Zarkan

Yes, a lot of BZP's members may be young, but BZP only has 40,000 members - over half of which probably don't even visit the site anymore. And out of millions and millions of 8-11 year old fans, the ones on BZP don't really make up much of the overall market. Besides, the younger members on BZP also aren't as accepting as you might think - they often really dislike the original Nuva compared to the Newva. If they blindly accepted everything TLC made, then that wouldn't be happening - they'd just always say they loved everything.

Thanks for your Diver's reviews, Brickster. I really love this theme as well, I have three sets - two of the small ones that Brickster reviewed, and a larger set with a boat that had a divers cage and an underwater scene. This theme was really a gem in a lot of the manure 1997 brought - and I'm glad I didn't completely miss out on these sets. I think that's a pretty fair comparison, however I would add that the recent Aquaraiders was far more realistic than Aquazone and Alpha Team Mission Deep Sea. The subs actually looked a lot like real subs, and the set also had realistic divers and even an actual shipwreck.

Actually, the reality is that members like that are NOT members of the target audience - the target audience is made up of 8 to 11 year old boys that usually are not members of any forums. These kid are the ones that are accepted into the lego focus groups - and it has been revealed that they do not like everything TLC does. For instance, the Dino Attack sets originally were going to be about trapping dinos - not fighting them - but the focus groups didn't like that and wanted the minifigs to be fighting the dinos. Also, the Newva originally were going to be very similar to their original forms, but the focus groups didn't like that either. Now, of course this doesn't mean that we have to like their decisions, but you've got to understand that the focus groups and Bionicle's target audience do not blindly accept everything TLC throws at them. Why do you think Bionicle has changed so much over the years? And for that matter, why haven't we seen more sets like the Hordika and Visorak? Because they didn't sell well - the kids didn't like them. BTW, I honestly don't get why Bonesiii seems to be viewed so lowly around here. Personally, I've found that he's an extremely inteligent and respectful member - and he is as big a fan of the early years of bionicle as any of us. Ever read his Bionicle Paracosmos? If not, than I can tell you that they really show a great understanding of what 2001 was about - an extremely mysterious and shadowed Makuta, treespeak done the right way, extremely distinct personalities, a perfect combination of technology and tribal feel, etc.

Man, that music video is seriously WIN. When I first heard the wordless version in the Mistika game, I immediately loved it - but combining it with the lyrics and the bionicle footage elevates it to a level of pure awesomeness. Christine Lorentzen is easily the best singer TLC has ever gotten for a Bionicle music video - her powerful voice really makes this year feel so ultimte and final. Oh, and Ignika sacrifices himself? Not surprising, but it's still a great way to finish his story by dying like his bearer died.

Okay, this is really getting annoying. Why is it that people aren't trusting me about this? There's no reason at all to suspect that I'm not telling the truth - unless you simply don't know me well at all. I don't make up information, end of story. If you want proof, here's some: Character Purchasing: Arkham: Villian Level Selection:

That's just it - the only new characters I saw in the guide were minor characters - Ra's looks to be the last new baddie. Wait, you don't believe me? Come on, it's not like the game is hard to get in the US - I preordered it from Gamestop and picked it up yesterday. I don't like that you're accusing me of lying, Penicoin. Still, to prove I do have the game, here's some detailed info on some of the levels: - The second level has you build contraptions that fire purple bubbles at vans, and freezing vats of ice cream over so you can walk on them. - The batmobile level features batman using a towcable to pick up riddler's vans, making the levels similar to the LSW levels. - The fourth level is in Poison Ivy's greenhouse, where you fight giant venus flytraps and encounter a lot of sad gardeners walking around. - The fifth level is the showdown with Riddler and Two Face. You cross over to a giant bank/money reserve, where lasers guard the normal entrance. You can use an armored car to break down the barriers in front of the entrance, which reveal tan bricks that you can build into a dollar sign on the top of the bank (this reveals a canister). - The fifth level's boss battle features a swamp boat that you use to ride over acid, and Riddler temporarily mind controls Two Face with his staff in the last part. - The ending cutscene has all five of the baddies in the first set of levels in Arkham: Clayface is doing pottery, Mr-Freeze is playing with action figures, Poison Ivy is watering a small garden, Two Face is flipping his coin, and Riddler is grasping the bars in anger. - The credits show concept artwork as they roll. - The first villian level with Riddler and Clayface has you build a wrecking crane to break through gates, and the ending cutscene has Clayface going crazy over bars of gold (he even builds a small house with them ). There, is that enough info?

