This week for our Ambassador Interview we have none other than l EcHo 360 l. He is young gun from Canton, Georgia and loves to game and contribute most of his time on the xbox.com forums. He is one of our great Arcade Reviewing journalists and also contributes a lot content like his FAQ/Guides. Ladies and gentlemen say “Wud Up” to l EcHo 360 l.
l EcHo 360 l
1. Tell us a little bit about your self?
Well, my name is Brent, but am known on Live and on the forums as l EcHo 360 l. I’m 15 years old and born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. My favorite sport is baseball, but I enjoy playing basketball more. I play varsity basketball for my high school and recently was awarded MVP. I’m a gamer at heart and have been playing since as long as I can remember, while being the Arcade Reviewer for MyArcadePlanet.com as well as a Guide/FAQ supplier . I enjoy to both listen to and play music on my guitar, and will soon be showing my mad shredding skills on Guitar Hero II.
2. As an Xbox Ambassador you are asked to help new gamers their first time around the block; do feel like the program is making a difference?
Absolutely! I see many Ambassadors on the forums helping people and I do my fair share as well. In game lobbies people are always wondering what my motto means, so I give them an explanation and they’re always wondering how they can join. It’s great to see many people wanting to help others, but I think the program needs more publicity than just the forums; perhaps a dashboard ad or a message to all Live members to help spread the word.
3. Do you feel that success for the Xbox 360, Ps3, and Wii will be good for all gamers in the sense that competition will keep each company sharp and innovative pushing all three forward, or are you one of the proponents to the concept that one console can come out on top?
I think competition is great for consumers in the end. As much as I hope the 360 comes out on top this gen, I hope both Nintendo and Sony are not far behind, to help keep Microsoft coming out with the latest and greatest for us 360 owners.
4. In your expert opinion, what is your favorite gaming genre and favorite game?
My favorite gaming genre, along with thousands of others, is the Shooter. As much as I love Gears, Halo 2 is still my all-time favorite game for it’s amazing party-system (I wish all game developers adopted this) and great matchmaking system, which truly keeps the team as even as possible. There are a ton of customizable features and Bungie just did everything right with the multiplayer aspect of it.
5. What kind of entertainment setup do you have going on at your home?
In the entertainment room of my house, we have a 50″ Pioneer Plasma television (simply amazing) along with a Sony DVD Dream System Surround Sound set. I seriously don’t know how I played without HD our surround surround before Xbox 360. My Elite 360 will be joining this setup soon.
6. How do you feel the achievement system is working out? Do you like the concept of Xbox Rewards?
I simply love the idea of the achievement system and love how Microsoft is going the extra step to award their dedicated gamers. I just wish the achievement system could be a bit more balanced along the lines of not giving 1,000 points for beating a game (King Kong), but not having to get on top of the leaderboards and play thousands of games for the same amount of points (Quake 4). Achievements should be attainable for everyone, but challenging at the same time. I think developers are taking a step in the right direction, but will still be some time to get it perfect as they are experimenting with what works and what doesn’t. Needless to say, I’m glad we’re finally getting rewarded for our achievment obsession and can’t wait for the next challenge!
7. Gaming has come a long way with breath taking graphics, newly introduced gameplay, and turning the console into fully packed media machines. What do you think will be the next big leap in video gaming?
Simply put, user created content. XNA is the tip of the ice as to what we the gamers can share with other gamers, and I can’t wait to see what the community has to offer. It’s going to be a great time.
8. What kind of music do you listen to these days?
I listen to pretty much anything Rock. Whether it be classic, alternative or whatever, I love Rock! Some of my favorite bands are AC/DC, Metallica, Crossfade, and Creed.
9. What do you like the most about MyArcadePlanet.com?
The thing I enjoy most about MyArcadePlanet.com is how it is a site by gamers for gamers. You all know what we want to hear, so this is really a great site. Also, I can’t help but enjoy the site’s leaderboards (that I dominate). 😉
10. What is a dream game you’d like designed if you had the knowledge and the tools to develop it?
I would love to design a shooter/adventure game that contains both of those elements very well. It seems Crackdown did this well, but it would need to be longer and focus on the shooting a bit more such as the Halo series.
11. How many video games do you own?
List all platform games. I own 33 Xbox 360 titles (soon to be 34 once I score Guitar Hero II), one Xbox title, and about 34 arcade titles.
Here’s the list: Full Auto, NCAA Football 2007, Kameo, BF2: MC, Lego Star Wars 2, Viva Pinata, MLB 2K6, Oblivion, Big Bumpin’, Saints Row, Table Tennis, Perfect Dark Zero, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 3, Pocketbike Racer, Moto GP 06, Dead Rising, Test Drive Unlimited, Sneak King, Need for Speed: Carbon, Rainbow Six: Vegas, Condemned, Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Civil War, LOTR: BFME II, Madden 06, GRAW, GRAW 2, MLB 2K7, Amped 3, PGR 3, Gears of War, Crackdown, and finally Halo 2. I’ll spare you the list of my arcade titles, and every title on my Gamercard I own, excluding Castlevania.
Hope you all enjoy the interview and be sure to check out my FAQ’s and Arcade Reviews on MyArcadePlanet.com!
Miss our last interview? Read about IrishPrik411 here
