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Ektris

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Blog Entries posted by Ektris

  1. Ektris
    Kylo Ren





    Until yesterday I'd say this was the best Toys Kylo Ren in this scale out there, but with the MAFEX revealed (and coming with a Driver head and melted Vader helmet..) I'm not too sure now. Though that's not coming out until the end of the year so for now it's still at the top in my opinion.
     
    But yeah I love this guy.
     
    First Order Stormtrooper




    Probably should have removed the window before taking these, but didn't realize how funky they were turning out until I was done and at that point I didn't feel like doing it all over again heh. Yes I got lazy. Probably because it was the last of a large group I did that today.
     
    ~|ET|~
  2. Ektris
    Nintendo Amiibo King Dedede
    S.H. Figuarts Shadow Moon (renewal version)
    Transformers Generations Tailgate & Groundbuster
    Transformers Generations Sky-Byte
    Transformers Combiner Wars Megatron
    Transformers Combiner Wars Motormaster
    Transformers Combiner Wars Powerglide
    BIONICLE Kopaka - Master of Ice
    BIONICLE Hero Pack
    S.H. Figuarts Sasuke Uchiha
    Transformers Combiner Wars Blackjack
    Transformers Generations Scoop w/Holepunch & Caliburst
    Figma Sinon
    No, really, I can!
     
    So HasbroToyShop had a discount code for most of March that gave 20% off and free shipping. ...And they put up wave 2 of Combiner Wars all on the same day for preorder! (Which means I also have all of the limbs coming and they should be here later this week actually.) So jumping on them now was totally the smarter thing to do than space them out and hope I find them at retail. And I may have used the chance to get things I passed on before just because of the discount... Oh well. Wanna know the funny part? They listed all of the wave 2 stuff in intervals during that day. Like a half hour apart. So I placed 4 orders that day. 3 of them shipped at the same time. All 3 of those orders were shipped in separate boxes. Anywho, they're all awesome.
     
    Shadow Moon was kind of an impulse since I've not even watched Black, but he looks cool so no complaints here. Sasuke was another trial of patience due to port shenanigans (and is also why Alphamon isn't here... because they're all lost in limbo somewhere still...). Besides my utter hatred of his face options, he's a good figure. Sinon I just picked up an hour ago so I have no thoughts on her yet lol, but I'm glad to finally have her.
     
    Kopaka completes my 2015 Toa! He's a lot cooler than I was thinking, although his shield is still a real pain to work with. And I got him for the Hero Pack... Which I'm afraid to open. :| Convince me otherwise!
     
    ~|ET|~
  3. Ektris

    Xbox One: Redemption

    By Ektris,

    So Microsoft just retracted its 24-hour check-in and limited game sharing policies* that had make many fans around the globe - myself included - deride and reconsider sticking with the next generation Xbox console.
     
    So to make it clear:
    You do NOT have to be online every 24-hours
    You CAN sell your games at your discretion
    I'm pretty much back on board, even at $100 more than the PS4. I honestly considered changing because of these restrictions and how arrogant Microsoft's execs were being about it (even though I am in the group that it didn't really hurt too much... everything they were saying about it kind of made me mad). But the only what-should-have-been an exclusive for the PS4 - Kingdom Hearts 3 - is actually multi-platform, so we're back to me wanting more Xbox exclusives.
     
    *The original revision to this included allowing you to share games with up to ten people free of charge, and by simply playing online connected to the cloud server with the original owner's saves and whatnot. I actually really like that and thought it a great change. Oh well...
     
    ~|ET|~
  4. Ektris
    I know I've said it before, but I feel like yet again that I need to stress that I've not really found a good place to take pictures in my apartment yet. I feel like I might need to make a custom photobooth if I want to keep doing this... But I'm lazy heh. Still, I'm not too thrilled by a lot of these, but it's the best I was able to come up with.
     
    So with that preface out of the way, let's get to the main event!
     


     
    Salacious B. Crumb here is truly the star of the show. He is a big reason why I wanted this San Diego Comic-Con exclusive version. Because the retail Jabba comes with literally nothing but a big empty box, not even a hookah or dais in sight. But Crumb was so much more interesting to me than those even. He just looks cool. And to my surprise is actually a really good action figure! Although missing elbows and knees, everything else you could possibly want is there, including even a nice multidirectional neck. They really went all out on this Kowakian monkey-lizard and it shows. Which is really quite surprising when he amounts to nothing more than an accessory and is really just a throwaway pet in the lore that doesn't really matter.
     
