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.

Read the rest »

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?

Read the rest »

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

Review
Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magic

At any given time, there will be at least one person playing a Cooking Mama title on their DS while riding the subway; this is a scientific law*. And why not? Cooking Mama is, essentially, a mini-game based cookbook, taking recipes and teaching them using a gaming interface. Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magic is the latest in the addictive series and is the first of the bunch made specifically for the 3DS – but it is not necessarily the greatest. Let’s take a look at why Cooking Mama 4 is not as tasty as it could have been.

Read the rest »

Posted in 3DS, Reviews | No Comments »

Review
Cities XL 2012

There are not a lot of “modern” city-building games on the market. In the past, this landscape was dominated by the SimCity franchise, which fell out of favour with a large number of gamers (most likely due to the changes to the game). A few years ago, Monte Cristo launched Cities XL, a new way for you to be mayor of your own settlement (settlements, when you think about it). With a decent single-player “campaign” mode and hopes of a large multi-player community, Cities XL made things look interesting again. Even though the multi-player element disappeared rather quickly, the single-player mode was still engaging and fun. Cities XL 2011 (which was taken on by Focus Home Interactive) added new game-play enhancements, more buildings and nicer graphics. So what does Cities XL 2012 add to the mix?

Read the rest »

Posted in PC, Reviews | No Comments »

Review
Vanguard Bandits

While my tastes tend to bend toward RTS, I also find the occasional Tactical RPGs fun to play. In some ways, engaging in these types of games is probably a subconscious desire to replicate the amount of fun I had playing one of my all-time favourite TRPG’s: X-Com: UFO Defense. Human Entertainment’s Vanguard Bandits does not really come close to that experience for me; however, it is definitely a fun romp that Mike Jackson’s favourite team, Monkey Paw, has seen fit to bring to North America – to the PS3 (from the PSN).

Read the rest »

Posted in Byte-Size Reviews, PlayStation 3, PSN | No Comments »

Review
Nano Assault

Shin’en Multimedia’s Nano Assault for the 3DS (published my Majesco) is what you get if you were to combine Starship Troopers with Inner Space*. Your mission is to pilot a small ship armed with lasers through a treacherous micro-verse (around and inside alien cell clusters) and destroy an out-of-control virus. Does this sound like a fun shoot-em-up? It should – because it is!

Read the rest »

Posted in 3DS, Byte-Size Reviews | No Comments »

So-Late-It’s-Early Review
Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken

Rocketbirds: Revolution was an impressive flash browser game developed by Ratloop Asia. I say impressive because the game looked and sounded like a console title, suffering only from a stiff control scheme with the keyboard. It’s no surprise then that Ratloop Asia has taken Rocketbirds and brought it to the PSN to live up to its full potential. With a plethora of new content and a fresh HD coat of paint, does Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken shed its flash roots and fully embrace the new format? Strut past the break to find out.

Read the rest »

Posted in PlayStation 3, PSN, Reviews | 2 Comments »

Fashionably Late Review
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

It’s hard to forget your first moments playing a video game. There were plenty of games that I truly enjoyed as I was growing up; the one that struck a chord with me very early on was The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past. At the time, the Super Nintendo was my console of choice, taking me on journeys I never would have imagined otherwise. Link to the Past was one of the first journeys I had the privilege of exploring, quickly sparking a deep passion within me that is still as strong today as it was when I was a kid. Sometimes, those first moments are pivotal.

By now it should be clear that this popular game series is something that is very important to me. For every title in the series that I found less-than-stellar, there would be one that wowed me. Initially, Skyward Sword was somewhere in between these two poles, mostly because I figured that a strictly motion-controlled experience would negatively affect the performance. Even so, I was fascinated by the fact that there were new environments (presented in a classic mood). My doubts were slightly eroded after getting a hands-on preview; but, even after my somewhat positive session, I still clung to my doubts about the finished product. I was so worried that the experience would end up being boring, repetitive and formulaic – a huge problem for many games nowadays. I was torn, so much so that it took ages to even finish this review!

Read the rest »

Posted in Reviews, Wii | 1 Comment »

Review
Hero Academy

I have always wanted to play a game of chess through the mail or with a very distant friend; where each person has a board set up in their home and then when you receive a letter with coordinates and you would move the pieces accordingly. That’s the ultimate in class, I think: a game of wits with a complete stranger over an extended period of time. That is why when I was told about Hero Academy, developed by Robot Entertainment* for iOS, I jumped at the opportunity to try it out.

Read the rest »

Posted in iOS, Reviews, Ricky Don't Lose That Number | No Comments »

Review
Fortune Street

There have been a number if board games for the Wii. Inevitably, most usually involve moving around a board and then participating in a number of mini-games which, while fun, may not necessarily be ideal for those who want to sit back and relax. Absurd as it might seem, there are instances where playing a board game on the Wii is more fun than playing a physical version of the same game. Fortune Street (from Square Enix) doesn’t have a real physical form (that I am aware of), but it is an engaging and fun experience if you have the patience and the time.

Read the rest »

Posted in Reviews, Wii | 2 Comments »