Scribblenauts Unlimited (3DS)

Scribblenauts Unlimited is the fourth game in the Scribblenauts series. The concept of the game gives it a limitless potential, although of course, the reality is it is a lot more limited. The game stars Maxwell, and we quickly learn about his parents, and then his 42 siblings. It focuses on one sister, who is slowly being turned to stone after Maxwell played a prank on an old man. The only way Maxwell can save his sister is to obtain starites, which is obtained by helping people.

So, the game has Maxwell traveling the world helping people out and then obtaining either starites, or shards which will combine to form a starite. And how does Maxwell help these people? Well, he has magical powers, anything you, as the player types, will be created in the world. Thus, there is theoretically many ways to help each individual person’s problems.

The reality is that usually these problems are so simple, as they only require one step or one item to solve. Most of the time, it is easy to know what particular item is required, and you can just create the most obvious item to save time. Although the most fun can come from creating unexpected items that the game still recognizes. You create items by typing into the in-game onscreen keyboard, and while the game can recognize a lot of words, there’s also a lot that it doesn’t.

The other way to solve a problem is to change the actual person or object itself by adding adjectives. You can make a character suddenly friendly, or an inanimate object alive. These make you feel like a god in this world. Truth be told though, the story is very light, and going from place to place, talking to all the characters, generate an item to solve the “puzzle”, and then rinse and repeat, gets tiring and bland quickly.

The game plays on the bottom screen, rather than the top. So there’s no 3D effect during gameplay. You also lose the widescreen, having to play on the smaller square bottom screen. You can either using the physical buttons to move Maxwell and interact with people, or just use the touch screen. It’s better to use the touch screen as you’ll be needing to use it constantly to type on anything. The graphics are in a 2D sidescrolling style.

Since the puzzles are so simple, and there is barely any story after the opening cutscene, the game gets boring and repetitive quickly. You have freedom in where to go to collect the starites, as it opens up a few levels that you can do in any order. Getting a certain number of starites will unlock more areas, and the themes and backgrounds are different. Yet what you are never changes, so it doesn’t make much of a difference in the end.

There are ways that you could miss getting everything in a level, such as accidentally killing a NPC that gives you the puzzle, or you do something that triggers something else. In such cases, it is as easy as resetting the level. The game gives you this option and you even get to keep everything you had obtained before resetting. You can be as evil or experiment as much as you’d like without fear of permanently locking anything out.

Given that you’re just going from level to world as you complete the fill-in-the-blank puzzles, you make significant progress in a short amount of time. The story takes a bit over five hours to complete, although you can continue to do the rest of the puzzles which will give you a few more hours. Some of the more interesting puzzles are the ones that isn’t completed with just one item, such as one where Maxwell is running a gauntlet to escape, and you can get as creative or as traditional as you would like, giving a lot of options and a taste of what the game could have really done with its premise.

Despite being mostly easy, and sometimes obtuse, the game has a good sense of humor. It parodies a lot of things, from pop culture to other games, and it is amusing when you recognize what it is trying to recreate. That said, not even that can overcome the tedious of the slowness of typing using a stylus on the touch screen, and that’s sometimes you constantly must do given it’s a core mechanic of the game.

Overall, Scribblenauts Unlimited is an average game. It has its moments, but they are far in between. When you write something and it does work, it is exciting and fun. All too often though, it doesn’t quite understand what it wants you to do, and you must just go for the boring obvious answer. It can be too repetitive, especially after the magic wears off in the first hour or so but it’s a short game, so there is enough here to keep you interested in finishing it.

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Toy Review: Transformers Reactivate Bumblebee (Deluxe)

Review:  #809

Name:  Bumblebee

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Reactivate

Year of Release:  2024

Size Class:  Deluxe

Mold Status:  new

VEHICLE MODE:

This version of Bumblebee is based upon his design from the released mobile game, Reactivate.  Initially, he only came in a two-pack with Starscream, which wasn't ideal.

This is a completely brand new mold, and he transforms into an off-road compact vehicle, and he actually looks really good here.  He looks tough and ready to get out there.

In terms of size, he is very compact.  The robot mode folds into the vehicle mode without leaving many empty spaces, giving him a nice solid feeling.

