dviddy

Too true. Though they did end up on clearance at some US Targets for $17USD. That's when I bought mine.

And Psionics doesn't even make sense as an element anyway.

Bonesiii's vector art is fantastic for what it is. But no, I don't like his coolified Kanohi. I think they did indeed sap all the life out of them. I extend this thought even into his coolified Glatorian helmets. Gresh's especially lost everything that made the set version the best helmet of the first wave, for me. I don't define character by uniqueness, but by how the masks themselves emit personality. The original Hau is stern, which fit both Tahu and Jaller. The Kaukau is smooth and blank, leaving Gali with a peaceful and also decidedly aquatic look. The Miru is not only grinning madly, but is also shaped to evoke Lewa's (original) youth and also his sarcastic personality. The Akakau lends Kopaka his icey and stoic personality. Kopaka with a Miru would not have looked cool and calculating. Etc. I mean, for crying out loud, the Hau has a browline! Also, I don't want masks affiliated with an environment unless they are an environmental mask. If a mask has a flame motif, it sure as hell better be a mask of fire. Otherwise, it seems completely useless to me. As the original Kanohi were supposed to be generic, and everyone had a copy of the six Great masks, to have a mask that was identifiable as a mask belonging solely to a fiery being would have been counter-productive. The Kaukau works because it was a diving mask, and the power granted the ability to breathe underwater. The detailed masks, to the one, were lacking in that character and personality that gave the original lineup their awesomeness. Jaller Mahri's mask was the absolute worst Kanohi I have ever seen. The Olmak was giant and also too busy. Plus, just throwing this out there, but Bonesiii's affinity for vector art doesn't mean his aesthetic tastes are any more significant to mine, someone who expresses their artistic talents through MOCs, photography, writing, and yes, pencil art (no one has really seen it because I don't do BIONICLE art). Which, relates back to why I am enjoying the aesthetic quality of these new HF sets. They're smooth, streamlined, and look all the better for it. Gone are the frustrating and unnecessary textures that just created more difficult-to-mold pieces. Gone are the extremely frustratingly busy torso designs (Piraka, cough cough). And I think that, for being so full of lines and shapes, these helmets have actual character most of the masks of the past years, as I've just explained, lacked.

Thank God.

The smooth and simple mask designs are what make the 2001 masks, by far, still the best looking of all of them. The other masks just lacked the elegance and character that was so inherent in 2001's Kanohi.

That torso is so much lovelier than any of the other Impulse build torsos have been.

I think it's still just the one piece. See how the wrist is angled a little further down than the rest of the arm, which is at a ninety-degree angle? And see how the legs are set so they kind of look bent, but the armour stops it from looking too bent? The ball joint that goes back on the wrist would allow them to attach feet back there (if they needed to), and with the big pieces of leg armour, not make the sets look so ridiculously hunched like the terrible Avtoran design.

If by character development you mean "from having great characters as Matoran to being boring stereotypical characters" than sure. That is a development, after all.

Look on the bright side- there still wasn't any Vezon.

If he's doing a playtest for a LEGO line, it most likely won't be for the summer line-up of Hero Factory sets. We've already seen preliminary images, and with ToyFair in February, there's not much time for extra development. Most likely it'll be the winter '11 line-up. Or more Ben 10 sets? Who knows.

I was okay with most of the serials, but I can't stand the way Greg just goes willy-nilly killing characters off, and I can't stand Vezon.

Less, probably. But that's the same with system themes. The majority of consumers for those aren't interested in the type and scale of MOCing as those of us in the AFOL community are. They buy sets because they're cool looking, and are more interested in the final product than what LEGO lets them do piece-wise. But still, my point stands. There is clearly a market and desire for BIONICLE style builds, and as a theme that makes it more popular than the classically popular system themes. It's high time BIONICLE and BIONICLE style buids and sets become accepted within the greater community as just another theme. It's not going away, and it is fully compatible with system. I might lose it the next time I see some guy on Flickr or here say 'wow, you used Barnacle pieces in an actual good way, I'm shocked!!' And I'm sure we'll see the same with the new theme. It'll be "ew, these new barnacled sets aren't even real lego!11!" It's been nine years. And we're LEGO fans. Build a bridge (with whichever type of LEGO produced building elements you prefer) and get over it.

Really? Can you tell me the awesome, intricate plot for the City line? You know, the second-best selling LEGO theme? Or the intricate plot for all the classic LEGO lines? What's the story for classic Pirate sets? Is there a story beyond just 'bad guys versus good knights' from classic castle sets? System-only guys are ridiculous. Who? People are mad this isn't still BIONICLE, sure. But BIONICLE has consistently been a top-seller, and lasted nine years. When was the last time a 'popular' system line outside of generic city and AFOL-complaint-filled Star Wars lasted more than three years? Even beloved themes like castle and pirates pop up for a few years, then jump back into oblivion for years. And yet BIONICLE and the new replacement line (which looks to just be BIONICLE styled builds, which means ten years of this style) has gone on for almost ten years, un-interrupted. People want these. Even more than the more well-liked AFOL lines such as pirates and castle. It's time AFOLs got over it.

