Major Nelson: Your ticket to the big events in the industry.
Elle: Our tech expert helps you get the most from your system.
Hardcore: Get challenges and strategies for serious gamers.
Xbox Dad: This gamer parent knows about gaming with kids.
SoozyQ: She has her eye on the latest movie and TV downloads.
Gamercard:
The Important Stuff:
Gamertag:MIKE8205 SuperHero: Spider-Man Film: Transformers TV show: Heroes Album: Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park Cartoon character: Optimus Prime Band to Tour With: 30 Seconds to Mars
Hey TriXie,
My name is Jaime Nicholson and I would like to nominate my husband, MIKE8205 for the Gamer Spotlight. He has a perfect Gamerscore of 15,450 [it's now over 18,000!], with each game completed at 100%.Now granted that probably isn't a big deal if he just owned the easy games in his arsenal. But he has completed games such as Dead Rising™, Lost Planet™: Extreme Condition, Spider-Man 3™ (need I mention those races?), and Gears of War®.
He was in the Army for two years and is now currently going to school for Game and Simulation Programming at DeVry, and is the most dedicated gamer I have ever met. Without being too melodramatic, he recently found out that the scholarship from the military he was using to go to school was dropped and he suddenly was ineligible. I cannot express to you how sad that made him to have to stop last semester and watch his dream fly out the window.
He is also always willing to share any information about videogames to anyone that needs it. For example, we were at Wal-Mart and a Mom was looking for a videogame for her son. He talked to her for 30 minutes, while asking different questions about her son so that she could pick out the right game. He teaches his younger brothers all about different games and how to beat them, never physically helping them, but training them to do it for themselves. His brother just recently beat his first game completely and it was Legend of Zelda. My husband never catches a break, and is the best husband and father that a woman could ask for (well minus leaving the toilet seat up, of course!). I truly believe that he deserves to be in the Gamer Spotlight, not just because of how great a gamer he is but because of how great he wants others to be.
V/R
—Jaime Nicholson
Gamer Spotlight:
TriXie Interviews MIKE8205
Published October 5, 2007
He's a student, a former soldier, a stay-at-home dad, and a husband living at Fort Hood, Texas. Learn more about MIKE8205.
TriXie: What's the story behind your Gamertag?
MIKE8205: Well, Mike is my first name and 8205 is my son's birth date.
TriXie: What do you do at Fort Hood?
MIKE8205: Now I am attending DeVry University online and working toward getting my Game and Simulation Programming Degree. I also have the toughest job in the world, which is being a stay-at-home dad.
TriXie: Parenting is definitely hard work! What's the worst or weirdest job you've ever had?
MIKE8205: I would never call it the worst job, but the weirdest job would definitely have to be the military. Waking up at the crack of dawn, pulling 24-hour shifts, definitely a cool job, but a bit much at the same time.
TriXie: Do you have an archenemy on Xbox LIVE?
MIKE8205: I would have to say my friend Hammer89. We are always trying to one-up each other in the games that we are playing. When we play against each other, it is pretty much an even battle because he knows all my moves.
TriXie: What's your Xbox setup like? Big-screen TV? Dolby sound?
MIKE8205: My Xbox 360™ is on a 56-inch RCA HDTV with 5.1 surround sound and my Xbox HD DVD player.
TriXie: What's the best feature of Xbox LIVE®?
MIKE8205: There are so many but I would have to go with the Marketplace. It's a store for gamers right there on your console. I mean you can rent movies, game demos, themes, TV shows, and Xbox LIVE Arcade.
TriXie: What is your favorite Xbox LIVE game?
MIKE8205: I would have to say Gears of War. Nothing is better than chain sawing the enemy for the win. I also like playing Lost Planet, the online for that game is great. But I am really excited about playing some Halo® 3 online.
TriXie: What do you think is the best game of all time?
MIKE8205: That's a tough one, but the Halo series I can play over and over because they are so much fun. In close second would have to be Kingdom Hearts, I'm a huge fan of that game.
TriXie: What's the funniest thing you've ever heard on Xbox LIVE?
MIKE8205: One time, some guy talked like Hank Hill for the entire match in Gears of War and would ask people questions about propane and propane accessories the entire time in the lobby.
Sir, have you considered propane as an alternative heating source?
TriXie: What is your greatest Xbox LIVE moment?
MIKE8205: In Gears of War, I was in a four-on-one situation with the score tied 9 to 9. The next point wins, and I single-handedly took out all four of my opponents to win the match for my team.
TriXie: Who is your inner rock star?
MIKE8205: The prince of Darkness, Ozzy.
TriXie: If they made a movie about your life, who should play you?
MIKE8205: Jim Carrey, because only he can capture my humor and weirdness.
TriXie: What superpower would you like to have?
MIKE8205: The ability to fly. I would save a lot of money on gas.
TriXie: If you could trade places with anyone for one day, who would it be?
MIKE8205: President Bush, cause if one idiot could be in office, why not me?
TriXie: At least you didn't run away from your military service. What celebrity would be the worst roommate?
MIKE8205: Steve-O.
TriXie: Hot celeb you'd like to be stranded on a desert island with?
MIKE8205: Kate Beckinsale!
TriXie: If you could be any videogame character, who would it be?
MIKE8205: Who else? Master Chief … Mr. BadA$$ himself.
Who wouldn't want to be Master Chief.
TriXie: What's the worst food you've ever eaten?
MIKE8205: I would have to go with rattlesnake … not a big fan.
TriXie: Ugh, I hate snakes! Why on earth would you put one in your mouth? What do you predict will be the "next big thing" in gaming?
MIKE8205: The media aspect. Being able to rent movies from your console and to also watch different TV channels. I would like to see retail games being bought like arcade games are, and just having to download them.
TriXie: What do you think is the best thing about Xbox 360?
MIKE8205: The achievement system. It makes gamers feel more of a sense of accomplishment to be rewarded for completing certain tasks in a game.
TriXie: What is the Xbox 360 Achievement that was hardest to get?
MIKE8205: I have three that were hard for me to get: the 7 Day Survivor in Dead Rising, 10,000 Kills in Gears of War, and then there is Master Pioneer in Lost Planet. These are the three that I am the most proud of getting.
TriXie: What would you like to be doing in ten years?
MIKE8205: In ten years I see myself happily married to my wife watching my son grow up. I would also like to be working for Xbox because that is my dream job, and one day, even designing and developing my own games.
