Showing posts with label games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label games. Show all posts

Monday, July 11, 2011

Bringing Angry Birds Home to Roost

I'll start this post with a confession: I'm addicted to Angry Birds. I no longer hate waiting for a train, in line or anywhere else because I automatically whip out the phone and start slinging birds like a boss. 3-star levels? Check. Golden Eggs? You bet!

At least I'm not alone though - an Angry Birds movie is in the works, AB cakes are all the rage for parties, and tons of merchandise arrives almost weekly, and I have to confess that I've go a few of these myself. I can justify it all though with one blog post, so here's my review of the best Angry Birds tie-ins to cross my path!



The first and best arrival was Angry Birds plush. My personal favorite is the 8-inch Red bird - amazingly soft and squishy, plus it has the perfect grouch face. I have this and the Blue bird, and they look sweet anywhere you perch them. The plush also come in huge 16-inch version, and these have sold out amazingly fast on pre-order (I promise, it wasn't me!).  We do still have the greatest (Red Bird)  available in the giant size though. But now we have them with SOUND from the game. Those are amazing too. And of course, we have miniature birds, figurine birds, keychain birds...I'm not even kidding! Never since Hitchcock have so many irate birds been in one place....



Okay, I'm not Tippi Hedren...though I'd love to see a spoof of this famous scene with Angry Birds instead of these really super-scary ones!



And finally, they're taking the game offline too. The Angry Birds Knock on Wood game looks most excellent! Build the structures & knock them down with real birds and slingshots. But what I really want is this playground ball. If only I could get the crew here to step outside for a game of Ultimate Angry Birds Dodge Ball...well the workday would be pretty much perfect.



And I do have to give equal time here...we have pigs too. Horrible, terrible, mean pigs! That's right, I said it - I am on Team Birds! I hear rumors that some people feel the pigs are being treated unfairly. That they've got good reason to steal the eggs! Nonsense I say!

But if you're on Team Pigs please let me know - just why should I switch allegiance away from the poor, long-suffering birds?

Friday, June 10, 2011

New things are so shiny!

One awesome thing about working at ToyWiz is the constant influx of new merchandise - we get to see all the collectibles and toys first. Opening so many boxes makes it feel a little like Christmas, even in the heat!

So let's take a look at what's new in toys this week!

Redakai Logo

Of course, Saturday saw the release of REDAKAI: Conquer the Kairu! I'm personally into this game like no other, so start watching soon for tips, hints, tricks and information as I hone my skills!

Stars & Stripes SingAMaJig

For those of you who love Singamajigs, this one will make you smile: An Exclusive Stars & Stripes, Red, White & Blue Singamajig that plays the Star Spangled Banner, just in time for the Fourth of July!

Check the list below for your favorites, or hit our New Arrivals page to see it all!

More Beyblades!
Beyblades Metal Fusion Stamina Battle Top #BB18 Thunder Libra
Beyblades Metal Fusion Electronic Defense Top #B16 Rock Wolf
Beyblades Metal Fusion Balance Battle Top #BB69 Poison Serpent

Halo Wars & Dragons Universe Mega Bloks arrived in force!
Halo Wars Mega Bloks Set #96926 Drop Pod ODST Covert Ops Specialist
Halo Wars Mega Bloks Magnetic Figure Set #29766 BLUE EVA Spartan
Halo Wars Mega Bloks Magnetic Figure Set #29765 Team Red Green Spartan
Halo Wars Mega Bloks Exclusive Set #96815 Battle Unit II [8 Mini Figures!]



Dragons Universe Mega Bloks Set #95205 Tailspike
Dragons Universe Mega Bloks Set #95204 Torchwing
Dragons Universe Mega Bloks Set #95203 Blackheart
Dragons Universe Mega Bloks Set #95202 Clawripper
Dragons Universe Mega Bloks Set #95129 Colt
Dragons Universe Mega Bloks Set #95124 Raven
Dragons Universe Mega Bloks Set #95123 Albatross
Dragons Universe Mega Bloks Set #95122 Terager
Dragons Universe Mega Bloks Set #95121 Amberblast
Dragons Universe Mega Bloks Set #95120 Hydrobolt

Mattel came through with the awesome WWE Wrestling Elite Collection Action figures too.
Mattel WWE Wrestling Elite Collection Series 8 Action Figure William Regal
Mattel WWE Wrestling Elite Collection Series 8 Action Figure Undertaker
Mattel WWE Wrestling Elite Collection Series 8 Action Figure Sheamus [Includes Championship Belt]
Mattel WWE Wrestling Elite Collection Series 8 Action Figure Evan Bourne
Mattel WWE Wrestling Elite Collection Series 8 Action Figure Drew McIntyre