You might have noticed that he had some black paint apps on one side but not the other.  This isn't a quality control issue, but rather a deliberate choice.  The asymmetry themes continues with the pack-in Starscream as well.

There aren't any gimmicks here, just rolling him on a surface.  You can attach the robot guns onto the hood.

This is a surprisingly good vehicle mode, especially if you had came in with no expectations.

TRANSFORMATION:

Bumblebee transforms from a small compact vehicle to a relatively tall robot mode, so there is a lot of unfolding.  The rear forms the legs, while the arms folds out from underneath.  The head can get caught in the hood if you're not familiar with the transformation scheme.  The way the wheels fold into his calves is also a nice touch.

ROBOT MODE:

Bumblebee continues on the tough look with some rugged elements, including nice forearm sculpting.

He doesn't have too much kibble either, showing how well integrated the vehicle mode is.

His head can look like it is situated a little bit higher up than it should, but it's not horrible, and the head sculpt is great.

He is a small bit taller than the usual Deluxes in robot mode.

Articulation is fantastic as you'd expect of a contemporary figure, with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

He has a pair of small guns that he can hold in either hand.  They are a little bit small though.

Alternatively, they can peg onto his shoulders using the same slots as vehicle mode, to give him some shoulder mounted guns.

When not in use, they are supposed to store underneath his forearms, but the instructions are unclear and it is hard to tell how to attach it securely.

Despite not having too many paint apps (basically just black and the unpainted yellow plastic), there is enough contract that he doesn't look or feel cheap.

A superb robot mode.

OVERALL:

Perhaps the most surprisingly aspect is that out of the two-pack, Bumblebee is probably the better figure.  He just surprises you with how solid he is in both modes.  He's a good Transformer, looks good and does something different when we're so used to Movie and G1 versions of the character.

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The Rising of the Shield Hero - Season 3 (2023)

The third season of The Rising of the Shield Hero is 12 episodes long. Taking place after the second season, Naofumi, the titular shield hero, finds himself with a bit of respite as he prepares for the next beast awakening. However, the other three cardinal heroes of the world have gone missing. That said, this part is only a side story given that the season immediately focuses on Naofumi, Raphtalia and Filo joining in an underground coliseum battling against others to earn money. Their goal is to earn enough from winning to purchase back the demi-humans and settle them in his village.

Season 2 was bad in that it rushed its plot way too much, and removed everything that made the first season so good. Season 3 doesn’t rush quite as much, but also doesn’t go back anywhere near as good as the first season. The pacing is still brisk, especially since you might expect the focus to linger on the battles, or to build upon the new characters. This is especially so when those new characters and their related events feel like they have some importance, yet the anime skips over them quickly.

A big problem with the anime now is that Naofumi is trying to get the other three heroes to work together. Yet, the other three heroes, who already did not leave a good impression back in the first season, are detestable here. It’s not a bad decision to make them different from the typical archetype of a hero, but when they are portrayed as pure stupidity, naïve and one-note, it’s very hard to relate and keep watching. All their bad traits are on full display, 100% of the time, and Naofumi, while doing dubious things himself at times, is the only good one of the lot.

When you see the other three heroes being so pathetic and easily manipulated, it’s disappointing and literally painful to watch. It doesn’t help that the pacing and storytelling completely negated to cover their reasons, motivations, and journeys falling into this state of despair. The heroes just appear with some fast flashbacks and that’s it. When they were already so out of focus, the anime needed to give them more time to flesh them out if they were going to be important supporting characters.

Spear Hero is reduced to such a pathetic state that it feels like the writer just gave up on the character. He is more like a comic relief character except… that he isn’t funny. Sword hero isn’t that much better, as he goes through an arc to rediscover himself. While the anime attempts to justify his situation by giving us a flashback to his background, the arc is over so fast, in less than an episode, that it doesn’t give us enough time to fully understand and accept his actions.

Naofumi is basically on a quest to find as many allies as he can, and he does. It comes at such a rapid pace that each episode often has a new character that turns up, and eventually joins him with such ease. The three other heroes are so fixated on one thing it is hard to take them seriously. Despite having sunk so low, the three are so easily saved, where they don’t quite work or flow naturally. Plus, the heroes are shallow that they end up becoming annoying and you just wish that Naofumi can smash some sense over them for all the pain they had caused him before. Naofumi had to suffer something similar earlier, and yet when it is their turn, they are so weak and cannot take it at all.

