STACK #251 September 2025

visit jbhifi.com.au/stack

BEST SELLERS at

What’s your earliest video gaming memory?

AUGUST 2025

SEPTEMBER

Playing Rugrats on the PS1.

1 MAFIA: THE OLD COUNTRY

What’s your all-time favourite game or game series?

2 METAL GEAR SOLID DELTA: SNAKE EATER

’ s ROVING REPORTER

3 DONKEY KONG BANANZA

Bully , or the Tomb Raider series.

4 RUGBY LEAGUE 26

KEELY WILLIAMS @ JB The Glen,VIC

What have you been playing most lately?

5 GEARS OF WAR: RELOADED

Heavy Rain .

6 MINECRAFT

You can only have one games console from any era – what would it be and why?

What’s the best thing about working in games at JB?

7 LOST SOUL ASIDE

Advising customers games to try that they may not have played and getting to contribute with merchandising in the games department.

The PlayStation 2. It’s backwards compatible, it has an inbuilt DVD player, and it has the best catalogue of games for every type of gamer.

8 KIRBY AND THE

FORGOTTEN LAND - NINTENDO SWITCH 2 EDITION + STAR CROSSED WORLD

GAME EXAM 1. What was the name of the 2010 Sonic the Hedgehog karting game developed by Sumo Digital? 2. What was the original name of legendary arcade smash Pac-Man ? 3. Which actor voiced Claptrap in the Borderlands movie? 4. What was the first Tom Clancy novel to get the video game treatment, back in 1987? 5. Who was the main protagonist in the original Silent Hill ? 6. In which game series by Suda51 has the character Travis Touchdown starred? 7. On which console did the original Final Fantasy Tactics first release? 8. What was the name of the first SpongeBob game, released on Game Boy Color in 2001? Are you up to answering all eight of this month’s game related posers?

9 MARIO KART 8 DELUXE

10 GRAND THEFT AUTO V

!

ANSWERS on page 78

1 What was the first game that you remember playing? Aside from early handheld electronic games I’ve largely forgotten, it was Colossal Cave Adventure that was probably my first true video game. It was an early text-based game that had me deeply immersed and is probably what made me a game maker! 2 What’s your favourite video game of all time? I have probably spent more hours playing Hack and NetHack than any other game. My more recent 1,000-plus hours addiction is Factorio . 3 What do you think is the most underrated video game of all time? There was a PC Engine/TurboGrafX game called Military Madness that was one of the greatest tactical strategy games ever made that not many people have heard of or played. Check it out! 4 Which of the games that you’ve been involved in the creation of is your favourite? What a cruel question! It’s like asking a parent to choose a favourite child… I have fond memories of working on the Duke Nukem and Half-Life games as well as the original Halo , but I think my first fully original game that I conceived of, directed and produced, Brothers in Arms , earns a special place in my heart. 5 What are you working on currently? Currently my entire life is focused on Borderlands 4 - since we ushered in the looter shooter genre with the original Borderlands , 4 is without question the biggest and best Borderlands game yet and I am extremely excited for the worldwide launch this month!

Co-founder of Gearbox Software, CEO and president of The Gearbox Entertainment Company RANDY PITCHFORD

Duke Nukem

60 SEPTEMBER 2025

jbhifi.com.au