Toronto Thumbs

Diesel Apparel Comes to PlayStation Home

Because nobody wants to actually wear tight-crotched jeans and fitted clothing while they’re gaming, Diesel has teamed up with PlayStation Home to release their own virtual shop. Now you can sex up your avatar with all the latest Diesel fashions. Get yourself out of those same-same, boring, old, unbranded avatar threads and start to really get noticed by all your avatar buddies!

Is this going too far? Well, it is a bit weird. And it further opens up the possibilities of virtual clubbing experiences à la Second Life, to PlayStation Home, which seems just a tad unnecessary. Maybe Sony thinks the venture will attract more female gamers to the system? Who knows. Either way, items range from free to about $3.00 with proceeds going to Diesel’s Only The Brave Foundation.

Posted in News, PlayStation 3 | 4 Comments »

HOLIDAY HINTS
Belkin RockStar

Are you one of those music lovers who just has to make your friends listen to all your favourite tunes, often resorting to the totally gross act of sharing an earbud with your best bud? Not only does this method result in earwax transference, but it also results in participants only hearing half the song. With most music mastered in beautiful stereo, wouldn’t it be better to just plug your friends’ headphones into your music player?

Belkin’s RockStar is, appropriately enough, a star-shaped headphone cord splitter that allows users to share their tunes with friends. This is perfect for long commutes or during family car rides when you don’t necessarily want to listen to someone else’s bad musical choices. Had enough of the kids taking over your stereo to blast whatever top 40 rubbish is cool today? Convince them that headphones are the way to go.

The Belkin RockStar can also be used as a mixer of sorts by plugging in more than one audio source and adjusting the volumes of each source to your liking. I might have to break this thing out next time I play a DJ set.

Posted in Holiday Hints | 1 Comment »

CLUB NINTENDO
It’s Finally Here!

For years, North American Nintendo fans have lamented the fact that Club Nintendo was not available to them. The exclusive club offered its members cool swag that was attainable via redemption of points. Members received points for each Nintendo product they registered.

Now, Club Nintendo has opened its North American doors. Users can transfer their old My Nintendo accounts over. I just did, but don’t see an option to list all the games I’ve registered with the Big N for the past five years. I’m sure I’d have had enough points to pick up their Game & Watch Collection for Nintendo DS.

I know what I’m doing when I get home tonight: opening all my Nintendo products and attempting to re-register them.

Posted in News, Nintendo | 6 Comments »

Holiday Hints
Naruto Uncut Box Set 1

This DVD set starts the viewer on a journey into the world of Naruto.  While this is a non-gaming item, it’s certainly a great experience.

Years ago I had briefly viewed glimpses of Naruto while flipping through television channels, but I never really stayed long enough to see what was going on.  To be honest, I really can’t stand English-dubbed anime (with a few exceptions).  It was only when I picked up Naruto: Clash of Ninja for the Nintendo Gamecube that I really became interested.

The game was on sale for less than ten dollars, so I picked it up, not really expecting a lot of depth.  I was pretty surprised when I got it home.  The characters were overflowing with personality and the character designs were very interesting.

I ended up watching the Japanese version of the cartoon with English subtitles and the rest is history (you have seen that I have my own Naruto section here, haven’t you?).

If you love a good story, this anime is for you.  It’s the first thirteen episodes of the long-running show.  With the options to watch the English dub, or the English Subs, it’s sure to get you addicted!  BELIEVE IT!

Posted in Holiday Hints | No Comments »

Super Happy Happy Mega-Fun Monday!
Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure

Good morning, fellow Thumbs! Do you know what day it is? It’s Super Happy Happy Mega-Fun Monday!

We here at Toronto Thumbs know that there are so many ways you’d prefer to spend today rather than going to (or being at) work. Perhaps mixing a drink together from all those chemicals beneath the sink? But before you get sippin’ and slippin’ on that toxic Tom Collins, why not let us distract you with the lighthearted remembrance of games past…

Whenever I moan about not really having a childhood, it’s generally understood that I don’t deny having been a child. As with everyone else, I started on the first page of life. The idea is that at an early age I began perceiving my surroundings and situation with an air of egotism that made them far more serious and thus less fun. Maturity is often gauged in absence, in the denial of that pure, whimsical and imaginative freedom that childhood represents to those wanting a second helping of it. And one of the more serious pursuits in video games during my childhood was the RPG. They had an air of maturity, doing away with all that fast-paced action and requiring a real effort on my part to play. I’d need to devote weeks of my time to the quest, any down-time spent mapping out strategies and making detailed lists regarding magic, supplies, and enemy HP.

Read the rest »

Posted in DS, PlayStation, Reviews, Super Happy Happy Mega-Fun Monday! | 1 Comment »

REVIEW
Resistance 2

I never rushed out to grab Resistance: Fall of Man when it was released, as I wasn’t that sure developer Insomniac could change gears from great platformers to great shooters.  I finally picked it up on the cheap a few months ago as I wanted to prepare for the release of the much hyped sequel.  I found myself drawn to the good pacing, interesting story, and strangely addictive slaughtering of aliens, playing through the game in only a week.

Enter Resistance 2, the continuation of infected American soldier Nathan Hale and his fight against the Chimeran invasion. As I don’t want to spoil the story for anyone, that’s about all the plot I’ll be talking about in this review.  What I will be talking about is how Insomniac basically took everything that made the first Resistance enjoyable and enhanced it in every way to bring an excellent and extremely polished shooter experience home in Resistance 2.

Read the rest »

Posted in PlayStation 3, Reviews | No Comments »

HOLIDAY HINTS
Disney Sing It

At this point in time, some parents may be sick of the likes of Hannah Montana, Camp Rock, and High School Musical. But chances are their kids are not. Disney’s Sing It (which is available for Wii, PS3, PS2, Xbox 360, and PC) is a karaoke video game that lets kids of all ages belt out their favourite tunes from recent popular Disney shows. There are 35 tunes to choose from, so there’s no reason to have to hear Hannah Montana’s “Best of Both Worlds” ten times in a row – though I’m sure you still will.

Posted in Holiday Hints, Music, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

HOLIDAY HINTS
Personal Trainer: Cooking

The Nintendo DS is truly a system that offers something for everyone. There are action-adventure titles, puzzle games, shooters, board game titles, and even a title that will help smokers kick the habit. Now you can add another type of game to the ever-growing list: an interactive cookbook called Personal Trainer: Cooking.

While not technically a game (the challenge exists in the kitchen) it is a great piece of software. Users can browse through recipes by country, ingredient, or specific requirements (like Calories, prep time, and cooking method). Don’t have an ingredient in your pantry? No worries. Simply check it off in the game, take the DS to the store with you, and use it as an electronic shopping list.

The meat of the Personal Trainer: Cooking (no pun intended) is in the actual cooking phase. The game presents each stage of meal preparation with large photos, listed instructions, and a helpful narrator who talks the user through each step. While the touchscreen is available to flip between steps, the title uses the DS’s built-in microphone and will read the next step of the recipe when it hears the word “continue.” This feature’s extra handy for people who don’t want to get foodstuffs on their shiny DS systems.

Posted in DS, Holiday Hints, Reviews | 4 Comments »