|
When the Xevoz line was first released I thought I would pick up one or two out of
curiousity. But they actually have proveing to be a much more enjoyable line than I
would have expected. Compared to The Stikfas line you get a sculpted figure of various
themes, weapons and a game. While my first Xevoz review covered
one of the basic figures and one of the deluxes, this one will cover the rest of the first
series: the basic figures Skull Jack (skelleton) and Alpha Ranger (robocopesque human), the
deluxe figure Sledge Trooper (the blue robot) and the two pack with Shadow Blade (ninja) and
Bone Cutter (insect).
Packaging - 9/10
Xevoz has one of the more creative variations on the standard blister card that I
have seen in quite a while. Both the basic and deluxe figures come on a blister card that
also has a box on the back. About half of the parts for the figure are packaged in the
bubble in the front of the card. The rest of the parts, along with the decals and other
papers ore packaged in the box on the back. Since the figures are shipped unassembled,
they would tend to make for a rather unappealing package. So Hasbro included a translucent
plastic insert over the top of the parts in the bubble that has the Xevoz logo, character
image and the character's name and goup affiliiation on the front. (The images of Skull
Jack and Alpha Ranger's packaging on the right are of the packaging with the parts already
removed. The back of the card has background info on the character and species as well as
a listing of all of the character's parts on the top. The bottom section (on the box) has
information about the game portion of the Xevoz line.
The two pack with Shadow Blade and Bone Cutter shares a lot of the same traits as the basic
and deluxe figures but in a very different form. The two pack appears to come in a box with
a large window for the front panel. But the packaging is actually a cardboard tray with
a plastic insert in the front. Like the inserts inside the bubbles of the carded figures,
the front of the two pack has a semi-translucent image of the charaters as well as the logo
and character names. Half of the parts are displayed in a tray underneath while the rest
are packaged in plastic bags at the top and bottom behind the logo. The character and
species information has been moved to the sides of the box while the back has the listing
of each character's parts and gaming information, including the addition of a battle terrain
environment.
Sculpting - Bone Cutter & Sledge Trooper 8/10, Skull Jack 6/10,
Alpha Ranger & Shadow Blade 4/10
These are not the generic figures you have seen in the Stikfas line. Each character
has a unique sculpt based on the character's theme. They aren't highly detailed sculpts
like you would find on other lines. Skull Jack for example make a good skelleton but
lacks details like a jaw or ribs. For the less human figures, such as Bone Cutter and
Sledge Trooper this works fairly well. It isn't horrible on Skull Jack either since he
still makes a fairly convincing skelleton anyways. But with Shadow Blade and the Alpha
Ranger, the missing details are rather stiking, especially the ranger's human heads.
Still that is supposed to be part of the line's charm; it just may work better for some
people than for others.
Paint & Decals - Bone Cutter & Sledge Trooper 6/10
Shadow Blade & Skull Jack 5/10, A. Ranger 3/10
The figures in the Stikfas line come without any paint applications. The Xevoz line is
a step up in that regard. The figures do have some painted details. Some of the
figures like Bone Cutter use translucent plastic to add detail as well. None of the
figures have a lot of paint applications but they are simply better used on some of
the figures than on others. Bone Cutter is a good example of this. The claws on his
feet, head parts and his weapons all have some paint work. There is also paint on several
of the body pieces. The overall result is quite effective. The same is true of the
Sledge Trooper. Skull Jack is a little weaker since most of his detail is on the
additional pieces. A a plain skelleton his is pretty dull. The Alpha Ranger gets the
lowest score here since there is very little contrast in the colors used and the figure
just ends up looking dull. All of the figures also come with a sheet of decals, but I
have generally found them to be uninteresting and fit poorly.
Articulation - 8/10
The basic humanoid figure in this line has 14 ball joints: ankles, knees, hips, waist,
neck, shoulders, elbows and wrists. Some then also add points of articulation with their
accessories like Shadow Blade's nunchuks and Skull Jack's banners on his backpack.
Bone Cutter of course has more joints since he has four extra limbs. All of the ball
joints have been tight on all of the figures so far though there may be some danger of
the plastic warping if they are disassembled and reassembled too much. But to be honest,
that wouldn't be a bad thing in many cases. The joints on these figures are often so tight
that the parts tend to pop out before they can be positioned the way you want.
