Posted in: Games, Review, Subscription Box, Video Games | Tagged: bioshock, Call of Duty: WW2, Gears of War, loot crate, loot gaming, Wolfenstein 2

What's In The Box?!: Loot Gaming – December 2017

Published Fri, 29 Dec 2017 06:20:41 -0600

by Gavin Sheehan

Last updated Fri, 29 Dec 2017 07:48:58 -0600

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The last Loot Gaming box of 2017 arrived on our doorsteps a little later than normal, but it is the holidays so we can forgive them. With baited breath, we slice open the shipping tape and take a look at the goodies they had to offer us in December.

First up is this little plushie Bolo Grenade from Gears of War. The design has obviously been simplified much like a lot of plushie toys are that are designed off weapons from video games. It doesn't really do anything and the parts don't disconnect or velcro together. It's basically a plushie to throw at people for fun. I like the way it feels when you throw it, but the design of it will probably throw a few people off.

Next up is a whistle from Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. This is designed to be the old-school wartime whistles that were used to alert fellow soldiers of a wounded member and call for a medic. In Wolfenstein II, these are Panzerhund Whistles, used to call your own big dog into the fight. It's basically a whistle with a Wolfenstein "W" logo on the side, which is a nice collector's item and makes for a cool display, but for practicality sake, it's still just a whistle.

Going back to Gears Of War for a moment, this month's pin is a Phoenix Omen Cog. The design is fantastic and the enamel used us of great quality with a rubber stopper on the back to prevent any damage a metal one might cause. As you can see, this pin also says November, continuing the trend that either we're being shipped packages a month behind or these boxes have the wrong date on them. Nothing major, just something to take note of.

One of the coolest items in the box was this Big Daddy vinyl figure from Bioshock. This guy is well designed from the bolts on the casing to the blood spatter on the drill. He doesn't move or have any attachable parts to him or anything interactive like that, he's simply a figure to sit on your bookshelf or desk as you show off your love for the series. This is probably the single best item in this month's box, hands down.

Something totally random and we're not sure how to rate is this $10 gift certificate to anything in the VRV Premium library. VRV has a ton of content under their umbrella, and that $10 will get you access to stuff like Crunchyroll, Funimation, Rooster Teeth, Cartoon Hangover, Shudder, Geek & Sundry, Nerdist, MONDO, Tested, CuriosityStream, MUBI, and VRV Select. While it's kind of cool to have, the catch is that the $10 will probably only get you a month's subscription. Technically you can sign up for the free trial of 30 days and apply this to your account and try everything out for two months and see how you like it, but keep in mind that after you spend the money, you're on a subscription.

Going back to Wolfenstein for a moment, the poster this month is of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. This is the first poster I've seen from Loot Gaming that is vertical instead of horizontal. It's a pretty cool design, but much like the others, the big issue is that it's folded up instead of rolled. There's just something about creased posters that doesn't work for me, and I wish they'd find an alternative.

Finally, the make or break item of the box: the T-Shirt. This month is pretty basic as it is a Call Of Duty: WWII shirt with the primary logo and artwork shown in black and white. Aside from the fact that you're getting a single color design, the fabric used is pretty thin compared to previous designs that have been sent this year, and it fits rather snug even for a shirt in my size. I'm sure any fan of COD will be happy to have it, but as an average gamer, this is pretty weak compared to the original designs they've sent in the past.

Overall, this was an okay box, and kind of a bad way to end the year for Loot Gaming. I get that they can't all be winners, but when I look in here and see that a vinyl figure is the only thing that really sparked my interest, that's saying something. Often times these boxes are themed around a common genre, this one being first-person shooters. But I think this shows proof that some companies just don't know how to market their product, and so you get items like these where they don't add up to anything marketable. I enjoyed the figure a lot, but the rest felt like it was thrown together. Fingers crossed that the next box will turn over something better.