U360 is back with a fresh Showcase…a fresh nominated Showcase at that.  Sit back because this guy has a lot on his mind and plenty of time to bring it! 

If there’s something strange…in your neighborhood…who ya gonna call?

Tell us a bit about the person behind the console and Gamertag?

Hmmmm… Where to start (insert – shimmery flash back memory effect). Well my gaming days started like so many of my peers with systems such as the Commodore 64, Atari 2600, Apple IIe and whatever else I could get my hands on. I played and programmed and just couldn’t get enough. I think the biggest single motivator for me was that I wasn’t the only one getting excited about computer and video games. I had a whole crew of friends who played together. We played games like MULE, Choplifter, Lode Runner and had a blast. Danero TGAC is one of my oldest and best friends. Dan and I have spent many a late night trying to out play each other in a great number of games. Fast-forwarding through all the systems I have owned Sega Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast, Sony Playstation, Nintendo NES and N64 plus a whole lot of PCs and up to just before I got my first XBOX.

Danero TGAC, Metastat and GoddfreyTGAC along with a cadre of other regular players started making it a regular routine of playing LAN style PC games at Dan’s house. He has an attic dedicated to LAN play. He even has a cool Star Trek lighting system that is perfect for a LAN gaming room. I can’t tell you how many hours we all spent playing Battlefield 1942, NeverWinter Nights or Ghost Recon. It was a blast and this is where the TGAC part of my gamertag came from The Game Attic Club was what we decided to call ourselves. Saabster TGAC and my wife StephanatorTGAC are also members. We played PC LAN style for a while and then when Battlefield 2 came out for the PC and my PC didn’t have the stats required for the game things started to change. We played for a few more months but more and more games were being announced that had requirements that exceeded my own. The straw that broke the camels back was when a power problem in my house killed both my primary gaming system and a system my wife used for her school work. I now faced the grim reality of spending thousands of dollars to replace my PCs or changing the way I game.

Iceman183, another old friend, had been trying to convince me that XBOX was the way to go. He had been a Halo freak and when he found out that my PCs died he really drilled me to get an XBOX. Christmas 2004 was quickly approaching and I decided that the XBOX seemed like something I could at least try. Meanwhile Sabrerat and MonsterB0x (who I worked with) were also trying to convince me that XBOX was an affordable yet powerful gaming platform. Their most significant argument was that unlike the PC I wouldn’t have to worry about spending hundreds of dollars per year to keep my system up to date and that any game I wanted to play would work right out of the box. This really sounded good to me. I had been a bit soured to the console scene after buying the Dreamcast. I had hoped that Sega would have really made something of the online capabilities. I was one of the lucky ones who had an Ethernet card in my Dreamcast and I enjoyed playing Unreal online. The guys assured me that by the time I was getting into XBOX that XBOX Live! was awesome and that there were lots of games and great people to play with. Well I made the jump.

Well now I am up to the present and the 360 (I traded me original system and didn’t look back). I have really ramped my involvement in the 360 community and hope to make a career jump into the field of video game distribution in the next few years. I am 35 years old, with Bachelors in Business Administration from the Rochester Institute of Technology (also working on my MBA). I am married to a beautiful Music Therapist and have a 1 1/2 year old daughter. We live in Rochester, NY (a great little town).

Whew… That was a big answer to just one question…

Nothing wrong with doing it big. Any special reason behind choosing your Gamertag?

When I received the XBOX I had to go Live right away and when I did I choose my gamertag based on my favorite comic book hero (Ghost Rider). Of course Ghost Rider is pretty popular so I added the TGAC. Now people call me Ghost almost as often as they use my real name (Chris). I think it’s pretty cool. Also I use my gamerpic to help people identify me. I have only changed it once and I like that people see it and instantly recognize who I am. I am looking forward to the Vision Camera so I can post a pic of my Ghost Rider action figure as my personal gamer pic. I like Ghost Rider because he’s not what you expect. He is a bit scary looking but he’s still fighting for what is right. I’m not very scary but I like the fact that with Ghost Rider you can’t judge him by his appearance. It’s what’s inside that counts.

