Toronto Thumbs

FanExpo 2010
B Number 2 - Tron: Evolution

Easy to recognize.

When Tron 2.0 came out, it was pretty clear to me that only those of us who saw the original movie would be excited, if at all; fans are a fickle bunch; resistant to change; any departure from the plot is met with a frown and an insistence that “this never would have happened in the original”. Monolith did a good job toeing that line between canon and the introduction of new material. Even with generally favourable reviews, Tron 2.0 underperformed from a sales perspective, and support was eventually dropped; a shame, really, since the faithful user community kept producing mods for it, as well as an expansion.

Tron: Evolution, though, is a whole other story, and has something going for it that 2.0 did not: an accompanying motion picture (Tron: Legacy); even though that film may not be as closely tied to the game as one might expect.

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Posted in Events, First Impressions, Move, PC, PSP, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360 | 2 Comments »

Late To the Party
Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines

My final destination (for now) in my mad quest to play everything in the Assassin’s Creed franchise was finally reached the other day upon my completion of Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines for the PSP. When Bloodlines hit the shelves last year, it received a lukewarm reception from many; I, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Posted in PSP, Reviews | No Comments »

DON CHAKA!
Patapon 3 Multiplayer Demo Jam Session

The Patapon multiplayer demo is a fantastic foray into the world of those feisty giant-eyeballs-with-feet-and-hands; you will be tapping your toes to the beat in no time. There is no single player mode to the game, other than the introduction (which does a great job of establishing the mood and pulling you into the world of the DON CHAKA).

When the single player intro is completed, the game will ask you -nay, implore you- to try out the multiplayer mode.

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Posted in First Impressions, PSP | No Comments »

ZOMG!!
Patapon 3 Multiplayer Demo

Yesterday I downloaded the multiplayer demo of Patapon 3 from the PSN Store. I played through the intro stage on public transit and I seriously think that people must have thought I was crazy because of the look of sheer glee on my face. I don’t normally buy into a game during an intro stage to a demo; my acceptance comes into the meat of the demo. But man, this game looks like everything Patapon 2 had with even more DON CHAKA!

I will report more on this later…

Posted in News Bytes, PSN, PSP | 1 Comment »

Late to the Party
Patapon

A long time ago, a friend pointed me to a video trailer for a game called Patapon. The game is about a race of walking, talking, rhythmic eyeballs who can be commanded via a set of four drums; each drum makes a distinct sound, and is mapped to one of the four action buttons on the PSP.

The premise was cool, but, at that time, none of the other PSP titles appealed to me, and I couldn’t justify buying a new console for just one game (those of you who cite my purchase of a PS3 just to play Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm should leave the room, please). Fast forward to 2010 and I have finally joined the PSP crowd; the first purchase I made for my PSPgo made me a very happy gamer.

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Posted in PSP, Reviews | No Comments »

Race. Create. Share
Modnation Racers Event

Sony was kind enough to invite Toronto Thumbs to an event for United Front Games’ soon-to-be released kart-racing revolution entitled ModNation Racers; the event was held at a venue fitting for such an exciting and fun game: 401 Mini-Indy in Toronto. I have been to a few events where ModNation Racers has been on display, but I was always too slow on the draw, missing out on chances to play it due to its popularity (all of the ‘appointments’ to play the game were taken). Before I left my house for this latest event, I said a silent prayer to Kratos that I would be able to get my hands on a controller hooked up to a PS3 console that was running this game.

Ask and ye shall receive.

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Posted in Events, PSP, PlayStation 3, Previews | 1 Comment »

To Infinity and Beyond!
Toy Story 3 Preview

Last week we were invited to check out some of Disney Interactive’s new offerings, namely Guilty Party and Toy Story 3. Disney is always fun to check out because they usually have the added challenge of accommodating a larger demographic than other companies (Street Fighter IV is not officially for kids, is it?); they always do a great job when it comes to games that involve the whole family. We settled onto some comfy couches in an office in downtown Toronto - amidst a pile of plush friends and some stand-up cardboard likenesses of well-known characters - and watched Wideload Games and Avalanche Software show off their shiny new games. In this second segment we take a look at Avalanche’s offering…

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Posted in Awesome, DS, DSi, PC, PSP, PlayStation 3, Previews, Wii, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

News Bytes
Stuff From Lately

Welcome to some brief snippets of news from the interwebs this week. Our crack team of field operatives only find the best gems for you to read. Okay. Maybe that’s a lie. But some of these are somewhat interesting. If anyone wants us to take a deeper dive, please feel free to let us know!

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Posted in Awesome, Bargains, News Bytes, PC, PSP, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | 2 Comments »

Review
Avatar

[Please note that there are some mild spoilers for the 3 of you that have yet to see this movie. - ed.]

While the movie may be an Oscar winner, Avater: The Game won’t be taking home any awards any time soon, but that doesn’t mean it’s a total failure. Reviews for the movie - while mixed - are mostly positive.  On the other hand, the game was met with relatively poor ratings from the gaming community; my theory is that the initial underwhelming scores robbed the game of a fair shake, before the movie could provide any inspiration and incentive to play it through.

I’d like to believe that my hypothesis is true. I really would. Ubisoft is known for publishing engaging titles (Assassin’s Creed, Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell, etc.), so one would think that perhaps all that is needed is a second glance with eyes that have seen the film.

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Posted in DS, DSi, PC, PSP, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Wii, Xbox 360 | 2 Comments »

Video
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

Let’s say you love Prince of Persia but just can’t stomach any more soft-focused publicity images of Chesty Jake. Good news! Ubisoft has your PoP fix sans Gyllenhaal.

Check out this gameplay trailer (complete with developer commentary) and prepare to be enthralled by the Prince yet again. What’s not to love about parkour mixed with elemental control and lots of baddies?

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Posted in Awesome, DS, DSi, Microsoft, News Bytes, PSP, PlayStation 3, Videos, Wii, Xbox 360 | 2 Comments »