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Posted by Giant_Bomb (37 posts) 1 year, 5 months ago

Poll: Who is your favorite Giant Bomb writer? (452 votes)

Ryan Davis 2%
Jeff Gerstmann 19%
Patrick Klepek 17%
Alex Navarro 36%
Matt Rorie 5%
Brad Shoemaker 11%
See Results 10%

Even though the video content on the site is where I imagine most of the traffic goes, I thought there should be a thread showing some love for the written word. I think it's great how each editor contributes articles differently such as Alex's Sunday column or Patrick's in-depth interviews. It will be interesting to see how the news is handled once Patrick's in Chicago.

So who is your favorite writer? For me it's Alex handily; I think he consistently puts out articles that I'm interested in reading and the way he writes is the most engaging. I also like Jeff's concise way of writing reviews, something that I think is mostly lost in the age of infinite scrolling. Brad might be a close second favorite, but he seems to only focus on writing reviews which is a shame because I think he's probably the most eloquent writer on staff and I'd love to see some sort of non-review feature from him.

I'm sure they probably have the numbers that show that written stuff isn't a good use of everyone's time, but it would be great to see some articles from all of the bombers at least occasionally.

#1 Edited by Video_Game_King (36272 posts) -

Alex. He knows how to deliver snark without devolving entirely into pessimism.

#2 Posted by Cerberus3Dog (379 posts) -

Alex. Hands down. Rorie, close second.

#3 Posted by Giant_Bomb (37 posts) -

Alex. He knows how to deliver snark without devolving entirely into pessimism.

Agreed. His snark is usually pretty funny during the E3 stuff so I'm looking forward to that

#4 Edited by Icicle7x3 (1201 posts) -

Gotta go with Alex.

#5 Edited by Pr1mus (3956 posts) -

Alex and Brad are the best writers on staff.

I almost never see eye to eye with Brad but almost always read his reviews because they're generally very well written.

Jeff doesn't write as well as Brad and Alex in my opinion. He's just not as creative with his choices of words. I can't really form an opinion on Ryan since he hasn't written anything in ages it seems. Can't say i've read enough of Rorie's work on screened either to really know about him.

As for Patrick i think he's the weakest one. This has nothing to do with the subject matter he chooses and the opinions he express but purely from a structure, grammar and choice of words point of view i just don't think he's a very good writer.

#6 Posted by Joeyoe31 (820 posts) -

Alex is pretty great when it comes to writing.

#7 Posted by TooWalrus (13254 posts) -

I don't really have a favorite, but I do enjoy Alex's particular brand of snark quite a bit.

#8 Edited by iAmJohn (6131 posts) -

Alex and Brad are the best writers on staff by far. Patrick has really good ideas that he often executes on very well, though I wish he would often take a bit more care in his writing. I enjoy Ryan and Rorie's writing when they do it. And I really respect Jeff, but it's not for his writing prowess honestly.

#9 Edited by joshwent (2321 posts) -

@pr1mus said:

Can't say i've read enough of Rorie's work on screened either to really know about him.

Rorie did some great stuff in his... um... hiatus. You can check it all out on his blog. I hope they let him start writing more for the site because he offers another perspective pretty different from the other guys. Sort of like if Alex and Dave had a baby who loved MMOs and Star Wars. Also, I think he's known for being more reserved and proper in a way, but he's great with the snark too when he wants to be:

(from Rorie's blog, 9/30/12)

Some Borderlands 2 DLC Ideas

Here are some thoughts/ideas as to how Gearbox could spice up (like the Spice Girls LOL) the incoming DLC for Borderlands 2:

  • How about a mission where you’re forced to find a bunch of ECHO recorders that each contain a piece of a song? Except - get this - it’s a parody of the Gotye hit “Somebody That I Used To Know.” Wacky, huh?!
  • You embark on a series of quests that will ultimately pit you against a slightly pudgy Asian boss. And when you finally get to fight him, his intro cutscene features him doing the Gangnam Style dance! Would that be crazy or what???
  • Or maybe you could be stranded on an island after your spaceship crashes, and you have to bring together a diverse and bickering group of NPCs before a big monster that’s made out of smoke gets you all! And then, when you defeat it, you get nothing.
  • GET THIS: there could be an NPC that resembles a certain young male pop star! Only his name would be - wait for it - “Justin Beaver!” WHOAAAAAAAAA blew your mind there didn’t I! But not as much as you’re gonna blow Beaver’s mind, because you wind up shooting him in the head! ROFLCOPTERS!
  • It’d be funny if maybe some of the bandits yelled “USE THE FORCE, LUKE!” when they die because it was in Star Wars!

