Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Devastator (SS-69 Boxset)

Review:  #699

Name:  Devastator

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Decepticon

Line:  Generations - Studio Series

Year of Release:  2020

Size Class:  N/A (boxset of 2 Leaders, 4 Voyagers and 2 Deluxes)

Mold Status:  repaint of SS Devastator and its components

PACKAGING:

In addition to being first released by its separate components, Devastator was later released in a boxset.

As per usual with a lot of Generations boxsets, the artwork on the front is awesome.  The only negative is that there isn't many differences with this boxset compared to the separate releases.

As this is eight figures of various sizes together, the box is absolutely massive.

The various sides of the box shows off the separate and combined modes.

Pulling the inner insert out, you can see that the figures are packed in their combined mode.  It's also pretty amusing that there are two sets of instructions, as it was just too much for one sheet of paper.

As part of the Studio Series, Devastator also comes with a gigantic cardboard stand, showing off the Egypt backdrop.

INDIVIDUAL MODES:

Devastator is comprised of eight figures:  Hightower, Long Haul, Mixmaster, Overload, Scavenger, Scrapmetal, Scrapper and Skipjack.

The theme being construction vehicles, they look great as a set.

One of the best things about designs from Revenge of the Fallen is how unique they are, looking absurdly otherworldly and at times, ugly.

Unfortunately, this set doesn't really differentiate itself much from the regular separate releases, just the addition of some dirt.  Scrapmetal has it at the end of his shovel / combined mode claws.

Long Haul has dirt on the sides of his beds, which ends up as part of the foot in combined mode.

Skipjack has a very minor amount on the sides.

And Scrapper has dirt at the end of his shovel as well, which is also the combined mode claws.

TRANSFORMATION:

As expected, the combining the eight figures is complicated.  There's only one configuration so you cannot swap and change the limbs around.  The limbs are the easiest, it's combining Scavenger, Overload and Mixmaster into the torso that's complicated.  In particular, Scavenger is confusing due to his unique design, and Overload has a mess of joints that you need to fold away.  All in all though, this is still a pretty unique and impressively engineered figure.

COMBINED MODE:

This is the whole point of the set, and Devastator looks mighty confronting.  The sheer size alone is impressive.

It's a messy combined mode, but that's true to the design.  Devastator is designed to stand upright though and the weight of the figure does put a lot of strain on the legs, which can buckle if they are not in their default straightened position.

The other difference here is the head sculpt, which has a few additional spots of silver compared to the original release.

A quick comparison against the regular release and the biggest difference is just the yellow leg due to being formed by Skipjack, rather than the red of Rampage.  The yellow there does help in breaking up the overwhelming red though.

Devastator has ratchet joints for everything but you'll be hard pressed to get him into a good pose.  He has joints for his shoulders, elbows, claws and hips.  Practically, they're next to useless as Devastator is likely to collapse under his weight if you try anything other than standing up straight.

Nevertheless, this is an awesome combined mode, and something that was sorely missing back when the movie was released.

OVERALL:

If you had skipped out on the regular releases, or missed a component here or there, then this boxset is a great solution.  It combined all eight figures in one convenient package, although he was pricey on release (there was a slight premium compared to buying the figures separately, which doesn't make much sense).  The figures themselves are awesome and worth the price of admission alone, before even taking the combined mode into consideration.

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Stuber (2019)

Stuber is a comedy film in which the concept is a police officer teaming up with an Uber driver in order to catch a drug dealer.  This is an odd combination and it never quite works that smoothly during the whole movie.  This is because the police officer, Vic, took an eye correction surgery and then just so happens to get a tip on the drug dealer he had been tracking down for a few years.  Since he can't drive, he calls an Uber, driven by Stu, and then effective forces Stu to drive him around and even get into the thick of things.  The Uber viewpoint also gets bought up way too often and feels unnatural, as does a lot of the jokes.  It is too reliant on the concept which was already rocky to start with.  It does manage to get on its feet eventually and ends up being an enjoyable movie, including surprisingly, a satisfying character development subarc for Stu and his love interest.  You feel by the end of the movie you understand both Vic and Stu pretty well.

Fate/Grand Order - Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia (2019-20)

Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia is a 21 episode based upon the mobile game. It adapts the seventh chapter of the game, so while it was released after the First Order movie, it jumps quite a way forward. Therefore, if you haven’t played the game already, then it is recommended to have watched the First Order movie, then the Moonlight/Lostroom episode, and then coupled with episode 0 of this season, it does a good enough job of giving you the background to understand what is happening.

In First Order, we learned that Risuka and Mash must travel to each of the seven singularities, which sends them to the past in order to correct the abnormality to prevent the extinction of humanity int he future. In this anime, it covers the seventh singularity, where Ritsuka and Mash are sent back to 2600 B.C., to the ancient city of Uruk. Episode 0 provides some background to Mash and how she came to her powers, with events that precede the First Order movie.

The anime then starts off by providing a tease of the previous singularities and the characters that they had met. This does make you wish that all those chapters could have been adapted instead of jumping so far into the plot. Alas, they might be animated in time and this season provides several interesting and popular characters, not least being Gilgamesh, the arrogant but absurdly overpowered king. The pair of protagonists finds themselves landing into a heap of trouble immediately with various characters showing up. Most of them are mysterious at first, since they basically pop in to introduce themselves before disappearing again.

