , and the Trains Vs Zombies downloadable content of RailWorks 3 as games LeClair had no interest in playing but recommended as fun viewing in

2438-469: A special presentation preceding E3 2012 , Nintendo unveiled more details about the GamePad, including its ability to be used as a remote control for a television with the Nintendo TVii app and the ability to send handwritten messages and other content. The GamePad communicates with a Wii U console over a modified Wi-Fi protocol designed for low- latency transmission, establishing its connection with

2544-426: A stunt that me or anybody else can pull off, but I'm honored I got to see it in person. The gaming industry paid tribute to Davis through social media, written articles, and video. Gary Whitta , Michael Pachter, Sean Vanaman , and Greg Miller were among the prominent names to voice their thoughts on Davis's death. During the recording of that week's episode of Bonus Round for GameTrailers , Geoff Keighley hosted

2650-406: A supplement to gameplay to provide additional functionality that can be controlled using the screen, or to stream gameplay from the console in lieu of a television display ( Off-TV Play ) depending on each game. The controller also features a front-facing camera (usable for video chat ), and dual analog sticks , nine-axis motion detection via a three-axis accelerometer , three-axis gyroscope and

2756-526: A team of web engineers to create a new video game website. His intent was to create "a fun video game website" that would not heavily cover the business side of the game industry. The site's core editorial staff consisted primarily of former GameSpot editors. Giant Bomb was unveiled on March 6, 2008, as a blog; the full site launched on July 21, 2008. The Giant Bomb offices were originally in Sausalito, California , before moving to San Francisco in 2010, with

2862-525: A three-axis magnetometer , rumble support, and an infrared array that can emulate the Wii Sensor Bar . The GamePad also supports NFC , which allows developers to create figurines (such as Nintendo's Amiibo figures) or cards that can wirelessly interact with the controller, and allowed Japanese users to pay for software on the Nintendo eShop using prepaid FeliCa -based transit cards such as Suica . In

2968-409: A video game reviews conference on Rock, Paper, Shotgun in 2008, Gerstmann outlined his approach to reviews. Emphasizing the idea of reviews now being more subjective and less objective from the seventh generation video game consoles onwards, due to the audience of video games and video game culture becoming more widespread, Gerstmann said that assisting readers on a given game rather than giving

3074-450: A whole lot to the experience," but it was "a nice experiment to test out." Nintendo Life's Jon Walgren gave Rainbow Curse seven stars out of ten. He found the game "charming" and its visuals to be "the prettiest [...] on Wii U so far," but was disappointed that the clay aesthetic did not influence the gameplay like the fabric did in Kirby's Epic Yarn . He thought the main campaign was easy, but

3180-644: Is one of the members of the VGX awards advisory council responsible for nominating and deciding on winners. Gerstmann was fired from the site in June 2022. Ryan Thomas "Taswell" Davis (June 4, 1979 – July 3, 2013) was an American video game journalist and Internet personality . He was formerly a journalist of the gaming website GameSpot and the co-founder and editor of the gaming website Giant Bomb . Recruited by Jeff Gerstmann, Davis began working for GameSpot in 2000. Initially starting in tech support work, Davis joined

3286-406: Is the standard game controller for Nintendo 's Wii U home video game console . Incorporating features from tablet computers , the GamePad has traditional input methods (such as buttons, dual analog sticks , and a D-pad ), touchscreen controls, and motion controls. The touchscreen can be used to supplement a game by providing alternate, second screen functionality or an asymmetric view of

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse - Misplaced Pages Continue

3392-531: The COVID-19 pandemic , forcing the staff to work remotely from their homes. In September 2020, ViacomCBS announced the sale of CNET and related websites to the Red Ventures marketing firm for US$ 500 million. Jeff Gerstmann later confirmed that Giant Bomb was among the sites included in the sale. The following October, Abby Russell announced that she would be departing the site at the end of November 2020. In January 2021, Ben Pack announced he would be leaving