And then your character farts.

#10 Posted by Kidavenger (3597 posts) -

I think Guns of Navarro is the best written work on this site.

#11 Edited by jimmyfenix (3859 posts) -

ME

#12 Posted by Oldirtybearon (4863 posts) -

let us all take a moment to marvel at the fact that in five years of this site, not one person ever went for the Giant Bomb username.

#13 Posted by Giant_Bomb (37 posts) -

let us all take a moment to marvel at the fact that in five years of this site, not one person ever went for the Giant Bomb username.

I was pretty happy with myself for getting it

#14 Posted by Slag (4715 posts) -
#15 Posted by JJWeatherman (14562 posts) -

I really appreciate Brad's style. Patrick's a close second.

#16 Posted by Veektarius (4966 posts) -

I'll admit that Jeff isn't as verbose and eloquent as some others, but his style is very clear and direct and often does a better job of coming off as impartial than his speaking style.

#17 Posted by Giant_Bomb (37 posts) -

@slag: the notifications are pretty good:

"Hello giant_bomb,

Slag has mentioned you in their comment

Thanks,

Giant Bomb"

#18 Posted by Sooty (8082 posts) -

Patrick is too wordy and often sounds infuriatingly pretentious.

#19 Posted by Winsord (1277 posts) -

Kind of a tough question, since context plays heavily into it. I think Rorie is my favourite writer in general, considering I cared enough to consistently visit his blog between Screened and now; he's really great at writing all around, from article flow to just simple grammar. Rorie doesn't really write for the site at all though, so I felt a bit weird about voting for him. Out of the people that write reviews, I only read Patrick's as his views generally seems to match up most with mine, though overall I tend to find Drew and Vinny (barring Dark Souls) have more similar tastes to me.

I think both Alex and Patrick are really good writers. The only issue I find with Patrick's writing is he could stand to proof read his articles a couple more times, or have someone peer-review his work, as he ends up being the one with the greatest number of typos and phrasing issues. Grammar doesn't manage to detract much from my enjoyment of the articles though, so it's not much of an issue. Between "Worth Reading", the Walking Dead Series, his written interviews, and his reviews, my vote had to go to Patrick.

#20 Edited by MightyMayorMike (423 posts) -

This is a write-in vote for Dave! His reviews are rare indeed, but as a PC player he speaks my language most.

#21 Edited by BigJeffrey (5136 posts) -

Ryan Davis

That God of War Review brought me to tears. fucking Stephen King shit.

Online
#22 Posted by Blue_Cube (173 posts) -

Patrick with Alex as a close second.

#23 Edited by danlongman (108 posts) -

I love Patrick's writing.

#24 Edited by PillClinton (3292 posts) -

Subjectively: Rorie.

Objectively: Alex.

#25 Edited by Vance_Helsing (215 posts) -

Alex is fantastic when you want that snark (it's like the long-lost AV Club Games Head Editor we never had) but I'm always incredibly drawn to Patrick's writing. Love him or hate him, he's got an undeniable voice.

#26 Posted by Stonyman65 (2804 posts) -

Alex and Jeff.

#27 Edited by Piranesi (452 posts) -

Alex seems to get the crappy jobs that the others dump on him but you can always hear his voice in the reviews. He may not be everyone's cup of tea but he knows his onions.

#28 Edited by pyromagnestir (4332 posts) -

Wait a second... These guys write? Since when?

Honestly, I barely look at written content by these guys and really never have, the one exception being Alex's snarky headlines or video titles, which can usually momentarily catch my attention.

#29 Edited by selfconfessedcynic (2586 posts) -

Alex and Rorie are close, but the latter isn't in editorial, so I gave the snark-master my vote :)

#30 Posted by FreakAche (2955 posts) -

I mainly come to Giant Bomb for the video and audio content, but from what I've read, both at Giant Bomb, and in the old days at Gamespot, Alex seems like the best writer by miles.

#31 Posted by EchoEcho (836 posts) -

Alex and Rorie. Brad close behind. It's been so long since I've read anything meaty from Vinny and Dave, but I think I remember them being halfway decent?

#32 Edited by CaLe (4036 posts) -

You can tell Patrick is young and inexperienced through his writing. Jeff has a very predictable style but it's practical and gets the job done. Alex is probably the best writer but I prefer Brad's more subdued tone and thoughtful word choice.

I made all of this up. I don't know anything about any of them. Jeff's commas are predictable though, just like my own.

#33 Edited by Skooky (477 posts) -

I never knew that best and favorite meant the exact same thing. Thank you Giant Bomb.

