Featured Features

Gaming Respawn’s Meet the Team

Stephen Jackson2

As a collective team here at Gaming Respawn, we want to thank everyone who has visited our site! It means a great deal to everyone involved to see our hard work being rewarded with views and especially comments, we love engaging with our readers! So we thought it is only fair that you get to know a little bit more about each member of our brilliant Gaming Respawn team!

 

Stephen Jackson – Gaming Respawn Founder

Games has always been a huge passionate of mine, ever since I was a kid. The first console I really remember playing extensively was the PlayStation 1 and from then on, I have been hooked! I love a good game which tells a story, a meaningful story where you feel connected to the characters and the game-world where you feel like you are apart of something great! How time flies by on those occasions! Having original been a console gamer, you will know find me lurking almost exclusively on Steam having made the transition to PC. After taking some time getting used to, I know love my decision and my games library has increased ten fold thanks to the huge amount of amazing, brilliant games available that you just don’t get on console!

My favourite games to play are anything football related (soccer for you Americans!) such as FIFA or Football Manager. Does Rocket League also count? Because it sure has been eating away at my hours! I’m also a big fan of shooters, RPG’s and ofcourse, strategy games such as the Men of War series, Crusader Kings 2 and Europa Universalis IV.

Daniel Choppen – Editor-in-Chief & Media Editor

The first time I ever really became passionate with games was with the GameCube and GameBoy. I remember coming home from school and playing games such as The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Luigi’s Mansion and Super Smash Bros. Melee and just having the most fun I’ve ever had with any games consoles. I also cherished my GameBoy, playing just about every Pokemon that would come out and the pure pain of running out of AA batteries and staring at the blank screen.
Nowadays, I’ve moved away from Nintendo and to PC. I am a religious StarCraft watcher, despite being absolutely useless at the game and am very much interested in what happens with esports in the future. I don’t really have a specific genre of games I play, rather just a mash of everything however RPGs, in particular, always grab my eye.

Raul Zaha – News Writer

Hello there! The name’s Raul Zaha. I’m a 20-year-old lad from Transylvania, Romania and even though I’m quite pale (especially in the winter) I’m not a vampire, I’m just a gamer. My first contact with video games was at the age of 5 when I first played Super Mario Bros. I’ve been hooked ever since I first managed to beat Bowser. Right now, I’m mostly a PC gamer and I like all sorts of genres.I like RPGs (especially of the open-world type), third person shooters, first person shooters if they have some sort of gimmick to it (like Borderlands), I like turn-based strategy games and the single player campaigns of many real-time strategy games and of course I like most games which I can play along with my friends. I don’t like horror games (I’m out at the first jump scare) and I’m in a love-hate relationship with trading card games (RNG just kills me inside sometimes). However, if a game has a good story and/or interesting gameplay, I’ll at least give it a try.
My goals here at Gaming Respawn are to bring you, the reader, interesting news from the industry, fair and informative reviews and the occasional interesting feature. At the same time I’m looking to improve both myself and the site, in order to become a respected name in the industry.

Jesse Marsella – Reviewer

My history with video games is actually a funny story. When I was young I never really liked video games and when my parents bought me an original PlayStation I was a little freaked out.So I, being a young imaginative 8 year old, thought that for some reason if your character was killed in the game the next time you started the character would be really angry at you because you killed him. I therefore stopped playing video games because I didn’t want Spyro to get mad at me; he’s a dragon and dragons are scary! Obviously I eventually got over my fears and started to play all the real time strategy games I could get my hands on.
I played and still do play mostly historically routed games like Rome: Total War and Age of Empires which are two of my all time favorite games. This love for gaming and history propelled me to get my History degree from Susquehanna University and a certification in Secondary Education. Besides video gaming and historical thought I also am a huge Jacksonville Jaguars football fan and New York Mets baseball fan (you can feel sorry for me now). I also am a huge nerd for collecting things, especially collectible card games, and up until recently I played a lot of Magic the Gathering. Finally I try not to hate things in life because its usually a waste of time but two things I hate unequivocally are Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.      

