Omni likes his videogame action figures.

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Ben

Max Payne

Citizen Kabuto

Conker

Agent Tanya

Larry Laffer

Cate Archer

More Action Figures, PLEASE!

If you’re a regular reader of our Gaming Goodies section, you know that I’ve got a thing for action figures. This might stem from a tragic event in my life – my mom selling off the assortment of He-Man, GI Joes, and Transformer figures my brother and I used to play with. Fortunately, these days there’s no shortage of action figures or material to base them on. (And I've long since moved out of the house.) Everything from kids cartoons to comics to movies to sports figures to porn stars have been given the plastic treatment. (Obviously, the porn star figures didn’t need much to become totally plastic.) Increasingly, video and computer games are being mined for material. Action figures based on video games are nothing new, but they’re becoming more common.

Recently we’ve seen figures for Resident Evil, Mario Kart, Street Fighter, Diddy Kong Racing, Metal Gear Solid (1 and 2), Tomb Raider, Ultima Online, Sonic the Hedgehog, EverQuest, Megaman, Perfect Dark, Quake II, Final Fantasy, and Alice. This trend will probably continue and become even more popular as more companies realize the same geeks that collect action figures are into games as well. But there are a few huge licenses that absolutely need action figure likenesses. What follows is a dream list, and if a toy company wants to work on them, I won’t take any credit for giving you the idea.

Game: Half-Life (PC, PS2)

Characters: Gordon Freeman, Security Guard, Marine, Elite Marine, and Deluxe Monster Alien (you know, the big blue one).

Accessories: Each figure comes with an assortment of game weapons and equipment, and a head crab or one of the larger alien creatures.

Notes: Half-Life has established itself as a legendary title. Everyone in gaming circles has either played it (and it’s many mods and expansions) or has heard about it. Freeman’s hazard suit allows for a huge number of articulation points.

Game: Max Payne (PC, PS2, XB)

Characters: Max Payne

Accessories: To do it right he’d come with every weapon found in the game

Notes: A one-shot figure sculpted in a “shoot-dodging” mode would be a good start. But I think a 7 ½” likeness with enough articulation to hold his various guns would be even better.

Game: Giants (PC, PS2)

Characters: Citizen Kabuto, Delphi, Smarties, and the Meccaryns.

Accessories: Each Meccaryn would come with a different weapon from the game and a different Smartie to put on his back. Delphi would come with a variety of bows. Kabuto would be packed with a partially cracked egg.

Notes: Kabuto would have to be a deluxe figure and come in a huge box. Sea Reaper would have two versions: topless and bikini top. A gyrocopter vehicle would also be a good fit and fun to play with.

Game: Conker’s Bad Fur Day (N64)

Characters: Conker, Berri, Birdy, deluxe Panther King, and Sunflower.

Accessories: The smaller characters should be included – such as the pitchfork – as accessories. Conker should come with an assortment of “context sensitive” weapons and money.

Notes: Conker and Berry could have Matrix variants. The Sunflower figure would be available for adult audiences only. Cute figures with an edge are high on my list of must haves.

Game: Unreal Tournament (DC, PC, PS2)

Characters: Any four or five, but one should be Xen.

Accessories: One of UT’s biggest attractions was its weapon selection, so each figure should come with at least two of them.

Notes: Heads should be able to pop off to emulate scoring a headshot in the game. Each figure should also be at least 7” tall and proportional to each other. Also, the variety of armor would make it easy to give them lots of articulation. They should also come with a base emblazoned with the distinctive “U”.

Game: Red Alert 2 (PC)

Characters: Agent Tanya, General Carville, and Yuri.

Accessories: Agent Tanya should come with double-Colts and a sound chip that says, “Shake it, baby!” General Carville should be packed with a Canadian flag and a few toothpicks. Yuri doesn’t come packed with anything – except his mesmerizing stare.

Notes: Agent Tanya will probably be remembered most for that drab olive tank top and the figure should mimic this. A formal dress variant might also be a good idea.

