Review #6 - ROTF Surprise Figure

Hey there everyone! Now, I was supposed to be doing a review of Classics Rodimus for review #5, but I was at the mall a few days ago, and decided I'd pop into Toys 'R' Us to see what was new there. Why was I at the mall? To buy a new wallet. Why? Because I ran my old one over with a riding lawnmower. (seriously, don't ask.) But I digress, the point is, I looked at the Transformers section and found that they had in the first wave of the new Revenge of the Fallen toys. And I decided right then to purchase my first of only a few.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you....Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe Class...



Preview Soundwave. (aka, one of three preview figures available before the May 30th line release date. The other two are Sideways and Bumblebee)



I am proud to say I'm part of the Soundwave fan bandwagon, so when I heard that he was not only appearing in the sequel to the 2007 live action film, but was the MAIN VILLAIN, I nearly suffered three heart attacks at once. I wanted a figure of his new movie form despite it not being like good old 80s Soundwave. In fact, that picture definitely shows his evolution quite vividly. (he gained more neon and lost height).

Now, I have not kept up on the roles of each character that is appearing in the new Revenge of the Fallen (ROTF for short because I am a lazy bugger), and to an extent his role has not yet been clarified. However, according to his tech description (on the instructions), Soundwave is a satellite that "hacks" into Earth's satellite networks, absorbing data so that way he can known all and see all. This gives him the power to decide Earth's fate; he's basically God.

Damn.

This figure itself is about the same size and the majority of deluxe class figures, but is a lot wider. His head sculpt is also a very nice update of Soundwave's G1 face; it isn't too bland, and yet it doesn't make him look like a mutated chipmunk who ran into a glass window. The colour scheme also reflected the Soundwave of yesteryear with its navy blues, golds and silvers. Finally, instead of his missile being anonymous, it's freaking Ravage!



I'm sure this maybe or may not be much more than a footnote for some of you, but when your missile has a god damned name, it is epic. This does explain how Ravage is able to get to Earth; Soundwave must fire him into the atmosphere, Ravage transforms into his vehicle mode, splashes down into the ocean and crawls ashore as a robotic feline killing machine. But this is a review of ROTF Soundwave, so let's get back on topic.

VEHICLE:

The first thing that is surprising about this figure is that it marks the first time any Soundwave toy has been a triple-changer. That's right, Soundwave has not one, but TWO vehicle modes. I shall give a tiny explanation of the triple-changer in a post following this one. Now, one thing that should be mentioned when talking about triple-changers is the "Rule of Triple-Changers", which states that "of the three modes, one will always be horrible or simply a thrown-together mode." This is also the case with Soundwave, however the mode that appears to have been "slapped-together" is actually quite good by comparison to other triple-changers.


Mode One - Cybertronian Jet mode



This is Soundwave's alternative mode to his satellite self, and this is his usually mode of transportation when either in space or on the surface of a planet. The overall appearance of this vehicle is amazing; I seriously think he looks more bad-ass than movie Megatron ever did. One thing that does strike against this form is that it is just like the majority of the movie figures in that they are increasingly harder to transform than the Universe of Animated lines. Still, it is a nice mode regardless.


Mode Two - Satellite



This is the "slapped-together" mode of Soundwave that I spoke of. Now, I use that term loosely as this is also a really nicely-made mode. This is - fans speculate - the main form of Soundwave, and the three wings add to the futuristic and Cybertronian design of his satellite form. The reason I say it looks thrown together at the last minute is due to the transformation from vehicle to satellite modes, where all you need to do and turn a few things around and pull out the wings (in fact the instructions only have three panels that show how to get from jet to satellite modes.) However, both vehicular forms of Soundwave are quite stylish and - while falling under the triple-changer rule - both seem to be creative and interesting modes to play around with.

Vehicle: 22/25


ROBOT:



Soundwave's robot mode is one of the most awesome things I have seen in a while (and when you play Super Smash Bros Brawl, that is saying something.) He's very futuristic, and looks as though he could kick the hell out of the original Soundwave, but since I am a fan of G1 Soundwave, I think it's best I don't think about that as I want to sleep tonight. But I shall move right along. This new styling does give Soundwave a very menacing appearance, and allows him to fit quite nicely into the role of main film villain. His is also quite stable with long feet and heel spirs. One thing that is an eyesore about ROTF Soundwave is the amount of kibble that hangs off the back; sure the two wings from satellite and jet mode look okay, but that giant metal piece hanging off his back? That looks rather unappealing from my point of view.


ARTICULATION:

Like most of the movie line figures from Transformers 2007, ROTF toys have a lot of articulation despite having the "physical" parameters that go along with actual cars. Soundwave follows in this tradition with having a lot of good and bad articulation points. His head does rotate approximetly 90 degrees either way, but it is very tight. His shoulders are on ball joints, and can bend at two points on the elbow. His legs are on ball joints at the thighs, and can bend at the knees. Finally, his feet can rotate 180 degrees, which allows you to pose Soundwave into many positions and still retain its great stability. One other interesting note is that the kibble I mentioned earlier are also on ball joints, allowing you to position them in any way you choose to keep them out of the way.

Articulation: 20/25


GIMMICK:

Soundwave's gimmicks are quite weak for a brand new ROTF figure. Firstly, his missile launcher, which only works the way it's intended to when in satellite and jet modes; not in robot mode. This makes Soundwave a tad less interesting to play with if you don't even have a way to shoot a missile. The second - and thankfully better gimmick - is the fact that Soundwave is a triple-changer. The reason I call this a "gimmick" is due to the fact that very few Transformers are triple-changers, so it stands to reason that since you have a third mode, it's an added item to the toy. Unfortunately, this still doesn't mean that both gimmicks are the greatest ever concieved. (Sorry Soundwave.)

Gimmick: 16.5/20


FUN FACTOR:

This toy can go either way when it comes to the fun factor. It IS fun to play with due to its three modes (as opposed to just two alone), his articulation, awesome mode designs and the sheer fact he is the main villain of the new movie. The reason the toy isn't fun is because of the detailed transformation and the lack of a missile launcher in robot mode (which really hurts playability).

Fun Factor: 15/25


OVERVIEW:

This figure is a great remake of Soundwave for the new generation of fans, and his triple changer gimmick is also a nice touch as well. However, he suffers a bit in terms of transformation and missile launcher issues do hurt his play factor a bit.

My score for ROTF Deluxe Soundwave: 73.5/100


Soundwave is still an awesome figure to buy for the sheer fact that he is very easy to find and is designed to be aesthetically pleasing to look at and play with. He is a must-have for the live-action Transformers fan, the die-hard collector or the child looking for a cool toy to play with.