So you just capped off 9 of the best first person shooters in the world over
Xbox Live. Where are you going to go now? One thing’s for sure, it’s not Disney
World. We recently had a chance to talk with Zamees, winner
of the Clash of the Continents Rainbow Six 3 Tournament at X03 in France and
owner/creater of gamertagpics.com,
there’s more than just a trigger happy gamer here. We found out all his dark
secrets, all of the multilingual trash-talking, we even found out a bit about
his dog. But I’m sure you’re more concerned with tactics. Find out what makes
a good gamer great.

Read the full interview . . .


Zamees (far left) destroyed the competition at X03 in France

As many people know you participated on the Ghost
Recon: Island Thunder tournament and the finals were held in France. What can
you tell us about the tournament? How long was it? Was it over LIVE or System
Link? What countries participated? The trip, prizes, etc…

It started off as an online competition. One of my online buddies mentioned
to me there was a GR tourney where you win a trip to France. I of course thought
he was BS’n me but checked out the email. Looked too good to be true, top
ranked rifleman on the stats board wins the chance to compete to be the world
champ of xbox live. So I went to work building up my stats, a week later,
the email arrived letting me know I had won the USA qualifier and was on my
way to take on the other finalists.

The final round consisted of 10 of us, 8 countries in Europe and 1 from Canada.
We had a few practice rounds of Rainbow Six 3, and then let our skillz run
wild in the first 4 minute solo match. Top 5 advance to the finals, and I
barely made it, finishing 3rd. Final round, I hit my zone, and destroyed em
all with 17 kills, second with 11. I nabbed myself a bose system, which was
a surprise to us being announced after the win, and 15 microsoft studios games
over the next year.

Was there a lot of trash talking and/or misunderstandings
because of the language barriers?

There weren’t many. Most of the other guys spoke English pretty well, only
Spain didn’t speak much, but I spoke a bit of Spanish, so that worked out
ok. I played the role of the drunk and loud american, lettin all the other
competitors know they were going down. A few of em had fun playin along, but
most of em were modest with their words.

What’s you favorite LIVE game and why?

It seems Ghost Recon takes the cake, although I don’t play that much anymore,
its definately the top one out there. Links is pretty enjoyable, a different
change of pace. But my top game WILL be Steel Battalion 2.

What are the top three games you have been playing
these past couple of weeks?

A lot of Links, a little bit of PGR, and still waiting on my copy of Rainbow
Six 3 to show up. Should be here soon, I hope.

Would you consider the FPS (First Person Shooters)
genre to be where your strongest gaming skills are? If not, what other types
of games do you consider yourself to be good at and why?

I’m usually pretty good at most games I pick up. I enjoy FPS and racers the
most.

We know you like the Ghost Recon series, what
do you think of all the new FPS games coming out? (Rainbow Six 3, Counter-Strike,
etc.)

After playing a bit of Counterstrike, I wasn’t that impressed. It took a
few too many shots to get a kill. I did enjoy the little bit of Rainbow Six
I got to play. There do seem to be lots coming out over the next few months.
I’ll probably stay away from most, and grab Halo 2 the second it hits the
stores.

Have you ever been in the military?

Nope

How do you feel about online relationships (bringing
gamers together)? Will they work out in the end?

I’ve heard many stories about guys meeting girls from Live. Very odd indeed,
but most seem to get along great, I mean who wouldn’t get along with a chick
who plays Live. Also, the friendships made are great. My crew from GR are
great friends on Live and we do look forward to meeting up with everyone sometime
in the future. Looking to make it a Vegas trip, lots of alcohol and lots of
fun.

Why did you create gamertagpics.com?

Curiosity, everyone is curious as to what everyone else looks like. We always
discussed it online, and had sent a few pictures of friends around to each
other. I decided people would love it to have a website dedicated to seeing
what others on Xbox Live look like. So far its taken off great with over 1200
members, and growing everyday. There are a lot of features planned for the
next few weeks that we are currently working on. Should make the site huge.

We’ve heard Trixie from xbox.com interviewed
you? How was that?

Just a basic email interview. Its nice having all your buddies know what
makes me tick. Lots of em spoke with me letting me know they had read it,
finding most of my answers sarcastically hilarious. Most of her questions
deserved those answers though.

If you were stranded on an island for a month,
what Xbox game would you want to play the most?

Lets see, stranded, island, one month, I guess bringing aloung Dead or Alive
Volleyball could help with the imagination. Not much of a game I would play,
more for the mind.

How do you feel about violence in games?

Violence makes games what they are. As long as you’re somewhat down to earth,
its not going to make you go on a killing spree in your office when your boss
tells you you’re fired. Without the violence in most of these games, they’d
be lacking what makes them great.

What has been the community’s reaction
to gamertagpics.com been since your
launch?

Everyone loves the site so far. Lots visit daily just to see the new faces
who are up and to read the new “Get to know a Gamer” section,
which features a new gamer twice a day with a short interview getting to know
a bit more about them.

Can you clean xbox’s (Jason) clock on
PGR 2?

Well, almost all games it takes practice to get good at. My lack of playing
time in PGR 2 hasn’t helped me in becoming a top racer, so *for now, he could
take me down.

Do you have a political preference?

Nah, I’m a believer that whoever, or whichever party is elected is always
going to attempt to do the best for the people of this country. Although they
don’t always, at least they make it seem they’re trying to.

What was the first FPS title you played?

The original wolfenstein on a Mac. My how we’ve progressed.