Game: Jedi Knight II (PC)

Characters: Kyle Katarn, Jann Ors, Lando Calrissian, dark Jedi

Accessories: A light saber is a definite must-have for Kyle, but a couple of projectile weapons should be included. Lando would have to come with a winning smile.

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Notes: The only strange thing about JKII is that considering the relationship between LucasArts/Lucasfilm and Hasbro there hasn’t been a series of figures based on the game. Hasbro is the same company that releases figures who appear for a few seconds in the background of a minor scene in any given Star Wars movie! C’mon even Dash Randar got his own figure and his game (Shadows of the Empire) doesn’t hold a candle to JKII!

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Game: Sierra Adventure Games (PC, MAC)

Characters: Larry Laffer, Passtionate Patti, King Graham, Princess Rosella, Roger Wilco, Gabriel Knight, Grace Nakamura, and Sonny Bonds.

Accessories: Larry would come with various essential items like breath spray and a wedding ring for that lucky girl. Roger would need a mop and bucket, and possibly a package of Space Monkeys. Gabriel would need his schattenjagger knife, talisman, and brooding look.

Notes: Each package would be two-in-one, Larry and Patti, Gabriel and Grace, etc., but Roger and Sonny don’t exactly have counterparts so they should come with lots of accessories pulled directly from the games. Obviously, the style would be quite different from figure to figure (Larry and Gabriel used extremely different character design, especially across their respective series – from CGA to SVGA) but they should all measure 7” or so.

Game: LucasArts Adventure Games (PC, MAC, PS2)

Characters: Guybrush Threepwood, Elaine Threepwood, deluxe Pirtate LeChuck, Purple Tentacle, Bernard, Ben (from Full Throttle), Sam & Max, and Manni Calavera.

Accessories: They would all have to be taken directly from the game’s context. (Such as Purple Tentacle’s shrinking ray gun or Manni’s scythe.)

Notes: Like the Sierra figures, these could be double-packed according to the game. (e.g. Tentacle with Bernard.) But two others would have to be handled differently. Pirate LeChuck would have to be a separate deluxe and over-sized figure so he would come packed by himself. The other is Ben, who would have to come packed with his huge bike. Ideally, these figures would measure in at (the very least) 6”.

Game: The Sims (PC)

Characters: Any generic ones will do, but definitely Bob Newbie.

Accessories: Preferably something they can sit down in.

Notes: Like the little MUSCLE figures, a hundred different figures could be produced with variations here and there.

Game: Legacy of Kain (PS2, XB, PC, PSX)

Characters: Kain, Raziel, Uma, and the Saraphim Lord.

Accessories: Bladed weapons are a must.

Notes: Big detailed vampire figures (especially busty ones) are always good sellers – Moore Action Collectibles or McFarlane Toys should get on this one.

Game: No One Lives Forever (PC, PS2)

Characters: Cate Archer.

Accessories: One of her more simple guns.

Notes: I'd like to see Ms. Archer about 12" tall and constructed of soft vinyl. Articulation is not a priority.

Writing wishlists is fine and dandy, but how can you affect real change? Submitting petitions isn’t a good idea and companies won’t take unsolicited suggestions and/or designs. Thus my little disclaimer at the top – if companies want to take the ideas and run with them, be my guest I won’t bother laying intellectual claim to the ideas (however, the above is copyrighted and should not be reprinted without permission). Just know that I will be knocking on their doors for complete sets for review.

Will we ever see these figures? Possibly but not likely. If consumers show enough interest in action figures based on video game likenesses there might be a chance. Get the word out, write letters to the toy companies that you want to see more video game characters, hit the message boards and encourage others to do the same. (Most importantly: buy them!) If a company can make porn star action figures, why can’t Max Payne, Purple Tentacle, and Conker get the same treatment? The trend of bringing our favorite game characters to “life” seems strong right now (we’re close to the release of figures based on Onimusha, Warcraft III, and SSX Tricky), but it could be stronger, and it won’t get that way (or maintain itself) if more interest isn’t shown.

- Omni

(May 19, 2002)


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