[Review] G.I. Joe: Pursuit of Cobra Desert Battle Snake Eyes (W1)

Note: This review was originally posted at TS118's Forumer site on November 3, 2010. 

This figure was supposed to be an arctic-themed figure, but when it got released we found out that he's brought his talents and gears to the desert. So, does he fit in with the other desert-themed figs? Read on... 

Upon opening the package, you'll get:

-A Snake Eyes figure w/ a leg harness which is not readily removable
-A Timber figure w/ an action feature
-A removable vest/jacket
-An assault rifle
-Two Uzis
-A sheath
-A sword
-A figure stand w/ two foot pegs 

This figure is a combination of some new parts and some old parts. One look at it and you can see that the base figure used was the ROC Paris Pursuit Snake Eyes. This figure shares his head, upper torso, lower torso, upper legs, lower legs, and feet with the said figure. The upper arms, lower arms, hands, and knees are new. Gear-wise, his leg harness, his jacket, and his Uzis are new, while his assault rifle, his sword, and his sheath are just re-issued items. Timber appears to be an all-new sculpt. 

We're all familiar with what the ROC Paris Pursuit Snake Eyes brings to the table, and without the coat, the notion is that we're getting a figure that can make use of his POA's much better. But is that how it rolls? Not really. Desert Battle Snake Eyes has a good range of motion on his elbows, and that's a good thing, but his bulky vest/jacket limits where his arms can go and what his arms can do. His leg harness also restricts leg movement, and his knees are darn ugly. His knees can be bent any way you want it, but poor Snake Eyes can't seem to straighten his legs out. The knees give him a permanent slight bend on his legs, and it is quite annoying. In fact, the knees are the worst thing about this figure. 

 

With the bad things about this figure already out of the way, let's talk about the positives. This figure has a few tricks going for it. To start it off, Snake Eyes has painted-on eyes! You can flip his visor up, and you can see his eyes. The visor doesn't slide up, the plastic just bends, and I'm not sure if the plastic can stand a lot of up-and-down movements. This feature could have been done better, but as it is, it's still a pretty nice feature. 

His vest/jacket looks nice with all the technological designs and pouches, but it's main feature is that you can clip his Uzis here! Yup, each Uzi has a clip on the butt! But here's the cool part, Snake Eyes can use his Uzis while they're clipped! How wicked is that?! 

And by the way, Snake Eyes is not all-black. His jacket, gloves, harness, knee-pads, and shoes are black, but his head, upper torso, lower torso, upper legs, and lower legs have a purple shade. Probably a throwback to the purple Snake Eyes of old. He may seem out of place with all his peeps wearing brown, but Night Fox somehow shares his company. I don't think that Snake Eyes will wear this outfit under the desert sun, it just looks too hot to wear. He can definitely wear it at night, though. Deserts usually get chilly at night, and this outfit can surely keep Snake Eyes warm. 

Oh, we still have to check Timber out. Well, I don't really have much to say about Timber, except for his action feature! Yup, he's got one! Push his tail down and his head rises. That's pretty much it! A good feature, but something that is really unnecessary. 

So, does this figure belong to the desert? Well, maybe a little bit, especially if you have Night Fox as his buddy. But with the Wave 3 Snake Eyes already out, this can now be your default arctic Snake Eyes. Actually, this figure is pretty good, but the knees really bring him down. It looks good on display, but the knees affect it's play value negatively. It's not just another Snake Eyes figure, and it's worth a try.