Thumb Bandits Australia - Gaming News

Welcome to Thumb Bandits Australia - The Aussie arm of ThumbBandits.com

Welcome to Thumb Bandits Australia.

Fear not, this is just the Aussie arm of the original Thumb Bandits Gaming Site. We'd prefer you still use our main site, but if you're an Aussie and you want your Australian Gamer News, then we'll be covering that here too.

Our Thumb Bandits forums are still running - and have been for almost 5 years! - so join. They're the darn tootinist friendliest video game forums on the internets!

Interpol game on XBLA - Interpol by TikGames hidden object game

Interpol for XBL Arcade sounds to us a little like Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, which is no bad thing as that was an awesome game series. Interpol for XBLA - by TikGames - sees players track down the evil and destructive fugitive Dr. Chaos by seeking out hidden clues in exotic locales around the world. In single-player campaign, you can use your keen investigative skills to quickly gather the evidence needed to bring him and his criminal accomplices to justice. Or, join forces in Interpol with up to three other friends in local or Xbox LIVE coop play to put them behind bars together. You can get the game this Wednesday for 800 MSP. Via ThumbBandits.com

GameStop fitness magazine offer - Sexism in gaming at GameStop now!

GameStop are offering a free 12 month magazine subscription with the purchase of various "fitness products". The magazines are all 'female oriented' and this got us to thinking about the overall message promotions like this have, not only on the gaming psyche, but just in general. Sure guys who want the free subscription when they pick up Wii Fit - or other fitness product - are welcome to it, but given all the magazines in question are for women, we think it's a little lame-ass. Do only women need to get fit? Did only women have a bust out festive season with regards to food? These sorts of tie-ins - regardless of seeming innocence - do carry with them a socio gendered message and in this case it's one that once more places the female gamer as 'other'. Why not have a cross section of magazine subscriptions to choose from. Via ThumbBandits.com

Welcome back after the holidays gamers!

Just a quick welcome back after those holidays. Hope you all had a great time and managed to fit in many gaming hours. From now on we will be replicating the main Thumb Bandits Gaming Site news here for those that prefer blog format. We will still cover any relevant Australian Gamer news.

Have a good one!

Clock Tower movie posters spotted in the wild

We've got the Clock Tower movie on our radar because the game is cool. Granted a game to movie tie-in is usually dire and this one will probably fall by the wayside along with all the others, but the premise is so fab we're crossing our fingers.

If these arty movie posters are anything to go by at least it might be stylish... maybe?

Clock Tower Movie Posters

Connie Talbot gets Wii Game - Everything that's wrong in gaming

You have got to be frakkin kidding me! The kid that won Britain's got Talent by making the judges cry with her rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is getting her own Wii game aptly titled "Connie Talbot: Over the Rainbow". This is - unsurprisingly - a karaoke game where you can warble along with 6 year old Connie.

Sounds like a blast doesn't it gamers? No? Why what's wrong with you! Rather scratch your eye out with a spork? Yeah me too. Guess they'll make some games about anything, whilst they happily can others worthy of actually being made.. ain't gaming fun!

Xbox Avatars get smart suits tomorrow?

Yes apparently from tomorrow you'll be able to dress your Xbox Live Avatar up in some spiffy looking suits. This release follows the release of the snow boarding gear that hit the service a couple of weeks ago. Here's hoping they keep it coming, but how long before we're all shelling out MS points for new avatar clothes?

Mirrors Edge - Not really free running? Mini Review

We've been playing a bit of Mirror's Edge recently (on Xbox 360) and something hit us, it's not really "free" running at all is it? Yeah there's a few ways you can go, but more often than not there's only one way to actually finish a level in the story mode of play.

Sure the game is stylish, it's slick, pretty and let's not forget female protagonist. So why is it I'm not in love with this title? One word... "Frustration". I'm not sure I've felt this level of utter frustration in gaming for a long ass time and that my friends just ruins the experience. Well that and the linear non free running obviously. I can see the splendor of what this title could have been and that makes it all the more painful.

Lips Xbox 360 quick review - Singing all the way to the bank

It's just a bullet review folks, thought we'd stick out impression of Lips in here for those that might be thinking of picking it up. Lips is essentially Microsoft's attempt to break into the lucrative karaoke gaming arena. Sony's SingStar makes bucket loads of money and Nicrosoft don't have enough of that, so here we are.

Any good? Yeah. Lips isn't without its flaws, but all in all it's a nice shiny package of singing goodness. The menu system is slick, the songs pretty good (for the most part), gameplay is forgiving, the wireless mics are awesome and it's a heap of fun. On the downside the import song feature is a bit craptastic - ie it doesn't really work, oh and there's also mic lag and no calibration (though you can offset each song separately).

All up a cool Xmas gift for the singer in your family. Here's hoping MS bring out a lot more songs.

The Timothy Plan - Hindering parents and gamers alike

The Timothy Plan is a handy little guide to what games are safe and unsafe for children. Problem being Timothy's plan seems to have a few flaws, not least of which is its inherent homophobia and ill informed writers.

Ahh well, why let fact get in the way of a good christian scare piece eh.

Via [Lesbian Gamers]

Rock Band getting country music downloads? Rockers pissed off

This is kind of cool, but not according to the Rock Band forums, where there's a bit of a kerfuffle what with the "Rock" in Rock Band. Some people are screaming it's Rock Band not Country Band, to those people I say get a life bozo, you don't HAVE to download country tunes if you don't want to!

Chice is good and this hurts no one, all it does is mean country fans have a little choice. I'm not a country music fan, but I'm glad those people that are have this choice. Anyway let's face it a lot of the songs on Rock Band aren't "Rock" anyway.