The summer gets hotter, and so does Green Lantern while we all wait for the movie release! These started going out the door with pre-orders as soon as they hit, so order while we still have stock!
Green Lantern Movie Masters Series 1 Action Figure Hal Jordan
Green Lantern Movie Masters Series 1 Action Figure Naut Kei Loi
DC Direct Green Lantern Movie Limited Edition Tomar Re Bust
DC Direct Green Lantern Movie Limited Edition Kilowog Bust
DC Direct Green Lantern Movie Limited Edition Guardian Bust
DC Direct Green Lantern Brightest Day Series 1 Action Figure Green Arrow
DC Direct Green Lantern Brightest Day Series 1 Action Figure Deadman
DC Direct Green Lantern Brightest Day Series 1 Action Figure Aquaman

And this awesome item came too:
DC Direct Women of the DC Universe Series 3 Bust Harley Quinn


A few items from Marvel lines:
Marvel Superhero Squad Series 21 Mini 3 Inch Figure 2-Pack Wolverine & Polaris
Marvel Superhero Squad Series 21 Mini 3 Inch Figure 2-Pack War Machine & Iron Patriot
Marvel Superhero Squad Series 21 Mini 3 Inch Figure 2-Pack Spiderman & Thor





Marvel Universe Exclusive Action Figure 2-Pack Loki & Full Size 12 Inch Frost Giant [Includes The Mighty Thor #175]

Marvel HeroClix Giant Size X-Men Exclusive Figure Sentinel Mark II


BrickArms are always popular, so we've added a few from our Mystery Packs!
BrickArms 2.5" Scale LOOSE Mystery Pack Vol. 1 Weapon Chainblade PEARLIZED BLUE
BrickArms 2.5" Scale LOOSE Mystery Pack Vol. 1 Weapon Apoc SMG PEARLIZED GREEN
BrickArms 2.5" Scale LOOSE Mystery Pack Vol. 1 Weapon Apoc SMG PEARLIZED GOLD
BrickArms 2.5" Scale LOOSE Mystery Pack Vol. 1 Weapon Apoc SMG PEARLIZED BLUE
BrickArms 2.5" Scale LOOSE Mystery Pack Vol. 1 Weapon Needle Gun PEARLIZED GOLD
BrickArms 2.5" Scale LOOSE Mystery Pack Vol. 1 Weapon Energy Pistol PEARLIZED GOLD & TRANS ORANGE
BrickArms 2.5" Scale LOOSE Mystery Pack Vol. 1 Weapon M1917 WHITE

Need a unique T-shirt for your next vacation? Angry Birds has got you covered.
Angry Birds Adult Printed T-Shirt The Word
Angry Birds Adult Printed T-Shirt Conflict
Angry Birds Adult Printed T-Shirt Bomber Face (my favorite!)


Disney/Pizar CARS are seriously moving!















 

For those of us still loving the New Phyrexia releases from Magic: The Gathering, we've got a lot of new arrivals and re-stocked hard-to-find items!

Magic the Gathering Card Game Duel Decks Jace Vs. Chandra Gift Set -Impossible to Find, but back in stock now!

Magic the Gathering New Phyrexia Single Card Rare #42 Phyrexian Metamorph [Foil]
Magic the Gathering New Phyrexia Single Card Rare #88 Moltensteel Dragon [Foil]
Magic the Gathering New Phyrexia Single Card Rare #115 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
Magic the Gathering New Phyrexia Single Card Rare #128 Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer [Foil]
Magic the Gathering Set of Both New Phyrexia Event Decks [Rot from Within & War of Attrition]
Magic the Gathering New Phyrexia Event Deck War of Attrition - Includes 2 Stoneforge Mystics!
Magic the Gathering New Phyrexia Event Deck Rot from Within - Includes Inkmoth Nexus!


We're stocked with the newest World of Warcraft Starter Decks too!











