Comments 264

Re: Hardware Classics: Nintendo GameCube

mr_benn

I remember playing Rogue Leader at a demo kiosk in a GAME store and being absolutely blown away. Took me until about 2004 to actually pick up a (2nd Hand) GC though. Donkey Konga is basically unplayable on anything except a CRT though which is a real shame as it was definitely a lot of fun (especially with two sets!)

Re: The Ten Best Wholesome Games On Switch

mr_benn

I've massively enjoyed a bunch of these, as have my kids. Spiritfarer for me has possibly been my favourite thing I've played this year - it's not necessarily the best game but it sort of came along at the right time for me, and even though I'm pretty much done with it for the moment I still think about it sometimes.

Keen to try Good Job though it never appears on a discount!

Re: Nintendo To Spend Up To $900 Million To Buy Back Its Own Shares

mr_benn

It's a small percentage, but IMO gamers should see this as a good thing. Whilst Nintendo always seems to be acting on its own whims, whenever there's shareholders involved the company has some responsibility to them - often making risks less likely. The more Nintendo 'owns themselves', the more autonomy they have and can also take a much more long term view rather than a short term view that's going to pay out dividends.

Re: Random: An Eager 3DS StreetPass Fan Spent A Day In New York, Got Zero Hits

mr_benn

There used to be this really cool little game on the DS called Treasure World, which was a bit of a collect 'em up (not much gameplay to be had to be honest). It had this really cool mechanic though where essentially it spent its time looking for wi-fi signals, and for each connection it found you'd get stuff. Would be quite a fun mechanic to bring back now and incorporate into something a little more substantial!

Re: Feature: Our Most Treasured Zelda Memories

mr_benn

There's a lot of great gaming memories tied up in these games - but for me, even though it's not the best, the one that really sticks out is transferring the map from one screen to the other in Phantom Hourglass - that's the sort of thing that really sticks with you.

Re: Feature: What's Your Most Treasured Club Nintendo Possession?

mr_benn

Not on your list: the SNES Classic Controller for Wii. I have a good few of these Club Nintendo things (the CDs are particularly excellent) - it's such a shame that it devolved to a few Nintendo points before the whole thing just folded completely for physical stuff.

The satisfaction of buying a used game with the Club Nintendo code still intact was always a delight too!

Re: Talking Point: When Was The Last Time A Game Cracked Your Top Five?

mr_benn

Top 5 is such a difficult thing! I think that both our own experiences at the time and nostalgia heavily shape these opinions. And then there's the fact that you might think a game is in your top 5, but maybe due to reasons - such as that particular console is in storage, or the time commitment to play is too much - you might simply just not want to go through the fuss of starting it again... so is is REALLY in your top 5?

I can't think of 5, but games like Deus Ex (the first one) and Super Mario World are in there. Hades could well be in there as well though, given the enjoyment I've had from it and how much I've played it in the last year!

Re: Talking Point: Is It Worth Buying A Nintendo Wii U In 2021?

mr_benn

I recently bought a second hand one for a bargain - initially to combat my woes in getting nice HD outputs from the Wii but I've gone on to play loads of Wii U games which I've really enjoyed. Hate holding the pad for long periods though - thank goodness the GC/Wii controllers/Wii U Pro controller can be used too.

Re: House Of The Dead: Remake Shoots To Switch Later This Year

mr_benn

I genuinely can't get enough of good lightgun games - such a shame that non-CRT-tvs put a stop to 'true' lightgun aiming. Still enjoy a good bit of Ghost Squad or House of the Dead 2/3 on the Wii though, cracking games - I wish we'd have seen some of the Namco stuff appear on the Wii too.

Re: PAC-MAN 99 Announced Exclusively For Nintendo Switch Online

mr_benn

I love PacMan, but I'm also a bit rubbish at it. So I'm looking forward to seeing just how badly I do here!

(insert usual grumble about not being able to get Ms PacMan on Switch because of all those licensing issues here).

I don't totally get all the DLC options though, that's just a nasty cash grab!

Re: Talking Point: Is The N64 Pad Actually The Best Controller Ever?

mr_benn

It was too odd, mostly forcing the sacrifice of the D-pad as an option.

Also the joystick really wasn't that durable. Too many of them ended up a bit 'wobbly' before they gave up the ghost, leaving you with a bit of a dead zone before it registered an input.

Love the trigger button placement though. Funny that this skipped the Gamecube and then came back in earnest with the Wii's 'B' button.

Re: Talking Point: Are You A 'Complete-In-Box' Or 'Loose Cart' Retro Gamer?

mr_benn

Nope, not even slightly. If I kept all the cases for all my PC, PS1, PS2, PS3, Gamecube, Wii, GBA, DS, 3DS etc etc games... I'd be massively wasting space. I used to keep the boxes but I gave that up a long time ago, and I'm much happier for it. I have bags for the various GBA and DS carts (that my wife has made for me!), all discs go into wallets. Perhaps it's because I don't care about the resale value of them (which I don't), or the knowledge that I am never realistically going to look at the box/manual again, but for me this is the right thing to do.

Re: Soapbox: How One Large Vegetable Highlights The Issue With Japan-Only Merch

mr_benn

Maybe it's a GOOD thing that this isn't so easily available for us - otherwise we end up knee deep in game-related tat like that recent Animal Crossing article. So it's for our own good (and the good of our wallets).

I do agree that it is frustrating when you see cool stuff, and there just doesn't seem to be a practical, sensible way to get hold of it. Cue trying to work out foreign language auction sites!

Re: Soapbox: It's Time To Normalise Giving Up On Games Early

mr_benn

Coming off the back of years worth of Steam/Humble Bundle sales, as well as Epic freebies, and then a stack of console games too... I've got SO MANY games I've played for maybe 10-20 minutes, and then never touched again. We all have busy lives and time is finite - and I have enough experience gaming that I have a good idea whether I'm going to like something or not, I'm not going to grind it out just because it's 'worthy' in some way.

Equally, there's a bunch of games I've put a lot of time into but a boss/the final boss has been so ballachingly difficult that I've just declared myself done (mainly RPGs that would like you to grind for a few more hours, or twitchy platformers that require the skills/patience of someone who isn't me). F that. I'm happy being done with them.

Back in the old days when I was gaming on the Amiga, I played every game and every demo disk I had to absolute death. Lots of time, reasonably little to play. Now the opposite is completely true.

I've really loved some games I've put tens and hundreds of hours into, but equally some of my favourite recent games have been those indie games that you're done within a couple of hours and, like a good film, leave you feeling a bit sad it's over but glad you experienced it. A Short Hike and Grow Home are good recent examples for me.