UA-100768763-1 Jump to content

MMC Reviews Discussion


Danny

Recommended Posts

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Replies 384
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

I just read over the review Danny posted for the Endoskeleton, and I really like the fact that we get two different perspectives on this figure. As he posts in the review, some will like this figure, others (like myself) won't, and just one negative review might not be fair to the figure.

Edited by karamazov80
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm glad you see it that way! The modern Cylons also had two reviews (one from me and one from Rad) and for an army-builder figure like that is useful to get different perspectives.

I understand completely why you didn't like the Endoskeleton, but I found the look grew on me.

Hopefully it also comes across that I had a great time taking pictures for the whole review :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Okay, so i'm really irked by the Hulk Movie Wave reviews. They really just don't seem all that far. Not to say that you are in any way a bad reviewer Rad; i usually love your reviews over there and find myself agreeing to them. But suddenly they seem really, really biased. I mean, it started with the Iron Man Wave, when you seemed so awestruck by the perfect-10 suits of armor that the civilian mates seemed like cheapo garbage and wastes of plastic; they were also VERY good mates!! Now we get to the Hulk ones, and the latest has me irritated the most; specifically it's the Hulk one. You list everything YOU hate about about the figure just based on it being a minimate. You say nothing along the lines the playability (which they have LOTS of) or even accuracy to the movie. You just hate the way it looks. That is all well and good; i totally understand that we all have that certain mate that is just ugly as hell, but this isn't one of them.

Like i said; please don't get me wrong. Usually you are such a great reviewer. It just seems like you really let go of your professionalism here, and that isn't too good when you're writing a review.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IMO, if there isn't a set template for a review (like at Michael Crawford's Review of the Week), the reviewer can say, and do whatever they feel to get your opinion across. Rad isn't advertising, or trying to get you to purchase it, he's just stating his (biased :D) opinions.

Personally, I thought the wave sucked. It had three OK figs (Banner, Emil, and Abomination) and one decent one, the variant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

TTF I appreciate your thoughts and take no offence. But I still think the Hulk moviemates are appallingly bad. :)

Go and read the latest one again, you'll see that where possible I'm actually quite complimentary about the Banner 'mate, but I haven't given it a huge score, and that's because it's just a very plain minimate. That's why I always make the crack about dull minimates having nice feet (attempting to deflect Danny's assertion that I"m a minimate foot fetishist!) :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess this goes back to reviewers "being a fan" or not. There have been some reviews on MMC where someone is a fan of the property that the figure is from and perhaps the score is adjusted slightly higher. But the Hulk wave is the opposite. It's generally acknowledged as being a sub-par wave by the Minimate community, and it wasn't exactly high on the list to review, but it needed doing, so Rad stepped up and did it even though he wasn't enthused by the Minimates themselves.

I don't think you can call Rad "unprofessional" for not liking the Hulk wave, at least he articulated very clearly what he didn't like, and more importantly WHY he didn't like it. If the review was just "This Minimate sucks", then obviously that's not helpful, but it wasn't, and that's why I went with it and put it up on the website. I thought it may be a controversial review, and that's not really a bad thing. It is bad when a review is controversial for the sake of being controversial but that's not what Rad's doing.

Not every reviewer is going to like every Minimate, and you can't expect each review to review the figure purely on its own merits without taking into account other factors. In this case, there are 2 Hulks in the wave. If Rad had given both Hulks a poor score, then you may have a point, but he obviously saw enough in the Battle Damaged one to make it a superior figure to the normal one and score much higher.

In time, if you read enough reviews, you find out each reviewers quirks and likes/dislikes. Rad clearly isn't a fan of civilian figures and his scoring reflects that. I am a fan of "the ladies" and tend to score them higher when they have visible cleavage ;)

As stated before, the reviews are just opinions and I feel it would be a boring site to read if every review was gushingly positive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with the reviews on the movie Hulk mates, but that's because I think they're ugly and complete garbage except for the civilian mates. Like was mentioned in the review, who would want a grumpy Hulk over a raging Hulk? I think the Iron Man mates deserve the score because they were so well sculpted and have so many details. Of course there are some members that feel that Minimates should be simpler and not have too many details. I passed up the Hulk wave just as I did with the Wolverine Origins wave, and I'm glad my LCS didn't order wave 26 because the owner thought they were crap too lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love having reviews of Minimates available, in particular they (and the Database) help when making customs. They give more info than pictures can.

Still, sometimes I find things a bit odd about the reviews. Sometimes factual info on the characters seems off to me, though looking through I couldn't find nearly as many examples as I remember. And also some odd things about what goes into the score, like most recently, being such an excellent figure, should the fact that War Machine Mark 1 has Tony Stark's face (this is accurate) really cut the score almost in half?

Edited by Shamrock
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's more about the fact that they used Tony instead of Rhodey. I loved the armour itself but hate the fact they shoehorned in yet another Tony Stark. I know it's technically accurate, I mentioned that in the review.

Someone has to take a stand against rubbishy variant pack decisions! So, he gets a 5. I'm sure the variant will score much higher!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's more about the fact that they used Tony instead of Rhodey. I loved the armour itself but hate the fact they shoehorned in yet another Tony Stark. I know it's technically accurate, I mentioned that in the review.

Someone has to take a stand against rubbishy variant pack decisions! So, he gets a 5. I'm sure the variant will score much higher!

I hate to say it but I think you are way off on this review Danny, Yes there is a little bias on my part as an IM fan but the spymaster minimate is spot on! and deserves more love.

I also think that taking off points from WM because it's "not the version you wanted" makes your review too personal and almost petulant, especially when you know the minimate you are asking for exists in the same wave. Shouldn't you be reviewing the toys themselves and not the politics around line choices?

