Toy OTD: Toycom/Alpha Okage: Shadow King Figure: Big Bull

I've had this figure for at least seven years, but since I'm not a big video game player, it took me forever to identify this character! As it turns out, he's part of the cast of a PlayStation 2 game called Okage: Shadow King.

Alpha did a great job, sculpting the character far better than he looks in the actual game! The pose is pretty symmetrical, but the shapes and forms are handled very well. The paint work is also very good - rather tight paint apps, and in a wide variety of colors.

Big Bull stands well by himself, but there are accessories packed with him - two of which might be display bases. If they are, I don't remember any anchoring pegs on them, so they were a little disappointing. Mr. Bull also comes with a Linda figure, amongst other extras (they probably make more sense if you know the game well).

The packaging itself isn't all that exciting - it's the usual blister/back card combo. It is on-theme with the promotional art for the game, but the blister covers most of the artwork, rendering it pretty murky. On the bright side, the figures are mounted front and center so shoppers can look over the paint jobs easily.

All of the other visual elements of the toys are so underutilized that Alpha seems to push all their chips onto the character designs - if you like them, you'll buy these toys, but there's not a lot of other convincing aspects in the presentation.

If you do like this set, you can still get it for £16.99 (+ £11.75 shipping) from amazon.co.uk. Have fun!