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mikeszekely

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Everything posted by mikeszekely

  1. mikeszekely
    If they are, it's news to me. Last I heard, they went straight to Prowl, who should be out in August.
  2. mikeszekely
    AFAIK, this one's actually mostly true. Takara pulled it off for the Japanese market, but this is still why there's no Hasbro MP Sideswipe.Also, I'm not a fan of MP Bee. I mean, hollow arms? A lot of guys here complain about that on a $12 Deluxe; don't know why that's getting a pass on a more expensive MP. Plus, the realistic alt mode looks off on him. I actually think I'd have prefered if they kept the Choro-Q proportions.
  3. mikeszekely
    Well, while I was on vacation I found a hobby store in Fairfax that doesn't just sell Gunpla, they sell relatively recent Gunpla! I picked up the RG Zeta Gundam while I was there. I've never built a MG Gunpla to compare it to, but I think I was underestimating just how much more advanced the RG kits are over the HGUC ones. The last HGUC kit I built, I probably finished it in two or three hours. Three hours in on the RG Zeta, and I had a pair of legs. Two days later, I finished building it, and it looks pretty good, although I've only put a few of the stickers on it so far. The worst part was the chest. I'm 99% sure I've followed the instructions and have built it correctly, but it feels flimsy. There's a peg to lock the end of the cockpit to the inner frame above the waist, and I can feel the peg go in, but it pops back out at the slightest touch. Also, there doesn't seem to be anyway to lock the head up, so again, the slightest touch and it droops back down into the chest like a frightened turtle. Posing must be done carefully, although again the end result looks fantastic. I think, ultimately, that's the difference between HG and RG. HG kits don't look as good, but when they're built they can be played with like action figures. The RG kits look much better and make for better display pieces, but you have to be more careful moving them. So... unlike most of the reviews I've read, I actually wish it didn't transform. From what I've read, other RG kits are less finicky, and the finickiness in Zeta is almost entirely due to being designed around the transformation. But, now that I've got the thing put together, I have no intention of transforming it because it's so finicky. I'd have rather they designed it with a sturdier chest and thrown in the Hyper Mega Launcher. At the end of the day, though, I'm still pretty impressed, and am definitely a fan of what the RG line brings. I'll probably be ordering the RX-78 and Gundam Mk II (AEUG) this week.
  4. mikeszekely
    Fixed.
  5. mikeszekely
    Lucky. The hobby shop I bought my HGUC Gundam and Nu Gundam from closed years ago. I thought I found a replacement, but even that one closed in 2010. I've been looking for hobby stores in my area, preferably without having to go to downtown Pittsburgh. According to Google, there's maybe 5, but none of them have Gundam playmo, just model trains.
  6. mikeszekely
    Pretty easy for me to pass on that one. I don't care for AU Gundam nearly as much as UC, among AU Gundam I didn't particularly care for 00, and Astraea isn't even in 00 but some side story mangas.
  7. mikeszekely
    Well, if you loved WfC and FoC, you'll probably at least like RotDS. I'd just suggest maybe buying a console version.
  8. mikeszekely
    So, I broke down and bought Rise of the Dark Spark. Now, I bought it on Steam, since shooters feel much more natural to me with a mouse and keyboard than they do a controller. Big mistake. It's clearly a half-hearted console port. Included are the bare minimum graphics settings and zero ability to remap keyboard bindings. The UI uses Xbox icons for buttons, whether you have an Xbox controller plugged in or not. Sometimes, it's not too bad... in the first mission tutorials, a popup will tell you to "Push A or space to jump", with "A" being a green button icon, while "space" is merely spelled out (not even bolded). Other times, it's useless, like when the game wants you to focus your attention on something, and a popup comes up that says something like "Push <| to view" where "<|" is the icon for the back button on the Xbox controller. It never even bothers to tell you the keyboard binding (it's tab, by the way). It's the same in the menus. For example, when selecting a weapon at a weapon station, it will tell you that A is equip. What do you do if you're using a mouse and keyboard? You click the A icon. I don't know if the PS4/Xbox One versions are any better, but Rise of the Dark Spark is NOT looking particularly next-gen on PC. From the limited graphics options, I basically have the game set to the highest quality. In game, RotDS looks about the same as War for Cybertron/Fall of Cybertron. Not great, but ok. The cutscenes are terrible, though. I've seen less jaggies in PS2 games. As for the gameplay, I've finished about four chapters. The game is clearly using Fall of Cybertron as a base, where the campaign alternates between Autobots and Decepticons, and you play a set character. Different characters have different abilities. For example, Soundwave sends out Laserbeak, who acts as an attack drone, and Sideswipe has the same grapple Jazz had in FoC. The weapons are the same as FoC, although the upgrade system works differently. Instead of collecting tech bits and buying upgrades, you complete challenges to earn gearboxes. Gearboxes contain techs, unlock weapons, upgrades for weapons, and characters for the Escalation mode. Speaking of characters, I get that RotDS is supposed to be a movie tie-in, and even features Age of Extinction Optimus on the cover. That said, you play as Age of Extinction Drift for the first chapter, then the game switches the Cybertron series characters for at least the next three chapters. Looking at the characters in Escalation, the Cybertron characters outnumber the movie characters probably three or four to one, so the game definitely seems more like a Cybertron sequel with some movie bits tacked on. That said, it's not as simple to say that if you liked the Cybertron games, you'll definitely like Rise of the Dark Spark. Compared to Fall of Cybertron, RotDS feels a little soulless, with more straightforward level design that more or less escorts you from one fight to another. I'd say if you're really fan of the series, you'll probably get some enjoyment out of it as long as you're aware that it's not the best in the series, and you stick with a console version. But if you thought FoC was just ok and were hoping for something more with RotDS, you might want to take a pass. EDIT: One more thing, the game doesn't support Steam Cloud. I don't know how big of a deal that is for most of you guys, but if you read the Computers and Electronics thread, you probably know that I have a nice custom built desktop and an MSI gaming laptop. I've been playing on my desktop, but I'm leaving tomorrow to visit some friends in DC and was planning to take my laptop.