The city of Uruk and its surrounding lands are under attack by the three goddesses. They have formed an alliance to kill all the humans in the lands. Under the leadership of Gilgamesh, humanity has built a wall to hold out against the demonic beasts sent to attack them. Gilgamesh himself has enough power to hold out so he doesn’t really need the protagonists’ help, and neither does he have to give the grail to the pair to close off this singularity.

Several story developments are predictable, such as who Ritsuka’s allies are going to be. This is a disappointing turn of events since the beginning was strong, with great chemistry between several of the characters. We get the best incarnation of Gilgamesh yet since you actually see the efforts behind his rule that justifies his arrogance. By the time the middle of the season comes, it starts to become by the numbers, especially with Ritsuka gaining a lot of female companions. Several of the female characters definitely lean more towards the romantic side of things in terms of showing interest in Ritsuka.

It’s hard not to notice the increase in fan service and pandering to the male audience, given the skimpier outfits of several female characters. Then there’s the usual gender swap of well known historical figures. It worked well in the first Fate/stay night for King Arthur but when it’s done again and again, twisting the true personality in order to get these stereotypical anime archetypes, it’s a bit too much to swallow.

The anime has good animation most of the time. There will be plenty of times where the quality drops so much it is little more than colored outlines, these scenes tend to happen when the camera pans out to show more of the characters. The final villain, the big one out of them all, it animated in such a weird way (3D modelling) that it feels completely out of place among everything else. The aesthetics are completely different, and it also makes it hard to discern what you’re looking at when close ups happen.

There’s a lot of flash during battle scenes. Mash and Ritsuka are not shown to be crazy strong. Sure, they’re stronger than the average (and most likely the most powerful normal) human, but their opponents are goddesses. So the battles can either go one of two ways: something unorthodox so it’s not a head on clash, or it is a match between goddess / servant vs goddess. Ritsuka can’t do much more than stand behind Mash and provide her with magic. There are times where the anime is quite wacky with its seemingly joke characters, before whipping back to serious scenes. On the whole, this works out okay. There are times where you can’t help but feel some of the significance of several plot developments is lost on the viewers. This could stem from the lack of knowledge of the plot overall or the characters.

Unfortunately, the stakes keep escalating during the battle against the final villain. Since this climactic encounter is spread out over the course of nearly a third of the season, it gets to the point where it just keeps bigger and bigger, creating a sense of apathy. The protagonists keep throwing everything they have against it and the villain keeps overcoming these attempts. You feel that when the battle does eventually end and the protagonists triumph, it won’t be able to live up to the build up. It also ends up creating a fairly messy ending with a lot of terms thrown around. Some characters meet their end unceremoniously, which is disappointing considering how a few of them are hyped up.

Overall, Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia is a solid anime adaptation and a fun watch, even if you have not played the game before. It works well as a standalone story on the caveat that you have at least watched the movie before it. There are several likable characters with a good blend of over the type cheesy humor and drama. While there is plenty of action, there are times where the overabundance of it can make the pacing feel slow. It can lead to a lack of concern since the enemy just gets more and more powerful while shrugging off the protagonists’ most powerful attacks, even if it does look flashy.

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Child of Light (PS4)

Child of Light is a RPG developed by Ubisoft but it’s not like any of their other flagship games. It’s on a smaller scale but feels a lot more personal. One of the first thing that strikes you is how beautiful the game looks. It’s a 2D sidescrolling RPG and the art is amazing. It’s similar along the lines of Rayman and Valiant Hearts: The Great War. The PS4 version is no different to the PS3, Vita or any version on other platforms.

The combat system is turn based, which is a surprise. Encountering an enemy on the field will transition to the battle screen. Along the bottom is a line where an icon representing the characters and enemies move along, the pace at which is determined by the speed stat. Once it is your turn, you can use an item, attack, defend or swap party members. Not all attacks are instantaneous, as casting magic will take a bit longer. This is also the point where the character is vulnerable, if they are hit while in the middle of casting or attacking, they get interrupted and you lose the turn. This adds a strategic element as the same is true for the enemies.

Unfortunately you can only use two characters in your party at any one time. Three character parties would have been perfect. On the flipside you will only ever encounter a maximum of three enemies at once. To help combat this restriction, you are free to swap party members during your turn, and you won’t even lose that turn if you do. Characters earn experience after battles and you actually level up really quickly throughout the game. In addition to increasing your stats you also gain skill points upon level up to further boost the character’s stats or learn new moves.

On your travels, you’ll encounter a shining spirit name Igniculus. Not only is he a central character to the story, but he has a core gameplay element attached as well. You can move him along using the right stick, and holding down the trigger button will light him up. During battles, lighting him up against an enemy will blind them, slowing down the rate at which they get their next turn. Coupled with the interrupt feature and battles just became a lot more interesting and frantic even though it’s still turn based.

