Meet the Panel

Since we'll be dishing out opinionated games reviews over the coming months, I figured you should know where we're coming from. To that end, meet the able and dapper lineup of Bright Hub console/handheld games staff:

Nathan Baran, Writer
Day job: Harpooner
Lives in: The cabin of the whaling boat Pequod
Age: As old as Poseidon
Favorite current systems: Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, Game.com
Favorite games ever: Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy XII, Street Fighter III, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, SNK Vs. Capcom Card Fighters Clash (Capcom Edition), Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Aerobiz Supersonic, Phalanx, anything with ragdoll physics
Videogame character most resembled: Wink Baufield
Height: 5'11''
Hair color: Whiter than an albino whale
Favorite food: Ambergris
Favorite drink: Distilled whale blubber
Hobbies: Harpooning anything that breathes, specifically whales
Biggest musical influence: Bob Dylan, the sirens' song, the sound of spaceship engines firing
Nicknames: Queequeg, Wink Baufield
Likes: The ocean, saltwater, ambergris, whale entrail sausage, the spaceship Phalanx
Dislikes: Dry land, when whales capsize your boat, having appendages devoured  by whales, alien invasion
Phobias: Being forced to wear an albatross around my neck as punishment for my sins, alien invasion

James Barnett, Managing editor
Day job: Editor, artist
Lives in: Scottsdale, AZ
Age: 40
Favorite current systems: Wii, DS
Favorite games of ever: Tetris, Quake II, Half-Life 2, City of Villains, Unreal 
Tournament 2004, Age of Empires II, Katamari Damacy, endless permutations of Scrabble, Dr. Mario
I'm unstoppable as: A pyro in Team Fortress 2, a castling Turk in Age of  Empires II, a brute in City of Villains
Video game character most resembled: Heavy Weapons Guy
Height: 6'1"
Hair color: Stubbly
Favorite frozen treat: Italian ice from up the West
Favorite drink: Vietnamese coffee
Dream vacation spot: A dark room with broadband internet and electricity
Biggest musical influences: The Fall, Man or Astro-Man, the Old 97's
Favorite color: Indigo blue
Pets: Guppies

Wesley Fok, Writer
Day job: Grad student, web developer
Lives in: Toronto, ON
Favorite current systems: PC, PS3
Favorite games of all time: Descent, Deus Ex, Wipeout 3
Weapon of choice: Quad super lasers in Descent 3; akimbo pistols in Action Quake 2; rocket launcher in Team Fortress 2; prism towers in C&C Red Alert 2
When I grow up I wanna be: The test driver for the Gran Turismo series
Pet peeves: Grinding in MMOGs and the aiming system in PS2 Grand Theft Auto games.
Dream vacation spot: Planetside, but with a couple thousand people playing it.
Songs I want to see in Rock Band: "More Sweet Soul" by Pretty Girls Make Graves; "Once and Never Again" by the Long Blondes; "Pattern Recognition" by Sonic Youth; "All My Friends" by Land of Talk. Oh, and "Art Star" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, just to see if anyone can sing the chorus
If I were a powerup I would be: QUAD DAMAGE

David Hascall, Writer
Age: 14
Favorite Currently Owned Systems: GameCube, Wii, DS, Dreamcast, and Gameboy Advance.
Most Wanted System: Xbox 360
Most Wanted Game: Halo 3
Height: 5' 6"
Hair Color: Brown
Pets: Two cats
Favorite Video Games: Portal, Super Smash Bros. series, Megaman series, Super Mario Galaxy, Pikmin series, Katamari Damacy, Boktai Series, and Amazing Island
Likes: Pasta, Odd videogames (Portal, Amazing Island, etc.)
Dislikes: People online that talk in only leetspeak or that swear every other sentence
Most used name on online games: Cobalt-60

Dan Hurd, writer
Day job: Homunculus designer and creator
Lives in: The crystalline halls of Valhalla
Age: 29, except when in the store Forever 21
Favorite current systems: Nintendo DS, Xbox360, PC
Beloved games: River City Ransom, Betrayal at Krondor, Front Mission III, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup, Culdcept Saga, SNK vs. Capcom, Ogrebattle, Skullmonkeys, XCOM: UFO Defense, Garry's Mod, and Bubble Bobble
Most hours spent on a fishing mini-game: 23!
Also known as: Avenging Toad (City of Heroes), Baby Daddy (unknown number of women worldwide)
Height: 5'11"
Favorite drink: Moscow Mule, Ambrosia
Likes: an octopus for every man, woman, and child
Dislikes: hearing about someone's lower-leg thrombosis, the idea that someone, somewhere, is doing "The Worm"
Most useless hobby: Designing custom car paint jobs in Forza 2 on obscure games and literary figures
Will eat until explodes: Vietnamese egg rolls, cherry sour belts, gourmet sausages
Gel most desired: Aerogel
Favorite video game enemy: Blue slime (Dragon Warrior series)
Favorite rock: Tourmaline
Car's name: Plothilde

Cori Jacobs, International research director
Day job: Programmer, Marketing-ape
Lives in: Vancouver, BC
Height: 5'2"
Video Game Character Most Resembled: Chell
Favorite current systems: PC, XBox360
Favorite games ever: City of Heroes/Villains, GTA:SA, Portal
First console: Intellivision II
Turn-ons: Cheat codes, bunny hopping
Turn-offs: Misogynists, spawn camping
Favorite food(s): Burritos, cheeseburgers
Phobias: Pregnant bellies, poison zombies from HL2
Favorite ice cream flavor: Cherry Garcia
Simpsons or Family Guy? Futurama
Dream "millionare" phone-a-friend: Stephen Fry
Continents visited: Three
Zombies or robots? Robots
Early bird or night owl? Night Owl
Muppet alter ego: Super Grover
Favorite flicks: Real Genius, Ghostbusters
When I'm not gaming: I'm sitting at a sidewalk cafe, people-watching
Dream date: A trip to the aquarium to watch the fish, then an intimate dinner and drinks at a cozy restaurant
If I had more time: I'd travel more, and learn a foreign language
Message to fans: Keep on truckin'

James Taylor, writer
Day job: Call center ape, student
Lives in: Austin, TX
Age: 26
Favorite current systems: XBox360, Nintendo DS
All-time favorite games: River City Ransom, X-Com: UFO Defense, Bangai-O, Street Fighter 3: Third Strike
I'm unstoppable as: Elena in Street Fighter 3: Third Strike, Demo in Team Fortress 2
Video game character I wish I was: Mayor Mike Haggar
Height: 6'2"
Hair color: Brown
Favorite drink: Ardbeg, neat
Favorite season: First 1/2 of winter
Music to game to: Prefuse 73, Misfits
Favorite color: #0000FF blue
Likes: Sloths
Dislikes: Hollywood's obsession with remakes
Phobias: Biting off my tongue, other people biting off my tongue
Dream date: Bike together to the Alamo Drafthouse, come back home for some co-op action. That is not a double entendre; I would like to knock out the cooperative campaign with you, dream lady.
Message to Fans: "Don't let your friends think that Mortal Kombat is an OK game to like, kids."