#decided for better or for worse that kit will be implemented here instead of in the group w kyun.. kyun works best on his own for me idk

[soobvape]

i need brownies so fucking bad rn

[wwwps4]

Just Cause 4

For me, Just Cause 4 was in the top ten expected games of 2018. Since the release of the first game on the PlayStation 2, I have loved this series for the freedom and dynamics of the gameplay, with each new part increased thanks to innovations, mainly tied to the hook-cat of Rico Rodriguez, the main character of the series. From the third part of the franchise began to change noticeably, adding serious notes to the previously crazy action, often devoid of meaning, logic and laws of physics. Actually, for which the series was loved by fans. But the degree of seriousness in Just Cause 3 was kept within the bounds of decency and did not destroy the cool atmosphere of madness — we had a charismatic dictator, not devoid of a sense of humor, a huge world and a wide Arsenal of tools of destruction.

From the fourth game it was quite logical to expect only the development of an established formula, and we got it. Partially. With the evolution of some game variables, unfortunately, others have noticeably degraded.

Looking back at the past, on the review of Just Cause 3, today's I wants to meet myself from the past and hit the head with a poker. Because the estimate is too high. But today's I also understand why this happened: against the background of the second part of the previous game looked and played much better, even despite performance problems. The new mechanics looked great and encouraged the player to use them. In Just Cause 4, the situation is different: new mechanics are curious, but experiments with them get boring after an hour or two, and you only return to balloons with boosters when you perform numerous and monotonous tests that make your eyes ripple. Finally, the game itself does not encourage the use of innovations.

Yes, the developers have tried to add some variety to the tasks that are set for the player, and now the mission to weaken the influence of the enemy in the region is not to destroy their bases, but to systematically capture them. On some bases, you need to disable and hack guns, on others-to steal drawings or weaken the protection, opening important rooms for passing with the help of specific models of cars, tanks and boats. But this is where all the diversity ends, because the mechanics of performing different tasks are still the same: find the switch — break the switch, find the generator-destroy the generator.

Story tasks and side activities in the game are tied to completely similar tasks, the variety of which is even more than in the previous parts of the series, but does not save you from the routine. Disabling switches and blowing up generators would be much more interesting if the developers had improved the artificial intelligence of their opponents, because in their current state, only some types of enemies pose a threat. And even then, not the biggest. A much more dangerous enemy of the player in Just Cause 4 is crazy physics, which can suddenly give out some stupid feint, turning the car over on an even spot or blowing up the helicopter from touching a tree branch with the rotor.

Helicopters in Just Cause 4 are your best friends, even though the body kit and weapons available to the player often don't match (for example, we see two types of projectiles and a machine gun, but we can only use one type of NUR and a machine gun). With them, you can perform most speed tests, clean up almost all the necessary enemy bases, and even destroy an enemy General trying to get away on a jet fighter. Yes, you can catch up with him by helicopter and shoot him. Not ask...

But it is worth paying tribute: the shooting in the fourth part is several goals higher than all previous releases in the series. Finally, Rico has learned to fire from the shoulder, which makes it much easier to aim and makes the control more comfortable. You can only praise the work on weapons and opponents. The hero's Arsenal grows as you progress, and each barrel now feels unique: different rate of fire, accuracy, alternative fire mode, reload speed, and so on. Worthily. Types of enemies also pleased — "Ghosts" and "Titans" can not only spoil the nerves of the player due to its elusiveness and strength of armor, respectively, but also send the invulnerable Rico to the next world.

Transport management has also improved, and all at once. The weight of the cars seems large, although they continue to be cardboard boxes, judging by the impact of game physics on them. Even tanks and armored personnel carriers take off here, like Chinese cars made of chocolate foil. Examples are in the video below! More pleasant than in Just Cause 3, was the management of air technology, but this is more due to its ease. But water transport is frustrating clumsiness, although it is most likely just quite realistic. Other things amuse: boats and jet skis sometimes feel good even on land. See for yourself:

There are also outright deterioration compared to Just Cause 3! For example, the tone of the project changed from casually playful and jaunty on "complex SSI", which has a negative effect on the atmosphere. The share of humor in the narrative and side activities has decreased, and attempts by some minor characters to dive into the pool of jokes ends with a painful blow on a newspaper spread out on the water. Alas, in Just Cause 4, there is no charismatic dictator, no cool boss battles, and most of the potentially cool moments are closed under a video lock. Seriously, instead of creating spectacular battles with the elements, the developers have translated all the "victory over bosses" in the format of videos. It turned out even worse than the battle with the final boss in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. And there are few things worse than her.

The plot of the game... Yes, someone will now say that the game Just Cause has never been, and so on. True, but the developers themselves decided to change this and tried to take the "new height", which they did not submit. And since Avalanche Studios themselves decided to bring the story of Rico Rodriguez to the forefront, they gave carte Blanche for appropriate criticism. But it is not worth much to crucify and complain about this, either, it is more expensive for yourself. In General, the story has a good potential, but little attention from the authors, who are constantly confused about the details, dates and events of the past.

Moreover, some of the game dialogs simply do not correspond to the events that follow them. For example, in one of the videos, Tom Sheldon, who decided to make peace with Rico and help his precious student, says: "I will lead", which causes an entertaining skirmish with references to the past. But he gets behind the wheel of an armored car, and Rico climbs in after him. And what do you think? The car, of course, is controlled by the player. Either we were temporarily given power over Sheldon, or the developers and writers again forgot to sync the project's cloud.

When performing tests in Just Cause 4, remember that most of the necessary vehicles for "through the ring on a particular vehicle" tests are located near the test itself. From a few meters to a couple of blocks. For example, if the marker indicates that the test at the top of the mountain requires riding through the ring on a motorcycle, do not rush to look for the bike and attach the balls to it, as I did-climb the mountain using a winch and you will surely find a bike waiting for you there.

As for the technical part and scripto, they are a good source of high mood. However, not when you once again can not get the local "fultons" or jet mini-engines of the hook to work humanly, and they begin to turn the raised objects against any logic. Unfortunately, there will be most of these situations. The Avalanche team came up with interesting chips, but it did not work to implement them in a human way, as well as to encourage players to use them. The entire game, story - wise, you can go through, almost without using hook modifications. So what's the point?! The variety of the "set it yourself" level has always worked in Just Cause, but before that, the game mechanics did not go beyond the daily combat comforts.

