Spotlight: Planet of the Apes Game by IDW

This past week when I went to my local shop, (World's Collide BTW)  I was presented with this Planet of the Apes tabletop game by IDW.

 I like games and if you pair them with an established property, well I'm an easy mark, so even though I didn't sincerely recall ordering it, it sounded like something I'd do and I went on my way.

What it is: Planet of the Apes is a cooperation game, meaning all players work together rather than pitted against each other. I like this concept a great deal although I've never been particularly successful at it. I'm a big fan of Star Trek Cattan BTW....

How it's played: Each one of the up to four players is Taylor, albeit in a different emotional state, there is Clever Taylor, Defiant Taylor etc.  

The game works sequentially in the film's timeline as you race against time to go through the various stages of the film.  Each area has different challenges and relies often on dice to get you through. 

If the Soldier Ape or the Statue of Liberty gets to the bottom before Taylor, well, you blew it up you maniacs.

How it Looks- It's a pretty darn gorgeous game, the box art is by Jason Edmiston, a super talented dude I got to have a beer with a few years ago and have been a fan of ever since. The interior art is equally as beautiful, this is a joy to look at.

I got an early edition of the game and it came with plastic figurines of the Icarus, Taylor, a Soldier Ape and the Statue of Liberty but honestly, the cardboard pieces are super nice. I'm an Ape toy geek, so these do make me happy, I admit it....

So do you like it? Honestly, i've had a lot of fun but I'll freely admit this, I'm not sure if I'm doing it correctly. 

Planet of the Apes is ambitious and a little complicated, even on my second play, I had some questions. Now, that isn't a bad thing, the game rather new and I expect more and more Youtube videos of actual game play will probably answer all my questions.

I do see myself playing this a few more times as I've enjoyed the experience thus far.

Where to get it?

The absolute best place to get this is your local brick and mortar comic or game store. Keep them in business, spend your dollars locally.

Failing that, you can get it on Amazon or Ebay and if you click these links, you help out this site. Which would also be awesome.

Spotlight: Pinmates U.S.S Enterprise by Bif Bang Pow!

Time for a rare un-boxing and photo review of a modern toy. While I mainly try to avoid modern stuff, some of it embraces my inner child wishlist that it demands to be purchased.

Such is the case with Pin Mates which mix the vintage Fisher Price little people with the hottest licenses today into something that just makes me deliriously happy. 

I had a very happy childhood playing with my Sesame Street set and an even happier second one letting my kid's play with it (I may have gotten heavily involved with that play time as well)

Today, I'll be looking at the first Pin Mates play set and they've started with a bang, the U.S.S Enterprise from classic Star Trek, beam down after the jump!

Spotlight: Toynami Shogun Warriors Godzilla

What better time to do a photo review of a shiny new Godzilla toy than the month of October?

This isn't any Godzilla but Toynami's retake of our childhood classic, the Shogun Warriors Godzilla. I tried to resist  this but seeing as I was denied the original as a kid, it was inevitable. 

So let's take a long loving look at the king of all monster shall we? A very comprehensive after the jump!

Spotlight: Flash Gordon Action Figures by Bif Bang Pow!

It's been a good summer for me and new toys, as two lines based on retro properties came out and tickled my fancy (better than last summer's zero).

This week's is a slightly bigger deal to me as it's based one of my absolute favourite movies of all time, 1980's cinematic adaptation of Flash Gordon.

Indepth photo review, a contest and some scant blathering after the jump.

Spotlight: Funko Jaws Reaction Figures

It's been a long time since I did a photo review of a modern toy, this is mainly because I don't buy that many modern toys. 

Funko's Jaws line was a break in that drought. I haven't been much into the ReAction stuff as I thought I would be, mostly because the licenses don't appeal but also the figure aesthetic hasn't always been to my liking.

However, the stars lined up pretty swell for this line, it's the perfect license combined with a nice job. More after the jump:

Spotlight: Funko Universal Monster Reaction Figures

Any reader of this blog can ascertain two things a) I like monsters and b) I'm fond of 3 3/4" action figures. So it shouldn't come as a big shock that when Funko made it's announcement they were going to conquer the world with Kenner style figures, I was pretty excited.

I'll admit the majority of the properties didn't entice me (I've never even seen the Goonies) but I pre ordered the Universal Monsters before I saw what they look like, I just know me. 

It did make me wonder though if they could really top my beloved Remco Monsters, the results after the jump:

Spotlight: Phantom of the Paradise Blu ray

I haven't done a spotlight review since the winter, mostly because honestly, I don't buy that many new things these days and people rarely send me review stuff. Lucky for me, something crossed my path I just couldn't avoid.

Ever since my (largely irresponsible) older cousin let me watch Phantom of the Paradise at the tender age of 7, I've been a devoted fan of this wicked rock and roll horror satire. Heck, as I type this I'm wearing a Phantom T Shirt (which was unintentional) and I often use a Death Records lighter, I'm hooked I tells ya!

This spotlight isn't about the film itself, if you're reading this I'm assuming you dig the film or are just very bored.

Since that initial viewing I've owned Phantom in every format possible, VHS, laser disk and the rather bare bones (and run of the mill) DVD format but when this was announced I couldn't get my wallet out fast enough. 

Scream Factory really went all out with the love on this one, the film on Blu Ray is a total joy, I found myself noticing things I'd never seen before and I've seen this movie a bunch people.

The joy for me were the extras, which include:

• Deleted Scenes
• New audio commentary 
• Interviews with Brian De Palma, Paul Williams and several key production people.
• Director Guillermo Del Toro (a noted fan) sits down with Paul Williams for an additional interview 
• A great documentary that I hadn't seen before called Paradise Regained

Perhaps my favourite tidbit was this little short of the late William Finley hawking his Medicom action figure.

The only word of caution I would give is, this is not a DVD combo pack, you do not get the movie on DVD here. The DVD is just extras, so please don't expect to get two versions of the film itself.

Otherwise, if you're a fan like me, this is an early Christmas present. I cannot recommend this enough, I honestly feel like I'm being rewarded by the cosmos for this one. Thanks Scream Factory!

Click here to get it on Amazon (and send me a shiny nickel in the process!)

View my previous Spotlights.

Spotlight: Dr Shocker's Vault of Horror

Today’s spotlight is the fun DVD Dr Shocker’s Vault of Horror, released this past fall, it is something I've been meaning to talk about for some time. If you like monsters and monster toys, you need to check this out after the jump.

Spotlight: Zica Six Million Dollar Man

Welcome to a new feature on PlaidStallions, the spotlight, which will revolve around items such as toys, books and DVDs available today that give that retro vibe to me.

I’m hesitant to call them reviews, mostly because I personally don’t think action figure criticism is something I want to do. If I like something, I’ll post pictures and give reasons why I enjoy it and you make up your own mind up whether it’s right for you or not.

Our first spotlight subject is the latest thing to hit my doorstep, the ZICA Six Million Dollar man action figures. Read it after the jump: