Ubisoft’s collectable line – ‘Ubisoft Heroes’ is back in a new series.

The video game and collectables company expands its brand-new set of chibi figurines, inspired by famous heroes from the Ubisoft worlds, by announcing an incoming Series 2.

This new series will include 4 iconic characters:

• Eivor from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a devoted and confident Viking clan leader, who is not scared of dying to protect his people. Despite his deep love for his clan, he is a lone wolf. Indeed, driven by his dream to prove his courage, he prefers to take on all tasks and risks himself. The male version of Eivor represents a conqueror and valiant leader who is ready to win new battles for his clan. On the other side, the female version of Eivor is represented triumphant after the discovery of a stronghold treasure after an intense raid battle.
• Honest, compassionate and loving London almost to a fault, the King of Hearts mask is there to encourage the Dedsec recruits that wears it to resist oppression in all its forms – with a flourish! Modelled after the actual skull of King Richard III that was recovered several years back, this type of mask is usually held together by wiring. In true DedSec fashion, the Dedsec Coronet Limited Edition has been added colourful LED illuminated lines, and a pixelated graphic cementing the crown for the second version of this figurine, available as a Ubisoft Store exclusive.
• The Panda has been busting moves in the last 7 editions of Just Dance. He first appeared in the song ‘Timber’ by Pitbull ft. Ke$ha in Just Dance 2014. Since then he’s been breaking it down as a coach for songs like ‘I Gotta Feeling’ by The Black Eyed Peas and, most recently, ‘Con Calma’ by Daddy Yankee Ft. Snow. The most loved and iconic character of the Just Dance franchise now joins the Ubisoft Heroes Collection with this colourful figurine.

Ubisoft is also announcing a unique collaboration with Baccarat, the most prestigious crystal manufacturer in the world.

To celebrate the launch of Ubisoft Heroes Series 1, Ubisoft and Baccarat have partnered to pay tribute to the iconic Assassin’s Creed character Ezio Auditore with a unique creation in blue crystal. This handmade piece crafted by Baccarat’s artisans symbolises the unique know-how of the 256 years old crystal brand. Recognised for the inimitable talent of its blowers, gilders, engravers and cutters, Baccarat has perfectly recreated the Ubisoft Heroes version of Ezio by portraying the ancestor of Desmond Miles with his Eagle’s Vision. All Assassin’s Creed fans will have the opportunity to win this exceptional, limited edition piece, simply by purchasing a box of Series 1 figurines.

Five Golden tickets have been placed inside the boxes of Series 1 figurines that will be on sale from August 28th, 2020. Consumers who will find the Golden ticket in the box will win a Baccarat’s Ezio Eagle’s Vision figurine.

The first series of Ubisoft Heroes is available now and the Series 2 can be preordered and will be available from October 27th, 2020.

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The post Ubisoft Announce Series Two of ‘Ubisoft Heroes’ appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

As passionate and visionary artists, Molecule8 is setting new standards in craftsmanship with its commitment to life-like imagery and the highest quality production.

The company will incorporate the singer-songwriter’s likeness in a global, limited edition collectible figure represented in sixth scale (12 inches) in association with Epic Rights. The John Lennon Figure will be available April 2018.

“The John Lennon Molecule8 figures highlight a delicate balance of creativity, quality and artistry”, said Lisa Streff, EVP of Global Licensing at Epic Rights. “The team at Molecule8 are well known for creating figures of the highest quality that are eagerly sought by collectors and fans.”

“We are honoured to have been approved by Yoko Ono and Epic Rights to develop a line of distinct premium collectibles under the John Lennon brand”, said Vijay Chadha, CEO of Molecule8. “In addition to the sixth scale figure of Mr. Lennon, our team is developing a unique assortment of pieces that will speak to the genius, character, and passions that defined John Lennon, both as an artist and as a man.”

Epic Rights is a leading music industry artist services company representing many top artists and providing a broad scope of services, including: retail and brand licensing, official artist ecommerce shops, VIP ticketing, official fan communities, and concert merchandising and have an agreement with Molecule8 to produce the limited edition John Lennon life-like collectibles.

