Monthly Archives: May 2014

#25 Greatest Video Game of All Time

So finally we start the list! The list of our video game brain trust‘s top 25 video games of all time. We are–of course–starting with #25. Everyone’s criteria is different: that’s what makes it so interesting. Click here to be reminded of who is making these reviews. We aim to put out one of these each week for 25 weeks all the way down to our #1 choice! Here we go…

#25 Favorite/Best Video Game

Kai – Railroad Tycoon – I could not make a list of my favorite games without including the title that ignited my passion for gaming.  Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon (1 of 2 games on this list with his name attached) came to us via the US Postal Service in a package from my grandpa.  It arrived on Thanksgiving day in 1991 with the note “Too hard for me, maybe you guys can figure it out.”  I watched my dad play it for 6 hours that day.

Eventually I took over at the keyboard and never looked back.  It was a deceptively simple game of tycoons and industry which I never really mastered, but loved all the same.  It perfectly captured the evocative power of the railroad and the addictiveness of building your empire.  It had realistic historical and geographical models.  It even had a functional stock market that allowed hostile takeovers.  Firaxis recently made it free to download here: http://www.2kgames.com/railroads/downloads.html

I played a lot of Railroad Tycoon 3 in college.  It’s a very deep game, with a powerful economic simulation driving the construction of your railroad empire.  There are a number of scenarios that allowed you to explore different places and eras.  While not as approachable as the original, it was a lot of fun to try and figure out which routes would bring your railroad to prosperity.

Scott (Po) – Morrowind/Skyrim I’ve spent a disgusting number of hours in the Elder Scrolls world. I regret none of them.

Andrew – Star Fox 64/series (SNES + forward) I feel like I am going to be saying this a lot on this list but I feel like this title should be higher. Star Fox felt so ahead of its time…sure, when I played it at Bradley’s, a friend’s, or someone else’s house it took forever to beat but then I borrowed it from a friend a couple years ago and it actually took like an hour so, as always, childhood nostalgia plays a role. Star Fox 64 (like a couple other games on this list) marked a hugely successful jump into 3D.  Star Fox 64 had great music, a great branching path that included “fake” final boss battles, and you had to defend your squad mates or risk losing them (and had to score high in order to repair them). Star Fox: Assault was more of the same (not a bad thing for a game like that since I didn’t think Star Fox Adventures was a good move) and this series badly needs to be updated. My only issue is that I think this is a game best played on a controller and doesn’t need motion integration…unless it’s getting the full arcade treatment with throttle control and buttons galore.

Alana (Fit) – Age of Empires Series It was incredibly tough to pick #25. I had several options and finally after a few days, and a long swim in the pool, I decided my order. My top 25 video game list isn’t about what’s critically acclaimed to be “best.” It’s about what has the most meaningful impact and memories. My #25 is Age of Empires. This may have been my first RTS, but I can’t be completely positive. The first of the series came out in 1997, so I would’ve just been seven years old. No doubt I watched my brother playing until I could figure it out on my own (without a manual, to be sure–for some reason, I always prided myself upon that). Age of Empires is a classic RTS, starting at the beginning of civilization, gathering resources, starting an army, to continue to advance. I played this series up until AoE 3 and it was an everyday thing. Seeing how you could build your empire up, explore the land, gather resources and conquer always interested me. It’s fairly basic, but you can play for hours on end. I played this loads of times when I was little. We did some LAN parties with it too–miss those days! It also taught me somewhat of history and also how to handle a RTS. I still go back and play it today!

Chris (Hungry) – Outwar – I cannot stress enough how difficult it is to make this list! I have to really limit myself to not picking multiple games from the same franchise! I’m starting it off with a game that very few will know of, but those that know it will freak out to see it listed. OUTWAR. This internet browser-based MMORPG started off as a free game where players entered groups ruled by stronger players, gaining power by defeating other players in fights and recruiting others to play Outwar. I have not played in a very long time, probably at least 10 years, so I don’t know what the game is like now, but it is still around. Nevertheless, my short-lived obsession with this unique game and the amount of customization that you can put into yourself earn it a spot on my list. I am sure my accounts are inactive at this point, and those accounts were not impressive at all, but people were selling Outwar accounts LONG before World of Warcraft was even a thought. That game was just so awesome at the time and anyone with internet access could play. I don’t remember much about it, in all honesty, but Outwar originals will have a blast of nostalgia when they see the image below! 

