Meet the Reader: BrendanCalls
Vote for Mayor Callaghan!
Published: 11:30, 14/08/2011 by teflon.
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Another week, another interview. This time we meet one of the long standing, currently sitting, members of TSA. So, everyone wave and say hello to BrendanCalls.
Soaking in that festival atmosphere!
As always, we’ll start with: Who are you, how old are you, and where do you come from?
My name is Brendan Callaghan, I’m 28 years old and from Corby. Corby in Northamptonshire, that is.
Is there another Corby?
There’s a Corby Crater on the moon. It was named this because a man from Corby ate lots of porridge one day, and when NASA astronauts were surveying the moon that fact was in their daily update of news. After hearing that news they decided to name a crater after Corby. I’m not from there!
OK, so you’re not a moon man, then. Good to know! You do have a rather distinctive and unusual TSA and PSN ID. Why don’t you explain where it came from?
Haha! Not much to tell except I lack any sort of imagination when it comes to creating online ID’s, so i just wrote my name then half of my surname. Its not pronounced “C-or-lls” though.
It makes you sound a little bit like a budget horror film, if you really over-think it. My specialty. How and when did you first get into gaming?
My first gaming machine was an Amiga, I don’t know what the spec was but I vividly remember playing Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on it. Then I kinda fell away from gaming for a long time until my cousin got a Megadrive and we played Italia 90, Columns and Super Hang On triple pack.
Following that I got an N64 and my obsession grew from then on. My favourite memory from those days is from school holidays, emptying out my school bag, packing in my console and walking down to my cousins to play on it there. That was everyday for six weeks, with intermittent football breaks.
What did you used to play on N64? Were there some mind-altering GoldenEye sessions?
Oh yeah, GoldenEye was the absolutely pinnacle of my local multiplayer experiences, even to this day.
Other games dominated at times too though. I remember having a sleep-over for my birthday when I was about 12. Guys from school and the street stayed over and we played Killer Instinct all night, winner stays on. Eventually we gave up when one of my friends won about 35 games on the trot. He was a one button wonder though.
There were more, but those two were my favourites.
Mashing kick over and over is pretty much what I do in fighters too. How did you move on from there to the PS3?
Me too, thats why I love the new Mortal Kombat. It’s possible to button bash and still win against your mates.
It took me a while to progress to a PS1. Although I cant remember exactly why I got one, I’m pretty sure it was peer pressure. So many kids had them that it seemed foolish not to have one. Once I got a PS1 I was hooked, I was more or less straight in for a PS2, and then when the PS3 was released I had it on pre-order for months before release. I took the day off work and actually ended up taking the week off work to play it.
How is the old 60GB girl doing? Still going strong, or was there an unfortunate thing with some lights…
Yeah, she had a nasty incident in about April of this year, which is quite good considering. She lasted 4 years which is a lot more than most. Luckily April is bonus month at work, so I was able to instantly replace her with a sleeker, younger model. I performed an autopsy on her, just for the sake of interest really, I just wanted to see what was inside her. I probably could have fixed her if I really wanted to, but she served her time and I put her to rest. It still irks me, but I now have to work hard to get all my game saves back, so I try to look at it optimistically.
If I modified my question slightly in the edit, your answer would suddenly become exceedingly disturbing! It must be quite a challenge to find the time to go back over old games, when there’s a constant stream of new titles coming out.
Haha, yeah I hope this doesn’t get taken out of context in any future endeavours I pursue.
It can be but I only concentrate on the older games I actually want to have a save file for, like Uncharted 2 for instance. I’ve played through that two more times since. I’m sure I don’t have to explain why I chose Uncharted 2, but a game like Go! Sports SkyDiving I’m not too bothered by. I also don’t concentrate on getting games too early after their release, I’m usually happy to wait until they fall into my budget.
If only I had the willpower to do the same I could save a bundle of money. It’s about time for the obligatory “What’s your favourite game?” question.
Oh my, there are so many! For a long time it was Metal Gear Solid 4, but I’m a real lover of Modern Warfare 2 & FIFA 11 too. If I had a choose just one game it would have to be MGS4 then.
That was such a tough decision and I bet you tomorrow I’ll have changed my mind again.
Perhaps I can get Nofi to code a little random game title generator for you, then! [Note: I couldn't] I also like to ask what title, if any, you’re most embarrassed to have played? Whether you actually liked it or not!
Now that I’ve remembered Go! Sports SkyDiving, that’s gotta be up there. Gutted I paid for that one but even then I’m not too embarrassed by that.
Woah, just this second the penny dropped about what game it is. I bought it for £45 from Asda and have never been so disappointed in a game – Def Jam: Icon. Man that was bad and my workmates absolutely tore me to shreds when I walked back in from lunchtime with that, although on the plus side it has given me some funny memories.
Def Jam? Oh dear… Speaking on embarrassing stories, how did you come to find and sign up to TSA?
I was just browsing the internet for PS3 websites and stumbled across another site called PS3Attitude, I spent time there for a wee while and enjoyed it. At that time it had a link to another little fledgling site called TheSixthAxis. I clicked the link and have never looked back. What caught me first was the articles written were just my kind of tone. It still holds that core element today.
This was back in 2007 I think, so I’ve been around four years. Back then it was a small community, however I’ve been really enthused to see it grow and grow. The community on here is second to absolutely none. I’ve never known anything like it. If only our real-world communities could be so perfect!
