Swords and Spaceships

Ah, yes. The birth of the handheld video game system. Who didn't covet this thing when it came out in the late 80s? I remember wanting one badly (I wouldn't get one until 1997 when the Game Boy Pocket came out and I paid for it with my own money.) It was initially packed with Tetris, a game that was lighting the world on fire at the time. I got the NES version, and got hooked on it like everyone else. I think that Star Trek: TNG episode "The Most Dangerous Game" was inspired by Tetris, but I digress. Those lucky little bastards who got this thing for Christmas loved to brag about it. Meanwhile, I got GI Joes. Seems fair, eh? There are hundreds of games available to suit every taste, and pretty much all of them can be played on the Game Boy Advance SP, which is awesome. (Game Boy Micro can play Advance SP games, but can't play any games from previous generations.) I remember bumming my friend's Game Boy for a trip once. I was playing Super Mario Land, and I bec

I spent a shitload of money today. I bought a reissue Galvatron and a vintage Soundwave. Expect a review of Galvatron (with pictures this time) and a collection pic of all my beautifully expensive TFs all together. And I'm debating whether or not to spend the rest of my money on a Rodimus Prime reissue. I also bought a couple Serenity figures and some DTC Joes, so they might get a review. Someone needs to give some free press to the Serenity stuff, right? ;) Oh yeah, to those few of you who read this: I'm looking for a Decepticon themed banner for this site. So if you don't mind being rewarded for a couple hours of work with a free MOC Marvel Legends Phoenix, I'd sure appreciate your help. Just make sure it has Soundwave, Megatron/Galvatron (or both), Starscream, and Devastator in it, plus the site's name. Big props if you use the art found on the Hasbro boxes from the 80's. I'd prefer jpg, since that is easily hosted. LMK at bkral1@hotmail.com Thanks!

You know, sometimes I wish I lived in Japan. Mostly because I would have easier access to Transformers reissues. A photo gallery of the brand-spanking new Galvatron reissue. The first thing I noticed was that it's actually colored like he was in the cartoon. The original G1 version was predominantly white where you now see purple on this reissue. This one also has light-up eyes and sounds, though I've heard the voice is in Japanese. I like that box he comes in too. I was never fond of the white boxes Takara uses for their reissues. I much rather preferred Hasbro's boxes since they looked like the G1 I knew and still love. It must be that stupid grid in the background. I can bring it home for about $90, which isn't too bad considering he's a huge toy, he talks, and he's imported. He's number three on my list of Transformers I have to get: Soundwave Astrotrain Galvatron Rodimus Prime Hound Kup and Wheelie Sideswipe It will definetely have to wait until late Ja

I finally completed this series tonight by finding the last three I needed- Cyclops, First Appearance Spider-Man, and Angel. I finally got to put together the Sentinel, a part of which comes with every figure in this series. The other figures are Black Panther, Mystique, Omega Red, and Mr. Sinister. The thing is absolutely HUGE. 16" tall, which is big enough to be a believable Sentinel for the 6" scale. It's the highlight of this series, no doubt. I gladly purchased most of this series since I wanted the characters. I really didn't want to buy Panther and Spider-Man. But I did, and I wish I didn't. Panther's right arm came off when I tried to move it. It went right back on, but the shoulder is still stuck. Spider-Man has a screwed-up left leg. The knee peg isn't there, and the lower leg is barely staying on. He's just going to sit in a box anyway, so it doesn't matter. I'm a little disappointed about Panther's shoulder being stuck, since it

No, it's not a review, since I don't own one. But it's on Hasbro's own website for sale right now. If only I had the $25 for it. I think this is an excellent way to continue the G1 reissues since Toys R' Us killed them with the too-high prices. Granted, $25 for Astrotrain isn't a great price. The mold was paid for twenty years ago, so really the only reason it should be expensive is the limited production run, but seriously, they made plenty. Or maybe these are just leftover Takara stock since Astrotrain is still one of the easiest reissues to obtain. Hopefully Hasbro decides to offer Sideswipe and Soundwave this way, since Soundwave is more than due for a US reissue, and Sideswipe is showing up at KBs nationwide, at least the ones that are left. I'm looking for a Sideswipe if anyone wants to hook me up.

I'm going to say it right now: This thing never stood a chance, and it rightly didn't deserve one either. This was Nintendo's 32-bit system, aka a "stopgap" between the Super NES and the Nintendo 64. It was also an attempt to capitalize on the supposedly huge nationwide interest in 'virtual reality'. The premise was intriguing enough, especially if you read Nintendo Power in 1994-95. The screenshots in every issue looked awesome, even if they were totally red. I'm not sure how it works exactly, but I'm sure it involves mirrors and little 2-inch tall men inside. Nintendo deemed it too expensive to use blue and green LEDs (I think) in the VB, and just stuck with red. Which really wasn't that big of a deal until you took your head away from the VB unit and the colors were all dull. Speaking of health hazards associated with the Virtual Boy, let's start with the fact no one under 7 years of age could use it, since it could permanently damage th