  9. mikeszekely
    I'm hesitating. I loved War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron. But, despite being mechanically similar, I thought that Dark of the Moon (another High Moon product) was short, dull, and even a little frustrating on Soundwave's level. I kind of want to hear a review.
  10. mikeszekely
    We get it already. You're morally opposed to buying quality toys produced in small numbers for adult collectors from the people that designed and made those toys because they happened to be interpretations of another company's IP. That's totally the same thing as buying a kid's toy at 300+% markup from some neckbeard who makes a living by camping at Toys R' Us, buying up all the toys adult collectors want and flipping them on ebay. Look, you have a thing against 3P toys, that's your thing. Don't buy 'em. The board members here that do, though, don't need to give you a better reason than, "because I feel like it," so let it go and move on.
  11. mikeszekely
    The color choice of the V2 Mania King looks a lot better... but not enough to make me upset I already ordered the first one.
  12. mikeszekely
    I looked at Captured Prey, and Stack is $180, MP-22 is $182. You mentioned that you ordered from HLJ, and yeah, 14,440 yen for preorders, that's about $141. But the preorders are cutoff, and if they have extra, it goes back up 18,000 yen ($170-ish). And what's the shipping? Pretty sure either qualifies for free shipping from Captured Prey. I've always assumed the prices at US-based stores like CP reflect the added cost of importing to the US. I'd only ever ordered from HLJ once, but I remember the shipping being a good portion of the total.
  13. mikeszekely
    So far, the only RG kits I'm dead set on are the Gundam, the AEUG Mk II, and the Zeta. I expect that I'll probably wind up with the GP-01, GP-01fb, and regular green Zaku II. I've never been a big fan of aquatic mobile suits, or any of Char's OYW mobile suits that aren't Gelgoog. I'm going to pass on the Z'Gok and wait for other UC mobile suits (any Gundam suit from 0080-0100, Hyaku Shiki, Qubeley, Bawoo, and the Zaku III top my list).
  14. mikeszekely
    Before your time.
  15. mikeszekely
    That Leader Megatron looks ok. His legs are a bit smallish, and I'm not liking the head sculpt, but he's not looking too bad. I might pick him up, depending on how big he actually is. I'm thinking he'll probably be to big to fit with the other CHUGs, so I'm not really regretting that I have a preorder for the rerun of Hegemon. Arcee looks like she's going to be a shellformer, with a feminine figure crammed under a car she wears on her back in bot mode. Frankly, I think that's the best we could have hoped for if we wanted something that looked G1. I'm kind of interested in Chromia, though. A remold of Prime Arcee, that turns into a Tron lightcycle... what's not to like? Brainstorm seems pretty cool. It looks like a mix of G1 and IDW. That new Voyager Optimus, though? Ugh. He's got a weird head and cartoonish proportions... he almost looks like he belongs in the Rescue Heroes line. Some of the new Legends look pretty cool, too, but since I haven't seen any Legend-class CHUGs at retail since Optimus/Megatron/Bumblebee/Starscream, I'm not getting too excited.
  16. mikeszekely
    You do what you want. Like I said, I don't really plan to buy either, because neither looks like something I want to spend $150+ on. And, until recently, I'd never bought a third-party Transformer, either. That said, when I finally broke down and bought some, they were Hegemon (not-Megatron) and Mania King (not-Galvatron), to replace the CHUG versions I'm not real satisfied with. And I'm not going to feel guilty about it. Is there really any reason to feel bad for a multi-million dollar company that makes toys for kids that some adults happen to collect, just because some smaller outfit is catering to a niche market by producing smaller numbers of higher quality toys that may or may not represent characters that Hasbro already has an official toy for? Especially when Hasbro's lousy distribution means that some toys never even get to the people that might want to buy them, all the trouble everyone has had with just about every Hasbro MP, or the difficulty tracking down some CHUGs (I never found Kickback, Skids, FoC Starscream, Goldbug/Goldfire, Waspinator, or Swerve at retail, and the only Perceptor I found was actually at a Ross, not a Target/Walmart/TRU, etc). Or that, in my case, I'm actually buying 3P toys of characters I already own the Hasbro versions of.
