Toronto Thumbs

THRUSH HERMIT
Smart Bomb EP

In the early 90s, Canada’s East Coast was ground zero for an indie rock explosion of monster proportions. Many of the notable bands that came out of that time and place were on Murderecords, a label run by Haligonian rock gods Sloan. Bands of that era have moved on, either in creative direction of physical location. Some even moved to Toronto.

Joel Plaskett, who now fronts Joel Plaskett Emergency and writes roughly as many love songs for Halifax as he does for girls, was (along with bassist Ian McGettigan, guitarist/vocalist Rob Benvie, and drummer Cliff Gibb) a creative force in a great band that went by the name of Thrush Hermit.

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Posted in Awesome, Canada, Music | No Comments »

STREET FIGHTER IV
Coming to North America February 17, 2009

Capcom’s been sending out Street Fighter emails like you wouldn’t believe. Today they let us know that the home versions of Street Fighter IV will be released here on February 17, 2009.

Related article: HANDS-ON IMPRESSIONS: Street Fighter IV

Posted in Awesome, News, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

Nintendo Holiday Line-up
Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party

One would be hard pressed to find a video game publisher that has released more titles for the Wii than Ubisoft. From the console’s release nearly two years ago, Ubisoft was there with several launch titles and they have no signs of slowing down.

The wildly popular Rayman Raving Rabbids series has another installment coming our way on Tuesday via Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party, only this time players will get to use their feet (and bottoms) if they have the Wii Balance Board. I had the chance to play a few of the mini games at a recent Nintendo event and although I’m a terrible skateboarder in real life, I was able to navigate a Rabbid through a series of cosmic hoops with some sort of ease.

Check here next week for a full review of the game. We haven’t cracked it open yet but are very excited to see that Ubisoft has once again jumped on board to support the Wii, especially the Balance Board.

Posted in Awesome, Wii | No Comments »

ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?
New Xbox Experience Launches Nov 19

Microsoft is set to transform Xbox 360 consoles via next Wednesday’s automatic console update. If you’ve got a 360 and have it connected to the Internet, chances are you’ll want to upgrade.

The new interface is much cleaner, and a little remniscent of the new Zune interface as well – which is a good thing! Overall it really seems as if the Xbox will be embracing a more social angle in the near future.

Among the new features is Xbox LIVE Party, which will allow users to create a “party” with up to seven friends. The party consists of voice chat, playing games, and photo sharing. And to help facilitate the social concept is the introduction of customizable animated avatars. These have previously been referred to as Microsoft’s answer to Nintendo’s Miis, and in a way that’s a valid comparison. It does, however, appear that the animated avatars will have a greater degree of customization than Miis allow for.

I’m looking forward to the interface changeover. I’ve gotten used to the way the current UI operates but it’s an absolute mess when trying to scroll through the titles on my system and when looking through the marketplace. November 19 can’t come soon enough!

Posted in LIVE, News, Xbox 360 | 2 Comments »

Review
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2

There are a lot of Naruto games. So many that there should be a separate section on Toronto Thumbs for them. Would this be a good thing?

Cha(nnaro)! Of course!

Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 (known from now on as NCoNR2) is the latest in the North American releases for the popular fighting franchise for the Nintendo Wii. The sequel to NCoNR, this version presents new characters, new challenges and a lot of fun.

As always, the primary complaint about the Naruto: Clash of Ninja titles is that they don’t really change that much in their inevitable sequels. NCoNR2 breaks the mold by being an exclusive North American release, rather than a pale imitation of the Gekitou Ninja Taisen versions from the land of the rising sun.

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Posted in Reviews, Wii | 6 Comments »

OVERVIEW
Dead Space

This weekend I picked up Dead Space from my friendly neighbourhood indie game shop, We Got Games. Though I’ve spent a good amount of time towards Fallout 3, I pried myself away from it to get a little closer with the science fiction/horror story set (where else?) in space.

I had been following the development press for Dead Space and when I found out that the team behind it culled their influences from hundreds of horror movies, it only made me more interested in the game. When firing up the game for the first time, you can really tell it wears its influences proudly. Most notable of the influences is the movie Alien, but secondary to this, there’s a definite Sunshine vibe going on – though that movie was more about psychological changes brought on by dead space than monsters (though yes, there is that out-of-place monster).

Dead Space is truly terrifying at times. Its visuals are impressive. But what really stands out for me is the high production value of the game’s sound, particularly the effects of the aliens and the muted sounds while walking through vacuum-shut corridors.

I don’t forsee myself finishing this game anytime soon, as it’s one I only want to play late at night for maximum effect. But I will probably end up writing a lot more about it some time in the future as it reminds me a lot of one of my favourite games ever, Resident Evil 4. For now, suffice to say if you like RE4, you will very likely love Dead Space.

Posted in Awesome, Overviews, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

FALLOUT 3 CONTEST
Win A Promotional Vault Dweller’s Survival Guide

In celebration of our love for Fallout 3, Toronto Thumbs is giving away the Vault Dweller’s Survival Guide, Pocket Reference Edition pictured above.

The guide is one of the coolest game promotional pieces to grace our office and is cleverly written as if it was an actual guide for living in the Fallout universe. The only mention of the game is on the back cover. Everything else is very tongue-in-cheek and matter-of-fact.

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Posted in Contests | 5 Comments »