It’s another edition of our new column, “Ask a Doll”—from here on, responses to your questions will be posted every Thursday. If you guys have more questions, make sure you post them on our forums! Now on to this week’s questions…

What do you think the bestest console ever is/was?

I would have to say, the bestest console ever is/was the Xbox 360.  I know the whole “retro” thing is in right now, but there is no way I could spend 8 hours a day NOW playing Atari or C64.  When considering all past and present consoles, the Xbox 360 has, by far, supplied me with greater glee (always consider the glee factor when choosing the best anything) than any other console.

How’d you choose your individual name, and was it your first choice?

When I was choosing a name, I wanted something that had to do with guns since I’m a FPS fan, and also had a personal touch that relates to me.  I thought up Calyber and spelled it with a “y”, because my real first name is Alyson, spelled with a “y”.  Other tags I was considering included Epsilon and Al Pacino.  Yup, Al Pacino FD.

Will thumb wrestling improve my gaming skills?

Yes, in the same way that real wrestling will improve your grab-ass skills.  Also, fake wrestling will improve your dummy-dumb-dumb skills.

What is your view on how the government is taking action against the purchase of mature-rated games and do you believe that it should be the parent, not the government, that should be moderating these purchases?

This is the same old “Big Brother” debate that has arisen over R-rated films and the V-chip, etc.  Yes, I wish parents could be fully educated about video games and what their kids are playing and watching.  In a perfect world, we could educate people and they would choose for themselves and their dependents.  But how many of us ever sneaked out of the house when we were young or into an R-rated movie?  How many tried alcohol before we were 21?  Smoked before we were 18?  The fact is kids are rebellious little poopies who will do everything they can to try things that they are not ready for.  Parents can get judged as bad parents, but when you got a guy whose job may depend on making sure that underage kids don’t get things that they aren’t ready for, he’s going to do a better job than some parents.  And if the parent thinks the kid is ready for it, then they can rent or buy the game for their kids.

If you play in a tournament event is glitching allowed? If it is not, what happens when someone is caught using an exploit? Also, how do you feel about players glitching on Xbox Live during a general game?

Glitching is generally not allowed in tournaments, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t done.  Rules change from tournament to tournament, but usually if a player is caught glitching they’ll get a warning or possibly have to forfeit the round.  In a regular game, glitching is teh suck!

Have you seen anything to suggest that your existence has encouraged girls, and women, to become gamers (on a non-competitive level) or to “admit” to being long-time gamers?

What, like a female closet-gamer?  That’s kinda weird.  Like she waits till her brothers are gone, then signs in under their accounts, unplugs the mic and plays a little XBLA?  Well, I can say that we’ve met a lot of people who like what we do, and played a lot of games with people who wouldn’t have played a particular game otherwise.  True story: a couple weeks ago, a girl was at my house playing Guitar Hero 2; she played “Cherry Pie” on easy, over and over, for 2 straight hours until she got over 90%.  Not sure whether that is a success story or not, but whatever. (Love you, Megan!)

Would the Frag Dolls ever consider making an appearance at GenCon? Specifically GenCon Indy?

If Ubisoft ever makes a Splinter Cell CCG or Rayman Raving Rabbids table-top RPG, you’ll see us there!

Have any of the Frag Dolls written to their local newspapers to voice their opinions about the government and/or other people/organizations attempting to “ban” video games?

Not that I know of.  But a novel idea! 

Dear Editor of the Portland Fishwrap:
BAN ALL VIDEO GAMES, PLEAZE.  MY BRAINS IS ROTTING.
Regards,
Calyber and/or A Concerned Person/Al Pacino

Hey, did you know Pokemon is banned in Saudi Arabia for allegedly promoting Zionism?  Also, South Korea banned Ghost Recon 2 and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (South Korea will typically ban any game that mentions a fictional war between North and South Korea – even though it DID happen [and will probably happen again, soon!]) There is only one game to date that is banned in the U.S.: The Guy Game...and for good reason!

If you could see either a remake of or sequel to any game of any genre from years past - with top-notch graphics and guaranteed great gameplay (not a thrown-together cash-in) - what game would it be and why?

Psychonauts. The game was pure amazingness and it didn’t get the attention it deserved.  I’d love to see a sequel, or another game with the same type of humor and originality – Tim Schafer is a genius!