SSG Speaks – SSG Adrenalous
It’s back to Virginia for this SSG Speaks where we’re talking with Dave. His family keeps him too busy to game all that often, but we see him starside from time to time. Read on to find out the answers to your pressing questions for this family man, military veteran, & all around great guy.
How did you find SSG?
Similar to SSG Nocturnal, it was the memorial video for SSG Rhys. Being a former serviceman and a family man, I saw how you all were affected. You were a family. That was a family I wanted to be a part of.
How has your gaming experience changed since you joined SSG?
You know, I wish I had joined earlier. Shortly after I became a Knight, my wife came down with a slew of health issues, so I’ve had to pretty much reduce my gaming time to nothing. Before that though, man…it was great times! Getting to know everyone, being taken in as part of the family… I have a lot of fun memories of Halo multiplayer, BLOPS2, and the few who took the journey to Defiance with me… I MISS YOU GUYS!!! Fear not though, I’ll be back online more consistently soon!
In ten words or less, what does SSG mean to you?
Great Family, Support Network, “Dang it, Irish killed me again”.
Irish has a habit of killing people repeatedly, doesn’t she? If you could run SSG for a day what would you do?
…play video games?
Glad to see that power doesn’t go to your head. What is the first game you remember playing?
I think my earliest memory was Centipede…maybe some older games from Colecovision, Atari, etc. That was back in the glory days when arcades were still around. I remember running into arcades as a kid and playing Joust, Centipede, Donkey Kong, Tron, and all kinds of pinball machines. There was something incredibly infectious about arcades…the sounds of button mashing and game sounds, the neon lights…AH! Those were the times! As the years progressed, I only learned to love games more!
What was the first game that really hooked you?
You know, there were lots of games that hooked me in different ways. Emotionally, the Final Fantasy games hooked me. I felt like I was living the story of the characters and I couldn’t get enough! I think what really hooked me as a repeat gamer was Street Fighter II. I would spend every dollar I had, exchanging them for quarters and playing at the local Wal-Mart every chance I got. Once it game out on console, it was game over…I couldn’t stop playing! I’d study every opponents’ moves…Zangief, Blanka, Vega…I was borderline obsessive about mastering the game. I wanted to complete the game on the hardest setting with nothing but perfects. I’m not sure if I ever did, but I was pretty darn close.
What gaming accomplishment are you most proud of or what is your favorite gaming memory?
You know, I don’t know that I have one. This is going to sound terrible, but with most games, I get SO CLOSE to finishing, then something happens and I never finish! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on NES…finally got to Shredder…with exactly 1/2 a block of energy. I’m pretty sure he looked at me and I died. The Legend of Zelda…got all the way to Gannon and died. I would venture to guess it happened to me more than actually finishing games, especially as a kid. Games today are a lot more…simple? I downloaded a few of my favorite games from the 80s on the Wii…man, I got my butt handed to me. How did we do it when we could only move in four directions???
Yeah, games used to be far, far less forgiving. Where did your gamertag come from?
Ha…stemmed from a love of the Matrix when it came out. I used to be a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Lawrence Fishburne was Morpheus, I was Adrenalous…at least digitally. It just kinda stuck! It’s unique enough that I never have to put a number behind it.
What do you do when you’re not gaming?
Lately, it feels like I’ve been struggling to keep my fiance healthy. I was wondering where the summer went b/c I feel like we’ve spent it in the hospital! It’s been a lot of work, but I’ve been working to adjust our diet and prepare a lot of food that seems to be working. I’ve been able to spend a lot of time with my youngest daughter, who recently turned 1. While I haven’t been able to take time off to spend more time with my other children this summer, we’re still really close and I get to see them weekly. They have really been getting into the Pokemon trading card game. Separately, I have been playing Pokemon Y on the 3DS for the past 8 months–ish. I even bought my fiance Pokemon X, which she is secretly loving and hates to admit. Anyways, this past weekend was the 2014 Pokemon World Championships. We were lucky enough to have it here in D.C., so I surprised the kids and took them! They were so surprised, it was GREAT! Beyond that, I really haven’t had time to do much of anything.
That’s a great surprise for the kids! What one superpower would you have and who would be your SSG sidekick?
Superpower…luck. The kind of luck that allows you to avoid bad outcomes, or works in your favor for good ones…like the lotto! SSG sidekick…man…why have a sidekick when we could have a whole TEAM!!!
Good point. Knights assemble! Or something like that. So, a raptor and a t-rex are fighting who do you root for?
T-rex, short arms or not!
What is your favorite way to prepare bacon?
Pan fried with diced sweet potatoes and onions!
Hey, that sounds really good. Now I’m craving bacon… Name your favorite cereal, candy, and beverage.
Captain Crunch Berries, dark chocolate, bourbon or coffee.
What is your favorite t-shirt?
Plain black Gap t-shirt
I know you’re a Gears of War fan. What’s your favorite GoW execution?
I wasn’t a huge fan of GoW3, but I did LOVE the retro Lancer and the execution. It was so primal! Run, stab, lift, and throw.
That’s a great one. I also like the head removing downed variant with the retro. Han Solo or Malcolm Reynolds?
Whoever asked this questions is an evil person.
Do you have a celebrity crush? Who?
Um…I’m sure I do, but I really don’t have a running list. I seem to gravitate towards older women who might be considered cougars. I never like Jennifer Aniston when she was younger. I think she’s a fox as an older woman. I always had a think for Julie Benz!
Your opinion on your toilet paper: are you an over the top or an under guy?
Over the top
Correct answer. The other way is just unnatural. What’s the best practical joke you’ve ever been a part of or victim of?
I can’t say I’ve ever been a part of a practical joke. I can say that I do have a knack for cursing people. I was at a happy hour with a friend of mine. His mom stopped by…she’s cool. He made a wise crack at me. I took my beer bottle, slammed the top of his bottle, and caused his beer to spill all over the place. Unfortunately, he flinched and all the beer flew on his mom. Ever since that day, whenever we are sharing a drink, he ALWAYS spills it in a ridiculous fashion. It’s pretty money.
You can bring any person from history forward in time to play any video game. Who do you pick and what do you play?
Man, I think it’d be cool to have someone like Gen George Patton and play some FPS games with him! Halos and Battlefield games. I think he’d be mind blown. Especially with Halo, just because of how futuristic looking it might be.
You get to choose 3 abilities and/or characteristics from any video game character(s) of your choosing to create the ultimate game character. Which ones do you choose and why?
Combat skills of Ryu from Street Fighter because of the well-roundedness of them
Healing of Wolverine (he’s in video games!)
Garage of cars from the “driver” of Forza Motorsports 5
Have you tricked out the Dodge Grand Caravan yet…like the Pimp My Ride style for all the kiddos?
Ha, no, not yet. I’m having a hard time finding parts! I’m also trying to be realistic about it. At the end of the day, no matter what I do to make it handle better or accelerate faster, it’s still a minivan. I might see about a digital sound processor to clear up the sound, but I likely won’t do much to this one. As it stands, it kind of looks like a storm trooper! It’s all white with black tinted windows and black accents (Headlights, grille, wheels).
If you had a million dollars & only 24 hours to spend it, what would you do?
Unselfish Answer – Pay off my house, cars, etc, and put the rest away for the kids’ college fund
Selfish Answer – Porsche 911 GT3, Nissan (Skyline) GT-R, Chevy Camaro Z/28, a 1967 Pontiac GTO and Chevelle, and a classic Mercedes SL convertible for my lady.
That GT-R is a beautiful machine. That’s a wrap for this SSG Speaks. Thanks for taking the time to tell us a little about yourself, Adrenalous.