Happy Meals and pinball: Playing with Plastic Man!

Here’s something I haven’t said since I was nine years old — I can’t wait to get a Happy Meal.

Believe it or not, it’s not because I’ve got a hankering for a handful of chicken nuggets or an aching need for strangely warm pickle slices. Just like when I was a kid, what I really want is the toy inside that box.

Specifically, I want the new Plastic Man figure being released today (Sept. 20th) at McDonald’s.

OK, OK, there are other figures and masks being released to promote the new Cartoon Network show, Justice League Action, as well as a set of “girls” toys with characters from DC Super Hero Girls. (Just a quick aside — seriously, McDonald’s? We’re still doing the “boys” toys and “girls” toys. C’mon.) So, in addition to Plas, the toys include:

• Superman, Batman, Hawkman, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Bumblebee, Katana, Batgirl, and Supergirl figures;
• Batman, Batgirl, Hawkman, and Green Arrow masks;
• a Supergirl headband;
• and a Wonder Woman tiara.

That’s a lot of cheeseburgers to choke down. Luckily, that Plastic Man fig obviously rocks your face off, so let’s ask questions!

Do Plas’ arms bend or stretch? Or do they just swivel back and forth?

Does the neck pop up? Judging by the way the neck sits on the torso, it sure looks like it does. That would be fantastic.

Will Plas be one of the first heroes to be featured when Justice League Action premieres in October? That would also be fantastic.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was some sort of online game to go along with this figure?

That last one is easy, because there is — specifically, a McPlay pinball game designed by none other than friend of the blog, Luke Daab! Daab designed pinball games for all of the JLAction and DC Super Hero Girls characters, but Plastic Man really seems like a natural fit.

Just look at this guy.

I’m looking forward to seeing what Daab and his creative co-workers have come up with; as senior art director at Creata, Daab was the sole visual designer of the game, working with programmers and the company’s internal digital team to develop the gameplay. And, he says, there is plenty of gameplay.

“You win the game by defeating Mr. Mind, which is done one of two ways,” Daab says. “The first is by slowly eliminating the lights in his health meter. This is done by hitting the silver button with the ball. The second is if you’re lucky enough to hit the ball through the small INSTANT WIN tunnel! But you have to beware. What you can do to Mr. Mind, he can do to you!”

Of course, this is a Plastic Man-themed game, so things are a little less rigid. As a character, Plas always seems to be on the move, and his pinball game is no different.

“All of the bumpers in this game move around the board. Unlike regular pinball, the gameplay is much more random. Among the moving bumpers is a giant red ball which may or may not be Plastic Man himself. I left it ambiguous in order to stay consistent with the other games,” Daab says.

He also had some tips for would-be gamers. “By hitting the red ball in conjunction with the other two bumpers, you trigger a FREE SAVE in which Plastic Man’s hand stretches into frame and saves your ball! You can also activate defended game play. During this, Plastic Man’s arms stretch across the bottom corners of the board. For five seconds, you literally can’t lose!”

Take a look:

I’m not going to lie — I laughed out loud with delight (delight!) when I saw those arms stretching and bending across the field. Daab understands that what makes the classic superheroes, especially DC’s superheroes, appealing is a sense of fun. That really comes through with this game design.

If this whole Happy Meal campaign — from the figures to the online games — is meant to get people ramped up for the shows coming in October, well … mission accomplished.

So, how many nuggets come in a Happy Meal nowadays, anyway?

• Be sure to see more of Luke Daab’s work at his website!

Plas stretches Beyond Gotham!

I’m not much of a gamer. Unless it’s paper-and-pen or played on a tabletop, I’m pretty hopeless — I haven’t even had a console system since my dad brought home an Intellivision from who-knows-where. (Intellivision?! That alone probably tells you everything you need to know.)

But every now and then I hear about a game that makes me wish I had a console I could run to and start playing, especially if it features our pal Plas! Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham has been getting some good buzz ahead of its Nov. 11 release date, and a lot of that attention has come Plastic Man’s way. According to reports, the playable character pulls off some shape-changes that are both inventive and fun, which is a good description of the character itself!

I’m still not a fan of the full-body suit that seems to be the go-to uniform for Plastic Man lately, but it still looks great. Check out this article for more about Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, including a bit of information about Plas’ abilities and playability, and much more about the game overall.

Playing around with Plastic Man

I can’t believe I’m just finding out about this, but Plastic Man has his own video games!

Granted, neither “Danger in the Secret Passage” or “Plastic Attack” are going to knock Grand Theft Auto off the shelves, but the two games offered by DC Nation are fun, easy to pick up and challenging enough to keep you playing. And unlike GTA, they’re free! All they’ll cost you is your afternoon.

The premise for both games is simple; get from here to there. In “Danger in the Secret Passage” Plas has to shapeshift his way through a scrolling obstacle course, sliding under, squeezing through and springing (literally) over steel barriers and past … well, I don’t know, I haven’t gotten that far yet.

“Plastic Attack” is even simpler — roll a beachball-shaped Plastic Man along a girder without falling off. Sounds easy, right? This game is driving me out of my mind.

There are other games featuring Aquaman, Green Arrow and, of course, Batman (in fairness, the games are based on the Brave and the Bold cartoons). So get to it, Plasti-fans — Plastic Man needs your help getting off that girder! And not by making him fall through the gaps like someone I could mention but would rather not!