Has the Xbox 360 experience been a good or bad one for you?

It has been awesome. I love how the 360 seems to bring more people together. I love the games and the excitement that seems to surround the 360. I got mine on launch day and I can remember just how exciting the days prior to launch day were. Several of my friends and colleagues also got their systems at the same time. It was fun booting the system and seeing just who had a 360 and what they were playing. Never before has a game console been able to connect gamers the way the 360 can. I also love the marketplace. One of the key elements that drew me into PC gaming was the ability to download free demos. I couldn’t possibly buy every game so downloading gave me the ability to see what interested me. The 360 has that ability and that really closes the gap that separates PC gaming from console gaming.

The only thing I don’t like about the 360 really has nothing at all to do with the 360; it has everything to do with the community and a dynamic that seems to be developing in the next generation circles. Gamers seem to be taking sides; either you are a 360 gamer or you are all about the PS3. The Wii fans seem to be much cooler about it so kudos to them. It seems to me that a gaming platform is only as good as the games and the people who play together. I own a 360 but if Sony and/or Nintendo give me enough reasons to slap down the cash for their systems I wouldn’t mind at all owning all three. I just get tired of the people who bash the other systems. Each one will have its own unique advantages and disadvantages.

Detail your gaming setup and a normal playing session for you.

I have two places I play (right now I have to move my 360 from place to place when I play but a second system is in my plan soon). First is on my 27” Sony Trinitron in the living room. I play here when my wife and daughter are around. It allows us all to be together and to still do our own thing. I have Dolby Surround sound in the living room so games sound great, unfortunately I don’t have HD so things don’t look as great as they could. I just built a nice entertainment stand in which the XBOX 360 has its own shelf with all the accessories and I have also wired my house with CAT5 and there is a dedicated line for the 360.

The other place I play when gaming gets really serious is in the basement. I have a little studio setup in a corner of the basement and it’s where I have my work PC, my guitar equipment and general sundry items. I have a KVM switch hooked up to the PC and it allows me to connect both the PC and the XBOX 360. My wife often suggests I go down here in the evening so I don’t disturb our daughter after she has gone to sleep. I am very vocal when I play and get rather noisy

Which title is getting the most playing time on your Xbox 360?

I would have to say that I give fairly equal time to all my 360 titles. Burnout Revenge is great to play with my wife, Oblivion is a nice way to relax after a hard day; Call of Duty 2 and Perfect Dark Zero are great for when I have a lot of friends online. I don’t think I have played a 360 game yet that I haven’t enjoyed and I think so many of the games have real staying power.

Which would you say has been the most surprising title on the 360 so far?

Call of Duty 2 surprised me the most. I have played WWII shooters in the past but Call of Duty 2 took this genre to a whole new level. I felt like I was in the middle of an action movie. The sound effects and the number of AI players in the game made things very visceral and real. I can see that in a couple more years your average moviegoer of today will instead be a player in an interactive movie on the 360 tomorrow. Who wouldn’t want to participate rather than just watch a story go by?

There are plenty of games that people simply wish they never had played.  Which is yours?

Honestly I can say that I haven’t played a game yet that I wish I hadn’t. That doesn’t mean there aren’t games I have avoided. I depend on the opinions of my friends and there are games I haven’t played on their suggestion. I may still check them out now that I have Gamefly and form my own opinion.

Gotta release that Gamefly interview soon. What’s your most anticipated yet to release 360 title?

