Interview | January 1, 2015 9:00 am

By AJ

All pictures in this spotlight made by Amanda

AJ: Let's jump right in and get things going. If you haven't guessed who this year's first spotlight features, I think you may have a problem. I guess it's finally come to this. We've gone through just about everyone else (who actually matters [to me]) on the site. Your time has come. Have any words of wisdom before we begin? We know you're in grad school, just for your information...

Young Snapple.

The Snapple Cap: Finally! I knew once you had exhausted all of the worthwhile candidates it would come to this, kind of like when you try to find a girl at the bar at 2am but it's slim pickings since all the more attractive females have been picked. It's my time to shine! For all the non-spotlight award winners; just post enough to the point of spamming, get in arguments with everyone (especially the staff, they love it), and continue to be a active member until they have no other choice but to pick you! It's a fool proof plan!

But seriously, most of you should know me and should have already formed an opinion about me by now (positive or negative). I'm in grad school while working part time and looking for a full time job. Depending on how well I do in grad school I'll consider going for a PhD in a business field. Right now my major is Business Administration with a focus on international business. I was adopted when I was 6 after missing 100 days of school in 1st grade due to the incompetence of my infamous mother, that you all have banged. Frankly, one of the reasons I continue to go to school is just to prove to her and other people that said I couldn't or wouldn't be able to do shit. I know revenge is petty but it can feel soooo good sometimes just to prove people wrong and do things people thought you couldn't.

No wonder why everyone hates him so much...

AJ: Intradasting. I can definitely see I'm going to have my hands full with this spotlight. I'm glad I put it off for so long! Those are some very long winded first answers, my question(s) will likely pale in comparison, but hey, I'm not too bothered by that. Like you said, it's your time to shine (even if most of the shine has already dulled).

Remember that gamerscore competition we teamed up for? That was cool, I guess. Dick.

Anyway, I'm sure the question everyone is dying to know the answer to: Is there a game on the Xbox platform you didn't think was a solid 8/10 or higher? Seriously...

Snap: Hey man, you told me to watch Lost that month, so I think it's both our fault that I had such a poor performance in that gamerscore competition. Funny story though, I used to mess around with a girl that looked like Kate from that show and she also had a pretty similar personality. She did not see why it was as hilarious as I did.

I guess she kind of looks like Kate... If you squint, maybe?

But to answer your question; Yeah, there's a ton of games I don't like or get disappointed in. I just don't talk about them or they are offset by super easy achievements that make up for how shitty of a game it actually is. I actually made a list (starting with the games I played the longest ago to the most recent). Here goes:

1) Forza 5 - Way too focused on micro-transactions and I generally dislike simulation racers.
2) Call of Duty: Ghosts - worst COD to date.
3) Lococycle
4) Max: Curse of Brotherhood
5) Thief
6) Nutjitsu
7) Amazing spider-man 2
8) Murdered: Soul Suspect
9) Halo Spartan Assault
10) Watch dogs - What a disappointment, I mean seriously.
11) 60 Second Shooter Prime
12) Another World
13) Contrast
14) Child of Light
15) Sniper Elite 3
16) Fibbage
17) Stick it to the Man
18) Trials fusion
19) Zombie Driver HD Edition
20) Costume Quest 2
21) Limbo
22) Monopoly Deal
23) Monopoly Plus

So yeah, there's a ton. But a lot of them get offset by super easy achievements so that makes the games more bearable. I think I nitpick a lot less than other people on this site and tend to highlight a game's strengths versus the weak parts of the game. Both styles of criticism work well and can convey how good or bad a game is, but I think that I generally have a more positive outlook on life which has translated to how I feel about people, situations, and various forms of media and entertainment as well as my life as a whole. Oh and fuck Worms: Battleground, that game fucking sucks Meta's taint.

24) Worm's Batteground

AJ: Trials..... Fusion.... TRIALS FUSION?!



Consider this interview ended!

Snap: Hahaha, I'm not really a fan of puzzle or racing games, so a combination of both is just too much for me. I don't have the patience to put the time in to be good at them so I just get frustrated and go back to shooters, action games, or RPGs. Shooters are typically what I play for my multiplayer fix similar to you going for world record in Trials. For me I have been playing online shooters since the PS2 Socom 2 days. That's where I really cut my teeth into mp and shooters in general. Playing paintball online in Socom was a blast and it's why I am good at games like Titanfall and Gears, it just comes naturally to me to go pew pew pew and make other people rage by being inferior.

