Now that the craziness of San Diego Comic Con 2013 is no longer upon us, let’s switch gears from looking at the future to talking about the here and now. So let’s journey back and discuss another of the Halo Mega Bloks Summer Sets for 2013, the Halo Mega Bloks UNSC Attack Cyclops 97108…

The Right:

When I first heard about the four different Halo Mega Bloks Cyclops variants coming out, the one I was least interested in was instantly this one. While there’s some precedent in Halo Wars and the other Halo video games for the green Cyclops and Arctic/Desert versions of vehicles, I’ve not been a big fan of the black Covert Ops Halo Mega Bloks Stealth vehicles. At least, not until I spent some time with this one…

Just like the Halo Mega Bloks UNSC Arctic Cyclops I reviewed a weeks ago, there’s more pieces here to build with than you may think. Don’t get me wrong–this is an easy five to eight minute build. But the Halo Mega Bloks Attack Cyclops does have a build, and firmly belongs within the Halo Mega Bloks line. The build here is pretty much the same as that of the Arctic Cyclops set was, except with some obvious changes due to the different weapons that the Attack Cyclops is sporting.

Once built, the Mega Bloks Halo UNSC Attack Cyclops looks sleek and cool in its black/grey color scheme. As it turns out, even though this is the least canonical looking of the four UNSC Cyclops mechs, it’s the one that ends up looking the most realistic and the one you might think could actually exist in the real world.

The unique armaments of the UNSC Covert Ops Cyclops Mega Bloks set are the shoulder-mounted cannons. I like the idea of one of the Cyclops mechs having its arms free for unhindered hand-to-hand combat, and the shoulder-mounted cannons give this Cyclops a very different feel from the other three types. You can also affix any of the weapons from the other Halo Mega Bloks Cyclops sets to the Stealth black Cyclops, just in case you want it to be packing even more firepower.

As with all of the quartet of Cyclops Halo Mega Bloks figures, the canopy hatch can be opened and closed to insert or remove the Covert Ops UNSC Marine figure. The actual black clothed Stealth UNSC Marine Mega Bloks figure that comes with this set ends up being the best-looking of all the Mega Bloks Halo Cyclops pilot figures, in my opinion. His outfit and color scheme reminds fondly me of the 1980’s G.I. Joe Shockwave (no, not the giant purple Transformers outer space ray gun Shockwave).

The best part isn’t even the UNSC Marine figure itself, though–it’s that he comes with a rare painted Mega Bloks Sniper Rifle gun! Sniper Rifles with paint deco are among the rarest of the rare and most coveted inclusions with Mega Bloks sets, and I for one am ecstatic to see it included with an already fantastic set.

The Wrong:

Nada. This is the most perfect of the four Halo Mega Bloks Cyclops sets, even if it is technically the least “canon” of the bunch.

“Where Can I Buy It?!”

I got my Halo Mega Bloks Attack Cyclops (and the other three types) from BA Toys several weeks ago. The Cyclops sets will be hitting more chain stores soon, though I’d expect the Stealth Attack Cyclops to be the most popular and hard to find of the four versions.

Overall: If I wasn’t a huge fan of anything from Halo Wars, I probably would have passed on the UNSC Attack Cyclops Halo Mega Bloks set altogether. And in that case, the one who would have missed out is me. The Halo Mega Bloks Attack Cyclops has the most realistic-looking paint deco of any of the four sets, the shoulder-mounted cannons look deadly, the set comes with the coolest UNSC Marine figure, and by far has the best included gun in the form of the painted sniper rifle. If you’re only going to purchase one Halo Mega Bloks UNSC Cyclops mech figure, then choose the one that has the most appealing color scheme/theme to you. But if you’re planning on picking up several Cyclops Mega Bloks sets, you can’t go wrong with the Halo Mega Bloks 97108 Attack Cyclops. Terrific stuff–highly recommended.

GRADE: A+