I would have to say there are a few titles I am looking forward to. On the heals of Bethesda’s masterpiece: Oblivion I am looking forward to Star Trek Legacy. If the studio is able to pull it off and put together another great title I will be very happy. Gears of War is somewhat of an unknown (even though there is a lot of press) and based on the fact that Microsoft is closely attached to this title I think it has potential to rival the best franchise out there. That brings me to the title I am most looking forward to: Halo 3. I even told my wife that I plan to take the day off just to play Halo 3 on launch. I am planning to find the best midnight madness party in my area and do a marathon of Halo. Iceman183 and Sabrerat are just waiting for the H3 announcement so they can make the case to their wives to get a 360 I think it will be the biggest game since Halo 2 and I can’t wait!

Name one thing you wouldn’t give up, feature wise, on the Xbox 360.

Live! – nuff said.

Would you like to see the Xbox 360 offered in different colors beyond simple faceplates?

Why? I’m not into all the customizations on the case. It’s what’s inside that counts. The only reason I might want to see customizations offered is so that when I am at a LAN party I can easily identify my system if it gets mixed up with others (can’t imagine that happening) but if there was a possibility I would just get my HD engraved with my name (hmmm… come to think of it I might have that done soon anyway).

Do you plan to purchase any of the forthcoming peripherals…Live Vision Camera, HD-DVD and others?

The Live Vision Camera is a definite must have. I have a 1 ½ year old daughter and I am hoping that developers are working on titles such as the bubble-pop game that came with the PS2 Eye toy. I know many of the hardcore gamers think this type of game is lame but they probably don’t have children. I also think there are great possibilities such as adding your own face to a game avatar. It would be great to run up to a friend and see their face when you are talking to them in game. I know you have voiced concern about people showing a bit too much of themselves. I think the community will police itself and shut that kind of behavior down right away. I also think Microsoft’s safeguards will help make it so we won’t have to be subjected to that kind of behavior.

How do you feel about the Marketplace, content downloads and the recently rumored ‘consumables’ idea?

I think the Marketplace is awesome. I think that eventually full AAA titles should be available in this sort of venue. Digital content is cheaper and easier to distribute than boxed content. I also appreciate that this form allows developers who otherwise couldn’t bring a title to market to do so. Some complain that pricing is too high but considering the time and effort these developers make to put content up I think the prices are very reasonable. With regard to the ‘consumables’ idea I think only time will really tell whether it can work or not. I think gamers are demanding but in the end this marketplace is an economy of its own. People vote with their wallets and if they say yes then the concept will fly. If they don’t then the idea will die.

Recently, Xbox.com’s Elle posted an article detailing the over 8 million downloads since the launch of the Marketplace.  What do you think is the attraction?

Ease and speed of access. No other gaming platform (other than the PC) allows players to immediately access content as soon as it is available. In this day and age of immediate gratification this is critical. How many times have you read on the forums that people are complaining about a title being late to release? Now as soon as a title is release you can simply download and pay for it and you can play it, and you don’t even need to leave your couch!

What would you like to see updated or added in the next big 360 update?

I guess the thing I would like most would be group private chat. I often play with a bunch of people and we switch between games. It sure would be nice to have a chat that we could all participate in rather than having to put one on hold to go to another or launch a game that does support it.

Ok.  One game.  One shot.  You against the Braveheart, Mel Gibson.  Who wins and what game are you playing?

Halo 2 – As old Mel comes charging across the field of battle I wait until he’s almost on top of me. I step out from behind my Warthog. Then the Master Chief GhostRiderTGAC whips out his trusty shotgun and just at the right moment when Mel swings his sword “BANG” it’s all over for old blue face! – Prologue sniping may be effective but seeing the surprised look of your enemies as they face your shotgun is so much more satisfying.

Any parting words?

Only that I think you are doing a great job with your site and your podcast. It is both different and informative and really has an excellent focus on community. Community is what it’s all about for me. I play games to have fun with friends. I rarely ever play alone. I appreciate you taking the time to expose people out there as I feel it’s just another way to find new friends to play with. Keep up the good work. Be nice to people and stay cool!

Right on brotha. Thanks for coming on!