Toronto Thumbs

Powetcast Episode 17: Cobra Commander’s Moustache

Last night I joined the gang over at Powet.tv as a “special guest” to the always-entertaining and geeky Powetcast. Due to certain things that came up in the discussion, it ended up with the name “Cobra Commander’s Moustache.” Intrigued? Then check it out.

Anyhow, the Powetcast is a twice-monthly show about games, comics, TV, movies, and toys – and if you like any or all of these things you should definitely add it to your ever-growing list of podcasts and join the growing legion of its happy fans.

Thanks again to the entire Powet.tv crew for having me on the show. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the terms “Adam’s balls” and “Dick pills” so much within such a short time span.

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SECRET FILES AND ORIGINS
The Best Damn Galaga Player I Know

We’ve been producing this season’s Toronto Thumbs Podcast with a greater frequency than last season’s (which we’d like to bury the last season in the desert so that no one will ever hear it), and it’s nice to hear some feedback on how we’re doing now. The good feedback lets us know what you like, and the feedback pointing out our mistakes and misses helps us try to make better shows in the future. It’s especially a treat when the feedback comes from other people within the gaming industry who share the same passion for games and general geekery as we do, and have also produced podcasts.

So it was pretty cool to hear that Paul from NextGen Player really dug Episode 9 of our podcast. After all, it’s probably one of the goofier ones to date, and we hardly talk about videogames in it. Instead, it’s mostly Jorge and me making jokes and enjoying our nerdy discussion more than our listeners probably will. Paul mentioned that he was going to link to it from his site but wanted to know if I’d write up a quick introduction for the NextGen audience who may not know me.

I figured that most readers would want to know just how the two of us, Paul and I, met. Everyone loves a good origin story, and the circumstances surrounding our initial meeting back in 1994 are somewhat humorous, after all. The fact that we eventually reconnected after so long is just a testament to our ongoing love of gaming and nerdiness.

If you want to know the details of our first encounter, hop on over to NGP to read all about it. And yes, I realize it’s kind of funny to link you to an article that will then link you back to this site. But hey, it’s fun! I’d like to thank Paul for the opportunity to write that piece, but my emotion chip was recently damaged and I am temporarily unable to convey gratitude.

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[4CR] Metroid’s Early Years

Metroid Prime Trilogy is just a few weeks away from release, so understandably we’re getting a little giddy about it. The last game of the series, Metroid Prime Corruption, didn’t seem to have a lot of old-fashioned television advertising associated with it. Either that, or Nintendo didn’t see the need to tell moms how cool it was. After all, are moms really into Metroid? (By the way, yeah, I watch the W network).

Over at 4 color rebellion, Jamie has posted a cool article showcasing some of the earliest commercials for the series, including some gems for the first title, Metroid 2, and Super Metroid. Go check it out and fall in love with them all over again.

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FLASHBACK
Ghostbusters VS Ghostbusters

We blew our graphics budget on this illustration.

Last January, way back when the site only had a handful of readers (oh how we’ve grown!), I wrote a goofy article comparing the NES and Sega Master System Ghostbusters games. With it being the eve of the release of the wildly anticipated this-gen Ghostbusters game, I thought some of you might enjoy the read.

So go read it! »

Posted in Blast From the Past, Links, Nintendo, Sega Master System | 1 Comment »

We’re on the Flickr now

I have this problem with digital cameras. They’re cool and all, but I can’t for the life of me remember to recharge the batteries in them. My cell phone has a camera mode, but it doesn’t take the best photos. Plus, I don’t take the best photos as it is. It’s a bad combination.

This weekend, though, I found that we had been charging the batteries in our real camera in preparation for photographing the transition to spring outside. I took this opportunity to take a few shots of some of my video game stuff and a few toys and decided to set up a Flickr group for Toronto Thumbs, so HERE IT IS. If you like games, toys, or this site, join the group and share your photos!

I got the Cobra Commander Mighty Mugg from Stadium Comics in Brampton during my weekly visit there. This weekend, a guy was playing Elton John songs on panflute just outside the store. Awesome, or awful – I can’t decide. Cobra Commander, however, is pure awesome.