3498-639: The Force Ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi as depicted in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi . The site regularly posts Quick Looks, 20-90 minute videos showing unedited gameplay footage of a single game, featuring uncensored commentary from staff members playing the game, or watching others play. Video game YouTube celebrity John "TotalBiscuit" Bain , who modelled his own video series WTF is... after Quick Looks, describes this new video format as

3604-470: The Giant Bomb East and West offices respectively, with additional hires planned for later in the year. In November 2017 the site announced that a new video producer, Jan Ochoa, had taken the seat vacated by Scanlon. In January 2020, Dan Ryckert announced his departure from the site, having accepted a position as a podcast producer for WWE . The following March, both offices were closed in response to

3710-614: The PAX West event in September 2016, where Caravella, Navarro, and Ryckert announced they would be reviving the Endurance Run feature, playing through the Dreamcast game Shenmue . Thursday Night Throwdown was a live weekly multiplayer show. Members of the editorial team played a game with and for users to watch and interact via Twitch . Tim Schafer and Double Fine was in attendance for

3816-455: The TV screen is as welcome as it was necessary for the Wii U version of multi-screen gaming to work." The battery life of the GamePad was criticized for being too short. Andrew Hayward of TechRadar stated in his review "with the [GamePad's] brightness on max which we found essential for getting the best-quality play experience, we struggled to push past that three-hour mark." Hayward also criticized

3922-515: The Virtual Boy controller , and stating games such as Super Mario 3D World , Super Smash Bros for Wii U , and Mario Kart 8 do not employ the GamePad in a meaningful way. Crossley also called the GamePad a "chubby and clumsy touch-screen controller". He also criticized the Off-TV Play feature for being "not a system seller" stating that "most people will not use it with any regularity, and only

4028-536: The Wii Remote , eventually producing a prototype that resembled a cell phone. Another design featured both an analog stick and a touchscreen , but Nintendo rejected the idea of a touchscreen on the controller, "since the portable console and living-room console would have been exactly the same". Nintendo's development team had determined that the Wii's notification light did not provide enough information to be useful beyond whether it had received content or not. With

4134-613: The Xbox 360 budget action-adventure game Deadly Premonition . After the show ended, Deadly Premonition creator Hidetaka "SWERY" Suehiro visited Giant Bomb in 2011 and 2013. Speaking at sister-site Tested.com 's 2011 24-hour charity podcast in aid of Child's Play , Davis and Klepek revealed themselves as the players of the 3rd Endurance Run, playing the Super Nintendo Entertainment System release of Chrono Trigger . The feature went on hiatus for four years until

4240-487: The Xbox One . The Xbox One's pre-release reception was subject to strong criticism following its announcement of functionalities such as the always-on form of digital rights management (DRM), barring consumers from playing purchased games if their Xbox One could not connect to the internet once every 24 hours . On June 19, 2013, Giant Bomb broke the story that Microsoft would reverse these policies and not feature them in

4346-455: The colors of the rainbow . Wanting to stop Claycia and restore Planet Popstar's color, Kirby, Bandana Waddle Dee, and Elline set off to Seventopia. In this game, Kirby is "stuck" in a ball-like form similar to Kirby: Canvas Curse . In the last world's final boss stage, it is revealed that Claycia had been possessed by an evil force known as the Dark Crafter, who has the urge to drain all of

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse - Misplaced Pages Continue

4452-452: The " GameSpot Exodus" by Joystiq , Alex Navarro, Ryan Davis, Brad Shoemaker, and Vinny Caravella all left GameSpot . Davis announced his departure from GameSpot in February 2008, citing Gerstmann's firing as one of his reasons for leaving. Jeff's firing just destroyed me, and I think it shed a light on the other stuff that I had been kind of rolling along with. It's just that I had been at

4558-461: The Challenge Mode and the search for collectibles provided a bit more difficulty. Like other reviewers, Walgren would have liked to see the game in high definition but found he had to focus on the GamePad's low-definition screen. Playing with others was "pleasant," but it was not the best local multiplayer experience on Wii U. Hardcore Gamer's Dermot Creegan gave the game a 4.5 out of 5, calling it

