Michael Lafferty
Michael Lafferty spent 20 years laboring as a journalist before shucking that underpaid, overworked gig in favor of new life adventures, and work that would leave him smiling at the end of the day. His exploits in the video gaming world decry the cliches foisted upon him as a child that life "isn't all fun and games." It certainly can be, especially when combining the love of writing with playing games. If you would like to say howdy, he can be reached at mikel@gamezonemail.com.

Louis Bedigian
Louis Bedigian is what normal humans refer to as "obsessed."  He waited in line for more than eight hours to get a PlayStation 2.  He watched Tech TV for more than 20 hours just to see a few minutes of footage of Munch's Oddysee and Luigi's Mansion.  Despite being one of his least-favorite games, he rented Zone of the Enders twice in March.  Not for the game itself, only so he could beat the MGS2 demo again!  And again!  And again....

Through the years of obsessing over games, Louis found something else to obsess over: writing.  Expressing his cheers and jeers about games turned out to be just as fun as actually playing them, if not better in some cases.  His love of games and writing is what brought him to GameZone Online and he couldn't be happier. CasaDeJoey@aol.com

Scott Kuvin aka "Tha Wiz"
Back in the days of my youth, my family owned an Intellivision, but some games that I wanted were found on Atari 2600 and Colecovision. My parents refused to buy me any additional systems, which was traumatic, but is where I made my decision to one day own all video game systems and to be the best ... a wizard ... at playing and destroying others in video games. Throughout the years of getting kicked out of friend's houses or being thought of as "antisocial", I have thus accomplished my goals. I currently reside in Louisville KY with my wife, two kids, dog, cat, and Kingsnake, supervise a team of sales reps, and play video games as much as possible. Bring me a first person shooter, RPG, or a fast paced action game, and I'll show you how to take them down. s.kuvin@insightbb.com

Nick Valentino
Nick Valentino was born and raised in Oxford, England in 1976 and fell in love with video games when, at the age of 13, won a Nintendo system in a Ramones sound-alike contest (he couldn’t resist Super Mario at the time).  Thinking he could make it big in the music scene in America, he moved to Los Angeles at 18 and found himself writing for PSM magazine for a year because “the Playstation demands my attention so often that I willingly bow to it like the slave I am.”  He still lives in Los Angeles with his wife Claudia and is also the singer/songwriter for a Radiohead-inspired band called SoulStatic.  You may contact Nick at  nick_valentino@hotmail.com

Tim Surette
Tim divides his time between DJing, bartending, binge drinking (it comes with the job), freelance writing, and uttering “I didn’t do it”.  As soon as he stops pretending to be productive, he’ll hammer out one of the four screenplays he’s currently working on, sell it for millions, and retire to Tahiti at the ripe old age of 29.  He lives in San Francisco’s Mission district, is a swell guy, and from the sounds of her bio, would love to meet fellow GameZone writer Natalie Romano.   Send all complaints to: timsaky@hotmail.com

Michael Knutson
When I was real young my parents owned an Atari 2600, and I got to play on it ever so often. When I was seven  my parents bought me a NES, which really got me hooked on gaming, playing Mario, Zelda, and other classics. Then I moved on to the SNES, PSX, and now to this generation of gaming consoles. I also enjoy playing PC games from time to time. I started writing on a PC hardware site when I first started going to college, then my friends and I got tired of it so we moved on to other projects. I worked on a well-known site and other small sites before working here. When I am not playing games I enjoy hanging out with my friends, going to parties, and doing many other things. mknutson@gamezonemail.com

Natalie Romano
Having come from a home with four video-game-obsessed big brothers; Natalie developed a long love affair with the gaming world.  Now Natalie is the proud owner of a PS2, a Dreamcast, an Xbox and two very sore thumbs.  She once worked as an NBC Studios tour guide, was a Hawaiian Tropics Girl and modeled for several department store catalogues before she found herself as a contributing reviewer for the Official Dreamcast Magazine (her dream job).  Natalie lives in Southern California and currently has her own column in the Campus Scene newspaper called The Film Reporter.