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14/08/2011 at 11:41
Member since: Jul 2010
Nice interview guys xD
Sad to see that the PS3 60GB died :(
14/08/2011 at 14:02
Member since: Forever
I was gutted too, but if love something you gotta let it go ;-)
14/08/2011 at 11:50
Member since: May 2010
Tef, stop trying to get me to do your dirty work! Get someone else to do it as i cba to do it.:)
Nice to meet you, I’m glad that my idea has become someone’s favorite feature here at TSA towers.:D See, i’m not completely crazy so can you stop sending men in white coats after me Teffers?
Although, i legally own the rights to kill Halbpro so you can’t kill him. :D
14/08/2011 at 13:04
Member since: Aug 2010
what! tef is sending those white-coats after u too!??
14/08/2011 at 13:22
Member since: Jun 2009
I like the fact that he manages to say the same point 3 times in his 1st sentence. There better be extra padding in the cell
15/08/2011 at 00:01
Member since: Aug 2009
“stop sending men in white coats after me Teffers?”
Did you by ANY chance piss off Kiryu kazama?!!!!?!?! Whatever you do don’t freakin fight him and call him old.. because he’ll beat your ass until you give him Stamamin XXX.
15/08/2011 at 10:37
Member since: May 2010
I killed him and fed his dead body to a certian cat. >:)
14/08/2011 at 11:52
Member since: Jun 2011
My first gaming experience was on an Amiga, an A500. The disk drive in it was really noisy, when ever me and my brother stayed up all night playing games we would have to dampen the sound of the disk drive by wrapping the Amiga in a towel.
The worst part of it though is that we stayed up to play Ports of Call… (http://www.portsofcall.de/index.html)
We were special children…
14/08/2011 at 12:38
Member since: May 2011
Ah the A500 was a loyal friend of mine for many years. Never played Ports of Call but me and a mate used to take it turns to choose games and the other person would try to guess what game it was from the sound the disk drive used to make. If I remember right the original Speedball made the drive sound like it was about to burrow out of the case. I’m now feeling both embarrassed and nostalgic.
14/08/2011 at 13:22
Member since: Jun 2011
Man Speedball! That game caused so many fights I remember once getting really annoyed with my brother and shouting Motherf**ker at him at which point he literately washed my mouth out with soap. I was 6/7 at the time, I think I threw up then got shouted at by my mum…
14/08/2011 at 12:13
Member since: Nov 2008
Im saddened to see no mention of Superman in all this. :)
Great interview guys and humbled to be one of those in the list of ‘like to meet’. Strangely enough my list is almost exactly the same (with your name in place of mine of course) + a few others.
Great community.
14/08/2011 at 13:59
Member since: Forever
I know no Superman mention that is very odd, I usually shoehorn that into every other conversation
14/08/2011 at 14:37
Member since: Oct 2008
That’s exactly what I was thinking ! :D
14/08/2011 at 12:56
Member since: Dec 2009
Another enjoyable interview teflon and very nice to meet you Brendan. I’ve often wondered about your custom tag – seems like latin mixed with japanese?
14/08/2011 at 14:01
Member since: Forever
I can’t tell you what Yohimbe! means as its a secret for a select group of people, but I’m sure if you search it in google you’ll find out.
The post hoc, ergo propter hoc bit means “Afetr This, Therefore because of this” – I have it tattooed on my arm and it reminds me that everything I do has its consequences and that i should take responsibility for them
14/08/2011 at 14:39
Member since: Dec 2009
Cool, i like the thinking behind the tattoo.
14/08/2011 at 13:02
Member since: Aug 2010
nice to meet you brendan=) u must be on of the guys that signed up first to this site…. four years is crazy!! =)
14/08/2011 at 14:06
Member since: Forever
I think I was one of the first I guess. There’s still a few around TSA who’ve been here just as long, even longer probably fro a few (CB and CC_Star spring to mind).
14/08/2011 at 14:01
Member since: Jul 2009
Nice to know about you Brendan, MGS are the best and Goldeneye was my favourite on the N64
14/08/2011 at 14:10
Member since: Forever
Goldeneye was a classic, it holds so many memories for not just me but a whole generation of gamers.
I hated MGS for ages, but that was coz I always played it in a crowd wioth my mates, when I lent MGS1 and played it by myself it finally clicked. My favourite ever moment was when you had to change the controller to Port 2 while fighting Psycho Mantis, that blew my mind
14/08/2011 at 15:43
Member since: Jul 2009
Oh yh I remember that ahhhh bliss, although it did scare the hell outta me and the other one was the Colonel telling you to stop playing the game! lol
14/08/2011 at 14:08
Member since: Feb 2011
*waves* Hi Brendan ^^
14/08/2011 at 14:12
Member since: Forever
Hey, *tip of the hat* how do you do
14/08/2011 at 14:26
Member since: Jul 2010
Alright Brendan:) Nice to know more about you. Glastonbury pic is cool, ashamed to say i’ve not yet been, on my to do list.
14/08/2011 at 15:49
Member since: Forever
You’ll have to Glasto, it’s the most azing thing ever. Can’t wait till 2013 to go again
14/08/2011 at 14:43
Member since: Oct 2008
Great to hear more about you buddy, think it was MW2 that our paths first crossed and since then it’s been Superman queries :D