Each party members have their own specialties: one has high attack, another has a good variety of magic and yet another might focus on buffs. This is where you do feel that having only two members in your party can be limiting. There are a lot of characters that you’ll end up recruiting. Since the game is relatively short for a RPG (only ten hours long for the story), it feels like you’re constantly getting new ones. Every time a new party member joins, there is a lot of dialogue after battle, not too bad early on but towards the end, that’s a lot of dialogue.

The story is basically a fairy tale and in this aspect, it’s done extremely well. It’s a simple story that follows Aurora, an Austrian princess in the real world. After seemingly dying she wakes up in another world, Lemuria. In order to get back to her own world, she has to recover Lemuria’s light. She finds a sword to arm herself, guided by Igniculus and eventually collating a big party, she sets off. Another unique thing with the story is that it is told in rhyme. Yes, the whole thing and that goes for every single piece of text. It’s quite impressive that they managed to keep something like this for the duration of the whole game.

While in the earlier parts of the game it is a stock standard 2D sidescroller, Aurora soon learns how to fly and this opens up the game a lot. The areas you were travelling before that seemed so restrictive on foot suddenly have tons of nooks and crannies to explore, filled with treasure chests. Enemies are easy to avoid or attack depending on your preferences. There are simple puzzles scattered in each area, which are basically lever puzzles.

There are a lot of optional areas, so you’ll be split at times when deciding on which way to go. You’ll be backtracking if you think you are progressing to the next area and haven’t fully explored the previous one. It’s all part of the fun though and since traversal is so quick, while enemies don’t respawn that quickly after you defeat them, it’s balanced quite well. What helps is that the music is also sublime, holding a mystical and fantastical element in its melody. Coupled with the artstyle, and the atmosphere is amazing. Although this also does lend to the slow pacing of several sections.

There are two difficulties: Casual for a good balance between combat and story progression as you’ll probably churn through the game, and Expert for a tougher time during combat. What’s also nice is that you’ll heal and regain MP if you collect certain glowing orbs on the field, so you don’t have to worry about conserving moves. It can get annoying in some parts of the game near the end where you are outnumbered by fast enemies, so you keep getting interrupted no matter what. They hit hard and have high defenses, and this can lead to a bit of aggravation.

There’s also a touchy encounter detection where even when you hit the enemy face on, you end up in a disadvantaged “ambushed” situation. Nevertheless, it’s a wonderful ten hours before you finish the story. While you’re free to roam and get all the treasure chests you might have missed the first time, there are no post-game dungeons or superbosses, which feels like a missed opportunity. There are optional sidequests that you might want to clean up though.

Overall, Child of Light is a fabulous game. It looks beautiful, the gameplay is an innovative twist on the classic turn based formula, and the music is sublime. You really feel as if you are playing through a fairy tale and with the focus on exploration in the huge and wide levels, this is a unique game and a surprising hit.

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Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Skipjack (Voyager)

Review:  #698

Name:  Skipjack

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Decepticon

Line:  Generations - Studio Series
Year of Release:  2020

Size Class:  Voyager (Wave 10)

Mold Status:  repaint of Studio Series Rampage

VEHICLE MODE:

Skipjack transforms into a yellow bulldozer, he is just basically a plastic color swap with Rampage, making him a low effort repaint.

This mode looks good at first glance but the gappy back is quite disappointing.

In terms of size, above is a comparison against Voyager Titans Return Optimus, and Skipjack is an okay size.  He's not as small as some other recent Voyagers in vehicle mode but nowhere near as big and bulky at what Voyagers used to be.

A simple but functioning vehicle mode.  He does have small plastic wheels underneath his treads to allow him to roll on flat surfaces at least.

TRANSFORMATION:

Getting Skipjack to robot mode is quite simple since the bottom folds out to form the singular leg, and the treads folds out to form the arms.  Lift up the head and flip out the hands and you're pretty much done.

ROBOT MODE:

Like with a lot of Revenge of the Fallen designs, Skipjack is really unorthodox and takes some getting used to.  However, this uniqueness is one of his charms.

For such a simple transformation, it's surprising that it works so well here.  He does have the shovel as a major piece of back kibble though.

The head sculpt is absolutely perfect, capturing the alien feel of the design.

You might notice that Skipjack is on a "jackhammer" for his legs, and there is a small plastic stand that you plug him onto so that he can at least stay upright.

In robot mode, Skipjack does look much more in line with other Voyagers.

With such a weird design, articulation is not stellar either.  Most disappointing are his arms, which are one solid piece and cannot bend, they can only rotate.  While this was probably needed for stability in combined mode (as he takes on most of the weight in leg mode), it's still feels restrictive.

His jackhammer leg can also rotate and bend at a higher joint, but overall, it's hard to get a great pose out of him, but you can definitely get creative.

The trends being his whips while using hard plastic jointed together works better than expected.  This is an average robot mode, just for how restrictive and limited he can be.

OVERALL:

The mold is not an amazing one, but is compulsory (well, it's either him or Rampage) to form Devastator.  Bearing that in mind, it could have been a lot worse.  The yellow color scheme is definitely more conventional and breaks up the red in Devastator as well, so Skipjack may well be worthwhile to grab.

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