Bot Shots Year 1 (2012) Review

Bot Shots Year 1 Normal Figures

    At the beginning of 2012, Hasbro decided to branch out into another area with Transformers that, at least up until that point, hadn't seen much product-- small, collectible figures that also had a dual use as a game. Although I'm no corporate executive, it appeared that the reasons for release of Bot Shots Transformers were threefold-- One, It gave kids a cheap way to collect Transformers, which was ideal with the ailing economy; Two, Transformers had yet to answer the popularity of Beyblade-like toys; and Three, It was easier to take a risk on because there was a heavy re-usage of parts among the characters, even among those with rather different designs.
    As the stores began their post-holiday resets in the first few months of 2012, Bot Shots began to show up everywhere, and it appears that they've been quite successful, at least for their first year. Every Bot Shot is a "chibi-style" Transformer figure, using mostly G1-style aesthetics with an overly large head and a squat, purposely mis-proportioned vehicle mode. Every Bot Shot fit into one of four vehicle mode categories; they were either a car, a tank, a truck, or a jet. Every Bot Shot was roughly the same size, and individually packaged ones retailed for only $4 U.S. or so. Every Bot Shot transforms the same way-- roll them along to impact with their target, and when they hit said target, their front bumper will get pushed in, triggering the auto-transformation. To get them back into vehicle mode, you push the legs up against the chest, tuck the arms in at the sides, and then pull the front half of the vehicle mode (which merely sits behind the head in robot mode) back over the head until it clicks into place-- that's it! Unfortunately, however, the Bot Shots can't really be posed in robot mode, due to the small size and gimmick.
    The reason poseability takes a back seat is due to the game nature of the collectibles. Granted, you don't HAVE to play the game to enjoy them-- you can just collect the "cute little simple Transformers" if you want to-- but it is largely what the different releases are based around. Each Bot Shot has a three-sided piece in the middle of their chest-- the game is, first you decide which side you want facing outwards on the chest-- fist (green), blaster (blue), or sword (red). Then you put them in vehicle mode and crash them against your opponent's Bot Shot of choice, who has also picked which of the three statistics they want to use. The Bot Shots pop open, and the game is largely resolves in a rock/paper/scissors manner-- fist beats sword, sword beats blaster, and blaster beats fist. (If a Bot Shot doesn't pop open after they both clash, that Bot Shot is considered to have "lost" the battle.) However, it's a little bit more complicated than that. See, every symbol on every Bot Shot has a number next to it, ranging from the low 100s to the high 900s. If both you and your opponent end up using the same one of the three statistics (for example, you both choose blasters), then the Bot Shot with the highest number for that statistic wins the match. It's fairly simple, but there is a level of stategy in it, particularly if you know your opponent's Bot Shot's numbers-- do you try to beat what their highest statistic is, or is that too predictable? Etc., etc.

Year 1 Bot Shots Launchers

As far as the different ways Bot Shots are released, most of them are in individual one-packs, as already stated. However, there are some "versus" packs of three, which retail for a little less than $10-- a bit of a savings compared to buying three Bot Shots individually, so they don't come with online codes to make up for it. You can also buy a Bot Shot with an auto-launcher that quickly transforms into a "trailer" of some sort for about $8 U.S., and there's a "Battle for the Matrix" giftset that contains 4 Bot Shots and 2 Launchers for $20 (this set comes with codes). Although some of the more popular characters have multiple releases, they all differ from each other at least a little in terms of paint apps and/or overall color, and each has different statistics. Listed below are all the releases for 2012:

    Individually-packed:
    -Autobot Jazz
    -Autobot Ratchet
    -Autobot Topspin
    -Bumblebee
    -Bumblebee (Battle Mask variant)
    -Bumblebee (Chase)
    -Barricade
    -Decepticon Brawl
    -Jetfire
    -Leadfoot
    -Lockdown
    -Megatron (Tanker truck)
    -Megatron (Tanker truck; Chase)
    -Mirage
    -Optimus Prime
    -Optimus Prime (Chase)
    -Powerglide
    -Roadbuster
    -Sentinel Prime (Chase)
    -Shockwave (Chase)
    -Skywarp
    -Starscream
    -Thundercracker

    Three packs:
    -Decepticon Brawl, Shockwave, & Ironhide (Chase)
    -Nemesis Prime, Megatron (tank) & Acid Storm (Chase)
    -Powerglide, Jetfire, & Skyquake
    -Sentinel Prime, Prowl, & Bumblebee

    Launchers:
    -Ironhide
    -Megatron (tank)
    -Optimus Prime
    -Starscream

"Battle for the Matrix" Box Set:
-contains redecos of Bumblebee, Optimus Prime w/ Launcher, Megatron (tank) w/ Launcher, & Decepticon Brawl

