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    Discuss This Story ReviewWednesday, December 22nd, 2010 at 8:39pm by Andrew, BZPower News Manager
    [Source: DeeVee]

    Another day, another review (this makes three reviews in four days, which may be a new record). Today Blog Leader and Master Photographer DeeVee is back with another Hero Factory 2.0 review. Read on to find out about Julius Nex and whether you need to run out to Toys 'R' Us or point your browser to S@H to pick him up!

    Presentation
    From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.

    Julius Nex 2.0 probably doesn't need to be labeled as "2.0", since this is the first we've heard of him. I wonder where he came from, and what his story is? Regardless, he is labeled thus, and that's okay, because his name is Julius, and that's awesome. He's an orange Julius. And I heart that pun a whole lot.

    Julius comes in a normal Hero Factory canister, with the same orange lid all of the 2.0 Heroes possess. Though it's more appropriate and fitting with Julius, because, well, he's orange.

    2068 Nex 2.0 Review 17 2068 Nex 2.0 Review 18

    There's the usual "Hero stands in front of a raging fire and does NOTHING TO STOP IT" image from all the 2.0 canisters, but Julius' also has an aeroplane, or maybe a starship. Ask Jefferson to make up his mind, and I'll get back to you on what it is.

    The back has "combine these two Heroes" thing, and Julius' companion is apparently Marky. Which looks cool, though again, why are they standing in front of that fire? Isn't it hot?

    Speaking of things that are hot, let us not forget to mention the legal disclaimers.

    Building
    Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?

    By now, you guys know what you're getting. These 2.0 Heroes are more advanced in construction, articulation, and actual build time than the originals. But that doesn't mean they are difficult or time consuming. They're not! But then again, when has a canister set ever been actually time consuming?

    The intrigue with these new sets is building using the new building style. The ball jointed armour and the new limb pieces make everything a little more interesting, and I kind of dig it. It gets repetitive after a few Heroes, but I'm excited to see how TLG uses this build style in the future.

    2068 Nex 2.0 Review 10 2068 Nex 2.0 Review 09 2068 Nex 2.0 Review 08 2068 Nex 2.0 Review 07 2068 Nex 2.0 Review 06 2068 Nex 2.0 Review 05

    He's almost entirely snap-together, and I have to say I miss pins and axles. But he snaps together quick and he looks good after.

    Set Design
    Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.

    Like the rest of the 2.0 Heroes, Julius comes with a wealth of new parts and new moulds. But the majority of his armour comes in orange, and that makes him more awesome than other Heroes, because orange is awesome, even if it photographs terribly without a better colour to even things out with for your camera's colour balance.

    2068 Nex 2.0 Review 11

    Julius has:

    • Five of the new smaller pieces of ball-joint armour in orange
    • The new helmet in orange
    • The new four-fingered hand in orange
    • The new weapon-shield thing piece in orange
    • A spike in green
    • The new one-piece foot in orange
    • The slimmer torso piece
    • His unique helmet accessory
    • Two pincher/buzzsaw pieces
    • The new torso armour in white
    • The new torso armour armour in orange
    • The new Hero core in solid green
    • The new slightly creepy head in solid green
    • The name tag longer armour piece in white
    • And the same length-limbs pieces as Bill 2.0 (though other sets come with smaller/longer ones)

    That's a lot of new pieces and new moulds. These new Heroes are worth it just for all those new pieces. I solidly believe that.

    Julius' helmet accessory is a little bizarre, because it has a chainsaw and a pincer built into it, and I can't really see a buzzsaw being attached to your head as a great idea. But the mouth guard part reminds me of a football helmet, so that's cool.

    2068 Nex 2.0 Review 12

    And here, have a weapon photo.

    2068 Nex 2.0 Review 13

    I've described the new pieces at length in my Bill 2.0 review, and Sisen has described some of them as well in his reviews, so I'm sure you guys know what you're looking at by now. So we'll move on to the set proper now.

    2068 Nex 2.0 Review 14 2068 Nex 2.0 Review 15 2068 Nex 2.0 Review 16

    The Heroes 2.0 sets have better and more realistic proportions than any Bionicle set ever did. If just for this, I will be grateful, as the ape proportions were getting really grating and irritating. The new range of limb pieces that these sets come with is exciting, and lends a more realistic look.

    Julius is pretty solid, from all views but the back. From there he is really really empty, and I'm kind of bummed about that. The 1.0 heroes had a torso designed to hide that there was no back armour, but these ones just let it all air out in the back. Slightly disappointing, but the depth and solidness to the rest of the design makes up for that, if only a bit.

    Julius also has a narrower shoulder span than Bill 2.0, as his torso piece lacks the ball connections in the shoulder-blade area. So his arms are a more natural close to his body, and that's definitely not a bad thing.

    The comparison to a football player has been made in the forums several times, and it's very accurate. Julius looks like a football player. Plain and simple.

    Playability
    The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with?

    So, what can you do with your Heroes 2.0? You can pose them. A lot!

    2068 Nex 2.0 Review 01 2068 Nex 2.0 Review 02 2068 Nex 2.0 Review 03 2068 Nex 2.0 Review 04

    These new sets are really really fun to tinker with and just sit with and pose and play with. They really are. The lack of projectiles is something I'm pretty thrilled with, as I still think that the Bionicle canister sets were being weighed down with all those projectiles. These are nice and refreshing.

    Final Thoughts
    Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?

    Pros
    What's to like?

    • Orange Julius
    • New moulds galore
    • Fun
    • New building style
    • Possibilities are endless with an untapped medium

    Cons
    What's not to like?

    • Hard to photograph
    • Creamsicle colouring
    • Buzzsaw helmet?
    • Design does get repetitive
    • Empty back

    In the end, I really dig these new Heroes, and I think you should too. I think they are deserving of at least one purchase, and now that I've run through the two TLG graciously donated to me, I'm going to have to buy the rest. The new building style is full of possibilities, and the pieces they use for it are dripping with potential. Plus, it would be disloyal to Bionicle not to buy at least one, since TLG has said if Hero Factory fails, they'll probably just give up on constraction figures. Wink wink!

    Hope you enjoyed this review - be sure to let us know and leave any other questions or comments in the Talkback. Be sure to thank DeeVee too, but also give him a hard time for taking so long (just kidding). We will have more reviews forthcoming, but with the holidays almost here it may be a little bit before you see the next one. Until then though, keep checking back on BZPower!

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