Talking Gaming with Periphery's Tom Murphy
Feature
Before the US metal band Periphery embark on their next big tour, the band's biggest gamer, Tom Murphy, found time to have a chat with us about his views on gaming and its impact on his life.
Tom Murphy: Role-playing definitely, its my favourite. All my favourite games are from this genre. But it certainly is not limited to that. I like a lot of FPS games and I really like RTS and turn-based strategy games. I used to like a lot of adventure games like Monkey Island too,. Platformers were a type I liked but not so much anymore. I like a lot of fighters too, we play Soul Calibur II and Marvel vs Capcom 3 a lot.
Hooked Gamers: What are your all-time favourite games?
Tom Murphy: Oh Jesus, haha. Final Fantasy VII, Mass Effect 2, the first Far Cry; when I first played that I thought it was so ahead of its time. The first Deus Ex was a big game for me. Starcraft II is a really massive game for me too, it is a bit different to the games I usually play. The first Fallout titles and Baldur's Gate were fun. I mean I do like shooters too, but I like RPGs a lot! Half-life, definitely Half-life, one of my all time favourites. I was playing Doom and Warcraft way back in the day before the internet I enjoyed them a lot. When I was young I played so many different games.
Hooked Gamers: What was your first console, and what do you own now?
Tom Murphy: My first console was an Atari, it was like the first main one. I remember playing Tank and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, but I hardly remember it. Then I got a Nintendo, and things changed. I used to play Bubble Bobble a lot. I loved that game. I just have an Xbox 360 and a PC now.
Hooked Gamers: So I presume you don’t buy into the whole console war, fan-boy thing? Do you have a preferred console at all, or doesn't it matter?
Tom Murphy: Not at all! I think it so ridiculous. We have our company, Periphery, and when you see it from a business point it's all just business tactics. It's so stupid. Fan-boys just act as the equivalent of a street team, I think it came about from people just trying to justify that their money was well spent. I can see why people hate on the Wii because of the lack of titles, but its true criticism comes from real Nintendo fans. It’s all stupid really. It’s like our fans do it too, but its just silly I am not going to stop them, but if you don't like something just don't say anything that is how I was raised. Debating intellectually is good, but not just being stupid. Things like this are better than that.
Hooked Gamers: With E3 having just passed, did you manage to catch up with some of the announcements, and is there anything that got you excited?
Tom Murphy: Well I do have to say, I was very excited initially with the Wii U, I really liked the new controller. But I think it was Gamespot who did a feature on why it will still fail, and it kind of made sense, but initially I was really excited. I am trying to think of some new titles that I liked but I have forgotten most of the announcements. But there were a few things I got excited about, and others that I am not too bothered about. I mean like FFXIII-2 was one I felt ‘mehh’ about. I am also pretty excited about the PS Vita, it was a cool, nice hardware demo. Personally I think everyone is getting ready for the next generation and big announcements next year, that's why this year was a big push for software not necessarily hardware.
Hooked Gamers: Being in a popular band has it's perks. Have you ever attempted to use these perks to get some early game time on new titles?
Tom Murphy: Not really, no. We have some friends who work for Bethesda because we are from there, we do go in there and have a look at some of the stuff on site after signing non-disclosure agreements haha. That's not so much to do with being in Periphery, but more because we have friends in the industry. I did manage to get to E3 a year a go because of my wife's friend. It was like being a kid in a candy store.
Hooked Gamers: I know the feeling. Anyway, thanks for talking to us Tom and we wish you luck in your upcoming tour!
Tom Murphy: Thanks guys! It was good to speak to you.
You can check out the Periphery MySpace page for further info on the band and to sample their tunes.