KMOI

Bloke who voted for the Silent Strike here! Yes, I don't own it, and yes, I voted Silent Strike. I honestly don't see what's wrong with it, considering it's the same build as the Supernova. I compared the two instructions, and they're exactly the same! Also, I don't exactly see where you can "snipe" from the top. I even checked out KimT's brickshelf for details. Here's a pic of the top: I can see how you can snipe from the side, but in that case, the SuperNova also has the same case. Anyhoo, I think we're all neglecting the fact that all Exo-Force mechs have incredible plot armor. For those who don't know, incredible plot armor is what saves main characters from getting the ax. It's also the same device that makes all heroes and enemies have horrible aim, which makes "sniping" impossible. Usually, when one shoots, the shot will hit either the arm, leg or somewhere close (but not that close) to the cockpit. Therefore, nobody dies, and if they do, said random-faceless-grunt will do so off screen.

Disagreed. I had (and still have) serious issues with people talking about "articulation" in Bionicle. Firstly, articulation was NEVER the main objective of Bionicle back when it started. It's always been (but to a far lesser extent after the "Metru" era) about playability. Not about making everything ball-jointed, but making things practical and fun. You know why I still like the original Toa over most of the offerings in the Metru time? Because there was a sense of freshness to it. No explosive numbers of Toa, fun and interesting storyline, and sets that were made for everyone. From the progressive Lego fan to the kid looking for new playthings at your local shop, the original Toa were for the masses. And for kids looking for a more challenging set, you had the Rahi, which were by no means pushovers in the storyline. To be honest, I despise what the Metru saga did to Bionicle. Suddenly, fans no longer wanted things that felt fresh and unique yet had no 360 degree movements for joints. (But then again, after the horror of the Toa Nuva legs, I don't blame them!) Still, nothing ever prepared me for the sheer fact that new fans and some older ones suddenly went ball-joint crazy. Believe me, I have nothing against "articulation", but when fans turn down something fun and unique (ala Voya Matoran) because it isn't another Metru-crane-glider frame Toa rehash, I snap. Oh, and for those who really like "articulation", you guys should check out that 52-points of articulation Spider-Man. After that, you'll never want to hear the word "articulation" ever again! :-D And back on topic. Yep, I'm throwing a party! I ever likied the campaign, mostly because I didn't exactly understand what rap and rock music had to do with a tropical island. It's like watching that medevil movie with knights and rock music booming at every jousting match. Sorry, but my "artistic mind" has limits! I may be able to draw a link between tough, gritty looking ad campaigns with Bionicle, but rock music? Not so much, I'm afraid.

Heh, it would seem that in my moment of bliss, I forgot to provide pictures! :-P Anyhoo, I give you photos! NOTE: All screencaps are from Firebender.com and Avatarspirit.com! Treehouses! It looks pretty peaceful now, but what happens in a bit is that Jet is more like a terrorist rather then a Robin Hood figure, and Aang, Katara and Sokka have to stop Jet's plans to kill an entire village of Fire Nation villagers (Over 200 people in village) by flooding their town. The treehouses get somewhat trashed with a fight between Aang and a few of Jet's gang members. Would have been great as $25 US set! Northern water tribe! One of my favorite things in the Avatar series. The entire thing is made of ice and snow, but it's so solid that it's as strong as concrete. However, powerful waterbenders can turn the buildings into anything they want (Water or ice waves/weapons). It would have been nice to see a battle scene between the Northern water tribe defences and the invading firebenders. The Water Nation capital is a massive metropolis, with water as their main roads. It's quite amazing! Here are some of the most notable features. First up is the main waterway that we keep seeing, and the second is the main building (City hall, if you will) It looks kinda small, but it's actually VERY large once given a cross section (Think skyscraper). That western town thingy! Nothing really that significant, but it's actually the place of the largest brawls between the key characters in Avatar. Everyone from Aang's crew (Aang, Katara, Sokka and Toph) clashes with Zuko and Iroh (Who just happen to be there) and Princess Azula's team (Azula, Mai, Tai Lee). Azula is actually Zuko's sister and is significantly more advanced than Zuko. She's also the Fire lord's daughter and now is in charge with capturing the Avatar. She's far more brutal then Zuko, as we see here. Zuko and Iroh, on the other hand, have been branded as traitors and are now on the run from fire nation soldiers and bounty hunters. And yes, Zuko grows hair. Anyhoo, here it is! The entire ghost town ends up being totally trashed after the fight, as seen below. If you want to see the fight, it's on Youtube called "The Chase". Part 3 of the episode has the big fight scene! And finally, BA SING SE! Yep, this one's a real beauty! Our favorite characters have finally got to Ba Sing Se, the Earth Kingdom capital is actually 50 times larger then the Northern Water Tribe's city. Oh, I'm not exagerating either! That thing is HUGE. It's bordered by a series of walls. The first is a massive thing that stretches faround the entire kingdom and contains all the rural grounds. The second encloses the actual city itself. The city is divided into two sections. The outer ring of the less-fortunate and the inner ring of the more fortunate. First is the less afluent part, which still looks nice! And the inner parts, where the REALLY rish and powerful people are. The first is the university and the second is where people live. (Each building is a SINGLE HOUSE) University: House: Oh, and this, the main government building which seems to have yet ANOTHER wall. Well, hope that satisfies your Avatar fix!

