Toronto Thumbs

N+ Launches on LIVE Arcade Today

This deadly ninja is made from the deadliest of geometric shapes: triangles! Seriously, don’t mess with him.

It’s ninja versus robots in this week’s Xbox LIVE Arcade release, N+. The game’s got over 300 levels to play through and features a level builder as well.

N+ looks very stylized to the point of looking obscenely simple. But its old school visuals have a cool twist: ragdoll physics. Additionally, the game can also be played in a variety of multiplayer modes.

Metanet Software recently held a launch party for N+ in Toronto. We were invited as a guest of gaming journalist extraordinaire Mathew Kumar but were unable to go. He did, however, and has posted photos and descriptions of what could only be described as “Toronto Developers Gone Wild.”

Link: N+ Launch Party: Toronto Developers Gone Wild

Posted in LIVE, News, Xbox 360 | 2 Comments »

DOWNLOAD UPDATE: February 14, 2008 Edition
(AKA The “No Love” Edition)

Commanders: Attack of the Genos. available on Xbox LIVE Arcade, offers some fun battle simulation.

In the spirit of Valentine’s day it seems Sony loves to tease. And tease they did this week with almost nothing of interest being released though the PlayStation Store besides the new “Create-A-Level” video for Little Big Planet. Fortunately, anticipation for the title is so huge, that this may be enough for PS3 gamers this week. A demo for MLB 08 The Show and the (Arguably) Punk Pack 2 Rock Band song pack ($6.49 CDN) were also made available for download this week. The PC PlayStation store brings Twisted Metal: Head On ($15.99 CDN) to gamers who may have missed it the first time around (you can check out our very own review of the PSP port here), along with some behind the scenes videos and a PSP wallpaper for the title. Don’t forget to checkout the demo for the super-stylized Patapon, which dropped this week as well.

The big N lets Wii owners choose whether they want get their farm on with the release of Harvest Moon (SNES) or rock out to the to the heavy-metal sounds of Lords of Thunder (TurboGrafx-16) for 800 Wii Points each. I’ve never had the opportunity to check out Lords of Thunder before, but with a description like “a side-scrolling shooter that has you take on the role of a legendary warrior, blasting enemies to heavy-metal tunes” I think I’m missing out. Anyone who checks this out, let me know what you think by email at michael@torontothumbs.com.

Finally, after a big week last week with the release of Poker Smash, and Xbox Originals Ninja Gaiden Black, Black, and Sid Meier’s Pirates hitting the marketplace; Microsoft follows up with the release of Discs of Tron (400 MS Points) and Commanders: Attack of the Genos (800 MS Points) for Xbox LIVE Arcade. In addition, a whole lot of add-on content for titles including Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom, Overlord, Need For Speed: ProStreet, PGR4, NBA Live 08, Chessmaster Live, Gripshift, and of course the ever expanding Rock Band was also made available.

Posted in Download Updates, LIVE, PSP, PlayStation 3, Virtual Console | No Comments »

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Announced For June

We thought they couldn’t possibly get uglier. We were wrong.

Well, we all knew this was coming when it was slipped that the makers of Guitar Hero were working with Aerosmith. But now, it’s official. Yes, that’s correct, you’ll be able to shred to some of Aerosmith’s best (and very likely worst) tracks in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, which is set to release in June. We’re looking forward to seeing whether they include “Lick and a Promise.”

This, however, isn’t the first time the band’s been featured in a game. Remember Revolution X (you might have wanted to forget about it)? This will probably be a lot more fun. Never a band with much humility, the members of Aerosmith have commented on having their own Guitar Hero game.

“Having a game built around Aerosmith has been a huge honour and really a great experience for us,” says Joe Perry. “We’ve put a lot of ideas into the game so that fans can have fun interacting with our music, getting inside our body of work and learning about the band’s history.”

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Posted in LIVE, News, Nintendo, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | 9 Comments »

DOWNLOAD UPDATE: January 31, 2008 Edition

Rez HD has the looks and hooks to keep gamers happy.

There’s not a lot happening online this week from the big three.

Sadly, Nintendo’s brought us only one game this week, but it’s a great one: 1080° Snowboarding is a classic from the Nintendo 64 days (1000 Wii Points). Too many of my controllers were destroyed because of that game. Sony’s also only got the one game available this week: Neopets: Petpet Adventures - The Wand of Wishing ($16.99 CDN). But this is among a tonne of game add-on content for Rock Band and Folklore, two titles that seem to keep getting expansions.

The big story in downloadable content this week? Xbox LIVE Arcade. Rez HD finally makes its debut. It’s an upbeat, trippy, music-intensive game. In addition, the popular Chessmaster series is now available for download. Both titles cost 800 Microsoft Points.

Posted in Download Updates, LIVE, News, PlayStation 3, Virtual Console, Wii | No Comments »

DOWNLOAD UPDATE: January 23, 2008 Edition

Undertow is the deal of the week.