My answer is Jeff.

#34 Edited by Brodehouse (10105 posts) -

Alex is both the most well read and most clever writer on staff. Jeff's writing style is iconoclast and kind of meat-and-potatoes (some might say WORKMANLIKE) and Brad's is a more verbose version of that. Patrick seems like... I bet Patrick's writing today is very similar to how Alex would have written 6-7 years ago. He has the same sort of style but is much more grasping beyond his reach.

I've only read like two Rorie articles and I actually find him a little longwinded. Which is strange, because... I love listening to Rorie just talk, and I don't like his writing. I find Alex to be kind of obnoxious when I hear him talking, but I find him to be excellent in the written form.

#35 Posted by PillClinton (3292 posts) -

@piranesi said:

Alex seems to get the crappy jobs that the others dump on him but you can always hear his voice in the reviews. He may not be everyone's cup of tea but he knows his onions.

Two food-related idioms in one logical sentence. Bravo.

#36 Edited by FirstBossCutman (65 posts) -

Patrick for sure! Worth Reading is one of my favorite things about this site, and dude posts really interesting links to games I'd never be exposed to otherwise.

#37 Posted by poisonmonkey (373 posts) -

Alex appeals to my British sarcasm.

#38 Edited by zombie2011 (5022 posts) -

Jeff the few articles he writes are hilarious.

#39 Edited by Skytylz (4035 posts) -

What the fuck. No Vinny option? Vinny has to be an option for all Giant Bomb polls.

#40 Posted by oraknabo (1514 posts) -

It would probably be Alex either way, but I feel like I've barely read anything more than tweets and really short stuff from anyone but Alex or Patrick for a long time.

I have definitely read a few full-length Brad reviews lately, and while I like the content and detail his reviews most of the time, he has some habits as a writer that I don't always like.

#41 Edited by LackingSaint (1845 posts) -

Alex and Brad are my favourite writers, but I think Jeff and Patrick are both pretty darn good too. I also loved Rorie's work back in the Screened days and I hope he does more articles on GB in the future.

Also I like your avatar :)

#42 Edited by zombie2011 (5022 posts) -

Patrick for sure! Worth Reading is one of my favorite things about this site, and dude posts really interesting links to games I'd never be exposed to otherwise.

But is it his writing that makes it good or the links to other peoples articles that make it good?

I don't really enjoy any of the articles Patrick writes, the subject matter he writes about does nothing for me. Indie game, sexism, big bad corporations just boring predictable stuff to me.

#43 Edited by DarthOrange (3878 posts) -

Alex followed by Rorie and Patrick.

#44 Posted by Winternet (8034 posts) -

Mr. Alexander Navarro.

#45 Edited by FirstBossCutman (65 posts) -

@zombie2011: You actually bring up a pretty good point, I can't think of anything off the top of my head that Patrick has written that really blew me away. Although, I do enjoy his tweets and interviews, I can't say he's really wowed me with an article. I can't really say that for any of the GB crew though, to be honest. I don't really like Alex's writing style, I don't hardly ever agree with his opinions and all he writes are opinion pieces. I do like the articles Jeff does... it's really a toss up between Jeff and Patrick, but admittedly, I don't come to this site to read and I hardly ever read the articles. I just really liked the thing Jeff did on the Video Game Wrestling Federation, and I also really enjoy his tweets.

#46 Edited by NTM (7516 posts) -

Jeff I guess, though I chose see result because I really couldn't care less. They're all fine writers in their own way. I don't ever remember reading much of Jeff's work other than from some reviews and just before the crew is going to a convention like E3 or PAX, and I enjoy those insights some.

#47 Posted by Kung_Fu_Viking (717 posts) -

Cool Baby

#48 Edited by xyzygy (10062 posts) -

When Ryan writes I really like it, so I voted for him. But Alex is really good and he's pretty prevalent too. They're both my favorites. I find that some others tend to be needlessly pessimistic at times. I know they're critics, but it often feels like they hold bias.

#49 Edited by Trilogy (2681 posts) -

Alex because he's the only one that does articles on his thoughts. I can't remember the last time the other guys shared their opinions in written form. Patrick has some great written interviews (the walking dead ones were fantastic), but even he has switched over to the audio format with the dump truck. Therefore, Alex sort of wins by default. That being said, I'm also a big fan of his work. Jeff could probably compete with him if he actually wrote anymore. (I suppose I'm excluding reviews here)

#50 Edited by HerbieBug (4212 posts) -

Alex is best writer on staff I think. :)
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