Did you really expect me not to troll you at some point as well, AJ? I mean come on, Trials is such an easy target for you.

AJ: Yea, Trials isn't for everyone, I guess. But it's literally one of the most simple concepts. Gas, brake, lean. That's it. I was hardcore into Call of Duty 4 and World at War on GameBattles waaayyyyy back in the day. Even got to rank 1 for a short while for overall GameBattles Rank. After those games, I don't feel like any shooter can compare at all, especially to CoD4. It was, and always will be, the best. Hands down. Games like Titanfall, Halo, blah blah blah just seem to me like they're trying to pack too much shit in a single game. CoD4 was simple, balanced, and the maps never got old. Enough reminiscing, it's making me sad CoD4 is just a memory.

So besides Xbox, drinking, and school... What else do you do?

Snap: CoD4 definitely changed the first person shooter landscape. In my opinion, for the better. It's a solid middle ground between more tactical and slow paced shooters like Socom, Halo, Counter-Strike, and others. That's why it worked so well, if you worked together like those slower games you could dominate, but it wasn't as fast as Quake so it worked effectively on consoles searching for a MP game. I think quicker movements in games like CoD:AW and Titanfall is going to be a main focus on MP games this generation, that's just my opinion though.

I actually don't drink as much as I used to back when I would litter the forum with my drunken escapades, typically only 2 or 3 times a month since it's becoming more difficult to plan schedules with my friends [lol wut friends - AJ edit], being in various different states across the east coast, and with different work and social schedules. I mean, I used to live next to 3 bars that were within a block from my old apartment before I moved home and drinking and driving isn't fun so I don't really go out that much. Plus, my friends ["friends" - AJ edit] in New Jersey [aka Garbageland - AJ edit] can be pretty lame. Who the fuck wants to actually go to the Jersey Shore?

Besides the things you listed though I'm really into a wide variety of things, mainly music [and gay sex stuff - not an AJ edit]. I love to find newer artists or different genres I haven't heard and see if they fit my very diverse set of music tastes. I usually lean more towards hip hop than any other genre. Music tells so many different stories and changes so many peoples lives, that it's difficult to not appreciate what some of the work and effort the musicians put in, even if they aren't famous. I've always had a wide range of friends; from athletes, to nerds, to everything in between, their music tastes have rubbed off on me [definitely not the only thing to rub off on you - AJ edit] to help give me a pretty wide range of taste in music. I also have always been a fan of watching sports; Giants, Nets, Devils, Rutgers, and Yankees. I watch WWE and some anime as well.

Lastly, I'm a pretty outgoing person so I love to try new things and meet new people. I'll just strike up conversations with people at the bar, in class, at a store, anywhere I am really. I'm intrigued with getting to know people even if it's the only time I'll ever see them. People love to talk about themselves, from their successes to failures to work and love life. You would be surprised how quickly someone will open up to you when you show you are interested in knowing their life story and what makes them unique.

"Pretty outgoing."

AJ: Murder, fuck, kill. Mo the Surfer, SeanPeepeeCannon, Daniel (I meant marry, fuck, kill but thought it would catch Snap being gay, it totally did...).

Please provide details.

Snap: Well fuck...

I guess first would have to be kill. Unfortunately that's Mo the Surfer. I mean, he's old and probably gonna die in next 2 years in a retirement home anyway so I might as well put him out of his misery. If he was rich, I guess it would be different since then I could be a gold digger. Unfortunately, that's not the case so I'm going to have to bury the crypt keeper.

Daniel is already my bottom bitch and he hooks it up with the landscaping, but he's a pretty selfish lover so he's gonna have to be the fuck. He's a good guy, but he's not someone I could bring home, because he's the landscaper and that would be awkward, you know?

So I guess SeanPCannon is who I would marry, I could hang out with all the B to D list celebrities and I can always call up Daniel if SeanPCannon doesn't treat me right.

Not a fan of all dudes...

AJ: Hmm, never had a marry in there. How embarrassing.... Now everyone knows your true feelings for SPC!

Moving on.

How do you feel about the Xbox One? Rushed? Problems? Are the non-buyers the lucky ones?

