Box over box over Overwatch

So a bunch of people are angry at Blizzard.. again....

And i guess it is kind of justified this time. You see Blizzard have taken the whole Loot Box scheme they have to a new level. Usually you get "gold" that you can use to buy any stuff you do not win form the boxes.

But for the Olympics Blizzard have a new box, with some new skins, sprays, victory poses and stuff. You get these as usual when you level up but here is the kicker. The event is just three weeks long and then the box goes in to the vault until next summer (potentially) and seeing as there is one hundred-ish new items one could understand that people get antsy.

Especially as you can ofc also buy these boxes for the regular price.

Now as someone who have done the seasonal grinds in WoW... I´d gladly pay to be able to get around that. But now for kicker number two. remember how I mentioned that you can use gold to unlock stuff... Not this time... The seasonal items can only be won by the grace of RNGsus.

This last detail is what I guess pushed the most vocal people over the edge as these are generally the same people that invest the most money in the game and by that token have the most "gold" to spend. NOw all that gold have to sit pretty until the next hero is released.

This is of course a calculated move by Blizzard, had people been able to use the gold it would have made a deep cut in to the number of boxes bought. Cynical as it might seem, Blizzard is not anyone's pal... bro... BFF... They are in the habit of trying to make money. You do not make money by giving away all your stuff for free. It would be the morally right choice seeing as we paid full price for the game (but on the flip side... Artist have to eat too., =P )

Now full disclosure, i bought five boxes and i was lucky enough to get exactly what i was looking for. The Torbjörn "IKEA" (in reality called Tre Kronor) skin. So for me the minimal investment i have made compared to the amount of enjoyment i get from using that skin is not even measurable. But i can understand that some people spent a lot and did not get what they wanted and the lack of an option to buy it via the "gold" store just pile on to that frustration. It also i would guess hurts that a new player starting now  or a low level player will have a way easier time to get the new stuff as the XP needed to level up is a lot less before level 20 i think.

Any way, me personally i can not give a flying fuck about any feathers this have ruffled or any slippery slopes people say this is the start of. Sure it is cynical and very much a sign of the times but at the same time i get quality entertainment for pretty much peanuts.

If this is a deal breaker for you, by all means quit and hit up your bank for a charge back... Me i am going to play a short hairy man from Gothenburg dressed as if he feel asleep at a IKEA company Christmas party.

//Peace

LootCrate September unboxing

LootCrate September unboxing

Here we are again, it is that time of the month when I get to dig in to a new batch of nerdy goodness. This month theme of the Crate is galactic. LootCrate had spoiled that the items would be from Star Trek, Star Wars, Aliens and Firefly. They also said that most of them would be special editions in one way or another. So with all that in mind my first reaction was a bit meh actually.

Mostly because I was hoping for a different Star Trek item and I was never a big fan of the Reaction line. But as I dug down things got a lot better. But let us start if with the most obvious item in the box.

That fuzzy orange ball of love is a Tribble, It is from an episode of the original series that I honestly have never seen in its entirety. But to make a long story short these small things mind control people to pick them up and bring them with them, caring for them and if needed protect them. They also breed on a level that would make fungus envious. Now beyond its novelty value it is in essence just a furry ball. But not a bad item per se and in a way a welcomed step away from the usual starship or insignia that make up the most of the Star Trek merchandise these days.

Next up we have a big damm hero, in tiny plastic shape. Ladies and gentlemen Mal from Firefly. The style of this mini is simply adorable and for me this is one of the items that made the box. It might be that everyone get this figure but any way I feel glad that I got it. Being a casual fan of the Firefly series and one of the people who are actually ok with it only being one season, because my god is it good.

Now many many years ago a company by the name of Kenner made a lot of license toys, mostly action figures and playsets. The ReAction line aims to bring these toys back to the front for collectors that want a slice of their childhood back but do not care to mortgage their house to get an original. So it is the original Kenner moulds but recast. Also that is a horrid image but it simply did not photograph very well. Will try to create a light-box for the unboxing. I personally like my action figures big and bold with tons of articulation. But I can see how this line of toys have fans.

Poprocks are simply Poprocks. It is a candy that crackles in your mouth as it melts. This one is apple flavored and very tasty.

Here we have a star Wars fridge magnet… It sticks to metal. It is also made in the style of Asteriods. You can never have to many fridge magnets.

Now for the in my mind star of the show.  See if you can guess what it is…

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Yes they are a prop replica of the money used in the firefly series. It is a set of 100 and 500 bills and they are awesome. This is one of these items that symbolize why I get these boxes. Random stuff that I would never buy myself. I am not sure what I will use them for but they will look really nice in my bookcase.