    Too bad I don't feel the same way about Jabba.
     




     
    From his... Umm... well, he doesn't really have a waist, so uh... His swivel joint cut up, Jabba's not bad. He's got some nicely articulated arms, he really does, even though this toy's gimmick can sort of get in the way at times at the shoulders. Really not sure if I'm breaking anything when I hear the loud click of a gear snapping over another just by trying to move them sometimes, but he's got shoulders and I'm going to use them. That's more important to me than his weird, barely noticable eating/talking/mouth-something gimmick (see picture 2 above). At the same time... I do like that it was included. It does work and is kind of cool. I would have just been fine without it though. But hey, at least he can still get his hookah (if you have one...) in his mouth. It's really like his left hand and arm were sculpted just for this purpose... My only real problem with this half of his body are his eyes - it seems to be a somewhat widespread issue where they aren't exactly painted centered. Mine are only a little off, so it's not bad, but some pictures I've seen make him look pretty dumb.
     
    What isn't good, by any stretch of the imagination, is everything below that cut. I'm guessing it was part a desire for accuracy and part a cost issue, but I'm really not happy that his lower body is a solid piece. I'd have liked to be able to snake my Jabba around, make it look like he was actually moving. Instead he will only ever look good in the throne room pose (which is really unfortuante if you don't have one for him to sit on). And of course, it is just one incredibly large hollow piece of... I want to say vinyl, because it feels exactly like the same material as some Kamen Rider vinyls I've handled. It just doesn't have a great feeling to it and is very disappointing. At least the paint is spot-on though.
     


     
    But now the real big draw of this set: the throne room. And what a load of garbage it is!
     
    Allow me to interject for a moment the story of acquiring this piece. If you attended SDCC and were willing to wait in line for endless hours to get one at the show before they sold out (and they did), you had no problem getting it. If you're like the majority fo fans, you had a horrible time. Because as is per usual Hasbro fashion with SDCC exclusives (and unlike a lot of other big toy retailers), they don't announce when reserved online stock will go live. It is genuinely unpredictable. This year, in fact, was the latest they ever went up! But to make matters worse is their response to questions... The actual, official response to any inquiry was "just keep staring at the exclusives listing 24/7 until they show up." REALLY?! That's just so unprofessional and inconsiderate of loyal customers... It's literally impossible to do and was just overall aggravating. In fact, they went up while I was at work and was lucky enough to have been monitoring the page anyways. Most wouldn't have been. And of course Jabba was one of the first to go out of stock there too. The entire experience was annoying.
     
    And then when you finally get this prized exclusive, that you have wasted an inordinate amount of time to get, you are met with... Nothing but disappointment. Nevermind Jabba himself. But that throne room. This set was called "Jabba's Throne Room," not "Jabba with throne" or anything to that effect. You were buying his throne room.
     
    And it is just horrible. Bad. Terrible. Completely and utterly garbage.
     
    The plastic bubbles you see in the pictures, to hold the figures in place in packaging (along with ugly twist ties I removed), are glued into place on the throne room. Which means you will never remove them without completely destroying the diorama that was the entire point of the exclusive set! If they wanted to make a diorama... Make it actually usable and not hideously disfigured by plastic bubbles!
     
    At least they included a cardboard Han in carbonite for those of us who didn't get last year's exclusive. >_<
     
    Overall I am met with incredible disappointment with this set. I will always stand by my opinion, however, that it is the only one worth getting. The hookah and railing (once you manage to rip that out of the evil bubble), and even Crumb, complete Jabba. He was clearly designed with these things in mind, especially the hookah. The ordinary retail release gives you just Jabba and seems like a terrific waste of money given he's mostly just hollow. At double the price, though... The SDCC one wasn't much better. And nobody should ever, eeeever pay aftermarket prices on him unless desparate. But I really felt like I needed a Jabba in my collection, so this had to be it. It was a genuine pain to get and not even that great, but hey... I guess getting lemons sometimes is just part of collecting. Maybe he was just supposed to be left in packaging... which to me is a ridiculous notion, but even then the ugly plastic and twist ties would have ruined the looked. But for all that, I really can't recommend him for anyone but the diehard fan.
     
