Toronto Thumbs

A Beam of Light for Compilation Discs

Although download services for the three major platforms have given publishers a lucrative venue with which to sell their old games to us again, SNK has not given up on the good ol’ compilation disc.

Today, the arcade giant released SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1 for Wii. This disc contains 16 classic NEOGEO arcade hits, some of which are also available on the Virtual Console. Economically speaking, it makes much better sense to get the games on this disc.

Here’s hoping more publishers will continue to put their old games out on hardcopy formats. Digital distribution is nice, but it shouldn’t cost more than something that actually has a physical incarnation.

Posted in News, Wii | No Comments »

Will the Wii Mii Come to 360? Oui!

Remember the olden days when the term “Wii-60” used to refer to Xbox-loyalists who also bought a Wii? Now it describes Microsoft’s less-than-veiled rip-off of Nintendo’s Mii.

As of Monday, it’s official. What was simply an Internet rumour about a month ago became fact during Microsoft’s E3 news conference.

Mii History 101: Upon the release of the Nintendo Wii, the Wii’s Miis became the centre of the party. You see, the Mii gained popularity because of the hilarity of parody. Miis are copies you make to represent you on TV so you don’t have to be some generic pansy. Enough rhymes because I ran out of vocabulary.

Fast forward to now. Microsoft announced they’ll be coming out with “avatars” so gamers can better represent themselves. Those “avatars” are widely known as the Xbox Mii.

I may sound critical, but I like the idea. I can’t wait to make myself on Xbox Live. One of my favourite features of Rock Band was creating an exaggerated copy of myself in the game. I guess it’s like the old saying goes: If you can’t beat them, join them.

Posted in Commentary, Wii, Xbox 360 | 1 Comment »

Mario Kart Wii: Kinda Krap

After the initial joy of owning a new Mario Kart title wore off, I began to realize something sad. I’ve been playing this same game for years now. The first Mario Kart I owned, however, was the DS one. In fact, it was that and Animal Crossing Wild World that convinced me to get the system. I didn’t really spend much time with Mario Kart DS despite its portability because it was eclipsed by the fun I was having with Animal Crossing.

I picked up Mario Kart Wii – one of the few games I purchased this year – when friends of mine kept going on about how awesome it was. And indeed, the game is pretty cool. The problem is that it was also pretty cool for every previous Nintendo Console it’s been on. In the exact same way.

This time its main selling feature is the Wii Wheel, which I’m a huge fan of. The thing has a great heft to it and puts its predecessor, the Ubisoft racing wheel, to shame (then again, Ubisoft making something great is a rarity in itself, isn’t it?).

Now, weeks after its release, I’ve had some time to collect my thoughts on Mario Kart Wii and for the most part, I’m unimpressed.

Read the rest »

Posted in Max Out, Reviews, Wii | 1 Comment »

Wii Rock Band out now

All right, Wii owners! The time you’ve all been waiting for is finally here. Wii Rock Band is in stores today, so if you’ve been waiting patiently (or not so patiently), you can finally have it.

An interesting thing to note about the Wii version of the game is that due to the system’s lack on internal storage, downloadable content will be non-existent. Instead, Wii Rock Band owners will be able to purchase song expansion discs from stores. While this does seem like a pain in the ass if you want to play a few songs from the game, then an expansion set song, the possibilities of the stand-alone expansion has me intrigued.

The fact that discs will be issued separately makes me hopeful that we’ll be seeing albums issued in a similar way, possibly with the original record’s artwork and liner notes. Wouldn’t that be cool? Wouldn’t it also be cool if the disc can be played in regular DVD players as the album proper?

Perhaps I’m getting too ahead of myself here, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t be possible to have this be a reality.

Posted in Music, Wii | 2 Comments »

CELEBRITY WATCH
Super Mario Shows up for NHL Awards in Toronto, Pimps NHL 2K9

No, not Mario Lemieux, hockey’s own Super Mario. The Super Mario of video game fame was on hand at last night’s 2008 NHL Awards at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto last night.

Look at that outfit! The hat! The moustache! I still can’t see how anyone can hate this loveable guy. Super Mario wasn’t just there to take in the ceremony, he was on the red carpet promoting the just-announced and first-ever official NHL and NHLPA licensed Wii game, NHL 2K9.

Mario reportedly high-fived fans while celebrating outside the theatre. The game will be released this fall and promises to allow players to use the Wii Remote as a hockey stick. Watch out for high-sticking penalties in your own living room, courtesy of 2K Sports.

“It’s our goal this year to bring the fun back to hockey video games,” says Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “NHL 2K9 for Wii includes the full feature set as available on other platforms, and added Wii Remote controls and other exciting features specific for the Wii console will allow dedicated fans the opportunity to fully enjoy and embrace NHL hockey in a brand new experience.”

The game will also be available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the still-kickin’ PlayStation 2. Check out the full photo of Super Mario.

Posted in Awesome, Canada, Wii | No Comments »