 So there you have it–the first of our long list! I love how different and similar they all are to each other and can’t wait until next week! Please comment below with YOUR #25 game of all time. Also let us know if you have any questions about any of these games. Thanks to all who contributed! Remember to stop by next week to see what lands as #24 for this video game trust! And as always…stay hungry and fit!

*Question of the Day: What’s your #25 video game of all time?

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Our Weekend in Pictures

Good eats

Good eats

Passed out after softball and drinks

Passed out after softball and drinks

Workouts

Workouts

Noke tore up her bed

Noke tore up her bed

Diva Dash race!

Diva Dash race!

Can you find Nymeria?

Can you find Nymeria?

More workouts

More workouts

Hi Dovah!

Hi Dovah!

Thai Food

Thai Food

Noodle face

Noodle face

Looks like a caterpillar

Looks like a caterpillar

Snow came...

Snow came…

Breakfast!

Breakfast!

Our cute pup

Our cute pup

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother’s Day!

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The Importance of Safe Driving

It’s the new age. The age of technology always at your fingertips. The age of constant connection. The age of instant communication. The age of obsession of knowing what’s going on. Where we don’t want to leave our smart phone for five minutes because someone commented on our profile. The moments that you swore you felt it vibrate so you just have to check it. Did you ever hear of a guy driving a buggy and cart and writing a letter at the same time? I didn’t think so. Even though this technology is great, awesome, and a big boon to our society, it’s also causing a heavy amount of distraction on the road. 

Always appreciate Hungry's distraction-free and skilled driving

Always appreciate Hungry’s distraction-free and skilled driving

I’m a fairly careful driver. On the highways, I’m always hitting 55mph (yay for saving gas!) and I don’t get infected by road rage. I’ve heard enough about texting and driving crashes that I don’t even want to stray on that road (no pun intended 😉 ). And let’s emphasize on the word crash instead of accident. Crashes are caused by intoxication, speeding, or distracted driving. Even though you obviously don’t want to get into a crash, it’s not an accident if you’re distracted or being careless. That’s the hard truth. 

In Colorado, we get all kinds of weather–in ONE day. It could be 30 and snowing when you wake up and be 65 and sunny during the day and then give you some rainfall at night! This makes for seriously precarious roads and conditions to drive in. Despite these very dangerous conditions, every single day on my way to work I will see bowed heads, eyes floating towards that little screen of light. It makes me sad and also scared! Even if I’m the most careful driver in the world, it won’t matter if the person behind me doesn’t see me stop and ram right into my bumper. That’s scary! I feel more and more anxious about getting crashed into because of the increase of smart phone usage of those around me. Several of my clients have been rear-ended by someone who was on their phone. It’s a shame and it needs change.

Weather makes it critical to focus on the road!

Weather makes it critical to focus on the road!

That’s why I’m reaching out to you alongside the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Auto Alliance to make a difference. Encourage your friends, your siblings, your children to Decide to Drive. It’s easy to slip and just check that one message, but that one message could lead to a crash. Take part of the Decide to Drive campaign (seriously, click on the link and learn more about it, it’s really cool!) and end unnecessary crashes, injuries, and deaths due to distracted driving. This program drives to encourage the conversation about this issue and speak up about the distracted driving you see. This is something we at Hungry and Fit are incredibly passionate about. 

I’ll leave you with this scary statistic: “According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), of the nearly 33,000 roadway fatalities in 2012, there were 3,328 fatalities and approximately 421,000 injuries in distracted driving-related crashes.” Are you willing to step up and help end these unnecessary deaths? Join Hungry and I in the Decide to Drive campaign and help American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Auto Alliance make a difference in the lives of millions. And as always…stay hungry and fit!

  • Question of the Day: Have you ever had a run-in with distracted driving? Comment below!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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Our Weekend in Pictures (Delaaayed)

This was a fun weekend! The muddy pics you see are of the Spartan Race we did! 4 miles and 25 obstacles. 

Some good healthy eats

Some good healthy eats

Delicious product of Trader Joe's...perfect for watching the Amazing Spider-Man !

Delicious product of Trader Joe’s…perfect for watching the Amazing Spider-Man !

Getting Noke used to the car more

Getting Noke used to the car more

Practicing handstands

Practicing handstands

Baked two banana breads!

Baked two banana breads!

Prepped our bodies for a race

Prepped our bodies for a race

Nymeria being ridiculously cute

Nymeria being ridiculously cute

Getting ready for Spartan race

Getting ready for Spartan race

Spartan Race !

