First Penguin - Diving into games

It all started at P.B's Diner in Glassboro, New Jersey, on a night in late October of 2005, over pancakes, milkshakes, and nasty coleslaw that no one ever eats. Ben played with his. We made a list of ideas, and by the time we paid the check, we had all thrown in money for Tim to start building our video game review Web site.

After the first six months of meeting at the diner almost weekly, the waitresses had come to expect our seemingly never-ending visits with the good old, There are three more people coming, I swear, and the always-popular, "What do you think James Brown would taste like?" jokes from Mark. (The answer to that is, "Exactly what he smells like: leather, sweat, and Cheetos," for those of you who may have been wondering.)

But overall, no amount of buffalo chicken tenders, mozzarella cheese fries, and sides of ranch (not blue cheese) could ever see the end of our constantly-developing community. First Penguin is just the beginning…and we won’t stop until we have exactly the kind of soda that we were expecting!

Official Staff

Name: Tim Leheny
From: Erial, NJ
Role: Webmaster/Reviewer/Moderator
Favorite Consoles: PC, Xbox, & SNES
Top 5 Games of All Time:
1.) Starcraft (PC)
2.) Sonic 3 and Knuckles (Genesis)
3.) World of Warcraft (PC)
4.) Prince of Persia (Xbox)
5.) Final Fantasy 7 (PS1)
When I'm not playing games, you can find me playing on the computer, or playing the guitar.

Name: Katie Brownlow
From: Erial, NJ
Role: Editor/Moderator
Favorite Consoles: GameCube, Xbox 360, & NES
Top 5 Games of All Time:
1.) Mario Party (GameCube)
2.) Animal Crossing (GameCube)
3.) Guitar Hero/Rock Band (PS2/Xbox 360)
4.) Viva Piñata (Xbox 360)
5.) Bubble Bobble (NES)
When I'm not playing games, you can find me playing with Inara (my pug pup), kicking my boyfriend's ass in kung-fu, cooking, taking pictures, going to the movies, or watching the Food Network/Cartoon Network.

Name: Devin Burke
From: Pilesgrove, NJ
Role: Founder/Reviewer/Moderator
Favorite Consoles: Xbox 360, NES, GameCube, & Dreamcast
Top 5 Games of All Time: It's hard enough to choose 5, and to rank them is impossible.
1.) Gunstar Heroes (Sega Genesis)
2.) Mega Man 2 (NES)
3.) Katamari Damacy (PS2)
4.) Soul Calibur (Dreamcast)
5.) Starcraft (PC)
When I'm not playing games, you can find me with my girlfriend, training in kung-fu, snowboarding, working, or dreaming.

Name: Ben Tucker
From: Blackwood, NJ
Role: Founder/Reviewer
Favorite Consoles: Dreamcast, Xbox, Xbox360
Top 5 Games of All Time:
1.) Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 (Dreamcast)
2.) Counter Strike 1.6 (Xbox, PC)
3.) Metal Gear Solid (PS)
4.) Bionic Commando (NES)
5.) Splinter Cell (Xbox)
When I'm not playing games, you can find me playing chess, eating, or sleeping.

Official Reviewers


Name: Mark Thompson (a.k.a. Mark NESCORE) From: The Grove, NJ Favorite Consoles: NES, GameCube, & PS2 Top 5 Games of All Time: 1.) Castlevania: Syphony of the Night (PSOne) 2.) Resident Evil 4 (PS2) 3.) Grand Theft Auto (PS2 — as a series, mindless fun) 4.) NCAA College Football (PS2) 5.) River City Ransom (NES) This is all at the moment. I've been working on my top five for years now, never getting it right. Games like Contra (NES), Metriod: Zero Mission (GBA), or Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA) could all end up on there. Also God of War (PS2). It's hard to make a top five, kids...because there are a ton of great games. When I'm not playing games, you can find me rockin’ the airwaves on Rowan Radio, fighting zombies, or getting ready for a taped fist fight behind the old Rickel in Vineland.	Name: Rachel Fricke (a.k.a. incuversion) From: Crystal City, Missouri Favorite Consoles: Playstation 2 and Nintendo DS Top 5 Games of All Time: 1.) Fallout 2 (PC) 2.) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox) 3.) Silent Hill 2 (PS2) 4.) Dai Gassou: Band Brothers (DS) 5.) Guitar Hero (PS2) When I'm not playing games, you can find me listening to and/or playing music, going to concerts, writing, drawing/painting, and sleeping.

Name: Thomas Rucker (a.k.a. Mike Williams) From: Long Island, New York Favorite Consoles: PS2, Dreamcast, Xbox 360 Top 5 Games of All Time: Final Fantasy VII (Playstation) Shenmue (Dreamcast) Tekken Tag Tournament (PS2/Arcade) Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2) Resident Evil 4 (GameCube/PS2/Wii) There are so many other games I'd like to mention here, just because they may have been overlooked by the general gaming public, but these five games all felt very special to me when I first played them. When I'm not playing games, you can find me writing, out with friends, watching a movie, or pretending I'm awake at work.