What
can be said of Master Chief that hasn’t already been said?His first game out and he snags his own action figure.On his second outing he gets another action figure, this time a
more athletic figure that echoes his new look in Halo 2.
Joyride
does a good job sticking to the source material here – there’s no
mistaking Master Chief.But
there’s one aspect that isn’t quite right.He looks slightly like a toddler wearing shoulder pads, like the
suit just doesn’t quite fit.After some painstaking and elaborate research (i.e. playing
Halo 2 to the end) I’ve finally put my finger on it.His upper body isn’t bulky enough.It’s kind of like those 1977 Star Wars figures that lacked
any body definition.It’s
not as pronounced with Master Chief but if you get the feeling there’s
something not quite right, that’s probably what it is.
Nearly
everything else is perfect.I say nearly because his knees are so loose he constantly
falls over if he’s not propped on something or posed in a crouch.Maybe the problem is restricted to the review figure but I doubt
it.
Master
Chief has 20 points of articulation.This is great for putting him in all sorts of poses.The elbow joints are double and he has a seam joint at the waist
and ball-jointed torso.He
doesn’t just look more athletic he is more athletic.Besides all that he even comes with a spare left hand so he can
be posed holding both SMGs to mimic Halo 2’s dual firing feature.
The
sculpt of the figure does justice to the license however there is still
room for improvement.The
armor detail has been smoothed over, showing no battle damage whatsoever
and a rather “plastic” look. (Yes, I know it’s an action figure!)The visor – definitely the focal point of the original figure
– is eye-catching and not just because it makes Master Chief look a
little like a Cyclops.
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Master
Chief is an extremely playable figure.He is a good size to match up against other figures and the
super-poseable nature of Master Chief means hours of playtime.The interchangeable left hand could be lost if you’re not
paying attention and the SMGs are on the small side but Master Chief
himself hold ups pretty well.He
spent two days fighting with the eclectic items in my work bag and he
escaped without a scratch.He’s
compatible with the previous Halo toys and can even hold most of the
Covenant weapons, though he looks most bad-ass holding the Battle Rifle.
Playable
and looking good, Joyride scores again (though it could have gone off
someone’s skate – still room for improvement).