At a loft New York City's Chelsea neighborhood, Fred Armisen played a racing game, getting coached from an unlikely source. "You gotta get the Lambo," Ice-T said over his shoulder. "The Corvette sucks."
Armisen followed Ice-T's advice, but it proved futile. He still lost a bet.
On Monday night, Microsoft unveiled it's newest Xbox One game, "Sunset Overdrive," to a handful of lucky celebrities who can't shut up about video games.
Earlier in the night, Armisen -- perhaps best known for his role on "Portlandia" -- sat down with friend and "Saturday Night Live" cast member Bobby Moynihan to test out the new game. The two spoke to The Huffington Post when not distracted by the intricacies of grinding on a rail while shooting really angry, really energetic mutants in "Sunset Overdrive."
"I get offers to go to fashion events and other stuff," Armisen said. "But I love video games so much, so when I got this offer, I said, 'Are you kidding me? I'm going.'"
Not that he was a gamer early on: Armisen said he didn't really fall in love with video games until he started playing "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City."
"I remember thinking, 'I wish there was a game where you could just shoot someone,' and then I found it," Armisen said.
He loves GTA so much, in fact, that he's done voice work for the series, tackling roles including "Pervert," "Hot Dog Vendor," and "Internet Nerd."
Moynihan, on the other hand, enjoys the simplicity of poorly made games.
"I like the shitty games based on movies that take an hour to beat," Moynihan said.
While the two comedians took turns passing off the controller, behind them, Ice-T cursed wildly, having gotten last place in "Forza" once again.
Ice-T focuses on Forza, unable to accept defeat
"I'm a real-life gamer," Ice-T said. "A lot of people think gamers are just nerds or geeks. I spend a lot of time on tour busses, what do you think I do?"
As Ice-T turned his attention to "Sunset Overdrive," The Huffington Post couldn't help but challenge Armisen to a friendly $5 bet. It was simple: all Armisen had to do was not get last place in Forza.
"That's it?" Armisen asked, incredulous. "I just have to not get last place?"
He was confident and focused as he picked his vehicle, headphones on and mouth slightly agape in what a newly formed crowd around him started to refer to as "gamer face."
"Just wait till he gets to the rain-slicked roads," Ice-T whispered.
Sure enough, Armisen wiped his car. Again, and again, and again. Despite his valiant efforts, he was forced to pay up, shaking down Moynihan for the cold hard cash.
Armisen expressed his love of Ice-T's metal band, Body Count, to the legendary rapper before the two moved on to other games.
Left behind, Ice-T was still invested in "Sunset Overdrive": "I'll get into this game, it looks like it really moves," he said.
After a couple drinks, Ice-T opened up about those frustrating nights when he just can't beat a level in a video game, and proudly confessed his victory dance when he finally makes some progress.
"You know those levels you just can't beat?" he said. "You keep getting killed, you just can't get through it, so you sleep on it and think of strategies and come back the next day and win? That's when I do the Dick Dance."
The "Dick Dance" is exactly what it sounds like. In the privacy of his own home, Ice-T confessed to pulling out his member and doing a little ditty after beating a tough level. He says he throws his hands up and gyrates his hips a little for good measure.
So what gets him so amped up?
"I'm competitive," he said simply.
"Sunset Overdrive" is now available for the Xbox One.