Toronto Thumbs

Get Ready to Own Another Fake Guitar!

By Shaun Hatton - April 15th, 2008

I’ve got three video game guitar controllers right now. One for PS2, one Guitar Hero controller for Xbox 360, and one Rock Band controller for Xbox 360.

And now it looks like the upcoming Guitar Hero: Aerosmith will be shipping with this beauty up top. Right now, US retailers are offering a pre-order promotion which includes guitar bundles for PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii. There’s even a two-guitar bundle available for PS2.

Since we last reported on this game, it’s been revealed that Guitar Hero: Aerosmith will also feature songs from some of the band’s favourite acts including Cheap Trick, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and the Clash.

Posted in Music, News, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360 | 4 Comments »

REVIEW: Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law

By Shaun Hatton - February 21st, 2008

Developed by High Voltage Software and published by Capcom for Wii. Also available for PlayStation 2 and PSP.

Capcom’s Ace Attorney series for Nintendo DS has been a cult success. The games are rich with story, character development, tension, and humour. Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law, on the other hand, is a cartoon from [adult swim], and is not known for its rich story, character development, or tension. It is, however, funnier than just about anything else you’ve ever laughed at. And if you don’t think so, well, you may not have a soul.

Given my open fandom of the show and how much I enjoyed the Ace Attorney titles, I was really looking forward to the release of Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law for the Wii. In fact, I had booked the day off work just so I could buy it upon its release and play it all day. Things didn’t quite work out, as the game was pushed back from its initial November release. When the game finally did come out, I was too busy playing through other titles to remember to pick it up. But I remembered this past weekend.

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Posted in Nintendo, PSP, PlayStation 2, Reviews, Wii | 2 Comments »

SIMILARITIES: Professor Layton & Leon Kennedy

By Shaun Hatton - February 16th, 2008

“We’re not so different, you and I,” Leon said to Professor Layton.

This week, Nintendo released Professor Layton and the Curious Village for Nintendo DS. I’ve been playing the game for the last few days and could not help but notice that despite its seemingly innocent exterior, the game shares many parallels with another awesome game: Resident Evil 4.

It’s something you may have not considered. But hear me out. Both games involve the main character being sent to a mysterious and strange village to investigate an out-of-the-ordinary case. In Resident Evil 4, Leon Kennedy is sent to a small, unnamed European village to look into the disappearance of the President’s daughter, who was taken by a cult led by a man who controlled the whole village. In Curious Village, Professor Layton is called to a strange, remote village (we learn early on that there are no roads connecting it to other towns) to solve a mystery dealing with the estate of a man who seemingly owned the whole town.

In both games, things are not as they first appear. Soon into his adventure, Leon discovers that the villagers aren’t quite human, and that they’re all out to get him. Similarly, Layton finds out that everyone he comes across is really strange in that they try to get in his way by making him solve somewhat trivial puzzles. Also in both games, it sometimes takes a lot more than skill to get by these villagers. Sometimes, you see, it takes a tonne of luck.

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Posted in DS, Editorial, GameCube, Humour, PlayStation 2, Wii | 2 Comments »

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Announced For June

By Shaun Hatton - February 15th, 2008

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 »

REVIEW: Twisted Metal: Head On Extra Twisted Edition

By Michael Pugliese - February 12th, 2008

Developed by Eat, Sleep, Play and published by SCEA for PlayStation 2.

A startling new trend has crept up recently that has seen Sony bring some of the biggest hits from their PSP over to their much beloved PS2. Don’t get me wrong, I completely see the merit of this as everyone and their brother (sister, pet perakeet) has a PS2. But I guess I just never thought that the PSP would have anything decent enough to port anywhere (I kid!). Alright, I’ll dispense with the banter and get right to it: Head On Extra Twisted Edition is pretty much a straight up port of the PSP release from early 2005. Twisted Metal fans probably already know this, have picked it up, and love it. Non-fans of the series have probably already stopped reading this review, and rightfully so.

