GU-11

DISCLAIMER: Please don't ask me to prove my views with photos, videos or witness testimonials that will stand as evidence in a court of law. I'm merely making the following statements as a personal opinion of the man. I've neither the time nor motivation to search out photos or youtube clips to back up my views. I will say this much about Bruce Lee. He was only 32 years old when he died, but even then, he was a continually evolving martial artist. As far as I've read, never has he ever tried to sell himself as "the best martial artist in the world", as he believes in continual learning and readjustment of technique to fit the situation. In any case, there is NO SUCH THING as the best fighter in the world. In order to become one in all senses of the term, one would have to time travel to the past and future, challenge and win all fighters who ever lived from the stone age to the end of days, before being able to claim that title. As for his size, he has always been an advocate of weight training and building muscle mass. I have a copy of The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, and I don't recall him ever stating that skill alone overcomes brute strength. He's always believed in improving one's strength through weight lifting and other forms of exercise. Undoubtedly, he was a very talented martial artist. But since documented eye witness accounts and even certain video footage can be disputed by skeptics, I'll refrain from calling him one of the best fighters of his time. My point is this: what he achieved during his short lifetime is probably NOT ALL he could have achieved. I believe this because he epitomizes his philosophy in life and in martial arts as an eternal evolution; to be like water, so to speak. Always changing form and never stagnating. That's what I think, anyways. And just to set the record straight, he wasn't the first person to put martial arts in film. He was the first to feature REALISTIC martial arts in Chinese cinema, however. So-called period dramas [the Chinese equivalent of Japanese jidaigeki] have been featuring pathetic special effects and awful martial arts choreography long before Bruce Lee changed it all. Well, some of it was still cheesy and fake [red paint as blood, and leaping up a ten-foot tall tree], but his movies WAY outclassed his predecessors. ***EDITED FOR TYPOS***

Um, who's that chick Max's battroid is molesting?

Thanks for the info, Gaijin.

Sweet. Would have preferred his WFC Cybertronian version, but this'll do.

I've been playing FFXIII recently, and I've just unlocked the Instrument of Faith trophy. Now supposedly, you unlock a FFXIII theme for your PS3's XMB by getting that trophy. I checked the theme section of my PS3, but nada. Do I need to complete the game before being able to unlock the theme? BTW, I usually upgrade my PS3's system via any new game discs that require it. Still have the original game disc for my PSX.

The head on the green NASCAR is tolerable, but the blue one...ugh. Love Blue's [or whatever his name is] armed-to-the-teeth alt mode, though. Sweet. I'm liking BB's body sculpt, despite the uncolored parts on his legs [a lot of the yellow should be metal=dark gray]. Looks like a slightly retooled version of his Battle Blades deluxe body. BTW, why does his alt mode show no windows, while his bot mode has them. A prototype, maybe? The head looks like a return to the more bloated version of his ROTF preview head sculpt, although it's probably the poor quality of the pic. As for his BFG, the Daytona TV spot shows him actually transforming into some "battle car mode" with the mechtech gun coming out of his roof. Well, at least the things will actually be featured in the movie.

Very true. I don't know how well the GI Joe movie did [didn't enjoy the movie, personally], or how well received it was, but it couldn't possibly have earned more than any of the TF movies. IMO, Hasbro can continually reinvent Transformers by giving them new alt modes and improve on articulation, while Star Wars is and will always be hot.

Yeah well, Hasbro's gotta make money, and TF's seem to one of their most successful franchises to date, next to GI Joe. The only way you can milk this Cybertronian cow is the reboot the series every now and then. That's what I think, anyways.

As I recall from watching the Japanese G1 sequels as a kid, I totally hated them. For some reason, anime and Transformers just don't mix well for me.

Is that like the Japanese dub of Beast Machines or an entirely new series? I've only watched Beast Wars, and the later parts of Beast Machines.

Wow, it seems like quite a few fell through the net. True, but with the disjointed way that all three [Exodus, WFC, TF Prime] are bound together, I'd like to consider WFC and TF Prime as separate entities. While all three are technically chronologically aligned, the events that unfold in each are mutually contradicting. Never mind the details like the character Sentinel Prime in Exodus being named Zeta Prime in the WFC game, the major events in the novel are completely different from the game as well. In TF Prime, which is arguably the third part of the Exodus/WFC continuity, Megatron supposedly starts using dark energon after discovering it on some distant galactic shore [or something like that--I just watched TF Prime once on youtube]. Thing is, Megatron had already started discovering and using dark energon well before the TF's ever came to Earth. While I understand that all three are supposed to be in the same universe, the events of all three are so contradictory that I'm having a hard time seeing them as a continuation of one another. My bad. Totally forgot about Exodus.

