Toronto Thumbs

ODD PROD
Belkin Mini Surge Protector w/USB Charger

Traveling is a huge pain mostly because of time spent/wasted in and around airports. Second to that, the fact that you’re away from home and have to remember to take everything you could possibly need with you can cause all kinds of unwanted stress.

The week before I left for Seattle, I received this odd product from Belkin. It was given away to attendees of their Museum of Belkin Art (MoBA) expo in Toronto and it’s a surprisingly simple yet useful device. In fact, its simplicity makes me wonder why up until then, I hadn’t seen anything like this before. The Belking Mini Surge Protector with USB Charger is just that. You get three jacks to plug in regular power plugs and two for charging USB devices such as cell phones, iPods, and Zunes. At home, I use this to charge my Zune and my wife’s iPod at the same time, for instance.

I already have a single, and expensive iPod charging adapter. It’s just a plug to stick into a wall outlet with one lonely and pathetic USB jack on the other end. It only charges one thing at once: an iPod. It’s completely useless now - and it cost me more than this thing would have cost me if I bought it (Belkin’s product has an MSRP of $24.99 whereas the dedicated iPod charger cost me $50 in 2005).

While away for PAX, I was able to keep my Zune AC adapter at home. This handy device let me charge it, my laptop, my cell phone, and my DS all at the same time and with minimal cord clutter. The prongs that plug into the wall can swivel at the click of a button to one of four possible orientations, so you’ll most likely be able to find room for this handy device in your home or wherever your travels may take you. I highly recommend it.

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REVIEW
Castle Crashers takes Xbox by storm

I can tell you the exact moment of hilarity that Castle Crashers had me hooked.

Hearing the hype over the Xbox Live Arcade release, I wanted to see for myself whether the buzz was warranted. So I downloaded the Castle Crashers demo.

Hacking and slashing my way through the horde of bad guys, who looked like they were drawn with a fresh set of extra-bright Crayola markers, I reached the game’s first boss – a much bigger version of the smaller knights I’d been fighting. Then something started pounding on the door behind him, eventually breaking the door down and crushing the big boss I was getting ready to challenge. When the culprit emerged from the bashed down door, it was a much, much, much bigger version of the knights.

That’s the genius behind Castle Crashers: Just when you think the bosses can’t get any bigger, they get bigger; when you think the game can’t get funnier, it gets funnier. Castle Crashers is constantly trying to one-up itself.

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REVIEW
Final Fantasy Tactics A2

I was a latecomer to the world that is Square Enix. For the longest time, FFVII was the only game I played, before I discovered the world of Nintendo. But then I got a GBA, and one of the first games I bought for it was Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. I was immediately hooked. So when FFTA2 came out for the DS, it seemed like a no brainer.

For those not familiar with the series, the Final Fantasy Tactics games are role playing games with many elements familiar to seasoned RPG gamers. The combat system is a turn-based strategy style reminiscent of more traditional table-top games. Characters not only get stronger by gaining experience in combat, but through the use of the Jobs system, gain more and more abilities that give more options in combat as the game progresses.

FFTA2 feels like a system upgrade in a lot of respects. Just like moving from XP to Vista, (or Panther to Tiger, or Gutsy Gibbon to Hardy Heron, I’m not trying to be exclusive here,) FFTA2 is a noticeable improvement over FFTA. The look and feel got some fine-tuning. Some of the more annoying play elements got rebalanced, replaced or just outright removed. And along with those changes, new classes, new abilities and new styles of gameplay have all been added.

One of the most overarching changes was the acquisition of Loot, which are used to unlock more and more weapons, armour and accessories in the shops. Initially only a very small subset of the weapons and armour are availble, but instead of arbitrarily being awarded a broader selection when the story reaches a certain milestone, as was the case in FFTA, in the sequel you have to try to mix and match loot that will make all sorts of equiment available for purchasing. Loot is given out as rewards for completing missions, and for following the laws laid down by judges.

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Posted in DS, Nintendo, Reviews | 2 Comments »

REVIEW
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

One of my former addictions is Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, a game developed by the Aussie geniuses at Infinite Interactive. Mere words are empty in describing how much this game can devour your soul. After picking up the Nintendo DS version, I’m still greatly tempted to repurchase it on the Xbox LIVE Arcade for its exclusive expansion pack. Now, with the game achieving an Arcade Hit status and a discounted 800 Microsoft Points price, it’s time to turn to rehab.

Puzzle Quest combines two very different video game genres: puzzle and role-playing games. It doesn’t advertise to everyone since casual puzzlers might be unfamiliar with the RPG genre, and the “hardcore” crowd might be skeptical of its epic title. A name like that hints at massive battles, magic and treasure hunts, and that’s what you get in a nutshell.

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REVIEW
SingStar PS3

After my introduction into the SingStar series only a few months ago, I was excited to get my hands on the much-anticipated SingStar PS3. It’s not that I thought the gameplay was going to differ drastically, or the graphics were going to blow my mind; I mean, come on, it’s words over music videos, right? No, what I was really stoked for were the enhancements to the online model, and the new community aspect that would come along with it.

The graphical focus of SingStar has never been anything but simple, and that stands true even on the powerful PS3. The music video for the song currently being sung plays in the background with the lyrics overlaid for easy viewing. The exception to this layout comes when the PlayStation Eye peripheral is hooked up, allowing you to be the (Sing)star. Okay - cheesy writing aside, there are some noticeable quality issues with both the music videos and camera feed that need to be pointed out, as neither seem to be as crisp and clear as they should be. Still, the focus of the series has never been on graphics, so most of you (and I’m including myself here) won’t care.

What can I say about the sound? You’d think this is an area that needs to be heavily scrutinized given the type of game this is. Truth is however, it really doesn’t matter what the game sounds like, it’s all about the player taking center stage. That being said, I had no issues with the sound quality of the tracks, with all of them being master recordings. A new feature that has finally been introduced into the series is the ability to completely turn off the vocal track: very cool. No longer do I have to sing along with Rivers Cuomo (not that there’s anything wrong with that), but now I can delude myself into feeling like I am the eccentric Weezer lead.

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