Short phrases work better than long ones. Simply type in your query (ex. "Splinter Cell" and hit go!)
Stick a fork in us, we're done. (25)
Thursday, 9:29am
KoTOR- The Sith Restoration Project (9)
Tuesday, 10:33am
World of Warcraft - Burning Crusade Delay (10)
Tuesday, 8:56am
Tons of new Oblivion Content (5)
Tuesday, 3:28pm
Guitar Hero 2 Official Playlist (40)
Thursday, 10:44am
Wii Rumor (4)
Thursday, 10:20am
Dominions 3 demo out! (33)
Thursday, 6:59am
October is Star Trek Month (5)
Monday, 8:42am
Best and Cheapest Vid Cards... (2)
Wednesday, 8:28am
Red Steel Interview on Shack (3)
Tuesday, 12:58pm
what is the toast?
We're just some guys who like to rant about games. We've done that for a while, but we failed to "make it big", mainly since we prefer to play games as a hobby, and not dissect them as a profession. So here we are, reviewing games at a relaxed pace, keeping up with the gaming news, and discussing a rare pithy question, like what to have for lunch. It's hard, being a game reviewer...
what are the toast ratings?
Simple: Buy It; Rent It (or demo it, if possible), or Skip It. Fairly self-explanatory. We transitioned to this after realizing that even our five point scale really didn't impart our feelings properly. Please note that older reviews will be rated on a 5 point scale according to the criteria below. If you so wish, the 3 ratings can translate (roughly, math isn't our strong point) to 0, 50, and 100%.
- 5 toasts (Excellent) - This game sits proudly on top of the hill and mocks others below it. Production, Gameplay, Audio/Visuals, Value – all are top notch. Awards will be named after this game, and hundreds of inferior clones will follow in its wake.
- 4 toasts (Good) - The game that almost gets it all right. Everything is above average and you’ll most likely want this in your collection, but it falls just short of greatness for one reason or another. It can see 5 toasts, but barely. There is no shame in owning this title.
- 3 toasts (Average) - The definition of ‘average.’ Production and gameplay are fine, but there is nothing that sets it above other games. It’s fun while it lasts, but there is no compelling reason to play it twice. A good effort. You will enjoy this more than others if the topic interests you, so it’s probably worth checking out.
- 2 toasts (Poor) - This game needs help. Design glitches, strange and unexplainable behaviors of the game engine, bad or quirky gameplay, or an awkward interface that defies belief. No matter how you slice it…this game missed the 'Fun' bus. Unless you are really into the subject matter, give this one a wide berth. Even then…don’t say we didn’t warn you.
- 1 toast (This is a game? It's punishment!) - Someone really messed up here. Poor graphics and sound, virtually no gameplay to speak of, someone forgot to turn on the AI on, the story is so boring you fall asleep in the first 10 seconds of the intro…we could go on, but bottom line: this is an awful game. Do not touch – even with safety tongs.
important emails
pr@wickedtoast.com - need to get in touch with us for advertising, marketing, media-related or publishing matters? Use this.
feedback@wickedtoast.com - got a concern, issue, or need help? Use this.
news@wickedtoast.com - Got a juicy piece of news that we should know about? Got a new article published on your site and want to spread it around? Send it here.
the staff
Marcin
Coder
Marcin likes to code as much (or sometimes more) as he likes playing games - this website (and others) are where he spends most of his time, fusing the two hobbies together. Obviously he likes to share his opinion too.
Marcin is always searching for the ultimate gaming experience - the game that will take over his life for the few hours a day he can spend gaming. Sometimes it's something as simple as Karnaaj Rally for a few quick races around the bend, and other times it's a tactical RPG like the whimsical Disgaea or the impressive-while-pocketsized Knight of Lodis. As long as it has "attention to detail" factor, it's bound to be good. He holds System Shock II, Nethack and Final Fantasy Tactics in very high esteem.
Note: My email now filters all incoming hotmail, yahoo and msn. Please use a real email account should you need to contact me.
