Videogame Character of the Month - December

Yum! 5 litres of sprouts with my Christmas dinner. You can tell I’ve been excited again recently. I hope my Butler remembered to order enough sprouts….. It will be quiet around Gameov3r Towers on Christmas Day so no one will moan about me farting and I’ll get some quiet time with my Sega Saturn down in the cellar. We’ll bask in the green haze together.

Where was I now, oh yes I was excited. It's a strange feeling being excited. Doesn’t happen often to me. I did get excited when that princess turned into an ogre in Shrek. She was pretty hot! This time I’m excited because I got an email from NiGHTS inviting me to Dream World for a chat and a brandy. An ideal opportunity to add him to the Video Game Character of the Month gallery. I didn’t tell NiGHTS I’d be doing that just in case it wanted money or told Sega to bill me or something. They suggest my name enough in their games and I don’t see a bloody penny!
Now I’d much rather be in front of my TV playing games but I said I’d do these interviews, Sonic will never be back in my cellar after the last interview by the way, so I will. For once I don’t have to pretend to be hospitable and share my beanbag and beer with anyone either. I hate it when visitors get greasy hands all over my controllers! I always get my own back though. I like to put “things” in the visitor’s drinks and snacks and then giggle as they run to the bog.

This interview is a bit different. Firstly because I was asleep whilst it took place and second because NiGHTS doesn’t say a lot so we communicated with telepathy and eyelid flickering. I scribed the interview retrospectively once I woke up.

GO: You’re a kind of Jester or something are you NiGHTS? And tell me do you have a pair of horns that fill that funny hat? It is even a hat or is that a pair of floppy antennae attached to your noggin?
N: I’m a Jester and it’s a hat.

GO: Are you a he or a she NiGHTS? I had to describe you as an “IT” because I can’t tell.
N: It’s quite embarrassing but I’m a bit of both. My creator, Wizeman, thought he could control my sibling and me if we were created to be androgynous. I decided he was evil and went to help Claris and Elliot anyway.

GO: You have brothers? Sisters? Things?
N: There are Nightmaren and there’s Reala. Reala is my equal and opposite and is Wiseman’s right hand man. Reala is in the new Wii game too. I’ll have to sort it all out again.

GO: Nice plug so while we’re on the subject you’d better tell me about this new Wii game.
N: It’s a great adventure called Journey of Dreams. The Nightmaren are threatening to take over Nightopia again and there are two new children, William and Helen, that I’m helping. It’s magical and everyone is going to want to buy it and play it.

GO: Let me be blunt with you NiGHTS. Your first game wasn’t well received because it was only released on the Saturn and there were only 2 Saturn’s sold in the UK. All you really have is a cult following made up of people that haven’t even played your first game. Not exactly a great recipe for a repeat success now is it? What makes you think this new game will be a hit? Do you even want fame and worldwide acclaim?
N: I don’t want a star on Hollywood boulevard or anything. I don’t even want to be as popular as Mario but a bit of extra cash in my chequered pants back pocket would be nice. I quite fancy getting a cape like that Superman too. He’s quite cool but not as acrobatic as I am. That’s why people will buy my game.

GO: Forgive my abrupt questions NiGHTS. I am already one of your fans and I’ll be buying your new game. I still have my Saturn, analogue controller and a copy of your first game as well as the Christmas Special that I’ll be playing at the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve.
N: Wow! Thanks Gameov3r. Just don’t fall asleep while you’re playing. I’m on vacation in Bermuda and Nightopia can be a scary place without me to guide you.

GO: It’s ok NiGHTS I’ll keep Continue? by my side just in case I end up in Nightopia. He’s been spoiling for a fight since Stuart insulted his very existence.
N: Another mince pie? I soaked them in ale for 3 weeks just for you Gameov3r.

GO: Don’t mind if I do NiGHTS. Don’t mind if I do. Better not be too late back though. I don’t want to be out when dawn breaks. I forgot my fingerless gloves. Before I go though let’s get that Saturn on and have a race on ManxTT after the mince pies.

Video Game Character of the Month

GO: Welcome to my humble home Sonic and thank you for popping in for a bowl of bacon fat and a few questions.

GO: First off then, what's your na..... oh I already said that didn't I.... my brain is somewhat sozzled after my recent bath. The heat and the witch hazel always does funny things to me. Tell us your name anyway will you.
StH: Derrrr....old fool.... heh heh.. I'm Sonic!

GO: Derrrr? Old? FOOL?? Listen here you little blue rat I've been in videogames since before you were a pixel in Sonic Team's eye. I'll wake Continue? and introduce you to him and his 5 sharp ends in a minute if you carry on! Then you'll be sorry! Right, next question, for the letter bomb, where do you curently live?
StH: I live on South Island man. It's so chilled out. I just kick back and relax sipping Mai Tai's all day.