Eduardo Zacarias
Eduardo Zacarias has been playing video games since he learned how to crawl and pick up an Atari Pong paddle.  Since then, he grew up playing video games and competing (and winning) various game tournaments in various arcades in Southern California.  Dubbed “Nice Guy Eddie” by the loyal arcade fan groups in the neighborhood, Eduardo continues his ongoing love for games with the Xbox and PC. He is currently the Opinion Editor of the campus paper of his local university (CSUN) and lives off campus with his dog Sam. You may contact him at  EduardoZac@gamezonemail.com 

Steven Hopper
Steven Hopper didn't get into video games until his parents bought him his first Nintendo console at the ripe old age of three. However, since then he has been playing video games non-stop, forfeiting nearly all signs of normalcy. He is currently pursuing a BA in Theatre and a minor in Journalism at Albertson College of Idaho, but somehow video games keep getting in the way. In his free time, he enjoys video games (duh!) and banging out chords (poorly, might I add) on his Gibson Les Paul guitar. If you care enough to contact him, email him at stevanos@gamezonemail.com. 

Justin Raymond
Justin Raymond has been gaming since his childhood days, rescuing many damsels in distress, taking a lot of trips through the Mushroom Kingdom, besting a case of Deja Vu, or whatever might come along. Yes, it all started with the NES, for JR at least, but his love for gaming has not hindered. An owner of nearly every past major system, and currently supporting the Xbox, he now is enjoying the reviewer's life.

Rob “Robot” Watkins
Rob’s love for gaming all started when he got an NES for Christmas. It was just a casual hobby until Final Fantasy VII came out, and then it became an obsession. Because of that game, he is what he is today. Originally from Eagle, ID, he now attends the University of Idaho in Moscow, ID. Only ninety percent of his time is spent playing video games, unfortunately. The other ten percent is spent going to class and collecting comic books and action figures. There are only three other loves in his life besides video games: drawing, writing, and his girlfriend of four years. He likes all types of games, but some of his more recent favorites are: Command & Conquer: Generals (PC), Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO (Xbox), Mechassault (Xbox), War of the Monsters (PS2), GTA: Vice City (PS2), and Resident Evil Zero (GC).  These are just recent favorites. His Xbox Live Gamertag is Materia Keeper and you can contact him at RobW@GameZone.com.  

Kevin "BIFF" Giacobbi
Kevin (a.k.a. Biff to his closest friends) has been intrigued by video games since Pong and Space Invaders were introduced. When Atari released the 2600, a whole new world was born. Now old enough to call thirty-something, he is still mesmerized by the latest technology, hoping it will continue to grow. "I can remember playing Atari's combat for hours thinking this is the greatest war game ever!"  Now multiplayer gaming over the Internet is by far the best thing since sliced bread. His favorites are first person shooters, simulations, adventure, and anything that requires a quick trigger finger. biffgames@hotmail.com

John Wrentmore
Just like any typical gamer, John focuses completely on isolating himself from the horrors that surround him, better known as Society. When not reviewing, John enjoys quoting memorable movie monologues ("You take the red pill...and I'll show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes"), doing laundry for the elderly, and subjecting himself to the spirited sounds of Tenacious D. If you wish to contact John and be consumed in his hallowed company, you can email him at wrentmore2003@yahoo.com.

Code Cowboy
Tom got his start in gaming with pinball and Pong in the 70s. While he loved playing Atari at friends' houses, he opted to beg his parents for the fancier Odyssey 2 game system. In high school, he owned a Timex Sinclair computer which was his first taste of programming his own games. As the years went by he graduated to Coleco and a Commodore 64 ("Mom, I swear I need it for college!"), while spending weekends feeding tokens to Gorf, Tron and Tempest. As newer systems like Nintendo, Genesis, TurboGrafx and Playstation came along, he got them all. Now a programmer/analyst (hence, the name- Code Cowboy), he still owns all of the games he grew up with-- and looks for ones he never had. Someday, he hopes to get an Atari 2600 of his very own. One can dream. codecowboy@aol.com

RGerbino
RGerbino is a freelance writer who lives in New York with his girlfriend. Together they cleverly avoid bill collectors and concoct ingenious ways to get over on the man. He spends entirely too much of his time playing video games, and not nearly enough time sleeping. Comments are welcome at Static101@MSN.com

Aceinet
I've been playing video games since the days of the Atari 2600.  I remember the day when my Mom came home with the Atari and a copy of Pac-Man.  My world has never been the same since.  I've owned nearly every console system ever released, and if I didn't owned it I've at least played the games.  I can't even recall a single game magazine out that I didn't have a subscription too.  You can reach me at aceinet@earthlink.net.

