Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'Dlakii's Reviews'.
Found 7 results
-
As you may or may not have guessed, I bought Krika and Onua today (or rather, sent Lai out to do the shopping for me). I'm really quite happy with them; Onua is one of the better '08 Toa Nuva sets, and Krika is just plain awesome. I would say more, but really, what needs to be said? Oh yes, like I showed above, Krika's Ghostblaster fires a lot further than Onua's, not to mention is louder.
-
Because such entries tend to reel in the comments... Anyway, I'll start with Onua. If you overlook his SHEER SCRAWNINESS, he's actually a really good set. His new chest armour piece is quite good, and it fits well with the silver Metru chestplate situated beneath it. I really like that shield of his, just not as a shield; in my opinion, it makes a good axe, therefore solving Onua's melée weapon problem. His Nynrah also has a unique piece as a cover, which I seriously like. Need I mention that with this piece, Onua's Nynrah can clip onto his back with relative ease? His mask is also quite good, but it reminds me of the Kraahkan more than anything. My only real gripe with the set is his stick-figure limbs; sheesh, not even Tahu or Gali are that thin. Other than that, Onua is pretty good. Now, onto Krika. I quite like Krika. He also has that awesome new chestplate, put to good use in that Makuta torso. When risen to full height, he is MASSIVE by canister-set standards, dwarfing Onua. His mask is sheer awesomeness, as are his blades, and his Nynrah seems to fire further than that of Onua. On the other hand, because of his structure, playability and posability are severly limited; he can't even use his hands/blades without toppling over, such is his imbalance. As stated in some BZP review, his Nynrah-arm is a bit prone to rattling due to how it was attached, which is a bit annoying. Also, there's a difference between the white of his joints and that of his mask and blades, as the latter appears to be closer to that of Thok; perhaps either lightening the blades or Thok-whiting the joints would have fixed that issue. One of his most glaring issues is his value for money; he has far fewer pieces than any of the Toa, which makes that $20 pricetag really quite questionable. That's my I get my LEGO cheaper at K-Mart and Big W. And that's my opinion. As you can see, I clearly prefer Onua, partially because of the fact that he has more parts than Krika. But they're both good sets. Now I just need Bitil, and I'll be happy...
-
I bought him today. And I'm reasonably impressed. Here's why. Obviously. His shield is good. It's a pretty neat design, making good use of the old Hordika arm. Though it's not the nicest-looking of parts, it can be easily hidden behind the shield. His legs are of a great design. I never thought the Visorak-foot thing would work, but it did. And of course, the joints are ingenious, fulfilling what was attempted on Ultimate Dume in 2004. (Now, I am the master.... ) The claws work well, too. The wings are attached nicely too; haven't seen that before. Simple but effective. WATCH N LERN VAMPRAH!! The downside? Everything else. From the waist up, he's just too unarmoured. His legs are nicely kitted out and protected, but everything else is too thin and unarmed. No wonder Ignika owned him. () ToM had the right idea with the spike shoulder armour (see this entry in his blog). The other main issue is his green eyes. He needs orange, to uniformify with the others. Was it too hard to reforge that eye style in orange? Those issues aside, I still like.
-
Turns out that my plan DID follow through. I did get to buy Radiant Dawn. And now, I'm being nice enough to review it for all those Wii users who can't make up their own minds! Woot! This review is being done in segments, each of which will focus on a specific aspect of the game. I will also give each aspect an out-of-10 rating, to give a rough idea about how good it is. THE STORY It's funny how any story, any story at all, is often REALLY confusing until you read or play it yourself. That principle applies to Radiant Dawn. Before playing it, I read about it on various websites, and the information about the story didn't make much sense, presumably because I'd never played either of the Tellius Fire Emblem titles (that is, this game and its predecessor, Path of Radiance). For this reason, I won't explain the story here; that would just confuse everyone. However, I will say that it's pretty solid. The overall story is fast-paced and complex, while each playable character has his own individual backstory, making the game more interesting. Rating: 3/5 THE GRAPHICS Absolutely, as Dreiken often puts it, EPIC WIN. Even on the NES and SNES, way back in the early 1990's, the graphics owned. While Mario was still hopping around two-dimensionally looking like a pile of LEGO, the graphics for Fire Emblem were already very well-defined. This carried on, as the games got on even more advanced platforms. Everything looked extremely detailed in the GBA generation; everyone actually LOOKED human, albeit somewhat chibi. That's more than what could be said for many other GBA titles. And so, this tradition continues in this Wii instalment. True, they're not exactly the best you could get on a Wii (however, Pokémon Battle Revolution is up there), but they suit the game perfectly. Plus, on the map, the characters aren't monstrously sized compared to the buildings anymore! Yay for that! Rating: 5/5 THE MUSIC My reactions here are mixed. On one hand, just like every other Fire Emblem game, the music is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. It's