Toronto Thumbs

DS To Get More Rhythm
Beat City Coming to Town This Year

Today THQ announced an upcoming DS game from developer Universomo called Beat City. While not much has been revealed in terms of details, it looks somewhat similar to Rhythm Heaven. Players will tap, swipe, and hold to the beat of the music in several mini games. Sounds cool, no pun intended.

While this happens, the city in the game will transform into a vibrant place. The above image is from the tentative box art from the game and reminds me of the Powerpuff Girls episode “Mime For A Change” in which the girls save a black & white Townsville through the magic of rock ‘n’ roll. Here’s a clip of that; it’s awesome.

So how about some bonus content for you exclusive to Toronto Thumbs? Here’s an mp3 of my friend (and part-time contributor) Kevin Hickey and me covering this tune. It was recorded in 2001 (or 2000). We used an old Tascam four-track I had borrowed from a friend and didn’t really know what we were doing. Enjoy!

Posted in Awesome, DS, DSi, Music, News Bytes | 2 Comments »

MADE OF SOAP (AND WIN)!
Peter Project’s “FRESH” EP

I’m a huge fan of people doing things differently. Take Toronto-based hip-hop DJ/beat maker Peter Project, for instance. His new Fresh EP is not only fresh in the sense that the cuts are new, but also in the sense that it’s a download embedded into a bar of soap! Granted, the EP is also available sans-soap, but how cool a play on the oft-used term, “Fresh!”

I’m not sure I’d want to use the soap just to get to the download code. But this is more a reflection of my pack rat/hoarder mentality and less because I don’t like being clean. The soap itself sounds like it’s pretty awesome. It’s handmade and naturally scented. Given the fact that there are plenty of sweaty dudes at Toronto shows who don’t appear to realize how horrible they smell, getting people to clean themselves by any form of trickery seems like a great idea to me.

While I have yet to hear the entire Fresh EP, I can guarantee you it’s awesome. Considering I had nothing but praise for Peter Project’s self-titled album when I reviewed it for Popshifter earlier this year, I have the utmost confidence that the Fresh EP delivers the goods despite its short length. But don’t take my word for it; just listen to “Unorthadox,” a preview track from the EP that features More or Les throwing it down over Peter’s beats. There’s also this sampling that features a mix of sounds from the Fresh EP. Then there’s the video Peter recently posted that shows him cutting up some beats with a newly broken arm.

The Fresh EP can be purchased online at the Fuzzy Logic Recordings shop.

Posted in Art, Awesome, Canada, Indie, Music, TORONTO | 1 Comment »

HAPPY HOLITASE AND SEASON’S BEATINGS
Deertase 2: Reindeertase Is Here

The wait is over. Rather than send out cards, or even e-cards this year, our holiday gift to you is a Christmas-themed game. We are proud to present Deertase 2: Reindeertase for your gaming enjoyment. May it bring you much joy this holiday season and throughout the coming year. Go play it now.

Reindeertase is approximately ten times bigger than its predecessor. We’ve added more items, more enemies, more music, some fun game options, in-game accomplishments, a download of the soundtrack (composed by DJ Finish Him), a 14-page instruction manual PDF, and some desktop background downloads as part of the whole package. We also feel that the game itself is a good amount of fun, but being so close to the project makes us a little biased.

We started production on this game for two reasons. The first is that we would have liked to make the original Deertase a more fleshed-out game but couldn’t due to time constraints. The second was that Jim Squires commented, rather offhandedly, that it would be cool to have a follow-up game themed for the holidays called “Reindeertase.” What seemed like a funny idea at the time soon exploded into what we feel was a pretty good one. Hundreds of ideas and two short weeks later, the game was completed. (Reindeertase is the main reason we haven’t been posting as much this month. Now that the game is out, we expect things to get back to normal fairly soon.)

So thank you, Jim. Thank you to everyone who helped track down bugs during beta testing. Thank you to all the wonderful publicists who have answered our questions, invited us to events, and sent us games to play and review.

Last but not least, thank YOU for your participation in Toronto Thumbs, whether you check the blog daily, chat on the forum, subscribe to our infrequent podcasts, or even if you just check in once in a while. You are a big reason why we continue to work on this site and we hope you not only enjoy Reindeertase, but more importantly, enjoy the coming year.

Play Reindeertase »

Posted in Indie, Music, TORONTO THUMBS ORIGINAL GAMES | 14 Comments »

CHIPTUNES GOODNESS FROM OXVYLU
Level 42’s “Something About You”

On Wednesday, my friend Oxvylu sent me a link to his chiptunes cover of Level 42’s “Something About You,” which is already a pretty catchy and cool song. I hadn’t previously heard Oxvylu try to cover another artist’s work, so I was immediately surprised at just how great his cover version is.

Since first hearing it, I think I’ve racked up something like 20+ plays of it between the iTunes on my work and home computers. This despite the fact that I’ve also been editing a lot of music for another project. Yes, it’s that good. You can listen to it for yourself by clicking the image above or you can just grab the file here to have it and love it.

Posted in Awesome, Music, News Bytes | No Comments »

SUPERBROTHERS: SWORD & SWORCERY EP
Dark Moon Teletex Bulletin 004 offers Wallpaper

Today we received the Dark Moon Teletex Bulletin 004 concerning the still highly-secretive Superbrothers/Jim Guthrie/Capybara Games project Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP. The bulletin contained links to large desktop backgrounds featuring “digitally remastered” artwork that was originally meant to accompany the project’s announcement. Other than this, no new information was provided on what the project actually is, save for the mention that the next update we’ll receive will be the Bright Moon Bulletin on December 31, 2009 at 14:14 EST.

