This week marked an exceptionally busy and productive week from the Game Informer community, with content including a couple of podcasts, a number of user reviews, and over one hundreds blogs, ten of which are featured here. Support the community by checking them out.

Blog Herding Stats:

Period Reviewed: July 09 – July 15, 2012
Number of User Blogs: 115
Number of User Bloggers: 64
Number of User Blogs Herded: 10

Community Events:

Extra Life Gaming Marathon
If you haven't joined Team GIO in their quest to support the Extra Life Gaming Marathon and you're interested, you can find all of the details in this announcement from mojomonkey12.

Community Blogs:

The Concept Of Ouya And What It Could Mean
News of the Ouya and its near-immediate success at being funded via Kickstarter was certainly a hot topic for the week. Marco Polo discusses what an open source console might mean for the industry.

The State Of Survival Horror
Chris Mrkvicka talks about the various elements resident in the horror genre, how they have evolved over the years, and what the upcoming release of Resident Evil 6 in October means for the series.

The Big 5 Gone Mobile
A must-read post for those interested in handheld gaming devices, GIO Member Glasses and his friend Sami co-author this blog that compares and contrasts the current field of portables.

Biohazard Cafe – Shibuya, Japan
Where do gamers go for lunch? If you find yourself in the Shibuya Parco department store in Tokyo's Shibuya ward, ninjapixel thinks you might consider eating at this Resident Evil-themed restaurant.

What Does Make A Game So Great?
There isn't a definitive answer for what makes a video game great, but that doesn't stop Mike from sharing his thoughts on the subject with a final conclusion you might just agree with.

The Best Mods For Knights Of The Old Republic
Knights of the Old Republic fans might be interested in this blog from The Invertroid, sharing with us details on the mod scene for the PC version of perhaps one of the best Star Wars games.

First Impressions: Far Cry 3
Using little more than the screenshots that have been released, xking595x analyses the images for clues and details of what to expect from Ubisoft's next game in the Far Cry series, which is set to release later this year.

Better Without The Voices: Dead Island
Annoyed with the voice acting in Dead Island, KillerRabbitsFTW inadvertently discovers how playing the game with the voices muted resulted in a completely different atmosphere from the game.

The Age Of Video Games: Prometheus & Game Development
A lengthy but intellectually stimulating piece by Kyle Wadsworth exploring the inspiration behind video game development and how their themes might mature as the developers inevitably get older.

Top 10 Impractical Robot Masters
Mega Man attracted a cult-like following over the years while spawning a number of video games. This latest post from thegodofwine7 captures his list of unrealistic Mega Man robot master nemeses.

Community Reviews:

Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow
A thorough user review by SuperKingC77 detailing his assessment of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, a game he states, "Is a truly remarkable experience" before awarding it a 9.5 out of 10.

A Daring Move
Mike Mahardy gets his hands dirty as he puts DiRT Showdown through its paces and provides the community with a user review. He gave the game a mediocre score of 6.5 out of 10.

This Is Survival Horror At Its Finest
There were several members talking about the horror genre this week, and it's only fitting to include a user review from this category. DrJoeystein provides just that with this critique of Resident Evil 4 HD.

I Walk The Line
Another professional-quality video review from Craigaleg, this time taking aim at Spec Ops: The Line, a game he awards a respectable score to. Don't forget to check out his Companion Blog.

Gotta Conquer Em' All
What do you get when you cross Pokémon and Nobunaga's Ambition? You get Pokémon Conquest, the focus of this review by Cameron Koch. Read and see if it's worth trying to catch them all.

A Journey Every Gamer Should Embark On
Journey receives another perfect score on a user review, this time from Polygraphic, who calls the game, "a landmark achievement in gaming," and thinks it's one that every gamer should experience.

Community Podcasts:

The JACKED UP Indie & Mojo Show Episode 40
Jack Gardner returns to the show this week and joins indiejones and mojomonkey12 as they discuss the new Mass Effect 3 DLC, Half Life 2, and Spec Ops: The Line.

Robot In The Corner Podcast: Episode 2-32
The hosts talk about The Amazing Spider-Man and Batman before closing with a question for the listeners: "Which classic monsters are you sick of and which ones would you like to see reinvented?"

Don't forget to send your feedback, recommendations, and community events in to my personal Game Informer account located here to ensure this feature continues to provide the content you're eager to read.

Happy Blogging!

Your friendly neighborhood blogging community (07/09/12 – 07/15/12):
acestriker1; Anticitizen-One; AshaMan3000 (3); bartandbucky; benderstrike64 (7); blaze6106; born4this; Buddy Acker; Cameron Koch (3); Caudex (4); cerpintaxman; Chris Mrkvicka (7); Craigaleg; dadarkheart; Dan Talarico; DarkeonWarlord; Dawson Wyckoff (3); DJH (3); Doctor Apozem (2); DukeofChutney; Enigma (2); Ewok King; FAMESREVENGE; Frosty; Gaming Warthog; Ghost (3); Glasses; iDreamRunner; indiejones; J Warrior; John Wrek (2); Jolt the Cynic; jordanthegamer (3); Joshua Stephens (2); kebebasan; Kid Ica (2); KillerRabbitsFTW; Kyle Wadsworth; Le Hannibal (7); Lflaks; Light Gamebeast23456; Marco Polo; MikComposer (3); Mike (3); my pants are on fire; NinjaPixel; Noobtubin8er; opposedcrow88; quasiconundrum; Rihz; sakabato24; Senshuro; sorryjzargo; The Destroyer (3); The Invertroid; thegodofwine7 (2); TOGNick; Undertaker Adrian; vannahfox; xking595x (3); xl9; ynoT0312Taz; Yusuke Urameshi; and of course yours truly...Saint.

Video Game Quote of the Week:
"You're going to get stuck occasionally; it's a fact." – Narrator, LittleBigPlanet