Daniel Garcia-Montes – Reviewer

I’m Daniel Garcia-Montes, or D.G.M. if you prefer a shorter, less complicated name to go by. I’m a relatively average gamer when I get right down to it. I don’t care about having the highest kill/death ratio in online games or showing off my skills by posting my speedruns on Youtube, I just like to play and enjoy my games, simple as that (besides, I don’t know how to use Youtube).

I’ve been into gaming since the days of the Nintendo, Game Boy, and Sega Genesis. I wasn’t particularly good at gaming back then though and was rarely able to beat any of my games, which included the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog and Earthworm Jim. It wasn’t until I played Tenchu: Stealth Assassins and the always classic Metal Gear Solid on the original PlayStation that I recognized video games to be a form of entertainment that could surpass t.v. shows and movies in many ways. I like good stories and gameplay in my games, therefore I’ve always leaned more towards the singleplayer aspect of games rather than multiplayer. My favorite genres are action/adventure, free-roam/sandbox, RPGs, and third-person shooters, though I’m no stranger to first-person shooters. I typically avoid racing, sports, and puzzle games. And I have a very limited understanding of what a “rogue-like” is.

I’m also a picky gamer. I enjoy the likes of Metal Gear Solid, Devil May Cry, Prince of Persia, Infamous, Batman, Spider-Man, Skyrim, Darksiders, Dishonored, and so on. But since I’m the type of gamer who likes to revisit his favorite games every now and then, and not overload himself, there are plenty of other well-known games that I just never got into because they appealed to me less; games like Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty, The Last of Us, etc. Time (and cash) permitting, I wouldn’t mind getting around to all the other interesting games I’ve missed when I’m old and gray, assuming I get that far. But for now my goal is to provide quality reviews here on Gaming Respawn with just the right balance of subjective and objective information to help my fellow gamers make informed decisions on their video game purchases. But please, try not to view me as a selfless saint ladies and gentlemen, I wouldn’t mind getting paid to do this stuff someday.

Michael Fitzgerald – Reviewer

Names Mike and I’m from Stockport in the glorious United Kingdom. Stockport is a large town on the outskirts of Manchester. I’ve been gaming now since the early 90’s when my parents bought me a Super Nintendo for Christmas with Super Mario All-Stars. I’ve never looked back.

I’m your stereotypical young fogey. I liked things how they were and change makes me feel scared and angry. I jest somewhat though. I think the graphical improvement of gaming from the SNES days to now have been simply astonishing. I still remember thinking the very first PlayStation was graphically revolutionary and I’ve only continued to be impressed with the way gaming has grown over the years.

I’m not one of these people who think everything new is bad. Far from it in fact! But what I do think is that what playing video games used to be is slowly starting to erode over time. I’m a simple man with simple tastes. I don’t go in for gimmicks like Connect for instance. Give me a controller and let me play a game. I miss the “plug in and play” aspect of gaming that I think we’re slowly getting further and further away from.

That being said, I’m hardly a luddite. I have a PS4 and I even watch YouTube on it and everything. I’m that technically advanced! I even own a Kindle Fire as well, and rarely have the bloody thing from my side these days.

As far as favourite gaming genres, I’d probably say sports sims and platformers. My favourite games of all time would be ISS Pro 98’ and Donkey Kong Country 2 respectively. Favourite console of all time would probably be the PS2, just because I enjoyed playing it so much. I know the Original X-Box is technically the better machine, but I sunk hours of my life into that PS2 and there are so many classic games on it that I just love.

But yeah, nostalgia is essentially crack cocaine to me. This is why you’ll likely see me post a lot of retro themed features as well as reviewing current releases. I’m also a dedicated supporter of Everton Football Club and a big fan of professional sports in general. But anyway, I think I’ve wittered on enough, best let Stephen try and edit this into a palatable form.

So, to recap, I’m a grumpy man who likes things the way he likes them. I’m sure we’ll get on a treat.