As promised, here’s some impressions based on playing 6 of the levels and wandering around the two hub areas. Before I start though, here’s a little notice about the characters. When I went to pick up the game, I looked in the official Prima strategy guide – which had the seemingly full list of characters inside. Sadly, it looks like neither Firefly, Ventriloquist, or Maxie Zeus made the cut. Now, as for the actual gameplay, Lego Batman is as fun as any of the previous lego games – if not more so. The new features like suits, batarangs, and far more enjoyable combat really make the game a blast. Unfortunately, there’s a couple of problems. For one thing, the physics are wonky as ever, so expect to die a lot at first. The game also suffers from poorer partner AI than the previous games – partners occasionally get stuck, and sometimes just won’t do what you want them too. Other than that, the game has few faults. The graphics are one of the best parts – seriously, considering that this is a lego game, they are amazing. The scenery and backgrounds are beautiful, and there’s plenty of effects and detail like mist in the batcave, shadows, and plenty of other stuff. This game seriously makes the lego starwars series look outdated in comparison. Also, the cutscenes are as funny as always. If you like Robin, however, you might not like them – since Batman’s faithful sidekick is treated as a complete goofball and clumsy nut. The characters also seem to be a lot more vocal than in previous games – their voices are louder and more expressive. One more thing I liked is that each character has their own style of fighting. Riddler is a master at twirling that staff of his, while Clayface is a powerhouse that can shoot clay and attack with clay hammers and giant fists. Overall, I’m loving this game, and I can’t wait to see what else is in store.

Guys, I'm picking up the PC version of the game today, so I'll have some first impressions posted by tonight. Stay tuned!

Yep - I've been a member since 2004. Current username is ~~Zarkan~~, but I'm actually a lot more active over here. It's a combination of things. One reason is that BZP has a ton of young members, so they are very careful about what they link too. We all know that BZP doesn't tollerate cursing, so it wouldn't make sense for them to link to sites that had it. Anothe reason is that BZP has ties to the Lego Company (Greg as an active member, exclusive info, a former admin as the lego site webmaster, etc.), so BZP is under an obligation not to even mention sites that have associations with leaks. It's not as much about what the site believes as much as it is about what lego believes - and there's no getting around that fact.

DUDE, you just gave me an awesome idea for a Fan Fic! Imagine this: Matt A. Nuey is a big jock at Great Spirit University, and all the girls love him. Unfortunately, he also has a jealous twin brother named Mack Uta, who decides to get revenge on Matt by drugging him at a beer guzzling contest. This infection causes disaray inside Matt - his Heart shuts down, his brain decays, and his face develops extremely unusual facial hair. However, he is saved by 7 powerful white blood cells, which destroy the infection. And then, Matt gets revenge on Mack and turns him into a puddle of green jello.

Just a word of reminder, guys: Whung's 2009 list did have a Vestas set on it, so a release to the general public may be possible next year. I know the list was classified as speculation, but a ton of it has already been proven true - so don't count the Vestas set out yet.

I only just saw one in person for the first time less than a month ago - and it was in a Lego Store. Other than that, I haven't found them anywhere else. Seriously, if this availability fiasco continues in 2009, TLC is probably going to lose a lot of potential profit that could be made off of the new Pirate Impulses, among other things.

This coming from an AFOL? Blasphemy!

Prepare to get flamed, my friend. (J/K)

Thanks for another great review! Considering that this is a 1987 release, this kit is very nice. The design as a whole looks sleek and modern, and the two police officers are great! The only thing that bothers me is that the back looks a bit open - but that probably wouldn't be hard to fix. Overall, this deserves an above average from me.

Okay, let me rephrase that: "I don't think the DESIGN of this set should be compared with the DESIGN of classic town sets." If you want to judge the design as a whole and then compare your ideal design with old town sets, than that's fine to me - but comparing this set to the old hotrod set in every way just doesn't sit with me. That's because this set was probably never intended to be a sucessor to the previous hot rod club - it's really a stand alone deal that is being used to showcase extremely detailed cars. I dunno if the designers even intended it to actually fit in a town at all - they may have wanted it to be a separately displayed piece or a playset that doesn't need to fit in a town to be enjoyable. That said, this set would probably look great in a town composed of the recent City line - they actually look very similarly scaled to me. The biggest thing people need to realize is that the new lego City, Castle, and Space are not really a "botched" attempt at continuing Classic themes; they're really just a reboot of the entire theme in a modern age. Sure, a lot of the sets look great alongside older sets, but as a whole the themes are designed for the current kid audience, and need to be viewed in their own right. Well, all I know is that these cars are beyond my normal building level, so I have no choice but to applaud the designer. Thanks! I'm glad you don't mind that I disagree with you about this - and it's good that we're having a civilized discussion without bashing each other. I know that I've sometimes gotten into some flame fests at Eurobricks, so I'm glad that people seem to respect me a lot more than they did when I was a newer member.