GO: Mai Tai's? You poof! Get one of these down your scrawny blue neck and tell us what your first game was and if you have had any cameo roles?
StH: Well dude, [sip] bleeeuugh! what is this stuff? .... my first game, Sonic THE Hedgehog, named after me of course, rocked the world and left every gamer in a whirl man. I rocked so bad and I kicked Mario's fat ass! It's almost fatter than yours! Yea heh heh.... [sip] This stuff isn't tasting any better man. I got to drive a way cool car in Rad Mobile that was kinda fun and I played tennis like a pro in Sega Superstar Tennis. Real soon you'll see my track and field skills in my Olympic Games game too. Yea man, I rule!

GO: Your Olympic game? Isn't it called "Mario" and Sonic at the Olympic Games? That makes it more his than yours I think.
StH: I'm so pissed about that man. My agent promised me top billing and let me down. I handed him over to Robotnik on a platter. He's now a robot bat or something. He was a dweeb anyway.

GO: Tell us one thing you're the best at?
StH: Running really, really fast! Heh heh no one can catch me man! I'm the best at everything really dude but you asked for only one.

GO: Favourite job of all time?
StH: Oh man, rescuing all my cute furry pals from the clutches of the evil Robotnik back when I was 16Bit. Those were the days. I ruled 2D gaming dude!

GO: So really you're saying that all your 3D games are crap?
StH: Man they just didn't show my good side. Get it? 2D Get it!? Heh heh heh

GO: We get it. Do you have a good relationship with Shadow? The general view seems to be that he's a wafty cranker.
StH: I'm the original and best man and Shadow is just a pretender. Sega thought he might be the one to be their new mascot but I put paid to that when I put laxatives in his milk at the premier of his game. Heh heh... If he even comes close to stealing my crown I'll have Robotnik assimilate him too. He'd make a funny looking robot fish.

GO: Somewhere we'll never find you?
StH: In a Nintendo game of course! I hate Nintendo!

GO: Sonic and the Secret rings not "ring" any bells with you then? And have you not seen your latest DS adventures?
StH: Whhhaaa'? They told me those were GameGear and Dreamcast games! Man I'm calling my lawyer and I'm gonna take that exclusive contract offer from Bill. He promised me a part in Halo 4 you know?

GO: Really Sonic. Did you know that Sonic hedgehog homolog (SHH) is one of three proteins in the mammalian hedgehog family. It plays a key role in regulating vertebrate organogenesis, such as in the growth of digits on limbs and organisation of the brain?
StH: Errrr....wha'?
GO: I did.

GO: Sonic the Hedgehog thank you for visiting. Now finish the Caffreys and leave me. Oh, but before you do, just one more question before I take my tank out for a spin tonight, which country lanes do you cross on your way home?

Sonic the Hedgehog, videogame legend or cocky clueless upstart? Tell us here or on the Forum

Video Game Character of the Month

GO: State your name.
AH: Alien Hominid

GO: Where did you make your first game appearance?
AH: A Flash game named after me on Newgrounds.com

GO: Where are you from?
AH: A galaxy far, far away and I'm going back there soon too.

GO: What are you good at?
AH: Violence. Particularly biting off the heads of FBI and KGB agents.

GO: What are you least likely to do?
AH: Go on vacation with my family to Area 51

GO: Tell us something we don't know.
AH: Erm.. I'm the first small yellow alien responsible for the creation of a game developer while on the run from the US Government.

GO: Thank you Alien. Fancy a pint and a game of Space Invaders on my cocktail table?

Got a favourite video game character? Tell us who on the Forum

Video Game Character of the Month

Hmmph.. I suppose I’ll trouble myself to do this. Lee and Matt both do nothing around here and yet they've been saying that I’m lazy! Me! Gameov3r!! P’ah! Those fools. They'll see. This is the first, might be the last, of my Video Game Character of the month entries. I thought about picking one of my favourite characters of all time first but you wouldn’t even know what game I was talking about. So I’m making this as obvious as I can so everyone knows who I'm talking about. Such a chore.

Name: "Super” Mario.
First appeared in: Donkey Kong - though his name was Jumpman.
Lives: Mushroom Kingdom.
Killer move: Stamping on heads.
Most likely to: double in size and shout "yippee" and "woo hoo" a lot.
Least likely to say: "of course you can borrow my rubber plunger Wario."
Did you know: Mario has been 2D, 3D, big, small, Mini, Baby, Paper, Metal, Racoon, Fire, Teddy Bear and Paper.

Got a favourite video game character? Tell us who and why on the Forum