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James Richards hasn’t been nominated for one of this year’s Golden Joystick Awards, but he stands to walk away with an even bigger prize on the night: not one but three Guinness World Records.

Richards will be taking part in the Lucozade Alert Plus Sonic 2 Challenge during the ceremony in London on 30 October, and is hoping to clock up the fastest ever completion time on the first level of the classic Mega Drive game (now available as part of Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection on PS3, XBLA and Wii’s Virtual Console).

He’s no stranger to Sonic success – he already holds the world record for speed-running the entirety of Sonic The Hedgehog 3 in just 49 minutes and 17 seconds. “When Guinness World Records released their first Gamers Edition in 2008 I had a flick through, and as an avid gamer I wondered what kind of gaming record I could accomplish,” Richards told GamesRadar.

“The only thing that sprang to mind was Sonic 3, a game I have absolutely played to death over the last 15 years or so, and completing it ridiculously fast, the way a Sonic game should be played. I got in touch with Guinness and I was told that there was no current record for a Sonic 3 speed-run, so I decided to set one.”

Richards has been getting in some Sonic 2 practice on a Mega Drive in preparation for the event, and hopes to “kick a few butts” on the day. The challenge to beat the game has been set by Lucozade to celebrate the launch of its new energising shot, Lucozade Alert Plus. The drink gives you a mental energy boost that will help mental performance, focus, reactions and alertness – the kind of things you need when dealing with the fastest games character around.

So will Richards be picking up a second world record on Joysticks night? You’ll be able to watch a video of his attempt on cvg.co.uk shortly after the awards show.

22 Oct, 2009

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