Spartan Race !

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Got a little beat up from the race

Got a little beat up from the race

Using lots of this!

Using lots of this!

Shoved Burger King down our faces after the race for some fuel...

Shoved Burger King down our faces after the race for some fuel…

Cute pup

Cute pup

Lifted

Lifted

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Empire Strikes Back! workout

Empire Strikes Back! workout

Some more good food

Some more good food

 

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Natural Supplements

The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of NOW Foods. 

FitFluential Is Fitness Found

I get a lot of questions daily about supplements. We’ll refer to supplements as anything other than the normal food or drink you consume daily. That includes all of those pills and powders you see in the stores; it makes breaking this topic down a lot easier. 

Now obviously in an ideal world, you can just eat and drink what you want everyday and you’ll be healthy, but it doesn’t always work like that. People have food allergies, conditions that affect their diets, fitness related goals, and are just plain picky! My father hates olives. I don’t like bad eggplant. It’s a tough world we live in and we are all faced with lots of challenges.

No matter what situation you are in it is important to realize there are ways to help yourself. When we are discussing health and wellness, supplements are obviously one of the most popular subjects in our society. Whether you are taking a multivitamin for overall health, iron to recover from internal bleeding, or whey protein to grow big and strong like your favorite bodybuilders, there are plenty of choices.

Supplements help me stay in good form! (This pic was after a huge Mexican meal)

Supplements help me stay in good form! (This pic was after a huge Mexican meal)

Personally, I have tried everything legal in the fitness industry. As an elite athlete, I was drug tested regularly and couldn’t even have elevated levels of caffeine in my body! I’ve tried supplements that provided zero results that made me sick, that cost a lot of money, and that tasted disgusting. On the other hand, I’ve tried supplements that had all of the opposite effects and if you want to ask about some specific to my or your needs, feel free to comment on this post. Otherwise, listen to what I have to say about NOW Sports and their products.

Right now, I’m going to touch on five of their products that I have in my cabinets in the kitchen. Keep in mind, NOW Sports is a family-owned company that has been providing high quality goods for almost a half of a century. Thus, as you can imagine, they have hundreds and thousands of different products. However, I’m a 25 year-old male and these are what I have at home. (A lot of these will work for both genders!)

1. Men’s Extreme Sports Multi – Made in the USA and GMP Quality Assured, these softgels are reasonably sized and easy to swallow. You take three a day to get your daily source of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and more. Why take a hundred pills when you can take three? It’s cost-effective and makes you feel good. Why? Because you go to sleep knowing that you fueled your body with important nutrients that are sometimes difficult to find in the foods you eat every day. What I really like about this product is the blend of herbal extracts it contains. There is just something natural about herbs that makes you feel so good. This is a must for active men.

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2. Certified Organic Whey Protein – How many tubs of whey protein on store shelves have a USDA Organic label on them? Well, this one does and it really is one of the most natural whey proteins in the world. It doesn’t contain any salt, starch, yeast, wheat, gluten, corn, egg, shellfish, preservatives, antibiotics, or rBGH. It is natural and unflavored, thus taking the taste of whatever you decide to mix with it. A serving contains 100 calories, 1 gram of fat, 2 grams of carbs, 19 grams of sugar, and a whole lot of essential amino acids! In all honesty, I have whey protein every day of the week and although it’s not meant to be a meal replacement, it will definitely help you track your consumption of macro-nutrients throughout the day. This is a must for just about anyone!

3. Pea Protein – I am staring at my tub of Vanilla Toffee and what stands out the most is the fact that this product is VEGAN friendly. That means any vegetarian or vegan can eat this without any beef! (Get the pun?) Every serving contains 25 grams of protein derived from non-GMO vegetables. That means your veggies are natural and not treated with all those nasty chemicals! It also means this protein is the way to go if you have allergy issues since it contains no major allergens! This product really has a nice smooth flavor and texture; its mixability is through the roof so you won’t see or feel any clumps. Nothing better than having a nice smooth shake and then choking on an explosion of dry powder! Oh, I forgot to mention, it ALSO has a huge serving of essential amino acids. Anyone can try it but some people need it… you know who you are!