Molecule8 was formed in 2015 with a passionate vision to deliver the most life like, visually engaging and advanced collectible products in the world. Its leading team of artists specialize in the production, marketing and distribution of museum-grade licensed collectibles. With locations in London, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Hong Kong, its global business presence offers extensive experience working with multinational brands across a broad spectrum of the entertainment industry and beyond.

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Another year and another edition of Activision’s videogame and collectible figurine mash-up. For this year’s Skylanders Superchargers, vehicles have been added into the mix, opening up a whole new way to play the game and drain parents of their cash.

Skylanders, the original toys-to-game franchise, now competes with Disney’s Infinity, Nintendo’s Amiibo and Lego Dimensions for a slice of the pie. And stiff competition it is as well. With the marketing might of Disney drawing from some of the world’s top brands like Marvel and Star Wars, Nintendo from their back catalogue of classic game characters and Lego from everywhere else, Activision really can’t afford to rest on their laurels.

Hence the vehicles shaking this up for this yea’rs Skylanders Superchargers.

You have to admire the effort that Activision puts into their Skylanders games. As with previous entries, Skylanders Superchargers looks fantastic (and I reviewed the Xbox 360 version). The polished visuals look more like a creatively stylised kids cartoon than an interactive video game.

The plot, whilst not exactly deep, serves its purpose and provides enough giggles to keep the kids and adults that are young at heart amused.

Kaos, the evil cackling madman that spends an unhealthy amount of time plotting the destruction of Skylands has almost succeeded, imprisoning your friends. The only ones that can restore order is a special team of Skylanders… the Superchargers and their fleet of extra-ordinary land sea and air vehicles. With the help of returning characters Hugo, Flynn and Cali, players must liberate Skylands destroy the Doomstation of Ultimate Doomstruction and free Master Eon from Kaos’s prison.

For the uninitiated, and similar to all the other games of its ilk, the Skylanders franchise has players (referred to by the Master Eon, as he breaks the forth wall and speaks to you directly, as portal masters) placed in charge of the portal of power. This portal, when a Skylander toy is placed upon it, transfers the character into the game world. It’s a neat idea and, of course, the more Skylanders you own, the more characters you have to tag-team your way through the game. Which is where it can get expensive and potentially even more so this time as characters are paired up with a vehicle as well.

Thankfully, Skylander toys from previous games are compatible with Skylander Superchargers, meaning most fans will have a large collection of characters to draw upon. The portal included with Skylanders Superchargers includes a slot for a trap piece, as introduced with last year’s Skylanders Trap Team.

Placing a full trap in the Superchargers portal unlocks special Skystones for use with the mini card-like game, Skystones Overdrive.

The Skylander Superchargers starter pack comes with a couple of Superchargers and a car. Straight of the bat you are going to need to stump up some cash and buy an air and sea vehicle in order to actually play the game properly.

The addition of vehicles to the mix creates an interesting, though likely to be divisive, change. Whilst the use of vehicles may detract from what many may consider to be the core Skylanders experience, I found the new racing and vehicle combat mechanics a refreshing change for a franchise that seems to be getting a bit stale of late.

As well as the Main Story Campaign, Single-player, Multiplayer and Time Trial races are available directly from the Main Menu. This allows players to test out the three vehicle types with races on land, water and in the air. The racing will appeal to fans of Mario Kart, with plenty of power-ups and vehicle-to-vehicle combat.

The game contains the same sort of polished platform gaming fun that the franchise is renown for. This time though, at particular points there’s the opportunity to hop on board a land, air or sea vehicle and continue the Skylander experience in a rather different way.

The vehicles are upgradable in a similar way to the Skylanders, themselves, improving their speed, armament and weaponry.

Skylanders Superchargers makes for an interesting new direction and adding vehicles is certainly less gimmicky that last year’s traps. The cynic in me thinks that the inclusion of vehicles is more about emptying parent’s wallets than a creative change to make the game better, which, let’s be honest seems to be the same thing every year.

Still, Skylanders Superchargers is a very polished affair offering a great story, some fun, if familiar, gameplay and some outstanding characters. Fans should love it, but newcomers may end up wondering what all the fuss is about.

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