What next? perhaps you'll dock ultimate Spidergirl points when we get her because you wanted a different spidey? It's a slippery slope.

T.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah hadn't read an MMC review in a while, it was nice to do.

First there really isn't a perfect reviewer of any type imo. All reviews have a level of subjectivity and they makes it unique to the reviewers point of view. I think each reviewers style and fetishes :P give the review a unique quality and it's good as long as it doesn't affect the scoring too much on a personal level. The scores imo are never really hard scores. let's we forget that these reviews I think are both informational and fun. Everyone is going to have their own opinion on the reviews and the different parts to them.

So my question is, what is the standard? How do you actually calculate the score? I believe that everyone is holding a different standard of review for each minimate. To me I thought the standard was was to review the different aspects of the minimate in question itself and not aspects of the entire wave such as character selection; wouldn't that be like stepping outside of the review?

For me the reviews ususally mostly have been based on 1.) Paint Apps/Decals, 2.) Accessories, 3.) Character Interpretation/Accuracy in Minimate form. Then an Overall Score is given.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally I believe the time frame in which the Minimate was released also plays a huge part in the score, which might account for the discrepancy between the older Minimates and the "updated" versions of them. Wave 11 Cable got an 8/10 score though at the time he was released in the middle of the so-called "Parts Reuse phase" and DST had yet to scratch the surface of designing them well... that 8/10 might not stack up as well once the new Wave 32 X-Force Cable comes out.

This discrepancy could explain why some would prefer the 'mates being scored on a curve... however as said before Minimates Central doesn't hold a monopoly on 'Mate reviews. Minimate Headquarters reviews them, and really anybody can review them on a blog or toy site someplace.

If anyone wishes to reassess their opinions on any and every previously-released Minimate it is perfectly within their rights to do so... heck, we can even review the older 'mates for ourselves right here on the Multiverse, it's not like anybody's gonna kill us if we say anything wrong.

.... I hope :ermm:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I blew my chance to do reviews but I would so love to do the Secret Invasion box-set . I have never been so disappointed in a Minimate box-set & I doubt if all the figures would get into double-figures even when you added up all my personal ratings for each character. That's surely that's the point though ....I hated them but I'm sure there were people who loved them .....but where?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess JL and others have raised an interesting question which was again touched on after Rad's Hulk review. Should a review be objective or subjective?

Should an individual Minimate review have no judgements on it apart from the actual figure? Should we rate each Minimate as they come, on their own, full stop. Such reviews would simply be a description of the Minimate with no personalisation, no individual flair. Does the sheer amount of Captain Americas, or Wolverines, or Spideys, or Kirks etc, not have an impact as to how you should view the latest version? Cos if you don't think so, you're gonna hate the wave 24 reviews!

So, then, does that not explicitly lead into the "politics" of character choices in waves. Can a review not take into account the Minimates relative position in a wave. Is it not fair to say "this figure is a better, more accurate representation than another in the same wave", and vice versa?

Minimates Central will ALWAYS be "Minimates according to Danny", or Rad, or karamazov, or anyone doing a review. The review will always simply be the opinion of whoever writes it, and contain all biases and judgements inherent in them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

People have objected to a couple of 'controversial' reviews. That's fine, we can live with that. But I won't change a review for fear of upsetting people and I doubt Danny will either. All debate is worthy. All criticism positive or negative is welcome. But just remember we do this out of love for the 'mates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I think they messed up big time with the SI boxset too. Instead painting the heads half Skrull, they should have just left one face on there. I mean, if we really wanted to to turn them into Skrulls we would just use the ones included in the box.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But just remember we do this out of love for the 'mates.

And they are well appreciated, by me anyways :thumbsup: I think you guys to a good job, just pointed out one thing. (Hey a review doesn't hurt anybody.) I remember a while back when Danny was gonna close out MMC and it's been kept alive since by gentlemen as yourselves taking the time to write these reviews and take pics; I still enjoy them. :) Over the years these reviews on MMC have taught me quite a few things I have missed or didn't know on these fantastic mini-figures we love minimates. For some of us old-times, MMC was the minimate site we first visited. Keep it up!

btw I do agree that they f***** up by not making Rhodes the non-variant figure, it pissed me off but I can see why DST did it this way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've done reviews before. My Zombie box set review was quite bitter if I remember correctly. So I think biasness is inevitable. I just remember, back in the day, I'd stare at MMC for hours, looking at all the photos, imagining playing with them, taking Danny's words as Gospel. I Still don't have some mates because of the negative impact I perceived from some of the reviews. I just don't want some little kid to miss out on something great.

Though, that being said, if something sucks it needs to be called on it. No matter what.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But TM2, my words are NOT gospel. Never intended to be. As Rad said, of course people will have different opinions on the reviews and that's all well and good, we'd never discourage that. People should make up their own mind, not be told what to like and what not to like. That's not what we do.

I've always said the pictures are more important than the text or the score. It's why in my mind, Ivan's MMDB will always be a superior resource for Minimate fans.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always said the pictures are more important than the text or the score. It's why in my mind, Ivan's MMDB will always be a superior resource for Minimate fans.

Dear Danny here is my long awaited review for T.W.O.K Kirk from Star Trek Series 4

'Kirk is a big fatty'

Hope you like the pictures. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I can just say, I think DST SERIOUSLY messed up when making Rhodey the variant. Tony as War Machine is pretty useless to anyone who prefers to keep just one version of each character. I support his review 100%

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was trying to understand the logic, and DST must have figured that Tony is just more popular, and thus better likely to sell, than is Rhodey. But then, is Rhodey so bad that they had to include 2 Tony's in the TRU 2-pack, after both were released as "commons" in regular waves, to avoid the lack of sales that a Rhodey War Machine would somehow cause? I don't get that one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...