    He does at least look cool sitting on top of all my books above the other characters I have (barely fit too, which was a lucky coincidence... also, picture is just for reference of the area, did not take an updated one with Jabba), which I feel is appropriate for a Hutt heh.
     
    ~|ET|~
  5. Ektris
    Alrighty, here it is! The first half of my collection update. They're not the best pictures, just really aiming to highlight differences and growth. Had a few disasters in the rearrangement of shelves thanks to some poor decisions I'll touch more on in the next part, but thankfully nothing is broken and I'm happy with the end result.
     
    Star Wars



    The Star Wars shelves have actually grown the least, I believe. More books supplanted space that was occupied by movies, but figures... not so much. And I'm a little bummed by that. I almost entirely blame Hasbro's horrendous distribution of the Black Series for not helping (my stores, and most, are stuck on wave 3 clogging shelves still... we just hit wave 7... and the past few ones have only shown up in drug stores... so it's partly on stores too of course). A few of the releases I've missed out on I'm not too considered about, though, thanks to Bandai Tamashii Nations and their S.H. Figuarts line now tackling Star Wars in what should be a pretty appropriate scale to mesh well with Hasbro's efforts.
     
    Transformers






    Oh goodness, Transformers. One of the two reasons I had to buy new bookshelves and they're taking up literally half of the new ones. Even then... I ran out of room on one already. I was aiming for a split of "Generations" Bots and Cons to one side and miscellaneous on the other, but that may have to be changed very shortly. Although I guess I do need to find a use for those short bottom shelves I didn't quite figure out what to do with. Because of the combiners, I needed a lot of space (and as that line just started and is continuing for two years... haha I'll be needing more.), yet didn't think much looked very good in the short bottom shelf that left. They'll probably expand in greater quantity there soon.
     
    I did a lot of catching up last year that caused this growth. A lot. I have been pretty pleased with most things I picked up at least.
     
    My four Masterpiece figures are a literally huge addition as well. In fact, they're currently on my mantle in the living room to themselves. Granted, not like in the picture as I moved stuff around to isolate them, but they're there. Oh how I wish I had been able to start collecting them sooner. They're just so fantastic.
     
    Anime


    Lastly, we have the anime shelves. In general, this one hasn't expanded too much either, but I'm fine with that. Definitely still cherry picking what I pick up here.
     
    A benefit of the expansion was allowing these guys to be spread out more across two shelves. So I also threw in the Digimon there - who were with game characters before given they were of the D-arts line. I decided that, as I see them as their anime counterparts, they belonged here more. There's not really any rhyme nor reason to who went where; I wish I had been able to come up with some better display for them.
     
    ~|ET|~
  6. Ektris

    Name change?

    By Ektris,

    Oh yeah, I can change it back now!
     
    Should I? :/
     
    I did it half as an experiment, and the results were kind of what I expected - don't feel like I'm so readily recognized now. Whether that's good or bad...
     
    ~|ET|~
  7. Ektris
    So yeah...
     
    A lot of stuff happened here, huh? A lot of not so great stuff... Stuff that shouldn't have happened...
     
    I currently plan on reposting my lost set reviews and PokeLogs, as far as blog content is concerned.
     
    Not sure when I'll get to that, though, because for now I'll be a little busy:
     

     
    (That's the statue that comes with the Collector's Edition of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, for those not recognizing it.)
     
    ~|ET|~
  8. Ektris
    Going to try and cover the games as I play them this year. No clue how long that will last haha.
     
    But first up in 2016 is The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D, the first game I played this year and the first one I beat. I've now played four games in The Legend of Zelda! While the previous three were all very different, this one did feel like more of the same. Which it obviously should have, being a direct sequel to Ocarina of Time. That's not a bad thing in the least, though. In fact it made getting into the game very easy, since there wasn't a whole lot unfamiliar. Except, of course, the masks.
     
    Those were an interesting mechanic. A few were just a pain to acquire - I did do a 100% run - while some were just plain useless. Besides the transformations, I used the Bunny Hood and Blast Mask the most. The Bunny Hood was just great. Loved being able to move faster once I acquired it. The transformations were really fun to use too. Now that was an exciting change. Rolling around as a Goron was a blast. I like that each didn't feel totally useless after you completed their corresponding jungles. It all just depended on how you wanted to play and where you wanted to explore, which was cool.
     
