Hi all,

Before I took some time away from Art of Redress last month, I noticed that Brandon Green at The Green Dude had nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. Brandon is a pretty cool guy who shares my love of Virtua Fighter – one of my favourite posts of his was this discussion of what features should be in a potential Virtua Fighter 6, a post that really makes me want Virtua Fighter 6 to be a thing. So thank you Brandon, the nomination is much appreciated!

The Rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog.

Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.

Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions. (I don’t think I know 11 bloggers who haven’t received this award before, so I will just nominate as many bloggers as I can)

List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

sunshine blogger

The questions:

  • What is your favourite genre of game?

That’s an easy question – probably sports games. I get really into them, developing little back stories for all the players and I always end up developing some sort of relationship with them, usually depending on how the game is going. For example, I always try and sign Rick Nash on any NHL game I play, just because he was amazing for my (hopeless) Columbus Blue Jackets team on NHL 2K7. On the flipside, I have a strange dislike for Carlos Tevez, simply because he used to score past me on Pro Evolution Soccer 6 every time he played against me. I’m sure he’s great in real life, but every time someone mentions Tevez to me, I think of his winner in a tight 3-2 defeat to West Ham in 2006 and have to clench my teeth!

  • Which video game soundtrack is your favourite?

A tough one, but right now I’ll say Road Rash on PS1. It had a soundtrack of early/mid nineties alternative rock bands from the A&M label, some of whom I already loved (Therapy?, Soundgarden) and others who I got really into (Swervedriver). I remember a happy week one summer where I was home alone for a week while my family went on holiday…the first thing I did was move the PS1 downstairs so I could hammer Road Rash, either by racing or listening to the soundtrack. I still listen to ‘Jessie’ by Paw if I find myself reminiscing about those days…

  • Which video game company do you like the most?

Sega. I know it’s been up and down, but if not for the low cost of the Master System, I might not have fell in love with games as much. The glory days for Sega were great days as in the UK, it felt like everyone had a Sega system and much game chat and swapping went on. It was only in my collecting days (2002 – 2010) that I realised how much I missed those much more innocent times. Great games, bad games…it was fantastic living through the days when Sega and Nintendo were duking it out and even more fun to relive those days ten years later.

I know we’ll never get a new Sega console, but I can dream, right? To play all those franchises I loved again (Outrun, Super Hang On, Altered Beast, Golden Axe, Streets Of Rage) and to try those franchises I missed out on (Panzer Dragoon, Phantasy Star, Jet Set Radio) would be incredible!

  • If you were a wrestler, what would your name be?

Awesome question! It would have to be something silly like Ramon Sexhammer or Casanova von Powerhaus. If you can’t have a silly name when you’re a wrestler, when can you?

  • What is your favourite TV show?

The Simpsons. I both love and hate that show so much, I advise people not to discuss it with me. If you make that mistake, I will ramble on for hours and hours. See, The Simpsons blew me away when I was growing up – it was a cartoon, so silly and over the top, yet quite satirical and sharp in some places too. I watched it obsessively for years on Channel 4 and BBC 2, rarely missing an episode even though I’d seen them before. Nowdays we have lots of animated comedies, but back then animated shows were just seen as silly kids stuff.

However, the ‘newer’ episodes….sorry, but I just don’t like them. I saw an intelligent, smart show become a dumb cliched cartoon. It still angers me now…I wish Fox would just end The Simpsons, or at least reboot it so my memories aren’t tainted any further. However, Fox are the EA of TV channels so I reckon The Simpsons will probably outlive me.

For the record, I believe the shark jump is The Cartridge Family (it’s too sinister and if I recall correctly, it’s downhill from there) and the last great episode is Insane Clown Poppy.

  • Have you enjoyed a game that critics have panned?

Do you count Altered Beast? Mind you, that’s one that critics dislike now that I like. If you mean a game that critics panned, yet I still bought it that’s a tough one. I enjoyed WET while the critics weren’t too keen on it but generally, I think I play games critics like. It’s normally me that doesn’t like the games!

  • What is your favourite game console?

The Xbox 360. Great console, brilliant online system, superb pad and an incredible library of games. I went into detail on my love for the Xbox 360 in this blog post, if you care to read it.

  • Pepsi or Coca-Cola? (This is the most serious question)

Neither! I don’t like either of them these days (haven’t drank  them in over fifteen years) and have no desire to. I’m not really a fan of fizzy drinks truthfully, I always drink water. Fizzy drinks don’t satisfy my thirst and make me cranky. Sorry Brandon, I feel like I blew the big question here!

  • What goals do you want to achieve by the end of the year?

My main one in life is to get in better shape. I’m 35 next year so I need to start looking after myself better. I’m trying to improve my diet and keep exercising to achieve this and I think I’m doing OK. I’ve struggled over the summer due to the stress of an attempted house move and the heat (hot weather = ice cream, right?) but I’m planning on getting onto the right track and finishing the year strong.

My goals for the blog are outlined here. It’s an ongoing battle, but again I’m going to get on with it and try and finish strong!

  • What is your favourite cartoon?

I already said The Simpsons, so I’ll say something different. I’m a big Johnny Bravo fan – it’s so silly and Johnny is such a daft character, it never fails to make me laugh. Again, like The Simpsons, there is so much going on and so much aimed at adults too. It was pretty clever for the time.

  • You have to buy one of the following games, which one do you get? Your options: Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Soul Calibur VI, Fallout 76, Red Dead Redemption 2 or Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

I’ll say Red Dead Redemption 2. I’ve never played a Red Dead Redemption game before but I really want to, plus I’m a fan of Rockstar. Looking at the rest of the list, it’s a no brainer. I’ve never played Assassin’s Creed before and have no desire to. Soul Calibur is just Tekken with weapons which makes no sense to me – how can you hit someone with a sword and it doesn’t cut or wound them? Fallout 76 sounded great until I found out it was an online game. Smash Brothers is a multiplayer game really and I usually play games by myself. So Red Dead Redemption for me…though I doubt I’ll buy it for a long time.

My questions:

  • What is your favourite Sega game?
  • What is the furthest you’ve ever ran?
  • Winter or Summer?
  • If you could go back in time to stop All Saints covering Under The Bridge, would you?
  • Favourite comedy film?
  • What mobile phone do you own?
  • Favourite ice cream brand?
  • Cinema snack of choice?
  • What is your worst gaming experience ever?
  • Last time you did a press up?
  • If you were a cat, what name would you hope your owners would chose for you?

My nominations:

No worries if you are busy/don’t want to!

Cheap Boss Attack

Games With Coffee

The Dragon’s Tea Party

Defy The Majority

And if anyone wants to answer my foolish questions, feel free!