Akiles: oh yeah, ready!

Akiles: Alright, well, let's see, my name's Álvaro Romero. I'm 25 years old, I live in Barcelone and I do what everybody likes doing in my spare time (going out, having parties, playing games...)

Did you choose your nickname for some special reason? Which was it?

Akiles: Yes, I've always loved mythology and what Achilles meant in those stories. No matter how good someone is, there's always a weak point.

Akiles: I think Age Of Empires was the first one I started playing on the Net, shortly afterwards I moved to Quake 2.

Akiles: Some of my friends used to play Age of Empires, and there wasn't a great scene in strategy games by that time. Also, I chose it mainly because ping wasn't really important in these games, so I could play with a 56K modem.

Akiles: I moved up to Quake 3 after Quake 2. I had won the Winter's Q2 1vs1 tournament at Campus Party. It was the most important tournament by then. That year was when I made up my mind and bought Quake 3. I've had it since it was released. Almost everyone in my clan switched to Quake 3 too. I would enjoy the environment we played in against other clans. I remember getting the second place in the Free For All tournament too. But I can't say whether it was that year or the next one .

Akiles: Hehe, yes, the truth is that I freaked out watching Russian and Swedish gamers play in the first tournaments I attended. I had a nice time playing and speaking with them.

Akiles: To tell you the truth, not many. I've played in CEN (Centuriones), then D&M (Dreams & Magic) and masK (masKerade). I'm currently member of DkS (DarkSide)after a fleeting visit to eu4ia as the Painkiller squad.

Akiles: Painkiller is very fast, that was my first impression, it takes a little time to enjoy it but after that it's addictive. As I've been told, it seems to be like Quakeworld (I can't ensure it because I haven't played much Quakeworld). Let's say it's like CPM for Quake 3 but without a railgun.

Which clan do you think of as the most important for you?

Akiles: Undoubtly D&M has been and will be my most meaningful clan.

Akiles: 4 ex-quakers (Atila, Pikasso, Devastator and some other player I can't remember his name) did it by 1997.

Has D&M always been a Quake clan ever since it was founded?

Akiles: Yes. It started with Quake 2 and then we moved to Quake 3, though we've had some incursions in Counter-Strike hehe.

Akiles: The best and most meaninful moments have been both the first Campus Party 1999 I won and the World Cyber Games in 2002 where I managed to get 2 medals

How did you feel when you were representing Spain and became a runner-up at WCG 2002?

Akiles: When I was there, I didn't feel pushed, I mean, I was very relaxed playing how I used to do, then, when I entered the iRC and saw so many people supporting me I felt something I can't express with my words, THANK YOU! To tell you the truth, I didn't realise about how far I had got until the event finished.

Did you ever think "Am I dreaming?"?

Akiles: No hehe, I had already attended other tournaments intending to succeed, but I wasn't lucky enough. For some reasons I didn't have my turn until then. But I never thought it was being a dream, I was very awake!

What has been the best teamplay in Spain?

Akiles: I think the best Spanish TDM player is HADEx. He's a very organised, tactic player. He has always known how to play and move within a team. Let's say he has a great knowledge on teamplay.

What's your favourite game mode, map and weapon?

Akiles: I love Q3 OSP 1vs1. My favourite map is pro-q3tourney4 but ztn3tourney1 deserves some acknowledgement too. My favourite weapon is Railgun.

Are you currently playing Quake 3 for fun?

Akiles: Hehehe, the truth is I've always played for fun, before and now, though I don't play much nowadays. Perhaps my gaming period is gone, but I can say that a quaker will always be a quaker!

To get to the top with the best players in the World, practising, practising and practising are fundamental factors, but do you think it's necessary to be born 1337?

Akiles: Yes, it's unavoidable. Training can take you far, but when you want to step further, it takes something else which other players don't know or haven't discovered. No one wakes up being a progamer, first and foremost, practice is needed. I would say something special exists amongst the progamers.

As far as you've been able to play Doom3, do you think it fullfils the requeriments of the good FPS games or do you think it'll just be completely a flop?

Akiles: I'm not keen on either Doom3's playability or the computer it needs to run properly. But the last word will come out from OSP (Orange Smoothie Productions), the competition mod creators.

Do you think developers are more focused on boosting their sales than offering gamers a better gaming experience?

Akiles: Nice question. I think satisfying every gamers' ideal of gameplay is almost impossible, mainly because we've already seen many different kinds of games and it's very difficult to launch something innovating, appealing and enjoyable for everyone. In fact, that's the secret in the gaming industry and nobody can say companies don't want to sell as much as possible. Balance between a well-done game and its entertainment is a battle. It'll take a long time to happen, at least to create something quakelike.

Do you think that someday, a game gathering all those factors that make Quake 3 so special will be released? (playability, movement, speed, stealth, strategy, extrajumps...)

Akiles: God knows... perhaps within some years we'll all be playing quakelike games in virtual reality :>

Yes... but the one who currently has all the odds to win is Orange Smoothie Productions with Doom 3. What do you think?

Akiles: That's true, to be more specific, there's nothing out there that can outdo OSP, so Doom 3 is likely to show us another face when it comes to competitions in the near future.

What do you currently do in your free time?

Akiles: I'm a programmer. I do many different things in my free time like playing sports, having parties and playing games.

Could you tell us more about the rumours on D&M and its possible return?

Akiles: At the moment, D&M is hybernating (again ) and both Sombra and I are going to be part of DkS's Doom 3 squad, though we are still negotiating.

Last question... is there anything you would like to add or comment on?

Akiles: Yes, there is. I would like to say that I've had such a great time playing Quake 3! I wouldn't change anything I've done to reach the level I am no.

Akiles: I've actually enjoyed it, thank you

Akiles's favourite maps:
1on1: pro-q3tourney4
TDM: pro-q3dm6