    Unfortunately, I do have to admit that I absolutely required a guide. I don't think I could have completed the game 100% without one. Certainly beat it in time (which reminds me I should go try and beat Majora without using Fierce Deity because that was too easy), but not fully. I don't know how much easier the remake was compared to the original; there were parts, notably boss battles, where I felt it might have been too simple. But I'm not sure. I got through the swamp and mountain, including getting most things in those areas, on my own. But before I went to the ocean I decided to go back and get the dungeon faeries and it was just all downhill from there... Used a guide probably too much. I tried to do the puzzles on my own, but was still constantly referencing for hidden items. Plus all those side quests for masks... Like Anju and Kafei ugh...
     
    I still liked the game. The time crunch was very annoying at times, but I know it's part of what made the game different and don't hate it. After learning the inverted song of time it was hardly an issue anyway. I just can't help but feel a little guilty about how I ended up playing it.
     
    Totally another solid game in the series and has me looking forward to more. I'll be playing Twilight Princess next, but who knows what others I might end up checking out this year.
     
    ~|ET|~
  9. Ektris
    Because of service like this:
     

     
    The boxes were worse; was even more caved when my sister picked it up from outside. Where it had been sitting who knows how long, because they never even tried ringing the door bell or notifying us anything was here. My sister had been up since 7 AM and had no clue it was here. A small correction: Apparently she did know, but forgot about it for a few hours. >_< Nonetheless, we didn't have to sign for it or anything. It was just dropped off.
     
    The contents of the box being fine are the only thing keeping me from punching walls... or driving to the post office and saying some choice words I don't think I'd regret.
     
    ~|ET|~
  10. Ektris
    Huh, could have sworn I posted these here already... I was going to post another shoot today, but then I noticed I hadn't, so let's do this one first!
     
    For those that don't know, I moved to Austin, TX on June 23rd. I'm now living on my own - truly on my own - for the first time and it's... quite a bit intimidating. But I'm enjoying work for the most part and found a pretty nice place to live. I've moved into a 2 bedroom/1.5 bath apartment in northern Austin that's close to both work and shopping. I'm pretty happy with it so far.
     
    After finally getting most things set up how I want (still haven't hung some posters and frames), I decided to clean up a little and take some pictures. So here it is.
     





     
    I didn't take pictures of absolutely everything, but here are the interesting parts... that aren't the second bedroom, which will slowly be transformed into a man cave. Stay tuned for more of that in an upcoming shoot. (That one being the one I planned on posting today, which the last picture here is also a teaser of. I just felt like including it here since it's the main entryway.) These were taken about two weeks ago, so are only slightly out-of-date... The only major difference is a WiiU on the TV stand now and the coffee table covered in junk.
     
    So this is my place. I live here now.
     
    ~|ET|~
  11. Ektris

    Lego Simpsons?

    By Ektris,

    So LEGO's apparently in talks with Fox to work out a deal to make sets for... The Simpsons.
     
    That's, uh, cool I guess. I mean, they're already yellow, so they'll make sense in classic minifig colors.
     
    But The Simpsons is for a bit more of a mature audience, so I'm slightly confused why they'd go this route. But oh well. They'd probably sell.
     
    ~|ET|~
  12. Ektris
    I just want to start off by saying that I really do feel that this was quite a fun game.
     
    I finished the campaign for Rise of the Tomb Raider around 2 AM yesterday (it was the weekend, okay...), but do still have plenty of content to get through before I shelf this title. I want to go collect everything, and I'm very nearly there now... but have suffered from a known widespread glitch not counting some things so I fear I may need to play again 100% to get the achievements to pop. Plus I've not even looked at any of the Twitch-integrated features, which actually means I may try my hand at streaming soon! Not required, but might be fun. And I plan to buy the DLC. But I beat the story, so that's "game complete" for most and good enough to write this heh.
     
    My favorite part was definitely the exploration of tombs and crypts. The puzzles were fun, the environments fun to explore, and the worldbuilding involved with most was great. I listened to every single audio log. The history imparted by them was fascinating.
     