4664-462: The Internet that his dismissal was a result of external pressure from Eidos Interactive , the publisher behind the video game Kane & Lynch: Dead Men . Gerstmann had given the game a negative review while Eidos had purchased advertising for the game on the website. Both GameSpot and their parent company CNET Networks stated that his dismissal was unrelated to the review. In what was labelled as

4770-645: The June 8, 2021, episode of the Giant Bombcast , Giant Bomb confirmed that in addition to hiring new on-camera and production staff, multiple others who had appeared as guests in previous Giant Bomb content would be joining as contractors and contributing new shows and content, including Danny O'Dwyer of Noclip ; Jeff Grubb of VentureBeat ; Tamoor Hussain and Lucy James of GameSpot ; Evil Uno of All Elite Wrestling ; actors Matt Shipman and Janina Gavankar ; and Giant Bomb alumni Ryckert and Pack. In October 2021, Giant Bomb announced that YouTube video producer Jess O'Brien, who had been assisting Giant Bomb in

4876-682: The Kirby, King Dedede , and Meta Knight figures from the Super Smash Bros. series of amiibo. The Kirby figure allows Kirby to activate the "Star Dash" ability at any time, the King Dedede figure gives Kirby extra HP , and the Meta Knight figure gives him greater attack power during his touch-activated spinning attack. One day in Dream Land, as Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee are seen playing together,

4982-407: The New York office at the start of the new year, with a new hire scheduled to join the San Francisco office in the following months. A GIF image of video producer Drew Scanlon, nicknamed the "Blinking White Guy" GIF, became an Internet meme in February 2017 after becoming viral on Twitter . The reaction GIF, which originated from an episode of the video series Unprofessional Fridays in 2013,

5088-469: The Rainbow Curse a 34 out of 40, with one reviewer stating "Although guiding a character by drawing lines with the GamePad isn't a new mechanism in itself, the game deserves applause for making it more interesting to play. The visuals are cute and look like clay animation. The game is filled with a surprisingly diverse load of gimmicks so it excites in many ways. The game is packed with the true charm of action games." Giant Bomb 's Dan Ryckert gave Kirby and

5194-467: The Rainbow Curse two stars out of five, comparing the title negatively to its DS predecessor. He felt that the levels were too simple and linear, and the collectibles were too easy to reach. He disliked that Kirby could not steal enemies' abilities like in Canvas Curse , and thought that the vehicles Kirby could turn into made certain levels "even more stripped-down." While he found the controls functional,

5300-606: The Whiskey Media offices back in 2011." Klepek later announced that he would be joining Kotaku as a senior reporter. In May 2015, Austin Walker joined the editorial team at Giant Bomb , working out of the New York offices alongside Caravella and Navarro. Walker announced his departure from the website in June 2016 to become the editor-in-chief for Waypoint , later hiring fellow Giant Bomb alumnus Klepek as well. In September 2016, Ryckert announced he would be permanently relocating to

5406-402: The Wii U GamePad, the developers realized they could incorporate asymmetric multiplayer into the new Kirby game and decided that, while Wii Remote players would have a more traditional running-and-jumping platformer experience, the GamePad player would draw "footholds". They decided to use the same line-drawing gameplay from Kirby: Canvas Curse . The polymer clay art style was chosen to create

SECTION 50

#1733086159628

5512-512: The actual production of content and the discussion of games and the industry. Gerstmann elaborated further in the October 25th episode of the podcast, stating that he "got fired three weeks before [he] was going to quit;" while uncertain as to the exact circumstances surrounding his dismissal, he noted that he had become disillusioned at that time, as it had become clear that his goals for the website would not be possible under their parent company. On

5618-603: The big story is the nasty management team and their dirty dealings, but honestly before Jeff's firing, I had very little contact with upper management, and I had no reason to believe that they didn't know what they were doing, I think the Kane & Lynch thing gets way more weight in this story than it deserves. Any disagreements about that game strike me as a symptom, not a cause. Gerstmann ultimately decided he did not wish to work in game development or public relations and began to work with Shelby Bonnie's Whiskey Media to begin developing

