Forgot to send one out this month, so figured I'd kill two birds with one stone...
Name: Carl Stones
Age: 32
Location: Bradford, UK
How old were you when you got into gaming, and which system did it?
Around 4 years old, and the Sinclair Spectrum (with rubber keyboard and separate cassette deck!)
If different from above, what was the first system you owned?
The family got the old Speccy, but my first, very own system was the Sinclair Spectrum 128k +2 (grey model) that came with an attached cassette deck, and was frankly amazing. Still is!
What systems do you currently own? PS3, 360, DS Phat, PSP 2000 (FFVII:CC edition), then in the dining room theres an Xbox, PS2, Master System, SNES, GameBoy original, Bandai WonderSwan Color, NeoGeo Pocket Color, Game Gear, PS1, C64, 2x Amiga 600s, the same Speccy I had above (same model, but not the same one as that died years ago), and... theres probably some more, but at the high point I had over 40 different games machines, including rare ones like the Atari Lynx and Atari Jaguar, and OOH YEAH, I also have a Philips CD-i which I bought ONLY for The 7th Guest, Burn:Cycle and the Dragons Lair/Space Ace games.
What is your favorite system, be it current or retro?
Either the Master System or the SNES. Both hold so many great memories for me, mainly beating Alex Kidd In Miracle World (which many deem impossible) and the fact my thumbs are stronger than adamantium thanks to the Street Fighter games on SNES. Stick? Pfft. Pad all the way, baby.
A rough estimate of how many games you own?
Jesus... erm... few thousand... got over 150 PS2 games, 120 PS1 games, 100 Xbox games, over 40 PS3 games, not including PSN downloads, and then when you hit the other machines... its a few thousand at least, and only the Amiga and Speccy games are copies. Trufax.
What game are you currently playing?
FFIV on PSP, inFamous 2 on PS3, and every now and then, Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition with my man Ax.
What is your favourite genre, and why?
Either RPGs or beat-em-ups. RPGs mainly stem from the shitty childhood I had, where I could escape into a world where nobodies were transformed into somebodies, and I always believed I could do the same. Kept me going through some bad times, that did. And beat-em-ups simply because I get to picture the folk who annoyed me that day when I'm pummelling the shit out of the training dummy, but get me and Ax together at any SF game, and whether I win or lose, I have so much fun.
What is your favourite game series, and why?
Either Final Fantasy or Street Fighter, for the reasons listed above.
What is your all-time favorite game, and why?
Erm... I'd have to say Daley Thompsons Decathlon on the Speccy. Even now, I occasionally emulate it so I can hammer the bejesus out of the N and M keys to make my little dude run and stuff. Never gets old for me.
Who is your favourite developer, and why?
For this one, I'd say Criterion, because what they did for Burnout fans with Paradise was unreal. Years down the line and they were STILL supporting it with free stuff, updates, DLC, etc. One of the few games I bought DLC for without questioning it.
Give us your most under-rated/under-valued game.
Alter Echo on PS2/Xbox. Picked this baby up for £4 in some flea market shop in Huddersfield years ago, and I kid you not, its one of the best games I ever played. Beautiful to look at, amazing to listen to, and fantastic to play. One of those games I'll NEVER trade in.
Any platform exclusive you'd like to see make the leap to multiplatform?
Animal Crossing. On a PSP, or through XBLA/PSN, and with better graphics, clearer sound, and much more room to add stuff to? Hell, day one right there.
How about your favorite handheld game?
Currently Game Dev Stories on my HTC Wildfire. Its sucking the life from me and I love every second. I have to charge my phone daily, sometimes twice, because I just cannot get enough. If that doesn't count, then Animal Crossing: Wild World on DS is one of those games I fear putting back into my DS for my kids sake...
Any old series you'd like to see revived on current gen platforms?
KILLER. FUCKING. INSTINCT. That is all.
Tell us about your most memorable gaming moment, something you're going to tell your grandkids.
If we're talking legendary tales, then myself and one of mine and Ax's friends Jason playing Street Fighter Alpha 3. Its Dramatic Mode. I'm Ken, he's Ryu, and we're up against Vega. Now, in Dramatic Mode, you share a health bar - so if one gets hit, both suffer the damage... anyways, we pin Vega into a corner and I'm throwing fireballs long distance while Jason keeps it close, and Vega jumps out. Just as he does, I throw out a fireball which hits him and pushes him back, Jason does Ryu's Tatsu-Maki super and just sucks the Spanish faggot right in, and just before it ends, I throw out a fierce flaming dragon punch. Fuckin' Vega gets destroyed in a blaze of glorious flashy background, mask AND glove broken off as one come off with my fireball, and the other comes off on hit 2 of the fierce dragon punch. The entire room just fucking ignites and seriously, manhugs and brofists and just... man, amazing teamwork. Y'know, that shit was 2001, 2002 time, and people STILL talk about that shit.
Deep thoughts now:
Given the many news reports of people committing horrific acts against other people and then blaming videogames, do you feel that videogames are - in any way, shape or form - responsible for these atrocities, or are there other issues at play?
Theres always scapegoats for people doing bad things - Elvis, The Beatles, Ozzy, Marilyn Manson, movies, videogames... until people are willing to accept that A) some people are just fucking nuts and shouldn't be out in public, and B) that in most cases its the fault of the parents not raising their kid right, then these scapegoats will always exist.
Have you ever found yourself looking at life or the world around you in a different light after playing a videogame, or has a videogame had any influence on how you live your life?
Final Fantasy pretty much saved my life, and not just metaphorically. Lets leave that one there.
And finally, tell us a strange but true fact about yourself.
My left leg has around half the hip joint and part of the knee joint missing because of an operation I had as a small child, and I was only the 2nd person in the entire country to be diagnosed with it. I was only 3/4 at the time, so don't ask me what it was called!
way to include me in the SSFIV.