Tim Ceradsky
Ever since the day that we opened the new Atari 2600 console for  Christmas (and had to put quarters in the can next to the TV to play a  game, thanks Dad!! =), I have been playing, writing, and modifying  games. The rollcall of systems that I have played games on is long and> distinguished. From sprite animations on the C64 to bumpmaps on the  latest DirectX games, graphics have come a long ways.  I have 2 boys, 2 girls who all take after Dad and play games whenever  possible. My wife tolerates the gaming as well as can be expected and  can take me to school on most of the puzzle-type games.  Someday, I hope to grow up and be a stuffy business guy, but until  then I'll keep chasing the boys with a rocket launcher or Warthog. blade_bearer@yahoo.com

Angelina Sandoval
The sister-in-law of fellow game reviewer Nick Valentino and a hardcore gamer who just happens to love writing and games with a passion.  She was once a serious contender for Miss Teen Pasadena--until a broken leg forced her to sit out the judges’ final verdict--and was the cheer captain of the Varsity cheerleaders at Kennedy High.  After a failed audition to cheer for the Denver Broncos (insert airhead cheerleader jokes here), she came back to study at the local university in Southern California to become an English Literature teacher.  She counts Halo, Grand Theft Auto III and Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 as her all-time favorite games.  You can send complaints, praise or the occasional thanks to angelinas@gamezonemail.com. 

The Bearer
The Bearer has been playing games ever since he was a wee lad, starting with “The Pong” machine, as it was lovingly referred, and continuing through virtually every console since.  The proud owner of what has been often referred to as the “mother of all videogame collections”; The Bearer is a certified game fanatic.  Luckily, The Bearer has a wife, Mrs. Bearer, who also enjoys this crazy world of videogamedom, and she’s even hot to boot.  Married eleven years, The Bearer and Mrs. Bearer are the proud parents of the Mini-Bearer, who of course is a videogame prodigy.
When not playing games or terrorizing the family dog, “Crash Bandicoot Bearer”, The Bearer spends his time writing of his “fictional” (wink, wink) exploits of cleansing the world of demon scum, and a myriad of other, quickly becoming ridiculously long list of hopefully soon to be published novels. thebeareroftheblade@yahoo.com

Matt Berner
Matt has two great passions in his life, videogames and writing. Though he was first introduced to videogames during the age of Bionic Commando and Marble Madness, it was titles such as Super Metroid and Secret of Mana that began his addiction. Though he recognizes all great games that extend throughout the genres, his favorites tend to fall into the categories of either RPG or Platform. He is currently a double major at CLU studying both the art of Computer Science and Multimedia.  Alas, not all of his time can be dedicated to videogames. Regrettably, Matt is also known for his cold dependency on "The Family Guy", and can often be found gathered around his big screen TV with a multitude of friends.  Feel free to drop him an email at Lucid_Imagination@hotmail.com

Beavis
Beavis has been a gamer since he first received an Atari 2600 at the age of 6. He has since enjoyed every major game system since. He now enjoys the Xbox, GameCube, Playstation 2, Game Boy Advance, and PC. His favorite genres of games are RPGs and first person shooters. rheller666@hotmail.com

Primarily KidZone Reviewer (Though not exclusively, plus many of the above reviewers review kids titles too from time to time)

Anise Hollingshead
Anise's obsession with computer gaming all began with her family's purchase of a computer in 1995. Upon her husband asserting that it would only be used for work and educational purposes, Anise promptly went out the very next day and bought King's Quest 6. Her life has never been the same once she realized that books could actually be played out interactively (adventure games) on the computer. Although a relative latecomer to computers, she has since made up for lost time. Alas, adventure games are few and far between these days, but she has lately discovered the joys of strategy gaming (interactive dollhouses, albeit with armor!). As a parent of three, Anise is highly interested in children's software and firmly believes you can never have too many kids' games lying around. She also homeschools her youngest daughter and therefore is always searching for great educational programs to supplement her curriculum.

All time favorite games: King's Quest 6, Monkey Island series, Day of the Tentacle, Caesar III, HOMM II, Orly's Draw a Story, Zoombinis, Mathquest with Aladdin, Putt Putt Travels Through Time, Cluefinders. Drop me a note on your favorites at ahollin272@cox.net

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Previous Reviewers:

The Badger
It started with Atari, became established on Intellivision, and has since then progressed onto more platforms and PC’s than The Badger can recount in one sentence. If not playing an Xbox, GBA, PS2, or PC new release, The Badger, or The Badger’s equally gaming obsessed significant-other, can sometimes be found playing Diablo II Online. Amongst the other hobbies/obsessions you may also find evidence of in The Badger’s Den are shelves of books from a several year and pleasant stint as a bookseller, a half closet of Ren Faire and other fest garb, assorted comic books, and a growing collection of anime. The Badger believes that gaming has something to offer for everybody – AND it’s a lot cheaper than therapy!