Thanks for the wonderful review, Brickster! While this set has a few problems, like the underdetailed garage and price tag, I really love it! The vehicles look more like excellent MOC's than average lego kits, which is not suprising considering that this set is supposedly made by fans. I also love that this set has so many great pieces, and that the few stickers included are really nice looking. I voted for above average. Woah, are you sure about that, Klaus? Because from what I see, Brickster likes the set a LOT more than you do, and likes some of the things you don't. I know he agrees with some of the things you listed, but he said he likes the set and would gladly buy it again. Those words ususally aren't used to describe a set that someone doesn't like. I think the whole big reason people seem to be getting down on this set is because they keep comparing it to older sets in the same vein. Except, that this set has nearly nothing in common with them, besides the general theme. This set is far bigger, more complex, and made by fans of lego, so you can't compare it to old system kits without realizing that first. Also, the whole "custom" aspect is no doubt one of the big reasons why TLC released this set in the first place! I know you really dislike 6 wide, Klaus, but a lot of fans have built in that scale for years, including AFOLS. This kit is probably more in the vein of AFOL's that you say, actually. It has several features that a lot of older lego fans like in their sets - it has a huge selection of varried pieces, a complex and lengthly build, and extremely detailed vehicle designs. These cars would fit in perfectly with a lot of the 6 wide MOC's I've seen on brickshelf.

I do agree completely about the whole "kids line" thing. Personally, it's not the flashy colors that bother me, but the actual combination. For some unknown reason, I think I would have liked sand green with red better - and I don't get at all why the minifigures have blue and while outfts. Couldn't they at least have made orange and green outfits to match with the vehicles? I also agree that these still look like great parts packs, though. What was wrong with Rock Raiders having dull grey and brown colors? Besides, the color scheme also included bits of yellow and Teal, so it wasn't all dark. I'd think that you'd like that the older theme had more "down to earth" colors, to pardon the pun.

Ah crud, it's LIME and ORANGE, not sand green and red. I knew the colors were probably wrong in the first pictures! And wait - BLUE AND WHITE PILOTS? Okay, I draw the line at that: this is the UGLIEST color scheme I've ever seen in a lego set. On the plus side, I am liking some of these designs - and there's still a lot of great pieces. I just am not nearly as happy as I hoped I would be.

That is absolutely beautiful! It's well detailed and has a great scale - and I love that it actually has an opening trunk! You don't see that too often in minifig scale cars.

I actually own this very set - and it's one of the best parts of my town. It's a wonderful kit - and has a lot of great features. However, I really can't decide whether I like it better or the 2007 gas station better. I mean, this kit has a wonderful design, but the new one has some interesting techniques; this one has a wondeful tow truck, but the new one has a cool motorcycle and hot four wide car; this one has awesome pumps and a better car wash, but the new one has more exterior detail and an awesome price sign - man, I just don't know which one I like the most! On another note, while I love some of the earlier four wide vehicles, I don't understand why people love the little car designs so much. Sure, they have a ton of nostalgic value - but IMO, they are way too small and look more like go carts than real cars. I really prefer the new four wide style used in sets like the Spiderman street chase set, the big cargo train set from 2006, and the car in the recent gas station - it's bigger and more realistic while still retaining the four wide scale.

Found this on Brickshelf today: General Grievous made using only official lego parts, I've gotta say, that is a really ingenious way to bulk up the extremely mediocre General Grievous minifigure - and it looks like many other fans could do this as well! EDIT: I've deeplinked a single picture for us to enjoy.

Well, after looking at the new pictures of the 2009 line for weeks, I'm going to have to say City! Despite the fact that I don't get most of the kits, I just love the theme, and I'll be buying more kits from the theme next year than any previous year (Farm sets will do that to ya!). It's just really a wonderful line with so many great kits - and I hope it continues for as long as lego exists.

I love it when people extract the online Bionicle games - they always reveal something interesting.

Nope, haven't seen it. Does it have the same guy who did the Mahri voices? If so, then I can already give it a