This week is arguably more exciting than last in terms of downloadable content available for our favourite consoles. Wii finally busts out Super Street Fighter II on the Virtual Console while Xbox 360 owners are getting the chance to get the critically-acclaimed Undertow absolutely free.

Wii

Looks like Nintendo has gone from releasing three Virtual Console titles per week to just two. But that’s okay because this week’s releases are all about quality over quantity. Nintendo Entertainment System adventure puzzler Adventures of Lolo 2 makes its debut on the Shop Channel and is available for 500 Wii Points.

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Posted in Download Updates, LIVE, News, PlayStation 3, Virtual Console, Wii, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

Bionic Commando Gets Hi-Def Treatment

Running and gunning, the old-fashioned way, in Bionic Commando Rearmed.

The Nintendo Entertainment System classic Bionic Commando is the latest game to be getting the Hi-Definition revamp. Although videogames themselves have changed drastically over the 20 years since its original release, core game engines such as the 2D side-scroller have continued to flourish thanks to the ubiquity of handhelds like the Gameboy Advance and DS as well as the accessibility of free Flash games.

These familiar play mechanics will likely never go away and will continue to attract newcomers, both young and old, to gaming. Bionic Commando Rearmed continues in the tradition of good, old-school, side-scrolling action. Sure, the graphics and sound have been redone like you wouldn’t believe (lighting effects, destructible environments, and a re-worked score, to name a few upgrades), but the main attraction, after all the flying sparks have faded, will be that the original Bionic Commando is still a fantastic game.

Bionic Commando Rearmed hits this spring as a digital download on Xbox LIVE Arcade, the PlayStation Network, and on PC. Check out the screenshots below or visit the game’s official site for more information.

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

Halo 3 Madness Continues

Standoff: yet another exotic locale for talkin’ trash in.

Games don’t get much more ubiquitous than Halo 3. They certainly do try. But when people line up for days outside stores anticipating a game’s release, there can be two reasons for it: First, people are just crazy. Second, Halo 3 contains some highly addictive drugs.

For those gamers that just can’t get enough of Halo 3 and its multiplayer goodness, there’s the newly-released Halo 3 Heroic Map Pack on Xbox LIVE. For the cost of 800 Microsoft Points, you can get blasted to bits in three new maps, namely Standoff, Rat’s Nest, and Foundry. The Foundry level allows players to edit objects in the warehouse including stairways, walls, tunnels, and bridges.

Players who aren’t up to spending the points will be able to download the maps for free come Spring 2008. But by then, there will be even newer maps available for purchase.

Here are some HD screenshots from the new maps.

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Posted in Halo 3, LIVE, News, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

Movies Coming to Xbox LIVE Next Week

TMNT is one of the movies that’ll be available to rent from Xbox LIVE next week.

By now everyone knows about today’s Xbox 360 Dashboard update that among other things offers extended features and a new organizational tree for content both on the console and in the Marketplace. But next week, Canadian gamers will be treated to another update.

On December 11, 2007, full-length films will be available for rental from the marketplace, starting at a low 310 Microsoft points for standard-def and 460 for high-def. This will make the Xbox LIVE Marketplace the first VOD (Video on Demand) service available in six countries (US, Canada, France, Germany, UK, and Ireland).

“We’re thrilled to be bringing the Xbox LIVE Marketplace Video Store to Canadians and other Xbox 360 owners around the world,” said Scott Nocas, Global Marketing Manager, Xbox LIVE “Canadians now have access to the most comprehensive entertainment experience on Xbox 360 and with more choice than ever before.”

Once a movie is selected, users will have access to it for 24 hours. Here’s a list, which is subject to change, of a few of the movies that are scheduled to be available upon the service’s launch:

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Posted in LIVE, News, Xbox 360 | 1 Comment »

Xbox LIVE Turns Five

November is a busy month for gaming anniversaries. Xbox LIVE, as Microsoft puts it, will be 5IVE tomorrow. In celebration of this, they’re letting gamers across Canada and the rest of North America enjoy the wonderful LIVE-exclusive Carcassonne absolutely free. Additionally, LIVE members who joined in 2002 will receive 500 complimentary Microsoft Points.

“In just five short years, Xbox LIVE has revolutionized the way friends and family have fun in the living room,” says John Schappert, corporate vice president of LIVE, software and services at Microsoft. “On its fifth birthday, Xbox LIVE truly is the place for hanging out with friends and enjoying downloadable TV shows, movies, videos, game add-ons, and now downloadable Xbox games on demand.”

He’s obviously not talking about Canada when he mentions downloadable TV shows and movies, unless that’s part of a secret area of the Marketplace I’m not yet familiar with.

Posted in LIVE, News, Xbox 360 | No Comments »