Last but not least is the Big N. This year had Nintendo revealing a brand new console, possibly ushering in the inevitable race for supremacy with the next-next generation. Toronto Thumbs chats with Matt Ryan from Nintendo Canada about this year’s showing at E3…
Sometimes I think that the LEGO franchise has a license to print money; any video game adaptation (that bears the LEGO name) of a film will always do well. The formula is essentially the same for each game: stick to the major plot, ensure that the character design reflects that of the movie and capture the charm. Though it seems like this system could become repetitive, each game manages to be entertaining. The latest in the LEGO lineup, LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean (developed by Traveller’s Tales and published by Disney Interactive Studios), is just as addictive and fun as the games that came before (and certainly far more engaging than the middle two films).
With the recent release of Disney’s Tangled*, I thought I would try the Disney Interactive Studios Wii game of the same name. Joining me in this endeavour was our youngest Thumbs member, who also wanted to weigh in with her unique perspective. Even though this is a game that can be played in both multi-player co-op mode and in single-player mode, my partner-in-crime has a bit of difficulty with the controls (being very young will do that to you); however, we still managed to both get some time in for what is ultimately a fun and charming, family-oriented adventure.
So how often do you get the chance to review a video game that shares the exact same name as you? Probably not very often right? Well after all these years I have finally been given the opportunity.
A lot has been made lately of the interactivity of games; and rightly so. The image of the stereotypical gamer up until recently has been synonymous with ‘couch potato’ (even with Nintendo’s more active innovation years ago). Now, with Sony’s Playstation Move and Microsoft’s Kinect, it is getting harder to refer to us gamers as ‘sacks of potatoes’; especially so, since the introduction of so many new offerings in fitness software.
I had the chance to chat briefly with Sharon Vinderine (founder and CEO of PTPA Inc.*) about motion gaming and its role in family fitness. Sharon spoke about the role of Kinect and urges families to give it a spin, especially in light of the upcoming March Break**.
It wasn’t that long ago that I previewed Hudson Entertainment’s Lost in Shadow for the Nintendo Wii and in that short amount of time, the studio has been given bad news. On February 8th the studio announced that it would be closing its doors at the end of the month and all current projects would be canceled. Little did I know when I had previewed Lost in Shadow it would become the company’s Swan Song, so writing this review made me a little melancholy.
When I was a kid, I remember catching glimpses of roller derby on Saturday afternoons. It came on after WWF wrestling and oddly, my mom thought it was too violent and made us turn it off. I will always remember those tough-looking women skating around an oval track, body-checking and slamming each other into the rails.
It is now 2011; as you may have heard in the past few years, roller derby has come back with a vengeance. Leagues are showing up all over the place -including Toronto- and pop culture is getting on the band wagon as well. Witness the awesome 2009 movie Whip It and Pamela Ribon’s excellent book Going in Circles. It is about time that someone made a video game about the sport.