Even for most of the tests where you need to deliver a car to an island or the roof of a high-rise, it is much easier to use a cargo helicopter with a magnetic grip than to play with balloons that behave as inadequately as possible most of the time they are used. After completing half of the tests, of which there are more than four hundred, I met only two where it was necessary to use balloons. Here just came to the rescue modification for them, allowing you to control the direction of flight crosshair sight.

The moment just got into the video below, which also says a lot about the technical part, artificial intelligence, stupefied since Just Cause 3, and the gameplay in General:

However, I repeat - fans of the franchise will be more satisfied with the new game, because the basic gameplay is thoroughly prettier. Another thing is that game innovations are mostly meaningless, and if they are simply thrown out, Just Cause 4 will not lose anything. The weather conditions that Avalanche was so proud of look great and even work, but have a strictly plot-based meaning. Without the technology developed by the local dictator, Solis seems to have no tornadoes, no winter blizzards, no sandstorms, no rain and thunderstorms. I just want to start packing my bags and looking for air tickets! After clearing objects that control weather conditions, we can turn them on and off with a single button. What for? To complicate your life, for example.

And there is no need for more. Storm and Blizzard limit the field of view, once in them, the enemies become absolutely stupid and blind. And since computer idiots and so ... idiots, send their intelligence to negative values once again do not want to, because the game becomes not interesting. Tornadoes destroy some objects, but only in specific areas. As well as the storm does not go beyond its limits. It turns out that we can again subject to spontaneous rape already cleared and captured areas. What's the point?! Oh, deja vu…

[murasaki-murasame]

More Dragalia Lost liveblogging under the cut where I talk about my Halloween summons, the upcoming version update, and my thoughts on high dragon trials now that the HDT weapons are a thing to work toward.

First off, I can’t remember exactly how many summons I’ve done on the Halloween banner, but I got all of the Halloween units except for Elly and Maritimus, and as much as I want to get H-Maritimus, I think I’m gonna wait until they announce the next banner to see where I want to put my resources. I have a feeling we’re going to get a water banner next that might give us our first 5-star water blade, which might be really tempting. So I’m gonna wait it out for now.

I also got Lin You as a random pity break along the way, which was really nice, since I was considering dream summoning her in the future. Now my wind roster is pretty much fully rounded out, except that I don’t have Wedding Elly yet. And funnily enough, regular Aeleen is still the only 4-star in the summoning pool that I don’t have yet.

And on the topic of dream summons, I decided to go ahead and get Xander from the current one. Which really took me by surprise since I figured we weren’t getting one anytime soon, since they didn’t announce it during the anniversary, but here we are. I felt a bit awkward about how just a few hours later we found out that the new Halloween banner was gonna have a new stun-res water sword on it, but I don’t regret getting Xander. My water team really needed him.

At this point there’s only a handful of units in the regular pool that I’d be interested in dream summoning eventually. It’s basically just Delphi, Ramona, and Lucretia at this point. Mainly Delphi at this point. I’m still salty about how I got a dupe Wedding Aoi in the last banner instead of him. And to make things worse I also got a dupe Ezelith during my Halloween summons, lol.

I was really surprised by the new Halloween units being a mix of flame and water ones, but they all serve nice roles, even if they’re awkwardly useless for the Halloween event itself. I also ended up being completely wrong about which characters would get alts for this in the first place. Mostly since I wasn’t expecting them to branch so far outside of the launch unit pool. I vaguely thought we might get a Mym alt, but I figured that it’d go to a different party member instead. But I’m actually happy that H-Mym is a thing, because I didn’t have a flame axe built up before I got her [which is why Ramona’s still high on my priority list for dream summons], and axes are one of my favourite weapon types to use. Sadly it sounds like G-Mym is better than her, but I’ll probably still just use H-Mym since I like her more as a unit.

Most of all I love and adore H-Lowen. He’s the best thing ever and he’s never leaving my flame team, lmao. On the one hand I still dislike it when units get alts where the only real difference is their element type, but I’ve been specifically hoping for us to get a good sleep-res flame healer for ages, so I can’t complain. He’s also just a really great healer all around, aside from not having the right resistance for HMS. He at least seems equally as good if not better than Verica. His kit is less specifically focused on healing potency than hers, but he has some really valuable support utility, especially since he has skill prep. I actually ended up using him last night in my very first HDT clear, against standard HMS. He doesn’t have the right resistance, but he can easily pass the HP check, and with his skill prep he can get off his defense buff and his HP buff, which is really nice. It doesn’t seem super essential for standard HMS, but for expert and master it might be a lot more important, like why Choco Thaniel is so important to HBH. And honestly even though H-Lowen’s sleep res, I found that it was pretty easy to avoid getting hit in the first place after the opening blast.

I still have my Xania set up as a DPS-focused alternative to use in HMS, but I really like using H-Lowen, and I’ve kinda resigned myself to the fact that Xania probably won’t be very good for anything above standard HMS. I have units like Mikoto, Sarisse, and both Myms who I can use in the fight instead if I need to, but I like Xania so I want to use her wherever I can.

Even though I’ve been playing this game for like six months, I’m only just starting to get into HDTs, lol. Part of it’s just that there really hasn’t been that much of a need to do them in the first place before they introduced HDT weapons recently, but mostly I’ve just been going through the typical motions of performance anxiety that you get with online co-op stuff like this.

I’m still really happy that I got my first clear, but I was kinda surprised by how relatively . . . simple standard HMS ended up being, in spite of knowing in advance that it had been heavily powercrept as the game’s gone on. I don’t really know what I expected, though, especially after knowing that the void dragon fights were specifically designed to prepare people for the HDTs. I really shouldn’t have been surprised that in the end, the HDTs would just feel like harder versions of the void dragon fights I’ve already done, lol. I actually feel like Void Zephyr almost feels harder than standard HMS right now, from what little experience I have with the latter, since Void Zephyr has way more unavoidable damage, and the tornadoes and stuff are a lot more frequent and get in the way a lot.

I might just stick to HMS for a while, but I have units I can use for the other ones. For HMC I have all the meta units except for W-Elly, but I’d lean more towards using Noelle or Lowen since I prefer playing as ranged units for these sorts of fights. For HBH I have a Choco Thaniel set up, but I don’t have a great dragon for him [which is why I’d like to get H-Maritimus but I can live without him], though I also have Lily, Summer Celliera (and I’ve promoted Elly and Orsem]. For HJP I have Gala Cleo, who I’ll probably stick to since I prefer ranged units, but I also have Curran, Heinwald, and Natalie. And then for HZD I have Gala Euden, and then Fleur and Yachiyo who I haven’t promoted. I’m kinda hoping we get better 5-star units I can use instead, so I’m not interested in investing a lot of resources into those two, so I’ll probably stick to Gala Euden. Sadly ranged units don’t seem to be very in favour for HZD, but I have S-Cleo in back-up.