5724-499: The birth of his second child. In addition to the two new staff members, Caravella and Navarro would open a new studio in CBS Interactive's New York offices. The reasoning for expansion stemmed from having the two offices recording simultaneously to increase the variety of content and subsequently not competing for studio time and people, while also giving the opportunity for the new staff members to establish themselves and freshen up

5830-425: The color in a specific place. After pursuing and defeating the Dark Crafter, it finally dissipates into nothingness before exploding. Later, Kirby and his friends return to Dream Land and bring back all of the missing color into Planet Popstar. The ending scene includes Claycia and Elline making a bushel of apples for Kirby to eat, alongside with the words "THE END", signaling the end of the game. When they first saw

5936-493: The company's websites. Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun 's BermanBraun bought the company, its publishing platform, and websites Tested , Screened , and Anime Vice . Giant Bomb and its comic-book sister-site Comic Vine were sold separately to CBS Interactive , the owners of GameSpot and its parent company CNET. Following the sale of the publishing platform to BermanBraun, the site was rebuilt. The redesigned site launched on February 12, 2013. Gerstmann explained that behind

6042-429: The complexity of modern televisions, Miyamoto believed that a monitor separate from the console would provide an easier way to check on the console's status without needing to use the television. Its operation as a supplemental display was also inspired by similar displays found at karaoke establishments in Japan , which show song information and allows its users to select their next song. Satoru Iwata explained that

6148-465: The console by using a variant of the WPS process, with proprietary transfer protocol and software co-developed with Broadcom . The GamePad's display contents are streamed as video from the console using a custom protocol and the H.264 video codec, for which the GamePad contains a hardware decoder. Nintendo's first presentation of the controller in 2011 led to confusion upon whether the Wii U would support

6254-543: The console, such as the Wii Remote Plus , Nunchuk , Wii Balance Board , and the more conventional Wii U Pro Controller . Response to the Wii U GamePad was mixed. Critics praised the comfortable feel of the GamePad, but criticized the battery life, and misuse of the GamePad in games. During development of the Wii console, video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto incorporated the functionality of mobile phones, controllers, and automotive navigation systems while designing

6360-420: The console. After Klepek's article, Microsoft announced the changes later that day. Video games on Giant Bomb are rated on a scale of one to five stars , with no half-stars. Metacritic lists Giant Bomb as having over 830 reviews in its records, with more than 450 of them positive, more than 250 being mixed and over 100 of them being negative. Of those reviews, 30% are higher than the average critic, 3%

6466-605: The content being made in San Francisco. The new hires were announced as Game Informer staff members Dan Ryckert and Jason Oestreicher, who had worked at Game Informer since 2009 and 2011 respectively. In December 2014, Klepek announced his departure from the website. In his final post, Klepek thanked the staff and the Giant Bomb community, saying "Until Giant Bomb , I held a devil-may-care attitude about my employment, and no place kept my attention very long. It's not to suggest I've never cared about my work before Giant Bomb , but I never loved where I worked until strolling into

SECTION 60

#1733086159628

6572-429: The controller was leaked on Twitter by an employee of TT Games , revealing a wider build with ergonomic grips, a redesigned button layout, and analog sticks instead of circle pads. On June 3, 2012, Nintendo officially unveiled the final version of the controller, named the "Wii U GamePad", in a video presentation preceding E3 2012 . The presentation confirmed the leaked changes, and unveiled other features making use of

6678-422: The controller's design is intended to allow players to "see games in a different way," a concept referred to as " asymmetric gaming" during Nintendo's E3 2012 press conference. With the Wii U's Miiverse social networking functionality, Iwata also likened the controller's screen to a "social window", which can allow users to remain connected even if they are not playing. Gyroscopic capabilities were added by

6784-522: The departure of Caravella and Navarro, concluding with its 311th episode featuring all six hosts. Giant Bomb ' s news was written by news editors Navarro and Klepek. Articles produced aren't limited to general gaming news, but also include investigative journalistic pieces about the industry, such as the controversy surrounding the developers of LA Noire , Team Bondi , and its work practices. Editorials and interviews written by Klepek during his tenure about gaming ethics, experiences and impact include

