Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Figure Pack (1 of 2) - LC - Exclusives

Set in the dark times between the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Rebellion, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game explores the aftermath of Order 66 and the continued evolution of Darth Vader. The son of a fallen Jedi is abducted by Vader to be his secret apprentice. As a young adult, the apprentice must choose his destiny: Join Lord Vader and wipe out the remaining Jedi, or become a noble Jedi and bring hope to the galaxy!

Hasbro has a knack for switching around methods of release and release dates for their highly sought after The Force Unleashed action figures. If you recall, the very first wave of figures based on this video game got the boot in 2007 and was released in a second wave of 2008 figures (and the game STILL wasn’t released at that time either). Remember the GameStop exclusive TAC Stormtrooper Commander? Even that debacle proved and reinforced the fact that toys based on The Force Unleashed were going to be treated like red-haired stepchildren throughout their longevity in the toy line. So after the major success of the basic figure wave and TARGET store exclusive Battle Packs like 2008's TAC Attack On Kashyyyk and the TAC Battle Rancor (With Felucian Rider), Hasbro thought it would be wise to create another basic figure wave on this very exciting video game. The plans didn’t hold water for long and a wave based on The Force Unleashed were canned (save for the beautiful 2010 LC Shaak Ti (BD61) figure who had her own exclusivity so to speak). The great news is that Hasbro saved them to be released in two Toys R Us exclusive Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Figure Pack sets. The final products are certainly well worth their wait and the figures have given us some of the best action figures from this lustrous Star Wars source. And since it is our opinion that Hasbro has wised up to jacking up the prices of their exclusives and have discovered that even collectors aren’t paying steep prices any more, they were released to fans at a very modest $29.99 each. What’s more (for historical purposes only), when these five-packs were released, Toys R Us was running an incredible buy one get one 50% off which brought the cost per figure down to a remarkable $4.50 per figure. If you recall, the last time we saw prices this low was about 1995. Even if you spent a little under $60 before tax, these two sets are a great value too. We expect brisk and strong sell through with these sets, so we don’t recommend waiting too long to pick them up. We do however encourage Hasbro to release future TFU figures as basic figures. These are figures that all stores should have received because they are that good.

So, what’s in the box? What’s in the box?! You will find a plethora of goodness in each set. (Since this review focuses on set 1 of 2 we will concentrate on those figures.) It appears that these two packs are more based on the graphic novel than the video game. But honestly, who really cares? The entire The Force Unleashed multimedia event is engaging at every level, isn’t it? Imperial EVO Trooper is a striking new repaint of the 2008 TAC Imperial EVO Trooper (08 09) figure now in a dark yellow camouflaged pattern. The figure looks fantastic and it is nice to see this figure with some color on him. Of particular note, his large cannon has been cast in all black for this release. While it is an easy way for Hasbro to cut corners, we have to admit the gun looks great as is. Juno Eclipse is a retool of 2008’s TAC Juno Eclipse (08 15) figure. She looks a lot more unkempt for this release, but there is a new sexiness about her with her shirt open. The paint job is not perfect on this figure as there is a lot of bleeding in parts that should have crisp and clean lines. But the final product passes the most stringent eye and she has a great center of gravity and can stand unaided. The star of the set is Galen Marek as he appears on the planet Raxus Prime. Galen is an all-new figure and he simply puts to shame the versions of him that appeared in 2008’s TAC Vader’s Secret Apprentice Evolutions set. The scarf that covers most of his face is so well done and it gives Galen Marek an expression that makes us feel uneasy in our guts. His metal forearms are amazing and fit him perfectly well. He is extremely flexible and can be posed in a variety of ways. We bet that he will be the reason many of you purchase this set. Another star in this set is Rahm Kota’s Militia Elite. Another all-new figure, he is clearly inspired from the amazing artwork of Ralph McQuarrie. In fact, he seems like he would feel more at home in a painting of the Yavin Rebel base done by McQuarrie than in The Force Unleashed somewhere. If we didn’t know better, we would have assumed that this was the next concept art figure. Complete with a ribbed chestplate and ultra cool helmet with visor and awesome symbols, he is without a doubt an exciting addition to you’re The Force Unleashed collection.

Perhaps the most puzzling figure in the set is the Shadow Stormtrooper. As we haven’t played the game, we aren’t sure of the reason this Stormtrooper is crystal clear or whether this is a cheesy effect Hasbro is trying to create for this character. Also of note, Hasbro showed that this figure was to come with a removable helmet, but the final version does not. There are accents of baby blue on the armor and while the figure is certainly bizarre, it does look pretty cool. The figure's roots date back to 2004 VOTC Stormtrooper, but is technically a rework of the 2006 TSC Shadow Stormtrooper Star Wars Shop exclusive figure. This is a pretty decent figure, so you know this is a great base figure on which to build other Stormtrooper action figures. As a set, you essentially get one repaint, one rework, one retool and two all-new figures. But since all five are “new” in one way or another, this is certainly a set that brings a lot to the table. One thing that we are particularly fond of with this set is the overall great paint jobs on the figures. We didn’t need to rummage through a half a dozen sets to ensure that eyeballs were painted on straight, or that the colors didn’t bleed onto area they should have bled. No, every figure is painted excellently and we are so thrilled that the creators at Hasbro have taken the time to ensure paint operations were finely tuned for these releases. And it appears many of you out there feel the same way. Ever since they hit the shelves at Toys R Us, they have immediately sold. So we bet that future shipments are forthcoming. We do not however encourage you to gamble and pick up these sets as you find them. It is simply amazing how quickly we are getting action figures from The Force Unleashed video game. And it also appears that interest in this time period between Episode III and Episode IV is becoming more and more popular. With another video game on the horizon, we expect to see a lot more of The Force Unleashed pops into our collections in the near future. This is certainly fine by us because Hasbro has absolutely given us something to smile about with these Toys R Us exclusives. Let’s just hope the next batch of figures sees a much broader release. The Force Unleashed is a game that definitely deserves more opportunity than it gets.