Showing posts with label Halo 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Halo 3. Show all posts

Friday, March 7, 2008

McFarlane's Halo Figures are Pure Gold

McFarlane Toys has raised the bar with their most recent video game action-figure line.

I am not the type of person to get excited by an action-figure. Toys are cool and I'm definitely a collector but I almost never obsess over what many consider small pieces of plastic. Sure, I'll occasionally buy what I consider to be a good looking figure or statue but rarely do I find myself infatuated with the hobby. McFarlane Toys has changed all that with their recent Halo action-figure release.



These figures are awesome. While they may be smaller than your usual action-figure at 5" scale the Halo figures are highly detailed and look amazing. They also feature a ton of practical articulation resulting in super-poseable action-figures. McFarlane Toys hasn't ventured into the land of articulated figures for years but they have with this series and it's a complete success.

I'm usually not a fan of articulation on figures. The ball-joints used for movement are usually far larger than they need be and completely take away from a figure's look. For example, I could never get into the Marvel Legends series simply because I couldn't look past the overly large joints on the shoulders and hips. This is where McFarlane's Halo series really shines. The articulation is excellent providing a huge range of movement but it's sleek and extremely well hidden. The joints are disguised on each figure and don't take away away from the look of the character.



The articulation also doesn't have very many limitations. Unlike other poseable action-figures the Halo toys are able to stand in a very wide range of poses and stances. My current set-up showcases Master Chief running and gunning after a Grunt who has turned to flee the scene. It looks great and doesn't feel static like many other action-figure lines.

Another thing that has gotten me hooked on these action-figures is the ability to accessorize. Almost every figure in the series comes with a gun from the Halo universe, some even ship packaged with a grenade. This isn't anything revolutionary. However, what does get me excited is the possibility of a full range of weaponry. As with most first person shooters guns in the Halo universe are interchangeable. If the Master Chief kills a grunt he can pick up the gun of his fallen victim and use it in combat. This is where things get cool. Each gun has a peg that allows the accessory to be pinned to Master Chief's back or hip similar to what's seen in Halo 3. I can therefore customize the action-figure with a ton of different weapon combinations. Hopefully McFarlane chooses to release a few Halo weapons packs in the near future.



I've really enjoyed what McFarlane Toys have done with this action-figure line. The first series of Halo toys has some great looking figures and I can't wait for series 2 and 3 to hit stores soon.

These figures are selling out all across North America at lightning speed. Click HERE to secure your McFarlane Halo action-figures over at Amazon before they disappear.

Did you pick up any of the new Halo figures? What do you think of them? Have you created any interesting dioramas or set-ups with them? Post a comment and tell us about it.

Cheers.

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Saturday, February 23, 2008

Halo 3 Ghost Town Map Preview

Bungie has released the first images of one of their new maps.

Bungie plans to release a second map pack for Halo 3 this spring. The download will be titled the Legendary Map Pack and is a follow up to the Heroic Map Pack which was released on December 11th of last year. I wasn't a very big fan of the first map pack. Not necessarily because of the quality, they were decent maps, but just because I was on Halo overload and needed to get away from the game for a while. I haven't played it very much since.



Hopefully the Legendary Map Pack can fix all that. Bungie has released pictures of Ghost Town, one of the maps in the new pack, and it looks pretty cool. It features some wide-open areas for firefights as well as some ruined buildings for more confined battles. The map is an asymmetrical map geared for gametypes like CTF and One Bomb but should also work well for FFA and Slayer.



The Legendary Map Pack will hit Xbox Live Marketplace in the spring. I'm in no rush to download the new maps although I'll most likely give them a test run at some point. It's been too long since I played Halo 3, I just haven't felt the urge to pop the game back into my 360.

Cheers.

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