"Super Heat" wasn't just the weather this week - we unpacked lots of starter decks & boosters:









Star Wars:


NECA Assassin's Creed 2 Series 1 Set of Both Action Figures [Ezio Black Cloak & Ezio White Cloak]

Transformers 3 Dark of The Moon Exclusive Deluxe Action Figure Sideswipe [The Scan Series]

Transformers 3 Dark of The Moon Exclusive Deluxe Action Figure Ironhide [The Scan Series]


Ben 10 Ultimate Alien Utility Vehicle Plumber Space Ship with Grandpa Max 4 Inch Action Figure







Jakks Pacific UFC Ultimate Fighting Championship TKO Gloves

Daimajin Revoltech Sci-Fi Super Poseable Action Figure #002 Daimajin

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Aspiring YouTube/Video Stars: Want a $25 Gift Certificate?

We love seeing ToyWiz.com products in your videos, and we want to see more! Do you have an unboxing, how-to or review you'd like to share? We will be checking out new videos and awarding $25 Gift Certificates to our favorites!

To be eligible, there are just a few simple rules.

  1. You must be over 18 or have your parents' permission.

  2. Make a video about any of our toys, collectibles or games. It doesn't have to be about ToyWiz.com - it can be anything related to our product lines. You can describe items you collect, show off tricks and tips for playing games, or just let your imagination go!

  3. Be sure to mention ToyWiz.com in the video or the video description/remarks section.

  4. Upload it to YouTube or somewhere similar.

  5. Post a link to your video in the comments section for this entry. You can also email a link it to anissa@toywiz.com, but please watch for a confirmation message - it is possible that your message could be lost in a spam filter! And please don't attach the video file, it will need to be uploaded elsewhere with a link provided.

  6. Void where prohibited by law, and of course, you must be the original creator of the work and have the right to use and distribute the video - no cheating! These rules could be amended at any time to comply with legal regulations, and will be updated here if necessary.

  7. $25 gift certificates will be offered to the creators of those videos chosen as favorites by our staff, on the condition that we can link to them from our social networks.

  8. This is an ongoing event. You can make as many videos as you like and we'll watch them all! We have not determined a set number of gift certificates - we'll be awarding them at least monthly, so enter any time!


So there you go: Lights, Camera....ACTION! Show off your toys & video skills!

New Gears of War HeroClix are coming!

WizKids/NECA announced 10 Gears of War HeroClix figures are coming in August, just before Gears of War 3 is released in September. There will be 10 figures in all, including 5 characters from Gears of War 3 Delta Squad and 5 locust enemy figures.

There are preview pics up at ICv2 already. And of course, we'll have them available here for purchase as soon as we can.

[caption id="attachment_906" align="alignnone" width="220" caption="Gears of War Heroclix"]Gears of War Heroclix[/caption]

To be the first to know when these are available for pre-order and shipment, be sure to follow us on Twitter! Our newsletter will also keep you in the know about new releases, sales and discounts!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

4 Brave Ninjas...

Have you seen Ninjago from LEGO? I love these!

[caption id="attachment_857" align="alignnone" width="279" caption="Test your Spinjitsu!"]Ninjago![/caption]

The background story revolves around Ninjas battling a skeleton army using their powers of Spinjitsu.  But this time, LEGO has brought us more than just a playset. Sure, you've got good guys, bad guys and an awesome theme, and that's all very good in it's own right. Plus with LEGO minifigs and bricks, these ninjas can do some pretty awesome tricks. There are lots of clever hidden traps and details, plus your ninjas can run along walls or hang from a ceiling to drop on an enemy. But it doesn't stop with cool scenes and stories - Ninjago is an awesome game as well.

The game works something like this: Choose a Ninjago minifig character, three weapons, a spinner base and four battle cards. Your choices affect the battle, and so does your skill in spinning - that's Spinjitsu! You'll place your character on the spinner, equip and position your weapons, then set him spinning to attack your opponent. The last ninja standing wins the round and takes one weapon from the fallen character. The game is simple enough to grasp, but once you start playing, you'll find that the combination of your choice of weapons and positions, plus your skill in spinning the figure and the effective use of battle cards, keeps things challenging.

Ultimately, there's a lot you can do with the LEGO Ninjago sets. The game plays a bit like Beyblades, but with the addition of battle cards and the interchangeable minifigs. And of course, with LEGO, the possibilities are always endless. You can spend hours trying out different figures, weapons and parts from other sets to build your most powerful character...even if he's not really a ninja.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Last Chance Thursday: HALO!

Today we're having "Last Chance Thursday" at ToyWiz.com! All day we'll be Tweeting HALO merchandise - only HALO items that have just 1 left in inventory.  Follow us @toywizdotcom on Twitter to keep up with the latest last chance items!

Hidden Arsenal 4: This Time It’s Personal!

