How to review a Giant Bomb. (giantbomb.com)

Member Name: thegoldencat

Product:	giantbomb.com
Date:	26/11/08 (160 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A big fun and friendly site run by big, fun and friendly folks.

Disadvantages: Not enough info.

Overview
Encyclopaedic gaming entertainment website founded by former gamespot writers Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. It features a blog and a weekly podcast.

Review
Giant Bomb is a site born of contreversy. Co-founder Jeff Gerstmann was editorial director for Gamespot and incredibly popular with users. His sudden unexplained departure from the site late 2007 remains to this day a hotly debated event. At the time this was serious, earth shattering, stuff. Gamespots weekly news video began with, effectively a Jeff Gerstmann memorial. You should take a look, its shocking stuff. With all the Gamespot staffed huddled in a sombre semi-circle, as though for a funeral, the presenter tries, but struggles to talk about Jeff's departure. His voice breaking, and visibly on the verge of tears.

Jeff was followed out the Gamespot door soon after by Ryan Davis and together they formed a rival gaming website soon to be joined by fellow ex-gamespotters Brad Shoemaker and Vinny Caravella. Thus the Bomb was born.

From the beginning Giant bomb has been a site for the people. Intensely loyal Jeff Gerstmann fans followed the site with unnerving zealousness at every stage following its inception. Users were kept abreast of the development process with a 10-part video series called 'How to build a bomb' following our intrepid founders as they moved into their new offices, and getting the site off the ground. Eventually in spite of the obvious difficulties associated with making a website like this they managed to produce a functioning, today flourishing website.

The bomb had landed.

The net result of this process is a fan base that feel so close to the site as to be part of a family. This lack of distance between the writers and the readers is apparant from the somewhat familliar comments left by users, often reffering to the writers by their first names.

Giant Bomb functions only through its dedicated and loyal fans. The sites members are also its editors creating cumulatively a gaming database that offers information on various topics covering the multi-faceted world of gaming. As well as information on games from every system one can also find articles on many nebulous and esoteric subjects including concepts common to multiple games such as 'multiple endings' or 'nudity' explaining their relevance within the sphere of gaming. The idea is a site not about games specifically but the forever growing and mutating pastime that is gaming.

Giant bomb is very much a personality driven concept and as such its important that you get to know the main players involved. Jeff Gerstmann is the popular, charismatic figure that forms the driving force for the whole enterprise. Without him Giant bomb would not be. People love Jeff because he's a fun-loving guy who clearly retains an almost child-like joy of playing and talking about games. Ryan Davis is the father of the group. Level- headed and more serious than the others, he adroitly mediates the podcast proceedings and one gets the impression, things would quickly descend into chaos without him. Brad Shoemaker is noticable by his voice which is as deep as a deep-sea trench. He brings some laconic wit to the table. Although its true they mess around and indulge in childish humour the majority of the time, saying the word "dude" to an exessive degree. The impressive vocabulary and commanding knowledge of the subject in amongst the chaos, is indicative of some very intelligent people and overall, just highly competent journalists.

Every week on Tuesday night is the Giant bomb cast, a podcast featuring game-based discussion with Jeff Gerstmann, Ryan Davies, Brad Shoemaker and Vinny Caravella. Its formed of a perfect mix of serious discussion and random chat that never fails to be anything other than hilarious. It does have a structure to it but can seem extremely chaotic with debate and laughter flowing freely, often far off the beaten track. Energy drinks forming a bizzare reccuring theme. Ultimately its so successful because they're obviously very close friends and so it doesn't feel forced or awkward as many podcasts can, and you get the impression they'd still be doing this, even if the mike wasn't there.

Giant Bomb's scoring system marks an innovative new approach to the whole concept of game reviewing. Instead of the traditional way, which tends to be a more fact-based approach focussing on details and stats, Giant Bomb functions on the principal that a reviewer cannot know if their reader will enjoy the subject of the review. And so should only offer an account of their individual experiences and thoughts on the game, leaving it to the reader to decide whether its for them or not. This subjective angle lends itself to a more entertaining way of reading about games and immersing yourself in that world. My initial impressions of the five star based scoring system was actually quite negative. It seemed lightweight and lacking in sufficient detail. Its clear now that this system is the appropriate one within this less rigirous, more entertainment based context.

Aesthetically the site is an explosion of the bold and the brash. The sites motif is Jeff and co. depicted as cartoon charicatures which are also used as pictoral score indicators in the site's personalised reviews. This all serves to give the site a well presented, clear and defined identity which is of course a world away from the functional but sterile presentation of Gamespot. I suppose that was largely the point.

With Giant bomb in addition to plain gaming information you get the feeling you're part of something a little bit special. A cosy, familial warmth that has arisen from the unique circumstances of its inception and driven by the fantastic personalities behind it. Its just a great site run by some damn fine dudes.

In terms of negatives it depends on what you want to use the site for. Giant Bomb can't possibly hope to compete with the news and information behemoth that is Gamespot, having infintiely less staff and resources. So generally Gamespot will have more concrete information available, and have it faster. If you just want the bare facts then gamespot is fine. But if you find Gamespot or its equivalents to be in any way faceless or cold then this is the place to go. Its run by people with an infectious, genuine love for what they do and this enthusiasm and warmth runs throughout the entire site, resulting in something truelly brilliant.

So if while perusing Gamespot and the like, you find yourself, much like Apu in the mega-supermarket, pondering:

"But where is the love?"

Well I'll tell you. Its here, just don't expect up to the minute or comprehensive information. Do expect fun.

Summary: Explosive.