Accessories - Shadow Blade & Skull Jack 9/10
Alpha Ranger & Sledge Trooper 8/10, Bone Cutter 4/10
Bone Cutter gets a low score here for a couple of reasons. The first is that he doesn't
have a lot of variety of parts beyond what is used for the basic figure. He has just three
weapons: a bug shield, dragon fly weapon of some sort and the same hand held blade that
comes with almost every figure. The blade can't be held and the shield looks silly so
you are really left with just the dragon fly. He does have some options for changing body
parts. There is a set of hands to replace the pincers and replacement heads. The heads
are a bit of a dissappointment. There are two top sections (long antennea and short) and
two bottom sections (beak and open mandibles). That should give four possible options,
but only the two combinations shown in the photo on the right look very good. Then there is
the other head, a light bulb?!?!?! As you can see from the photo, it had me scratching
my head, or would have if there was a head on the figure to scratch.
The Alpha Ranger and Sledge Tropper score well here due to ther strength of their arsenals.
Neither provide much variety in their body configurations beyond different heads. The
Sledge Trooper has a small robot head and a cyborg brain. Alpha Ranger has the helmeted,
Robocop head, regular head and a smaller head with a ponytail. Both figures have multiple
pieces of body armor. The Alpha Ranger has a large cannon, a rifle, a pistol, a sword
that can double as a bayonett and the usual hand blade. The Sledge Trooper has a backpack
with several antenneas, a spring loaded missle launcher, the usualy hand blade and five
interchangable hand weapons: small claw, large claw, saw, machine gun and an axe.
Shadow Blade and Skull Jack get extra points for haveing a good balance of weapons and body
parts. Both figures include parts to make almost completely new figures. Shadow Blade has
parts for both the regular ninja and for a diver. He also has armor for his shoulders,
biceps and knees. Skull Jack can go from skelleton to cyber-pirate skelleton. He has a
cyborg head and regular skull, peg leg, armored leg and foot, hook hand, replacement humorus
(bicep bone), and for some reason, a green tenticle. He also has armor and a back pack
with two battle banners. Despite all those parts, they didn't skimp on his weapons either.
Skull Jack has a large, japanese style sword, sludge hammer, to flint lock style pistols and
the hand blade. Shadow Blade's weapons include two swords, nunchuks, a spiked pair of
brass knuckles and the hand blades.
All of the figures also come with parts to build the six sided die that is used to play the
Xevoz game. To construct the die you select six of the triangular pieces after choosing
which face of the piece you wish to use, the piece is inserted into the end pieces to form
a die with six sides. (The die can't land with the ends face up.) The game places limits
on which combination of values can be used on the die but I haven't read the full rules.
Basic figures and each of the figures from the two packs come with seven pieces to form a
die while the deluxe figures (Sledge Trooper) come with eight. The two pack also includes
a two sided terrain map that folds up with a night attack environment for Shadow Blade and
a desert hive environment.
Value - Skull Jack & 2 pack 8/10
Sledge Trooper 7/10 Alpha Ranger 5/10
These are not normal action figures. Xevoz manage to maintain the quirky nature of the
Stikfas line while taking it to a new level. At $7.99 for the basics, $10.99 for the
deluxe figures and $14.99 for the two pack some of these are a great deal. Skull Jack and
the 2 pack are my favorites of the entire line. They give the most variety for the dollar.
The Sledge Trooper is close behind, really only lacking the variety of body pieces that the
other figures have. The Alpha Ranger is a little weak compared to the others. He has
almost no variety in his body pieces other than the heads. He does have a decent arsenal,
but the overall visual appeal just isn't there for me. People who get into the game aspect
of the Xevoz line may find some added value in the abilities of the characters during gameplay.
Happy Hunting:
Thus far, these have only shown up at Toys R Us. The basics have been out since just
before Christmas while the deluxes started to show up in January. The two pack is hitting
TRU stores now. It would appear that the line will probably only be carried by the same
places that have carried Stikfas. For brick and morter stores that means Toys R Us
and possibly Gamestops & Electronic Boutique stores or the occassional comic or game shop
that order them. There is also a sale going on at TRU until the end of February, Xevoz
figures are buy one get one free. Some stores are limiting this to just the basic figures
while others have allowed people to take advantage of the sale on the deluxe figures or in
my case, the two pack.
|
|
