Mastermind Creations Reformatted R-09 Eupatorium (Not Elita-One) Review

Articulation: 9. Very articulated, but certain parts restrict the motion a little.
Paint: 8. While it would be good to have more colours, the colours on this figure (especially the head) are very well done with little smudges, bleeding, etc.
Sculpting/Detailing: 10. No complaints from me, really.
Accessories: 10. The 2 pistols and that sweet-looking bow are enough for some fun times. And that hover piece for vehicle mode is a very welcomed bonus.
Transformation: 8. It's fun and challenging, although it may feel unnecessarily complex to some.
Scale: Generations/Classics scale - Yes; Masterpiece scale - No.
(Most are out of 10, apart from scale.)

Recently I fell into the trap of collecting Transformers Masterpiece, which lead me to search for Elita-One, and unfortunately, there wasn't any worthy ones made my Hasbro/TakaraTOMY, apart from the redeco of Transformers: Cybertron Thunderblast which does not look enticing to me at all, with her huge backpack and my lack of interest in "shellformers". Prior to this purchase, the only 3rd party Transformer figure I bought was the X-Transbots Apollyon, aka Megatron, and I still haven't fiddled with him yet. While he isn't the best, with his own issues, he is the most G1-accurate and MP-scale Megatron toy out there. Back to this figure: I never heard of Mastermind Creations (MMC), so I was not sure about the quality of this brand. But I really wanted an Elita-One figure, and this Eupatorium figure was the best we were going to get for the time being.

When I first bought her, I noticed how her body mold seem similar to the Transformers: Generations Arcee figure. In fact, MMC created quite a few fembots, one being "Not" Arcee. And from what little reviews I could find online, apparently all these fembots carry the same mold, which I'll touch on later. In robot mode, Eupatorium stands slightly taller than Arcee and her fellow gal pals Windblade and Chromia (the latter two I just bought very recently). This was okay for me, as I wanted Eupatorium/Elita-One to be the leader of my fembot quartet. In terms of MP-scale, she is definitely way too short, being slightly taller than Bumblebee but almost a head shorter than Prowl. But for these ladies, I'll close one eye in terms of scale. Of course, deep down I pray for a MP Elita-One to go with my Optimus Prime.

In terms of sculpting, I really love how "robotic" she is, with much more details in the mold than the Hasbro figures. The head turned out very, very nice, and I can definitely see Elita-One in it. Her articulation is almost identical to Generations Arcee, but with a slightly more, such as ankle pivots. In terms of weapons, Eupatorium comes with 2 pistols, which seems like the standard weapons for all the MMC fembots. But MMC gave her an extra weapon just for her: a bow. Now, I'm pretty sure Elita-One does not use a bow in the actual Transformers universe, but I find it a really nice extra weapon and I could totally see her being all badass with it, eliminating Decepticons from afar like some Katniss Everdeen. The weapons have a rather metallic colour, which makes them look even better. One thing to note though, is the white parts of her upper thighs. When posing, they might rub against the red "hip flaps", and that would scratch the white paint off them.

Being a 3rd party figure, Eupatorium does not come with any Autobot logo. Fortunately, the shop I bought this figure from had some stickers to give out, and I'm glad I took a few. I wasted the first sticker almost immediately, as I never used it before. Epic fail. But I managed to get the logo on her chest, and does it look beautiful! BUT, it is not a spot I would recommend fellow owners of this figure, unless you do not mind what I did next.

Let's talk about the transformation. I will let you know that the transformation is probably at the difficulty of MP figures, or maybe harder. It took me almost 30 minutes just to get her transformed to vehicle mode, and even then, I feel like I did not transform some parts right. The instruction manual is actually pretty detailed, and really nice as they have a mini comic inside it too. But because this figure has a lot of transforming parts and ridges to lock in certain parts, it requires some self-discovery to understand the transformation process. There are many things that should "lock" in place during the transformation, and the instructions do not specify in enough details for you to get it at a glance. The first step of the transformation already left me stumped: I was suppose to detach the back part of the figure. I almost never had a Transformers toy that required removal of parts (other than accessories/weapons) during the transformation, so it felt... weird. But I must say, while the transformation is challenging, I actually enjoyed it and appreciated the complexity of it. If you're a fan of intrinsic transformations, this figure you will like. When you finally finish transforming Eupatorium into her vehicle mode, you may wonder why this figure need an overly-complex transformation when the Generations Arcee could easily become a Cybertronian vehicle with much simpler steps. I would like to add that I appreciate this figure coming with a small stand that attaches to the bottom of this vehicle, allowing it to "hover" instead of lying on the ground.

Remember I talked about my Transformers logo and how I cannot recommend it to people? Here's the thing: this MMC fembot mold is used for several characters, and they all transform to almost similar vehicle modes. The main difference between Eupatorium and the Not Arcee vehicle mode is where the front detachable parts are attached. For Eupatorium, these pieces are suppose to be attached very far forward, giving her vehicle mode a rather pointy hood. For the Not Arcee vehicle mode, the front pieces are attached more to the side, giving it a shorter, broader hood.

