A lurker says hi...(it only took 3 years)

So...hi. My name is RedSeed and I am a lurker. It is a filthy habit that I am desperately trying to break, so here is my pitiful attempt at a blog (literally first ever) so please...be gentle.

I am a cynical, often miserable sack of bones that is quickly approaching my mid-thirties. I have a long-suffering but amazingly tolerant girlfriend of nearly 12 years who is also an avid gamer (she loves the Resi series, even 6!) and an amazing, almost 4 year old daughter who has me wrapped around her little finger on a permanent basis. She's beginning to show an interest in games, too, recently co-opping some Lego LotR with her Mum! (It was a very proud day for all).

I've been a gamer pretty much my whole life, starting when my Dad brought home a ZX Spectrum when I was about 4 or 5 years old. The first game I remember playing was Spy Hunter, and even though I was rubbish at it I remember the effect it had on me, and suddenly all my other toys seemed, well, shit by comparison. One of my fondest memories from that time is playing through a game called The Oracles Cave with my Mum, where I would do all the moving around and she would fight all of the various monsters that popped up on the way. It was one of the first games I (we) ever completed. She was also awesome at Tetris and Rainbow Islands (man, she would really put me to shame on that).

From there, a bunch of different computers and consoles followed, but I have to say the one that I really fell in love with was my Amiga 500. This was the machine that made me realise that gaming was going to be a lifelong passion for me. There were just so many amazing games to be had - Monkey Island, Shadow of the Beast, Last Ninja, Moonstone - I could reel off hundreds of titles here, but I'm gonna stop myself right there. You get the picture.

My other passion is comic books, this time thanks to my Mum, who used to get her bosses son's Marvels because he just used to chuck 'em when he was done. I literally learned to read thanks to Spidey, The Hulk and Ghost Rider (and I'm talking Johnny Blaze, here. The REAL Ghost Rider). I stopped collecting actual comics in the mid-nineties when I seemed to lose interest for awhile, but got back into them around the mid-2000's when I started going for collected editions. I do grab a few digitally and at the mo I'm enjoying Batman, Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Wolvie and the X-Men, Daredevil, Hawkeye and the Hulk. Reading comics from such a young age also bred a passion for drawing in me, and it fast became one of the only things I have a shred of natural talent in. One of my biggest dreams when I was a kid was to grow up to become a comic book artist, and I filled tons of note books and sketch pads with pictures of all my favourite heroes and villains. I still draw now, occasionally, but to be honest it's hard to find the time and the energy to do it as anything other than a hobby. Maybe one day, if I don't die of old age first.

I stumbled on Destructoid just over three years ago, and signed up after reading Jim's review of Deadly Premonition, happy to find someone else who shared my love for this strange little game. I knew straight away that Dtoid was different from all the other gaming sites out there, and different in the best possible way. It just has the right kind of vibe, the right kind of people. Overloaded with wit and humour and the open-mindedness that makes it all possible, this is place I visit whenever I'm in need of a smile or a giggle, and you crazy bastards never disappoint. Time prevents me from being as involved as I would like to be, but hopefully I can do the blog thing from time to time. So thanks for cheering up this miserable sod more times than I care to remember.

Also - I've just started playing Anarchy Reigns a few days ago (I love it) and was curious to see who you guys think are the better characters in the game? I've only played Jack, Leo and Max so far and I seem to do better in mp as Max, but still not as good as I would like! Any tips would be showered with love.

Ok, thanks for taking the time to read this (to anyone who did!) and adios.