Cary’s reviews mentioned are examples of someone giving it to you as they see it aka An Honest Review. I believe he is sincere from watching his videos and that he believes what he says. So if you are looking for a good/accurate review, Cary Hardy’s videos are a good place to start. If you want a slightly positive tilted review then visit SDTM. They do realistic reviews, but most games end up a B to B- AND they underweight mechanical issues. As a result, SDTM review of STh featured gameplay footage, while Cary got hung up on mechanical problems and technolgy that wasn’t working. As everyone says, you need to play before you pay (buy).

However, this brings up an issue. If you are interested in buying a hot new LE, you most likely won’t have a chance to play first. If you were a potential buyer for STh LE, you’d be thankful to have found Cary’s reviews, which came out early. You’d want to be aware of the mechanical hazards (especially as it involved the main toy). You’d want to know the light show was a bust. Same points apply to LZ LE too. Day 1 code was a bust and lack of good artwork was controversial. Warped playfields he says, yep. That wasn’t in Stern’s launch video. So Cary captured these points. I have convinced myself to seek out Cary’s reviews on all new games.

I’m done riding bumper cars at the fair or amusement park. Since I was old enough to ride in a bumper car with my dad, I have had nothing but horrible experiences. My primary objection is they never allow you to go fast enough. Speed is of course important, when ramming another vehicle and to let driver know you mean business. Without speed you can’t build momentum nor cause enough impact to give someone whiplash. Bumper cars are throttled to prevent you from moving quickly or obtaining terminal velocity. As such I view bumper cars as a wasted opportunity and not worth the fun or the dollars it takes to ride them. So the next fair I attend, I intend to walk right past the bumper cars and turn my nose up on them. They’ve had their chance to impress and all have failed me. Will someone build a decent bumper car exhibit in the future? ... time will tell.

Whether you find a STh premium or Mando prem is announced first, whichever way you are leaning, whatever factors were imperative in your decision making, RUN ... DON’T WALK from any of Cary’s videos focused on either. I assure you that no good can come of watching them. Little pleasure can be found.

With an announcement expected by Stern the first week or middle of May, you won’t be waiting long. If you were Stern Marketing and you were poised to release a Mandalorian pin soon, wouldn’t you want it announced on May 4th, which is 11 days away? Of course, but Stern is bound by a Licenser release agreement too. That clarifies whether the Licenser announces the product and issues a press release acknowledging the product - first. For that reason the announcement might be tied up in red tape and occur by mid May.

So what have we learned from this thread ?