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4. L-Carnitine Liquid – At this point, you’re probably like what the heck… is that? You recognize multivitamin, protein, whey, etc. But what is this?!?! L-Carnitine is a non-essential amino acid. Now, before I get too in-depth and scientific for people who haven’t read thousands of pages of textbooks and taken tests on this, I’ll just say that you have to believe me! I will say that L-Carnitine is regarded as a facilitator of good health and energy production. Who doesn’t want more energy? I know I do. Now you can get this naturally from eating red meats, but even for us carnivores there usually isn’t enough and you need to supplement that intake anyways. As for the veggie-loving folk, you definitely need this product. Just take a tablespoon twice a day on an empty stomach and feel the greatness occurring on a cellular level. It goes down smooth!

5. MCT Oil – This final product that comes in an amazing glass bottle that makes you feel like you’re living centuries ago (It’s a good thing!). It is a source of fat! Yes… you heard me right. It’s a source of fat. Now, before I get too emotional, I want to express my opinion that fat has a bad reputation. It is an essential nutrient that does so much more for our body than we know. Again, tens of thousands of pages of reading and life experience… I know! This is a source of saturated fat that comes from coconut and palm kernel oil. Those are high quality oils that provide a high quality saturated fat. So how exactly do these help you? Fats help in bodily functions such as the production of energy and these fats just so happen to require less enzymes to be absorbed. Therefore, you do less work and get more! One to three tablespoons a day, depending on your needs, aid in weight management and healthy bodily functions. And my favorite part… you can use this to replace those cheap oils that contain saturated fat’s evil cousins. Just don’t fry with it, the boiling point is too low!

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And there you have it, five amazing products that could find a place in anyone’s home. They are affordable, reliable, natural, effective, sometimes organic, sometimes vegan, and NOW Sports doesn’t bother making annoying packages that claim to make you shredded! They just provide a high-quality product and I respect that! Use any of these to stay Hungry & Fit!

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Healthy Frozen Treats

If every day was like yesterday, then I’m going to need constant refreshing things to put down my gullet. Unfortunately, that may lead to unhealthier things like overdoses of ice cream and other sweet treats that don’t exactly lead to the bathing suit body we want to present in the upcoming season.

Well, ladies and gents, we have come up with a solution: SILK. No, not the nice pajamas. Silk Milk, the kind that makes you feel great and keeps you kickin‘. We have come up with a few ridiculously easy and healthy frozen treat recipes. We love that Silk appreciates keeping the calorie count low while giving us tons of flavor and goodness. No GMOs and tons of calcium. That’s what Hungry and I need. Silk keeps us healthy and strong while appeasing our taste buds.

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These sweet treats will keep your frozen sweet tooth satisfied without added sugars and heavy fat. We used various kinds of Silk milk (from plain Almondmilk to Soymilk) and mixed it up with frozen and fresh fruit. These sweet treats are on a stick, so all you need are freeze pop molds!

The three Silk products we used

The three Silk products we used

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From top to bottom: Tropical Freeze, Dreamsicle, and Chocolate Strawberry Pop

From top to bottom: Tropical Freeze, Dreamsicle, and Chocolate Strawberry Pop

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Ready to freeze!

Ready to freeze!

Ready to eat!

Ready to eat!

Healthy Frozen Treats
Serves 6
Three delicious, healthy freeze pop recipes that will take under 10 minutes
Write a review
Print
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
4 hr
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
4 hr
Tropical Freeze
  1. 1/4 cup Silk Unsweetened Almondmilk
  2. 1/3 cup fresh or frozen blend of tropical fruits (pineapple, mango, etc.)
Dreamsicle
  1. 1/4 cup Silk Original Soymilk
  2. 1/4 cup orange juice of your choice
Chocolate Strawberry Surprise
  1. 1/4 cup Silk Dark Chocolate Almondmilk
  2. 1 strawberry
Tropical Freeze
  1. Put the Silk Unsweetened Almondmilk with the tropical fruit into a blender
  2. Blend until mostly smooth
  3. Pour into mold
  4. Freeze for 4-6 hours (all freeze pop molds are different though)
Dreamsicle
  1. Pour Silk Original Soymilk into molds along with the orange juice
  2. Freeze for 4-6 hours
Chocolate Strawberry Surprise
  1. Pour Silk Dark Chocolate Almondmilk into the freeze pop mold (only 2/3 of the way to the top)
  2. Chop up the strawberry and put it in (make sure you don't let it overflow!)
Notes
  1. Every freeze pop mold is different so your freeze pops may take shorter or longer to freeze
  2. Going along with that, you may need to alter the amount of ingredients as it could be too much or too little
hungry and fit https://hungryandfit.com/
These freeze pops are light, refreshing, and delicious. They are sure to cool off any hot day and keep those around you smiling. What’s spring and summer about if it isn’t happiness? We use Silk in recipes like this so we can feel like we are indulging ourselves while staying healthy. Sign up for the Silk newsletter to get free coupons and chances of winning Silk products! I always try to stay current with the Silk Facebook page as I am always finding new recipes and tips for using Silk.  Use Silk in your recipes to stay hungry and fit!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.


