Right after the introduction of the v1.4 patch for CoD4, Team Pandemic's awesome sniper, prank’ accepted our invitation to do BASH 46.
In CoD2 prank’ became well known as one of the elite competitive CoD players in the world. Incredibly, he was able to achieve this reputation by using a sniper rifle as his primary weapon. This was no mean feat given how vulnerable you are when you are sniping.
With your peripheral vision gone, looking down a sniper's scope compresses the world down into a zoomed-in snapshot of the battle-field hundreds of yards in front of you. You are target-fixated and you are ripe for being clubbed in the head by a stealthy opponent.
In this environment of run'n-gunners all seemingly intent on crushing the skull of any unwary opponent, prank' redefined the role of the sniper. No longer content to sit in his own spawn picking of the enemy down range, he got up on his avatar's two-feet and raced into the objective. He turned sniping into an offensive sport by providing "close" support. Imagine a hockey goalie who will score on you from the slot, or a baseball catcher that can catch fly balls in the outfield - that is the type of difference he made on the CoD battlefield. prank' was one of a select group of competitive snipers who defined the word "no-scoping". That is, shooting the sniper from the hip - a difficult shot to master given the fact that the cross-hairs are so far apart on the sniper rifles in this mode as to be quite useless.
It is no wonder prank', earlier this month, was elected to the BASHandSlash.com CoD Hall of Fame.
In this episode, prank' has come on to talk a little about his experiences in competitive gaming, as a CoD2 shootist and where he thinks competitive CoD4 gaming is going.
Prior to prank joining Team Pandemic, he was with Enervate. What got him noticed by folks you ask? Check this out:
Here's another classic no-scoped prank' snapshot:
Here are the Show Notes for BASH 46:
Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to BASH...this week we are very lucky to have on one of the best Call of Duty players the game has ever produced, ladies and gentlemen we are proud to have Justin DeMara, aka prank’ on the program.
Justin made a name for himself as the sniper on Team Pandemic in CoD2...arguably one of the best at that position in the world.
In general, to survive as a Sniper in CoD2 - a game filled with automatic weapons - you have to be good - but to rise to your level of excellence, that's exceptional.
It's no doubt you were elected to our BASHandslash.com CoD HoF on the very first ballot last month.
1. Let's follow tradition on this program give me a very quick autobiography..how did you start FPS gaming?
2. When did you find out about CoD and how did you get into competitive gaming?
3. When did you start with Team Pandemic? (Oct 1, 2007?)
4. You made your name in CoD2 competitive play...
a) What role did you take on in the team? (What attracted you to sniping?)
b) Could you describe your playing style?
5. Describe the highlights of your CoD2 gaming?
- Did you like the LAN atmosphere or did you prefer the TWL style internet play?
6. If your like any of the snipers I know you have a lot of respect for the scope on the enemy side (and not so much for any of the mg'ers...lol).
Of the folks you played against...who do you consider to have been the best snipers in CoD2 (excluding yourself). What made them great?
7. Last month, we wrote up an article we did with you to discuss CoD4 Sniping and its problems.
- You stopped being a sniper, in CoD4, why?
8. You've played with CoD4 post v1.3 now...give us your thoughts on the effectiveness of the patch.
- Have the sniper weapons been fixed?
- What is your impression of sniping.
9. Can you put CoD4 sniping into perspective by comparing it with CoD2 sniping:
- The feel of the CoD4 weapons vs the CoD2 weapons
- What do you think of the scope/descope time, does the length of time to scope a target make run'n'gunning with a sniper in CoD4...impossible?
- Is it too easy to aim the snipers in CoD4, without having to hold ur breath?
10. What is the role of the sniper in CoD4 S&D - is it different than the role the sniper had in CoD2?
11. Let's talk about the ruleset going into competition play:
a) What is your general impression of the rulesets being ironed out?
b) Do you agree with the MCE approach (1 set of rules across the board) ...or do you like the variety of rules?
c) Is there a split in the tournament community over these rules?
d) Where is the ruleset heading?
12. Can you discuss the classes and perks that you think you will be allowed to use in competition. What will you be using?
13. What weapon will you be using - have you decided?
14. Tell us about any upcoming Team Pandemic events.