6890-582: The editorial team, writing reviews for the website, eventually becoming involved in its video and podcast content. After the dismissal of Gerstmann in 2007, Davis departed GameSpot and joined Gerstmann under Whiskey Media to launch Giant Bomb . Becoming the primary host of Giant Bomb , Davis was the host of the Giant Bombcast as well as video content. Davis was described as having an ability to connect with viewers due to an "inherently genuine" on-screen presence. Davis died on July 3, 2013, of natural causes, shortly after his wedding to Anna Davis. His death

6996-469: The episode featuring Iron Brigade (which was then known as Trenched ). Preceding the release of the 2011 video game Bastion was the video diary series Building the Bastion, a collaboration with Giant Bomb and the creators of Bastion , Supergiant Games . Documented events featured include the in-house development of the game, public showings at PAX Prime 2011 and eventually gaining Warner Bros. as

7102-656: The episode in question was kind to it, considering its critical response. The Endurance Run was a daily video feature in which Caravella and Gerstmann played the PlayStation 2 role-playing game Persona 4 in real time, with their own commentary over the video. The idea for the Endurance Run stemmed from Gerstmann and Caravella's own interest in playing Persona 4 , a game they were both curious about but didn't have time to play. In 2010 Gerstmann, Caravella, Davis, and Shoemaker split into teams and concurrently played through

7208-504: The form of video, written articles, and podcasts . Their weekly podcast, the Giant Bombcast , is posted on Tuesdays, and covers the video game industry as well as happenings around the office. Giant Bomb produces a number of regular video series including Quick Looks , 20–90 minute unedited looks at recently released games. Jeff Gerstmann was terminated from his position as the editorial director of GameSpot on November 28, 2007. After his termination, rumors began to circulate around

7314-459: The full site launched in July 2008, combines a structured wiki with a relational database and is editable by registered users of the site. Submissions are approved by appointed wiki moderators before being accepted, but experienced users may forgo this process. The wiki's design has been described as built around the interactivity of video games in contrast to existing wiki models. TechCrunch compares

7420-406: The game's occasional difficulty and its variety, finding the vehicular stages enjoyable and the various world themes beautiful. Sliva thought that the visuals were "absolutely gorgeous," praising details like fingerprints in the clay and the stop-motion movements of the bosses, but was disappointed that he had to focus on the GamePad instead of an HDTV. He found that Waddle Dee multiplayer did not "add

7526-423: The job for a long time, and a lot of the stuff that made the job fun for me has dissipated. Sometimes you don't love the job, but you make your way through it by focusing on the good stuff. GameSpot is also a huge site, and an organization of that magnitude comes with a fair amount of bureaucracy, and everyone ultimately ends up spending a fair amount of time doing stuff other than producing the content. I realize that

7632-531: The levels, an evil hand may try to capture Kirby, with only the Bandana Waddle Dees being able to damage it. Each level contains several hidden treasure chests, some of which require solving a puzzle or clearing a timed room, which unlock viewable clay figures and music tracks, as well as diary pages detailing Elline's journey. The main story mode in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse has 28 levels, while Challenge Mode has 48. The game features amiibo support with

7738-486: The new deal, the non-disparagement agreement between Gerstmann and CNET was nullified, allowing Gerstmann to openly talk about the reason why he was fired from GameSpot in 2007. In an interview with GameSpot , Gerstmann revealed that the firing was a result of a longer stand-off between GameSpot 's then-management division and its editorial staff. Gerstmann had been "called into a room" three times between October 23, 2007, and November 29, 2007. The first time concerned

7844-437: The process. "We want to get out there and talk about games, because we like games ... and it seems like there's an audience out there, and they like games ... and their needs aren't being met by what's out there right now." After working for 1UP.com , MTV News , G4 , and Electronic Gaming Monthly , video game reporter Patrick Klepek made contact with Giant Bomb in October 2010 regarding Klepek's desire to work for