I’m way too early to be thinking about the whole expert HDT thing just yet, but thankfully I have Noelle and a 2UB Freyja who I can use to get my foot in the door with expert HMC when the time comes.

I have mixed feelings overall about the entire concept and implementation of expert/master HDTs [and the time attack rankings are their own whole mess], but I can’t really say much about them since I’m so inexperienced with this whole part of the game in general. I do get the feeling that they gave us too much too fast, though.

Mostly I just hope that they don’t start balancing new endgame content around the assumption that everyone has HDT weapons, since that’s just not going to be the case for the most part, and it’d just be boring if new content becomes effectively locked to anyone outside of the top 1% or whatever of players. In the short term, I’m worried about how the new wave of humanoid endgame bosses they’ve teased at will go. They’re said to be ‘harder than high dragons’, but it’d really suck if they’re basically gated behind expert HDTs. Getting a whole new wave of permanent endgame content that I can’t even begin to access for who knows how long would just be kinda . . . demoralizing. I really hope that, even if they’re presumably harder than standard HDTs at least, they instead exist parallel to those fights, and you can basically get into one or the other first, instead of one being gated behind the other. That way it wouldn’t take as much grinding for people to be able to even start challenging the new bosses.

I also have a feeling that, like how you can grind the HDT fights to get the high dragons from the trade store, you might be able to grind the new endgame bosses in order to obtain them as playable adventurers. Which on paper I like the sound of since they at least seem to have really neat designs, but I can’t help but worry that it’d be like the HDT weapons where they basically create their own meta in the community, while suffering from a sort of ‘key in a locked box’ scenario where you’re expected to have those units/weapons/etc in order to even start doing the content you need to grind to obtain them. Which definitely seems to be a problem with HDT weapons, with how there seems to be barely any wiggle room for entering the expert HDT grind cycle if you don’t have a HDT weapon.

I’m at least assuming that the new bosses will be basically the same as HDTs in terms of being co-op content with four players using one unit each against a single boss. In which case it’d be pretty easy for similar issues with the meta and whatnot to arise with it. I kinda hope they shake it up a bit, though. It’d be pretty nice if it was actually solo content that plays out more like facility event bosses. We really need more solo endgame content in general. But I think it’ll probably still be co-op focused.

And then there’s the new version update coming out in a week or so. Which mostly just seems to be quality of life improvements and stuff, but I’m really happy about the improvements to the regular log-in bonuses. Getting five times more wyrmite from it is pretty neat. Which reminds me of how they’ve recently started implementing tenfold vouchers as rewards for clearing raid/facility bosses for the first time. So overall we’ve been getting a lot more regular access to summoning resources, which is nice.

I’m also happy that we’re getting the ability to put facilities into storage while keeping their effects. I recently maxed out my elemental altars and slime facilities, so it’d be nice to put them all in storage to free up space in my halidom.

We’ll see what happens at the start of November when the Halloween event ends and we get our next This Month In Dragalia Lost post, but I hope we get a Celliera event rerun next, both so we can get a good new water banner, and so I can finally get OG Celliera since she’s one of the few event units I don’t have yet.

[bossrush]

Decisions, Decisions...

Whenever I’m talking about any of the underlying design elements of games (especially when it comes to systems), “interesting decisions” and “meaningful decisions” are terms I tend to throw around fairly frequently – and I’m sure at times they seem almost indistinguishable. I use them both almost exclusively in a positive context, often to justify a change or decision I’m making or proposing (for example, changing Fire Emblem’s Rock-Paper-Scissors system into something more tangible would provide players with more interesting decisions, since the pros and cons of each weapon type would interact more freely with context).

However, I’ve recently read an interesting article – “The Danger of Interesting Decisions” by Dan Felder – that both works to illustrate the pitfalls of such a broad design principal and introduces a safer alternative in “Satisfying Decisions,” or decisions that have no ambiguity in the positive nature or “correctness” of their outcome. I may be wildly misinterpreting the driving message of this article, although perhaps I may just fall into the “narrow psychographic” of players/designers who put a high amount of value in decisions with non-obvious answers. Regardless, I think it’s important to both take a moment to talk about decisions in general, as well as say my piece on the value of those whose purpose is to be interesting and meaningful, as well as those simply meant to be satisfying.

SATISFYING DECISIONS

Satisfying Decisions are probably the easiest to define – as the player, you make a decision that undoubtedly was the “best” one, often being put in a position to make this decision as a reward for previous good decision-making (or skillful execution of inputs, etc.) or simply because the game is rewarding the player frequently in a small way. In this case, think of executing an enemy with Darius’s ult in League of Legends, or dodging an attack at the last moment to trigger Witch Time in Bayonetta.

In the first case, this “Satisfying Decision” is playing an integral role in the “Reward” element of the Encourage-Enable-Reward nature of his kit, so by earning the position of being near a low-health enemy marked by several bleed stacks, you get to make the no-brainer decision of bringing down your index finger on that R button with righteous satisfaction and watching as your foe gets removed from the fight and your ult’s cooldown resets, ready for another use. This decision would instead become “interesting” if it did not reset and you had to choose your target wisely.

Likewise, in Bayonetta, you’re never going to be challenged with the decision of “do I want to get hit or do I want to dodge,” or “do I want to do a dodge that doesn’t have the right timing to give me Witch Time” – no, you go for that Witch Time whenever you can, and then get to make the interesting decision of how to best use that precious moment of full combat freedom. And you know what? Both of these feel really, really good. But only being faced with easy decisions is by no means the best or only way to let the player feel good (outside purely execution-based games like Super Meat Boy or any given rhythm game), so maybe we might want to think about introducing something to balance them out.

INTERESTING DECISIONS

Interesting Decisions are those that challenge the player to choose between two seemingly equal options, each with distinct outcomes based on the circumstance – one of which might be right while the other is wrong, or more optimal while the other is less optimal.

