Hi mate,how are you?

No comm- nah I’m only kidding. I’m good thanks! Yourself?

 Can you tell us your first name?

This won’t be a huge surprise, it’s Benjamin.

Tell us a little about yourself?

I’m 24, I’m stuck in the Midlands, and I’m really a top secret agent deep under cover, working for an IT reseller in tech support as deep cover for a long term operation. Maybe. I’ve got a face full of piercings, covered in tattoos and a pony tail. Most people cross the street to avoid me, yet little old ladies insist on coming up to me and telling me I have “lovely hair”. My life consits of Work – Home – Karate – Home – Xbox – Sleep : Repeat. That’s about it right now unfortunately!

What game/games are you most looking forward to in 2010?

I’m one of these people who only really picks up info on games from what other people are playing, and what boxes look pretty in the shop! If Lego Harry Potter is out this year, I’ll give that a go, always enjoyed those games. Batman:AA2 aswell, the first one had me playing constantly! I’ve never played Mass Effect, but I’m probably going to pick both 1 and 2 up and play them one after the other.

I’m a bit dubious about CoD:Vietnam, but only because I remember playing “VietCong” on the PC back in the day, and I hope it lives up to that!

Whats the best game ever and why?

I think the game I’ve given most hours of my life to ever was GrandTheftAuto : San Andreas. 100% completion! But there are a few worth listing as my favourite games of all time.
Mario Kart: Simply brilliant. I’ve owned almost every version of this ever!
Super Mario 64: Totally massive game, great gameplay. Little annoying in places, but still epic.
Goldeneye: The godfather of modern multiplayer gaming? Definitely.

 Do you think the Xbox 360’s will ever become Sith Lords?

As long as mine doesn’t Red Ring again, it’s free to do whatever it wants in it own time! But on a serious note, I, for one, am not looking forward to the day when computers/consoles are actively making decisions and controlling things for themselves!

 Is the games industry moving to far towards “realistic” and “dark and mature”?

I think it depends very much what your niche is. Maybe there’s a trend towards that in some markets. I know GTA4 is darker than it’s previous incarnations, and the CoD games are getting ever more realistic (aside from the ice skating maybe!), however for every game like that, there’s a Mario game on the Wii to balance it out. He’s made of Paper, he’s in a Kart, he’s having a Party, he’s even playing Golf and taking part in the Olympics (Sonic FTW!). So no, I think the games industry is expanding, yes, but in every direction. Soon there really will be a game for everyone!

 Got any pets?

I have 2 dogs, both border collies. They do have names, but they’re generally called “The good dog” and “that other one”.

 What do you think of the Xbox.com communtiy?

There are some grade-A douchebags on here! I’m only joking, most of the people I’ve come to think of as “forum regulars” are pretty cool. And there always seems to be someone who has the answer to any question! Plus, you guys keep me sane while I’m sat at my desk.

 Any thoughts on Natal?

I’m not sure on this. I mean, the think I like about rockband is having plastic drums to beat on. If you take them away and just make it motion sensitive, I won’t enjoy it half as much. But then I think how much fun Fable2 could have been with a mixture of controller and Natal style playing. If it works on release (unlikely) I’ll definitely have to invest, if only so I’m not the only person I know without it! Whether it gets used every day and becomes the best thing ever, or collects dust in the corner like my GameCube remains to be seen!

 In your view has storytelling in games become equal to films,books etc?

Definitely! In some ways it’s more involved. Giving you an element of choice in a story is a good way of getting people involved. Do you want to be good or evil? Do you want to go left or right?

I’m a massive bookworm, and can read for hours happily. Mainly geeky stuff (Discworld anyone? Good man,Discworld is fantastic-Wolf) but I’ll read anything. I think if kids aren’t picking up books, it’s a good thing they’re doing something that invokes their imagination! I know lots of people hated Fable2, but I thought the story was imaginative (maybe because I haven’t played the original!) and creative. Who says that the next generations writers have to write books? Maybe these kids will grow up to write game storylines without ever having read much?

Can you tell us a about an underrated game on the Xbox that we might not know about?

This isn’t my strong point at all. Like I said, I don’t read games magazines, and I play mainstream games really! I’m usually on CoD, and I’m a bit of a sheep with it comes to buying games. I assume if it’s popular, it must be good. But I will say, if anyone hasn’t played Mini Ninjas it’s worth a rent at least. Brilliant fun, and I got it for 12 quid.

How come game characters can carry loads of stuff but in real life you cannot?

Because I’m weak like a kitten! Actually, I think it’s all down to the backpack. I’ve counted the compartments in my backpack, and I definitely don’t have room for a gun, a fishing rod, a spell book and my magic cloak. When I leave the house, I get round this by leaving the fishing rod at home unless I know I’m going fishing!

 Have you ever tried to build a thermonuclear device from parts found in your Xbox 360?

And void my warranty?! You must be out of your tiny little mind!

 Any last words or thoughts before you go?

If I’d known, I’d have prepared a speech. Why is this the hardest question to answer?! Thanks for doing these, and keep up the good work!

 Thanks for your time!

It’s fine, I’m a busy man, but I could tell there was a huge demand for me to do an interview, and I don’t like to disappoint!

Okay, it was me demanding it, but so what?