Titanfall 2: Atlas and Pilot

Sometimes the worse toy is the better toy. We already reviewed McFarlane Toys' Titanfall 2 BT-7274, and found it to be some hot garbage. Fortunately, McToys isn't the only company that bought the license. If you're super rich, you can buy the ThreeZero figure; if you like building, there are the MegaBloks; and for budget-conscious collectors, there are Funko POP!s. Rather than just one model, they have several Titans for you to choose from, including the star of the first game, Atlas. As a multi-role Titan, the Atlas excels where all other models fall short. The Atlas represents the state-of-the-art in weapons platforms and provides good protection and increased mobility over the Ogre chassis. Whether the mission demands reconnaissance, rapid assault, fire support, tactical support, or a combination of all these, Atlas frontline elements are dependable, powerful and, importantly, get results. Atlas was Titanfall's starter mech, and the "just right" porrige between Stryder's "too hot" and Ogre's "too cold." It's totally middle-of-the-road in all specs, allowing you to get a feel for the game mechanics before branching out into something more specific. Well, one of two things more specific - you'd think a game that was putting all its eggs in the online multiplayer basket would want more than three models to choose from, but then, you'd also think a game maker in 2014 would be smart enough not to put all its eggs in the online multiplayer basket. Atlas's shape was already kind of pudgy, so he translates to the POP! aesthetic very well. The body is shaped vaguely like a potato with arms and legs. There's lots of fun technological detailing all over, like the horizontal bars on the left leg, which you can just imagine being used as the rungs of a ladder for the pilot to climb inside him. Looking at official art of Atlas, almost all the details from the game have been carried over to the toy despite its simplified style, from the tiniest armor plates on the feet to the big exposed engine(?) on the back. Obviously the real thing would be much more intricate, but this is fancier than you might expect from Funko. There were two factions in Titanfall, the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation and the Frontier Militia. They both had access to the same Titans, just done in different colors - white for the IMC, green for the Militia. This toy is a creamy white with dark silver joints and green detailing on the escape hatch and the... saddle bags on the sides? The "eyes" are a bright blue, and there are a few decorative elements scattered around - "no step," "WKE," "A-301," etc. Judging by the logo on the chest and arms, Atlas is apparently on Team Uterus. This is one of the super-sized POP!s, so it stands 6" tall instead of just 4". There's no articulation, not even swivels for the shoulders (though those would have been super easy to do). And yet, while McFarlane Toys' Titan had all sorts of movement, this solid lump is still better. Why? Because Funko remembered to include the one feature that matters: an opening cockpit! The door is two pieces, half hinging up and half hinging down, and has padding sculpted on both sections. The interior is a smooth, featureless void, but who cares? The door opens! There's no way a normal-sized POP! would fit inside Atlas, so this set includes a miniature 2" pilot figure. He is, like his Titan, unarticulated - not even a swivel for the neck. But at least he goes into the cockpit, right? Suck it, Todd. The toy represents the Boba-Fett-ish "assault" armor, and has the typical oversized POP! head. Again, the colors are white, green and silver, and the sculpt is far more complex than you'd ever expect - all the straps on his armor, the antenna on his helmet, the big blue visor, etc. He can stand up on his own, scoring yet another point over McFarlane Toys, and can nestle comfortably inside the cockpit. Atlas is a nice toy, and even if it's not as good as McFarlane's, it's better. It does the one thing you want it to. And as the "main" Titanfall Titan, it's one many people will definitely want. A shame, then, that it's a GameStop exclusive - it's not that they're hard to get, but that they're poorly advertised: by the time I learned it even existed, it was long sold out. In fact, it was when I went looking for it that I first learned about Slimer. GameStop, you need to promote your exclusives better. -- 05/21/17

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