Ackar was the first of my new Glatorian Legends I opened, for no reason in particular. This review was typed up after the fact, but I still tried to preserve whatever emotions were attached to the opening, building, and playing.

Presentation

From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.

The Glatorian Legends canisters intrigued me a fair amount. The first thing that caught my attention is obviously their shape. Although the same height as the Glatorian canisters, the lid’s sides curve towards the center, then abruptly angle downwards into a concave meniscus. A bulge protrudes from the top of the canister, decorated with ridges, and similar ridges emerge from the canister’s peaks.

Something I had not realized from pictures alone is that the Glatorian Legends canisters (lids aside) are actually the same as the winter Glatorian canisters. This was obviously intended in the design of the original Glatorian canisters, as the recessed portion of the canister’s base extends from the central ridge of the original canister lids, allowing one to stack the new canisters on each other, the old canisters on each other, or the new canisters on the old canisters.

The design of the canister’s labels remains intriguing, but varies a great deal from the Glatorian canister design. In the background of every canister’s front label, a design similar to the Skrall insignia glows a bright white against a colored negative space, obscured by a bright starburst toward the center. The backdrops are still unique for each canister, however, as has been the case for all canisters since summer 2008, as elemental environments are visible on the ground. Ackar stands on a presumably uncomfortable bed of lava, with reddish, glowing rocks off to the side.

The typical set info is aligned about the same as on the Glatorian canisters, besides the name of the set appearing below and to the left of the word BIONICLE rather than above and to the right.

The back of the canister has been hailed by many as an improvement from the canisters of the winter Glatorian, and I have to agree to some extent. While I had no particular distaste for the stylized coloration of the Glatorian and Agori on the previous canisters, here we get instead a stunning lineup of the six Glatorian Legends. Above, where the word BIONICLE and the Action Figure Game logo sat on the older canisters, an ad appears for BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn, proclaiming “New Movie Out!” If only, LEGO, if only.

The fare below remains the same: the Thornax demonstration, the leetastic B.I.O. Code, the demonstration of storage in the set’s canister (Yay!), and the relocated Action Figure Game logo. Then follows the legal text, which is very ignorable unless you’re as fascinated as I am at how country names are spelled in other languages.

The instructions feature Ackar in the same dramatic pose as that on the front of the canister, albeit blown up, as well as the set name and number and the “Caution” label. Inside towards the end are another B:TLR ad, the basic BIONICLE Action Figure Game instructions, a layout of all the usable sets in the game as well as info about BIONICLE.com’s expanded online rules, and an ad for BIONICLE.com’s 2009 features (including Glatorian Arena). As with the Glatorian instructions, some sets will have additional set ads in the back—Ackar’s instructions lack these. Now, with a ridiculously-lengthy presentation section concluded, on to the part you actually want to read!

Building

Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?

Ackar is built in a fairly straightforward fashion. With a fairly standard Inika-style build, he should be easy enough to build without the instructions—I, however, didn’t take this initiative.

Set Design

Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.

Ackar’s pieces spawned much discussion among BIONICLE fans when pics first emerged—they are, after all, in two colors rarely featured as primary colors: bright red and orange. Only six of these molds, however, are old pieces in new colors: the bright red Inika shins, the bright red Inika torso, the bright red Vahki shins, the orange Inika thigh armor, the orange-bright red blended Berix helmet, and the orange webbed Inika feet. Still, looking at those colors it’s easy to see why there was such celebration among older fans in particular.

Initially, I strongly questioned this color scheme’s effectiveness. There is no strong and abundant dark color to offer contrast, a trait that even the Toa Mata had with their massive quantities of black parts. Furthermore, a neutral dark bley is featured on the neck joint and hands, a sparse placement that could potentially undo a color scheme. It turns out, however, that there was no cause for alarm—the color scheme works fairly effectively, and even the bley works well, remaining distinct from the rest of the color scheme while still echoing the silver of his tools and life counter assembly.

For a fairly standard Inika build, Ackar manages to pull off a stunning overall look. The shoulder armor, a set of orange 2007 Matoran blades which I questioned for their lack of consistency, manage to offset this motif inconsistency with a marvelous overall shape.

His helmet is well suited to him, but only to an extent. Early on I dismissed many claims that Berix’s helmet was better suited to a fire character, and even now I think it was more effective on a Water-tribe Agori. The thin, rounded, intertwined back of the helmet reflects a dribbling liquid, which could of course represent magma, but only if the set elsewhere reflected a magma motif. Admittedly the thicker, pointier flame patterns on the front of the mask work effectively for Ackar. And I have no opposition to the reuse of a helmet for this set—it just doesn’t prove a noticeably “better” look than it did in its original usage. It is, in the very least, unique-looking, enough that no-one would have a remote chance of confusing Ackar and Berix (as if that was a possibility).

New parts to Ackar include his ankle guards, and his sword’s hilt and blade. The ankle guards attach via 1.5-length pins to his Inika shins, and maintain a good deal of stylistic consistency with these pieces. They appear fairly versatile for MOCing as well, and I am surprised they have not been featured in more sets besides Ackar and Mata Nui, particularly considering they appear only in that one application as ankle guards. Some dislike how they shake from side to side, but not only does this seem to reflect the jingliness of many styles of actual armor, but I fail to see where it is an issue—after all, most of the set’s playability is basic posing or active, chaotic roleplaying (besides the AFG, which is somewhere in between). In the former, one does not shake the set much, and in fact relies on this stable influence of gravity to ensure that the set is posed realistically. More chaotic play has never been up my alley, and I can’t imagine how one can even keep track of where those parts are when one’s smashing the sets against one another maniacally.

The silver hilt is also featured as Mata Nui’s Scarab Shield and shoulder armor, as well as the upcoming titan form’s sword hilt. However, it is questionable how effective it is as the hilt of a sword—after all, it covers up more than half of the blade’s front edge, making it almost more of the sword’s blade than the actual blade piece. The blade piece is the same translucent orange as that which has been blended with countless dark red parts over the years. It is a beautiful piece, but its many angles form a fairly sharp contrast with Ackar’s curvilinear helmet—thankfully, there are also curves to keep it from being totally inconsistent.

I fervently deny any claims that this set would in any way have made a suitable new version of Toa Tahu. While the shins almost evoke the shape of Nuva armor, there are not any places where the color scheme’s organization remotely evokes the color scheme of either previous form. I much prefer the actual set, which features black y-joints and a silver torso. A firesword and bright red do not a Tahu make, however awesome the firesword might have been for Tahu.

Playability

The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with?

Ackar’s playability is basically identical to that of any Glatorian earlier in the year, due to its main function being use in the BIONICLE Action Figure Game. To recap on that, it’s a very entertaining activity. I still have never tried to use many unofficial “house rules” suggested on BZPower, but have a substantial amount of fun playing with one of BIONICLE.com’s varieties—the one for each player having two Glatorian. With a vast number of variables, it makes for a game that can be played multiple times without growing old.

Regrettably, there are no new innovations that come with the Glatorian Legends for this game. However, I still maintain that if there were any, it would be almost impossible to maintain the overall feel of fairness that is instrumental for enjoying the game.

Final Thoughts

Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?

Pros

What's to like?

• Copious bright red parts
• Awesome flame sword
• Unique color scheme

What's not to like?

• Simple build with few distinctions from past sets with similar builds
• No revolutionary play features

Overall, I can’t bring myself to recommend Ackar in particular above the other Glatorian Legends, partly because some of the others are so awesome and innovative. However, I would not advise people against getting this set either—Ackar proves a very attractive set with a look that one does not find among other sets. So it’s all in where you want to put your money—choose wisely.