Shock Berserker Review Capsule

Shock Berserker is one of the second series of small Xevoz kits and is basically a personification of electromagnetism, heavy on the electro. Two heads, a couple of sets of hands, some armor, and a giant freaking magnet make this a distinctive toy. Sample purchased for $2.00 on a freak Wal-Mart clearance, normally sells for about $7.

Introduction

Like the entirety of Xevoz, the line was created mostly to appeal to kids with a "cool" factor and doesn't rely on any existing property from the 1980s to make a claim to why anyone should buy it. Unlike most toys reviewed here, this is a kid's line and while it's obvious they did some jokey stuff that adults will claim are for them, they aren't-- this is a kid's line.

This toy is a completely new mold and reuses no existing parts from Xevoz or any other toy line. Even more astounding, no parts are expected to be reused or repainted anytime soon. As such, this toy and the entire line is in a unique place in which it could be a future classic by not cheapening itself with countless repaints. Of course, there's no rampant success to cheapen it either.

Shock Berskerer is basically able to be modified into a few unique configurations but is not capable of being rebuilt into significantly different modes. It's an Electric Man any way you slice it.

Figure

The completed toy can basically be a couple of variations on the whole man-made-of-energy concept and a few have commented it's a little like that electric gremlin from Gremlins 2: The New Batch.

The highly posable figure can be assembled or disassembled into a variety of configurations, none of which are particularly different than any other. Like the entire range, this figure isn't exactly a marvel of wonderful sculpting, but it is a slick, stylized figure with a surprising amount of personality. Also, when fully assembled, this is currently the tallest figure on the market.

This little guy has two heads. One is an unpainted head with a pseudo-toothy grin made completely of electricity. The other, dubbed "Rust Bucket", is a large metal cranial unit with what appears to be a raised eyebrow. This expression really gives it a lot of personality, and frankly, a lot more to look at. The clear yellow head is difficult to make out without the glare from our lights, so it's nice to know you can use a head with a little more that can be seen in normal lighting conditions.

Components

While it's a bit of a cliche, Shock Berserker really is the sum of his parts. And there are many of them.

Assembly is pretty basic stuff. Pop the joint into the socket. Or out of the socket. Either way, it works.

There's a lot of interesting bits to the toy, such as some gauntlets and a piece of chest armor that looks a bit like a stove. The larger set of hands comes in two pieces each, a "thumb" and a larger piece with the three fingers. These are actually capable of grasping things, but not as well as the smaller hands.

The magnet hand is called the "Magnetelectro" which, while not original, is at least easy to remember. Next to it in the photo is a strange piece whose purpose we do not know, yet it appears in almost all of the Xevoz kits released prior to July 2004. A figure can hold it, and that's about it-- it serves no real obvious purpose.

The set's "wacky" part, or "gag" piece, is the aforementioned magnet.

Glyphs, Labels, Instructions

Behold! The rest of the toy.

The toy comes with seven glyphs representing the various parts of the toy. The set also included a sticker sheet and instructions. As Hasbro makes the instructions available online, we will include this link so you can print them out yourself in PDF format.

Additional Glyph images will be added at a later date.

Packaging

This toy came packaged in typical Xevoz fashion.

While both sturdy and functional, there are two versions of the package available, both of which look pretty much the same from the front.

Version one (pictured above) includes a "pouch" on the back of the package to store additional pieces not visible in the front bubble, and this shipped alongside Wave 2. The second version has no pouch and all the pieces fit inside an enlarged triangle-shaped bubble with the bulk of the spare parts in a plastic baggie taped shut behind the character photograph on the front. This was during Wave 3. There are no other significant packaging variations known at this time.

Other Notes & Images

There aren't many other parts that really work with this figure, but we had to take this picture and share.

The light bulb was included with the Shadow Blade vs. Bone Cutter two-pack as a bonus head for the Bone Cutter.

Fin

While a neat toy in its own right, odds are this isn't the toy an adult toy fan would buy to have to futz with on their desk There aren't many spare or "wacky" parts to really stand out as must-buy pieces, it's a solid toy built around a solid idea. Nothing here seems to be a waste of plastic, and there really aren't many spare parts to work with. As such, if you like the default mode or want to use these to augment other Xevoz figures, it's a fantastic set. For the price we paid for it, we're ecstatic to have it. As a $7 toy, though, it should make a great gift for the target audience of youngsters, but older fans will find a lot to like in the other sets the Xevoz toy line has to offer.

Reviewed and photographed by Adam Pawlus
Sample purchased during August 2004 at a freak Wal-Mart clearance for $2.00 even
Reviewed on June 10 2005.