  17. mikeszekely
    I've often thought something like the Wii's nunchuck, but with more buttons, would be ideal. Way more buttons.What it really comes down to, though, is that a keyboard is a step down for directional input, but makes up for it with buttons. An analog stick and trigger, though, is a much more significant downgrade over a mouse or trackball for pointing.
  18. mikeszekely
    Har har. Hey, I can't help it if playing shooters with a controller is like trying to hammer a nail with a screwdriver. It's just the wrong tool for the job.
  19. mikeszekely
    If you buy crap from Takara, it'll only encourage them to make more crap. I'm not buying UM because I think it's Takara's worst MP design since Rodimus. Maybe Megatron. If I buy Citizen Stack (don't plan on it), it's because Takara had their chance and blew it. I think that's his worst feature, sure, but again, it's not like we're real happy with the Takara head. The original toy, sure. The cartoon, maybe even. But UM looks blocky and stiff. Citizen Stack looks much more dynamic, and is fairly evocative of his IDW appearance. They don't show it many pictures, which is a shame, but I'm pretty sure the blue part of his forearms can be rotated so that the armor that sticks out over the tops of his hands can be placed under his fists (without moving his elbow), like G1 and MP UM's. Doesn't fix the head, but goes a long way toward making his arms look better.
  20. mikeszekely
    It's a real thrill when you run something you've only seen on consoles before and realize it looks like a who different game on PC. It's not as fun the other way, though. After not touching a console in ages, my buddy's wife made me play Halo 4 with her. It's bad enough playing a shooter with a controller after you're used to mouse and keyboard, but I think I was too busy thinking "man, this game looks like butt!" to focus. Needless to say, I did not do well.
  21. mikeszekely
    I guess my question is, why are people saying "Close enough, I'll take it" instead of "Citizen Stack looks way better, I'll buy that instead?"
  22. mikeszekely
    Mike beat me to it. Put another way, HLJ is good for a lot of things, but when stuff is on Amazon I tend to go there out of convenience.I do appreciate suggestions, though. I doubt every kit I want is going to be a good price on Amazon. Good tip! I put all three in my cart yesterday, and the RX-78 already dropped. ...and then went back up.
  23. mikeszekely
    Thanks for the advice, guys. I think I'm going to get the RG Gundam and Mk II from Amazon after I come back from vacation, then RG Zeta the following pay. I'll decide about the rest later, but I'm leaning toward RG for Gundams and select suits (as they're released), HGUC for Zeon grunts.
  24. mikeszekely
    Bear with me, but I've got very limited experience with Gundam models. I had a few 1/144 Gundam Wing kits back in college, lost them when I moved out of my parent's house, then a 1/144 HGUC Gundam and Nu Gundam that I lost pieces to when I moved out of my apartment and into my current house. Now, I want to start over and get a little more serious. Not too serious... there's a lot of mobile suits I like, so I don't have the space and don't want to invest the money in any of the larger kits. So I have two main questions. First, does anyone have any thoughts on the 1/144 Real Grade kits? I've seen pictures of the RX-78 next to the the HGUC one I already have, and it's amazing how much better it looked. But the builder admitted to using some waterslide decals not included with the kit. Considering I already have the HGUC one, and that I doubted I paid more than $15 for it, would you recommend buying the RG one for around $25? And how do you think the RGs look out of place with other HGUCs? Some of the mobile suits I'd want don't have RG kits (yet). Put another way, for less than the RG RX-178 and RG Zeta Gundam, I can still find the HGUC Gryps War set that has the RX-178, Z Gundam, and Hyaku Shiki... am I better off buying the Gryps War set, buying the RG RX-178 and Z Gundam and a HGUC Hyaku Shiki, or just buying the RGs and waiting for RG versions of the other suits I want? Second main question, where do you guys like to get your kits from? When I got my Gundam Wing kits, they were stocking them at Walmart and Toys R Us. I got my HGUCs at a hobby shop, but that hobby shop has since gone out of business (as has pretty much every hobby shop that does anything more than model trains within 50 miles of me). I'd be willing to pay more if I could buy them locally, but if I'm going to shop online, who has a good mix of selection and price? Is there a reason not to use Amazon, who has the RG Gundam, MK II (AEUG), and Z Gundam I want?
  25. mikeszekely
    Not the original, but I played Street Fighter II: Champion Edition at the arcade inside Kennywood Park. I thought it was so cool that you could play the bosses, since my prior SF experience was limited to the first SNES version.
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