I'm a MOCist. I buy sets for what they have, not what they are. I also do not own any of the Stars, my little brother has the three heroes, and I borrowed his Takanuva for my BZP review. Though I would like to own some of them for real, as I would like to own some of the new feet and armour pieces.

As I said in my Takanuva review on BZP, I like the nostalgic angle, but that doesn't change the fact that these are still based on the worst set-design of all time. Man I hate the Av-Toran design.

The boxes on the boxed sets are eerily reminiscent of the 2001 BIONICLE boxes, with the grey outline, with the LEGO logo up in the right corner. Like the Turaga boxes of yore.

BIONICLE is as compatible with system pieces as the one using the pieces wants them to be. Honestly.

They only dislike the building system because they don't know how to use it. ;)

| | | | Large versions: Flickr Yes, this is inspired by Rex from the Star Wars Clone Wars cartoon.

I can see numerous uses for those new feet molds, many opened up because of that axle hole on bottom. Very nice piece.

Nothing is more Deus ex Machina than Axonn's special Zamor spheres. He had two of them. They did that twice in that story.

I know you're 'taking a break', but this is exactly the type of post that deserves a reply. Firstly, the 'paraphrase' was hyperbole, and I knew it wasn't entirely accurate. It was my way of poking fun at the entire conversation. I would have laughed uproariously had you done the same back to me. Second, I don't know how else to apparently get this across, because I thought it was quite obvious. But, here's the kicker guys- I like BIONICLE. I don't hate BIONICLE. I think it's neat. I've always thought it was neat. In 2001 I thought it was neat, and here in 2009 I still think it's neat. I enjoy facets and aspects of the story. I enjoy facets and aspects of the sets. I like facets and aspects of collecting masks. But what I really like is the MOCing inspiration it has given, and still gives me. The story, however, is what brought me into this whole mess. Eight years later, entire life shifts, and I'm still here. I've never gone inactive in the community, I've never 'taken a break,' I've been here for the whole shebang. If I didn't like what I was discussing, I wouldn't be discussing it. And on that note, I specifically mentioned that you should, by all means, enjoy the story, and even Greg's contributions. You shouldn't let technical flaws kill your enjoyment of something you like. As I said, I love Star Wars novels. Do you think those are the literary equivalent of Dostoevsky? Far from it. But I recognize that, and enjoy them all the same. Like I said, I like the overarching theme and outline of the BIONICLE saga. I even like some of the cliched characters (Kopaka <3). But it is my opinion that because of Greg's personal entries into the story bring the entire thing down. I liked many of the aspects from the last five or six years. But once the details emerged through Greg's indistinct and poor writing, they lost a lot of their appeal. 2006 and 2008 are the biggest examples of this, I think. Both had promise, and I felt that the books for both years were exceptionally poor, and brought the storyline as it had been told in other media down drastically. As for cliched characters, I'd hoped you'd see that I also said those things were often inevitable. It's how they're used and differentiated that makes them stand out, and I don't think Greg is capable of that. Like I said, the man is a comic book writer. And a talented one at that. But a man who 'doesn't think in pictures, but in words,' is not up to the task of describing anything. Man I don't know if I've ever expressed how much that excuse has always frustrated me. He can write character bios, comic books, but I wouldn't let the man near a novel or novella if I were being paid to. As for his community interaction, I've always maintained that this is fantastic and wonderful. He listens to fans, and sometimes does as we ask. Awesome. He sometimes has better ideas than other storyteam members. Absolutely true. But none of those things make him a good writer. They are other aspects of his talents and personality, things I am in no way criticizing. As I've said, Greg's always been a pretty nice guy, and even when him and I have directly sparred, I've always felt he was patient and respectful. Well, in my personal opinion, as a psychology major (now I'm making fun of myself. :) ), I agree with you one hundred percent. Of course, things like that work better when both sides are willing to admit to such a bias, which Bonesiii often does. Like I said, I like the guy. I like to think we have an unspoken respect and admiration for one another. Which leads finally to this. There was no disrespect meant in any of my post. Lord knows I'm interested in everyone having their opinions and being allowed to express them without condemnation or judgment. I don't know you, I don't have anything against you, I'm not interested in beating you over the head with my point of view. I'm sure you're a great person with a lot to offer the world, and I'd totally buy you lunch if I knew you in real life. I think this would be an accurate summation. :) You're really cute. And if I were in the same room with you right now, I'd exercise those privileges your girlfriend gave me. :3

Absolutely, especially when one considers how dreadful the BIONICLE movies have been, and how they tie the other story outlets hands from doing anything exciting.