Jackalope here with a look at the brand new Hidden Arsenal 4 set. I’m deviating from my prior YuGiOh articles as I’m going to crack (open) an entire case of Hidden Arsenal 4 boxes. Let’s take a quick look at the stats on that.

[caption id="attachment_870" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Step 1: Prepare you case for skinning."]YuGiOh 5D's Hidden Arsenal 4: Trishula's Triumph Booster Box[/caption]

1 Case of Hidden Arsenal 4 = 12 Boxes = 288 Packs = 1440 Cards.

Now most of you are not opening a case of cards, so why am I going through the trouble of writing this article on this? Simple, my friends: Averages! Yes, when you break a box of cards there is a high degree of randomness to it, but when you break a case you can see trends and averages to better give you an idea of what you can expect out of a box. This might help you decide whether it makes sense for you to buy a box to try for certain cards or to just pony up for the single cards.

[caption id="attachment_871" align="alignnone" width="285" caption="Step 2: Discard the booster skins"]Step 2: Discard the booster skins[/caption]

Let’s look at some more delicious numbers! In that case of 1440 cards you will get exactly 288 Secret Rare cards and 1152 Super Rare cards. There are 20 different Secret Rare cards in the set and 40 different Super Rare cards in the set so if we go just by averages you should get approximately 14.4 of every Secret Rare and 28.8 of every Super Rare.

Spoiler Alert! It does NOT work out that way.

[caption id="attachment_872" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Step 3: Arrange your card filets in preparation for sorting"]Step 3: Arrange your card filets in preparation for sorting[/caption]

“Well Jackalope, how does it work out?” you’re asking, and I am glad you did! Let’s look at a few more numbers, specifically the best and/or most valuable cards in the set and see how many we got:

x7 Dragunity Knight – Trident $ 17.99
x8 Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier $64.99
x8 Dragunity Knight – Barcha $7.99
x8 Naturia Landoise $19.99
x12 The Fabled Unicore $5.99
x12 The Fabled Cerburrel $16.99
x15 Jurrac Meteor $6.99
x16 Neo Flamvell Sabre $5.99
x17 Naturia Exterio $4.99

Note that all these cards are valued at or over 5 dollars to show you what “money*” cards you can expect in your theoretical box purchase.

Looking at the numbers we got you can expect one, possibly two of: Jurrac Meteor, Neo Flamvell Sabre & Naturia Exterio. You can with come certainly assume you’ll get one each of these in your box: The Fabled Cerburrel & The Fabled Unicore. And lastly you have a 2/3rds chance of getting the big three, and almost certainly one of the following in your box: Dragunity Knight – Barcha, Dragunity Knight – Trident, Naturia Landoise & Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier.

What does that tell you? Well if you are looking for three Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier cards you would have to buy the equivalent of 5 or 6 boxes to ensure you got them, at a cost of $79.99. That’s quite a hefty price tag as opposed to buying the single cards outright, but in addition you’ll get a whole lot of other cards. You've got lots of options for getting what you want: buying boxes and hoping for lucky pulls will give you lots of extra cards for trading, or you can purchase the individual cards you need.

[caption id="attachment_873" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Step 4: Portion out and serve your collection. Bon Appetit!"]Step 4: Portion out and serve your collection. Bon Appetit![/caption]

Only you can decide whether or not purchasing a box is worthwhile to you, or if buying the few single cards you need to finish your deck fits the bill, but hopefully this shows you the average odds you have of getting the card(s) you’re looking for!

Exit, stage right!

* Money cards refer to the expensive cards out of a set. Those can be valuable due to demand or rarity, oftentimes both.

Please keep in mind all prices are subject to change and these are the prices of the cards as of this writing which was on the day of release for the set.

Monday, April 18, 2011

The Battle of the Box

Jackalope here with another cost/value analysis. This time of an older set. A lot of players and collectors feel that there is less value when you buy an older box and open it. This is for various reasons, but the most commonly held belief is that the longer a set is out, the more of it gets broken (opened) and the more single cards there are in the market. I’m going to do a single box breakdown for you here. This is just one random box that I opened and is not typical of all boxes, but it gives you a good idea what you should expect if you bought a box of YuGiOh 5D's Starstrike Blast.



