Toronto Thumbs

Review
Fossil Fighters: Champions

A long time ago, I swore to myself that I would never play “collect-and-battle” games. The likes of Pokemon and Monster Rancher seemed like endless grinding to me, and I thought that those types of games would be a waste of time. Then, I started writing for Thumbs, and playing games I never imagined. Eventually, I ended up playing the very games I promised myself I never would – and I sort-of liked some of them*. Fossil Fighter Champions (developed by Nintendo SPD, Red Entertainment, M2, and Artdink) adds to the “love” side of my love/hate relationship with the genre.

In FFC, you pit your creatures (in this case, called vivosaurs) against other vivosaurs. So far, this is the common denominator among the genre. However, the catch is that you attain new creatures by digging for their bones, cleaning them, and then bringing them back to life. I’m sure this DS title has some of you interested now.

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Review
James Noir’s Hollywood Crimes

Puzzle games tend to be my downfall – in a good way. I have enjoyed solving all kinds of puzzles since I was a kid; the more obscure the puzzle, the more fun I have in the search for a solution. Tying in puzzle-play with a cinematic narrative is not a new concept. Traditional games that had limited 3D-rendered graphics (The 7th Guest or the Tex Murphy series, for instance) relied on a strong story coupled with puzzles that were challenging to give the user a worthy experience. Ubisoft’s 3DS title, James Noir’s Hollywood Crimes, struck me as being similar to those addictive games of the past, with a few differences.

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Event
Super Mario 3D Land in’a New York!

Today, at Times Square, Military Island was turned into Mario’s 3D world. People were able to step into a real-life video-game in the middle of New York City. There was a life-sized warp pipe, trampoline coin jump and even a flagpole at the end! Fans and non-fans alike got to play the game before release. We just thought that this was a neat event!

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Event
Nintendo Holiday Preview – Super Mario 3D Land

I have a confession to make: I didn’t really enjoy New Super Mario Brothers Wii. I felt the controls were not nearly as precise as they should be; everything was so floaty and slow. I was pretty disappointed, especially after playing Super Mario Galaxy 2 (the greatest game ever made). But you know, as adults we put bad experiences behind us and move on, right? No! it all came flooding back after I went hands-on with Super Mario 3D Land. It was like Vietnam flashbacks of slight annoyance.

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Event
Nintendo Holiday Preview – Mario Kart 7

Mario Kart games are a socialite’s dream. I can’t count how many Mario Kart parties I’ve had and with the release of Mario Kart 7 I may need to clean my basement because more parties are to come. I recently had a chance to sit down with Mario Kart 7 for the Nintendo 3DS and I’m here to tell you that it’s a game you’ll definitely want to pick up.

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Review
Professor Layton and the Last Specter

Lately, the days have been getting shorter and the air grows cooler with each passing week. People are starting to wear warmer clothes as they shuffle through the red, yellow and orange piles of dried leaves that are spread across the ground like an autumn blanket. It is that time of the year again, when the latest title in the Professor Layton series sits snugly in the cartridge slot of my DS; somehow, the air doesn’t feel so cold as I unravel the mystery in the intrepid professor’s latest adventure in the strange town of Misthallery.

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Posted in 3DS, DS, DSi, DSi XL, Reviews | 2 Comments »

Review
Pokémon Rumble Blast

Two years ago, Nintendo released the surprisingly addictive and undoubtedly cute Pokémon Rumble on WiiWare. The beat em’ up (for lack of a better genre classification) took various generations of Pokémon and reduced them to tiny clockwork toys ready to duke it out in the game’s chaotic and competitive Battle Royales. It was hard to resist the charm.

Thanks to Pokémon Rumble’s positive response and addictive appeal, a new sub-series in the Pokémon Universe has finally begun. This time taking form on the Nintendo 3DS, Pokémon Rumble Blast is proving itself to be just as fun and addictive as its predecessor.

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Review
Tetris: Axis

All images in this article are 2D step-downs of 3D images. Don’t try to adjust your screen.

It was only a matter of time before we saw a Tetris game for the 3DS. Boasting a dizzying number of different play modes (including augmented reality), Tetris: Axis promises to be a very thorough affair in stereoscopic 3D; but how does it stack up to the existing Tetris for the DS family (or the other billion versions on other platforms)?

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Review
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2

In my opinion, any RPG-type video game that wishes to present a robust gaming experience had better have a healthy amount of variety to make up for the eventual monotony of the fights. This is usually done with a good story, equipment sets, and “internal” character customization. Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, from Square Enix, seems to have all three of those going for it – but is that enough to make it a worthwhile endeavor? The answer may surprise you, as there is a fourth element that was a surprise to me!

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Review
Starfox 64 3D

Fox McCloud flies again (with style) on the Nintendo 3DS. In this remake of the same title for the Nintendo 64, our favourite flying canid takes to the skies with updated graphics and a slick new control scheme. Nintendo EAD and Q-Games have teamed up to rekindle the love you had for something very special in this remade Nintendo classic.

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