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Fancy Up Your Popcorn

I am popcorn-obsessed. I blame it on my family who always has it for any tv/movie event. Like about every night. So what do I do? Any excuse there is…there will be popcorn involved. Castle tonight? Popcorn, obviously. Recorded show on Food Network? Popcorn. Show at the Cinemas? Popcorn…that I sneak in (don’t tell!). I really like popcorn. But Hungry doesn’t really like popcorn (I know, it’s almost a deal-breaker). He’ll eat it if I start giving him some, but he would never start the pop himself. So as he was leaving to walk Noke one night before we were gonna watch a new show on Food Network, he asked me to “fancy up” the popcorn. Quest accepted

Now I’m not talking about regular fancy. I came up with Toblerone-fancy. Yes, that Swiss deliciousness was taking a visit to our bowl of popcorn. It’s incredibly easy. I learned how to make “homemade” chocolate sauces from watching my mum as she would often like to drizzle it on our homemade ice cream sundaes at home. 

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I totally snuck one before I melted them down

I totally snuck one before I melted them down

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Chocolate-Drizzled Popcorn
Serves 1
An easy way to spruce up your usual popcorn
Write a review
Print
Cook Time
5 min
Cook Time
5 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 bag of popcorn
  2. 1/2 chocolate bar (Toblerone for best results)
  3. 1/3 cup milk (can be any kind you like--we used whole)
Instructions
  1. Pop the popcorn
  2. Put chocolate and milk into a saucepan
  3. Turn on medium to low heat
  4. Stir fairly frequently at first and then let the chocolate settle into a sauce
  5. Once a smooth texture, drizzle over the popcorn
Notes
  1. You may have to play around with the amount of milk to chocolate ratio. You may have to add more milk or even tip some out. No worries, it will still be chocolate sauce no matter what!
hungry and fit https://hungryandfit.com/
There you have it. Simple, easy, and delicious. It was so good we started to eat it with a spoon! Yeah, we apparently don’t mess around. I’m looking forward to more ways to play around with our popcorn. Cinnamon and sugar sound like a good next step. Have fun when making this! And don’t forget to share! As always…stay hungry and fit!

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BONUS PUPPY PIC

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Let’s Talk About Strength

I’m glad I’m not alone in this “strength revolution.” I totally just made that phrase up, but it’s true that more people (females are more so who I’m focusing on) are striving towards strength rather than being skinny. I find this to be so exciting and I am HAPPY it’s finally here. Yes, there are certainly those who just want to attain that Victoria’s Secret model-esque body, but I think we are slowly straying away from that. We are moving towards being healthy and fit with strong bodies as the portrayal of sexy bodies.

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Can I get a hoo-rah?! Of course, I didn’t always strength train. When I did sports, we would do some weight room stuff, but it was rare. Moving forward from that when I went to the gym, I would only do elliptical and maybe some weights. That slowly increased more and more to where lifting became more important than “cardio.” I honestly do not know how I could ever go to another way of working out that didn’t involve lifting. It feels so good and you see progress each week in muscle development and strength. Who could let go of that?

Although most females still focus just on yoga and running (which is fine!), it is definitely broadening to where there is some sort of strength routine once a week, which is excellent! I know I don’t like to skip lifting more than one or two days a week, but that’s just me. I have goals for this year such as squatting 200lbs, bench 100lbs, and so forth. And that’s all focused on strength.

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In our culture, females are taught to shy away from protruding muscles or muscular strength. Like that’s the “manly” thing to do and not suited for the female gender. Well that’s plain wrong and stupid. Sorry, I had to say it. I’m proud of the muscles in my back and those times my quads are showing their muscles. It shows strength, discipline, health. What’s sexier than being healthy?

Some quad action

Some quad action

So women (and men) in the world, don’t shy away from your strength. Muscles are sexy! Being a stick is no longer the cool thing to do. Take the power into your hands and lift! I promise you will feel liberated from the cardio machines if you through some lifting and machines in there. And you can start small. Start with a few exercises and watch your love for lifting develop. If you’re not sure how to start, feel free to email me at alana.ppowell@gmail.com or leave a comment below. You won’t regret it! Embrace strength and stay hungry and fit!