Kane Newell – Editorial & Features Writer

Hello to everyone here at Gaming Respawn. I’ve been lucky enough to be chosen to provide you with all your gaming goodies. Such as all gaming news, articles, opinions pieces, user dicussion and reviews. I look forward to getting to know you all so here’s a little about me. Well firstly my name is Kane, and I’m from the UK. So yeah I have a very strange funny British accent, as well as the fact that I like sipping on a good cuppa tea with some nice scones whilst talking about the Queen…or not! but yay for sterotypes =P.

I’m 23 and I’ve been gaming for as long as I can remember, my first console being the Sega Mega Drive, playing Sonic and Streets of Rage 3. Gaming has come alot way from then. In my spare time some my hobbies are. Gaming of course, watching Anime, Movies and TV series such as Walking Dead or the brilliant Game of Thrones. I’m a serious gym goer and visit the gym at least 3 times a week to build strength, size and stamina.

Jorge Godinez – Reviewer

Being the youngest member of Gaming Respawn, I am excited to share my ideas and perspectives about video games and the gaming industry. Still, I have most likely played a game on any platform regardless of how old or new it is. I have been playing video games for as long as I remember, maybe because I was born with a controller in my hand. All jokes aside, video games are a passion of mine and I hope that reflects here at Gaming Respawn. I am a Nintendo enthusiast and love almost every franchise from Mario to Pokemon to Zelda. Still, that does not mean I do not enjoy games on other consoles. Some of my other favorite non-Nintendo franchises include: Metal Gear, Kingdom Hearts and the Final Fantasy series.
I firmly believe that a video game can be fun no matter what console it is on or from what developer it comes from. Video games are meant to be fun and that is just what I have when I play them. I am eager to play some games and share my thoughts with you in the form of reviews and other feature articles. Hope you all enjoy the content that Gaming Respawn has to offer.

Aaron Mara – Reviewer

A.J. is an aspiring game writer, who recently completed his first original game design document. As an avid gamer and game enthusiast, he grew up playing Nintendo greats like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda. One of his proudest gaming achievements was finally winning the heavy weight title bout against Iron Mike himself in the widely popular sports game, Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!.

Sean Morge – Reviewer

Sean is an avid games player who enjoys shouting his opinions at people until they finally agree out of either careful reasoning or simply annoyance. He has played games for most of his life, including being in the original WoW as well as. He has spent hundreds of hours in games like Mount and Blade and all he really wants from gaming is a good, realistic medieval game, or a pirate game. 

Nathan Purser – Reviewer

My name is Nathan Purser and I’ve been gaming since I was a child. I’m 22 now, so I’ve been around a little while. As a gamer I want to have as many experiences as possible. Explore as many worlds as possible, read as many stories as possible, meet as many characters as possible and have as much fun as possible. As a professional I want to combine my passions of writing and gaming. What brought me here was that it gave me a chance to combine the two.

My first game was either Columns or Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Mega Drive. I actually can’t remember what I played first, but I will always remember the music of Sonic the Hedgehog roaring. I even enjoyed the Labyrinth Zone, despite the nightmare inducing sounds of Sonic drowning. Ever since I got my hands on a Sega Mega Drive I was hooked on gaming.

My top three games of all time are Perfect Dark, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Resident Evil 4. I’m into all sorts of games, but I will always enjoy a good horror game, RPG or shooter. Sometimes I’ll even indulge myself in dancing games. I’ll also run away from racing games or sports games because I’m so bad it’s actually humiliating.

But Instead of rambling on, let’s just say that If I could sum myself up I’m the guy who perfects games because Pokémon installed a sense of dread in him if he never caught them all.

Will Akers – Reviewer

Enjoys Pagan bonfires and when the time comes to reproduce expects nothing less than his offspring to achieve a status no lower than Commander Shepard. Space travel or otherwise.

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2 Comment

Raul Zaha July 28, 2015 - 17:45

Nice to meet everyone! ^_^

Kane July 28, 2015 - 21:14

Haha so glad we did this, some very funny interesting bios we have.

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