Niko Nirvi

Niko Nirvi (born 16 February 1961 in Jokioinen, Finland ), pen name Nnirvi, is a long-term major icon in the Finnish gaming

In 2012, Nirvi was chosen as Game Journalist of the Year at the FIGMA audience awards. Avoiding any publicity, Nirvi did not arrive to collect his award.

Nirvi's style is typically humorous and sometimes unorthodox. Some of Nirvi's most unconventional reviews were published in C=Lehti. The review of Domark's motorboat game Hydra was written as a nursery rhyme from the beginning to the end. The review of Battle Island contained just two words: "Paska Commando-klooni" ("shitty Commando clone").

Personal opinions Nirvi has made it clear that he does not like sports or sports-related video games. He has been a big fan of Babylon 5, Star Wars and Star Trek. He has also stated that he has read The Lord of the Rings over ten times.

Nirvi has given several statements about the usefulness of computer gaming. At one interview he said that gaming is a completely useless hobby. On the first issue of Pelit (1992) he wrote that gaming helps people overcome their fears towards computers (that is typical for some old people). In another interview he declared that many strategy games can develop the players' intellectual capabilities: they can teach English, history and strategic thinking.

Nirvi's favorite games from the 1980s are Star Wars (Atari's arcade game), Ultima IV, Hack (the precursor of NetHack), Elite and Dungeon Master. In 2000 he stated that the best PC game ever is X-COM: UFO Defense.