Kevin Krause
Kevin "Immune" Krause, a.k.a. "kev," is a college student who spends way too much time playing video games. His addiction was first satisfied by multiplayer games such as Duke Nukem 3D and Warcraft. It was then furthered as more similar games were introduced, namely: Command & Conquer, Quake, Quake II, and Quake III. He was an impressive contender in the PGL (Professional Gamers League), and one season he somehow managed to get to the quarter-finals in the Quake II competition. Although he still enjoys PC games, Playstation and Playstation 2 games have definitely caught his interest. Some of his favorite console games are: Gran Turismo 3, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, and Grand Theft Auto III. Let's just hope that he doesn't take his game addiction too far, since a college degree could be a good thing to have, maybe? If you want to contact this freak, don't hesitate to email him at kevink@gamezonemail.com .

Ovaldog
Chuck has been gaming since the earliest days (PONG, Space Invaders, Asteroid...ect). Chuck is an addict to anything that goes fast and makes lots of noise, in other words a race fan born and bred. Having been the Vice President of Oregon's largest Radio Controlled Off Road Race Track for many years and having driven every sort of R/C vehicle under the sun (Monster Trucks, Race Trucks, 2WD Modified Buggies, 4WD Off Road Buggies, 4WD Touring Sedans, Top Fuel Dragsters, Drag Trucks, Electric and Nitro) he has a real world understanding of racing and the set ups that can take you to the front of the pack. Main gaming interests are Racing Simulations (pretty obvious) and First Person Shooters or Combat games (must get that from his ten years of Military experience). However having two sons and two daughters around (ages 10 to 20), you may also find him reviewing games from other genres (with the help of the kids). ...oh yeah the name....Ovaldog....goes back to his days of R/C racing when he was running scale 1/2 mile dirt oval with an Associated RC10GT Nitro powered gas truck... well the oval part is easy to get.....then he had this big male Rottwieler that used to hang out around the track......now you know the rest of the story. Comments may be sent to Dogbreath@cascadeaccess.com

 Aaron Reed
Ever since he brought home his first "decked out" 286 with no hard drive, a 5 1/4" floppy drive, and a whopping 64K RAM, Aaron has been addicted to computers. While he loves playing new and exciting games and seeing the advancements made year in and year out, he cannot help but remember fondly the days when his friends would gather around that 286 Beast and relentlessly slam the keys as hard and as fast as possible in order to make a little stick man run around a track in Bruce Jenner's Decathlon. Those were the days. Aaron can't get enough out of computers by playing games and has made it his livelihood as a software engineer. He writes software in Visual C, Java, HTML, and other languages. He also owns a computer business in which he sells hardware, customized software, and computer diagnostic skills. Yet he still manages to find time to fire up a game here and there to frag his buddies. His current favorites include: StarCraft: BroodWar, Unreal Tournament, Quake3Arena, and Civilization II.

Christy Wasson
Christy is a stay at home mother of two young children in Lexington, KY. She loves games of all sorts - boardgames, computer games, and especially playstation games. Christy carries the role of undefeated in her house and will take on anyone in any game. Give her 5 minutes with a game and she will master it and teach you how as well. While Christy loves games, she particularly loves the education games can offer and involves her children in games as much as possible giving them a fun yet challenging experience.

Dylan Parrotta (Snackdawg)
Born in upstate New York, some of Snackdawg's earliest memories are of sitting in the local bar, playing Pac-Man on the tabletop machine.   Video games have helped him procrastinate from kindergarten to college.   Now he finally has a chance to repay the industry that has helped him maintain his antisocial behavior and mediocre grades for so long.   Incidentally, Dylan is a college student in New York City. qbertp@aol.com

 
Gil Alexander Shif
Gil Alexander Shif has been writing and gaming for over 950 years. He holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College, and has contributed to many gaming- and technology-related publications, including GameZone, IGN, and Computer Games Magazine. Gil also freelances as an editor for Prima Publishing and the All Media Guide and as a contributing editor for the IEEE Computer Society. Contact him at gilshif@hotmail.com. 

immortal
A lifelong resident of Michigan, immortal has been playing video games for about 15 years now, with no signs of slowing down. He is currently a student at Eastern Michigan University, but hopes to have his degree in Computer Science soon (yeah, right). In his spare time he has been known to read books, play the bass guitar, and spend time with his wife and dog. But mostly he just plays video games." flinch512@aol.com

 
Jason Lambert
Jason "Herb" Lambert is married, has three boys and lives in West Virginia. He is currently a computer programmer for KRO Productions designing educational software. He is also the project leader for a new game site called GameMojo (coming soon). Jason has played computer/console games since they came to the consumer market. He purchases over 95% of the games that are released and plays them extensively.

