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6 Jul 2003 |
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Dear transfans, welcome to TAAU's new-look, bi-weekly newsletter!
Because TAAU has just as many busy fans, curious visitors, shy lurkers, casual participants and industry researchers as we have regular and active members, then we thought it was about time we created a newsletter for everyone involved, so you can all keep up-to-date on the latest news direct from our Hasbro AU insider, Laserbeak, receive news scoops from our friends over at Madman Entertainment regarding their latest Transformers releases, get the all-important details on our latest monthly competition, read TAAU member articles and lots, lots more!
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NEW ONLINE TRANSFORMERS GAME LAUNCHED: HEAVY METAL WAR!
Whether you love 'em or hate 'em, the guys at Seibertron.com have finally launched their long-awaited secret project, and all credit to them, they've created an absolute phenomenon!
Heavy Metal War is the amazingly addictive online Transformers 'role playing' game which allows you to create and command your own Transformers: choose your allegiance, select an alt-mode, christen them with a name, kit them out with glorious weapons and impenetrable armour, then send them into the fray to battle it out one-on-one style in the Arena, or dispatch them on special missions along with bots from other players!
We're all getting seriously involved and are dominating the charts at the moment, with six characters in the top 25 being owned by TAAU commanders. Seiberton members have even started talking about it on their boards, as can be seen here.
You can discuss battle plans and tactics on the main TAAU message boards here, and post your current rankings here, so come, join us in our fight and pledge your allegiance by either entering the word 'TAAU' after your bot's name or in your team's description, and let's show the rest of the world what Aussie bots can do!
Just like Pringles: once you pop, you just can't stop! So sign up today!
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UPDATES, INFO AND IMAGES FOR NEW ARMADA PS2 GAME
Thanks to Desert Dog from the TAAU boards for sharing his insider knowledge with us last week, reporting that the up-coming Transformers Armada PS2 game:
1) Will be released in USA, Europe and Australia.
2) You can only play as the Autobots.
3) Gamespot trailer used very old footage, the game looks a lot different now.
4) Release date is early next year.
5) It is only for the Playstation2 at present, however if it gets converted to Xbox/Gamecube, it won't be until after the PS2 version is on the shelves.
6) There is no PC version of the game.
7) It is being developed for PS2 by Melbourne House, a studio of Atari (formerly Infogrames).
A preview of the game can be found in the current issue of Official Playstation Magazine, which you can probably find in news agencies who import publications (in Melbourne, McGills on Elizabeth St would be a good place to start).
In addition, Crazy-Monkey on the Transfandom.com boards has reported that the magazine claims you begin the game with Hotshot, but can play Optimus Prime or Red Alert later on as well. You basically go around collecting 50+ mini-cons who will power up your stats or give you useful items, as well as actually fighting next to you in battle. The magazine also says that if you really hate the show then don't worry, as the game will redeem it. Gameplay is described as: "...the exploration and platforming of Ratchet and Clank, combined with advanced AI and heavy duty combat of Halo."
For the entire Transfandom.com thread, click here
In addition, Sideswipe80 from 2005boards.com has been kind enough to scan a page from the magazine containing some gorgeous screen shots from the game, which you can view in this thread, here
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FULL ARMADA UNICRON REVIEW AND IMAGES AT SGCOLLECT.COM
The lucky guys at SGCollect.com have managed to land themselves a full, retail version of Armada Unicron, and have been kind enough to post a detailed and interesting review - with accompanying high-res pictures - for everyone to read.
