Toronto Thumbs

This Contra ReBirth Video is Totally My Bag

My mornings go a little something like this: I wake up to the sound of my computer speakers beeping. After falling out of bed, I stumble across the apartment to my home office muttering to myself, “What does he want now?” I take my computer’s mouse and shake it violently to wake the screen from its slumber. When it comes to, I see that Jamie has been messaging me manically about something so incredibly awesome it just couldn’t wait till the work day starts.

When I woke up this morning, I checked the computer to find that Jamie had sent me a link to this Contra ReBirth video along with the message, “This is totally your bag.”

He was right.

Posted in Awesome, News Bytes, WiiWare | 2 Comments »

Konami to give Contra a ReBirth

Evan over at 4 Color Rebellion has uncovered some details regarding Konami’s plans to give Contra the ReBirth treatment. The game is set to release on the Japanese WiiWare service May 12 for the cost of 1000 Wii Points. So far, there seems to be no plan of bringing the title to North America, but we shouldn’t worry about that, given the immense popularity of the series over here and the fact that they brought over Gradius ReBirth not long ago.

When it does arrive as North American WiiWare, we will be dropping everything to play and review it, because we love Contra you.

Posted in Awesome, News Bytes, WiiWare | 3 Comments »

Robocalypse: Beaver Defense Hitting WiiWare This Summer

Pirates versus Ninjas, Godzilla versus Megalon, Coke versus Pepsi – these are the epic battles that have shaped Modern Western Civilization. And now we can add Robots versus Beavers to the list of longstanding grudge matches thanks to Vogster Entertainment’s upcoming WiiWare title, Robocalypse: Beaver Defense.

The game will centre on a tower defense mechanic, with players controlling robots to thwart the plans of an evil, maniacal beaver and will have a hilarious story written by Jay Lender of SpongeBob fame and Micah Wright. Vogster also promises lots of goofy weaponry and tonnes of destruction in both single-player and four-way multiplayer.

From the few screenshots I’ve seen and the artwork above, the game looks like it’s right up my alley. Too bad I’ll have to wait till its summer release to find out for sure.

Posted in News Bytes, WiiWare | No Comments »

FAILED REVIEWS
Gradius ReBirth Has Destroyed Me

Weeks ago, Konami released a new retro game called Gradius ReBirth as WiiWare. I didn’t know much about it, but Jamie Love thought I’d be a fan of it seeing as I absolutely love shooters (specifically the R-Type series). So I downloaded it – and wouldn’t you know it, he was right. I was instantly charmed by the game’s use of 16-bit graphics and sound, its enemy attack formations, its initial snail-pace, and its stackable power-ups.

That was two weeks ago. Now, the honeymoon is over. Gradius ReBirth has left me alone in our hotel room after two fun weeks. I woke up this morning shivering, in the bathtub. It was full of ice and my back was killing me. A note was taped to my chest. It read: “Had to go. I’m too good for you. And I stole your kidneys just for fun. See a doctor.”

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Posted in Reviews, WiiWare | 7 Comments »

REVIEW
BIT.TRIP BEAT

This WiiWare titles begs the question: What is a videogame? And in a similar way, thinking about this game is making me question: What is a videogame review? How could I possibly write any more about BIT.TRIP BEAT other than saying you have to play it for yourself? Let me begin…

BIT.TRIP BEAT is at the base level of its existence, a videogame – which is to say it has a challenge and rules in which users must meet it. But through the experience of sitting down to play it, the game becomes much more. The “Are Videogames Art?” debate has been so ongoing that it has become easy to forget these core principles of what elements come together to make a game, and yet here we have a game – a WiiWare game, at that – that makes you feel like a catalyst in the creation of art.

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Posted in Art, Awesome, Music, WiiWare | 9 Comments »

HIDDEN GEM
Gradius ReBirth on WiiWare

Now that WiiWare is no longer hot news, it has been easy to ignore these weekly updates to the Wii Shop Channel. Add to the fact the storage problem on Wii consoles, and you have further reason to be wary of these titles. After all, it takes a lot of time to “clear out the fridge” and decide which titles in your Wii’s memory just aren’t worth your time anymore.

Last week, Konami’s Gradius ReBirth made its way onto the Shop Channel. It’s a WiiWare title done in classic 16-bit style, and I can’t imagine why I haven’t heard more about this gem online considering the strong resurgence in classic gaming we’ve seen in the hobby – and especially considering the amount of coverage a title like Mega Man 9 received last year. Is the gaming world so quickly jaded? If so, why is everyone still in love with FPS titles?

The Gradius name is a staple within the shooter genre, and ReBirth is a great entry into the series. Look for a full review in the near future, but in the meantime, trust me and download this game. It’s all kinds of awesome.

Posted in Awesome, WiiWare | 2 Comments »

FASHIONABLY LATE REVIEW
World of Goo

I’ve always enjoyed playing puzzle games. If you know me at all, you probably already know about my absolute obsession with Professor Layton and the Curious Village for the DS.  However, “physical” puzzle games are just as captivating.

One of my first (and favourite) games of this type was Lemmings. I couldn’t get enough of it and I certainly enjoyed the hell out of it. Every level was challenging and exciting. There were multiple ways to complete levels (although there was always an ideal way), and the feeling of completing each level was exhilarating.

Fast forward to 2009: I downloaded World of Goo as WiiWare and those feelings came rushing back.

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Posted in Reviews, Wii, WiiWare | 7 Comments »