Quick update this week, ladies, gentlemen, and things of a vague sexual nature.  Today brings us thoughts on two DS games and Worms 2: Armageddon.  Read on, oh patron of Sparky, and be entertained.  Or bored.

What I'm Playing:

• I talked a bit about Devil Survivor last week.  I'm still hooked on it this week.  I still think one certain boss battle is a royal pain, but the New Game+ option makes leveling insanely easy, and it feels like I'm doing a bit less level grinding this time around.  My only complaint with the game is the lack of multiple saves.  You can only save one game at a time, which means I can only experiment with one team setup at a team (technically, I could do more, but it would be tedious).  If you own a DS or enjoy SRPG's, definitely give this game a go.
• I've also begun a playthrough of Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume.  It's another SRPG for the DS, this time from the Square Enix team.  It's a good game, with some great visuals for the genre and an easy-to-grasp combat system.  However, it can be frustratingly difficult at times, especially given its few-and-far-between side quests.  There are no opportunities to level grind or earn more cash on the side, so if you're not happy with the team you've been developing for several chapters, you're kinda screwed.  On a technical level, it looks better than Devil Survivor, but gameplay wise, I'd say Atlus's little gem is far superior.  Still, if you enjoy the genre, it's a decent enough purchase.  Look for a review later when I get into the latter parts of the game.
• Worms 2: Armageddon is both a blast and incredibly frustrating.  Single player-wise, it's the best to date in the series.  However, the online multiplayer matchmaking needs a patch, and I mean NOW.  When the game isn't crashing from the matchmaking, it's taking upwards of three to four minutes for me to find even a one-on-one match.  There's no excuse at this point for this kind of shoddy matchmaking, and it really kind of bogs the whole thing down.  I'll post a review once I've played through more of the modes online - if I can get it to work for more than twenty minutes.

Thoughts:

• I didn't realize the new Monkey Island episodes would be released so quickly.  I'll be picking these up as soon as I buy an external hard drive (which might mean sometime next month).  Really looking forward to playing this.
• The other big news for me this week is the announcement of LucasArts reaching a distribution agreement with Steam.  Puzzle and adventure fans should definitely pick up The Dig, which isn't the best of the LucasArts library, but it'll definitely work your brain for a few hours.  Looking forward to seeing what else is released in the future.  The minute Full Throttle and Grim Fandango are released, I'll be on Steam downloading them again.  I own physical copies of both, but having Steam support would be nice... and hey, I support just about any halfway decent adventure game release.

Until next time, chilluns, keep it gangsta.  Or at least keep it hoodsta.  Or maybe just, you know, keep it white and nerdy.

EDIT REGARDING WORMS 2: ARMAGEDDON -

It appears as though the online matchmaking has evened out, and wait times are far less than just a few days ago.  Perhaps it's because more and more people are playing.  I can't claim to know the specifics.  However, my prior gripes about the multiplayer have now been admirably addressed.  I do recommend using the "Custom game" button rather than trying to search for a quick game, as it definitely runs quicker, and if you're playing Player Matches instead of Ranked, you have quite a few options to choose from.