Snap: Oh whoops, I misread the question... Haha, oh well. Daniel would obviously be the one saved in that scenario.

The Xbox has a lot of issues for sure, but I definitely feel as if both the Xbox One and PS4 were pushed out the door before they were really ready and it really shows. The Xbox converting everything into apps (like achievements) means that sometimes it won't work and the achievement won't unlock which is the most frustrating thing in the world, especially if you have an achievement streak on TrueAchievements going that you want to continue. Oh, and how the fuck did they fuck up the perfect party system that was on the 360? I mean seriously, all they had to do was copy and paste it to the next console and it would have been perfect, fucking idiots. It's especially apparent with all the games being pushed out that aren't ready, like the Halo Master Chief Collection, Assassin's Creed: Unity, and Destiny missing like half of its content. I mean the PS4 isn't doing much better either with drive club STILL not working and a OS update that broke some of the bigger named games like CoD and Dragon Age until they quickly patched it. So I think overall the whole game industry (and especially the console makers) really have messed up and I think people are tired of these companies underwhelming on promises made.

That being said I still enjoy my Xbox One immensely, but I'm already on my second one. The disc drive on my first one broke around May or June of this year, and while Microsoft replaced it for free, I feel as if it's the same story with the 360 being pushed out too early and having RROD issues. Towards the tail end of the last generation games just becoming rehashes of continued series and seeing new IPs being developed is awesome. I still recommend getting an Xbox One but know what you are getting into beforehand.

It just sucks buying an Xbox One at 500 dollars and then less than 13 months ago you can buy one today on the Micro$oft store for $350 and that includes both Assassin's Creed games and your choice of a free game. Early adopters are always getting shafted.

AJ: Early adopters didn't get shafted by any means! We got a Limbo port and some terrible gamerpics... Oh wait, that's pretty much the definition of shafted.

What's your most memorable achievement? You only get one, make it count.

Snap: Seriously 1.0 by a mile. It was the most fun I had grinding for an achievement. Back when it came out I wasn't intentionally going for it I was just enjoying the game and unlocked it. I wish they made a Gears Collection port for the Xbox One. I would spend all my time split between Gears 1 and Gears 3. It's probably my favorite shooter on Xbox 360, third person shooters are more fun in my opinion and it took a decent amount of talent to be good at it.

AJ: I could never get into Gears. I'm not a fan of 3rd person shooters at all. But I have heard a lot about the Seriously achievement and how much of a pain it is to actually try for it when hosts quit, you lag out, and it doesn't pop on time at all. Kind of sounds like almost every Xbox One achievement. Every time I'm ready to pop one in any game on the Xbox One I get nervous that it won't, then when it's delayed and does pop I've already punched 27 babies and smashed a few controllers. Oh well, I'm sure the babies deserved it anyway.

Let's try another off topic question: If you could take one celebrity on a date, which Xbox game would you stay at home playing instead?

Snap: Yeah some of my friends had to get close to 20,000 ranked kills before it would unlock for them, which sucks. 10,000 kills was already a shit ton to begin with and almost doubling the amount of time couldn't have been fun for those nerds.

I would probably take Vanessa Hudgens out since she's my wife and it would be nice to spend time with her despite her hectic schedule (just ask Kat, she sees me post her picture on Instagram every week).

Snapple's date with Vanessa... She doesn't look thrilled about it...

I've been burned out on most of my games though from earning lots of gamerscore from terrible games this year. I've mostly been playing multiplayer games like NBA 2k15 and unlocking an achievement every day to keep my TA streak going, plus I have to keep these games for 2015 since Atrocity and myself (with whatever people decide to join us) will be doing the GTASC on TA for 2015.

AJ: Literally had to Google Vanessa Hudgens. No idea who that is, but she looks about 13.

I hear you on lots of gamerscore from terrible games, that's all I've been playing lately. We're both getting closer to 300k. I'm definitely done with crap games after that. Might even call it quits on gamerscore front altogether. I want to say I'd quit Xbox for good, but that likely won't happen even though I'm more angry with its issues than actually being excited to play.

Anyone you'd like to give a shout out to? I fear I'm out of questions to ask.

Snap: You haven't seen Sucker Punch or Spring Breakers? She's in both of those movies as a badass which is hilarious since she started out doing Disney Channel movies and shit like High School Musical, haha.