    In contrast, I couldn't get that invested in the main story's characters. Jacob was interesting - pegged his identity instantly thanks to a clue from an audio log I picked up not too long beforehand - but the others... Meh. I had no attachment to Ana. If they had maybe introduced her in 2013's Tomb Raider, I'd care more about her betrayel... But I just didn't. I disliked her for it, and her sickness made me a little sympathetic, but none of those were strong feelings. While writing this I just performed a quick search and apparently there is a running comic book title filling the gaps between the games?? I imagine those would've helped some... But don't feel it should be necessary. Oh and Konstantin just screamed generic angry bad guy the whole time. Poor misguided fool.
     
    I didn't really mind any of that though. Except when stuck in the proper levels where my explorative urges were restricted. I still had fun and never felt stuck for long. Even playing on savior mode where you don't regenerate health and supplies are more scarce, not many combat encounters really took me too long. Mostly because that wonderful bow is still ridiculously overpowered.
     
    If you want to play this game, stop first. Next, go play its predecessor. That was an amazing game. Then play this one. Rise of the Tomb Raider is great as well, although I did feel less invested. Just want to recommend this rebooted series as a whole, since I feel it's much stronger that way.
     
    ~|ET|~
  14. Ektris
    This title I may not have started this year (I actually started it when I got my WiiU in July of 2014... and then promptly forgot about it), but I played the bulk of and finished the game during it.
     
    The Wind Waker is only my third time experiencing the Legend of Zelda series. To say it was different from the others I've played would be quite the understatement.
     
    As far as gameplay is concerned, no it wasn't all that unfamiliar. Besides navigation, which honestly became quite laborious. I think it's one of the reasons I stopped playing it for so long; I had just gotten disinterested in sailing around what seemed to be a fairly empty sea. I did get used to it and found some fun in it upon revisiting. Man, that fetch quest at the end where you have to just sail to random places was just not that great though.
     
    What makes Wind Waker stand out is of course its art style. I rather liked it. Definitely different, but not in a bad way. This was a brighter world than the last Zelda title I played, and there was just something about the character designs I found endearing.
     
    Also, Tetra was pretty cool.
     
    I do want to delve into this series more, and this HD remake made that pretty easy. So if you're like me, have a WiiU and haven't played this before, it's totally worth it (even if I did get it for free heh).
     
    ~|ET|~
  17. Ektris
    S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Agito Ground Form (Shinkocchou Seihou Version)
    S.H. Figuarts Iron Man Mark 45
    S.H. Figuarts Luke Skywalker (Episode VI)
    Figma Lucina
    BIONICLE Protector of Fire
    BIONICLE Skull Basher
    Star Wars: Tarkin
    Star Wars: Honor Among Thieves
    Star Wars: Razor's Edge
    Nintendo Amiibo Bowser Jr.
    Nintendo Amiibo Zero Suit Samus
    Nintendo Amiibo Ganondorf
    Nintendo Amiibo Olimar
    Nintendo Amiibo Dr. Mario
    LEGO Ideas The Big Bang Theory
    Nintendo Amiibo Duck Hunt
    Nintendo Amiibo Mr. Game & Watch
    Nintendo Amiibo R.O.B. (NES)
    S.H. Figuarts Thor
    S.H. Figuarts Darth Maul
    Tried something new with the big group shot this month. Think it came out a lot better.
     
    The last big Smash Amiibo drop has come and gone. (And the last big one I'll likely be into at all assuming they don't do non-card Pokémon... Nintendo, please don't do non-card Pokémon!) A bit of a frustrating one since I was worried about missing so many pre-orders, but I got everything in the end without much fuss. And the only one I didn't get at MSRP was Bowser Jr. because I didn't feel like trying to go to Toys R Us first thing in the morning. Overall I think this was a really solid wave. Cool stuff like R.O.B. and beautifully detailed ones like Ganondorf made it great.
     
    Force Friday was a big highlight this month for many, but for me it was a rather mellow day. I was all set and ready to go out hunting for new Black Series figures and hoping I found something without participating in the initial morning rush, but then the day before Bandai revealed they were doing a Figuart of Kylo Ren available for pre-order that very night, so I no longer wanted anything form Hasbro haha. I did go and get some books just to see displays, but that was about it. I'm still fleshing out my Legends content, now with the last written books for it, but have also ventured into new canon. I kind of like that they paperbacks aren't in trade paperback size. It helps distinguish the divide on the shelf heh. Don't know when I'll get around to reading any of these though, I've been so bad at reading...
     
