I was partway through writing my reviews for the new summer 2013 Halo Mega Bloks Brute Battle Unit and UNSC Weapons Pack when I received a flurry of requests to start covering the Booster Frame sets, so I decided to put everything else on hold and start work on the Halo Mega Bloks Booster Frame series! First up is the set that I (and I’d imagine everyone else) was the most excited about: the Halo 4 Mega Bloks Forerunner Terminal 97170, with the new Alpha Crawler figure!

The Right:

The huge “Right” in this set is the Mega Bloks Halo 4 Alpha Crawler action figure included with the set. I can’t say that the figure is “all new”, since it’s basically a retooled version of the Crawler figure from the awesome Halo Mega Bloks Cauldron Clash set released in January 2013, but the Alpha Crawler figure does have several differences that make it an improvement over the original Mega Bloks Crawlers.

The first and most obvious change to the Crawler mode is the addition of translucent orange spikes to the Crawler’s back. These spikes go a long way to differentiating this Promethean Alpha Crawler from the earlier one, and they look impressively fearsome and deadly. You can remove the spikes and back armor plate from the Crawler Alpha figure, but it’s not advisable (since then your Alpha Crawler will have its back exposed, after all).

In addition, the Halo Mega Bloks Promethean Alpha Crawler figure features an all-new head sculpt. I was initially afraid MEGA Brands might cheap out and just use the standard Crawler head here, but they created a whole new head for the Alpha Crawler instead so that the figure would be accurate. The orange parts of the head are cast in translucent orange plastic, making them appear more realistic and less “toy-like” than the painted orange on the earlier Crawler figure.

The set also comes with two guns: a Forerunner Suppressor and a Scattershot. Neither of the guns has paint deco like the ones in the excellent Forerunner Weapons Pack set I reviewed last week, but I never expected the weapons in these Booster Frame sets to be painted. I need lots of Forerunner weapons in my Halo 4 Mega Bloks collection, so these are a worthwhile addition that get a thumbs-up from me.

The Wrong:

The low point of the Halo Mega Bloks 97170 Forerunner Terminal set is unfortunately the set’s namesake. Given the shape of the Halo 4 Forerunner Terminals, it was always going to be tough for MEGA Brands to pull off a block-built Mega Bloks Halo Forerunner Terminal. And do they succeed? Not… really. If you squint your eyes and look only for the vague, basic shape of the Forerunner Terminal, then, well–I can halfway almost sort of see it here. But only barely. I’ve seen MEGA Brands create some amazing designs I wouldn’t have thought possible in Mega Bloks form, and this one just doesn’t reach those heights.

Even the text on the back of the box is a little “Ehn”. According to the write-up text on the box, you can “Guard the terminal with the Mega Bloks Forerunner Terminal”. Uh, what…?

Also, my other big issue with this set is the translucent orange base plate. Uh, what? Did the Forerunners build this terminal such that it naturally floats over lava or something? This just doesn’t make any sense to me at all. I understand that the base plate is this color because it’s necessary for the base MEGA Brands designed for the Booster Frame, but I’m stupefied as to why the Booster Frame would be flying over lava either. Weird choice, and I’m going to have to cannibalize another set to get a less jarring base to stick the Forerunner Terminal on now.

“Where Can I Buy It!?”

I got my Halo Mega Bloks Booster Frame sets from BA Toys a couple weeks ago, where they still have the set of three available. I’ve heard some people say they saw the Forerunner Terminal and its sibling sets at Target stores, but I haven’t seen it there yet myself.

Overall: This review is going to sound a bit harsher than my usual Halo Mega Bloks reviews because I feel like MEGA Brands may have just missed the mark a bit with this particular set. The Alpha Crawler figure is a definite improvement over the standard Crawler figure we got earlier in the year, and I appreciate getting a few more guns with the set (even though the Crawler obviously can’t wield them). Still, the Forerunner Terminal itself is a disappointment to me–it just doesn’t look even close to game accurate to me, and as hard as I try, I can’t force myself to believe that the build is an actual Forerunner Terminal (floating on lava). The Halo Mega Bloks Forerunner Terminal 97170 earns a mild recommendation because the Alpha Crawler Mega Bloks figure is so well-done, but this is definitely one of the more mediocre Halo Mega Bloks offerings of the past year otherwise.

GRADE: C+