Excitement builds while the mystery continues to be… well, mysterious. In the meantime, the wallpaper is tasty.

Posted in Art, Awesome, Indie, Music, News Bytes, TORONTO, iPhone, iPod Touch | No Comments »

Electroplankton
From Limited Release to DSiWare

When Electroplankton was first released, Bugsy and I ordered it online through Best Buy’s site as it was one of the only ways Canadians could get their hands on the quirky music program. Within days, the shipment arrived at Bugsy’s house, which at the time was a half hour drive from my place. Although it was late at night when he called, and despite the heavy freezing rain threatening to make the drive deadly, I headed out to his place as safely but as quickly as I could.

Upon getting home, I placed the game into my DS, turned it on, and tuned out to its more ambient modes. It was one of the first non-games I had experienced and at $45 was somewhat more expensive than the typical DS cart. I played the game for a few months, ultimately ignoring it for the likes of Tetris DS. In a weaker moment, I traded it in for some store credit at a local game shop. I had no idea the game would become so expensive just weeks later.

Because of this I hadn’t had an Electroplankton fix in years. Recently, however, I came across the title on Nintendo’s DSiWare service, albeit available à la carte. For 200 Nintendo Points each, one can own Electroplankton mode by mode, and have them ready on the DSi startup menu for whenever the fancy strikes. Cool stuff!

I’ve been getting reacquainted with this old favourite and I find it to be a good relaxation tool for when I need to sit back and unwind. If you’ve got a DSi, check these titles out. At two bucks a pop, you’ve nary a thing to lose.

Here’s hoping the out-of-print Tetris DS sees a DSiWare release, as I’ve had lots of readers ask about its retail availability lately.

Posted in Art, Awesome, DSi, Music | 6 Comments »

Rush Coil
8-bit Christmas

It’s that time of year again. Cold noses, packed malls, slushy roads, screaming kids – all that crap. Despite having very warm feelings towards Christmas and the holiday it allows for, there’s still a lot about it that I could do without. Above all the annoyances I’ve already listed is listening to the same old Christmas music over and over again. It’s inescapable if you have to leave the house. Even grocery stores switch over their Muzak to holiday themes.

Now, there’s Rush Coil’s 8-bit Christmas, a charming bleepity bloopity creative assortment of Christmas classics re-imagined through the glory of chiptune music. I’ve listened to the album once and am still unsure how to feel about it. Maybe I’ll just stick with the likes of Boney M. and the John Denver/Muppets album for my holiday gatherings.

Speaking of, I think it’s time to hit the egg nog.

Posted in Music | 1 Comment »

Wish List
The Pink Korg Kaossilator

I’m following up my previous Wish List post with yet another music-related gizmo. The Korg Kaossilator is a dynamic phrase synthesizer. But what does this even mean? It means it’s capable of making some truly awesome sounds. Don’t take my word for it, however. Just take a look at this gadget orchestra I posted about almost a year ago. That gadget on the far left? It’s a Kaossilator. For a more comprehensive rundown of the kinds of things the device is capable of, look no further than this video.

Happily, this is one wish list item that is literally within my reach. I picked one up today from Moog Audio in Toronto and have had a hard time pulling myself away from it since. I guess I can cross this off my list now, but I also wouldn’t mind having two of them.

Posted in Awesome, Music | 2 Comments »

Wish List
The Korg Kaoss Pad KP3

To the untrained eye, the Korg Kaoss Pad KP3 might look a little bit like Darth Vader’s chest plate. But rather than moderate vital bodily functions the KP3, in all its flashy glory, is a powerful effects sampler with an intuitive and fun-to-use interface.

Its large touchpad includes a 64-LED matrix and is used to manipulate samples via simple gestures. The machine even uses an auto-sync feature to match the timing of samples to different input sources and comes loaded with 128 different effects ranging from classics to newer ones.

Interestingly I had no idea Jorge was going to post about another piece of DJ gear earlier today, but it is a nice coincidence. Like Jorge’s wish list item, the KP3 is way too pricey for me to expect anyone to purchase for me, so this might just end up being something I buy myself at a later date. As far as gaming wish list items go, the KP3 outranks the PS3 for me.

Posted in Awesome, Music | No Comments »

Wish List
Pacemaker Handheld DJ System

Ask any of my friends about my obsession with DJ Hero and they will probably laugh and tell you about how much of a dork I am. That being said, my interest in “two turntables and a microphone” has spiked this year, and so I have been looking around at various DJ-related toys.

Enter the Pacemaker Handheld DJ System. This little sucker is two turntables and a mixer in the palm of your hand. With intuitive controls, internal beat matching, and 60 GB of space, this wicked toy would make any commute to work an absolute party (although you’d probably forget you were actually going to work and then get fired for being late).

The Pacemaker time-stretches without changing pitch, allowing your multiple tracks to not suffer from chipmunk voice (or turtle voice). Thus you can mix without butchering the tunes that you’re playing with.

What I find awesome is that you can record your actions as a series of events, thus saving those moments where you DJ beyond your own ability and enter “the zone.”

This all comes at a price you would expect, though, which kind of puts it out of my immediate purchase window. I also doubt that anyone is going to get me this, so it’s truly a wish beyond a normal one – a total frill item if there ever was one.

Posted in Music | 2 Comments »