    Luke and Iron Man are two amazing Figuarts. I'm so glad I never bothered with the Hasbro Episode VI Luke because this one is perfect. Maul and Thor I only just opened moments before taking this picture, so haven't done anything at all with them, but they don't seem too bad. Except Thor's face, ugh. Lucina's nice to finally have, buuut... I don't know. I like her, but something just feels weird when I'm handling her.
     
    Fiiiinally back on the BIONICLE train. Still holding out hoping that the gold Skull Grinder mask pack makes its way stateside similarly to the transparent orange Mask of Fire, so I have something to order and get it from. But we've not heard a single thing about it, which is disheartening. Anywho, Skull Basher is a really cool set.
     
    Not pictured is the Ideas The Big Bang Theory set, half because it's on my mantle and I didn't feel like taking it down and half because it's technically my fiancée's. I got it for her as a birthday present and we built it during the season premiere, coincidentally the same day (thank goodness because that was a horrible episode, gave me something to get distracted with). I say "we" but it was mostly her. And she had a lot of fun! Which in turn made me really happy to see and be able to share my hobby.
     
    ~|ET|~
  18. Ektris
    May have gone a little overboard this month...
     


     
    Since the first picture is just not good (seriously I cannot find a good place to take pictures in this apartment. Windows are huge and everywhere...), here's a breakdown of everything in relative arrival order:
    Transformers Generations Whirl
    Star Wars: The Old Republic: Annihilation
    Star Wars: Kenobi
    Star Wars: Crucible
    A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones
    Transformers AOE Grimlock
    Dragonball Z: Battle of Gods Goku cardboard hair thingy (Not pictured but totally worth mentioning since they gave them out at the Alamo Dratfhouse during the first airing of Battles of Gods... As if seeing that wasn't bad enough, you now had half the theatre with Goku hair. )
    Transformers FOC Jazz
    BIONICLE Mistika Gali Nuva
    BIONICLE Mistika Onua Nuva
    BIONICLE Mistika Gorast
    BIONICLE Mistika Krika
    SDCC Star Wars Black Series Jabba the Hutt Throne Room w/Salacious Crumb
    Transformers AOE Strafe
    Transformers Masterpiece Prowl
    McFarlane Assassin's Creed Benjamin Hornigold
    McFarlane Assassin's Creed Black Bart
    McFarlane Assassin's Creed Blackbeard
    Transformers Generations Rattrap
    Transformers Masterpiece Sunstorm
    Xbox One: Transformers: Rise of the Dark SPark
    Xbox One: Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition
    Transformers WFC Bumblebee
    Transformers RTS Wreck-Gar
    Transformers RTS Lugnut
    Transformers AOE Slash
    Transformers FOC Eject & Ramhorn
    Transformers FOC Ravage & Rumble
    Jazzware Minecraft Creeper
    Aaaand that's everything that arrived. SHF Naruto and Ryugen, Black Series Clone Trooper, and Figma Archer have all shipped.
     
    Yeahhhh...
     
    I decided to play "catch up" hardcore on top of all the new stuff...
     
    Games first: Rise of the Dark Spark is officially my fastest 100% game! :3 Got all Achievements in 5 days, which to me is still fast heh. Grinded like crazy to get them. Now I can actually enjoy Tomb Raider, whenever I get around to it that is.
     
    Got a few more Star Wars books and it pains me to see that "Legends" banner on some... Only finished Crucible so far and that hurt even more. Because even though it got really, really weird at the end there, it still quite literally set up the perfect open-ended jumping on point for, oh I don't freaking know, a movie maybe! *sigh* Still, going to enjoy them while I can. Also fiiiiinally bought A Game of Thrones! I'll get to it once I'm through with Annihilation and Kenobi, and I'm halfway through the former. After that I plan on finally starting the TV series too. Figured it's about time I take a proper look into all of this hype.
     