Chase Year 1 Bot Shots

    Still, the physical game in and or itself might be a bit TOO simple and quickly lose its play value for many people. Luckily, starting with the Wave 3 individually packaged Bot Shots, codes for a flash-based online game on Transformers.com began to be inserted in the packages! (From that wave onward, all Bot Shots had codes in them, with the exception of the 3-packs (discussed shortly), likely due to their discount value.) "Normal" Bot Shots come with codes for 100K worth of online points, with which you can buy online Bot Shots, attacks, and enhancements. However, there is one "Chase" Bot Shot in each wave-- short-packed to one a case, and all of them made of translucent plastic-- that have codes worth 298K of online points. (The "Chase" Bot Shots also tend to have one statistic that is considerably higher than most-- though this is balanced out, usually with one other statistic that is considerably lower than most.)
    So, what's this online game like? Well, there's many aspects of it, and I have to say it takes the rather overly-simple rock/paper/scissors bit of the physical game and really kicks it up a notch. First, the obvious-- yes, you can play people around the world in this game, and the Bot Shots you "own" electronically you actually see make their attacks against each other on-screen instead of just bashing into each other. There are also Leaderboards to compare how you're doing in certain areas compared to others around the world, and "Squads" you can join that are essentially the equivalent of "Clan-Lites" in MMORPGS. The online game is free to sign up for, but the number of online points you win via matches is small enough where you'd have to play a LOOONG time to earn up enough to purchase a substantial number of online Bot Shots without purchasing any physical ones. (It should be noted here that, no, when you enter a code that comes with a Bot Shot, you don't automatically get that Bot Shot-- you can use your points to purchase that Bot Shot, any other Bot Shot currently available on the site's virtual "store", or on upgrades and training.)
    Online Bot Shot figures are by far the most expensive among the things you can purchase in the online game, costing almost as much as the number of points you get on the codes that come with their figures! (This includes the Chase figures-- yes, they cost about 3 times as much as a normal Bot Shot. Piece of advice-- unless you really like the look of them, online, it's not worth it. Their high statistic doesn't come in handy as much as you'd think.) However, each Bot Shot is sort of like another little soldier for your ever-growing army-- even among those that are mere variants of characters you already have, they each strike their own poses (both in your menu and when winning), have their own bios, and mumble cute little high-pitched sounds that really don't mean anything more advanced than "Hah!" or "Yahoo!".
    So what makes the difference between the online game and the physical game? Well, the basic "rock/paper/scissors with a twist" principle is the same-- but during battle, you quickly click & match two of the same symbols to "play" that move, with up to 5 moves held "in queue" for your next attack. Your Bot Shot starts at Level 1 and, through many, many battles, can eventually make it to Level 10, with their overall health and attack power increasing with each Level (and the amount of points needed to ascend to the next level increasing exponentially as you get further and further up the latter). So, although a Level 1 may theoretically beat a Level 5 Bot Shot, they'd have to get pretty lucky. (It should also be noted here that when you "win" a round, the opponents' health goes down by a standard amount-- if the difference between your Bot's statistical number and your opponent's statistical number is greater, it doesn't mean you do more damage to your opponent than if their statistical numbers were closer together.) The attacks continue until one Bot's health is depleted and one can claim victory (and more points, though if you lose you still get a few points).
    Bot Shots aren't the only thing you can purchase with your virtual money, however. For a relatively small sum of points (75-5,000), you can purchase more powerful "attack packs", such as lightning attacks, "shadow attacks", healing moves, shields, and many more. These certainly mix up the game quite a bit more, with most of the special attacks basically beating any regular attack while the healing moves and the like are pretty self-explanatory. You pick which (if any) special attack packs you want to use before the match starts, and then match them just you would regular attacks in the actual battle when you want to use them. (If you don't use them at all during the match, the attack pack is still considered used up, however.)

Online Game Screen Cap

    In addition, for 300 points you can try your hand at one of three mini-games-- a Fist Training Game, a Sword Training Game, or a Blaster Training Game. For the fist game, you have to hit the parts of a virtual Transformer in the order give to you by the computer, in a "Simon Says"-style game. For the Sword and Blaster Training Games, you have to either slash with your mouth or shoot with your blaster falling objects/robots before they fall off the screen. If you let too many fall off the bottom of the screen without damaging them, you lose. The Fist and Sword Training Games can get pretty intense, but they're fair. However, the Blaster Training Game seems to suffer from some major game-breaking lag issues, and I have a pretty good internet connection. Depending upon how well you do in the game, your number for the relevant statistic will increase anywhere from 1 to 5 points for each attempt at a training game. Since 1-to-5 points is practically nothing when the statistics are anywhere from the low 100s to the high 900s, these games are best played just for the fun of it rather than to give you any real tactical advantage unless you really play them a LOT.
    You can also purchase extra armor bits (in varying colors) for your online avatar with Bot Shot points-- again for a relatively small sum (200-1,000 points). This really don't add any tactical value, they just spruce up your look a bit. (A bit of a note here-- to prevent profane names from coming up, you have to choose from among several "first names" and "last names" for your avatar, along with a four-digit number of your choosing. If you know someone's name, you can challenge them-- if you want to challenge me, I'm Sentinel Saurus 0983!) Like in many games today there are also "Achievements" you get for accomplishing various things-- anywhere from winning an adventure tournament to getting so many wins to owning so many Bot Shots to winning a match within a certain number of seconds. They're a nice little thing to strive for, but they don't give you any points when you get them or anything.
    You also don't only have to play other players in the game-- you can play computer-controlled opponents at pre-determined difficulty levels in one-on-one matches, or you can go through one of (as of this writing) two different "adventures" in different parts of Cybertron, which are essentially a sequence of 10 matches with each one getting steadily more difficult as you progress. (If you fail on a match, however, you don't have to start all the way at the beginning of the tournament-- you just had to re-do the match.) It's worth nothing that the adventure tournaments are a bit less fun than "normal" matches, since you can't use any of your power-ups you've purchased in these matches-- which basically means that it just comes down to luck. Particularly when you're battling a high-level character, this can get rather frustrating if you get on a long losing streak, as it really isn't your fault at all.
    Overall, the Bot Shots game is a pretty fun idea. I like the figures quite a bit dispite their simplicity and lack of poseability and fiddle with them quite a lot, though I rarely play the game with the physical figures. The online game can be quite fun in short spurts, though if you play it for too long it can get a bit too repetitive and tiresome. It's a really fun and surprisingly layered bonus that comes with the figures, though. If you're a fan of Flash online games and/or little simplstic Transformers, it's hard not to recommend at least some of these, though a few characters like Bumblebee and Megatron have so many versions you probably won't want to pick up every one.

Overall Rating: 8/10 Great

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