So of course the idea intrigued me, so I said yes. You'll see the addition of their logo in the bottom right corner of the main page. Go there check out what is happening on the toy collecting scene in canada and let both of us know what you think about, well anything at all.

billroth@home.com BIll Roth(Collector Connector)
aperry@accesswave.ca Adam Perry(Toy Collectors of Canada)

If you don't have a Dreamcast yet GET ONE! It Rocks!!!!

Every once and a while a new game comes along that just blows you away. One that you just can't put down no matter how tired you are. For me Toy Commander is one of those games. Basically you are a little boy that has set up all kinds of forts and bases throughout his house. You are playing war to win back the house by defeating Huggy bear who has staged a mutiny and taken over the house. One by one you must defeat each toy general from each room in order to win them over to your side and join the fight against Huggy bear.

The brilliant fusion of the physical world and imagination on the screen as you play is astounding especially to those who remember playing in a similar fashion. An example of which is in one level you are a plane that has to take out submarines in the kitchen and dining room. The room is 'flooded' up to the table. But Obviously the room isn't really flooded its just your imagination, well until you crash into the imaginary water.

The game feel like it was inspired by Micro Machines and Toy Story and melded into a whole new game. All together there are 8 rooms with over 50 missions making the game have a lasting quality.

Gameplay
I think that the best part about the game is that for me it is soooo hard. But its not hard because there are severe gameplay problems or because of some other kind of design flaw. Its hard because the game requires you to learn each level and then become better and faster at it. New concept, I can't believe no-one ever thought of it before...

To generalize there are three types of vehicles that you can be; a ground vehicle (tank or tuck) a plane or a helicopter. Each with their own type of controls. Which ones you use depends on the level that you chose to play. Some require that you use all three some require only one.

I found the control to be amazing, with only one drawback, going up ramps. Give it a try and try and do it quickly. It is so hard to get totally straight and so you can fall off ramps and get stuck on the edges of the ramps.. Some may say that when you get stuck on stuff it is a game glitch. I get the impression from the hours I played that you get stuck on stuff to slow you down. To get better and faster your goal is to specifically avoid the places where you can get stuck on objects. But even knowing this, does not make it less frustrating when it happens.

Graphics
Wow the game is gorgeous! I am still stunned at how cool it is. The room are so well rendered that it will astonish anyone who plays. The level are so rich in depth and replay value for the multi-player death matches. By that I mean they are so complex, there are so many cool places to hide and the total freedom to go anywhere in the room is great. All the vehicles look great and the as I said the level are amazing. The game uses the same level over again but at the same time totally changing it for each mission. For example one level you are required to drive all over the floors and wall, and then in the same room it is filled with water and you have to defeat the subs.

Replay Value
I used my standard rule of never reviewing a game that I haven't played with others. Mainly because I feel that their impression can give you a glimpse of other values to the game that the reviewer my not notice on their own. That being said every one that played the game got so into it, it engages you.

I have played over 8 hours of the death matches, and it still hasn't gotten tired. My excitement to get to the next level to get another room to fight in is motivating me even more to beat the game. Believe me the 4 player games are a blast. There are three types; deathmatch, capture the flag and cat and mouse. Death match as I said is a blast, but cat and mouse rocks. Here the goal is to get as high a score as you can. One player is the mouse, and only the mouse gets points. The other players have to tag the mouse to become the mouse themselves. The longer you go without being tagged the higher the points.

I can't say enough good things about this game, its original design look and gameplay makes it a classic and I hope that this review helps to make sure that the game does not go unnoticed and does get the recognition that a solid, fun game deserves.

Graphics: 8.5
Gameplay: 7
Value: 9.5
Sound: 8.5
Overall: 8.5

Adam Perry, Editor

Pawtucket, RI (September 9, 1999) - Hasbro, Inc. [NYSE:HAS] and Wizards of the Coast, Inc. announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Hasbro to acquire Wizards of the Coast, the world's largest publisher of hobby games and a leading publisher of fantasy and science fiction literature. The purchase price is approximately $325 million, subject to adjustment based on the audited net assets of Wizards of the Coast at closing, and certain contingent payment rights. The waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act has expired, and the transaction is expected to be completed by the end of September of 1999.

Privately-held Wizards of the Coast was founded in 1990 by Peter D. Adkison, and is best known for Magic: The Gathering, the world's all-time best-selling trading card game. Since its release in 1993, more than six million players worldwide have embraced this game, which is now available in 10 languages and played in more than 52 countries. Other well-known products include the popular Pokémon trading card game, currently the number-one game in the U.S., and the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing games. The company also sponsors a worldwide tournament program for hobby game enthusiasts, owns and operates almost 70 retail game establishments and operates the Wizards of the Coast Game Center in Seattle, the first gaming environment and entertainment center for adventure gaming enthusiasts of all ages.

"Wizards of the Coast will enable us to significantly expand in the fast-growing games arena, which is a cornerstone of our growth strategy for the new millennium," said Alan G. Hassenfeld, Chairman and CEO of Hasbro, Inc. "This acquisition brings us not only incredibly popular content and exciting future gaming initiatives, but also a visionary senior management team and creative talent, expanded distribution channels and an opportunity to participate in location-based entertainment. There is no end to the opportunities we see from cross-fertilization of our respective game portfolios, including the fast-growing areas of interactive software and on-line gaming. Plus, the year-round nature of these businesses will help to balance the seasonality of our diversified portfolio," Hassenfeld continued.