YES! Time for me to flaunt my stuff! Err, I mean knowledge. :D Yeah, I agree with Gylman. The first round of sets were really disappointing to a fan such as myself. There were alot of really great opportunities for sets, such as some of the Northern Water tribe structures or the Treehouse with Jet and his gang. My only real gripe is that they focused far too much on the structures rather than the bending "effects" of the characters. I would have welcomed inclusion of more castle fire pieces or trans-blue bricks to simulate waterbending. Clear bricks do a fine job of airbending effects, and I'm quite fortunate to own some! Well, it seems that the rest of season two is going to be in Ba Sing Se, so you could have alot of pretty decent sets with an ancient-China motif. I would really welcome a miniture version of the wall or some structure that allows for character interaction, like the Harry Potter dueling set. I would love to have a set based on that western-looking town in "The Chase" with breaking cielings, trap doors and all kinds of gimics to simulate the bending properties. Oh, and Sokka is in DESPERATE need of a boomerang. :-D

I agree with Jinzo on the Inika. It's all about playability and the Inika sure lived up to it. Sure, they're not the super-posable polished knights in shining armour they were speculated to be, but they worked out great in my opinion. Great parts, a look that actually suited the storyline (Davy Jones-esque) and fun proportions. Sure, I didn't dig Hahli's "mask", but I liked the uniqueness it brought. It was a fresh breath of air from (in my view) the unnessesarily convoluted storyline that was the origins of Bionicle. It honestly seemed to me that the entire "origins" Toa concept was to make endless "Metru" style (Toa) rehashes. Aside from that though, I found the Titans pretty neat. :D Anyhoo, getting back on track. I honestly think ALOT of Bionicle fans (Mostly from Metru era onwards) will be severely let down by the Barakki just because they may not be as clean or as polished as they expect. Just like the Inika rants that came out when the catalogue showed up. Well, this just means more for me! :-D

Seeing as how these are the "minion"-type sets, I'll reserve my judgement on the 2007's season of Bionicle. I tend to ignore these types of sets, but I will pick one up if they have good colours or good parts. And for the most part, these look amazing! I just love the hand daggers! There's absolutely endless possibilities for them! And there's also those nice "thin" armour pieces to boot! It's the perfect weapons pack for both Bionicle Matoran modifications and Exo-Force! And on a side note, I think Jinz might be refering to the Inika leak. Jala was the first to be seen from the calender and the rest were shown afterwards. Or at least I think that's how it went down. :-P

I think you're right, legoman! I don't see sticker outlines anywhere on these sets! I really can't understand why so many of you hate Grievous's Starfighter so much. It's a near perfect replica of the real thing! Okay, it isn't the most beautiful thing to look at in the Star Wars universe, but it's pretty nice! Anyhow, the more and more I see of that clone battle pack, the more I want to go buy tonnes of them! Just the sheer fact that the clones look great (Painted in different squad colours) makes me drool all over my keyboard. It's only a matter of time before I get electricuted!

My goodness. JoJo is truly the king/master/celestrial figure of MOCs. After seeing that tower creation of his, I'm left completely and utterly speechless. I just really love how he uses the stairs on both the inside and the outside. Plus, fact that it's so flawlessly integrated gives me multiple cardiac arrests! I ought to get a defribilator if I want to check out the rest of his Brickshelf folder!