basically classical orchestra, but there's something about it I really like. On the other hand, compared to the GBA games, where everything was clear and obviously separate from other tracks, most of it seems identical to other tracks; you can hardly tell where the Player Map theme ends and the Enemy Map theme begins. And don't get me started on the Other Map theme. The battle themes are also a bit hazy, other than the Black Knight's theme. That absolutely owns. Having said that, it's music from Fire Emblem, so it has my approval. Big time. Don't agree? Then listen to the main theme for about two minutes. It's ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. Rating: 5/5 THE GAMEPLAY What's there to say? It's a Fire Emblem game with a large number of new additions. I really am not any good at explaining stuff, so just take my word for it that it owns. But, if you've never played a Fire Emblem game before, beware: this one is much harder than the sixth game (Fuuin No Tsurugi, for GameBoy Advance, a Japan-only release), which is a really hard game itself. So far, the tenth chapter (and it's a LONG game) is proving to be mind-bogglingly hard. Even with that uber Black Knight on my side, someone ALWAYS dies. Being a veteran player of the series, as well as a perfectionist, I find it really annoying. So, if you're new to the series, you're in for one HUGE shock. Rating: 4/5 OVERALL: 4/5 In short, it's a Fire Emblem game, so it's brilliant. It's harder, better-looking, better-sounding, and with more playable characters in the first ten chapters than most of the series get in half of the game; therefore, I like. If you're a fan, buy it. If you're not a fan, but want to try it, borrow it from a friend. Then, if you like it, buy it. And that's the end of my review. Now comment away! I'll be adding screenshots later.
-
Yeah, so I recently bought Hydraxon. He was very reasonably priced, too, at about AU $30. The only cheaper big sets I've seen were the Nui-Rama, back in 2001. Ah yes, good times... Anyway, I'd like to do a proper review, but I can't since Hydraxon's been here for days now, and the review just wouldn't work with an already-opened set. Ah well, there's always Maxilos and Spinax... I'll say this though: Hydraxon's one innovative set, using several pieces in ways I certainly didn't think of. His hands are incredible! The only drawback would be his mask. It looks far too plain. He's still value for money, though. As I said earlier, he sells for about AU $30. I think that's about US $21, going from my experiences with signing up for Premier Membership. Dlakii
-
About a few weeks ago, we got a new computer, loaded with Microsoft's Windows Vista Home Edition. Over last year, there seemed to be plenty of hype surrounding Windows Vista. Microsoft simply wouldn't keep quiet about it, even offering a downloadable demo of the operating system. So, now that Vista has been made widely available, the big question is: Is Windows Vista all it's cracked up to be? Short answer: No. Of course, I've had a fair amount of experience with Windows, dating back to my first computer in 1999 (Windows 98 Second Edition, which my father wants to get rid of in favour of the new computer with Vista). They've all had their fair share of problems (Our Windows XP laptop refuses to download anything anymore). Yet I say that Vista is the worst of the lot. I don't care what Microsoft says. Windows Vista is really very pathetic. Why, I hear you ask? Well, I'll start with security. Microsoft claims that Windows Vista is THE most secure version of Windows ever. It says that you'll have greater peace of mind with Vista around. And yet, just days after Vista's release, I checked a newspaper's website and found about a half-dozen reports of Vista's security leaks and weaknesses. Thus I stand by my statement that Vista has more holes in it than Swiss cheese. If you thought that XP was bad (I think that it is, but at least it's better than Vista), you ain't seen nothing yet. Microsoft made a major song and dance about Vista's graphics being the best computer graphics in existence. Of course, they forgot to mention that you need to use any version of Vista other than Home Basic (For the record, I use Home Premium) AND you need a fancy graphics card. Something expensive such as nVidia will do nicely. Yet another way to get people to pay more! Microsoft's done it again! Then there's the little matter of Flip-3D: Vista's new way of seeing everything that's open (See one of the pictures below). Big deal. Any nit with Microsoft Paint can skew things like that. (I know. I tried.) For Flip-3D, you again need the aforementined nVidia or ATI graphics card, not to mention Home Premium, Business, Enterprise or Ultimate versions of Vista. Capitalism alert. Then of course, we get to the fact that Microsoft has taken everything we Windows 95 - Windows XP users know and love, and have decided to hide it to make Vista look 'better'. Menu toolbars (File, Edit, etc.) have been hidden away, and I had to buy one of those For Dummies books to fish it out of Vista's bushes. The Off button on the Start Menu has been changed to a button that makes your computer sleep, while the Shut Down button has been hidden away in an extra menu that few people will ever notice. Media Player has become perhaps the most confusing program ever made, because the Menu toolbar has again been hidden away and replaced with a whole heap of ebon buttons marked "Now Playing", "Sync", "Rip", "Burn" and other cryptic media stuff that no-one will ever use. Outlook Express, the e-mail program, has been