I'm usually a big fan of Drumond Park games, but this one I'm not so sure about. Each player pumps the arms until a bit zings off. If Ziggy says 'uh-oh' you lose. Simple as.
It's definitely lacking something. It might be that there are only 4 shooty-out bits so the tension doesn't build up quite enough before the 'uh-oh'. Maybe it's because if you're not paying complete attention you can miss what sound Ziggy made. Maybe it's because it shoots on every person's turn. The zinging is too common and therefore not a surprise when it happens, unlike, for example, something like Pop-Up Pirate.
That said, it's a quality toy and while we haven't played it a hundred times over, the children do keep picking it up just to shoot the zingers off (and then have a jolly time hunting round the room trying to find them again). I wouldn't rush out and buy Pumpazing, but I wouldn't start thinking up excuses if I was asked to play. It's just that it could have been a bit better.
It seems a little unfair to review these guys considering the fact that the only thing I know about WWE is that it definitely doesn't have anything to do with pandas (thank goodness that confusion was cleared up!) and Hulk Hogan doesn't wrestle any more. At least I assume he doesn't, since he must be way past retirement age by now.
The figures come in a 2-pack, are a couple of inches tall, with articulation at the arms and waist. Poseability is therefore limited, but more than enough since these figures will likely just be smacked together by children. Their small size means that a child could carry around a whole bunch of these in their pocket. They have a good likeness to their real-life counterparts.
One comes with a scarf. I assume this is important to his character.
We found playing with these two figures is a little limited (hence the lack of exciting video), but then our family is definitely not the target for these. I'm sure most WWE fans, however, will end up with a whole bunch of their favourite wrestlers (and possibly a wrestling ring) which would liven up things no end. As it is, I find them little more than two guys in their pants and my boys had zero interest in them.
In my day we had Micro Machines Star Wars. Fighter Pods are along the same lines, I suppose, but slightly larger and infinitely more cute. Since Star Wars vehicles tend to be HUGE having everything small-scale is a big advantage if you want to have space in your house for both an AT-AT and a sofa. Fighter Pods come in a variety of box sizes - from single 'blind bags' to larger sets with little vehicles. They are being released in waves, with - from looking at the booklet that lists them all - enough, but not too many characters to collect before the next wave is released.
The figures are small, rubbery, and cartoony in design. There is a hole underneath which allows them to stick on the plastic 'pods' as stands. What's nice is that some of the characters have multiple figures in the wave, which means that you don't have to collect every figure to get every character (if that makes sense). For example, there are two Chewbaccas so if you only manage to collect one, it's not a complete disaster.
The box proclaims there are multiple ways to play, giving the impression there are games with rules to play with these. There aren't. Fighter Pods are simply like any other action figure and how you play with them is entirely up to the child/adult who never grew up.
As a Star Wars fan and a fan of small toys which come in blind bags, I'd have spent a small fortune on these when I was small. As chance would have it, when these arrived for review the boys and I had just spent the previous week watching Star Wars in its various incarnations so they were very interested in these toys and immediately complained that we were missing key characters.
So it looks like we'll be buying more of these (R2, Luke - I'm looking at you!), which must make them a hit. And Toys R Us very clever for sending us a toy to review that's ending up with us giving them more money!
I was in school the other week when I was approached by an 8 year old and asked if I liked football. 'I don't really follow football,' I replied. I thought this would be enough to turn his attention back to the book review he was supposed to be writing, but no, he was keen to continue with the topic. 'What team to you support?' he asked. 'You know when I said I don't really follow football?' I replied. This didn't dissuade him either and he continued with asking about England games and various other football-related topics that I really couldn't care less about. Probably as little care as he had of finishing his book review.
But this has nothing to do with this Football Game from Orchard toys.
The rules are simple and can be learnt within a minute. If you guessed at the rules, you'd likely get them right. The game is very similar to Snakes and Ladders, but with a couple of added spinners and everyone has their own board. Move your football up or down the board(/pitch), depending on the arrows, and then when you reach the top (aka 'the goal line') spin to see if you score. Score and win. Simple as.
Since my interest in football is limited to knowing when international matches are on so I know that the pub won't have any seats, the children's exposure has been limited and thus their interest as little as mine. They played the game, enjoyed it, but haven't been pleading for additional games since - hence their non-appearance in the video.
Like all Orchard games, the quality is high. The pieces are made of made of thick cardboard and ought to take a battering. Overall, while my children weren't overly keen, his does seem like a great game for young football fans to play when the weather outside is dreadful and there's no chance of playing real football.
When I first became a Toyologist last year, the Dream was that Toys R Us would send us a Transformer to review. Well, it's taken a while but that day is finally here. The first time I haven't had to pay out for a Transformer since...well, I think I conned my mum into buying me a Dark of the Moon toy last year, but that doesn't really count since Bayverse toys are hideous monstrosities. Besides, I think I told her it was for the children. This toy is all mine. All mine!
Sorry? What do you mean this review is supposed to cover what the children think of it? Really? You're not joking? Oh rats.
So here we are with (mostly) the children's opinion of Weaponiser Bumblebee :'(
I'm reasonably sure I've read somewhere that after things became ridiculously complicated with the film toys, Hasbro have been making an effort to simplify their Transformers recently. Bumblebee's transformation is fairly straightforward and most people should be able to do it within a minute or two without the instructions.
There is a big 'play' advantage of a quick transformation. You can be a robot, change into a car, drive across the living room and turn back into a robot again to fight the Decepticons very quickly without it taking away from the battle that's taking place in your imagination.
The articulation is extensive and Bumblebee can be posed in almost any way you can think of. His feet are large so he has no problem standing up. As a car he rolls nicely along most surfaces.
According to the box the toy has 4 modes, which is a bit of a cheat. There are only really 2, but both robot and car modes have the option of pop-out spinning cannons. While there is a blinking light when they pop out, there's thankfully no sound to annoy parents. I'm not convinced the light actually adds anything to the toy as it's the headlights which (briefly) light up when the cannons are unleashed, not the cannons themselves to represent firing.
While Bumblebee is a nice toy, the children weren't really interested. We already have countless Bumblebees, so they couldn't care a less about having another one, even with the new gimmick. This is a problem Hasbro are well aware of. Toy sales for the last film were down due to children already having all the characters, so a new robotic cast is being assembled for the fourth film.
If your children don't have a Bumblebee then this would be quite a good one to get them, but if they do already own a yellow car I definitely recommend checking whether they want a second before purchasing it as a gift.
I liked castles when I was small. There's something about hand-to-hand combat that guns and long-range attacks don't have. I remember being in a shop once and seeing a plastic castle for sale. My dad refused to buy it, saying that he would make one for me instead when we got home.
15 years later my dad built a wooden castle. It may take him a while, but he gets round to things eventually.
My children don't have to wait so long...
This would be an excellent centre piece for a Christmas present. You could then convince Granny to buy the dragon to go with it and Uncle to buy the battering ram and... Well, this is all assuming the child likes knights and castles, King Arthur and Prince Valiant.
