You know the type. Maybe it’s the Birkenstock’s they’re wearing as they intently stare into the T.V. screen, hands gripped on their Xbox controller. Perhaps it’s the double tall latte stains surreptitiously hidden in creative ways once they found out their new PS3 slim didn’t hide it as well as their old console. Or maybe they’re just good old fashioned nerds, here in the Northwest, and you love them no matter what.

Whoever they are, this is Northwest Gamer so we are starting a new piece to showcase our Nerds of the Northwest, if you will. For this first segment, we thought it would be a good opportunity to 1. test this new format, and 2. give everyone a chance to get to know the original Northwest Gamers a little better.

Meet Jeff  (the idea-haver of Northwest Gamer) and Zack (the buddy that agreed to such a nerdy concept)…

Zack: There are a lot of games and moments where I said, yea, I want to make this a hobby of mine. But there was one moment where I knew I would be doing this for the rest of my life. That was the day that I received Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker in the mail. I pre-ordered it through my subscription to Nintendo Power magazine. I opened the shining gold case (I thought that was a really cool case) and I didn’t know to much about the game, but I knew it was the first Zelda game for Game Cube so I wanted to get it. I put it in and right away the music kicks in * Zack proceeds to sing the Wind Waker theme*.  I didn’t know why-but it just clicked.

Jeff: It was meant to be! * laughs *

Zack: Yea! It was a match made in heaven! And there you go.

Jeff: When I was a lot younger—I have an older brother—and he had one of those Sega Master systems. He had Space Harrier and Afterburner. And that was cool cause that one of my first experiences. Then we had the Super Nintendo. I think one of the first games that really hooked me in was Super Mario RPG, which was funny cause I got it, didn’t play it for a year and then came back to it and loved it. And it was on a whim that I played it again and I thought “Wow this is a really amazing game.” That’s why RPG’s have always held a special place in my heart.

What is your favorite console ever?

Jeff: The Nintendo 64—Remember the four player thing where you play split screen? You don’t really do that anymore.

Zack: You don’t do Goldeneye anymore.

Jeff: And when you try playing four player on Halo it’s just annoying, but when you’re younger it’s a blast. Playing Starfox, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, I’d say that was probably my favorite. I mean not any more but that was another defining moment for me.

Zack: * Makes audible thinking noises *  It’s either the Super Nintendo or the Game Cube.

Jeff: No 360?

Zack: You know…no. I mean, yea that’s the only thing I play now except for my DS. But the Super Nintendo had so many games that are the defining game of that genre now. For example, if I think of platforming games I compare them all to my favorite platformer ever, Donkey Kong: Country, When I think of adventure games, I think of my favorite adventure game ever, Link to the Past. The Super Nintendo, I feel, is similar to PS2 because it had so many niche games. People never played them but if you were the one person that played that game it was awesome because you always talked about it with people. No one has ever heard of Tin Star, but I got that for my birthday one year and it was about this robot cowboy in the 40′s and it was…incredible.

Who is the most memorable video game character to you?

Jeff: This is kind of newer, but with one of the games as far as story was Uncharted and the main character Nathan Drake. The voice acting is really convincing, and I think that he’s a character you can relate to easily. He’s like Indiana Jones, but he’s more…ordinary. He’s not a paleontology professor and he’s not Harrison Ford. He’s just some guy who’s got his shirt kinda tucked in, and who climbs walls, and shoots people. When you see what he does it’s ridiculous, but you feel like every time that happens to him it’s by luck. He’s one of the more memorable characters for me-of any game actually.

Zack: The character that most sticks out to me is Srg. Johnson from the Halo games. He’s not a huge part in the games at all. He’s just kind of there, but every time he comes on screen he just has this presence, and this look on his face with his cigar in his mouth—and he’s always saying something snarky about the enemies, and it’s always exactly what I’m thinking at the time. Like how ridiculously moronic your team mates can be. And I was thinking the same thing, especially when I was playing Halo 2. Woof. But he say’s whatever he wants, and he’s cool.

If you could have one video game item as a real life working item what would it be?

Zack: I know what mine is. Jeff you’re not allowed to say it

Jeff: What is it?

Zack: Mine is the King of Red Lions from the Legend of Zelda Wind Waker

Jeff: * laughs * I wasn’t going to say that. I have one much better actually.

Zack: Ooooh…come on! The King of Red Lions is boat from Wind Waker. He just has a personality, and what other boats on this Earth has a personality? He’s just so friendly.
Jeff: He is a friendly boat.

Zack: He can also sail against the wind-slowly, but he can. And he’s just such a good companion. I want something that can take me on the water and be a companion and I can only find that in the King of Red Lions.

Jeff: Well my choice also encompasses the King of Red Lions. It’s the Pop-it feature from Little Big Planet. You could make anything with it, including the King of Red Lions.

And finally, What’s your “Chicken Soup” of video games?

Jeff: Call of Duty 4.

Me: Hands down?

Jeff: Yea.

Zack: Mine is Gears of War 2, but I’m sure it’s for the same reason that Jeff’s is Call of Duty 4.

Jeff: It’s just one of those games that the multi player and the single player, and the single player is just really fun to replay. It’s the replay value that makes it chicken soup. It’s the fact that the single player is just a blast. It’s like an arcade type experience and just have fun. And the multi player is pretty much unrivaled.

Zack: I just love how [Gears of War 2] even though it’s pretty formulaic even the 10th wave is the same enemy it’s just fun playing 4 or 5 player co-op with your friends online. You just jump in and start at any wave on any difficulty and pick any weapon, and barricade yourself in any random building and just go. What I love about is there’s no restraints, I don’t need to accomplish anything in the game. I can take my time or go as fast as I want.

Nerds of the Northwest is the new monthly, bi-weekly, whenever we find someone segment that will feature a new Northwest Gamer every time. If you know a gamer, are a gamer, or just really like to talk about yourself and you can tell the difference between the blue button and the red button on your Xbox controller, give us a shout-out. Contact us on twitter or e-mail me at cassi [at] northwestgamer [dot] com We’d love to chat with you. (And lets face it, I’m from the Northwest—meeting up with someone in a coffee shop is pretty much the next best thing to video games).