Toronto Thumbs

REVIEW: Pursuit Force Extreme Justice

By Michael Pugliese - February 17th, 2008

Developed by Bigbig Studios and published by SCEA for PSP.

I’ll be honest. I missed the first round of Pursuit Force which released for Sony’s then-fledgling handheld in early 2006. So when I picked up the sequel: Extreme Justice, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. Surprisingly, I was hooked after my first five minutes with the title. Extreme Justice throws you instantly into the thick of things, and like any good action movie, doesn’t let up until the credits roll. I use the comparison to an action movie here because Extreme Justice very much has the look, feel, and flow of a big Hollywood blockbuster. You’ll find it all here: well directed action sequences, gun play, explosions, and some great high-speed car chases.

The overall presentation is excellent, with CG movies scattered throughout relaying the story and providing short breaks in the action. The game looks great and is brought to life through some nice graphics and lively colours, with a unique art style tying these elements together. There’s a good sense of speed as players partake in one of the many highway chase scenes, and the frame-rate stays steady to keep action seamless.

I almost have no complaints with the sound Pursuit Force puts forth, as it sports a great soundtrack that compliments the action on-screen perfectly. Sound effects are solid with gun fire, explosions, and vehicles all sounding as they should. Where the audio department falls short is with the mostly laughable voice acting consistently spewed out by the cast. Voices of gang members are particularly horrible, with each line accented to correspond with a gang’s stereotypical roots. The redneck crew spits out phrases in accents that would make the Beverly Hillbillies blush, and the Jamaicans make me cry a little inside each time I hear one of their unchanging taunts or threats.

Read the rest »

Posted in PSP, Reviews | No Comments »

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

By Michael Pugliese - February 17th, 2008

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 »

UMD Still Kickin’ Despite Popular Belief

By Tetris Maximus - January 24th, 2008

The PSP’s proprietary movie media format is still alive and well.

Today Sony announced that it’s now offering MTV programming via the UMD (Universal Media Disc) for its PSP system. The shows available this week include “Jackass,” “Beavis & Butt-head,” and “Aeon Flux.”

“This collaboration with MTV is a key first step in meeting the needs of our consumers, who are utilizing PSP as a video player more than ever and are thirsting for more content, particularly short-form videos,” said Phil Rosenberg, senior vice president of sales and business development at SCEA. “MTV’s programming is hugely popular, and SCEA can utilize our internal resources to appropriately manage the publishing and distribution of these hit shows on UMD. This demonstrates our commitment to supporting the UMD video format by delivering what consumers want to watch at the right price. SCEA will continue to license movie, TV, and other video content, leveraging our sales and marketing strengths, as a strategic focus moving forward.”

The announcement is a little strange, to say the least. In an age of digital downloads and rampant TV show piracy (particularly for playing on portable electronics like the PSP), one has to wonder how well they’ll do. On the other hand, this is the MTV crowd, after all. The shows are short, accessible, and aimed directly at the PSP’s demographic. And MTV is no stranger to gaming. Let’s not forget the juggernaut that is Rock Band.

Read the rest »

Posted in News, PSP | No Comments »

Download Update: January 15, 2008 Edition

By Shaun Hatton & Michael Pugliese - January 15th, 2008

This Boogie Bunnies screenshot makes us long for a Wii Pikmin title.

With all three major console kings offering downloadable content on a weekly basis, what better way to report on it than include everything in one convenient post? Here we go for this week, starting with yesterday’s Wii Virtual Console updates.

Wii Virtual Console

After last week’s awesome update of Star Tropics (not to mention the week before’s Bubble Bobble), this week’s offering seems a little lacklustre. Hopefully next week brings a few more gems from the golden age of gaming.

Yesterday saw the release of Pac-Attack from the Super Nintendo. Pac-Man spin-offs tend to pale in comparison to the original title (with the exception of Pac-Man VS and Pac-Man Championship Edition, of course) and this is no exception. It’s a puzzle game, but with Pac-Man in it. More fun can be had eating the decades-old Pac-Man cereal from General Mills. Still, if you absolutely must play Pac-Attack, be prepared to drop 800 Wii Points for it. Remember: we love you and we warned you.

Read the rest »

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

Skype for PSP, MLB The Show Cover Boy Chosen

By Michael Pugliese - January 9th, 2008

Skype has been announced for PSP. Unfortunately for our friend pictured above, it’s only for the PSP Slim.

Sony loves to show off the technical capabilities of its little handheld, and have recently announced that Skype features will soon be introduced to the PSP. Free voice calling between Skype users, contact and friend list management, and world-wide calling to and from landlines and mobile phones are just some of the services PSP users will have access to when the technology is introduced.

Unfortunately for some (i.e. me) the features will only be available for the new light and slim version of the unit (PSP-2000 series). Look for the enhanced functionality to be provided though a software update that will be available sometime this month.

In other Sony news, Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is receiving one of the highest video game related honours for a sports star this year, as Sony has named him as the All-Star the cover athlete for the upcoming title MLB 08 The Show. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the The Show as we approach its release.

Posted in News, PSP | No Comments »