Congratulations to the both of ya! May your special day be filled with happiness, bliss and prodigious amounts of wedding cake! :'-)

Thanks for the review, Graynar! I totally agree with you on the fact that the alternate models should be the main ones. For those who are wondering, the alternate model to the right is actually from the cartoon itself. I guess they're going for the massive Fire Nation coal rig motif for that one. Would have been interesting for them to do that, but I guess Lego wanted to be conservative. Anyhoo, the fire nation ship isn't exactly supposed to be riveting. It's the equivilant of a cannon fodder ship in Avatar. While I am extremely tempted to buy it, I'll wait to see what 2007 has to offer for Avatar. Awesome review, Graynar!

Hey guys. Just wanted to tell you guys that the next part of the Exo-Force online comic is up. It's back in all it's semi-wretching glory! But there is a pleasant surprise as Takeshi's magical plot device (Claws can now drain evergy :-|) fails at bringing down the Striking Venom. Also, the humans are being pushed back pretty far back now, and the comic looks to conclude the 2006 saga very, very soon! I honestly hope the Striking Venom won't just run out of power like all the other robot creations. :(

Yep, it's truly the best cartoon out there at this moment. I really hope Lego keeps making sets, because our band of merry travelers have gone to Ba-Sing-Se and there's soooo many set possibilities that both Avatar and Lego fans would enjoy! Guess we'll have to wait until the Toyfair though! Oh, and who else wants to have magnets of Aang, Sokka, Katara and Zuko? It's about time they got some! Even Spongebob has his!

Hmm, isn't Sugegasa a girl? I thought I read that somewhere. I'll put both in my post just to make sure I don't get stuff wrong. Anyhoo, Sugegasa can make ANYTHING into 100% pure, unleaded pwnage. I mean, just look at what Sugegasa did with the GATE of the Bridge Assault set! And don't get me started with the rest of the Exo-Force! And that redesign of MechaOne's mini mech with only the parts given in the set? Holy fishcakes, Batman! And when he/she's going for originality? Ooooooh MAN! This one is my personal favorite, but all of his/hers are equal in awesomeness. I'm a major mecha enthusist (When I'm not drooling over Avatar) and I got to admit, Sugegasa is my GOD. Or my "non-denominational celestrial figure", if I want to be politically correct. :D

WOW! 2007 looks like a bright year indeed! Aqua Raiders looks like a very interesting combination of the creator sets and minifigs. The crab is absolutely awe-inspiring. While I'm not entirely tempted by the larger sets, you can count me in for the small one! As for Exo-force, let me just say WOW. I'm absolutely blown away by the robot's mechs! I'm definately going to pick up the winged one for sure! That thing is too awesome to pass up on! As for the human mechas, I'm really impressed by the two larger mechs, but I'm really let down by the smaller one. Oh well! I'm going to get Hikaru's and combine it with the Stealth Hunter. :D Say, anyone else notice that the fights are now in the center of the human "city"? Maybe the robots do end up breaking past the human gates in the upcoming comics.

Makes for quite the storyline, I say. Zamor launchers are NOTHING compared to these new heroes/villians who are packing birth irregularity launchers. (Joking! Of course I'm joking.) Anyhoo, I really hope these aren't Toa, because Bionicle sure is filling up the Toa part of the bios section. They make great villian names, so here's to hoping that they don't pull the ol' "Turn less significant secondary character into toa" plot trick again! Real shame about the masks though. :(

Ooo, my bad! I didn't know this was from the Amazon.de directory! See, I thought these were one of those booklets they gave to retailers. Heh, whoops! :-P Anyhoo, it's possible the X-Pods may be re-paints. Kinda like that halloween X-pod we got an October some time ago. I really hope that Vikings weren't dropped yet though. I was really getting to enjoy it! I sure hope it's another "spring release" that isn't mentioned yet. :-(

I'm skeptical of the Exo-Force sets, as they sound like rehashes of December/January's offerings. However, if they're GOOD rehashes, then I'm all for it! I just love the frame of Supernova and Silent Strike and if they're based off the same frame, then I'm all for it! City actually sounds kinda nifty to me. Though, I can't exactly understand why a Lego city would need such a regiment of fire-fighting machines. As for this new theme, I'm looking forwards to it! I'm a space/underwater/future theme kinda guy, so this sounds interesting! I was actually a huge fan of Hydronauts, but I hope this new theme is more "tame" then previous Aquazone incarnations. Then again, let's look at it. They took Knights Kingdom and re-made it with pretty decent results, so I'm sure this one will be pretty good. If there's a storyline, I really, REALLY hope that it's not so formulaic. As for Duplo and Belville, I really don't know what to think of them (because I'm not a fan), but they seem pretty cool! Good to see that three's something for everyone! I'm rather disturbed by the lack of Avatar and Batman though. Meh! I'm sure they'll mention those later on. Anyhoo, all and all, pretty good, in my opinion!

