Meet the Team!
Complete in Box’s staff is deeply passionate about gaming and community, and they’re committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for gamers of all backgrounds.
Spenser
Spenser (and his brother, Trevor) have played and enjoyed video games as long as he can remember. His first system was an Original Nintendo back in 1991 or so, when he was 3 years old – video games have always been an important part of his life.
Growing up in Fivepointville, he didn’t have any close-by neighbors, and he would ride his bike for miles to go to his friends’ houses and play games together – many great friendships were grown and memories formed over party games like Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros.
Spenser worked at Gamestop part-time from 2006-2010 – he loved games, but never thought about video games becoming part of his career. After graduating from college in 2010 and gathering some more work experience, he realized that Ephrata, the area his family is originally from, had no video game stores within 10 miles – a fact he noticed as he droved to Lancaster time and again to browse other stores.
On New Year’s Day 2011, he started writing down ideas for a business plan that would eventually become Complete in Box. Over the next 7 months, he spent countless hours formulating that business plan, building up inventory, and learning a lot of the harsh realities of business on the fly. On July 16, 2011, Complete in Box opened at the Trout Run Center in Ephrata.
Complete in Box has always been a community-oriented business, as it never would have started without the help of many friends and family members – from giving advice, helping physically construct the store, and volunteering their time to get inventory ready, Complete in Box would never have started without the help of countless great people.
We want to remain a part of Ephrata and the community for years to come, and we are incredibly thankful for all the support over the years. We will only ever have the Ephrata store, and we are proud to make it as good of an experience as we can for you. Thank you!
Spenser’s Top 5 Favorite Video Games:
5. Guitar Hero 2 (PS2)
4. Resident Evil 4 (Gamecube)
3. Super Mario RPG (SNES)
2. Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
1. Saga Frontier (PS1)
Spenser’s Top 5 Favorite Albums:
5. Television – ‘Marquee Moon’
4. The Beatles – ‘Revolver’
3. Kanye West – ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’
2. Neutral Milk Hotel – ‘In the Aeroplane Over the Sea’
1. Megadeth – ‘Rust in Peace’
Trevor
My favorite aspect of video games is using your ingenuity and dexterity to complete goals in unconventional ways. My favorite games tend to be platformers with advanced movement options or RPGs with deep, complex mechanics that allow you to mold your playstyle in your own unique way. It’s an experience unique to video games, where you need a flexible mind and the physical skill set in tandem to truly get the most out of the medium. There’s nothing more satisfying than honing your skills to complete a level masterfully, or thinking outside the box to formulate a strategy in a way not even the game designer might have intended. Games are more than the vision of the people who made them, it’s the unique ways everyone experiences them.
Top 5 controllers:
#1 - Super Famicom
#2 - Gamecube
#3 - Sega Saturn Model 2
#4 - NES Dogbone
#5 - Guitar Hero guitar (GH5 being the best)
Some of my favorite games:
-Mega Man X
-Super Metroid
-Brave Fencer Musashi
-Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask
-Paper Mario
Allison
There’s many reasons to like playing video games, for some people it’s the nostalgia or just to have fun. For me it’s a way to relax and shut my brain off for a little while. It’s almost like a little escape from reality. The countless hours of fun you can have in your own little world. If a game has a good storyline I can get sucked in for hours.
I got into gaming by watching my older brother play all sorts of games. I was amazed by the graphics, audio, and storylines. I’d say the first game I watched my brother play was SOCOM: US Navy Seals on PS2 - I was just in shock. He spent so much time explaining the game to me and the more and more he talked the more intrigued I became. We also played The Simpsons Road Rage, MLB 2004, Smuggler's Run, Call Of Duty, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I would say my brother and I grew a mutual love for gaming together. Plus it was always fun to hangout with my brother and play some games.
After my brother got me into gaming, I guess you could say I was obsessed. I can’t give exact dates because I can’t remember but it was the following Christmas I got my very own console. My grandpa bought me my first ps3 and I was beyond excited. I already had a huge list of games I wanted to play just by watching my brother. The first on the list was Red Dead Redemption and then it just took off from there.
Top 5 Video Games
#1 - The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt
#2 - Rampage (PS2)
#3 - Red Dead Redemption
#4 - Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (PS2)
#5 - Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (PS2)
#1 – Jackson
#2 – Folsom Prison Blues
#3 – Hurt
#4 – If I Were a Carpenter
#5 – A Boy Named Sue
RJ
In my eyes, video games provide an escape from reality. Whether I want to take over as head coach of my Pittsburgh Steelers, listen to others complain about how bad a game is when something goes wrong but praise their skill when they're doing well, or pull off an incredible heist in Grand Theft Auto with The Pandilla, it provides a distraction for us players that we sometimes desperately need in order to stay sane. And the best part is that there's something for everyone. No matter your interest, you're sure to find something—and even a community—that catches your attention. That's the beauty of gaming.
Top 5 Favorite Wrestlers:
1: Kevin Nash
2: The Young Bucks
3: Stone Cold Steve Austin
4: Bray Wyatt
5: Shawn Michaels
Top 5 Games:
1: Call Of Duty: Black Ops(PS3)
2: Grand Theft Auto 5(PS5)
3: Pokemon Crystal(GBC)
4: God Of War(The Entire Franchise)
5: Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped(PS1)
Noah
To me, video games are a nice form of escapism. I love a well written and nicely presented story, and an immersive world that keeps me drawn in. My favorite type of games are those that tell a story in a free-form way, with environmental details and written story events scattered across the game world, just waiting for you to discover it like an archeologist. Then you can use your newfound knowledge to gain a broader understanding of the world you're in. It turns games into a medium unlike anything else, and it directly rewards attention to detail and critical thinking. I always have a blast with these. I also love games with a world you can really get lost in, requiring a good memory and strong navigation skills. Playing through a game where I've eventually gotten its large labyrinthine world memorized is very enjoyable to me.
My Favorite Games of All Time:
1. Outer Wilds
2. Rain World
3. Metroid Prime 2
4. Pikmin 2
5. EarthBound
My Favorite Nintendo Systems:
1. Game Boy Advance SP
2. Switch
3. GameCube
4. New 2DS XL
5. WiiU