YOUNGEST GAMER TO 5-STAR THROUGH THE FIRE AND FLAMES ON EXPERT

For most would-be Guitar Heroes, just making it through the relatively simple opening riff of Foghat’s Slow Ride on Medium is an achievement, but young Ben Eberle is so good he plays on Expert. At 9 years and 167 days, Ben is the youngest person (recorded) to 5-star Dragonforce’s finger-crippling Through the Fire and Flames on the hardest difficulty. Go on, argue that younger people have more flexibility in their tiny digits than your adult pointers, he’s still better than you.

MOST LEVELS IN A PUZZLE GAME

In a time when even the big budget games can be dusted in under seven hours (we’re looking at you Killzone 2) it’s a far cry from the days of The Sentinel and it’s 9,999 levels. Firebird’s epic puzzler from 1986 sees you turning trees to boulders on a wire-frame landscape as you try you get high enough to absorb his energy. Watch the video and imagine working through even eight of these jagged lands. No chance.

FIRST GAME TURNED INTO A MOVIE

A more apt title would surely be First Piece of Videogame Crap Committed to Celluloid, but Super Mario would win either way. In 1993 movie exacts decided that bumbling plumbers, Mario and Luigi were due a silver-screen debut without, we presume, ever seeing the actual game. Gone are the colourful worlds and in comes a gritty cityscape complete with guns, car chases and Dennis Hopper as the corn-row sporting King Bowser Koopa. An abomination of a film, but still a record holder by default. Sigh.

LARGEST COLLECTION OF GAME SYSTEMS

Call it determination, an OCD or a waste of time; it hasn’t stopped 33 year old Richard Lecce (USA) from amassing the largest collection of video-gaming systems. The haul includes 73 Game & Watches, 260 cartridge or CD-based systems and 126 miscellaneous bits of trash that have been overlooked by everyone except Richard. Although visually impressive we’re slightly dubious as to whether his two Intellivisions (left of the Atari box on the top shelf) are counting as one or two, which would make a mockery of the whole record.

LARGEST COLLECTION OF POKEMON MEMORABILIA

Not technically a game record but it still makes the cut. 5,456 items is the total. Belle ‘PikaBelleChu’ Starenchak is her name. Imagine coming home to this every night. “Had a productive day again, eh honey?” “No, it’s fine, you stay here in your shrine, I’ll make dinner”.

All records are currently recognised by Guinness World Records 2009: Gamer's Edition, which you can buy from all good bookshops for £15 (UK) and $21.95 (US).

05 Feb, 2009

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