Rizzle Kicks are not what you'd call 'hardcore' gamers. "I’d say that my one gaming skill is making things happening by accident," Jordan tells ShortList. He and Harley have taken some time out from testing their mettle on Call of Duty: Ghosts (one of the most hotly anticipated 'hardcore' titles of the year) to talk gaming, soundtracks and CoD addiction.
When did you first get to play Call of Duty?
Jordan: Growing up I was always much more of a sports gamer. Then in the last two and a half years, when Modern Warfare came out...
Harley: We became heavily addicted...
J: We played it together when we were living with a couple of mates. What I like about it is that’s really social. You can be with your mates and smack talk and have a laugh. It’s a nice outlet.
We played it a lot on the tour bus. We’d finish up a performance, come off stage and get playing. We had a league table set up which didn't work to our advantage – I was always quite near the bottom and our trumpet player was always at the top. It would have been nice to have got somewhere in that league… the most we could do was threaten to fire him if he kept on winning.
Do you have any COD skills you're particularly proud of?
H: Is it skills to end up spawning next to four people who aren’t looking at you? I know when to go kamikaze and when to stand back a bit…
J: I know when to respawn. I usually need to die at least eight or nine times before I can really get into a game.
Are there any new features in Ghosts you're impressed with?
H: There's a new feature that tells you you’re doing well if you keep on dying. "Resilient" or something. That was really nice for someone like me. There’s also a new game mode called Crank. Basically what happens is that when you kill somebody it makes you super fast and you get this charge…
J: You basically turn into Jason Statham…
H: …you need to kill someone within 30 seconds otherwise you explode. It's ace. Another thing that I like is that in the new care package system when you get a five kill streak you get a dog, who backs you up even when you’re dead. The dog is your dude until someone shoots it.
I just really like dogs! If I ever do get Riley (the dog) I’d probably just start patting him, feeding him, go on walks with him… I think they missed a trick in not having a dog care mode, just have a really lovely time with your dog.
Earliest memory of games
J: It was all about Golden Eye. And I used to like Sonic. Then once the football games started improving I was a FIFA guy. I love football, and I like to think I have an advantage with my 'footballing mind' (laughs). SSX Tricky was nuts as well, I adored that game.
H: I like my RPGs. I’m a big fan of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, Oblivion – big massive games that take ages and ages to explore. Gran Turismo 3 was my game for a while.
Guilty gaming pleasures
H: I still play Pokemon quite a lot.
J: Really? On your Game Boy?
H: Yeah, I was playing through Blue earlier this year. I like Blue, Silver and Crystal.
J: I play Sing Star over Christmas a bit. I loved the Just Dance game with the Kinect. I was totally busting moves man. But that’s not a guilty pleasure, I do that for fun.
How's 2014 shaping up?
J: Got a tour next year, which will be great to get back on the road. It’s an industry in which you don’t get to know a lot… Harley’s about to finish acting in his first film and I’ve been writing all kinds of stuff – so it’s just onwards and upwards really.
You'll be leading a team against Wretch 32, Daniel Sturridge and Andros Townsend at the Ghosts launch event. Are you confident you'll win?
J: We’re confident that we won’t hold our own, but we’re confident that we’re going to tell people that we'll win.
Call of Duty: Ghosts launches on 5 November. If you want to learn more on how to join Rizzle Kicks' team, visit callofdutytime.com/uk