Take, for example, knocking down a tough monster in Monster Hunter while you are near death. Here, you have an obvious “wrong” answer (do nothing, or take some other action that would clearly harm you or take you further away from your goal), as well as a few answers that will yield different but positive outcomes – in this case, taking the short opportunity to either use your most powerful attacks on the vulnerable monster, or roll away from danger and drink a potion to allow yourself to indulge in greedier combos or make more wrong decisions down the line. Since dropping to 0 health multiple times and failing to deal enough damage to the monster before the time limit is up are both lose conditions here, both of these options seem good, but which one is the best?

With a good (ie. not needlessly convoluted) interesting decision, it all depends on the player’s ability to analyze their current situation and plan ahead based on its potential outcome(s). So in this case, drinking would be the most optimal option if the monster in question has an attack that can reliably hit the player (whether due to their build and strategy or them not yet knowing how to anticipate and avoid it), whereas going in for the damage would be the most optimal option if doing so is the only way to break an out-of-reach part that poses a risk while unbroken, or if the player’s weapon relies heavily on large openings for its damage output (ie. Greatsword/Hammer/Gunlance). Usually, many of these interesting decisions pepper the moment-to-moment gameplay of Action/Hunting games and Fighting games alike, as players must decide how close or far they should be to their opponent or which combo or attack to go for on the fly, with these decisions relying largely on how well the player can read the situation.

MEANINGFUL DECISIONS

Meaningful Decisions are those that have a tangible weight to them, but rather than existing as right or wrong, or on a spectrum of optimization, they simply change how the player is able to interact with the game and approach its many challenges and decisions. The core of a meaningful decision is that “meaning” – the decision you’re making needs to have an outcome that means something, that changes the way you think about what you’re doing.

The importance of meaningful decisions is the most noticeable in their absence – perhaps you’ve played a PvP game whose characters are negligible in their differences, or one that offers a complex customization subsystem yet only one viable “build” for each of its characters, classes, etc. Or, take for example League of Legends’ current “Rune” system, where players are able to slap on tiny granules of raw stats that are applied to their champion of choice at the start of the game. Choosing between +1 Attack Damage and +1% Critical Chance doesn’t feel very meaningful, and even with some of the more distinctive Keystone Masteries, you’ll often find yourself in a situation where the champion you’ve chosen to play simply gets way more value out of one than the others. The illusion of choice is often what’s left after a failed implementation of meaningful decisions.  

To look at these sorts of decisions done right, consider character moveset builds in Darkest Dungeon (which I am contractually obliged to mention once per article): giving the Jester its 4 music-based support moves or its 4 sickle-based damaging moves doesn’t make it better or worse at what it does, because “what it does” depends on how you choose to use it. Beyond that, this has even more meat to it once you realize you can mix and match these two distinctive movesets to further tailor its output to your needs. The decision of how you build this character is “meaningful” because, while not inherently “satisfying” (or particularly “challenging” – this is where choosing which of those 4 moves to spend your Jester’s single turn per round comes in), it changes the way you think about using that character in a significant way.

THE ANATOMY OF A DECISION

So now that we’ve got the Big Three out of the way, let’s look at the only card game I know enough about to use as an example: Hearthstone. While a lot of its appeal is surely due to its more approachable tone and ties to a monstrously popular franchise, its competitive scene has taken root due to a health dose of satisfying, interesting, and meaningful decisions.

For those who haven’t played, the premise is simple: choose a character, build a deck, and use that deck to beat your opponent’s character before their deck beats yours.

The satisfying decisions here are obvious - for example, if you have a minion on the board and your opponent doesn’t, you can use it to attack them at no cost beyond that minion’s one action per turn, depleting your opponent’s health and bringing you closer to victory. A clearly “right” decision, usually punctuated by a cheeky battle cry and a satisfying crunch. 

The interesting decisions are usually what put you in a position to make the satisfying ones. Do you use that minion to attack another enemy’s minion and potentially remove it from play (sometimes at the cost of your own minion), or do you go straight for their character’s face? Do you put down three more minions for a potential burst of damage next turn, or do you play it safe in case your opponent has an AoE spell up their sleeve? Do you summon a 2/2 Slime, or gain an empty Mana Crystal? Sometimes you might not find out whether you made the right decision even after the match is over, yet this is often what keeps each new match as engaging as the last.

The meaningful decisions, then, are done almost entirely outside of any match. Do you build a safe and balanced deck? One that prioritized board control? Perhaps bank on powering up and summoning the terrifying C’Thun? Do you play that deck with a Priest that can keep minions topped off with their Lesser Heal, or a Hunter who can keep up the pressure with liberal use of Steady Shot? Do you take advantage of the Hunter’s unique trap-like Secret cards, unleash their menagerie of ferocious beasts, or keep a quiver full of their flexible offensive Spell cards?

...Of course, all of these decisions have their extremes. Only trying to satisfy the player without challenging them or allowing them to explore diverse options can result in a popcorn-like game that feels more like a toy (many mobile game apps fall into this). As expressed in “The Danger of Interesting Decisions,” simply trying to tie up the player with endless crossroads of nail-biting ambiguity can lead to the kind of frustration that will only drive them away, rather than engage them. And even providing equal-but-different options in excess can lead to a paralysis of indecision that stops the player from engaging with the game entirely. With those dangers in mind, I do ultimately think that a healthy ecosystem involving all these types of decisions is what makes for the most engaging and rewarding gameplay experiences…And of course, those are the ones I want to design!

[numberplates4u-blog]

