Comments 149

Re: Nintendo Discontinuing 'X' Integration On Switch Next Month

amongtheworms

@nessisonett

It was such a hilarious misfire. Which (former) public institution will be the next one to rebrand itself? Maybe Thames Water will rebrand itself as Acheron.

“Our name reflects one of mythology’s most famous rivers. Just like the fabled river Acheron, we embody a flowing torrent of sheer misery and — oh no…”

@ArcticSin

About bloody time! Goodbye X servers! 😂

Re: Soapbox: Are We Ready For A 3D Super Mario Maker?

amongtheworms

@FishyS

I never said that I had any actual talent. Bring on the super-kaizo-invisible-goomba-troll levels! 😌 Seriously though, I really like tools like MM because it allows people who don’t jam with programming etc to design and create. Love seeing what others come up with!

Re: Soapbox: Are We Ready For A 3D Super Mario Maker?

amongtheworms

I’m not sure where all these claims that “3D is too hard for the public” are coming from. Why not let people try? I’m a programmer/coder, and I enjoy working on games in my free time, yet I would enjoy a tightly implemented and limited (yet fun) 3D Mario toolset to play around with.

Re: Sega Is Bringing Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance To... Download Festival?

amongtheworms

@jump

Sometimes I clutch my “True Nerd” credentials tightly and mutter about how if people weren’t bullied in school for their filthy habit, they aren’t true nerds. Then I remind myself that I should go outside for a bit and everything will be joyous once more!

It really is great that video games are more acceptable these days, although the elitist hipster jerk in me wants to find something unpopular to obsess over. Maybe we could bring back OG marbles?! Or knuckle bones…with real bones!

Re: Best Underwater Levels On Nintendo Switch

amongtheworms

@Diogmites

It gives me chills just thinking about the Darkwraiths being submerged for eons, biding their time until the water is drained away. Well, now I’m imagining them crowded around a table and playing poker, underwater, muttering about the Four Kings’ poor leadership.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (27th April)

amongtheworms

I’ll get straight to the point. Balatro has got me flush! You might think roguelites are three or four of a kind, but this one is a real high card! Don’t play it with a full house though as you’ll be crying out in frustration when it all goes wrong! Maybe get your housemates a pair or two of ear defenders!

Re: Fortnite's New Setting Lets You Hide "Confrontational Emotes"

amongtheworms

It may be vibrant and cartoony, but it’s still a competitive online shooter in which the aim is generally to kill/defeat other players. It’s inherently confrontational. It’s good that Epic is at least thinking about how these things might affect players, but really it’s voice chat which brings the grief. I always find it bizarre that the very people with whom you are supposed to coordinate are the greatest source of tension. Fortnite isn’t even particularly bad when compared to R6 Siege. What a toxic wasteland!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (20th April)

amongtheworms

Paper Mario is flying by and the last star spirit has been rescued. Knowing that I still need to fill the void until TTYD, I bought Balatro as a bit of fun on the side to accompany a playthrough of Bloodborne

…well, I haven’t got round to starting that playthrough yet as I am totally obsessed!

On the topic of Fallout, the only 3D one I enjoyed was New Vegas. That was excellent. However, the first and second will always be my favourites!

Re: 50 Best GameCube Games Of All Time

amongtheworms

Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. It needs a remaster! It needs a remake! It needs a sequel!

However, the IP is likely suffering endless torment in the void at the end of space and time. Can it be rescued? That in itself would probably be a lengthy and insanity-inducing quest.

Re: Sonic Movies To Be 'Avengers-Level' Events, Says Franchise Producer

amongtheworms

I’m still adjusting to a world in which the Sonic films are real and not a meme from some subreddit.

Compare them to the original Mario Bros movie, which is famously panned. The Mario Bros live action movie is terrible, but in the same way that David Lynch’s Dune adaptation is terrible. They both took the source material off the rails and went totally mad interpreting it, creating something ugly yet innovative. I wish the same had been done with Sonic! I’m not a fan of film adaptations of video games. If they must do it, in my view they might as well go full weird. Of course, it’s probably a good thing that they don’t share my view otherwise Sega would likely go bankrupt!

Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl - Super Bomberman (SNES)

amongtheworms

@KingMike

Ha! Just had a look and I was laughing imagining what was going through the artist’s mind.

“Erm, should I draw a window? Or a mountain? Hmmm. How about an eye with a laser beam coming out of it? Somebody tell me what this game’s about…”

Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl - Super Bomberman (SNES)

amongtheworms

I like the NA version in the same way I like the NA Mega Man box art. It’s as if some Hudson exec hired an artist and refused to let them actually play the game, instead explaining everything to them over a drink in a bar. At least this time it’s more or less on track!

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (6th April)

amongtheworms

This makes me want to play through Bloodborne again! The combination of Cosmic Horror and Victorian Gothic Revival is just so, so good. I grow giddy just thinking about it! I love how Yharnam is essentially a fusion of every old town of every old European city (with a large serving of London, of course).

Ahem. Onward with Paper Mario on the N64! The TTYD hype train is pretty much unstoppable and not even Bloodborne can derail it.

Re: Soapbox: The Games Industry Needs To Give Up On Exclamation Marks!

amongtheworms

This article is a bit of fun!
Why are some people up in arms about it?!

Anyway, I often shout when I read aloud titles with exclamation marks in them! I furiously bellow the name for all and sundry to to hear!

Especially when I see a title in the Metal Gear Solid series and want everyone around me to act like a surprised guard!

