Toronto Thumbs

Review
Strike Suit Infinity

“Stay on target. Stay on target.”

Who likes mechs? Ah. I can see that a fair number of you like the idea of being able to pummel the crap out of things housed in the relative safety of a giant robot. Now how many of you would like to kick some butt in a transforming space mech? Yes, I thought so. Well, partners: gather around and let me tell you about the little purchase that you are about to make called Strike Suit Infinity by Born Ready Games.

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Posted in News Bytes, PC, Reviews, Steam | No Comments »

Reviews
Machines At War 3

My introduction to the real-time strategy genre was due to my friend Sinclair, who loaned me Warcraft 2. Up until that point, I had been RTS ignorant, and after my combat christening I ended up devouring other games in the same vein. Over the years, many variations on a theme have come and gone. Some (like Total Annihilation and Battle for Middle Earth) have injected some fire into the industry, while others ended up being knock-offs. Machines at War 3, developed by Isotope 244 for the PC, is certainly not genre-changing; but it is a retro experience that is charming and fun.

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Posted in PC, Reviews, Steam | 1 Comment »

Awareness
Road Redemption – Kickstarter
We’re Gonna Melee Like It’s 1999

Any kid that grew up with a Sega Genesis and a decent taste in games should have fond memories of Road Rash. This motorcycle combat-racing franchise was a breath of fresh air back in 1991, not just for its novel game-play, but also for the goofy presentation that saw NPCs trash talking you between races, and rudimentary cut-scenes that played out depending on the outcome of a race.

Those who miss Road Rash have been left to suffer in silence, as EA haven’t released a game in the franchise since 2003; but fortunately, plucky indies Dark Seas Games have taken it upon themselves to fill the gap. And who’d have thunk it: they’re turning to Kickstarter to make things happen! Road Redemption is their take on the Road Rash formula, and if they reach their goal of $160,000, they’re planning to release on “high end” PC, MAC and Linux systems in July 2014, with other consoles on the drawing board.

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Posted in Kickstarter, Linux, Mac, PC | 1 Comment »

Updates
System Mechanic

Last year, I tried out a tool from Iolo called System Mechanic that claimed to clean and speed up PCs. I was a little nervous at the prospect of installing it; but, it actually did what it stated, leaving me quite happy at the results. At the time, I was running Windows 7 Ultra; since then, I have installed Windows 8. System Mechanic has kept up (currently version 11.7), leaving my machine running well.

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Posted in Apps, Hardware, PC, Updates, Utilities | No Comments »

Run DLC
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Revolution

It’s not really that new, but the DLC Map pack called Revolution (for Black Ops 2) that hit the market a few weeks ago is still hella fun. This DLC includes 4 multi-player maps, a new Zombie map and for the first time ever: a new weapon.

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Posted in Byte-Size Reviews, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

Interviews
Dennis Blumenthal
Realmforge Studios

At the end of last year, Seán O’Sullivan checked out a preview of Realforge Studio’s Dark and left with cautious optimism. With a release slated for later this year, we thought we would send some questions their way. Dennis Blumenthal, Producer of Dark, was kind enough to answer.

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Posted in Interviews, PC, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

Games That Need to be Played
The Adventures of Rubberkid

As gamers, we tend to be constantly on the prowl for the next great game. We scour the internet for news about upcoming titles and drool over new-and-improved graphics and better game-play. Every once in a while, though, it’s good to put aside our notions of typical videogames, and it’s important to check out something that might actually be beneficial to the human race, rather than just to our senses. Charles Jackson from the Critterverse has made one such PC/Flash game: The Adventures of Rubberkid.

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Posted in Flash Focus, PC, Reviews | No Comments »