Because of my self-planted Autobots logo, if I were to put Eupatorium in her supposed vehicle mode, the logo would be half-covered, which irks me. If I were to attach the front pieces in the way meant for the Not Arcee figure, the logo would be proudly displayed in vehicle mode. So without question, I chose to make Eupatorium's vehicle mode the latter version.

I have other reasons why I would prefer the front part of her vehicle mode to be like that. Firstly, it looks more "car-like". We never really got a decent look of her vehicle mode in the G1 cartoon, and I don't read enough Transformers comics to know, but I'd prefer the second arrangement than the first pointy nose one. Also, considering how paranoid about the parts moving out of place while in vehicle mode, attaching the front pieces to the front/side will help secure the sides a bit. The vehicle mode looks really slick and nice, but it is very obvious that it lacks color. Hopefully Reprolabels will come out with stickers to resolve this, and Eupatorium will look stunning in her vehicle mode. Her bow can be attached to the back, although I recommend attaching it onto her before completing the transformation into vehicle mode. It is not fun to squeeze in the folded bow with the fear of undoing your effort to transform it nicely. The pistols are attached to the sides, but they come out rather easily and the angle is a bit off, pointing outwards to the sides instead of pointing to the front.

Overall, I think that this is a beautifully done figure. She comes with enough weapons to keep her looking badass, and her articulation allows many possible cool poses. I've seen the other MMC fembots, and as I don't really know who most of them represent (and also I prefer my Generations Arcee to their Not Arcee figure), I don't see myself collecting the other MMC fembots. This is so far THE Elita-One figure for Transformers fans out there, and she looks pretty in scale with the Generations Arcee/Windblade/Chromia figures. If you are good at customizing figures, adding logos and color onto her would be fun and satisfying. For a 3P figure, Eupatorium is definitely worth consideration.

Transformers War For Cybertron (PC) Review

I recently got into the game again when I bought the novel that was related to the game, and thought I'd give a review of it! Mine is the PC version, so I'm not sure how much the consoles version deviates. I only know that DLC packs are only available for console versions T.T No Shockwave for PC version...

Graphics-wise, this game impresses. The detailing is really good, be it the characters or the environment. The cinematics look so good, you actually wished that these were the movie rather than Micheal Bay's films. Don't get me wrong! His films are nice, but this game is definitely a good competitor. I love Soundwave the most, well, second to Optimus Prime. In fact he looks so cool, yet maintaining his G1 look, that I decided to purchase the toy! If you look closely at the back of Megatron and Optimus Prime (not sure about the others), you'll see their respective factions' logos on their backs, which shifts once in a while. That's pretty cool, if you ask me. My only issue is the lip sync of the cinematics. But, small issue.

The plot is not new to Transformers fans. Optimus Prime rises up as leader of the Autobots, while Megatron decides to reign over Cybertron. The story is really good and easy for people new to the Transformers world to digest, making it rather appealing. Another thing is that the story tries to bring in as many known characters as it can, from Optimus Prime to Skywarp and even the huge Omega Supreme! All it needs is a Unicron to make Transformers fans die in heaven.

Since I'm talking about characters, I'll go a bit further about this point. You can to play a wide range of characters, such as Bumblebee, Ratchet, Jetfire, Starscream, etc. I'm pretty sure Devastator was not in the game (sorry I played the game quite some time back), although that would be cool. He's the bad-ass gestalt that I want to use or battle with. For every character you can customize what two weapons to carry, and every character has their own buffs. Like a Transformer, you can transform. And I enjoyed using the aerial bots the most. Imagine running towards a cliff, jumping off it, and transforming into a jet before blasting off. Wicked.

Gameplay is quite okay. I wouldn't say it is fantastic. You have a melee attack which is actually quite pathetic. I'd rather keep my distance and blast the guy. It's not like the melee is very damaging. So why bother? And the enemy units get rather repetitive. They are either the small, easy-to-own kind, or the big irritating buggers that only serves to waste your time and health. Your AI allies are for decoration, honestly. They hardly do much damage, and enemies seldom focus their attention on your allies. It's frustrating to have Trypticon blasting at me all the way while my AI allies pathetically try to help me assault him. Or at least, I think they were shooting him. The only use I found for them was for me to melee them while stoning in the elevators, or generally anywhere.

Was there soundtracks in the game? Er.. not that I know of, so let's skip that.

I've not tried the multiplayer modes, but I plan to try them once I re-install this game! When I do, I'll update this review.

I'm not sure what else I should add about the game. But as a whole, this game pleases both hardcore Transformers fans and newcomers alike. Good story, awesome graphics, nice gameplay... go get the game if you haven't gotten it! Or borrow from a friend! Or download. Don't worry, I bought mine :)