Renault Captur vs Citroen C4 Cactus

2017-09-14 11:30 Does the revised Renault Captur have what it takes to steal small SUV crown from the Citroen C4 Cactus? Renault’s Captur was the best-selling supermini-based SUV in Europe in 2016, but with the new Koleos large SUV joining the Kadjar in the company’s range, the French brand has implemented a light mid-life facelift for its compact crossover. A new look, more kit and better safety tech are the key points with this new Captur, but is that enough for it to beat our favourite small SUV, the Citroen C4 Cactus? • Best crossovers and small SUVs Here we’re testing petrol-powered versions of both cars. These 1.2-litre turbo units will have plenty of performance and economy for most people, and could be cheaper to run than a diesel version. We’ve brought them together to see if the Captur deserves its high-selling status, and if it can beat its fellow French SUV.  Head-to-head Model: Renault Captur 1.2 TCe Dynamique S Nav Citroen C4 Cactus PureTech 110 Flair Edition Price:  £19,355 £19,825 Engine:  1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol turbo 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol turbo Power/torque:  118bhp/205Nm 108bhp/205Nm Transmission:  Six-speed manual, front-wheel drive   Five-speed manual, front-wheel drive  0-60mph: 10.6 seconds 10.8 seconds Top speed: 113mph 117mph Test economy:  38.8mpg 45.8mpg CO2/tax:  125g/km/£140 100g/km/£140 Renault Captur  Image 3 of 34 Image 3 of 34 • For: Stylish looks, smooth engine, plenty of equipment as standard. • Against: Dated interior, occasionally unsettled ride, dull to drive. Renault has kept things simple with this facelifted Captur, so while there’s a new look and more kit, under the skin it’s not that different to the company’s original Clio-based SUV. That means it’s sharper to drive than the Cactus, with faster steering, a more precise gearshift and better body control through corners. However, it’s stiffer than the Citroen, too, and while the car is pretty comfortable on most roads, significant imperfections in the surface tend to upset the Renault more than its rival, particularly when the chassis is already loaded up through a corner. While the Captur’s 1.2-litre four-cylinder turbo engine isn’t as characterful as the Citroen’s PureTech three-cylinder, it is smoother and quieter on the move. There’s more road and wind noise than in the Cactus, though, which means it’s actually slightly noisier around town and on the motorway. Still, in reality, there’s very little to separate the two models when it comes to refinement. Image 6 of 34 Image 6 of 34 With 118bhp, the Captur boasts 10bhp more than the Citroen, which meant it did 0-60mph in 10.6 seconds; that was two tenths faster than the Cactus. It went from 30-70mph through the gears in 9.9 seconds, where the Citroen took 10.6 seconds, because the Renault’s six-speed box has shorter ratios, allowing you to change gear more quickly. While the driving position is better than in the Citroen, the Captur’s interior is lacking in terms of design and ergonomics. The black plastic centre panel isn’t as modern as the Cactus’s slimline dash, in particular. The new-look exterior – including some distinctive LED running lights – gives the Renault plenty of visual interest, even if it doesn’t look as individual as the C4 Cactus. New safety and assistance kit is available on the Captur, too, starting with a smart parking system that can steer for you into a bay. Also, autonomous emergency braking is standard across the range. Image 7 of 34 Image 7 of 34 Our car was fitted with a £1,200 Techno Pack Bose Premium, which adds, as you’d expect, a Bose sound system, as well as Renault’s R-Link infotainment set-up, a parking camera and blind spot warning. It’s a good option to go for, bringing lots of useful tech to the Dynamique S Nav’s generous level of standard-fit equipment. The seven-inch R-Link infotainment screen is colourful, but, as in the Cactus, it’s slow to respond. At least the Renault’s physical air-conditioning controls are easy to use. The menu system isn’t as intuitive as Citroen’s, but you do get Android Auto. Apple CarPlay is absent, which is a flaw in a sector dominated by buyers looking for connectivity. Testers’ notes: Interior trim: Glossy black plastic facia around the touchscreen feels a bit cheap and attracts a lot of fingerprints. At least the display itself doesn’t do the same.Upholstery: Removable seat covers can be washed and replaced, which is a novel idea. The option is £100.Controls: Cruise control is operated via three separate sets of buttons; this isn’t a very logical layout. Citroen C4 Cactus Image 4 of 34 Image 4 of 34 • For: Comfortable ride, great petrol engine, chic and stylish design. • Against: Not the most agile choice, poor gearbox, not as spacious as rivals. We loved the Citroen C4 Cactus’s funky styling and unique design ethos when it arrived in 2014, and it’s still the most distinctive car in its class to this day. Where other models, including even the facelifted Captur, are more conventional, the Cactus was a risk that really paid off for Citroen. The interior in particular is a high point for the little SUV. While the C4 Cactus doesn’t have a very high-quality finish, using some hard plastics throughout, it’s no worse than the Captur. However, it feels much more logical and simple inside. The low dash gives a sense of space, plus the design cues are modern, but not at the expense of functionality – with the exception perhaps of the driving position, which could be better. On the outside, the Cactus has those eye-catching Airbumps that help prevent car park scrapes, but the French model’s positive traits are more than skin deep. Image 21 of 34 Image 21 of 34 Our test car’s 108bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine is great and heightens the relative sense of fun from behind the wheel. It’s punchy, and while the Citroen’s powerplant isn’t as refined as the Renault’s motor, it does sound good and delivers decent performance. It produces its maximum 205Nm of torque from 1,500rpm, 500rpm lower than the 1.2 in the Renault, which means it feels more eager from lower down in the rev range. That helped it keep up with the Renault at the track, where it posted a 0-60mph time of 10.8 seconds, just two tenths off the more powerful Captur – and it was three tenths faster from 0-30mph than its rival. The rest of the sprint was, in part, decided by the gear ratios, because the Cactus only has a five-speed box compared with the Renault’s six-speed unit, which means each gear has to cover a wider speed range. In fifth, the Renault managed 50-70mph in 9.5 seconds, but the Cactus took 9.8 seconds. The Renault then took 10.9 seconds in sixth gear, so the Citroen’s top gear sits in between. Image 22 of 34 Image 22 of 34 The Cactus has a weight advantage over the Captur, which helped bridge the gap as well. Both cars are pretty light – the Citroen weighs 1,020kg to the Renault’s 1,195kg – but the Cactus has the edge when it comes to comfort. Its cosseting ride focuses on this rather than agility because the Citroen rides more smoothly even on British B-roads. However, it’s not all positive because the Cactus’s lumpy, vague gearshift isn’t very pleasant. Apart from this, it’s good enough to drive. The Citroen is fairly smooth, comfortable, easy to live with and has a greater sense of character than the somewhat bland Captur.  Testers’ notes: Touchscreen: Buttons around the edge of the Citroen’s screen go straight to certain functions, making it easier to use than the menu system on the Captur’s display.Seats: While seats look and feel good, we found the driving position was difficult to get used to.Controls: More buttons on steering wheel mean it’s easier to control the Cactus’s functions on the move. Verdict First place: Citroen C4 Cactus  Image 20 of 34 Image 20 of 34 Funky styling, a modern-looking interior and a comfortable ride mark out the Cactus in a crowded segment. It’s particularly good with this 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine under the bonnet; the unit is both punchy and economical. So the Citroen retains its place at the top of the small SUV tree. Second place: Renault Captur Image 5 of 34 Image 5 of 34 While the Captur is decent to drive, fairly refined and reasonably well equipped, it loses out to the more characterful and comfortable Cactus in this test. It doesn’t really excel at anything, instead being fairly average at most tasks – although it does have stylish looks on its side, and a quiet petrol engine. Associated Advanced Gallery  Renault Captur vs Citroen C4 Cactus - pictures

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/renault/captur/100921/renault-captur-vs-citroen-c4-cactus

[estorica]

Trials and Tribulations - Part 1

Benoit walked through the gates in the wooden palisade, eyes scanning the state of the structure. It had been a long while, it felt since he signed up to serve as a soldier in the army. Being assigned to this post, far away from the more central places, once his training had been done.