    Random figures: The McFarlane Assassin's Creed stuff is really cool. These guys are such incredible improvements over the initial figures, which really has me looking forward to the future of the line. As for Jabba... Oh my goodness I could not be more disappointed. I quite literally spent almost two weeks glued to a computer screen stalking HasbroToyShop to get a chance at the SDCC version - that was even Hasbro's official stance on it! "We aren't telling you when they go up, just keep watching all the time!" What a load. So yeah, I got him. I still stand by the fact that it's the only Jabba I'd take since the retail comes with absolutely nothing, which really wouldn't make his hollow self worth it, but still. They could have done a lot more with him. At least Salacious B. Crumb is simply flawless and I love him. But I want to do a photo shoot so I'll go into more depth with them later. Eventually. Also, I got a Creeper. :3 Been wanting in on the Jazzwares stuff for a while and finally bit the bullet. Might stop here since I don't want to get obsessed, but it's still a cool little thing to have.
     
    Next, BIONICLE. Finished off my Mistika! And even more exciting, nothing seems to have broken putting them together! These were still sealed sets so I had no idea what to expect of them. But I know I'll never, ever be taking them apart if I can help it.
     
    Finally, Transformers... Now here is where I went overboard. I didn't expect to get half of what I did. The Dinobots, yeah, I was looking for. They're cool for the most part. But Jazz, the little guys, and Whirl were all impulse buys. I'm not disappointed by any of them, though. Then there's Bee, Wreck-Gar, and Lugnut... Three figures from a few years ago I never thought I'd have at reasonable prices. But I posted a wanted topic on Tokunation (check it out, make me spend more money ) and immediately got a reply from a great guy who hooked me up with them. They're all pretty sweet. Then there's Rattrap, who is a beautiful modern rendition of a childhood favorite and he just fills me with oh-so-much nostalgia and I love it.
     
    Oh, right... The Masterpieces. I bit the bullet on them too finally. Walked into Toys 'R Us, saw a Prowl, and immediately pounced. Have not seen one since even though more Sunstorms came in stocks and continue to sit there. He's fantastic, albeit I definitely agree with the universal opinion that he was VASTLY overpriced for what he is. Sunstorm... Well, the Takara one definitely looked better but this was readily available, and thanks to Prowl I got sucked in. Love the Seeker mold, love yellow, so I'm okay with it heh.
     
    So that's it. I uh... Wow. Did not expect to do this. Told myself I was filling a void and maybe that's right... But at least I don't really regret any of it. Right now. Except maybe Jabba. Curse you, HasbroToyShop, curse you!
     
    ~|ET|~
  19. Ektris
    S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Decade
    S.H. Figuarts Captain Phasma
    Nendoroid Kirby
    Nintendo Amiibo Wolf Link
    The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD
    BIONICLE Lord of Skull Spiders
    BIONICLE Skull Warrior
    BIONICLE Skull Slicer
    BIONICLE Skull Scorpio
    BIONICLE Mask Maker vs. Skull Grinder
    Nintendo Amiibo Ryu
    Rise of the Tomb Raider Season Pass (digital download)
    Halo 5: Guardians - The Master Chief Xbox One Controller
    Nintendo Amiibo Roy
    S.H. Figuarts Minato Namikaze
    S.H. Figuarts Omegamon (Our War Game)
    All the things I was expecting last month finally came in, albeit some still much later than expected. I've already shown off Kirby. He's perfect. Decade is your average Rider release really, even with the Shinkocchou label. Comes with a lot of itty bitty cards I'll never remove from their baggy. Phasma is nice enough, though I did learn of an annoying issue with her leg not being assembled properly last night after taking this picture (that I've since corrected thanks to a handy hairdryer). Minato and Omegamon were the ones I really wanted here though and I love them. This Omegamon is such an improvement over the last - my only complaint is the too thin cape so that the red bleeds through the white. And Minato marks more continued improvements in their anime figure department.
     
    I did it, guys! I ended the BIONICLE draught! Yeahhhh... Kinda get why I put them off for so long heh. They're not all as bad as I feared, but the two-pack is still the obvious winner here. Ekimu looks great. Sure do wish that stand for the Mask of Creation was better though haha. Mayhaps I'll start the '16 guys next month.
     
    Speaking of things I took my sweet time on - the Master Chief controller! I'd actually been really wanting this since it was unveiled. I was a big fan of the special controllers on the 360 (used one as my primary controller since I first got one) and have been disappointed with how few there are for the One so far, and this is the first one to even interest me anyway. Just needed a new one too.
     
