About Us
Overview:
Brutal Gamer was created by Leigh Groocock on July 13th, 2008.
From its launch, BG has had a great staff of writers ready to report, review and otherwise bring the best in gaming, comics, toys and all things pop culture to our readers. Brutal Gamer is not a website dedicated to one specific piece of hardware or genre type and we strive to cut through the typical industry fanboyism to bring truly honest takes on games, hardware and the industry in general to you.
You want ‘brutal honesty’? You’ve found it.
Reviews:
At Brutal Gamer our reviews are judged on a 1-10 point scale. 0 being sub-par, 5 being average and 10 being as close to perfect (in the eyes of the reviewer) as possible. Please remember that here at BG, a 5 means the game is average and does just what it needs to get by. It would denote a title that you should maybe rent if you’re not especially interested or buy if it’s a title/genre you have time invested in. To get above a 5 a game needs to display some elements that lift it beyond the “norm”.
Games (and other media that we review) are judged on presentation, controls (if it applies- comic books don’t really have controls now do they?) and story. No, we don’t apply number ‘grades’ to these elements, but all of them are touched upon in our reviews.
Just looking for a quick take on something, but a little more than just a number? That’s what our Final Thoughts are for. Each review ends with a parting thought from the critic that sums up the main bulk of the review, both for good and bad, and will tell you in no uncertain terms if what you’re reding about is worth your time or not.
About Our Staff:
Jason Micciche
Role on BG: Owner/writer/editor-in-chief
About me: Former screenwriter and comic book scribe, I’ve been a gamer since Moon Patrol on the Atari 2600. I also still have a place in my heart for comics and I love ’80s nostalgia and action figures.
Favorite Games: Doom (series), Halo (series), Super Mario World, Diablo II, Super Punch-out!!, Crash Bandicoot, Tecmo Bowl, Street Fighter Alpha 3
Favorite Genres: First-person shooters, adventure, hack’n slash
Current consoles owned: Xbox 360, Alienware M155, PS3, Wii, iOS, PS Vita, PSP, 3DS, Virtual Boy… What? I still use it! Occasionally.
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Twitter: @jason_tas
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Zeth Ward
Role on BG: EU Editor
About me: Gamer since a kid in 1982. Work in IT. Written several games for the Amiga back in the day… ah the good old days – someone even bought some once..
Favorite Games:
Favorite genres: 3rd Person Action Adventures, Platformers, Shooters and anything that does not suck
Current consoles owned: PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox360, CD32, Wii, DS Lite, PSP Phat, Megadrive, 3DS, Android and PS Vita
PSN ID: Moosehound
Xbox Live gamer tag: M00513
Wii U:
Steam : moosehound
OnLive: Moosehound
Twitter: @zeth_bg
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Amy Nelson
Role on BG: Deputy Editor in Chief
About me: Gamer since the 80′s, married to a gamer & programmer, and we have 5 lovely gaming children!
Favorite Games:
Favorite genres: Puzzles, retro, competitive
Current consoles owned: ps3, psp, wii, ds, pc
PSN ID: MacAnthony
XBox Live GamerTag: MacAnthony
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Steam ID: MacAnthony
Twitter: @averyzoe
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Mike Jones
Role on BG: Indie Editor & Podcast Editor
About me: Been playing games since I got a Commodore +4 as a kid. Admittedly a bit of a Nintendo geek.
Favorite Games:
Favourite genres: RPG, Puzzle, Platform, FPS, TPS
Current consoles owned: PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Android, 3DS & PS Vita
PSN ID: Ognawk
Xbox Live GamerTag: Ognawk
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Troy Benedict
Role on BG: Features Editor
About me: I’m a husband, a father (of 3), and a gamer. While I don’t find time to play games as much as I used to, I still enjoy keeping up on the latest industry news and writing about it. It has been rumored that I like turtles.
Favorite Games: The Secret of Monkey Island (PC), MDK2 (Dreamcast), Super Meat Boy (XBLA)
Below are my Xbox and PS3 handles. Please send a brief message if you’re going to send a request. It might sound snobby, but I don’t accept blank friend requests.