Anyway, this last part is going to be long but bare with me, I feel like there's a bunch of people I need to shout out and for various reasons, so here goes.

First, I'll start with the inactive members or people who have left throughout the years.

Epic Louie was one of the first people I played and talked to on xbox before he disappeared from the site with his now ex-girlfriend. Dude was always down to play whatever and boost achievements and was a cool guy, so thanks home slice!

Unnamed Saint was also someone who I did gamerscore competitions with (particularly on XBA) and was a fun guy to bullshit with, I wonder what's going on with him nowadays?

Grenade Rising was a decent guy who I think just became more jaded as the years of being XBA went on. I used to talk to him occasionally since he was (and possibly still is) going to school about 15 minutes or so away from me. He needs to get rid of that peasant 360 though and upgrade to the Xbox One already, that goes for the rest of you that still don't have a current generation console as well, no one cares about your poop 360 games and no one wants to boost them, haha.

Big P has always been one of my favorite people from XBA. He tells it how it is no matter what and he's pretty good at shooters and fighting games so it is fun to talk shit with him to opponents (or each other). It's a shame he left because he added a bluntness (and race quota) that since his departure has been lacking on XBA. I regularly talk to him on Facebook about everything from video games to what's going on in our lives and any issues. Definitely someone I consider a good friend and will continue to keep in contact with in the future for sure.

Bitz is like a weird enigma that no one knows too much about except that he's super generous, which I think people unfortunately tried to take advantage of. He's a super chill dude who I talk to pretty often and is good to just shoot the shit with about anything really.

Chaind Insanity has pretty much gone dormant since getting a PS4 but sometimes pops his head in to see what's up. We have a common interest in trolling the internet and have similar taste in games so it's always fun to bullshit with this guy about video games or consoles wars or what have you.

Vermillion Haze is someone I think I may have agreed with on the site about video games maybe 4 times in total. We have pretty polar opposite views on games despite enjoying similar genres, so I always would argue with him about how superior Fallout: New Vegas is to Fallout 3. It's a shame he got a PS4 and became pretty inactive. He kept threads active and was pretty chill. I still talk to him sometimes on Facebook randomly (same with Chaind).

heathkilljoy is probably the most understood person to post on XBA. He's a nice guy that just gets shit for some of the weird shit he says. But despite that, we like a lot of the same games and shit like anime so he's good for a conversation about weird shit you normally don't get to talk to many people about.

Mattd411 is a fuckboy [gaaaayyyyyyyy - AJ edit] who I text somewhat regularly but he barely posts besides the movies thread. He's a young one but good people who does stupid ass shit all the time.

Meta where did you go bro? Why you no here no more? I fight you kung fu style! But seriously, Meta was probably the funniest person on the site with some of the random ass shit he would say that would usually not make sense but would still somehow be great. He needs to get better internet and stop playing the 360 versions of games like the peasant he is and move back to the Xbox One and definitely post MOAR.

Lastly, Detroit. AKA Charles. I bullshit with him regularly via text since he became a Playstation 4 peasant like a good portion of the former active members I listed above. We have the same sense of humor so I always crack up when I talk to him about stupid ass shit we each have done and how the city of Detroit looks like war torn Afghanistan. He's joining the Marines in a few months, good for him. U avin a giggle m8 ill rek u swear on me mum.

Now to more current members who are still around somehow despite having to deal with me and my abrasive personality and posting style.

Irish Patriot is my homie who I talk to on Facebook, Instagram, and XBA. We always play the newest CoD when it comes out together. He's a chill dude who has been through a lot but keeps on going on. Definitely one of the nicest people I have ever not met in my life. He gave me TA pro this year and I can't go back to the 3 refreshes a day now, it's just so nice. Props to you man!

Real Impulse is a quiet dude who just loves video games. I've boosted and played games with him before and he's always a solid partner to play shooting games with since he knows what he's doing.

Pure Evil + Grimlock. I remember us playing a shit ton of Gears (like the campaign) and it was a blast. Fun people to chat with when you have no idea what is going on in your game and super helpful to boost achievements with. Also, you are both old.

Rygar is a weird dude, but he's an awesome weird dude. He definitely helped me with games that he knew a ton about and hopefully he gets an Xbox One so I can bullshit with that dude more. Hope everything is going well since I know you live close to everything going on in Ferguson!