 The journey had been a long one, but relatively uneventful. It had given him plenty of time to think. During his training, he knew he had broken some unwritten and unspoken rules. He’d spoken his mind, expressed ideas. He’d been certain they were sound, of course, but they contradicted or outshone those of his superiors.

 That alone wasn’t really a bad thing, however. No, it was when he spoke the truth, as opposed to a self-serving, safe lie that had really been his downfall. Had he ever witnessed his captain abuse Auldamis?

 Of course, he had; they all had. But you weren’t supposed to tell.

 When faced with questions like this, it could have been so easy to say that the captain was strict and that Auldamis was simply a bit too weak for the life of a soldier. Perhaps it would have been a mercy for the other lad as well. It wasn’t far from the truth, not much of a lie.

 But it wasn’t the actual truth and Benoit knew it.

 The type of beatings and exercises that Auldamis had to go through for reasons that were only thinly veiled excuses were nothing short of unreasonable.

 That was also what he’d told the inspector upon receiving the question.

 After a lengthy conversation, the man had thanked him for his cooperation, assured him that no one would knew what had been said and that investigations would proceed. The result had been that Auldamis was transferred to a different company.

 The captain maintained his rank and not another word was spoken about it.

 Benoit’s training had gone on without much trouble. At least, no direct issues as such. He was dedicated, listened well and worked hard. Thus it was surprising to most to find after their training was over that he was to be sent to one of the most remote outposts.

 Still, someone must have been paying some attention. He was tasked to oversee the fort and keep it in good condition, while a suitable replacement for the old general. Apparently, the man had fallen in a raid from bandits, not an uncommon occurrence out here, he was given to understand.

 Carrying with him documents signed by the Sovereign, or at least in his name by some secretary, and most of his worldly belongings he had now reached his destination. His greyish green eyes were already inspecting things as he headed further in, presenting identification and other documents to the people blocking his path.

 Whenever someone had checked his papers, he received a lazy salute.

 The wood in the palisade had seen better days and still bore signs from earlier attacks. No one seemed to be on the job of fixing them though. Outside, he’d seen some farms and land being worked, not far from the fort. Likely people who provided food for this small place and, in return, received some protection.

 People were milling about inside, slow and dull, to his mind.

 As he stood around, still looking at the state of things, a thin man came up to him.

 “Was told to bring you to the old guy’s house,” he nodded first to Benoit, then in the direction of one of the houses nearby.

 “Right,” Benoit responded, as though not fully convinced the man would even be capable. He smelled of old booze.

 He was led into a building lacking windows, none of the houses here seemed to have any. In the dusty darkness, he could see a desk, a bed, paper and writing implements, some old weapons and some mostly empty bottles.

 He held back a sigh.

 “Well, here you are then,” the other man said with a half-hearted smile. “If you have any questions, you can ask any of the men. I’ll just let you get settled in shall I?” he barely even waited for Benoit to nod before he started to make his way out of the door.

 Once he was left to his own, Benoit lit a lantern, the light doing more to highlight the shadows than it really illuminated, but after he wiped off the glass and lit a candle as well he felt he had passable light and closed the door.

 At this point he let himself sigh.

 He’d known that there would likely be things to deal with. A place that lost its commander could quickly fall apart unless there were other people of competence to fill the void, but by the look of things, there had been a void here even before the old general had died. Even accounting for the time it had taken for news to reach headquarters, for a decision to be made and for him to travel here, things did not fall into disarray this quickly.

 He sank down into the chair by the desk, resting his elbows on the surface in front of him. Now was as good a time to start as any…

 With that, he spent an exciting first half of the day puzzling together the numbers behind the provisions the outpost had, suppliers and also raw material. He could already tell that the material they had would need to be put to good use with repairs.

 Reports, stock, and numbers did not add up, however. He’d have to go out wherever they actually stored things and inspect things himself, he decided. A matter for tomorrow.

 Having organized and read through most of what had been left on the desk, he decided to pack away what little things he’d brought with him, then he’d have a look at the men he had under him…

 He put the bags he’d brought on the bed and carefully went through them. Plain looking, practical clothes were folded and stored away in drawers and the closet. That accounted for most of what he’d brought. Most of the rest were weapons, shaving kit, some protective gear and writing utilities.

 Lastly, however, his hands gripped a wooden carved figurine. It was done with great care, a smile spreading on his lips as he regarded it.

 It had the shape of a butterfly, patterns engraved into the wings. The detail of the work was quite a stark contrast to everything else he owned. It had even been treated with oil and minerals to give it shifting colors.

 The totem of his tribe, his kin. A group that had stuck together and they had adopted him, likely saving him from starvation, slavery or worse.

 A lone shelf hung upon the wall by the desk. A couple of bottles occupied it, but he cleared it, used a pair of his leather gloves to wipe away dust and then placed the butterfly on it. He regarded it in its solitude and nodded.

 All that done, he put the lights out and stepped out into the sunlight. The sight that met him… well, it could have been better. Should have been better.

 People were milling about, a group of men were playing cards and placing bets in the shade from one of the houses, some were sleeping in the sun, what few sentries manned the wall were more focused on chatting with one another than keeping an eye on the surroundings. The people who did carry a weapon didn’t look like they knew how to use it.

 He could have gotten angry, shouted and cursed, but he didn’t do any of those things. Instead, he spotted the thin man from earlier and called him over. As he waited for the man to approach, his posture was straight and his expression disapproving.

 The thin seemed to get more nervous as he came closer, sensing the air around his new superior.

 “Uhmmmyes?” was the drawn out, cautiously curious sound that he managed. Benoit said nothing for a bit, merely raised one of his eyebrows, making a face that said you should already know what this is about.

 The seconds dragged on for an eternity and the man before him was getting visibly uncomfortable.

 “Get all the men gathered up here. This place is a disgrace and if an attack happened today, those supposed men on the walls would do us less good than if we had scarecrows up there,” his voice was calm, but judging.

 The man before him drew himself up slightly into something resembling a salute and turned to walk away.