The TF franchise has seen numerous reboots, offshoots and video games throughout the decades, and there's a new Prime for each one. If I recall correctly, there are technically over a dozen different retellings and reboots of TF counting manga, video games, toy versions and different US and Japanese versions. In non-chronological order: - G1 [cartoon and toyline] - G2 [toyline] - GI Joe Crossovers [comics] - Beast Wars/Beast Machines [CGI series and toyline] - Robots in Disguise aka Car Robot [toyline] - Titanium [toyline from comics] - Cybertron aka Galaxy Force [anime and toyline] - Armada aka Micron Densetsu [anime, toyline and video game] - Energon [cartoon and toyline] - Kiss Players [toyline and CD audio series] - Classics/Henkei [toyline] - Binaltech/Alternators [toyline] - Bayverse - WFC [video game and toy line] - TFA [animation and toy line] - TF Prime [CG series and unreleased toy line] Japan-only exclusives: - Disney Label [ugh!] - Music Label - Nike [yeah, the infamous shoe-former] And that's all I got from Wikipedia. Actually, there are probably even more that I'm not even aware of.

Unless I'm mistaken, shouldn't it be, "Bitches leave!"? Mind you, the last time I watched the movie was when I was still a kid when it originally aired on TV (1980's).

I laughed every time I referred to that page when I was first transforming my YF-19. BTW, the DN seems to have been sold out everywhere, except Evilbay maybe. The less popular BoP is still in stock in many places, though.

Debt of Honor [Tom Clancy] The Eagle and the Snake [Douglas Boyd] This month's Reader's Digest

Sentinel Prime: Bought on sight. The Ark might be able to "convert" into some kind of battle station like Optimus's trailer, although the lack of seam-lines [other than the hinge for opening the cockpit] could mean it's a non-converting toy. Will have to wait for more pics for a better look. Either, way, it looks cool as a space craft. Wonder if it comes with leader class Sentinel Prime, or sold separately? Megatron seems to be one of the better DOTM toys so far. Wish it were leader class, though. Maybe there WILL be leader class figs for him, OP, Shockwave eventually? Surely, Hasbro wouldn't waste such a great opportunity to sell as many TF's as they can?

Yeah, maybe it's just the angle in which the pic was taken. Then again, it could be due to the improved articulation on the ankles.

Man, that is one STREAMLINED fighter mode. And I thought the YF-19 was sleek. The GERWALK mode looks WAY better than the YF-19's.

A little torn about the fig. It looks good enough in alt mode, except for the fact that the truck looks a little flattened than a real Peterbilt, something made even more obvious when towing the trailer. DISCLAIMER: I can't recall if the truck looks this small compared to the trailer, but it does look like a midget here. Will have to recheck the old pics of the DOTM movie set to verify this. The bot mode looks more gaunt than the ROTF leader class, and unless OP's transformation in DOTM has changed, the toy looks quite different from the CG--front wheel kibble is now located on his arms, and the front of the truck just lazily splits into two. I'm just glad the windscreen on this one actually converts into his chestplate. The combined mode seems to suffer from articulation problems like ROTF "power up" Optimus. The knees don't look like they'd bend when combined with the trailer. As for the combined mode itself...it's just underwhelming. Come on Hasbro, four wings and a pair of bronze horn things? At least it's better than the OP we were shown a few weeks earlier. Hope this isn't the leader class I've been waiting for.

That's great, but I fear it might be a another exclusive like BRS Mato and WRS that comes with the PSP game. Really hoping they're regular releases; that bike would look SO sweet with BRS riding it! I'll buy him if they plan to release a ED-209 along with him.

Finally, a PROPER Decepticon invasion. I like the darker tone of the DOTM trailer--Bumblebee in dispair, giant ships firing at buildings, tentacle monsters and dragons, etc. While it's no guarantee of a better storyline, at least it should be an indication of less dorky humor than ROTF. The head sculpt of the other one looks like Barricade [the one on the right of the screen after the collision, during transformation]. Several others at Seibertron have also mentioned that it looks like 'Cade. EDIT: Yeah, it's crankcase. It looked like 'Cade's police car alt mode when I first saw it; second view confirms it's an SUV. My bad.

Oh yeah. That ALONE is reason enough for me to save up for a PSP! Come to think of it, make that four games. If I ever buy a PSP, I might as well pick up the Black Rock Shooter game for the exclusive WRS fig that come with the game.

Darn. No way I'm buying a PSP for just two games.

Yup, sounds a lot like her. Speaking of VC3, is there ever going to be a VC2 for the PS3? I loved the first VC for its innovative play mechanics, and I've been waiting for a sequel ever since. But if VC3 is already out and it's on PSP, chances are pretty slim of a western release of VC2. A man can dream, though.

Convertible Sideswipe and the fire truck [sentinel Prime?] are my only confirmed buys. While Voyager Megs looks interesting, I'm still holding out for a Leader class fig. Ditto Shockwave. I'll pick up Skids only because he's a cheap fig and I'm a completionist. I'll make a decision on Barricade when I see better pics of his bot mode properly transformed. The chopper looks interesting. Wouldn't touch voyager DOTM OP with a ten-foot pole, and the deluxe Wreckers look sorely under-equipped compared the pics we've seen of the cars in the movie set. Pass on SS, since I've already got the leader class. Really conflicted about Ironhide, though. I love his Top-kick altmode, but the peg holes on his roof and sides really ruin it. And what's with the downsizing?! I almost thought he was a deluxe in Peaugh's review until he showed the deluxe version next to the voyager. BTW, is that Ratchet in alt mode between convertible Sideswipe and Barricade? Is he a new voyager mold [downsized like Ironhide] or a deluxe? Overall, I absolutely loathe mech-tech as a gimmick for putting peg holes on the alt modes.