(I apologize for the humorous paraphrase of your long reply. I'm trying to keep this post as short as possible.) First things first. The story itself is bigger than Greg's involvement. I do not enjoy Greg's writing, or most of the content we know comes directly from him. Second, I enjoy lots of subpar writing. My favourite fictional books to unwind into are Star Wars novels. There is very little literary merit to these. Third, only those who have not attended college would call collegiate studies 'stuffy'. You do realize it is college graduates, nine times out of ten, that create that which moves society forward? While I don't think it's for everyone, the continual pursuit of education and knowledge is one of the most important things one can do to better oneself. The 'stuffy old college' is a boring and tired cliche. Lose it. It is completely possible to enjoy something that is terrible. And you should feel free to do exactly that. I don't just read to analyze books and authors, I read because I enjoy it. My knowledge of conventions, styles, traditions, etc, are not going to mar my ability to garnish enjoyment from something that is technically failing. What I'm arguing isn't that the story itself sucks. But that Greg's writing abilities continually bring the story itself down with his cliched characterizations, lack of descriptive abilities, and juvenile sense of violence. There's a reason that most comic book writers don't write novels. It's a different field, and it takes a different type of author. Greg's abilities are far more suited for writing comic books, like he did at first. A medium where someone else puts the details and importance down, and he just has to add minimal exposition and dialogue. (And I don't enjoy dark and depressing stories where the point is 'life is meaningless' either.) As for Bonesiii, I simply brought that up because as Bonesiii has said, don't let your personal preferences decide for you something that is contrary to logic. As I said, there are solid and set determinators for what makes a good author. Greg doesn't meet them. Logically, Greg is not a good author. But your personal preferences allow you to enjoy what he has written. I like Bonesiii, and I think he makes good points. I don't think he really allows himself to keep his personal preferences from influencing his thoughts a lot of the times, though. So naturally him and I disagree, and have done so publicly for a very long time. It is perfectly fine for me to take the claims of someone I disagree with and use them to support my stance. It is terribly difficult to break archetypal characterizations in writing. Especially in science fiction, even moreso in fantasy. It often then becomes a task of using them well. But Greg doesn't really rely on archetypes or cliches. He relies specifically on the same ten characterization methods over and over. Troubled loner who has to learn to get along with everyone? Kopaka, Nuju, Matoro, even Iruini. Brash hothead who is somehow, despite their inability to lead effectively, the leader? Tahu, a watered-down version in Vakama, etc. The list goes on. But not past ~ten. It is not a matter of nostalgia. I enjoyed 2001 more than any other year because it was the first year, and I feel it is still the only year that was immersive and populated with characters. The setting and conflicts should definitely have changed. A real story has to have change to properly develop. VNOG was a boring traditional RPG (you nailed it there, "Nintendo-evel RPG"). I'm not interested in collecting ten piles of this rock for that character, before I can move onto the next character who's going to need fifteen nuggets of that mineral to do this, etc. That's boring for someone who likes stories. MNOG was cool not because it was a good game or had great gameplay. It was great because it offered an inside-look at the entire world and its denizens. It was great because until the end, it was a side-story that informed the main story. It told you who these villagers were, what they were in relation to one another, that they each had different plans and ideas, etc. Sure, it wasn't innovative or ground-breaking. But it set the scene, and made the world come alive. That is why VNOG wasn't good. And even why MNOG2 wasn't very good.

I agree. After all, I didn't say that being a subpar writer can't be fun or enjoyable (I read Star Wars novels for heaven's sake). I have lots of complaints with how the story has been handled for the last ~five years, but I'm still following it. And still enjoying the overall story. Me too. One who's also a psychology and religion major, to boot! I don't enjoy 'throwing out credentials' to sound important anymore than the next person. But when it comes to literary conventions and how to determine who is a good writer, and how to gauge that, it felt an appropriate place to say that's what I studied four out of the last six years, and that is where my opinion comes from. Besides, I took some children's book writing courses too. :P Besides, I'm also totally up for making fun of myself. :) The world runs on stories. The purpose of the story is to sell toys, but the story itself transcends that. Because there is no such thing as just a story. Transformer stories exist to sell toys, and that line enjoys an immense fanbase of avid (and scary) story buffs. Any story that inspires others to create for themselves is something worthy of study, in my opinion. And no matter how poorly written parts of the BIONICLE saga are, the story itself deserves the conversation it receives precisely because it is so often inspiring.