Halo digital comics. Not a big Halo fan myself but they make for a good gift or give away. Would have preferred to have them in physical form but this is a lot easier on the shipping =)

Han Solo in carbonite poster. This is a classic motif that never gets old. It is a bit sad that they folded it as it will take some time to undo the folds but it would have taken up way to much space otherwise. A decent size door-hanger that I think would fit in any geek-cave.

Then there was the monthly magazine and pin, no shirt this month either unfortunately but I have a nagging suspicion that this was due to the cost of shipping the shirt and the bulk it takes up. But I hope we see a shirt next month’s crate.

So to sum this month up it was a bit his and miss. Loved the firefly items and the candy, Poprocks always wins in my book. But the rest was meh… The Tribble will most likely make a home on H´s desk and I will put the Alien figure in the gift pile. Poster was nice and a much better size then the BatMan once from the Villains crate. No shirt was a bit of a bummer too as they are always cool,

´till next time.

Nerdblock September unboxing

So thanks for the magic of friendship I have the opportunity to open a Nerdblock box from nerdblock.com. So what is Nerdblock. Well it is the same basic ideas as the LootCrate (or vice versa… Not sure what crate was first on the market) But unlike the LootCrate, Nerdblock is often less themed and have a greater range of products in each box. But on the other hand they have different fixed themes that you can subscribe too. At this point they are Nerdblock Classic (this one) Nerblock Jr boys/girls more aimed at children, Nerdblock Horror and Nerdblcok Arcade (new theme released this month) This is both a blessing and a curse in my mind as it results in very uneven boxes that it can be hard to anticipate in the classics line and the themed boxes can be a bit to narrow. You can click the link above for a more in-depth description of what these nerd subscription boxes are.

So let´s dig in to the box. 

And let me preface this with that the box is really sturdy and well-sealed, that is why it looks like it does now. But they list the content of the box on the top packaging slip so unless you want your surprise spoiled you might want to rip it away or in other ways cover it. 

Opening the crate things are laid out roughly as you see them here. But I forgot to take a before image so everything is opened. Nerdblock ship all items in the original boxes in case you like to display them that way. So no worries. 

First up we have a Spiderman blind-bag mini-figure from MegaBloks these comes sealed in a bag (duh…) and you do not know before opening it what you get. MegaBloks is a LEGO type product that are big in to licensed sets. Their figures are bigger and more articulated then regular LEGO figures. But for a size reference that block he stand on is a normal sized LEGO brick. 

Next up we have a Nerdblock branded stress-ball shaped as a brain. A fun and goofy little thing that I guess can work very well as a conversation starter at your workplace or study hall. Beyond that it is fairly unremarkable. But a good solid stress-ball. 

This is a Scribblenauts Unmasked mini-figure. These also come as a blind box. They have a surprising amount of articulation for something that is 7 cm tall. It is hard to see but the stand is shaped as a notebook. While I would not pick one of these up my self it is a very nice figure and since my Groot was quickly claimed, I have counter claimed this one to go on my nerd-shelf. It now hangs out with Raphael and the Sunflower and Traffic cone zombie from Plants vs Zombies. 

 This is probably the most adorable pox you will ever encounter. From a plush toy line called Giantmicrobes, we have Syphilis. Is it not adorable? The idea with Giant microbes is that they are giant soft toy reproductions of microbes (again.. duh…) but with eyes and sometimes faces. As slightly morbid as these are I think that they are a perfect gift to anyone with a sense of humor. Go on kids, go play with your new Syphilis. 

 

Next up is a T-Shirt with a Guardians of the galaxy inspired print. If you still have not seen the movie and want to understand why everyone is going ga-ga over it hit THIS link and read my review. But if you have seen the movie you will get a lot of the references and like me you will feel a strong need to have it. Well tough luck because these are a special print made for Nerdblock. 

 Last but not least we have a papercraft set for teenage mutant ninja turtles. Papercraft is what would happen if your cut-out dolls got together with origami and made sweet sweet love. You fold, crinkle and wrinkle these figures from the provided sheets of paper and make small play sets. These in particular comes from Funko and you can see their very stylish POP! design in these sets.

Included was also some facts sheets about the products.

This was a very coherent Nerdblock with a clear superhero theme and I liked the content. Not very much I would have picked up my self but that is half of the fun with these boxes. You get stuff you might enjoy but never would have picked up on your own. While I still like the LootCrate better due to a stronger theme on each box this is a very good box to get if you want a more random approach and the fact that you can get themed boxes like the blue and pink (yes they call them boys and girls boxes but I am being PK and difficult) or the horror and newly released arcade boxes still give you more control over what type of content you like to see in your box.

So head over to nerdblock.com and see if this is something for you. There you can also see past boxes and get a better idea of what you are buyi