Last time we had one of our “Let’s Talk With Steve About…” chats we talked about the NBA Finals. This time out we sat down with Steve to chat about one of our favorite time wasting activities, video games!

OK, I know you have great love for video games. So let’s talk. What’s your console of choice? PS2 or Xbox? Why?

Right now Xbox because the graphics are better. I still play my PS2 (when I get to play anything at all!).

What’s the video game that destroyed your life the most? Which is the one that had your wife or cat or the neighbor kid nagging you the most to stop playing?

The one I am forbidden to load on my computer to this day…”Starcraft.” I played it for eight hours straight once and that was that, no more games on the PC. Luckily this was when I worked for Todd, so nobody noticed.

Do you have a favorite game? What do you look for in games when you’re shopping for a new one?

I like third-person and first person shooters the best; “The Punisher” is a great game. So is “Doom 3.” I generally like decent graphics, but if the controls are screwy they lose me fast. I hardly have any time to play any more so if I don’t become a raging killing machine right away, I move onto another game.

Last time I stopped by I saw you had a PSP sitting on your desk. What’s your thoughts on the PSP?

I like it. Its pretty frickin’ amazing actually. I’ve been playing “NBA Street” and “Golf” using the wireless multiplayer mode. I play against KD, the designer of many fine logos, at least once a week… if the wives let us.

Who’s the better video game player, Tom Jane or Rob Zombie?

They both suck.

Enough about home video games, let’s talk the big stand up machines in arcades. You grew up during that period of great explosion for arcade games. Did you get addicted to any of them? (Mine was “Ms. Pac Man” and no “That makes you a pussy” jokes, please.)

I wasn’t a big arcade kid. I played Pong and that tank in the maze game when those came out. Later I played that first Star Wars game where you attack the Death Star and fly through the canyons. I also remember playing the handheld Football and remember the game with the bloody shark they show in Jaws? I played that.

So, if they were to make a fighting game where instead of starring outlandish martial artists they used comic creators, what would your special moves be?

I think mine would be the Shove Back because I do that a lot and get in trouble.

Second, which comic creator players would you kick ass on?

Ooooooh, no you don’t. Nice try.

Third, and most important, which comic creator player would give you the most troubles in the game, causing you to throw down the controller and exclaim “This game is filled with a bunch of choads!”

You really just want to get me in trouble, don’t you? I’ll split the difference and tell you a comic creator related story. Once, a long time ago, Bendis and I went to one of those giant arcades where Lucas and Spielberg have there big arcade only games. We rode through the Jurassic Park ride. You each have guns and they throw you around like ragdolls while dinos attack. Brian was good. We had each others back. Then he wanted to do one of those games where you dance on pads to make the fighters fight. We are not on there a second and Bendis starts dancing like a crazy man. He kicked my ass, but mostly because I wasn’t playing any longer. I was staring at him freaking out next to me.

Yesterday we linked to a story at CBR about Steve’s next two mini-series to hit the street, “In The Blood” and “Giant Monster” from Boom! Studios. Well, if you’re like me, and I think you probably are, then you’re thinking, “But wait, just two new mini-series? Are you kidding me? I need my Niles fix something fierce!”

Allright, we hear ya. No need to yell or nothing. Wednesday CBR brought the good news that Steve Niles has teamed with veteran comics creator and all-around nice guy Keith Giffen for a new mini-series called “Gutwrencher.” Check out the article here. Read the article to find out why Steve says “‘Gutwrencher’ really is the most straight forward horror thing I’ve ever done…”

Our friends over at Comic Book Resources have just posted a new interview with Steve where he talks about a number of new books he’s got coming through Boom! Studios: “Giant Monster” with Nat Jones and “In The Blood” with Josh Medors. You can read the full interview by clicking here and it includes 21 pages of “Giant Monster” goodness by Nat.

Then tomorrow you’ll get to read about a new mini-series called “Gutwrencher” that Steve’s working on with comics legend Keith Giffen! Some good times to come for Steve Niles fans, don’t ya think?

We here at Steve Niles central had a crazy idea the other day. We thought, hey, you guys would all like to know a bit more about Steve, but how should we go about it? We thought about it, for maybe 15 minutes, and came up with a brilliant plan! We’re starting a new feature here at SteveNiles.com called “Let’s talk with Steve about…” where we’ll ask Steve a series of random questions about one specific topic and most of the time it’s not going to have anything to do with comics or horror or horror comics. This is your chance to get to know Steve a bit better about, well, pretty much anything.

And you can have a hand in things as well. What subject would you like to know more about from Steve? Drop us a line at steve *@* steveniles.com and tell us what you think.

So, without any further delay, let’s get to this week’s entry: Let’s talk with Steve about… the NBA Playoffs!

So, you’re something of an NBA fan, aren’t ya? Who’s your favorite team and why? Who’s your most hated team, and why?

I was a late blooming Basketball fan. I grew up hating sports and the people who played them because the jocks always picked on me and my friends. Yes, my school life was like something out of Back to the Future. ANYWAY, I like basketball and I used to be really into it, but in the last two years it’s faded partially because of work, but also because the Lakers suck ass, and have ruined the team by keeping Kobe over Shaq. That was just stupid. Most hated team will always be Sacramento or the Spurs. Why? I have no idea. I have trouble with sports-logic.

You watching the NBA Playoffs? Who do you want to see go all the way and why?

I think the Pistons will repeat IF they get by the Heat. After watching the way the Pistons TORE through the Lakers, I think they’re the best out there right now and they tug on my east-coast heart-strings too.

The NBA playoffs always bring out the weird side in players. Who’s the one player in the NBA Playoffs that you’d most like to hit in the head?

Fewer and fewer these days. I really like the new blood coming in. There aren’t a lot of superstars looking for nothing but shoe deals the way it seemed just a few years ago. Ron Artest being out helped, LA being flushed down the toilet helped. I’m watching the playoffs this year and I like a lot of the players and teams now. Most hated player? Ron Artest.

Why is it that the Spurs have the absolute worst looking uniforms? Black and white? What, are we playing basketball during “I Love Lucy?”

I don’t mind the Spurs uniforms as much as I hate those colors on the floor of their court. It looks like the palette for a Taco Bell ad. The spurs just bug me in general. I’m still pissed that they benched Robinson and had a losing season so they’d get a good draft pick.

OK, final questions: Who’s the biggest asshole in the NBA? Oh, and if the Washington Wizards win it all, can I have your cat?

After this interview, I’d be the biggest asshole in the NBA if I played! I gotta say Kobe. He really let everybody down. I used to back him up, but since “the troubles” I’ve lost all respect for him. The Wizards are my hometown team. Don’t be hard on them. They have a bad name that’s all.

Hey, how’d you like that? The title rhymed! Yeah, not as exciting as I thought, either.

But hey, your chance to get the latest Steve Niles goodness is now. We’ve updated the store with signed copies of “Bigfoot” #3, “Supernatural Freak Machine” #2 (and #1, btw), “Little Book of Horror: Frankenstein” (Oh this book is too pretty for words) and the TPB collection for “Secret Skull.” They’re all there, just waiting for you to buy them up and enjoy in the comfort of your own home. Or the morning train on the way to work. Either way, they make for some good reading.