[caption id="attachment_819" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="So serene, just sitting there…"]YuGiOh 5D's Starstrike Blast Booster Box [24 Packs][/caption] 

[caption id="attachment_820" align="alignnone" width="293" caption="NOM NOM NOM!"]YuGiOh 5D's Starstrike Blast Booster Box opened[/caption]

Okay, let’s look at what makes up a box:
24 Packs, 9 cards in each pack. Each pack will contain at least 1 Rare card and may contain a foil card.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Newbie in the Magic Tourney, Round 2!

Well I haven't played since last Friday, but I went again to try my hand again. And hey...I'm getting better at this! My deck is too!

[caption id="attachment_807" align="alignnone" width="171" caption="These make all the difference. "]Scars of Mirrodin Booster Pack [/caption]

I arrived early and bought 7 booster packs to try to build the deck I want. At first, I was a little disappointed - I got some duplicates that weren't needed and 4 cards I'd been hoping to see. That wasn't fantastic, but then I realized why you should always get to the tournament early...

Saturday, April 9, 2011

First-ever Friday Night Magic Tournament - a total newbie perspective

I've been intrigued by Magic: The Gathering for many years, but always hesitant to try it. With  no idea how to approach the game as a complete beginner, I was just afraid to jump in. Because seriously - who wants to purchase cards, then walk up to strangers and risk feeling foolish for not knowing how to play?

Well guys, I'm here to tell you, it isn't like that at all. I had a short learning session at  Comic Con in New Orleans back in January and took home a few promo decks, but I still wasn't quite ready. My fellow blogger and good friend Jackalope has been playing a lot lately, though, and encouraging me to try. After his last post, I decided to go for it. Oh, not at our ToyWiz retail location in NY, but down in Albany, LA at a shop called Chuck's Field of Dreams. Yes, a nice anonymous place to go embarass myself, I thought.

Just so you know, I'm a friendly, but cutthroat player in any game I pursue. Maybe I'll post another day about my history with MMORPGs, for example, but suffice it to say that I probably blow away any stereotypes you might have about female gamers! So jumping into something new is a big deal for me  -  There's no way I'm playing anything without making a serious effort to master it and to be a fierce competitor.

Friday, April 8, 2011

You can go home again.

Jackalope here with a brief trip down memory lane for today’s post. I loved Magic: The Gathering, I played it casually for many years and have few regrets. I got my start with a starter of Beta or Unlimited (I can’t remember other than one of my rare cards was Personal Incarnation) and a pack of Arabian Nights.

[caption id="attachment_770" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Ah, sweet memories."]Magic: The Gathering[/caption]

I didn’t really get into Magic until Revised when the rest of the geek world caught on that this game was something amazing. I played at the local game shop’s tournaments for about a year and soon began working there; any competitive aspirations were quickly dashed as I always had to work during our tournaments. Time passed and I played less and less, until finally my last constructed deck was a fun little Sneak Attack Deck built at the end of the Urza block.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

7 Reasons to love Beyblades!

If you enjoy Beyblades, there's probably one reason only - they're fun! Do you really need to know more? Does it matter why they're fun? Maybe not to most people, but some of us are curious about why a toy or game is wildly popular, and looking at Beyblades, we can find a lot of reasons. Read on to see what our in-house expert JD thinks about them:

7 REASONS JD LOVES BEYBLADES!
  1. Beyblades are affordable - you don't have to throw down hundreds of dollars...or even fifty dollars to get started.
  2. They've got a television tie-in that makes sense. The back story and ongoing battles make the game more engaging, and now you can even own blades from the new Metal Fusion season.
  3. It's a game - and a good one! It takes knowledge and experience to put together a tough blade for a particular battle, and skill to launch it just right for maximum impact.
  4. They're collectible. Finding and owning rare or unusual blades is a challenge, and it sets the serious Beyblades fan apart from the casual player.
  5. They're customizable. While there's always some element of chance in the game, you can customize your blades not just to look cool, but also to change the way they behave in the arena, which leads to....
  6. They're educational! You might be surprised to realize that mastering Beyblades involves understanding physics: inertia, mass, velocity, torque, friction, and rotational energy! Maybe players know the terms and maybe they don't - but good ones learn how these forces interact and how their choices and techniques affect the outcome of a battle.
  7. They have a huge age range for fun - a 4-year-old will enjoy spinning the tops and watching them hit, while even adults can get into maximizing a blade's potential for competitive play.
So there you have it: Beyblades are great on every level, and we've got a feeling that their popularity will only grow as more people learn the ropes and want to be part of the action. So what aspect of Beyblades do you like the most? Collecting? Playing against friends? Or working up your skills and testing combinations to make the best Beyblade to dominate in every arena?