Why do you think the recent rumors of Halo 2
came up? Speculation or fear of a game that could be kept being pushed back
indefinitely?

Some little 15 year old thinking knowing he can get these gullable people
on xbox to believe it. Basically the same idea of a chain email, “If
you don’t send this to 10 people, you will have bad luck for 10 years”
The same little kids start up these ridiculous rumors, and the same gullable
people believe it. Its very amusing when some of my best friends tell me these
things, although they have stopped cause I always shut down their hopes when
telling them the realities.

PC or Mac? Pentium or Athlon? Why? (If you had
to choose)

I’m on a laptop with an Athlon, not much of a computer gamer, just use this
thing to get online, so either processor works for me.

In a world engulfed in such violence and terror,
how does such a skilled gamer like yourself find the time and patience to maintain
the concentration needed to become an Xbox Live Champion?

Lack of a job and lack of a life. I figured I’m not doing anything else,
might as well become the Xbox Live Champ. Although, I’d probably trade it
all in for a good paying job, well, maybe not, I do get a buttload of games.

What are your thoughts on hyper-threading technology?

Very funny Jason, I’ll let the top poster on the forums answer this one for
me.


Zamees with Ed Fries

Would you rate yourself a hardcore gamer, how
many hours do you spend a week playing? Do you sleep?

When Live first launched, a lot, wake up around 2, play till 5, do some things,
get back on at 9 after some reality TV, and play till 5, 6, 7am. And still
wasn’t keeping up with the number of hours my teammates were putting in. I
played enough to burn an image into my big screen. Thank god for circuit city’s
service plan

Are you looking forward to XSN Sports titles
more based on the interactive features?

Not really that much. I’m more into team based games, or just chatting in
a game with a lot of different gamers. Most of XSN is set up to play games
which involve only 2 players. Possibly a Links tourney, but I can’t wait for
them to get a system like this together for some team based FPS games, or
full field Nascar race.

What do you do besides playing Xbox (or video
games)?

I spend a few hours working on my website, I watch a lot of reality TV, and
I spend a little time looking for a job. That last one needs to change, sometime
REAL soon.

Do you ever get personal challenges over XBL
by people who know who you are? How has LIVE changed in general, regarding your
status, after the tournament?

I’ve had a few people mention it, but nothing has really come of it. I’m
supposed to play against a european tourney winner in RB63, once my copy arrives.
After being interviewed by the OXM, i’ve been receiving hundreds of friend
invites. Good thing I barely use that name, I’d be hounded by invites by the
hour.

Favorite TV program or series? Favorite movie?

I don’t miss an episode of Survivor, I’ve even been hosting Survivor parties
in the Xbox lobby, only 4 or 5 show up though. Best movie of all time is Die
Hard 2, big Bruce Willis fan.

Original or S controller? Inverted controls?
Have you tried the new FPS controllers?

I’m still stuck on the original. Although I had to use the S at the big event
in France. Definately a disadvantaged, but I managed. Inverted only for Crimson
Skies, which, just makes sense I guess. New FPS controllers? WHERE?

Your thoughts about spawn camping:

mmmmmm, spawn camping. I’m not really much of a camper, but I am a spawn
killer. I like runnin around the spawn taken people down as they pop up. If
they let me in the spawn, I’m gonna take advantage of it, just like if they
make it to mine, kill away. Although its highly impossible to spawn kill me
and my crew.

Have any pets? Have they pulled the controller
out while you were playing or impersonated you on LIVE?

One little mutt that I don’t get along with. She only comes running when
I’ve got food, otherwise just lays around all day.

Have you had any previous experience on web
design?

Not much, just a few things here and there. Taught myself HTML about a year
ago, and used some Visual Basic knowledge and database knowledge to put together
the site. Nothing I thought I was capable of doing beforehand, so its definately
something I’m proud of.

What is the best tactical shooter out, in your
opinion?

Ghost Recon has it all. I was a big fan of Socom on the PS2, right up until
Xbox Live launched, I don’t think I’ve touched the PS2 since.

Any advice for Halo fans?

Patience grasshopper, in time you will find me kicking your butts online.
Practice, practice, practice. You’ll need lots of it to keep up with the top
killers.

Any more tournaments planned in your LIVE life?

Sure, I’m always looking for more. There looks to be a Rainbow Six 3 tourney
coming up soon. Team based and should be over Live. My team will be prepared
to clean up and take home the prizes.

What is Xbox LIVE missing, what would you add
to it? Why?

REAL dedicated servers on PC’s with some nice processors and lots of RAM.
These Xservers are cuttin the job for now, but seem to only be able to handle
a max of 16 players. We’ll need more than that with Halo 2, and whatever otehr
games MS can grab that would run nicely with 32 and 64 players.

Were you a loner in school?

I wasn’t much of a partier in Highshcool, just the basic sports and movies
with some buds. Came outta my shell in college, joining a fraternity and partying
all night and all day, plus learning a few things here and there. I wasn’t
much of a gamer until I bought my first system, the Dreamcast in college.
Before that, I’d only be gaming at friends places, parents were strict. I
guess they knew I’d be glued to them if they bought me a Nintendo, or any
of the other systems out.

Did you have a mentor or someone that showed
you how to play FPS?

I’m a self taught, self motivated, killa. I will pwn joo with my l337 skillz.
And with those final words that wraps up this interview. Thanx for reading
everyone, and be sure to post up a profile on www.gamertagpics.com.

Thanks for the interview.

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