 
John Brandon
John Brandon didn't get hooked on computer games until Commander Keen was released as shareware in September of 1990 by a tiny and obscure company called ID Software. After playing through all 932 levels (or maybe it was six) and all three episodes, he moved on to the original Duke Nukem and many others. Keeping with the ID theme, he downloaded Wolfenstein 3D shortly thereafter and, by distributing it to hundreds of new gaming fanatics, effectively halted productivity at a large office complex. Since then, John (who is an avid sports fan) has almost single-handedly kept EA Sports in business over the last decade. His recent craze over RPG games has kept him up so late he is starting to look like the guy from Planescape Torment.

 
Kemuel
Kemuel owns far too many video game systems to be able to play any of them enough to justify their purchases. He also lives with three cats in Manhattan and spends an inordinate amount of time teaching them to play Tetris. The therapy apparently hasn't panned out yet.

 
Lupos
Having seemlessly parlayed an irrelevant Business Degree and the lack of a girlfriend into a burgeoning career in writing game reviews, Lupos is thankful to have found a release for his gift of criticism. When not dissecting the latest bug-laden system hog of a game, he works at a computer tech company in Spokane, Washington. He has been playing computer games for fifteen years and has been known to pump out a shareware game of his own now and then. He can be reached/flamed at lupos@usa.net or you can check his current Unreal Tournament stats at http://ut.ngworldstats.com/.

 
Rita Courtney
Rita Courtney writes short stories and poetry (especially birthday poems for her grandkids). She's an avid racing fan (short track oval) and one of the few women flag *persons* that she knows of. She also enjoys watching school sports and tries to attend every game that her grandchildren play in. Rita enjoys *messing* about on the computer and is totally self-taught in using it, she has never attended any classes on computer usage. She loves a good challenge and the computer sure gives her one sometimes!

 
Simply Laura (Da bomb mom)
Laurie "Da bomb mom" Emerson is a mother and wife who loves being both. Her husband is in the Air Force and they are stationed in Biloxi, MS. She was born in Bangor Maine but calls New Hampshire home. Laurie found the Internet four years ago and got hooked the minute she logged on. When called, she is a substitute teacher. When not, she spends all her spare time trying to become that all famous, well paid (at least enough to make a living) writer.  Laurie has written stories for everything from Woman’s World to National Enquirer (she felt it her duty to answer some of those enquiring minds!)

Laurie has been a die-hard gamer since her first close encounter with the old Atari Pong system. Although she has all the consoles, she is in love with her Playstation2. She enjoys playing them with her children who have dubbed her “da bomb mom”. Laurie is also a TV lover, and still loves the oldies but goodies. Her latest way to fill the old budget gap is entering contests and sweepstakes, for which she has been fortunate enough to win a few. All aside, Laurie says her best job is one of mother and wife -- one she feels as if she just might be pretty good at!  If you have any comments on her reviews, feel free to write Da bomb mom at a.l.emerson@worldnet.att.net. 

Kathy Hamann
Kathy Hamann who resides in Westminster, California, is a retired financial secretary who is in the process of learning web design.  She rarely watches television.  Instead she spends many hours playing strategy, adventure, and childrens games on her PC.  Her other hobbies include cooking, sewing, reading, and gardening.

 
Suzi Sez
Suzi Sez is a grandmother of 7, ranging in age from 1 month to 10 years. As a child, she grew to love to read and to play board games. As a woman and mother, she passed on those two passions to her children. Now, as a grandmother, her love for books remains but her love for games has evolved into an avid love for computer games! She plays both online and off and is especially fond of roleplaying. Although she still gives books as gifts to her grandchildren, she also encourages them to use their computers to open their minds and enhance the world about them.

Suzi Sez has been writing in one genre or another since she was a teen and has most recently been writing freelance articles for local newspapers. As a disabled person, she spends the majority of her time on her computer, gaming or exploring the web for points of interest. Feel free to write her at suzisez1@hotmail.com with any comments on her reviews.

Patricia Wiley
A homemaker and homeschooling mom, who is learning alot about playing PC and Console games from her 8 year old gamer who wants to be a reviewer when he grows up. Tricia enjoy"s reviewing games with the help of her son, his friends, her husband and her Mother whom the game addiction gene was inherited from. The family apply's "Lose a game" as a form of discipline yet rarely has to enforce it. They do encourage other forms of activities, yet the child insists that, other things just get in the way.

The views and opinions expressed by our reviewers are theirs and may not be that of GameZone or its management.  In fact, GameZone’s policy is to not influence the outcome of any review.