Toronto Thumbs

Preview
Jagged Alliance: Back In Action

While it pains my X-COM-worshipping bones to admit it, the days of the turn-based strategy game may well be truly over. Sure, some standouts might still remain (cases in point: the intriguing Xenonauts and Dead State), but the sign of the times is glowing in massive neon letters: speed it up. That’s not to say some games haven’t taken the “speed it up” mantra and run with it to an exciting hybrid of turn-based and real-time game-play; Flotilla and Frozen Synapse are two solid examples which have done just that – with excellent results. Still, these are new
properties; can an established, classic turn-based franchise make the leap to a modern hybrid style?

Read the rest »

Posted in PC, Previews, Videos | 1 Comment »

Review
Cities XL 2012

There are not a lot of “modern” city-building games on the market. In the past, this landscape was dominated by the SimCity franchise, which fell out of favour with a large number of gamers (most likely due to the changes to the game). A few years ago, Monte Cristo launched Cities XL, a new way for you to be mayor of your own settlement (settlements, when you think about it). With a decent single-player “campaign” mode and hopes of a large multi-player community, Cities XL made things look interesting again. Even though the multi-player element disappeared rather quickly, the single-player mode was still engaging and fun. Cities XL 2011 (which was taken on by Focus Home Interactive) added new game-play enhancements, more buildings and nicer graphics. So what does Cities XL 2012 add to the mix?

Read the rest »

Posted in PC, Reviews | No Comments »

Review
Disney Universe

Boxing Week is upon us, which means that there are a few prime shopping days left in the year. This fashionably late review is well-timed, since it deals with a great game that the whole family can enjoy (aka: possibly a great purchase): Eurocom’s Disney Universe. Back during E3, we got the breakdown from Michelle Liem about this game; then we got to play it a few times since (once at X’11 Canada and then at Playstation Holiday). Now that we have spent some personal time with it, do we think that it will be to everyone’s taste? Perhaps not. Do we still think it is a great game? Yes. Yes we do. Read on.

Read the rest »

Posted in News Bytes, PC, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Wii, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

Fashionably Late Review
Smash Cars

In university, a few of us would gather around the computer and play Micro Machines (when we had finished our studies, of course). While driving simulators and arcade racers (based on actual racing – like Daytona) are each fun in their own right, the simplicity and fun of novelty racers (including kart racing games) cannot be overlooked. The tracks are typically shorter and there are usually entertaining power-ups to keep things interesting. Matches are easy to set up, and you can have more than the maximum number of players because everyone swaps out really quickly because matches don’t last very long.

Even now, in the age of more powerful machines and advanced physics engines, it is nice to just settle in and enjoy the mayhem of a novelty racer. Looking for a quick hit of unique fun? Then Creat Studios’ Smash Cars might be the fix you’re after.

Read the rest »

Posted in Byte-Size Reviews, PC | No Comments »

Review
Dungeons: The Dark Lord

It may seem like such a simple thing, but for me, seeing a new game – even one that treads in almost-but-not-quite as familiar a groove as its genre equivalents – is cause enough for celebration. From Dust, for example, grabbed my attention immediately following its showing at E3 just for being so unlike anything else around it. Even the games it was considered closest to (Black & White and Populous), were themselves such unique ideas that simply being in their company provides interest by association. Sure enough, the game was such a joy in its uniqueness that its flaws were by and large overlooked (Ubisoft’s DRM debacle notwithstanding*).

It was in that vein that I was looking forward to reviewing Realmforge’s Dungeons: The Dark Lord, the standalone sequel to Dungeons**. With the odds of Dungeon Keeper 3 being somewhere between “infintessimal” and “none”, this was about as close as I was going to get to some quality “being evil” time this side of Evil Genius. Sure enough, the uniqueness of Dark Lord does provide its own fun but there are some serious problems with the game that prevent it from capitalizing on its strengths.

Read the rest »

Posted in PC, Reviews | No Comments »

Review
Battlefield 3

My exposure to the Battlefield franchise before this year was limited to brief encounters with Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 2; I’m not sure why neither of them really spoke to me. Until my discovery of Team Fortress 2, I didn’t really enjoy playing online multi-player FPS’s; shortly after TF2, Modern Warfare made its way into the rotation.

