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Casper Van Dien dropped us a line on his role in the upcoming Starship Troopers game. From story to the cutting room floor, Dien lays it all out there. Funny thing is, he hasn't even played the game yet!

Casper Van Dien's like, totally spaced out over the impending launch of Empire Interactive's sci-fi first-person shooter Starship Troopers. (And not just because he gets to reprise his role as bug-busting super soldier Johnny Rico.) An honest-to-God diehard joystick jock who owns a GameCube and Xbox - all the better to entertain himself and his five children with - the actor's completely stoked for the PC game's debut. Not only did he hunt the developers down and demand to be in it, as an honest one-on-one reveals, but he's also determined to make sure it tops Atari's previously disastrous attempt at milking the franchise:

Q: Talk to us: what's with your obsession with gaming?

Casper Van Dien: I love videogames. Always have. To tell you the truth, I was around and started out with Pong. I had an Intellivision, Atari...I still play tons of games with my kids today. The problem is, I often have to be on-location filming, and I don't take the system with me. So I'll go away for 3 months to India or wherever, come back, and my kids'll kick my ass at X-Men Legends II and The Lord of the Rings titles. But I can't get enough of gaming. I love it. I've gone to G-Phoria...I'm just a vidiot.

Q: Given that you're so well versed, we have to ask - what did you think of the original Starship Troopers title, which was based on the 1997 film?

Dien: I didn't like it. It was a little too confusing. It wasn't so simple... Not that games need to be. But it just didn't lend itself well to the story or whole idea behind Starship Troopers, and that turned people off.

Q: How does this one compare?

Dien: Honestly, we'll all find out soon... I haven't played it yet! I did all the voice-overs and I've seen the website, but I haven't downloaded the demo, which I just saw went up yesterday. But it looks really cool, and I think the whole concept is going to work much better in the shooter format.

Q: Mind telling us about your role here?

Dien: The game's set 5 years after the movie. I play a general. I think the whole promotion's a little bit absurd... It's a little soon to hold such a high rank. But the developers said to me, "Well, Casper, it's Starship Troopers. So many people have gotten killed on the battlefield, that there have been a lot of field promotions." So there you go, that answers that.

Q: And the storyline?

Dien: I don't want to spoil anything. But the writers of the game created a new world and a new war for the game. It's interesting... I enjoyed it a lot. I thought that they stuck very closely to [director Paul] Verhoeven's Starship Troopers and author Robert Heinlein's vision of Starship Troopers [the book]. I'm convinced people will like it.

Q: We have to ask, given what your alter-ego does for a living. Are you any good with bugs for real?

Dien: Yeah... although, here's a funny story. A few years ago, I answered the door and there was this guy in a Terminix uniform. His nametag read "Johnny." He looks up and goes - "Oh my god, it's you! I'm your biggest fan!" I was loving it. Here's the real bug killer telling me that I'm the man when it comes to killing bugs.

Q: Given that Starship Troopers is slightly violent - you've got something like 300 bugs on-screen trying to butcher you at once - what do you make of all the recent controversy surrounding gaming?

Dien: It's funny, actually. Games don't cause violence. I played them my whole life. So you're killing bugs in this one. Big deal. If kids are acting out, it all comes down to parenting. The whole persecution of gaming thing is hilarious. It reminds me of what they used to do with the Communist party, where they'd blacklist actors and directors who were supposedly affiliated. It's pretty sad, actually.

Q: We have to ask: is getting back into gaming really a good idea for Hollywood?

Dien: There's such a huge crossover now, and so many videogames have become successful movies and vice-versa. It's just another way to bring life to something you couldn't as a filmmaker. It's all entertainment. It's fun... People love movies. People love videogames. If you could do a cool videogame off an awesome movie, do it... I'd like to play.

Q: Thanks, and we're really looking forward to the game... seems like it'll be a lot better than the last one.

Dien: No problem. I just hope the voice-overs don't suck on it!

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