His 5 seconds of screen time were apparently enough to get Berserker his very own unique 1-step changer mold-- good for the guy, he achieved something here, unlike in the movie. Anyways, his alt mode is a bit... off... here. Sure, you can chalk up some stuff like the exaggerated back bumper to the limitations of the 1-step changer transformation, but the core proportions of the vehicle mode are off-- the wheels are much bigger than they should be, with the front bumper more rounded and the roof not sticking up above the surrounding body of the car as much, while the actual car sides themselves are too long proportionally. In other words, most of these proportional changes weren't necessary for the transformation, it's like Hasbro had a different idea of what Berserker's alt mode would be like when they designed it. It looks more like a hardcore 4WD offroad vehicle than the Chevy Suburban he's meant to be-- and he doesn't have the Chevrolet logo on him, so there's that. There are two rather obvious bits of Berserker's robot mode sticking out in this mode, too-- the feet are really obvious sticking out the back end, as is what forms much of his upper body sticking below the bottom of this mode. It's a bit odd, him having no clearance on the bottom when he's got plenty of clearance for those big tires from a frontal view. As for mold detailing, the main features are all present-- the front grill and headlights, the siren on the top, the car doors and paneling, as well as the treaded, bolted tires-- but nothing particularly intricate, here. It's what's needed and not much else. (Surprisingly, he does have taillights, even though they're partially obscured by his robot feet.) The paint detailing is even sparser-- Berserker is pretty much all black in this mode (well, beyond the robot parts sticking out). He's got white on his headlights, a silver Decepticon symbol on his left side, and red on his sirens, but that's it. The windows in particular could have used some paint in blue or something to help break up all this black plastic. He does have the "Cyberfire" UV gimmick paint app on his front hood, however-- shine Mega 1-Step Dragonstorm's fire breath on it (or a UV flashlight) and a flame paint app will light up there, with a Decepticon symbol carved out of it in the center.
    As you'd expect for a 1-step changer, Berserker's transformation to robot mode is simple. Just "pinch" the toy on the back and front and squeeze together-- the front and back ends will fold up on his back, while the sides of his alt mode splay out to the... well, the sides... and his robot mode uncurls from underneath. I'm of two minds about this robot mode. On the one hand, there's a LOT of kibble here-- basically nothing is shared between the two modes other than the obvious tires on his lower legs. His entire alt mode is either on panels behind his arms or on his bumpers, which reach very far back from a side view. It's quite unsightly, though I should mention that because of the stance of his legs, he's still quite stable. On the other hand, the proportions for the core robot mode are incredibly solid and movie-accurate in this mode, without having the "detailed on the side of a vehicle part" issue many other 1-step changers have. The mold detailing is very good on all his robot parts, with the semi-organic parts that alternate between curvy and sharp all present on his arms and legs. His head and "dreads" on the side of his chest are very accurately and intricately detailed, complete with his Predator-like maw, multiple eyes, and multiple sets of horns. Surprisingly, the interior of those kibbly door panels on his sides also have some nice detailing, with some "reinforced armor plating" and circuitry molded on them. The plastic used for his robot body is a dark, fairly milky brownish gray, with some brown paint on his dreads and splayed feet claws, as well as some red on his forearms, eyes, and the "X" on his chest. Thus, while he certainly could still use a few more paint apps, he's more varied color-wise in this mode compared to the alt mode. For articulation in this mode, Berserker can move back-and-forth at the shoulders, and that's it.
    1-Step Berserker has a pretty nicely proportioned robot mode (though like pretty much every 1-step changer, he can't move much), but it comes at a high cost-- one mode is basically "encased" in the other, there's a lot of kibble in robot mode, and his vehicle mode proportions are off. If you have a young one who just can't get enough of this character design that was on the screen for a couple of seconds, this is a nice simple alternative, but otherwise get the far superior Premier Edition version instead.
 

Review by Beastbot

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