    Twilight Princess I'm already probably a third of the way through, but have put it on the back burner to keep at Rise of the Tomb Raider. It's been fun, and I'll be sure to share my thoughts on it once I'm done.
     
    The one item I'd been banking on arriving this month is ironically the only one to not arrive. Will be here soon and end another dry spell of sorts.
     
    ~|ET|~
  20. Ektris
    So ends my year in gaming. Episodic titles were really the standouts, with one in particular really standing out among all those even just released this year: Life is Strange.
     
    Life is Strange stars Max, a young girl attending high school in her home town of Arcadia Bay, Oregon, having returned there after several years away, and discovers one day that she has the power to rewind time. It should be obvious already how that will transition into a tale of love, drugs, murder, and rampant photography, right? No? Well, I guess you should play the game then!
     
    Seriously, I do urge you to check this out. So much so that I don't even want to talk much about the plot here because I want you to experience it firsthand (unless anyone would like to, in which case comment away, but please do use spoiler tags). I will say that, from where it started, I never expected it to end the way it did nor go down many of the paths it took. There were significant psychological issues shown here, and I was honestly a little disturbed at times. But it was such a fun ride, one my fiancée and I enjoyed together.
     
    The mechanic that makes Life is Strange different from other point-and-click adventures is the rewind ability. You could use it to choose better dialogue options (maybe you made a mistake and upset somebody you didn't want to, or they let slip something that might have been more useful earlier in a conversation to lead it to where you wanted) or stop simple events from happening by intervening. I feel that it was handled well; Max wasn't an all-powerful Time Lord bending time to her will. In fact, she barely had control over it and you weren't able to use it in some critical moments because of that.
     
    Probably the only thing that I disliked about the game was the ending - and that's not even much of a "dislike." The game just unfortunately fell into the trap of your choices not really mattering. You basically have two endings, and I chose the less destructive of the two. But that didn't mean your adventure went to waste, because you still have your memories of the week and... Well, that's starting to get into spoiler territory, but it just wasn't generally a bad ending to me. I'd totally understand why somebody might disagree though.
     
    What made this game were the characters. There were so many, perfectly capturing, sometimes rather annoyingly, a lot of familiar personality types you could probably easily associate with somebody you know in real life. They weren't caricatures, but certainly diverse and made for some interesting interactions. Plus some were just plain fun people.
     
    Dontnod Entertainment did something really great here. Just in terms of making a game that looks good and functioned well, but also with an episodic game that generally had a good release schedule. Every episode had plenty of content to boot.
     
    Life is Strange may well be my game of the year. This somewhat mundane slice of life simulator turned into a deeper mystery thriller that I loved every step of the way.
     
    ~|ET|~
  21. Ektris
    To sum up my feelings:
     

     
    Also, "official" BZPower Facebook page. Because that should be shared too.
     
    I was just thinking the other day how much I wished this were included with the other anniversary overhauls of the site, and I am so excited it has FINALLY happened. These have been some great changes and additions. The raffle feature in particular I quite like.
     
    Aaand I've now been here for 10 years as of a few days ago. Yay spinny Tohu. :3
     
    ~|ET|~
  22. Ektris
    It started with a ravine. In that ravine, mossy stone bricks. Connected to those mossy stone bricks, a fortress.
     
    My first naturally-discovered fortress - and by pure accident.
     
    Within that fortress, a library. Within the library, a chest. Within the chest...
     

     
    FOUR Silk Touch enchanted books! There was a fifth such book outside the portal room and an Infinity book in another chest!
     
    The catch?
     
    I was playing a PvP game and as such they were all (sans Infinity) useless.
     
    ~|ET|~
  25. Ektris
    A year later and man, I still freaking love Metalgarurumon. This is just one incredible figure.
     
    So, here are some pictures I took before the move and am only now getting around to posting. :3 When Imperialdramon gets here next month, I do plan on taking some more.
     





     
    Also Dukemon/Gallantmon and Omegamon/Omnimon. Because they look great together and imposing even just standing there. I am suuuuper pumped that Alphamon is the next Digimon (whenever he'll be officially announced and released is a concern though...) to add another Knight to my shelf.
     
    ~|ET|~
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