Mike
Site Editor
Mike makes sure the words on the site line up correctly and make sense. He also reads lots of comics, plays games occasionally, and has a mild Batman obsession.
walTer
News Editor
I have been gaming since, well, let's just say a looooong time... In college, we had a state of the art cinderblock/2x4 shelf system with a record player hanging from the ceiling and 3 TV's including one just for the Atari. I broke 1,000,000 on Laser Blast and still managed to graduate. I got into PC gaming a little late but have now built my own gaming only rig and 8 have made it my hobby. My house has 4 networked computers because I believe that my year old daughter should be on the internet. Well sort of... Anyway, I started as a news poster some time ago and have found that short sentences work better for me...so I have been told anyway. Look for me posting news and odd comments on the boards as well as trying to figure out Marcin's sense of humor.
Chris O'Regan
Contributing Writer
Hello, my name is Chris O'Regan and I'm from London, UK. I've been playing computer and video games since 1979 were upon I received an Intellivision console for my 9th birthday. Since then I've owned everything from a Sinclair ZX80 to a Sega Master System. As for reviewing experience I was the UK correspondent for the now defunct All Games Network and formerly the deputy editor of XL Gaming.com. As for my day job I'm actually a Structural Engineer specialising in building structures.
Tory Hall
Contributing Writer
Well, my first draft of the BIO went something like this... "i'm into sexy chicks that think i'm hot and wanna send me nekkid pics and message me to talk about how hot i am and the many many ways you can make squishy while you cyber with me when your boyfriends aren't home. Oh yeah, i like playing video games sometimes too." Marcin was not exactly pleased with the submition. I think he felt it lacked a little je ne sais quoi, but, um, he didn't say it in that many words.
I'm a first time caller, long time listener, and i must say, i just love the show. Been playing video games all my life, arcades, Atari and up. I don't feel i need to list the systems and consoles i've owned in order to get my Geek-Credit-Props tm. Let's just say i pretty much spent my youth plunked down in front of a cathode ray tube of one sort or another. I know games. I've modded games. I've programmed games. I'm sure you see the theme i'm going for here. I'm down with sci-fi, anime, digital audio, and obscure foriegn films. I'm all about flooding the net with my ego. And i'm canadian.
Oh yeah. I almost forgot, if you are here because i stole your chick or caused your parents to get a divorce, its not my fault man. DNA made this sexy-geek. Deal with it. i have to.
Qui
Contributing Writer
The earliest console I can remember playing was an old lurid orange Binatone PONG machine. Since then I've had a long and chequered career - Atari 2600, 7800, NES, Master System, Megadrive (Genesis to heathens), Spectrum 128k +2A, Vectrex, Mega CD, 32x, Atari Jaguar, Atari Lynx, PSX, Dreamcast, PS2, and soon to be the owner of an XBox and quite possibly a Cube as well. Shoot me. I will play everything but sports games, and even then I'll make an exception for Mutant League and Speedball. Retro games are king, if you cant remember it after 3 years then its not worth playing.
And thats why in 2006 I bought an Xbox :D
Dain
Contributing Writer
I used to play a ton of Atari games way back when we had an Atari 5600 XE (I'm pretty sure that's what it was). Then we got a monochrome PC for my Dad to work on... not really much for games then. I played King's Quest and that's about it. My sister and I really got to like Sierra games, especially after we got a computer with a color monitor. I've also owned a Super Nintendo and a Playstation (I never really bought many games for either). Lately most of the games I play are recommended by Marcin or Walter. Marcin got me into MMORPGs.
privacy notice
The name may be silly, but our goals and vision are not - likewise our commitment to privacy. You will not find invasive advertising on our site - any sort of pop-anything, or giant blinking banners taking up half the screen are out. At most you will see the small, content- and even title-specific links to our affiliates where you can purchase the product if so desired; that's it. Decisions to add advertising to our pages (you may not know this, but many ads out there are now capable of setting cookies on your browser) will be based on whether the ads are safe or not, always.
We also despise spam. For this reason we will never give out any of your personal information including email addresses, to anyone, for any reason. However, in the end we do not host our own website, so if their information ends up in the wrong hands, that's beyond our control (hacking, legal subpoena). This is fairly standard for websites out there, we just happen to be honest about it - think about it :)