7950-530: The range of the GamePad, which reportedly works up to 25 feet away from the console. Nintendo would release a 2550mAh battery in Japan with over 8 hours of battery life, versus the original 3-5 hour battery life on the original 1500mAh battery. Another criticism of the Wii U GamePad was the misuse of the Wii U GamePad's potential in games and software . One of the games criticized was Minecraft: Wii U Edition , which did not have any Wii U GamePad features, leaving fans disappointed. Many critics felt Nintendo

8056-418: The repetitive boss fights were frustrating due to the stylus' lack of precision. Ryckert preferred to play as a Waddle Dee, whose traditional control scheme afforded more reliable platforming and boss fighting than the "unreliable stylus paths" provided. However, Ryckert did find the clay-based art style "gorgeous." IGN 's Marty Sliva found the game much more enjoyable, awarding it 8.0 out of 10. He appreciated

8162-430: The same and 67% are lower. In contrast to their time working for GameSpot , Davis had said that reviews are not representative of Giant Bomb as an entity but are very personalised saying that, "as far as the review process goes, we're being very open about a review being that person's perspective. When a review has to represent an entire organization's perspective on a game, that's where you can run into trouble." During

8268-472: The same day as Gerstmann's podcast began, Giant Bomb announced a reorganization focused on a core crew of nine personalities. In addition to Rorie, Oestreicher, Ochoa, Bakalar, and O'Brien, Tamoor Hussain and Lucy James would be joining Giant Bomb while also remaining part of GameSpot 's editorial team, with Jeff Grubb joining the site full time and producing a daily news show, Game Mess Mornings , as well. Former editor Dan Ryckert would also be returning to

8374-454: The scenes Giant Bomb had been looking for new ownership in order to facilitate the website's growth and that talks between themselves and CBS Interactive had started as far back as December 2011. Staying in San Francisco, the Giant Bomb and Comic Vine editorial staff, along with designers Dave Snider and Alexis Gallisá, moved to the CBS Interactive building where Gerstmann, Davis, Shoemaker, and Caravella had worked for GameSpot . As part of

8480-509: The screen. The Wii U GamePad was only sold separately in Japan, costing ¥13,284. ( USD $ 108) It released online on November 24, 2015. In 2013, hackers reverse engineered the Wii U GamePad, connecting it to a computer playing an emulated version of The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker . The GamePad's primary feature is its 6.2 in (16 cm), FWVGA (854x480), resistive touchscreen display, which can be controlled with either fingers or an included stylus. The screen can be used as

8586-479: The show is currently hosted by Ochoa and co-hosted by Grubb, with other members of the staff rotating as guests each week. Nicholson Baker of The New Yorker described the podcast as "charmingly garrulous " and compared it with Car Talk in 2011, with The A.V. Club also commenting on it during its review in 2012 as "resembling a conversation among gaming enthusiasts listeners are overhearing". The show's weekly format includes discussion of games played over

8692-403: The significant goings-on in video games. And, you know, fun! We don't want to run sales numbers stories. There's enough business out there in the game press, everyone trying to be Serious Journalists. I've got big respect for the way guys like N'Gai Croal and Stephen Totilo carry themselves, but no ... I'd rather do stuff that makes me laugh. ... I'll be honest, I wasn't 100% sure this

8798-511: The site after the Game of the Year discussions concluded later that month. The same month, longtime Giant Beastcast co-host Jeff Bakalar of CNET was named Head of Content Development and Strategy for Giant Bomb . In May 2021, Vinny Caravella, Alex Navarro, and Brad Shoemaker announced that they were leaving the site, effectively leading to the closure of the New York studio. The three later established

8904-491: The site at the end of the week. Giant Bomb ' s editorial content is described as lighter and looser than the traditional news and review video game websites, focusing on video content with the intent of being humorous and entertaining. Giant Bomb videos are currently produced by Ochoa. Videos are hosted on Giant Bomb and non-paywall videos are also available via YouTube and as a free channel on digital media streaming devices such as Roku . This Ain't No Game (TANG)

9010-419: The site has message boards , saying that "building a community of people ... is a big part of what Giant Bomb is all about". Giant Bomb allows users to contribute to collaborative wiki-based game guides. In Quests users earned experience points and level up in a social gaming element that, "give users incentives to create more content". The Giant Bomb video game wiki - database , which opened with