But not even the UCS X-Wing can handle the dreaded BRICK SEPARATOR! (At least I think it can't)

NOTE: There are MORE photos in this review then what you see here. Just click the links in the review to see more. Well, I've had this set ever since Feb and I never made a review for him. Well, no more! When I woke up today, I shouted "Hark! I shalt enscribe a review on yonder boards!" to the heavens, and then snapped some photos and decided to write a review for Piraka Thok. While this isn't exactly an accurate retelling of what happened, I'm still here, aren't I? :-P My previous review on the Stealth Hunter was very well recieved, so I decided to write this just for the heck of it. I'll also do a Toa Matoro review pretty soon! So, anyhoo, the review! As 2006 swept in, Bionicle was given new life. What's new in 2006, you ask? Well, Bionicle got a kick start. Gone is the Metru-Nui storyline (And profound amounts of retconning) and we're back to the present, instead of hearing what happened in the past. The Piraka are the main baddies of this new saga and they're good at what they do. They're essentially murdering thieves, but their traits lead me to view them as kind of an anti-Toa. Oh, and by Toa, I'm refering to the first ones we have come to know and love. On that note... THE CANISTER The back of the canister Gone is that damp, webby and swampy Hordika campaign. Instead, we're given a clean, white background with Thok leaping out at you. If you ask me, this is the best step since the Nuva saga. Sure, it may be the complete opposite of what the storyline is, but it still looks like a winner. Other then the new look for this year, we're also treated to a new gimic with the packaging shown here: Yep, looks like the 2005 trend of lightups is still present. BUT, it works for Bionicle. It's really well executed here. But more details on that when I get to the set review. BUILDING Canister sets have always been made to be easy. This is no exception! It's a rather interesting build and quite different from the Metru-Nui sets. I can now honestly say that I think Lego has finally mastered the articulated "frame" for your average Bionicle biped. Once small note to make would be this: It's the foot piece, but I really like the design. It's almost like one of those funky tiki masks. I see, hear and smell great potential for this piece. This is the Zamor launcher that is the "gimic" for this year. The Inika have it, the Piraka have it, and the theme sets got it too. I like the idea, but I honestly think Thok looks better without this B-Daman (B-Densetsu!) reference. THE SET Here is Thok, in all his glory. Yes, this man is 120% evil. Piraka are pretty well much murderous thieves, armed with a double purpose tool, laser eyes and the generic launcher thingy. They're essentially grunts, but they all have their exceptions. Thok is a particularily smart and very lethal one. He's basically an evil Kopaka. He's got pretty jagged armour, and if you ask me, it suits him well. He has a spine that attaches to his "mask", forearms and back, and it looks stunning. Not even the Rahkshi were this good with the spines. Since Piraka are more of the sneaky sort of villians, I had Thok posed as if he's about to strike, which isn't far from the truth. However, if you have them stand fully upright, they look quite dignified, as seen here: Fully upright (Front) Fully upright (Back) Quite nice, don't ya think? :) Thok is has two main colours. Baby blue and white. You tend to think he's harmless from the colour scheme, but he's a whole whopping load of trouble. Yes, "toothy" here has an appetite for murdering and mass destruction. Though we don't get to see much of that in the comics, it's almost for certain this guy has raised whole villages with his compatriots. Fun fun fun! The only real problem that Thok has is that his arms are somewhat limited in movement, as the spine prevents him from forming a "T" with his body. However, it's not like you'll actually ever need to pose him like that, so it's fine. *y* I'm going to go over each part of the set in the next few sections. THE HEAD Well, I've heard alot of critisism about the head. It's always along the lines of that the spine gets in the way of the head movement. While this is true, I think it really contributed to the overall Look and feel of it. With this lack of the typical action figure head movement, it really makes him look as a beast. Another thing that rocks about the head is that it has light-up eyes. While I have photo to show you that, I've never seen anything like this before. It actually lights up far brighter then anything I've seen coming from Lego. AWESOME. All you have to do is just pretty this button above is head and he's eye-beaming everything in sight! Cyclops got nothin' in Thokmeister! TEH BUTTON FOR TEH HUEG EYE BEAMZ! His teeth also glow in the dark, which is just that finishing touch that makes it all worthwhile! Ah, Crest, what would we do without you. :D THE WEAPON Folded in Folded out It's actually a really good one. The entire arm is basically suited to the weapons and in Thok's case, it works like a charm! As seen in the standing upright photos, it looks stunning. Obviously, it's supposed to be a gun kinda thing when flipped out. But what is it when it's not? This is open to alot of options, thanks to their careful attention on making this thing double sided. I tend to think of it as that device from Final Fantasy: Advent Children, the one that enhances your punches. Aaanyhoo, pretty cool stuff indeed! Posing Undoubtedly, it's really, really posable. As I said before, they rally found the perfect balence between articulation and asthetics with the Piraka. I'll let the pictures do the talking here. ;-) Take this, off-screen target! THOK SMASH PUNY VILLAGER! The "James Bond" CONCLUSION If you're a Bionicle fan, this is a given. For those fans that have become alienated by the Metru Nui saga and their sets, this one is definately for you. Even for those who aren't interested in Bionicle, there are alot of useful parts in here that will come in handy, such as the clear blue tubing or the feet. Sure, it's not posable as that 54-joints Spider-Man figure, but as I always emphasize, it's USEFUL articulation that's at stake here. My verdict? A definate buy! Final Rating (Out of 5):