pointlessly named "Windows Mail". The Control Panel has been completely reorganised in a way that still leaves me confused, and considering that I'm the one that fiddles with computer settings around here, that's a really bad thing. I don't want to know what went through Microsoft's head when they were designing Vista. Maybe they were thinking "Hey, how about we mess up everything that Windows users have grown to use for years, and lose all our long-serving customers?" The Internet is my next big complaint. I've got nothing against the Internet, obviously. But every so often, I can be heard complaining about broadband. Broadband is always connected, which can make your computer a sitting duck for spyware. At least with dial-up, you can disconnect it whenever you like. You've just seen five paragraphs of complaints about Vista. So what do you get if you combine Vista and broadband? A whole heap of pain, that's what. You'll have to buy a really good antivirus program if you plan to use broadband Internet on Vista. (You should get an antivirus program even if you're not using broadband or Vista.) For all you comic and sprite makers, breathe easy: Vista still has Microsoft Paint in it. I find it a little bit blurry. It could just be my graphics, but I viewed comics on it and they blurred something shocking. My suggestion is that you stick to whatever you're used to for spriting. I won't do my comics on Vista. Additionally, you'll find that Paint has been reorganised so that the pallette we're all used to is changed and that it's been glued permanently to the top of your window. It's pretty minor as complaints go, but still a bit annoying. Finally, my biggest complaint, one that won't affect many of you: Vista refuses to play LEGO Rock Raiders, and probably any older LEGO games as well. I installed it twice and it kept complaining that there was a DLL file missing. I'm going to look into it closer later on, and I'll update here to tell you what to do. It handles the LEGO Star Wars games perfectly, though. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ So there you have it. Windows Vista reviewed in all its uselessness. My advice to you is: Don't buy Windows Vista, no matter how much Microsoft stamps its feet. Stick with you tried-and-true Windows XP. But if you have no choice and you do end up with Windows Vista, I suggest that you buy the book Windows Vista for Dummies (2007, Wiley Publishing). It will help you deal with Vista's whinging and whining. Screenshots coming soon! Dlakii
-
Yes, you heard right. Lai and I are now proud owners of the Toa Inika and Umbra (except Jaller and Hahli. Mum has them hidden away for Lai's 11th birthday in November.) We have pictures, but first, you must be subjected to a talk about the past few days. Yesterday, in English class, there was this stupid boy sitting next to me, who just wanted to disrupt the class. I tell you people, he was asking for a blood nose (putting it in the nicest way possible). Today (also in English, coincidentally), I exacted my revenge. Just call me 'the opportunist tripper'. I am now announcing () an all-new comic series by me, unlike any other seen before. You've seen Dark709's Past Saga, but that will be nothing compared to the story of MY past. The series will be titled 'Light', and will follow me from Matoran to Toa, and to the end, as a Turaga. It will show some of the most famous battles in BIONICLE history, such as the Toa Hagah's battle at the Brotherhood of Makuta fortress (Spoiler: At the time, I'll be a Matoran) and the anti-Dark Hunter ambush in Po-Metru. It will introduce a villain unlike anything you've seen before. And while I'm at it, I might as well divulge plot secrets to the Unknown Turaga movie..... not. My grandfather is visiting for the weekend. My grandmother is helping my great-grandmother in Queensland (north-west Australia). Like most other relatives that visit, he will be subjected to a tour of my comics.... OK, now to what you have been waiting for: Umbra and Inika pictures! Though I also have Matoro and Hewkii, and Lai has Kongu, Nuparu is the star of these photos. Sad to say I can't do this with Umbra. I went ahead and built him, and I don't wish to take the big guy apart for some time. DLAKII'S REVIEWS: Nuparu Inika This is Nuparu's canister. The Inika canisters are larger than previous canisters - why, I can't imagine. Also, the Inika are slightly more expensive than previous canister sets - AUD$15, as opposed to AUD$12! These are Nuparu's pieces. I can't pick these out very well from this photo, however that green and white thing is his head. More on that later. This is Nuparu (obviously). He stands taller than previous Toa - way taller than the Toa Olda, certainly. Each Inika seems unique in a way. Nuparu has Wolverine claws and his Zamor launcher is shoulder-mounted, Hewkii has a chain, Matoro... umm... his joints glow... I don't know. This is Nuparu without his armour and mask and weapons. You can probably pick out what's what of his armour. And about that green thing... Like I said, that's his head. Now, the mask just fits over it, with the green part showing out the eyeholes. The mask, by the way, works OK on Matoran and Toa Nuva heads. Don't try it on a Toa Metru or Piraka head. This is a group shot, showing together all our Toa Inika and Umbra. By the way, that's Lai's arm in the shot. This group shot was done by my sister. Never seen her so interested in Bionicle. It has a clearer view of Umbra. Another one done by my sister, with the clearest yet shot of Umbra. And that's Nuparu Inika in a nutshell. -Dlakii TIME: July 7th 2006 4:53PM AEST