 “Just one more thing…” the sound of Benoit’s voice made him snap right back, a motion which really looked rather comical.

 “Yes?” there was a look as though he just now remembered something and he quickly added; “sir?”

 It seemed that, in spite of the status of the place, there were actually some who were rather quick-witted. People who sensed change and wasn’t afraid to adapt. Children of Mother, at heart, embracing change and adaptation.

 “Your name?” he said, this time sounding more amused than anything.

 “Lamont, sir!”

Benoit got to work on drilling his men. There were gripes and complaints at first, he even had to punish some of them, but for the most part, it was enough that he gave them a stern look. Having lacked true leadership for a long, long time these men were not used to dealing with someone who had visions and expected others to work with him to fulfill those visions.

 Of course, he heard some of the complaints, even if they were whispered behind his back, but he paid them little mind. They were entitled to their opinion of him, but as long as they were receiving food and lodging from the outpost he expected them to work for it and carry out his orders.

 People who had once spent most of their time drunk, wasting away their time, looking for some way to make the day go by were suddenly given purpose and direction. Some took to it very quickly, embracing it. Some of them might not have to know that they had missed this sense of purpose, but they had.

 Some were less quick, more set in their old ways and more content, but after some time of seeing the effects of their own work, after a time of getting stronger and working better together, almost all of them had changed.

 The handful who didn’t eventually left, ending their service.

 People still complained a lot, about the strict rules, the rigid schedules and the stubborn nature of their new general. They glorified the past, talking about ‘the good old days when drink was allowed’, but the name-calling had stopped and no one questioned his orders.

 It was eventually with a sense of pride that the men looked upon their fort; the condition of the walls and the buildings within having gone from ‘barely standing’ to something that could truly stand against an attack.

 The surrounding people, the farmers and various crafters, gatherers and people supporting the fort through their work were also increasingly happy to help with supplies. This was, in no small part, due to the fact that the soldiers had started patrolling the area, making it safer, and actually doing their job of protecting against bandits.

 Of course, this sat particularly poorly with one faction; the bandits.

 On these outskirts of civilization, various tribes of more or less feral Orphans, as well as people who had escaped the cities and villages to avoid punishment for crimes committed, were quite common. They had gotten quite used to being able to do as they please, growing fat off of the labor of others.

 What was more, they numbered two bandits for every soldier at the fort.

 The newfound morale at the fort was, quite simply, not to be allowed to continue.

 What was more was there was talk of a man working to unite the tribes, a raider whose like hadn’t been seen before. He wasn’t in the area, not yet, but the campsite stories of this man was enough to bolster morale of the bandits.

 They could strike at the fort, prove themselves, and be accepted into the ranks of this new raider leader!

 And so, they banded together and launched their attack…

Benoit had set men on gathering information about the threats present in the area, he’d also interviewed locals about the outlaws in the region. How did they operate? What were their relations with the civilians as well as with the fort.

 He’d come to realize that an attack was just a matter of time. He might not know when, how or from where that this attack would come, but he knew for certain that it would come.

 The only reason the fort had been allowed to exist was because it had not posed a threat previously. Things had changed, they’d gotten in the way and become a thorn in the side for the outlaws.

 The soldiers stationed at the fort could also sense the trouble brewing.

Lamont had, over time, climbed the ranks. He knocked on the general’s door, got permission to enter and went inside.

 “Yes?” Benoit looked up from his work of sharpening and securing the tip of a spear.

 “Sir, there’s talk of trouble. I’m sure you know as well. So, the lads… and me, really, we’re thinking… the outlaws around here are numerous, we manage because they are fairly independent small groups and we’ve never been a real threat…” he trailed of for a bit, though he remained standing straight and his gaze was steady.

 He’d grown, as a person if nothing else.

 “There’s no way we can win if they really want us gone, I mean,” he eventually finished.

 He watched as the man he’d come to respect set the spear aside. It seemed as though he was contemplating something.

 “Gather up the men. Leave four on the walls, everyone else is to come,” Lamont was surprised, but he didn’t argue.

 He bowed and went back outside.

 A few paces away from the general’s home and office, there was now a sort of gong. Lamont struck it, three times. The signal to gather at the training square and leave the minimal watch; one man per wall.

 As he took up his own position, he watched people make their way over. They were moving with speed, but not rushing. He saw someone who had been working on a piece of armor who, without looking up or breaking focus, tied together the section he had in hand before putting it down. He was the last to arrive, but he didn’t run.

 They were expected to be efficient, they were expected to gather, but they were also expected not to make a mess out of their other work or run around creating chaos. There was a balance to them, a balance which had been missing before.

 There was also that sense of pride.

 Benoit, when he’d come here, had already had that. He had carried himself like a warrior. In his eyes, there had been determination. Perhaps it was because of this fact that they’d felt such shame. When he’d looked at them and found them lacking, they had all resented him. So he thought he was better than them, huh? That was the kind of mentality they’d had.

 Why was it then that they’d still listened? Because deep in their hearts they knew he was right. And deep down most of them wanted have what he had. Confidence, pride, purpose…

 These things he had indeed given to them.

 For a while, they stood waiting, but it didn’t last long. Soon enough he walked up to stand before them.

 “Men, it has come to my attention that there’s concern within our ranks. Fear, even,” he started. Nobody moved, yet there was still the air of people shifting uncomfortably, but Benoit held up a hand, palm angled down, as one might to quiet or calm a group. “Concern which is well founded. Out there,” he gestured beyond the walls of the fort. “there is a mass of murderous people. People who kill and steal for a living, and they outnumber us.”

 There was a pause, a moment of silence as he let that sink in. No one else moved, but it was clear that each and every single one of them was thinking.

 “I don’t expect you not to be afraid, but I do expect you to face that fear. I know I will. But numbers alone do not win battles. Trust in my leadership as I trust in your strength. We will be prepared and we will protect the people, as we are sworn to do. That is all,” and with that, he turned around and walked off.

 Most people relaxed their stance, many went back to what they’d been doing, some stayed in groups and discussed the speech.

 Lamont stood there, watching after Benoit, though the man was already gone from sight. He hadn’t said much, but it had been enough. Perhaps there wasn’t fire and sparks flying from his every word, but there was instead a calm determination. There wasn’t the promise of life, some people were likely to die, maybe all of them even. However, they were forgiven for their fear, their weakness, accepted in spite of it and even united in it.

 They all felt it, they would all face it. Even Benoit.

 Numbers alone do not win battles… those words repeated over and over in his mind, but not as comfort. He wondered what the general had in mind.

