Toronto Thumbs

Check This Out!
Jam City Rollergirls

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.

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Posted in Check This Out!, Reviews, Wii, WiiWare | 1 Comment »

Review
Robox

I find that buying WiiWare involves a lot of research if you want to ensure that you end up with something you actually like. I have found some fantastic titles to play from that service; I have also found some not-so-fantastic games, too. Robox, I’m happy to say, is definitely in the first category. Developed by Spain’s DreamBox Games, Robox is a very ambitious little title that everyone should play. An action-platformer (with some puzzle elements), Robox works on a number of levels to deliver a fun gaming experience.

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Posted in Reviews, Wii, WiiWare | No Comments »

Review
Swords and Soldiers

I was pretty excited when I first heard about Ronimo’s Swords & Soldiers on the Wii, but home networking problems compounded with some busy times caused me to forget about this title. Recently, my memory was jogged when I received an announcement about the game going live on the PSN; my excitement was rekindled, and I downloaded the game to give it a good ruin-through.

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Posted in PC, PlayStation 3, PSN, Reviews, Wii, WiiWare | 3 Comments »

I Play What I Want!
Muscle March

Let’s talk about my current obsession: Muscle March, a downloadable WiiWare game (500 Wii points or roughly $5 CAD). Muscle March, based on the arcade game of the same name from 2006, was released in Japan through Namco Bandai in 2009 for the high price of 800 Wii points. With only 3 levels and one free play/speed mode, many people thought the game was a rip-off. For its North American release in January of this year, Nintendo dropped the price to 500 points. A bargain!

Many reviews of Muscle March involve the word “terrible” (Chris Kohler, I’m looking at you), but I think that in light of other current offerings, this game is at an unfair advantage. To give this game a fair shake (ha ha), an open mind is required.

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Posted in Reviews, Wii, WiiWare | No Comments »

OMG
Mega Man 10 on WiiWare Today

It doesn’t explain my absense over the last six days, but Mega Man 10 is now available via WiiWare. So if you’re a glutton for difficult games, sharp graphics, and chiptune goodness, it’s a title you might want to check out. In related news, this could explain why I won’t post anything for the next six days.

But on a serious note, I was out of town for another gig. It’s nice to be back home, even though I’ll be spending most of the time playing videogames.

Posted in Awesome, News Bytes, Nintendo, Wii, WiiWare | No Comments »

Mega Man 10
Weapons Revealed

When Mega Man defeats the eight robot masters in Mega Man 10, he’ll be able to power up and use the following weapons: Chill Spike, Commando Bomb (shown above), Rebound Striker, Solar Blaze, Thunder Wool, Triple Blade, Water Shield, and Wheel Cutter. You can see all the artwork in our Mega Man 10 gallery.

Whether or not most gamers will be able to make it through all the bosses is another question. I’m guessing a lot of people may eventually resort to the Easy mode to avoid too much frustration. The game will be released on WiiWare first March 1, followed by its PSN release March 11 before releasing on Xbox LIVE Arcade March 31.

Posted in Gallery, News Bytes, PlayStation 3, WiiWare, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

Sega Reveals Sonic The Hedgehog 4
Thankfully it doesn’t have Genesis Graphics

Big news this morning: Sega’s formerly-mysterious Project Needlemouse is indeed Sonic the Hedgehog 4. The side-scrolling adventure will be available as a digital download and will be released as a series of episodes. The first episode will be available this summer via PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and WiiWare.

The game is said to pick up the storyline from Sonic & Knuckles, with Sonic being capable of performing his classic move set. The Wii and PS3 versions of the game will also feature tilt controls.

Via 4 Color Rebellion

Posted in Awesome, News Bytes, PSN, Sega, WiiWare, Xbox 360 | 2 Comments »

Box Art
Mega Man 10

Mega Man 10 will be a digital download title for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii. But in the tradition of its predecessor, Capcom has released some retro-styled box art for the game. We’ve seen a take on this a while back when the game’s announcement was in Nintendo Power, but here’s the full thing. Pretty cool!

Want a super high resolution version? Here you go.

Posted in Art, Awesome, PlayStation 3, WiiWare, Xbox 360 | 3 Comments »

Mega Man 10
Mega Man’s Oh Face

This latest batch of Mega Man 10 screenshots is hilarious. I know there’s not a lot of frames of animation for the character, so some repetition is to be expected. But when 11 out of the 16 shots show Mega Man mid-jump with his mouth agape (making his “Oh” face, in other words), that’s some funny shit.

Since screenshots are usually carefully chosen (at least, I’d like to think they are), could Capcom be having some fun with this, or could it just be a coincidence? Regardless, you should check out the screens if you’re into that sort of thing.

Conspiracy theorists: Start your crazy talk!

Posted in Awesome, PlayStation 3, WiiWare, Xbox 360 | 2 Comments »

Now On WiiWare
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

If you have a Wii, 1000 Nintendo Points, and an urge to get into some hilarious courtroom antics, be sure to check out Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. If you’ve already played the game on the DS I suppose there’s not much reason to play it over again. But if you’ve never played it and have no idea who Phoenix Wright is, you’re missing out on a lot of laughs.

Posted in News Bytes, WiiWare | No Comments »