CyberGamer Interview: KriTiKaL MoTioN

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[p]Nikolai is 17, and in his final year of school in the quiet town of Busselton, WA. You may think he is new to the Xbox scene, but he actually made the swap from PC a few years ago. If you didnt know now, you will after reading that he is quite passionate about making the competitive XBL scene better. He is currently active in CoD 4 and 5 teams, and has been helping out with Moderation duties on CyberGamer. Nikolai is also one of the recently appointed ladder admin's.
First off, what was your first experience with games?
I started gaming from an early age, starting with those old PC games I don't even remember. I only really started playing a lot when I got my first console, a Nintendo 64 playing Golden Eye, Perfect Dark all the usual .I then got my PS2, and from there on I was addicted pretty much, GTA, Dynasty Warriors and FIFA games kept me busy.
You then came online via PC?
All of a sudden I had an urge to play online after countless hours of multiplayer with my friends and against Bots. This is when I picked up Medal of Honor: Allied Assault for PC. Before that I had played Age of Empires and similar games, but from here on I became a FPS player.
Your alias started around this time, where did it come from?
I was 11 and I really have no idea. It was completely random when I first got into playing MoH. All I know is I liked it so much I've kept it for this long. I can't really see myself being called anything else now.
So you started online at 11, how did you get involved in Competitive gaming?
I played Medal of Honor for 3 years with dial up, and I was really interested in getting into a team to play some matches. I've always been a competitive person so wasn't long before I got some people from online that I had played with over those years and formed a team. There was trouble with me being inexperienced with online games, and I was getting into a game that was in its last years. The community was getting very small at this time. I played one season, half with dial up and half with ADSL when I finally got it, and I loved playing against any team we could find. I then dropped in and out of teams all over the place. I continued to play Medal of Honor until the community got so small that I wanted something more competitive.
Ever go back and play?
Yes, I still go back to PUBing it up on MoH all these years later and it's good to see some familiar names from so far back, and it stands with me as my favourite FPS of all time. I tried CSS and some other games but I never liked them as much as MoH. It was clear how outdated it was by that time and then was when my interest started wavering.
Sounds like the beginning of XBL, how did that start?
I had still been playing MoH casually when my brother came back from England. He got me a 360, and a copy of CoD2. At first I really wasn't even thinking about playing online, I still had dial up and was playing on PC more. However I then moved back into town and got ADSL hooked up straight away, it took my friend to convince to use my 1 month trial and from there on I started on my Xbox Call of Duty run. I played CoD2 online a lot, but only casually. However my first team was a bunch of WA guys. I think we played one scrim, against Kirby's team. We ended up losing badly. Basically from here on I stuck with XBL and only played a few PC games like CS:S and strategy games. However I then picked up CoD3, but never played for a team, ill mention that later.
What do you prefer?
It wasn't until midway of last year that I took the dive back to PC and got CoD4 when I got my new PC. I'll say now I was immediately more impressed with the PC side, and the main reason I moved was because of lag, which the PC dealt with a lot better.
What's the difference?
For a start, the equipment used with the PC is a lot better, and the competitive side is so far ahead. They of course have PROMOD (look it up for more information) which changes the game completely, for the better. The ability to change anything in the game and to edit anything down to how much kick a certain gun has. The guns used are completely different, the style of game play is completely different, which is why I see the two as different games. I really can't say too much then to check it out yourself, I will say that playing competitively on PC is a lot more time consuming and takes a lot more effort to work with your team if you want to be successful. I did enjoy my time playing on PC though and managed to find a good team in Apex. We reached 4th on the CGo ladder but we dropped out when CoD5 was released. CoD4 on PC benefits with the ability to not have to play public, with their always being other teams ready to scrim.
But you will be sticking to XBL?
The main reason I came back to Xbox once again is to play more casually, and with friends I had made during my times on XBL, shout out to NXS/Db4D guys. When I saw the 360 section on Cybergamer start up I was immediately interested and started to think about coming back, which I eventually did. The competition available seemed a lot better than it was before and made me decide it was worth play it competitively again. I also wanted to help out with the Xbox community, and get it on track as becoming on equal terms with the PC side, which I'm trying my best to do now. I do believe PC is ahead of us at the moment, but I think the competitive standard on 360 is reaching a lot closer than it has before.
What do you think about the Aussie CoD Community?
It's getting there. Really I have seen a huge improvement since I came back but a lot still needs to be worked on.
What do we need to change for the better?
I think players attitudes need to improve, the community can benefit then instead of suffering. I know that newer players are deterred by the so-called 'pro' players and receive abuse for not knowing things, or not being as good at the game. But, if we want the community to grow, and the features and support to get bigger, this attitude needs to change. Of course I always know it can't be completely removed, and friendly banter is always good fun, but it gets out of control too frequently.
