Name:
Dan "Ax", "Lovemeister", "Sir spawn a lot", "twatface" Braithwaite.
Age:
18 (and 8 years)
Location:
Bradford, UK
How old were you when you got into gaming, and which system did it?
My uncle had an Amstrad CPC with Manic Miner (my first game). I also had Street Fighter, all the fucking Dizzy (and the Yolkfolk) games, chucky egg, Dyanmite Dan, those sorta games. Till one day my uncle was a complete twat to me, I took some strawberry jam out of the cupboard, unscrewed the keyboard (which was the PC as well as a keyboard) and made it into a plastic jam sandwich, screwing that shit back together. It took him ages to realise why that shit wasn't working, and when he found out he blamed my cousin.
He died thinking it was my cousin. Mission accomplished...
If different from above, what was the first system you owned?
When all the adverts came out for Sonic 2, I decided I wanted a dedicated games console and asked for a Megadrive. I got a mastersystem but I did get Sonic 2. I also got Asterix and Oblix and Bart Simpson Vs The Space Mutants. That was badass (but never could get past stage 3).
What systems do you currently own?
360 and a PS3. I might have a DS somewhere but not sure it works. I also have a reasonably high spec PC
What is your favorite system, be it current or retro?
Probably, if it's not the PC, it'll be the Sega Saturn.
Not only was we blessed with the liked of Steep Slope Sliders and Guardian Heroes, we had Sonic Jam, Virtua Fighter (and more importantly, fighters megamix), Baku Baku, Panzer Dragoon, Sega Rally, and NiGHTS. Oh and Die Hard Arcade.
A rough estimate of how many games you own?
Shit, erm, 50 Xbox 360 games, about 25 are physical discs, others have been downloaded and purchased on the market place. On PS3 I have around 15 games, 10 from marketplace. I have around 300 PC games, around 50 are physical, the rest are on steam. I also have about 5 DS games.
What game are you currently playing?
Hahahahah. Currently trying to get through Skyrim, Deus Ex 3, OF:Red River, The Sims 3 (can't seem to get to the end), Total War:Shogun 2, Dead Space 2 and other various shit. Skyrim's the bomb yo. It's basically Oblivion through and through. That same, god-awful shitty engine they used to use it still around, just with a nice overhaul. What does that mean? It means we still get bugged quests. It means everything on the table moved when we pick up a single object. It means if there's the littlest step on the ground, you can't run past it or jump, you have to backstep and try again or a different way. But there's good elements too. The makeover is nice and there's lots to do.
What is your favourite genre, and why?
You know what? For a long while it was RTS, but there's loads of shite come out since and now I don't even know (plus C&C, my fave RTS series went to absolute shite). I enjoy RPGs, just not the shitty obscure ones. Some MMOs are ok but I dont have the time. FPSs are good but I'm shit with a controller. So, I don't even know. As long as a game is good, I could probably give it a bash. So long as it wasn't a fucking sports game that is.
What is your favourite game series, and why?
Gears of War. Easily. It's completely unmatched in bro-with-bros fun. It's brutal, tactical, funny, it has amazing multiplayer modes but has the most heart-pounding single player experience I've known. It doesn't take itself too seriously, it's challenging and rewarding. I've never, ever played a game that's matched what I've had in Gears. But it's not about the game, it's the experience with friends online. Unmatched. If you havn't played this, and call yourself a gamer, you need to play this. (wink wink)
What is your all-time favorite game, and why?
Ah fuck I dunno. Probably Deus Ex. I've never replayed a game as many times as DX. It's fucking mint.
Who is your favourite developer, and why?
Ooh now we're talking. Obscure developers come and go, or get bought and mergerd. I like Epic games, as I grew up on Unreal and other various stuff they released when I got my first PC. But Maxis were really on the ball with what they were doing, I mean, SimCity? Revolutionary! There's been a horde of clones since, and the Sims is the biggest selling PC series of all time. That's in terms of success, and I like to follow developer success and be critical or why they're successful (like why Activision should now NOT be successful, minnie-moo-foo-foos!). MediaMolecule should also be given a fucking award because they've also done something that no one else has ever thought to do to their extent.
Give us your most under-rated/under-valued game.
Been thinking about this a while, and I gotta say, Fallout:Tactics. It was the game to change people's view on the Brotherhood of Steel (as usually they're the ass-holes of the game), and got you working for them full time. But the tactical system was amazing. It mixed turn based action with real-time, and allowed you to play with friends. All of this, whilst including the original Fallout engine...it was immense. I'd love a remake of this, but kids today won't be
able to see past the 2D graphics that these remakes have changed.
Any platform exclusive you'd like to see make the leap to multiplatform?
Gears of War. I think it's sad that it's limited to a single console, and everyone should be able to enjoy it.
How about your favorite handheld game?
Pfffffffffffft Pokemans. not an interesting answer, sorry, it requires no explanation.
Any old series you'd like to see revived on current gen platforms?
Too right, I'd love to see Streets of Rage make a comeback. Side scrolling beat-'em-up, or even in 3D so long as it had a decent engine. 4 player co-op would be welcomed too. You do still get side scrolling beat-'em-ups, but they're poorly done, like The Warriors.
I'd also like to see a remake of Exhumed on the Playstation. Running around tombs, fucking shit up. Awesome!
Tell us about your most memorable gaming moment, something you're going to tell your grandkids.
When I was younger, I met this dude who I went to school with, Aussie. We talked about playstations n shit, and decided I'd go round to his gaff with my station and take my copy of Duke Nukem, which he also had. So we had two tellies, two stations, a link-up cable and spent the day playing Duke Nukem, fucking each other up. Him mother made us some bacon sarnies in a way I'd never had before. It was crispy smoked bacon, on brown bread with tomato sauce. Immense. I'll never have a bacon sarnie like that.
Anyway so we decided to get some Red Alert on at mine the week after, he stopped over for the weekend. We started at 9pm, and went to sleep at 5am. Bad shit. The next night we started at 7pm, and not long after we heard my mother coming downstairs. We were like "shit what time is it?" And she was all "7am crazeh fooz".
Never played so much command and conquer!!!
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?
Yes. I think they're directly related and some of these games should be taken off the shelf.
I mean, if you played Call of Duty or Halo as much as some of these kids do, would you not want to go out and kill bitches too? I fucking would...
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?
I think games themselves have possibly made me a little lazier and out of shape but that's really probably my own fault.
I think they fueled my creativity too, which is good. I'd like to help a full on, AAA release one day...
And semi-finally, tell us a strange but true fact about yourself.
When I was about 11, maybe 12, I went to sainsbury's (supermarket) with my mother. And, you know how you always have a pair of boxer shorts that opens up and lets your wanger loose in your pants, flapping around? Well you know how everyone has a pair of jeans with a broken fly that always falls down? Well I was walkin around looking for pizza. I got to the frozen isle and felt really really cold down below. I looked down and Mr Happy is flapping around to greet everyone. I had to walk really close to the freezer and be really interested in the peas, so no one could see me trying to do up my fly.
That was a bad time for me. True story though.
Lastly, would you like to send a message to the peeps at UUDD?
Yeah bitches, I'm going through a phase in Frontline:Fuels of War again. So if anyone has this this, hit me up on XBL, Ax8472, and we'll have some fun.