BONUS KITTY PIC

Cuties

Cuties

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Video Game Brain Trust

Before we start the countdown of our 25 favorite video games of all time you should be introduced to the individuals that will be participating! This group will be know as our Video Game Brain Trust and will in time provide our readers with more countdowns and other content pertaining to video games (and other nerdy stuff!). On the surface there may not appear to be a great amount of diversity in the members, but everyone is very opinionated and the lists will reflect just how different we are. So, in no particular order, here is a introduction to the Hungry & Fit Video Game Brain Trust.

Kai Powell – The oldest in the group, Kai favors playing games on his computers that he builds himself. While he currently does not own or play any consoles regularly, Kai has plenty of experience with them, especially GameCube. He also has experience in the video game industry, having worked on the Transformers game for the first live-action movie release and X-Men Legends. (We all want to thank him for the latter.) Kai has extensive experience on the PC having played many MMORPGs in depth, including WoW, ToR and ESO. His list might reflect his love for the computer but it will certainly show his decades of high level gaming. It will also reflect his great level of intelligence, patience and composure. Expect to see some games with high levels of thought process on his list.

Scott Polhemus – “Po is not one to deny his Nintendo fanboy ways. He suckled on the mustached teet of Mario, due in large part to his older brother’s playing of Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo in the early 90’s. But, that was only the beginning. Over the years, he’s played (and owned) Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Nintendo’s entire handheld family (except for the 3DS), Nintendo 64, Playstation, Dreamcast, Playstation 2, Gamecube, Xbox, Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3. Po spent a semester abroad in Tokyo and managed to play a great deal of arcade and Japanese games as well. He admits his tastes are big on RPG and action/adventure…so, basically he’s big on story and plot. He’s limited his list to Console gaming. And frankly, these aren’t the 25 best games of all-time, but they’re the 25 games that expanded his mind and made his heart roar…so, naturally, they’re very dear to him.” (This bio was provided directly by Po.)

Andrew Tucci – Andrew boasts both an extensive collection of games and an insane amount of hours played. When Andrew beats a game, he beats it multiple times, on every difficulty rating, until he unlocks every achievement possible. He has spent time on virtually every console since the release of the NES but he also has a great deal of experience in both the arcade and on the PC. His current collection of systems include Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox, PC/Mac, N64, Gamecube and more. If there is a lack of anything, it’s clearly Sony, but he most likely has more hours logged on Microsoft consoles then every other member of the brain trust combined. He is extremely opinionated and has no problem disagreeing with Metacritic and other experts. If he thinks a classic is garbage, he will let you know. If he thinks a piece of trash is pure gold, you will hear about it. His decades of experience, ability to replay games until the discs no longer work, and his strong views make Andrew a wild card in this group. I have an idea what to expect from him but he can be highly unpredictable. 

Alana Powell – Like her older brother, Alana is an avid PC gamer, being so bold as to claim the superiority of the PC over consoles. While she has been exposed to more consoles lately, the frustrations of the different controllers brings her heart back to the mouse and keyboard of a PC. Alana favors games that give the player control over their character and world, so expect to see some BioWare games on her list. She also has been playing Elder Scrolls games for as long as she can remember, so those may also make an appearance. Nevertheless, Alana has been playing for years so her list will reflect PC games that are both new and old. She does not think a game needs to have been out for decades to be consider great, so newer and less known games might slip onto her list. It will be interesting to see if any console games even crack her top 25!

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Chris Tucci – Soundtracks. Epic stories. Character development. All aspects that heavily influence how Chris feels about a game. Like Po, Chris favors JRPGs and action-adventure games, however, he has weaker feelings for Nintendo and that will dictate the major differences in those two lists. Chris admits his favorite systems of all time are NES and PS2 but after having owned nearly every console until the release of the newest generation, it is hard to predict what his list will exactly include. There will most likely be a mix of every console, Nintendo handhelds, 1990s arcade games, and PC games around the Millenium. Don’t be surprised to find a lot of games from a few key companies and one game that highlights an entire franchise.

Well, there you have it. A short introduction about what to expect. I am sure the members of the brain trust are most interested to find out what their fellow members release throughout the countdown. You can start to see what lists will be the most similar, but will anyone pick the same games the same week? The suspense continues to build and next week you will find out what games crack the top 25 countdown! And as always…stay hungry and fit!

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