You can’t beat 100%.
Jeff Gerstmann was and still is a threat. I first came across his work on Gamespot via GameFAQs daily polls. They would link Gamespot content at the bottom of the page and their video reviews lured me over to their stuff circa 2003. The first real diamond of a video I found over there was the Dragon Ball Z Ultimate Battle 22 review. Now, in the 21st century I feel I must warn you this video makes light of suicide. This was the style of the time.
“Just say no to ass games”.
This bit of sass mixed in with video game coverage was a refreshing change from the state run media I had been consuming up to that point. Nintendo Power, PlayStation Magazine, these sources felt less than trustworthy after encountering the truly negative reviews you could find on GameSpot. Jeff was the reviews editor during that era, as well as the voice of Trivia Robot. This sealed my early fandom as I was the winner of a T-shirt in an episode of “Let’s Gamespot” and I wore that thing until it was rags.
Gamespot would also provide the first podcast I listened to with regularity, The HotSpot. Jeff’s rant about the fate of Duke Nukem Forever became a beloved piece of audio to me. Here it is for your listening pleasure.
Then of course came the review that changed everything. Kane and Lynch: Dead Men. Jeff was forced out and Giant Bomb was born. This definitely intensified my zeal and the Bombcast became THE podcast I cared about the most for nearly a decade. I got to attend that PAX 2008 panel that was tucked in a corner near the stairs. I had to stand in the back because they did not cycle anyone out from the prior panel.
I realize this is largely becoming about my history with the content Jeff was a part of and less about the man himself, but there is just such an ocean of content he has been a part of for at least 20 years of my life thus far.
The Game Room Quick Looks are my single favorite piece of Giant Bomb content. Jeff spearheaded this and is featured in all of them. Here is where he really gets to demonstrate the depth of OLD game knowledge he has rattling around in his brain. I love this kind of stuff. This type of old lore is fuelling his current series ranking every game released on the NES in North America. Below is a link to a helpful playlist of all the Game Room Quick Looks (check the comments for yours truly highlighting favorite blurbs or moments).
Here is a favorite of his current series chronicling the vast library of the NES. I love the Back to the Future segment in particular.
I also feel I have to highlight an episode of the Giant Bombcast. This one is short because it was an episode where they lost the original recording and had to do another session. The result is crazy loose and features an interdimensional visit from Nintendo’s Howard Phillips.
https://www.giantbomb.com/shows/giant-bombcast-12-09-2008/2970-17598/free-podcast
I also listened to an obscene amount of Jeff Gerstmann’s music, primarily as a member of Midnight Brown. Space Trucker, Cop Knife, 24OPEN and, of course, Evil Knevel’s tale of the future in 2084. These underscored so many games of Counter Strike, a game Jeff doesn’t especially care for, but they have become interwoven in my heart.
As for Jeff’s actual gaming takes, I’m not sure I’ve been less in sync with a major critic, but he is so assertive and acerbic in his takes that I still enjoy hearing what he has to say. Every now and then he guides me to something I really love. Splatoon 3, for example. Again, a game he didn’t especially care for, but him showcasing it made me want to check it out and it was my game of the year in 2022.
I enjoy his prognostications on his current podcast, The Jeff Gerstmann Show, and he is currently running a Patreon for those that wish to support him directly.
I truly wouldn’t have gotten into podcasting myself were it not for this man, and the E3s and PAXes I attended were largely fuelled by my enthusiasm for the Giant Bomb community. Jeff Gerstmann will forever be the heart and soul of this brand of Game Criticism and is easily the greatest in this field by my reckoning. Thousands of hours of content has been consumed to reach this verdict.
100%.