Favorite Genres: Adventure games, platformers
Current consoles owned: PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 & Kinect, Wii, DS Lite, iPod
PSN ID: AceCarnage
XBox Live GamerTag: Retr0Vertig0 (those are zeros not O’s)
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Hannah Benedict
Role on BG: Community Manager
About me: A reformed glam band fan, stay at home mother of 3 boys, a dog and wife to BG Features Editor Troy Benedict. Raised in a predominately male & geeky household, I’m not easily offended. I’m a Lady of Gaming and love it.
Favorite Games: Mortal Kombat, Soulcalibur, Peggle, Various Guitar Hero series including Aerosmith & Beatles, Peggle, Zuma, Luxor
Favorite Genres: puzzle, retro, fighting, mobile games, casual games, music, compilation, racing
Current consoles owned: PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 & Kinect, Wii, DS Lite, iPod
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XBox Live GamerTag: mammaknows – only polite requesters need apply!
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Dan Spiler
Role on BG: US Staff Writer and token Canadian
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PSN ID: beefydan
Xbox Live GamerTag: dragondan000
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Steam: beefdan
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Jessica Russo
Role on BG: US staff writer
About me: The movies, music and television of the ’80s are Jessica’s obsession. She’s a fan of almost everything from the ‘me decade’ including (but not limited to) Barbie, Jem, She-Ra, Ms Pac-Man and neon print anything.
Favorite games: Rock Band 3, Kinect Sports, Bejewled, Ms Pac-Man
Favorite Genres: Puzzle, rhythm (come back- please!), platformers
Current consoles owned: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC
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Ben O’Brian
Role on BG: UK Staff Writer
About me: Providing an Insight into the immersive world of Video Games one game at a time. I love to write about everything Bethesda. I’m slapped daily for never playing Zelda (what?! – ed). I’m one of the few Irish video game writers.
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Devon Williams
Role on BG: US Staff Writer
About me: Devon “Blank October” Williams is a student, a musician, and an online fighting game shoutcaster. He wants to break into the vast world of game journalism in a big way. Not to mention, he has a very distinct haircut.
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Isaac Morales
Role on BG: US staff writer
About me: A young lad on a magical journey through the dark and terrifying world known to many as “the industry”. From his hellish prison, Isaac can hear the cries of pain and suffering from those who came before him, only to hear their hearts stop in utter terror. Video games aren’t all fun and games kiddies.
Favorite games: ET for the Atari 2600
Current consoles owned: PC overlord
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Steam: Isaacmo
Twitter: @isaacmorales11
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Christopher Deleanides
Role on BG: US staff writer
About me: Well, my name’s Christopher Deleanides as you all know. I’ve been playing video games for about 20 years, and I’ve been a Nintendo fan the entirety of those years. My love for video games as well as Nintendo hasn’t changed, and probably never will. The only thing that comes close is politics, as I’m very deeply involved in both local and international issues.
Favorite games: Super Mario World, Xenoblade, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles
Current consoles owned: Wii, 3DS, Wii U
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Naeem Ali
Role on BG: UK staff writer
About me: I’ve been an avid gamer since I was a child (which is going way back when) the very first console I owned was the Sega Master System, during my time as a gamer I have pretty much come across nearly every console including the Bally Astrocade(which requiered cassette tapes to play games) so I have broad range of knowledge when it comes to video games. My favourite game of all time is between Shadow Hearts (a rare gem of an RPG released for the Playstation 2) and Final Fantasy VIII (in my honest opinion, the best in the Final Fantasy series).
Favorite games: Shadow Hearts, Final Fantasy VIII, Asura’s Wrath, God Hand, Metal Gear series, Ninja Gaiden (Sega Master System Version) Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Current consoles owned: Playstation 3, Nintendo DS, PC, getting Nintendo 3DS soon
PSN ID: Uchiha872007
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Twitter: @MrAwkwardOne
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Contributors to BrutalGamer:
Chris Spence
Ted Stokes
Matt Sainsbury
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Matt Sainsbury
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And finally, our illustrious founder:
Leigh Groocock
Role on BG: BG founder and former commander-in-chief
About me: I’m busy at University learning all about Journalism!
Favourite genres of games: FPS, TPS, platformers and action
Current consoles owned: Xbox 360, DS, PSP and PS3
Xbox Live gamer tag: NEB Viatrophy
PSN ID: SG_Viatrophy
Twitter: @Leigh_BG
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