Friday, 07 August 2009

• Profile Spotlight: Meet Andrew

  The dark days.  Brothers killing brothers, babies killing babies.  The world was in chaos.  Mankind cried out for hero.
  
  It wasn't me.
  
  The darkness returned.  Gaming became main stream.  People waggled sticks at screens and stood on cheap plastic boards.  Games became loose collections of poorly-programmed mini-games aimed at unwitting children and non-gamers.  Again, mankind cried out for a hero.
  
  And I emerged from my slumber to fight the beast.  With a pink dog on my shoulder.
  
  

  
  

  
  Name: Andrew
  
  Age: 23
  
  Gaming alias: rallydefault
  
  Your video game style: I enjoy anything other than sports and racing games.  No offense to any who greatly enjoy those genres, but they just don't do it for me.  I'd rather be wielding a sword or shooting up zombie Nazis rather than driving a car or catching a digital football.  Upon further review I don't even know if that was what this question is asking.  My video game style?  Well, I guess some would consider me hardcore, it takes up a good chunk of my life aside from work and family/friends.  I'm confused.
  
  Console that you can't live without (and why): This is tough and I really had to sit back and think about this for a while.  I know many would jump back to the NES or SNES, but I'm gonna skip that old stuff and say the PS2.  You just can't go wrong with it.  It has one of the largest (if not the largest) game libraries of any console ever launched, and to this day it is still being developed for.  Some of the greatest RPGs of all time are exclusively for the PS2, and series like God of War, Sly Cooper, Ratchet and Clank, and Jack and Daxter are some of my all-time favorites on any console.  This is why Sony needs to get its act together and release a backwards-compatible PS3 already!  It frustrates me to no end.  Also, the controller is super comfy and remains my favorite for games other than shooters.
  
  

  
  

  
  Why are you passionate about gaming: For starters, I've always believed gaming gets a bad shake compared to other hobbies.  I grew up in a household where gaming was somehow viewed as being worse than watching the television.  Please, explain to me how using hand-eye coordination, logic skills, and memory components while playing a video game are somehow "worse" than sitting in front of the television like a zombie.  Gamers are some of the most intelligent and dynamic-thinking people around; we're trained to think of all sorts of solutions to problems.  We've seen and been involved in worlds from the craziest of imaginations, and we've saved the those worlds more times than we can count.  We know what a halberd is and we're not afraid to flaunt it.  To put it simply, I compare video games to books.  They both do relatively the same thing; engage the audience (us) to take us out of our lives and put us into different shoes.  Books are great in that the world lives on inside us long after the pages end, but the same is true with video games.  Our adventures can conceivably continue forever, and non-gamers just don't understand the places we've been and the things we've done.  Games are amazing.  Period.  Next question, question boy (or girl).
  
  

  
  

  
  What can you do without in the gaming world?: You guessed it: motion controls.  Please, for the love of all we've accomplished in the past few decades, stop it with all these cheesy motion-control games.  Yes, some of them are a little cool and have some actual polish to them, but the vast majority are simply churned-out excuses for games trying to capitalize on unsuspecting parents and old people.  That's right, I said it.  On top of that, I just can't stand playing a "normal" game like Zelda: Twilight Princess while holding that darn stick towards the screen the whole time.  I'd rather the feel of a controller in my hand, rather than constantly swinging that piece of plastic back and forth like some kid having a temper tantrum.  Sometimes you just want to curl up with a good game late at night (just like a book, as per my previous response), and motion control just is not conducive to that.  In fact, it's the exact opposite.  Now I'm angry.
  
  And finally, what is your hardest level?: If you've looked at my profile or personal page at all, then this answer will be repetitive and I apologize.  My hardest level was definitely fighting General RAAM on Insane difficulty in the original Gears of War with zero help.  That fight really reminded me of the good ol' days of gaming.  You had to be spot on with your timing, reflexes, and accuracy to beat that guy.  Mess up once and you're toast.  Those bats or whatever will swarm you and destroy you in under a second on that difficulty, not to mention the freaking huge gun he carries.  I vowed I wouldn't resort to co-op mode to get by, and after a few days I finally downed him and did my awkward victory dance around the room.  My roommates talked about it for months to come.  Then I went and beat Call of Duty 2 on Veteran without a breaking a sweat.
  
  

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