Eventually, both of these were replaced by a suggestion from our own Mike Jackson: Battlefield: Bad Company 2. BFBC2 became my go-to FPS, eclipsing anything else in the stable. Multi-player was great: quick games; smart games; fun games. Months after I started, the Battlefield 3 footage started finding its way around the internet, causing keyboards to short circuit thanks to the drool-inducing Frostbite 2 engine from DICE. I even got to spend some time participating in the multi-player alpha; I was blown away – the holidays promised to be awesome – all because of this one game.

Read the rest »

Posted in PC, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360 | 1 Comment »

Review
Skyrim

I apologize to our readers (and to the author) for posting this late. Between internet shenanigans (ie: cable modem malfunction) and other factors that shall not be named, this seemed to have escaped the grasp of punctuality. It is still a great read, though; make sure you check it out! – ed.

Where were you on Friday, November 11, 2011? I spent that night in line at my local game retailer anxiously waiting for the clock to strike midnight – just to get my hands on Bethesda’s fifth entry in the Elder Scrolls saga – a little-known fantasy epic called Skyrim.

While there’s no denying the radicalness that was the Modern Warfare 3 launch (that also took place earlier that week), I will say that Skyrim’s release was one of the best midnight launches I have ever had the pleasure of attending. It felt like everyone was getting into the spirit of things. There were game stories of old and even new strategies being planned that night. Gamers both young and old were discussing everything from what kind of character to play, what faction to ally with, and what skills are best to specialize in. The only thing was missing was a group of Dragonborn cosplayers armed with foam swords and a 1:1 scale dragon piñata.

Candy-less, I began my odyssey through the lands of Skyrim less than an hour later that night.

Read the rest »

Posted in PC, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360 | 1 Comment »

Review
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

A few years ago, Assassin’s Creed appeared on store shelves. The game told the story of Desmond Miles, who used a machine called the Animus (not entirely of his own volition) to relive part of the life of an ancestor: Altair Ibn-La’Ahad, an assassin. Born into a sacred order of killers bound by the Assassin’s Creed*, Altair aided his “family” in the upholding of choice among people; a right that was being threatened by an opposing order called the Templars, who were interested only in control of the human populace.

Eventually, Desmond managed to escape (Assassin’s Creed 2). He was taken in by another group who had their own version of the Animus. Using their technology, Desmond accessed the life of another ancestor: Ezio Auditore da Firenze. An Italian nobleman, Ezio witnessed the death of his family and became an Assassin first out of revenge; later, he realized that he actually had a higher purpose. His adventure continued in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, where he fought in the war against the Templars as a master Assassin, training others to take up the cause. Brotherhood also included a fantastic multi-player mode.

Now we reach the final chapter in the lives of both Altair and Ezio in Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. How does this game fare in a series that has done nothing but gain momentum so far?

Read the rest »

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

Review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: An Afterthought; Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the CoD

I don’t get first-person shooters. To me, it’s the equivalent of trying to understand the intricacies of a UFC fight night when you don’t know the first thing about mixed martial arts. On nights like those I usually find myself dodging Vin Diesel clones, making a beeline to the server, and participating in a quick-time event to pay for my drink and make a run for the nearest patio. Only then can I sit back and shake my head in absolute amusement. You might think I have gone bonkers comparing UFC fans to the Call of Duty gamers but it’s true! One thing I have noticed (in either camp) is: those that “get it” are rabid fans to the bitter end; these people are willing to put relationships and sleep cycles on the line just to watch Fighter A duke it out with Fighter B and/or level up while improving their kill-to-death ratio. It’s a Jersey thing, I think.

Then something happened. I called a friend out, we met for drinks, and on impulse (and partially drunk) we decided to wait out the last half-hour to Modern Warfare 3’s midnight launch. We both grabbed a copy but unlike the rest of the kids in line, the first thing we did when we got home was pass out – with Infinity Ward’s take on World War 3 in tow.

Read the rest »

Posted in PC, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360 | 5 Comments »

Review
Stealth Bastard (The Game You Should Be Downloading Right Now)

It’s really quite appropriate that Stealth Bastard: Tactical Espionage Arsehole has several swear words in the title, because once you get going in this game you’ll find yourself spewing a litany of curses and loving every second of it. Curve Studios (makers of Explodemon) released this bastard child of Super Meat Boy and Metal Gear Solid this week for the low price of zero dollars, which means you really should start downloading it right this second.

I’ll wait.

Read the rest »

Posted in PC, Reviews | 1 Comment »