Below is a list of their 'fast facts' on the Chaos Bringer himself:
1. Approximately 16” tall in robot mode (about 'Scorponok size')
2. Primarily orange in colours, with purple, grey, yellow and red adding details
3. Holds up to 27 Mini-Cons in planet mode
4. Push Mini-Con on Powerlinx point to activate missile-firing action on chest
5. Mini-Con cannot be fixed to the same point on the back
6. Push head to activate light-up action on eyes (red)
7. Push right fist to activate light-up action on same fist (red)
8. Almost 30 points of articulation
9. Wings are detachable
10. Attach Mini-Cons on lower legs Powerlinx points to fire missiles
11. Translucent chest and hips in robot mode
12. 'Chopping action' in planet mode
13. Mini-Con Deadend is a moon turned robot featuring some minor articulation
14. “Storage” and “transport” functions on lower legs and stomach
For the full review, including product shots, please visit SGCollect.com here
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NEW FANFIC FROM TAAU MEMBER BURN: 'THE REAVERS: BEGININGS'
We are excited to bring you what will hopefully be the first of many newsletter fanfic stories, this time submitted from one of TAAU's most infamous members: Burn. This story proves that he's not just a pretty face, as his introductory story to the long forgotten Transformers race, The Reavers, is both original and compelling.
Read 'The Reavers: Beginings' >> |
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FURTHER PRODUCT UPDATES AND RELEASE SCHEDULES FROM HASBRO AU
Thanks again to our Hasbro AU insider, Laserbeak, we have some further product updates and release schedules for Australia, taken from the 'Ask Hasbro' section on the TAAU boards:
Destructicons Scourge and Bludgeon: "This one is now officially a no-go, which I'm sorry about because I really liked these. The product I was told was on hold for us didn't happen. I'd import if you really want these."
Stealth Spychangers: "No plans to bring these out here. Most orders were covered with the 'regular' Spychangers, and any retailers not buying from us spent up on the Tiny Tins instead. There should be enough Spychangers to last a while at retail."
Armada board game: "It's arriving late July, and will go to all the majors such as Target, Big W, Toys R Us, Myer and Toyworld, but not Kmart at this stage."
Heroes of Cybertron: "I'd start asking from Wednesday this week if you're on the East Coast, and add a few days to get to the rest of the country."
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FINDINGS: OVERLOAD, SKYWARP, MINI-CON TEAMS AND MICRON LEGEND
Thanks to everyone on the TAAU boards for reporting their recent discoveries in our 'Findings' section, we now have confirmed sightings for:
Overload and Skywarp: Have been spotted in TRU stores - notably TRU Chadstone in Melbourne and Frankston in Victoria, for $44.99 AUD each.
Emergency and Air Military mini-cons: Spotted in K-Mart stores. Their SKU numbers are 76930807347 for the Air Military team, and 76930807361 for the Emergency team.
Micron Legend/Armada Megs and Convoy/OP: About $42 AUD each at Model World, City Mark arcade, China Town, Sydney. Also in stock there are Act 8 PVCs for $8.80 AUD each.
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TRANSFORMERS REFERENCE IN NEW WARCRAFT III EXPANSION
We're not taking our formatting from the TV news here, we promise, but as we have so many Warcraft III freaks among us here at TAAU, we thought we'd round off this edition with a cute little gaming story:
If you're a regular Warcraft player, you'll know that repeatedly clicking on characters will cause them to say random phrases, and, according to PeolesDru from 2005boards.com, within the Night Elf campaign in the all-new 'The Frozen Throne' expansion, you can control a character named Illidan, the demon hunter. Apparently, by clicking him numerous times will eventually cause him to blurt out the phrase, "Bah weep granna weep nini bon! That's a universal greeting!"
So why not grab a copy and check it out for yourselves, you know you want to!
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Disclaimer:
This e-newsletter is published to provide relevant information regarding our activities. We take no responsibility for inaccuracies or errors and will not be held responsible for any actions that may arise from the use of the information provided.
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IN THIS ISSUE: |
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in this week's TAAU newsletter we have: |
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JULY COMPETITION
To celebrate the launch of TAAU's new newsletter, we're offering everyone who subscribes with the chance to win a complete, MISB RID Rail Racer, which obviously consists of Rapid Run, Rail Spike and Midnight Express, all mint in their pristine boxes!
This will be part of TAAU's June/July competition, so we will pick a random subscriber at the end of July to win this awesome and exclusive US-only gestalt, which is now easily worth $150+ AUD
A big thank you to Hasbro AU who donated this month's prize, and if you're looking for something different and cool in the way of toys, then why not check out their new and quirky line, Stikfas, at http://www.stikfas.com/
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