Ah, it's nice to finally get a mini magazine again. I didn't realize how much I missed these! This month, there is a great article about epic video game rivalries, an interesting interview with WWE's Kyle Edwards, and more. The cover is pretty cool, too.
This pin's design comes from the cover of the mini magazine, but unlike most cases in the past where they just took a part of the cover and shrank it, whoever designed this pin actually made this different by taking the characters out and only leaving the bus. I think it's a cool pin and one I'm quite happy to put up on my cork board.
With Christmas around the corner, Loot Crate wanted to help people with their gift giving by included these nifty tags. I really appreciate that.
Alright, alright! This is what I call an awesome item. I'm a huge fan of "The Hunger Games" and this pin doesn't just hit the mark with my fandom, but also fits the Crate theme extremely well. Nice!
Blizzard Cute But Deadly Figure
This item is going to get a mixed review from me. On the one hand, I love Blizzard games and I love blind box vinyls. In fact, when I took this out of the Crate, I was jumping up and down with excitement. However, on the other hand, I was stopped abruptly when I realized the box was rather damaged.
As you can see, it was squashed prior to being put into my Loot Crate. This made me worry about the figure inside, so I opened it immediately and found this.
That, friends, is Ghost Arthas (from "World of Warcraft"), which is one of the three mystery figures you could get and, in my opinion, the best of the three. His helmet is supposed to have a large spike decoration. What you see on the middle-bottom of the above photo is that very spike, which has broken off the figure. Here is a closer look at things after I put the figure together.
This is my favourite item in the Crate, yet I am left with a bitter sweet feeling because Loot Crate's lack of quality control resulted in a broken figure. And, not just any figure. No, it just had to be Ghost Arthas! If I write to Loot Crate and show them the damage, I'm quite certain that they'd send me a new figure. But, since this is a blind box set, I most likely won't get another Ghost Arthas. That really, really sucks. Now, I'm sure you're probably thinking I can just glue the spike back on. I will do that and I will be happy with the figure. However, the fact remains that I received an obviously damaged item. Whoever packed my Crate could not have missed the fact that the box had been crushed. That, to me, is unacceptable.
Blizzard Cute But Deadly Magnets
I love magnets and my fridge is covered in them. So, getting Blizzard magnets is pretty awesome. My only complaint is that these kinds of magnet sheets are pretty much for decoration only. The strength of the magnets are extremely weak, so don't expect to be able to hold much with them. It's a shame because as a teenager, I remember using much stronger magnets with awesome nerdy designs to hold photos on my locker door. These Blizzard magnets would never have been able to do the same job because they would have just flown off if I closed the door too strongly. I would have honestly preferred getting less but stronger magnets.
TMNT Shredder Sunglasses
You know how Loot Crate gave its subscribers gift tags? I'm going to use one for this item since it's pretty much useless to me. I honestly don't see myself ever wearing them. Ever.
Ever
again. I meant to have "again" in there to begin with. Yep. Honest to God...
I look ridiculous. Kids, however, would probably think these are super cool and run around the house with these on, so into my niece's Christmas stocking this goes.
Street Fighter Hyper Looting #1
This was
not the kind of fighting game item I was hoping fore. I mean, I love comics, I love "Street Fighter" even more, and I really appreciate getting a "#1". However, a comic about characters from "Street Fighter" teaming up with Loot Crate employees to fight evil? I'm sorry, but this should have been a part of the mini magazine and not an actual item. To think, this is the
only fighting game item! What a complete waste and an utter disappointment.
Vault Boy Bobblehead
As a fan of the "Fallout" series of games, I was blown away by what I think is the coolest item in this month's Crate. The quality is very high and the packaging even has some foam inside the box to protect the head. The most interesting thing about this bobblehead, however, is the supposed price. In my research I found that this bobblehead is a part of a series with Vault Boy in different poses. Various web sites sell them for anywhere from $25.00 CAD to as much as $70.00 CAD! That's insane. Even $25.00 CAD is too much for it, in my opinion. I guess that's what happens when you have a super hot franchise like "Fallout". Sigh.
OVERVIEW
I don't know what the heck happened this month, but Loot Crate really dropped the ball. Like I said before, I was blown away by the Crates from September and October. "Doctor Who" sporks? Pikachu winter hats? Doc Brown Pop! figures? Replica mini hoverboards? Those are ridiculously awesome. I envy those who stuck with Loot Crate and got them. This month, I rejoined and got a damaged item, an obvious gift item to make use of the included gift tags, a disappointing comic, and a bobblehead with an insanely high price tag that is clearly here for Loot Crate to say, "Hey, Looters, look at this super expensive item! See! That's value! Just ignore the fact that everything else is really cheap. *Cough*"
I've never been this let down by Loot Crate before. I get that no subscription box can be epic every single month, and I honestly don't expect that. Loot Crate, however, has always delivered boxes hovering between "fantastic" and "out of this world". This time around, they broke the trend and dropped to "just okay". I honestly hope this is a one-time thing because I'm staying with them for December due to their promised "Galaxy Quest" item. If they slap subscribers in the face again, however, I'm done with them for good.
If you want to learn more about
Loot Crate, you can check out their web site
HERE. Use the code
SAVE10 to get 10% off a new subscription.
As always, thank you for checking out my blog. Stay tuned for more nerdy reviews!
~ Mike