9116-471: The site in June 2008. In November 2008, Drew Scanlon became one of Giant Bomb ' s first interns, later being officially hired as a video producer the following year. Navarro left his post as Community manager for Harmonix Music Systems to join Giant Bomb and its sister-site Screened in May 2010. We're still just four guys, and we still feel that there's plenty of places to get 'coverage' out there. Our focus will be on commentary and perspective on

9222-410: The site, now in a creative director position. On October 3, 2022, Fandom, Inc. announced that they had acquired multiple entertainment websites from Red Ventures, including Giant Bomb . On January 19, 2023, several employees of various Fandom websites were laid off, including Oestreicher and O'Brien. On the March 14, 2023, episode of the Giant Bombcast , Matthew Rorie announced he would be departing

9328-689: The site. Klepek, known for breaking the story of the 2010 employee firings, departures, and lawsuits between Infinity Ward and Activision cited the website as "the singular bastion of a truly independent voice" in video game journalism . In 2011, Gerstmann commented that the industry was now "not getting as much news from the news sites as [it] used to, but the post count from these sites just seems to go higher and higher." In order to establish its own brand of "honest, original reporting" news, Giant Bomb hired Klepek as News Editor in April 2011. March 2012 saw Shelby Bonnie sell Whiskey Media in two deals, splitting

9434-452: The story of one person who detailed the mental processes of Asperger syndrome and how his time playing video games differs from the average gamer. An article in July 2011 about the world travel-influenced game creation concept, Game Trekking, featured an interview with founder Jordan Magnuson and his "notgame", The Killer. The Killer was based on his travels in Cambodia and his observations of

9540-465: The team specifically to aid in aiming for first and third person shooter games. The Nintendo EAD development team created two controller prototypes: a monitor with two Wii Remotes glued to the sides, and a display attached to a Wii Zapper . In a prototype shown at E3, the controller had featured circle pads similar to those of the Nintendo 3DS . On May 19, 2012, a photograph of a near-final version of

9646-467: The things they want covered and that's it." This concept is based on focused, personalized coverage and giving the byline added importance as opposed to the accepted industry coverage that generally existed prior. Gerstmann has described their approach of competing with large established gaming websites as focusing on the top percentage of games editorially while functioning in a curator role to direct users to lesser known games through video features and

9752-443: The use of multiple GamePads. A Nintendo spokesperson stated that the GamePad would not be sold individually from a Wii U console, and Shigeru Miyamoto had not ruled out the possibility of using multiple GamePads with a single console. However, Miyamoto also felt that it might be more convenient to use the Nintendo 3DS as a controller in this scenario as well, implying potential compatibility. During Nintendo's E3 2012 presentation, it

9858-417: The wake of ad filtering services such as Adblock Plus . In addition to video games, subscription content features other industries including professional wrestling , Formula 1 , music , and culture podcasts. Giant Bomb is known for its alternate method of video game journalism , described as, "not looking to take over the world, they've got a very small editorial team that's very focused on covering

9964-409: The website name to be catchy and original, saying there were too many video game websites with the word "game" in them. Giant Bomb started as a WordPress blog , which opened on March 5, 2008. The full site launched on July 20, 2008. In addition to Davis, who recorded early episodes of the site's podcast, the Giant Bombcast , with Gerstmann, former GameSpot editors Shoemaker and Caravella joined

10070-706: The weekend, industry news, recently released games, and e-mails sent in by listeners. The site's staff have also recorded shows in Tokyo , Japan for the Tokyo Game Show , as well as during the Electronic Entertainment Expo and the Penny Arcade Expo . In 2011 the podcast was said to have over 100,000 listeners. Beginning in July 2016, Giant Bomb began live-streaming the recording of the Giant Bombcast in video format. In June 2015, Giant Bomb premiered