!

Re: Random: BAFTA's 'Iconic Game Characters' Poll Has Us Scratching Our Heads

amongtheworms

Arthur Morgan and Nathan Drake are so bland. I really enjoy both Red Dead and Uncharted, but not because of the protagonists. For Arthur, you could find any bloke in a pub and dress him up as a cowboy and you’d be 95% there. For Nathan, you wouldn’t even need to dress him up.

For me, characters based on realistic humans will always be quite bland. The exception is Lara, and that’s probably because she is from an era where no matter how realistic you wanted the character to be, it would always be low poly and require some interpretation. Even then, I don’t like her as much as, say, Samus Aran.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (30th March)

amongtheworms

I’ve put aside my exploration of the McDarkNet (I will find you, Ronald) and I’m onto my weekend fix of Paper Mario.

With a CRT TV and a composite cable the game looks quite good! I hadn’t played my N64 in almost a decade and I had forgotten how much the picture quality can vary from game to game. I find DK64 hard to look at, whereas Resi 2’s 3D models are quite crisp (and the pre-rendered backgrounds look great). Both of them ‘utilise’ the expansion pack too! Paper Mario is more towards the good end of that spectrum. In terms of gameplay, it’s still thoroughly enjoyable and I’m building up to Ultimate Hype for TTYD.

Re: Random: McDonald's DSi Console Pulled From Second-Hand Sale In Japan

amongtheworms

I’m imagining that cracking this device would reveal the existence of the McDarkNet, a “shadow intranet” accessible only to the top brass at the company. Within this network one would find the McOracle, the uploaded minds of the original McDonald bros. Whenever the company faces a scandal or a problem seemingly too great to bear, the McOracle can guide them via the McOracle game cart (sold separately). Due to the mind uploading process the McOracle is partially insane and cannot be spoken to through the microphone or understand any text typed in. All communication is effected by using a set of deeply symbolic and ritualistic signs which are entered via the touch screen. The McOracle then whispers its advice through the DS’s speakers. If you’re ever at a McDonald’s and see some suit cowering in the corner with a DS pressed against their ear, you know something serious is going down!

Re: Best Star Wars Video Games, Ranked - Switch And Nintendo Systems

amongtheworms

RIP Expanded Universe. For me, the KOTOR games, as well as some of the comics and novels, were the best thing about Star Wars. Of course, they can’t exist without the original films/media (which I still like a lot), but I feel that the best examples of Star Wars media were created as part of the Expanded Universe. Yes, there is also dross, but the gems are true diamonds. Although George Lucas had an on/off relationship with it, he allowed it to happen as long as certain elements/stories of the whole Star Wars universe were kept intact. Out of this agreement sprung games such as KOTOR, which delved into the distant past rather than tread on any film canon.

Now Disney is in charge and it feels as if the Dark Side has won. Not the cool Dark Side, with its lust for power/development and a commitment to a selfish form of mysticism. Rather, it’s the banal and tedious Dark Side, with its lust for control and safety at the expensive of creative expression. Unfortunately, I just don’t gel the new trilogy, or the Mandalorian, or Jedi Outcast/Survivor.

Maybe there’s hope, though. Now Disney has established themselves with the IP, maybe they can start to take some risks, or let third-party developers do it for them.

Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?

amongtheworms

For me, TotK takes the crown due to the dynamic opportunities afforded by Ultra Hand. I had so much fun building ridiculous vehicles and then setting off on quests around Hyrule. In fact, just thinking about it makes me want to do a “no fast travel” replay of TotK. Might be somewhat gruelling, but would make it even more epic and would make the ad hoc vehicles even more important!

Re: Pokémon Fan Game Site, Relic Castle, Shut Down Following DMCA Takedown Notice

amongtheworms

The source wasn’t mentioned. Is it safe to assume that it’s GameFreak/Nintendo? What could they be protecting with this DMCA? Could it be the half-hearted dross which doesn’t even run well on the console for which it was exclusively designed? They would be within their rights to protect their IP, and so we have the letter of the law. What about the spirit of the law? Is it proportionate and necessary to take down a forum devoted to fan games? I don’t know, we don’t have all the details. It does nothing for their image.

Re: Poll: What's The Best Final Fantasy Game? Rate Your Favourite Mainline & Spin-Offs

amongtheworms

I think every main entry up to and including 10 is solid. I did also enjoy 12, as the world feels lived-in and dynamic, but the plot ultimately fails to deliver on what it promises. Still, I’ve replayed it a few times just to enjoy that version of Ivalice.

@AeonicB

I also thought Tactics Advance was good! It felt alive, despite just having a map for an overworld. Another great version of Ivalice!

Re: Talking Point: What's Your Perfect Sunday Morning Game?

amongtheworms

I still have a copy of Paper Mario and my n64. I might make it my new Sunday morning tradition to play through it again. It’s 9 Sundays until the TTYD remaster, so that’s probably enough time!

Edit: this is how I will overcome my decision paralysis! Though it doesn’t help my backlog…

Re: Random: Nintendo Has Supposedly Changed The Day Of Switch Game Releases

amongtheworms

I’m hoping that this seemingly innocuous observation will lead to an adventure in the spirit of Da Vinci Code/National Treasure, with all the usual ridiculous tropes, ending up with the reveal that Luigi is the head of an elite global organisation named the Luiginati.

“We shouldn’t have ignored the rumours about him. I mean it’s in the name, for Kooper’s sake!”