The studio that brought you Twisted Metal 1, 2, and Black is back under the new guise Eat, Sleep, Play, with what can only be considered to be a love letter to the fans of the long-running and successful series. There’s a lot that’s been packed into this title beyond the previously mentioned port of the PSP title Twisted Metal: Head On, with the main addition being the lost levels (three of them) of Twisted Metal Black. These offerings, topped off with some truly excellent video bonus content and the mildly interesting “Sweet Tour,” really complete a package of excellent value for fans of vehicular combat.

Now would be a good time to air my biggest gripe with the title: it looks horrible. I mean really, truly, bad. I know it’s a port, but it’s immediately evident that there was no effort made to spruce things up even slightly during the transition. Fortunately the game doesn’t suffer because of this due to everything else that it does right. I’ll even go so far to say that the clunky menus actually feel like they belong, adding to the classic or “campy” feel of the whole experience.

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Posted in PlayStation 2, Reviews | 2 Comments »

REVIEW: Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock

By Shaun Hatton - February 7th, 2008

Faces only groupies could love. Xbox 360 version reviewed. Also available for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Wii.

I bought a PlayStation 2 just for Guitar Hero. The clickity-clack of the strum bar combined with the frantic fretwork required to play the game just appealed to me, as it obviously did for millions of people. Since buying the PS2, I’ve been able to go back and enjoy tonnes of the system’s awesome titles. But it was Guitar Hero that got me there.

It’s a game that brings out the inner guitar god, and it doesn’t take a lot of effort or talent to play on the easier levels. Perhaps it’s this fact that makes some people who actually know how to play guitar thumb their noses at the game. Not that I have ever cared about what they had to say, but those people just need to learn to have fun.

So I suppose one might wonder why it took so long to get this review done. The answer is simple. First, we’ve been way too busy playing Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock to realize that time had passed. Second, we wanted to wait till we reviewed Rock Band before getting to the meat of Guitar Hero 3. After all, both games offer users a similar, though different enough, experience.

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Posted in Music, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Wii, Xbox 360 | 5 Comments »

REVIEW: Rock Band

By Shaun Hatton - January 25th, 2008

Rock Band is a force to be reckoned with. Available now for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

Within the past few years, the acceptance of gaming in mainstream pop culture has grown exponentially. Games can fall under three categories: the solo game, the online multiplayer, and the party game.

It wasn’t long ago that gaming geeks were outcast by classmates and co-workers. And for guys who were into gaming, it was a tough sell to get most girls to hang out, let alone talk them into gaming.

But then things changed. Was it that it became trendy for girls to date geeks, or was it that geeks just became cooler? I’d like to think it was a combination of both. Oh, and it also doesn’t hurt that gaming became a whole lot less nerdy with the onslaught of casual and accessible games.

Let’s examine karaoke for a moment. When it debuted in the Western world in the 90s, it became an overnight sensation. And unlike many things that initially burst into popularity, karaoke is still around today. In fact, it’s a part of Rock Band. The appeal of karaoke, and of games like Rock Band, is that anyone can be who they want to be. Anyone can be a famous singer. Anybody can be a rock star.

Yes, even you.

This appeals to the basic human need for attention, acceptance, and popularity. Sure, there are many kids and adults who go into music shops with dreams of being a great guitarist, bassist, or drummer. When I was in high school, half of the guys I knew played some sort of instrument. Mostly, it was guitars, because they’re the most affordable of the rock instruments (especially for teenagers).

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Posted in Music, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360 | 1 Comment »

REVIEW: Star Trek Conquest

By Shaun Hatton - December 9th, 2007

Developed by Bethesda for PlayStation 2. Also available for Wii.

Confession time: I love Star Trek: The Next Generation. There have been very few TV series than ran as long and were as consistently excellent in terms of story and character development. I used to play the Customizable Card Game by Decipher. I have all the seasons on DVD. And the end of Star Trek Nemesis haunted me.

With all that out of the way, when I saw Star Trek Conquest for the PlayStation 2 was only $15, I figured it was worth picking up just to check out. I also figured that in some way, I would have my heart broken by this game. And I was right.

One of the things that made Star Trek: The Next Generation so great to me was Jean-Luc Picard’s character. He was strong, diplomatic, and sympathetic. He was a firm believer in the Prime Directive.

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Posted in PlayStation 2, Reviews, Wii | 2 Comments »