Review > 3″ Sonic and Tails (Jazwares)

October 8, 2009 | Poe

sonicWhile Nintendo seems to have won the pop culture war for most identifiable mascots–Mario, Link and Pikachu are recognized in the smallest corners of the world–it’s easy to forget how incredibly popular Sonic the Hedgehog was upon his debut on the Sega Genesis system in 1991. Sonic was the Genesis’s killer app. I know he was the main reason I asked for a Genesis for Christmas that year.

Sonic the Hedgehog makes me think of weekend sleepovers with my cousin Mike, staying up all hours of the night eating Cheez-Its, cursing the stupid spikes, admiring the awesomeness of the soundtrack to the Spring Yard Zone and making fun of that part of the Marble Zone music that sounded like “I’ll be home for Christmas.” (more…)

Forgotten Lore > Ragnar from Rune

October 1, 2009 | Poe

0202_ragnar1

“Forgotten Lore” is my Raven-inspired title for a feature in which I examine some unreleased action figure. Pictures are from Raving Toy Maniac.

One of my favorite PC games ever is Rune, a Viking-themed, 3D 3rd-person action game that came out long before 3rd-person action games like God of War were in vogue. In Rune the player takes on the role of Ragnar, a Viking whose village is slaughtered by Conrack, another Viking who serves the evil Loki. (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends

September 24, 2009 | Poe

Odds N Ends

Not a whole lot of toy-related news out there, so it’s Odds ‘n Ends for y’all.

  • Anyone (besides Paul, obviously) pick up Halo: ODST? I’m burned out on first-person shooters so I don’t plan to, but feel free to discuss the game below. How does it compare to the other three? Rate them in order of best to worst, please, and why.
  • Don’t forget about the Make Your MasterPOEce contest. We have so few entries right now, you’ve got a decent chance of winning just by submitting!
  • In case you missed it, Entertainment Earth now has the Bioshock Big Daddy for preorder. It’s $20, which will probably translate to $25 or more at specialty shops.
  • I’ve been meaning to mention, if you ever want to submit news or ideas for post topics, feel free to email them to me at poe AT poeghostal.com.
  • I know some people aren’t feeling it, but I find myself rather excited by the prospect of getting Zodak. Maybe it’s just the idea of getting a non-vintage character, or maybe it’s that he has a more cosmic, sf-inspired style than we’ve seen so far.
  • Speaking of MOTUC, PixelDan has a good early video review of Teela. Observations: She’s tall. Looks great though, like all tall women (hi honey!).

Review > Kratos (God of War, NECA)

September 18, 2009 | Poe

300px-Kratos12I’ve never played God of War or its sequels, but I know an awesome action figure when I see it.

Ask any Marvel figure collector about the first super-articulated figure, and chances are they’ll tell you about Blade with Anti-Vampire Weapons, a.k.a. “Trenchcoat Blade.” His sixteen points of articulation–included articulated toes–were a revelation in 1998 and led to the super-articulation seen in Spider-Man Classics and later Marvel Legends.

Similarly, when NECA’s Kratos hit stores two years ago, collectors of NECA’s highly-detailed figures were surprised to discover hinged elbows, swivel biceps and ball-jointed ankles. NECA has used greater articulation on many of its videogame figures since, from Gears of War to Bionic Commando to Resident Evil (though sadly, not on their movie-based figures, such as Conan the Barbarian).

NECA has released three different versions of Kratos, all based on the second game, God of War II: “Golden Fleece” Kratos (which comes with Medusa’s head); “Ares Armor” Kratos; and the subject of this review, Kratos with the Flaming Blades of Athena. I chose this Kratos for two reasons: since he’s bare of armor he’s the most basic, iconic version of the character, and the flaming blade accessories looked awesome in photos. (more…)

Review > Simon Belmont (Castlevania, NECA)

September 16, 2009 | Poe

castlevania-wall

Being on something of a fantasy jag lately, I did one of those things where you look at a figure in  store for months and months and months and finally break down and buy it. In this case it was for NECA’s Simon Belmont from their Castlevania line, who oddly enough hasn’t had any major reviews as far as I can tell.

For the record, I don’t know anything about Castlevania. I vaguely recall playing the original NES game when I was seven or eight. I think this line is based on that game, or maybe NECA just picked and chose from among the various incarnations, since Alucard wasn’t in Castlevania.

I decided to pick up Simon because he looked like a cool barbarian figure–not so much Conan as Kull, another Robert E. Howard character. The clincher was all the articulation and accessories.

It’s worth noting that this is the second Simon Belmont NECA has released–the first was this goofy SDCC exclusive. (more…)

TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled hits XBLA

August 5, 2009 | Poe

"Zot" indeed.

I enjoyed the heck out of the TMNT arcade game when it hit Xbox Live Arcade a couple years back, but this one will no doubt blow it away. Not only is XBLA releasing the far superior Turtles in Time today, but the game has been completely updated with 3D graphics. And it only costs 800 Microsoft Points, which is about ten bucks or so.

Of course, it features 4-player local and online play. I’ll be meeting up with some fellow toy fans this weekend to bust some virtual heads.

And don’t even try to pick Leonardo. He’s my boy.

The Special Edition of Monkey Island

July 15, 2009 | Poe

In more Xbox Live Arcade news, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition hits today. It’s 800 Microsoft Points (about $10). It’s basically a re-release of the original game, but with updated HD graphics (although you have the option to switch to the original VGA graphics at any time).

If you’ve never played The Secret of Monkey Island, now’s your chance to experience what is easily one of my favorite videogames of all time. LucasArts set the gold standard for the adventure game with SOMI, and I can’t wait to play it again.

Dr. Mrs. Ghostal and I also just finished up the first episode of Tales of Monkey Island. I recommend it to any of you who enjoy adventure games.

Wait…there’s a Madballs videogame?

July 15, 2009 | Poe

hornheadPosterLarge

Well…not exactly. There are Madballs in the game, but it’s not really a game about Madballs…two of them, Horn Head and Oculus Orbus, are just participating.

Still, how was I completely unaware of this until today, when it gets released? Apparently there’s a new videogame starring the Madballs, those classics 1980s gross-out toys. It’s evidently a sequel to a previous game that did not feature Madballs (sort of like Darth Vader and Yoda appearing in Soul Caliber).

Anyway, it’s called Madballs in…Babo: Invasion, it’s a top-down shooter on Xbox Live Arcade, and it’s available today for 800 Microsoft Points (about $10). Here’s the IGN review.