And what about the competitive side of CoD?
Competitions are getting bigger, although it's a struggle to get prizes; we are seeing a good amount of new players coming into the ladders. It's also good to see Activision supporting the community with their sponsorship of the GG tournaments. I've also seen some interesting ideas for LAN's and I think that would definitely further the community overall for players to actually meet up.
Would you attend a CoD LAN then?
Living in a small town in WA I've never had a chance to be a part of one, although I would definitely like too in the future. Overall I can see CoD 6 really being a success if we build off how we are going at the moment.
What are your interests outside gaming?
I've always been a soccer player and I'm a goalkeeper. I did get to state level but I was held back by a virus I got in 2007 and haven't really got that much back into it since then. Hoping to play one more season this year as the age level was raised for the league. Other than that there's really not much I can say, my towns quite boring so I don't get up too much. So gaming always been a good way to break out of that and probably the main reason I play as much as I do. Can't wait to move to Perth.
What else do you like?
Probably my favourite thing is music, and I spend a lot of time looking into new music and expanding on what I listen to, and try to go to as many music festivals/concerts as possible, however there really isn't much around here. I'm also addicted to anime and my favourite shows are Bleach, Elfen Lied and Code Geass.
So you play other games and you told us before you delve into PC little, what specifically?
I currently don't play that much on PC, however in my spare time I play a bit of CS:S and CoD 4. I recently picked up Empire: Total War, which is a great RTS game and I'd definitely recommend it to any fans of previous Total war games. On Xbox I'm really only sticking to CoD 4 for now, however I'm playing a bit of CoD5 as well just to get some matches in. School and other things have been dominating most of my time, so recently that's all I've been playing.
What are your thoughts about CyberGamer?
It's a great site, run by two really busy guys and Asterix is constantly working on making the site better. I really think it's going to be the foundation (and has been) for CoD on PC at least for the future, however CoD's future is not looking that great at the moment, competition wise anyway. I would like to see more teams take the ladders seriously, and the attitude towards the ladder to be changed. I would like it to be the foundation for Xbox as well, but there is of course GG. However I think it's good to have both competitions running as it provides a ladder system, as well as a tournament system over there. We are trying to support the community as much as possible and I think it's going to be a great season 3/2 with new additions of official recorders, referees, shout casters and article writers to get the community more involved.
What's some of your gaming highlights?
My highlights are from generally just having fun, but definitely my time during Db4D. Simply the best guys I've met on XBL and the funniest as well. If you ever want to hear something disturbing that is also funny, Alucards your man.
What are some gaming achievements then?
CoD3 was definitely my highlight. It's my favourite CoD simply because the lag was made to be an even playing field. Although I know that the majority of people hate it. I played the game so much that I did hold a position as 16th in the world and 9th in the rifleman class, although I don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed of how much I played, ha-ha. I had some requests from some pretty good clans to join but I really wasn't interested at that stage as i was about to start school again. Will never forget the one scrim I played with the AC boys, who were on top of Gamebattles for a while. Playing with the top players from around the world was definitely fun, and was a lot more varied then having to stick to your own country.
Tell me about your current team and what you are trying to achieve?
I'm currently in Nexus and just trying to have as much fun as possible. However we are trying to be a lot more competitive in the upcoming seasons, although most of us are pretty busy now. We are playing in both CG and GG and are also starting up our CoD 5 team just for fun. I would like to help take the team further up the ladders, and I think we are underestimated by most, and that we really haven't shown anywhere near out best at all. Hopefully we'll carry on over to CoD6, but we'll see when we get there.
That's good to hear, what games are you interested that are coming soon?
Call of Duty MW:2. Basically sums it up. Although I am sceptical on doing MW: 2, I think it will be a great game and will hopefully pull both the current Call of Duty communities together. Also give a mention to Diablo 3 and Mafia 2. Other than that I'm not really up to date with new releases.
Who's the best team out now?
Really hard to say as a lot of the teams are breaking up and the players are moving around a lot. So I'll just go and say that I personally think MLC were the best team in term of strats and overall ability at CoD 4. I think KAE have the best skilled players, even with the small time I was in it, I could easily see this. They don't play CoD 4 as much anymore and have moved on to CoD 5, but they are one of the best definitely.
And a favourite player?
PodX12 is my favourite player for both games, and probably the best to watch too. I will also say that PyroTech from Nexus is one of the most underrated players, the stuff he does with his lag is amazing.
Thanks for your time Krit, your doing a great job.
No problems. Good luck to all teams in upcoming seasons, and I'll see you in game or on the forums.
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