 What kind of plan was forming inside that head? Written by: Tin Man Min

http://estorica.org

[thefanboyseo]

Our resident toy reviewer Kenneth Yu shares his SHFiguarts Justice League Batman review which is now available in specialty stores in Metro Manila and online!

Overview

S.H. Figuarts’ Justice League Batman figure promises plenty of features that bat-fans of have been craving for the longest time. It boasts classic SHF articulation and attention to detail, a rendition of the DCEU’s comic-esque movie Batman design, advanced digital-printed face paint, and a posable cloth cape.

Unfortunately, the sum of these parts is a figure that, while solid, doesn’t come together as well as it should.

Visuals (Sculpt and Paint)

The figure is an interesting take on the cinematic / Affleck Batman. It’s not too accurate to the Justice League look– he has the ab-pads and metal gauntlet-plate of the Justice League design, but also has a lot of elements that are unique to the BvS costume. This Batman is as thick and imposing as he was in BvS. Instead of a veiny neck and shoulder area, this figure has the bulky, featureless trapezius of the BvS costume. Fans looking for extreme accuracy will be disappointed here, but I kind of enjoy the blend of elements. It’s almost as if this figure was originally built for BvS, then edited when the company decided to focus on JL merchandise, instead.

Some will notice that the figure looks stockier than the promo shots / box art. This is because the actual figure uses a slightly shorter torso joint in the space between the chest and the stomach. This weakens articulation a bit, and makes the figure shorter and boxier than he was meant to be. It doesn’t ruin the look, but it’s noticeable. This feels like a design oversight.

The mask and overall features on the head aren’t accurate to either of Bruce’s major looks. That aside, the headsculpt is ferocious, with a good actor likeness. Ben Affleck’s a guy with a face that’s a bit crooked, and this figure portrays that well.

The digital paintwork is also impressive. Unlike most figures, the paint on this toy’s face isn’t applied by hand. Instead, it’s printed on in extreme detail. The result is a paintjob which looks a little pixellated when viewed very closely, but which resolves into something really impressive and lifelike when you’re looking at it from a regular distance. We get detailed eyes and a complex skin tone going on around the mouth, with subtly-implemented shadows and lip coloration.

On most of the figures I’ve seen, the print looks very slightly off-center. This bothered me until I checked reference pictures of Affleck. While the print on some units WILL be kind of off, most of them are intentionally asymmetric, to portray the actor’s features. It’s an interesting touch.

The rest of the body is molded in grey and black, with metallic gold highlights, and a bit of shadowing to bring out the features on the sculpt. There’s a subtle cloth-texture that’s been applied to the body. It looks nice, but it comes off a bit soft, compared to the sharp, exaggerated detail of previous offerings like Mafex’s BvS Batman.

Fabric

The figure has a cloth cape, with a posable skeleton running along the left and right sides. You’re supposed to be able to bend these sides, to get dynamic poses out of the cape.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work very well at all. The skeleton doesn’t hold poses very well– it tends to just keep flat. What’s worse is that they’re not anchored to the figure itself in any way. Any dynamic posing will just cause the cape to droop back down.

This is an improvement over the slabby, hard-plastic capes of other Batman figures, but it’s still not as good as what it should be. SHF needs to really take a look at the engineering logic they’re using here.

Scale

Scale seems like a major issue for most people who’ve picked up this figure. This Batman is a very, very short boi– he’s going to look cartoonishly tiny next to a collection of Marvel Legends, DCUC or Mafex figures. While shortness is to be expected in a Figuart (they generally go for a slightly smaller scale), JL Batman doesn’t even match too well with the previous SHF Batman, from The Dark Knight. That figure towers over this one– a painful comparison, especially when you consider how much taller Ben Affleck is than Christian Bale in real life.

Articulation

SHF has made a name for itself with good articulation– this figure is up to standard, for the most part. We have nice, smooth, multi-part joints in the neck, wrists, knees, ankles and toes. We have a particularly great assembly of joints for the shoulders, with a butterfly joint, double-jointed shoulders, and a bicep swivel-equivalent hidden under the main shoulder. Other reviews have stressed over the missing bicep swivel– I myself don’t. In my experience, you can get all of the motion you need from the hidden joint. Another SHF-signature highlight is the hips, with a hinge-down joint that allows for big kicks and compact kneeling poses.

There are still some weak sections, though. The double elbows don’t have as much range as you’d expect. They go a bit past a right-angle bend, but not much further. The two torso joints aren’t too great, either. While they give you a lot of range backward and a bit to the side, forward / ab-crunching motion is lackluster.

Accessories

We don’t actually get too much, here. While other SHF figures have multiple weapons, heads, and other fun options, Batman just gets three extra pairs of hands (open, batarang-holding, gun-holding), a batarang, a grappling gun, and an alternate “loaded” clip that can peg to the side of the grapple.

I would have appreciated an alternate head with a different expression, a stand, or even a pair of “chopping” hands, so he can pull off that sweet inward-block / disarm on a parademon that we all saw in the trailers.

Final Thoughts / Suggestions

This figure is one of the best fully-articulated Batman figures available, but it’s not like the standard has been set extremely high. If you’re a Batman fan who’s been hoping for a figure they can really mess around with, this is a good pick– at least until Mafex releases their take; it’s not yet clear just how articulated that competing version will be.

If you’re more of a Marvel Legends / DCUC collector who wants to add some DCEU flavor to their shelf, you may want to stay away. Height and scale issues on this guy are enough make him look really weird in a display.

If you’re a kitbasher / modifier like me… Buy two.

Seriously, buy two. There’s a ton of fun things you can do with this figure, if you decide to start down the long road of customization. I myself have switched the torso joint for a longer piece, lengthened the neck, shaved down the elbow joints and replaced the wires on the cape. All of these are relatively simple modifications, but they’ve resulted in improved articulation, height and proportions. This toy can serve as an intro kit on the many ways modifications can make toys better, and it’ll be good to have a spare in case you want extra parts, or something goes wrong.

On the average, this thing is maybe a 3 out of 5.

I picked my copy for this SHF Justice League Batman review from a toy store in Osaka, for JPY 5220. They should be arriving at local stores now, for around Php 2200 to 2500. Shop around, and make sure to pick one with paint that you like!

SHFiguarts Justice League Batman Review Our resident toy reviewer Kenneth Yu shares his SHFiguarts Justice League Batman review which is now available in specialty stores in Metro Manila and online!