"We are very excited about this merger of the world's two greatest game companies," said Peter D. Adkison, President and CEO of Wizards of the Coast. "We are proud to become part of the Hasbro tradition and culture, and look forward to working together to build on the strength of Hasbro's rich library of intellectual properties," Adkison added.

Shareholders owning over two-thirds of the Wizards of the Coast outstanding shares, representing more than the required minimum approval, have agreed to vote their shares in favor of this merger at the shareholders' meeting which is expected to take place on or about September 30, 1999. Peter Adkison and his senior management team will continue to run Wizards of the Coast, which will remain based just outside of Seattle. This transaction is expected to have no material impact on Hasbro's earnings per share in 1999 and to be accretive in the year 2000 and beyond.

Hasbro is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of toys, games, interactive software, puzzles and infant products. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, KENNER, TONKA, ODDZON, SUPER SOAKER, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER, HASBRO INTERACTIVE, and GALOOB products provide children and families with the highest quality and most recognizable toys and games in the world.

Wizards of the Coast, Inc., the worldwide market share leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, is a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products as well as the owner and operator of one of the nation's largest specialty game retail chains. The company holds an exclusive patent on the play mechanic of trading card games (TCGs) and produces the world's best-selling Pokémon* and Magic: The Gathering TCGs. Publisher of adventure games such as the classic Dungeons & Dragons games, family card and board games and electronic media products, Wizards of the Coast is also one of the world's leading fantasy and science fiction book publishers. The company has retail locations that provide game-play areas. Headquartered near Seattle, Washington, Wizards of the Coast has international offices in Antwerp, Paris, Milan, London and Beijing. For more information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company's website and electronic retail store at www.wizards.com.

Certain statements contained in this release contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual actions or results may differ materially from those expected or anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Specific factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, the timely manufacture and shipping by the Company of new and continuing products and their acceptance by customers and consumers in a competitive product environment; economic conditions, currency fluctuations and government regulation and other actions in the various markets in which the Company operates throughout the world; the inventory policies of retailers, including the continuing trend of concentration of the Company's revenues in the second half and fourth quarter of the year, together with increased reliance by retailers on quick response inventory management techniques, which increases the risk of underproduction of popular items, overproduction of less popular items and failure to achieve tight and compressed shipping schedules; the impact of competition on revenues, margins and other aspects of the Company's business; the Company's incurring higher than expected costs to achieve, or not achieving, "Year 2000" readiness with respect to the Company's systems, or the Company's customers, vendors or service providers failing to achieve such readiness; and the risk that anticipated benefits of acquisitions or the Company's Global Integration and Profit Enhancement program may not occur or be delayed or reduced in their realization. The Company undertakes no obligation to make any revisions to the forward-looking statements contained in this release or to update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release.

*©1995, 1996 and 1998 Nintendo, Creatures, GAMEFREAK. Pokémon and Game Boy are trademarks of Nintendo

So what else is there? Well the Movie Maniacs line from Mcfarlane toys is going strong, with Michael Myers and the Scream Baddie. I think these will be great sellers. Also the Austin Powers: the Spy Who Shagged Me action figures are incredibly hot sellers and I think they will continue to be. And then there are the Beatles: Yellow Submarine figures, which will definitely be collectible.

If Toy Biz can get their act together they may be able to release action figures based off of their two new animated series (Spider-Man Unlimited and Avengers) just before Christmas. If they manage to do that, than I expect that they will be really hot sellers. We won't know if that is even possible until the Toy Biz display at the San Diego Comics Convention this summer.

**Well as you now know toy biz has shown come of the Avengers figures at the San Diego Comic Con, but not all of them were there or completed so it looks as though we will have to wait until early 2000 for them. To See the pictures CLICK HERE

Another thing, although not action figures, that will be huge this Christmas is the Dreamcast from Seaga. The new 128 bit machine has garnered over 250 000 preorders. That beats the previous record set by the Sony Playstation by 150 000 units. With about 18 games released at launch it has the potential to become one of the most successful systems so far. To read more about the Dreamcast go to www.segaweb.com where I'm currently a trial writer.

If you have any theories on what might be this Christmas' 'hot ticket' contact me at aperry@accesswave.ca.

Some of you may not really know the history of Pokemon. It all started about 5 years ago in Japan with a trading card game. This Game was then adapted into the incredibly popular Japanese Gameboy games, then to the TV anime and many other products to numerous to mention. The first thing we heard about Pokemon, was a few years ago in an issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly. In one of their issues they discussed a show on Japanese TV that caused epileptic seizures in many children during a flashing scene in an episode. It was edited out of the American version.

Then the Gameboy games, Red and Blue were brought over here to North America where it has been one of the most successful videogames ever. The Red and Blue versions of the game are still consistently good sellers, even after all this time, and can be credited with injecting a whole new life into the Gameboy system.