While this is much better than the second season, there are too many instances where you feel something is missing, as if the story skipped over an event so that the characters’ behavior seems unexpected and off. There isn’t the type of build up and suspense that made the first season so good. A good example is Myne, her first appearance in this second seemed like it was setting up something big. It makes you seethe with how she is still roaming around with little consequences and manipulating the characters. Unfortunately, it turns out she’s just a petty thief in the end when she could have done a lot of damage.

The final episode sets up the next plot arc, although it is a little bit contrived. Naofumi can be seen as vengeful at times, although considering the things that he had to go through and suffer through, it is understandable. What is annoying is that Myne somehow continues to still be extremely capable of getting in the way and deliberately sabotaging everything, but it is difficult to understand why based on the things we have seen of her.

Overall, the third season of The Rising of the Shield Hero is much improved over the second season. It never comes close to reaching the heights of the first season, and it struggles to undo all the damage from the previous season. Therefore, it is an impressive achievement for it to course correct to the point of being watchable. Unfortunately, the season also lacks an engaging plot arc, since it’s basically just Naofumi going around gathering the other three cardinal heroes and other allies. Given that all the heroes are a joke, in terms of abilities and personality, it can be a frustrating watch.

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Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Swoop (Leader)

Review:  #808

Name:  Swoop

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Generations - Studio Series

Year of Release:  2024

Size Class:  Leader (Wave 15)

Mold Status:  new

ALTERNATE MODE:

The last of the Dinobots to be updated in the Studio Series, Swoop is a faithful representation of how he appeared in the original G1 cartoon (in particular, how he appeared in the movie).

As he is so faithful, this isn't amazing as transforms into a robotic pteranodon, and you can see the robot parts everywhere include the robot feet on the back.

Swoop can stand up straight, but this reveals how much more that this is just a compressed robot...

Swoop is an okay size, above is a comparison against a typical Voyager figure.

In addition to the beast head being able to fold down, the mouth can also open.

The robot weapons, which are a pair of swords, can store on the backpack.

While true to his design, it is a simple alternate mode.

TRANSFORMATION:

Probably the least interesting out of all the Dinobots, and to be honest, there probably isn't much more that the designers could do to improve it.  You flip down the backpack to form the legs.  The torso splits into two with the beast head slotting in between the two halves.  Flip out the fists and you're done...  The most interesting thing is the tip of the wings folding in, but even that is nothing mindblowing.

ROBOT MODE:

Despite the simple transformation, Swoop does look very nice in robot mode, and the simplicity helps align him to how he appeared in the cartoon.

This is a surprisingly clean robot, even the wings are tucked away with the tips folding back upon themselves out of the way.

The head sculpt is nice, especially with the silver painted face.  He has a huge crest given that it's the same crest that the beast mode shares.

You can see how much taller that Swoop gets in robot mode.

He comes with a cardboard stand depicting a scene from the movie.

Swoop is the final Dinobot to be released in Studio Series and thus he looks awesome with the set as a whole.  Although having them all together, you can also tell that Swoop is a shorter and smaller than the rest.

Articulation is good, with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.  Pretty much the standard affair.

He comes with a pair of unpainted red swords.  One of them is for Swoop, while the other is designed for Grimlock (since that toy never came with his sword).

Obviously, the swords can be held in either hand, and yes, even both at once.

The swords can store on his back when not in use.

The other weapons he has are the missile pods.  They're usually attached to his wings (in both modes) but can be detached and held in his hands.  They cannot be fired although the tips can be detached so you can have attach a blast effect to it.

Swoop is the slimmest of the Dinobots and you can feel it, especially since the previous figures feel bigger than typical Leaders.

Swoop's robot mode is solid and of course, he is needed to complete the set.

OVERALL:

Swoop is a solid figure if safe in terms of design.  He doesn't try anything new but he succeeds at the goal of giving us an updated figure.  Given he is a core member the Dinobots, you can't not not get him.

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