10176-497: The wiki-database pages. Timeline Working for GameSpot as editorial director until 2007, Gerstmann, GameSpot and its parent company CNET were involved in a controversial incident when Gerstmann was fired for what was later revealed to be a stand off between GameSpot 's editorial and management teams. Gerstmann would join Whiskey Media and launch Giant Bomb with Davis, Shoemaker and Caravella in 2008. Gerstmann

10282-668: The wiki-database to Wetpaint , Engadget , and its own Crunchbase , which was based on a predecessor of Giant Bomb , Whiskey Media's now retired website Political Base. Ernest W. Adams credited the wiki-database for its use during his research for the writing of his book Fundamentals of Game Design . Giant Bomb ' s paid subscription service launched in September 2010, featuring additional videos, livestreams, and ad-free podcasts exclusive to premium members. In June 2011, Whiskey Media's Mike Tatum reported that they were nearing 10,000 premium members. The paid subscription model has become Giant Bomb ' s primary source of income in

10388-422: The year are posted from each staff member. Celebrity top 10 guest game of the year articles from outside of the video game industry include horror and science fiction film director John Carpenter and WWE professional wrestlers Stardust and Xavier Woods . Users on Giant Bomb have the ability to create blogs , keep track of their game collections, and add information to game entries. Additionally,

10494-463: Was a weekly series throughout 2009 in which Davis would review movies based on video games, based on Davis' intention to, "challenge [himself] to watch and assess every video-game movie ever made". The name of the series was taken from the marketing tagline for the Super Mario Bros. movie. Despite TANG criticizing the film Mortal Kombat Annihilation , Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon said

10600-402: Was able to be brutally critical and frank and funny, and still be well-liked by basically everybody. How could anybody walk the line that well? I've been doing this for years now, and with every word I've written or said, I've become more convinced that it turns out I was right about one thing: The trick was a simple one. The secret to being as good as Ryan Davis was just this: Be Ryan Davis. Not

10706-458: Was confirmed that Wii U games could theoretically support up to two GamePads simultaneously. However, this feature was ultimately never supported by any official software, alongside an unused accessory port at the bottom of the unit. According to former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé , this was due to the console's install base "never getting large enough that that type of implementation made sense" and because Nintendo never created

10812-462: Was going to work before we launched, but the response we've gotten so far has been so overwhelming, I'm confident that we're doing something that no one else really is. Unlike most video game websites, Giant Bomb does not heavily cover industry news from a business perspective. During an interview on X-Play , Gerstmann said that he thought video game websites had become too focused on the business side of games, and that game news had become "stale" in

10918-477: Was leaving Giant Bomb at the end of the month. Going into more detail on the Giant Bombcast , Scanlon explained his intention to begin a Patreon -funded solo documentary project titled "Cloth Map" and joked with Gerstmann about the timing of the blinking meme going viral coinciding with his announcement, despite informing his colleagues of the decision weeks before. On May 1, 2017, Giant Bomb announced that Abby Russell and former intern Ben Pack would be joining

11024-473: Was not using the Wii U GamePad properly in games. Nintendo of America's Executive VP of Sales Scott Moffitt admitted this, stating "[w]ith games like Star Fox and Mario Maker, we are continuing to show the promise of the Gamepad and, candidly, early on we probably didn't showcase the promise of the Gamepad as well as we could have." Rob Crossley from GameSpot heavily criticized the controller, comparing it to

11130-558: Was noted by Mashable for its versatility in being used as a reaction in tweets. The meme has resulted in multiple tweets accruing hundreds of thousands of retweets and likes while Cosmopolitan magazine called it "the most relatable meme ever". In interviews with BuzzFeed and The Guardian , Scanlon commented on his approval of the meme and noted how people separate the real person behind it, saying "I do feel fairly removed." That same week, San Francisco Chronicle ' s SF Gate website reported that Scanlon had announced that he

11236-423: Was terminated. In July 2013, the site revealed that co-founder and long-time fixture of the website, Ryan Davis, died July 3, 2013, at age 34, days after his wedding to Anna Davis. Davis's father Richard Davis confirmed that the death was of natural causes. I think whether they realized it or not, most people who write about video games kind of wanted to be Ryan Davis. I know I did. Ryan was that rare voice that

#627372