In addition to the two original games, there are many spin-off games, such as; Pokemon Snap (a pokemon picture taking game for the N64), Pokemon Pinball (a pinball game for the Gameboy where you catch all 150 Pokemon by playing pinball), Pokemon Yellow(A special version of the original game that follow more closely the story of the show.), Super Smash Brothers (a fighting game where you can play as Pikachu and Jigglypuff, as well as guest appearances by other characters) and lastly there is Pokemon Stadium (a game where 4 players can fight their Pokemon in 3D Graphics on the N64. You can upload all your Pokemon to the N64 via a special adaptor that is included with the game. Also you can play the original red or blue on the N64 through this Adaptor.) which is due out in March of 2000.

One of the biggest thing that has spawned from the game is the cartoon. It is one of the highest rated animated series on television. Warner Brothers which owns the American rights to the cartoon has also secured the rights to Pokemon the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back. This will be released on November 12, 1999, just in time for Christmas. And as a predecessor to the film a special episode 'Pikachu's vacation' will be shown before the movie begins. In this short, Mewtwo is introduced as well as four other new pokemon.

Although it is not a videogame, another new game has been introduced to American markets last year. Going back to its original Japanese roots, Wizards of the Coast (makers of the Magic the Gathering) has released a new Pokemon card game. The card game allows two people to be Pokemon trainers and pit their Pokemon training skills against one another. The game has been a huge success, so much so that the cards have been banned in schools and the starter packs are running as high as $25CDN in some areas. There is one starter pack, and six theme decks. There are regular booster packs and jungle booster packs used to expand your deck.

Now the toys! There have been a total of 32 PVC Pokemon action figures (although there is little action). There are four 3 packs that retail in Canada for about $11.99. The regular two packs retail for around $7.99. Here is a list of the available figures:

3 Paks
-Pikachu 3 Pak
-Scyther, Chansey, Pikachu
-Charmander, Charmeleon, Charzard 3 Pak
-Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, Venusaur 3 Pak
-Polywag, Polywhirl, Polywrath 3 Pak

2 Paks
-Kakuna & Beedrill
-Pikachu & Riachu
-Metpod & Butterfree
-Pidgey & Pidgeot
-Evee & Flareon
-Geodue & Goloem
-Ratatta & Raticate
-Psyduck & Golduck
-Meowth &Gengar
-Mankey & Primeape

Here in my part of the country these figures are just arriving in stores for the first times and they are not lasting long. As I said Pokemon fever is heating up....

For more information try

These figures, especially the last seasons, which had an all new assortment, are probably worth quite a bit to US collectors. Canada 1, US 0.

The show Reboot, produced by Canadian Mainframe Productions changed the face of Saturday morning cartoon. Well maybe not totally, but they are in a process of changing it. Reboot, to my knowledge. is the first totally computer animated television series. That alone is pretty impressive, but because of the success of this show, we now have Transformers in all their 3-D glory, as well as another show called Shadow Raiders (War Planets in the US). Reboot, I believe, was carried for the first two seasons on CBS in the US and the action figures may have been released down there as well. But what makes this a success is that it is a Canadian production that we can claim as our own. To view these figures go to our Archives.
Canada 2, US 0.

As mentioned before Mainframe Productions have created two more great shows; Transformers: Beasties (Beast Wars in the US) and Shadow Raiders (War Planets in the US.) I guess the Canadian government decided for us that our children could not handle the word 'war' in our children's programming. These shows are also totally computer rendered, but are of American descent. The action figures preceded the show, but were made a success by the animated series.

These are two really great shows, that are made here in Canada. Although War Planets toys from Trendmasters were distributed everywhere, I don't believe that the Shadow Raiders figures that were released in Canada were released in the US under the War Planets Logo (See Archives). Canada 3, US 0.

Alpha Flight the epitome of Canadian heroic imagery, but not released in Canada?! That's right, these figures were not released here. As a matter of fact, as far as Marvel and Toy Biz go, none of their collectors lines are released here (Except the initial Hulk & both Venom lines). So we are forced to go to our comic and hobby shops, or through the internet to get these toys.

This is where collecting in Canada is rough. We get none of the exclusive figures carried in our major chains (No Toys 'R' Us special two-packs) so to get these items it is even harder. One of the major reasons that we cannot get these toys up here is because the Canadian government tries to protect its industries, including the toy industry. One of the methods used to protect the toy industry is to require French on the packaging of every toy sold here (We are a bilingual country after all).

So it is safe to assume that when places like Toys "R" Us or Wal-Mart order some exclusive toys for their US stores, it is not in their best interest to have such an already limited quantity of figures made even smaller, by doing a second packaging run with Canadian packaging. Therefore we do not get these toys. It makes collecting in Canada very difficult for some things. Add on top of that, that Canada does not have many stores that US has, such as KB Toys and Target.

I know that I don't know too much about Hockey, but I do know that that is a slam dunk for three points to bring it to a tie.
Canada 3 US 3. For most major toys like Star Wars, the market is pretty much identical What does this mean? Well neither place is really better than the other, both places are unique. For some the grass will be greener on the other side of the boarder, for others it doesn't really matter.