I have played video games for a long time, so I am pleased to see Funko making many video-game related products recently. As big as video games are, it’s a bit of a surprise it has taken them this long to start to churn them out. That’s not to say they have not made some in the past. They have, but it just seems like recently they are putting the products out much more frequently. Many older products are not made anymore, so this has caused them to become relatively pricey.
One of the more popular early ones, even though it is not actually part of the Games series, is Halo. One of the Master Chief figures is actually a Blockbuster exclusive, so that should give you an idea how old they are. I don’t find the first Master Chief figure all that great. It just looks so bland and has no detail. There is a second set of Master Chiefs made from Halo 4, and these are spectacular. There are two Master Chiefs in this set, but the only difference in the Pop! figures are the suit colors. These figures show a ton of detail, especially in the armor and guns. There are also other characters throughout the game series in the Pop! series, such as a Grunt, Cortana, and various Spartan Warriors. As mentioned before, if you do not already have these figures then you will have to do a little digging, and even if you do find them, you will be looking to spend anywhere from $30-100 a figure, depending on what you want.
Another older set that I see plenty of people want is Sonic the Hedgehog. There are 3 figures included: Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails. These figures, like many older Pops!, do not have much in the way of detail, so they remind me of the older 16-bit Sonic instead of the newer stuff, which is fine by me. The Sonic figure looks like he’s staring into my soul, but that’s a minor inconvenience. You too can have Satan burn your retinas for about $50. Knuckles and Tails seem to go for around the same price.
Let’s move on to some figures that won’t set you back anything other than retail prices. Borderlands is a recent first person shooter that caught many people's attention, and their cartoonish graphics seem the perfect fit for Funko products. The figures are great and really seem to bring the games to life, but I am a little disappointed at the moment. I do not understand the choice of certain characters here. None of the characters that you actually play as in the games have been made into figures. This will probably be remedied in the future, but it seems like a miss on Funko’s end. I love Claptrap, but did he need three figures? He has his original yellow, a Gamestop Exclusive Gentleman Claptrap, and a Blue Claptrap tied to Gamestop’s membership program. It seems like Mordecai or Lilith could have taken one of those figures place. I also do not quite get Mad Moxxi getting a spot over some. She also has an exclusive that will be released by Gamestop in October. It’s the same as the original figure except for the color. Not to rain on the whole parade, because I do think Claptrap, Psycho, and Handsome Jack were good choices. Not to mention they are all phenomenal looking figures, especially Handsome Jack.
Bethesda, gaming powerhouse that they are, also have Funko figures. Fallout, Skyrim, and Elder Scrolls have some recently released Pop! figures. Since these are new and in stores I will just bore you with my favorites from these series. The Fallout Brotherhood of Steel figure is amazing. I keep expecting some radiation creatures to pop up so he can go Buzz Lightyear and blow something away. I’m fairly certain he comes alive at night and kills a few super mutants. My favorite from Skyrim is, of course, Alduin ($9.99 pre-order!!!). If he is not your favorite figure in that line then I don’t know if you have eyes. He’s a dragon. That automatically gives him cool points. He’s also 6 inches and has red eyes. More cool points. You can also get him on Amazon right now for $9.99. The most cool points!
Coming in September Fallout will have some Mystery Minis, so now you can have 2 inch figures to put next to your 4 inch figures. It’s also good training for your Brotherhood of Steel. There are also some exclusives for these. Glow in the dark Vault Boy can be found at Hot Topic, while the Whiterun Guard can be found at Gamestop. PSA: If you do order from Gamestop, be confident your figures will get where they need to go in good condition. They have out of this world packaging.
These game figures are, for the most part, great. You can put them on your collectible shelf, or next to your gaming system of choice. Nothing like seeing Kratos on my screen, and then looking over to see a 4 inch hunk of plastic molded into his likeness. Unfortunately, if you are a Nintendo fan, I doubt you will see their characters anytime soon. For one, they already make amiibos. Two, Nintendo does not seem to just give their license to anyone. Three, amiibos. Four, amiibos. Seriously, if they did not make amiibos I think Nintendo and Funko could have a partnership, but Nintendo would lose out on their amiibos cash cow if they did that. Unless something drastic happens soon, I do not think we will get to put Mario and Link up on our shelves.
Whether you like World of Warcraft, Evolve, Starcraft, or Plants vs. Zombies, Funko seems to have something for most video gamers. Two series that I’m looking forward to that come out in the near future are Batman: Arkham Knight (September) and Bioshock (October). That’s just in the coming months. I, for one, cannot wait to see what else Funko has in store for us!
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