Toronto Thumbs

Review
Xotic

The screenshots of WXP’s Xotic are surreal and alluring; as strange as it looks from afar, the game becomes even stranger when you start playing. Being different, though, can sometimes make a game fun – the departure from the ordinary makes for a great way to be entertained. Unfortunately, the bold visuals and odd controls make this XBLA downloadable game a less desirable prospect than other first-person-shooters, which is unfortunate given the uniqueness of the game.

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Posted in Reviews, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

Review
Choplifter HD

“Take a look at me now!”

Who remembers playing Choplifter when they were young? The simple premise of flying behind enemy lines to rescue trapped soldiers and hostages was a neat idea and fun to play. Now, inXile brings us Choplifter HD, a modern reimagining of the Apple 2E classic for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Does the game have any lift? Or does it come crashing down?

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

Thoughts
Leveraging Kinect to Capture New Gamers

Today’s post is a guest piece by a new video gaming friend that I met at a “gamer’s night out”. He’s a cool dude with interesting ideas! Check it out!

Halo is a prime example of a multi-million-selling games property with vast casual appeal and a backbone of vocal hardcore players who petition for the stewardship of future installments. They love Halo the most, and their only wish is to see that it doesn’t lose what makes it great. Sometimes this means that they are hostile to new developments, such as the Kinect integration in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. When it was announced that players with the right hardware would have the choice of yelling ‘grenade’ or ‘reload’ to perform these actions, comment-sections and forums overflowed with chagrin from gamers eagerly awaiting ‘real’ news on the updated edition.

The knee-jerk reaction to casual gimmickry encroaching on hardcore turf is understandable, but gamers need to take a step back and consider their personal journeys that lead to their first Killtacular before such vocal dismissal.

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Posted in Commentary, Kinect | 2 Comments »

Review
Grease Dance

Following hot on the heels of the recent dance craze, 505 Games has released Grease Dance for all major platforms (in various forms). As the name implies, it’s a spin-off on the popular 1978 movie by the same name. I was sent over the Kinect version to review which is arguably the best platform for this type of interactive gaming. That being said, this might not be the best example of Kinect game development.

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Posted in Byte-Size Reviews, Kinect, Xbox 360 | 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.

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

Reviews
The Black Eyed Peas Experience

Let’s get it started.

Earlier in the year, the gaming community was treated to The Michael Jackson Experience, a great dancing game chock full of fantastic music and a style of presentation that fit MJ. Both the Kinect and Wii versions were a lot of fun to play. Now, Ubisoft has released the next title in the “Experience” series: The Black Eyed Peas Experience. We take a look at the Kinect and Wii versions to see if they have the Boom Boom Pow that one would expect from a series where the bar has been set high from the get-go*.

• Introduction
• Wii Version
• Kinect version

Posted in Kinect, Reviews, Wii, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

Review
Jillian Michaels Fitness Adventure

Hey look! It’s Lara Croft! Oh no, wait. It’s Jillian Michaels.

As the Kinect gets “older”, more exercise games are created. Some of them, like the Your Shape franchise, improve with each iteration. Others, whose names not need be mentioned, are obvious attempts to cash in on the concept, and usually end up being nothing more than exercise videos that happen to implement weak motion capture. Then there is the line of games from Our Lady of the Strained Smile, Jillian Michaels.

Jillian has her name in a few Wii titles already, so her presence in the realm of video games is nothing new. However, this is the first title “from her” that really intrigued me. While not necessarily the pinnacle of exercise experiences, N-Space’s Jillian Michaels Fitness Adventure for the Kinect is certainly not a bad one.

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Posted in Kinect, Reviews, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

Run DLC
Gears of War 3: RAAM’s Shadow

The much-praised shooter series, Gears of War, has captivated fans since its inception back in 2006. With the conclusion to the trilogy now long over, Epic Games is happy to announce a brand new campaign adventure unlike anything we have ever seen before. Now available on Xbox LIVE for a meager 1,200 Microsoft Points, the second major game add-on for Gears of War 3, RAAM’s Shadow, will extend the value of this already very addictive game.

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Posted in News Bytes, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

Review
The Adventures of Tintin: The Game

Wouldn’t it be funny if Tintin was responding to a booty call of another kind?

The Adventures of Tintin: The Game is a Ubisoft-made movie tie-in based on the impressive looking Spielberg film. I would consider this game to be a relatively fun platformer with sprinkles of action and a dash of puzzles. Aside from a distinct lack of variety that shackles the one of game’s legs to a cannon ball (causing it to stumble slightly at times), Tintin can actually be a lot of fun if you have the right mindset.

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

Review
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

There are words -words of power- that can bring the strongest and most capable reviewer to their knees. Uttering certain phrases can experienced, battle-hardened warriors into quivering piles of flesh. One such phrase would be: “Oh hey, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked has arrived for you to talk about!” Once I regained consciousness, I found out that Behaviour Interactive’s Chipwrecked for Kinect was not really a horrible experience – buggy perhaps; but not horrible.

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Posted in Kinect, Reviews, Xbox 360 | No Comments »