Oh, and if you join the group this week and upload a photo which we deem to be the best photo on the group, we will send you a download code for a Halo Wars Flame Decaled Warthog vehicle. We’re not buying you off or anything, so don’t think of it as that.

LINK: Toronto Thumbs on Flickr

Posted in Art, Contests, Links, Pics | 3 Comments »

A NEW TAKE ON OLD FAVOURITES
Videogame Characters Re-imagined

Calgary artist Tom Rhodes has recently taken some of his favourite videogame characters and re-imagined them. See Street Fighter’s Ken and Ryu, above, for a great example of this. I love Ken’s ensemble. He looks like he’s straight out of Napoleon Dynamite with that cheesy wolf shirt and American flag pants. You think anyone wants a kick in the head from him while he’s wearing those bad boys? Capcom, take note. Future DLC potential is staring you in the face.

Click through to his portfolio blog to admire his outstanding takes on Earthworm Jim, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario, Yoshi, Dr. Gordon Freeman, and others.

Check it »

Posted in Art, Awesome, Links | 1 Comment »

Weewar: Turn-Based Strategy in Your Browser

I’ve recently started playing a game of Weewar over at weewar.com (where else?). It’s a browser-based war game written in JavaScript and HTML that you can play with both friends and strangers. There’s a tonne of maps to choose from, plus you can also make your own.

Like most turn-based games, the goal is to capture all the bases on the map and vanquish your enemies. To do this, you have a slew of different infantry units at your disposal, provided you have the funds to pay for them. Funds are attained at the start of each turn and that’s determined by how many bases you control.

The playing field is comprised of a series of hexagonal spaces, and infantry units can move in any of the six directions provided they have the range to do so and there’s nothing blocking their path (such as mountainous terrain).

When you start off playing Weewar, you’re given 1500 points. Depending on your win/loss record, these points will either go up or down. You can even check the online Leaderboard to see how your compare to the top players.

If you want to play a game against, me, invite Megashaun to a new battle.

And of course, since it’s browser-based, you can play it while at work. I’m looking at you, Goverment of Canada employees.

Check it out: http://weewar.com/

Posted in Awesome, Flash Focus, Links | 6 Comments »

Capcom’s Okami Art Site

With Okami slated to be released for Wii on April 15, Capcom has launched a site devoted to showing off some of the game’s artwork.

You’ll find everything from character designs, background art, wallpapers, to even fan art (you can even submit your own!).

It’s pretty cool for Capcom to have done this, as the developer employs some of the world’s most talented artists. Capcom has released books of their game art for as long as I can remember, and Okami is no exception to this. The site includes a link with more information on the Okami Official Complete Works art book.

LINKS: okamiart.com, udonentertainment.com/okami

Posted in Links, Wii | 5 Comments »

LINK: Collecting Sealed Games

A detail of one of my “prized” collectibles: A Japanese import Rodimus Prime.

Earlier this week I came across a post on the cgcc.ca forum by a new user who was promoting his own site: A forum for collectors of sealed games. At first, I scoffed at the idea that someone would buy a game and then not ever play it. But then I started to really think about it.

Was I no better? I have a whole lot of games that are still sealed because I bought them on clearance and then never got around to playing them (I’ll fix this soon, I swear!). Then I started thinking about how I used to collect Star Wars and Transformers toys like a maniac.

I initially had a post ready to go up here, but decided it was the kind of article better suited for 4 color rebellion. I tried to see things from both perspectives (ie: for collecting and against collecting), but ultimately I sided against collecting in general, which is an odd turn for me.

Link: Collecting Sealed Games

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LINK: Is There Integrity in Gaming Journalism?

James Urbaniak is the voice of Doctor Thaddeus Venture on TV’s The Venture Bros.

I recently posted an article on 4 color rebellion outlining a few issues with journalism as a whole, but focusing on game journalism in particular. The article got quite a few great comments from people who presented different angles on the subject that I hadn’t previously considered.

See? Sometimes it’s good to get your thoughts out there. And the whole thing stemmed from reading James Urbaniak’s LiveJournal. Go Team Venture!

LINK: Is There Integrity in Gaming Journalism?

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