Oh, I know. I was just kinda refering to the design of the head. Without a doubt, Lego and Megablok's sets are definately more stable. Though I don't think I can say that about the leg "cuff" though. It seems like it's just barely hanging on.

Wow, that is some stunning work right there! I'm glad they're doing more then just showing the products. And from the looks of one of the photos, Avatar is also there! I can't wait to see what they got there! I mean even if it's just a scene and not new sets, I'd love to see what they set up!

I will give Megabloks credit for making the body pretty well, but still, they didn't really do much at all. I mean other then remolding the head, what else did they do? I mean the real art is making bricks and turning it into something that looks like the real deal. That's what makes it special. I mean a creation like THIS will always win my admiration over the Megabloks model because of sheer ability to make do with things you have. Anyhoo, that said, this isn't a half bad model. The design is pretty good, though it pretty well copy all the custom made Gundams on Brickshelf. However, you could never compare this to Exo-Force. One line focuses on human mechs, while Exo-Force is dedicated to making their own unique robots, which resembles actual battle suits. Still, Megabloks beating Lego? HAH! Never! Lego is clearly superior and full of "win".

Thanks very much for the review! I've always been curious about this set, so it's good to see that it turned out so well! I'm really happy about the way the figures turned out. I kinda feared Momo wouldn't be coloured at all, but I was wrong! I'm plesantly surprised about the Katanas, as it seemed the ninja pieces died off after Orient Expedition. Thanks to your review, I'll have to pick this one up! Seems Janus took care of the questions, so I don't have to answer those! :P

Why not? I mean there's already a topic existing, and it's the only thread on the game. Besides, if you haven't noticed, they added new "missions", which were introduced roughly two weeks ago. It's not all that unusual to have a person mistake this topic as the "official game topic". Anyhoo, as I said, there's new levels to the game, which triggered right after beating level 5 of training for me. If you fail the mission, you go right back to training. These new levels are extremely difficult due to the slowing down of the game when I fire. Also, I got a little bit confused by the instructions. Why exactly do they tell you NOT to shoot the robots during the missions? Because trust me, I've tried just shooting the cement slabs only, and I got fried in 25 seconds.

Great review Deino! I've always admired how it's got hands, but was kinda afraid the bulked up arms might make it look like King Kong, but it seems I was wrong! it turns out it looks fantastic! I would *so* want to buy this so I could combine it with my Stealth Hunter, but at those prices, it's kinda out of my range at the moment. Besides, exams are just around the corner and I need less distractions. :P Anyhoo, the design looks better than I thought! However, it always looked like the Akatsuki from Gundam Seed Destiny to me. Gold works for the Supernova!