Evol and Irish OH are like two of the most prominent sports fans on the site (Ohio sports teams though...) so the college football and random sports talk thread features posts typically with us arguing about stupid ass shit that is currently going on in sports which we find hilarious. I have not always seen eye to eye with both of them but they know their sports so at the end it's a better sports conversation than I would get from almost anywhere else.

Daniel and Shadow are people I have come to play more co-op with and just talk about random ass shit with. Daniel is who I usually play in Madden as well. Fun guys to make jokes with and can take a joke knowing it's all in good fun. Talk to them pretty often and it's always a good time to banter on here or in a party with them.

SeanPoopCannon has some of the weirdest stories I've seen on the internet but I just find them absolutely hilarious. I know people don't believe me sometimes with the absurd shit I say that happens in my life, so I feel his pain. He's a fellow Jersey native so that's good in my eyes.

Atrocity F is someone who I started talking to more now and we are planning on doing GTASC 2015 together with whoever we can figure out is good at getting achievements. He doesn't really post much but he's good to boost with especially since we are pretty similar so the conversations are pretty amusing. I message him on Xbox Live all the time about random and stupid shit when we really should be planning ahead for the competition on TA, but whatever (Side note: anyone that wants to join us let me know).

Kimberly and Mindy are both people who I have had interesting conversations about random shit with before. Every time I talk to Mindy she promises baked goods but never delivers! I always found it hilarious when Heath would hit on Kimberly and make the parties we had on the 360 super awkward until everyone just made fun of him. Also, you are both hillbillies.

RissaGoesRawr is someone who I think I have talked to almost every day on Facebook about everything from school, to advice, to being a drunken idiot (how unfortunate for her I know). She's a good person who constantly puts up with my shit, so she might actually be a saint, I don't know. We have quite a few common interests despite her affection for Boston sports teams, but hey, no one is perfect, right? She is good to talk to about shit going on in my life. Definitely became one of my closest friends from the site in a pretty short amount of time.

Kat is also someone I talk to pretty frequently on Facebook and XBA. We talk about a lot of different shit and she gives me a pretty unique perspective I may have not have considered beforehand. We also argue over RPGs pretty often (Eastern-Europe RPGs suck besides Witcher, just accept it already), but still enjoyable to discuss stuff with nonetheless. I have to give a lot of credit that she can talk to me pretty frequently since I have so many polar extremes between video games to going out. It's gotta be tough for her.

Finally, I'm gonna give a shout to my interviewer - AJ. This interview has been a super long time coming and it has finally happened. For the most part we have gotten past our differences in opinions and have become civil on the site even with our colorful history. For the most part we have pretty similar personalities (we are both assholes) and we can both be difficult to deal with at times, which is why I personally thought we never saw eye to eye. However, as the years have gone on and the community diminished we have become able to talk to each other and even sometimes agree on things. A huge milestone for anyone who knows the past that we have. So thanks, man.

I'm sure I forgot some people and for that I apologize. I put a lot of time and effort into my answers and shout outs so you may have slipped my mind. I know not everyone is going to read this in its entirety, but it has been great being able to meet so many different people with so many different views and experiences across the country that all share a common love for video games. I've been an active member since 2009 and I've met some great people on here that I consider good friends. I know I have personally become more mature throughout the years and you can even find evidence of where I used to get drunk all of the time and failed out of college but now I'm going to grad school with a scholarship. Everyone has had their ups and downs on the site and I've been lucky to be part of this great community that for all my shortcomings and maybe even begrudgingly, has accepted me as a part of them.

So here's to you XBA!

AJ: Oh. My. God. You know how long it's going to take to edit that?! I officially hate you again.

Thanks (not really, 1000 edits later) for taking the time to do this interview and thanks (again, not really) for the shout out. Now we just need to find someone to pick on... Shouldn't be hard, probably Daniel. What a bottom bitch.

Snap: Hahaha! My bad, dude. I felt like everyone who I have interacted with deserved more than just me merely mentioning their name is all. I feel like it would have been a disservice to them and no problem, dude. Daniel is always an easy target. If he has a problem with it we can always revoke his green card.

AJ: Sold. DEPORT THAT ASSHAT! Enjoy the shades, you've waited and waited for them... I'll probably take them away someday.

Keywords: There were literally 1000+ mistakes I had to edit...