Kre-o Review: CityVille Invasion Population 2-Packs & Marina Madness

Last week, I was at Target looking around and I came across the Clearance aisle in the Toy Department. It was there that I found some of Hasbro's Kre-o line CityVille Invasion on clearance. Based off the computer app game by Zynga, these sets look to be a parody off some of the more popular monsters in history: King Kong, Jaws, Dracula, zombies, etc. Since I had a $10 Target gift card, I decided to pick up a few of the blind packed Population 2pks, as well as Marina Madness, which resembles Jaws and Amityville. Then today, while on my lunch break, I decided to check them out.

Population 2-Packs

First up were the Population 2-Packs, each of which include a "hero" figure, such as a trooper, scientist, and fireman, and a "monster" character, most of them being zombies. Out of the six packs I got, five of them had different sets.

Capt. Firebreak & Red Blaze

Agent Stealth & Roboticus

Sgt. Drill & Zombie Soldier

Steve Timber & Willy Werewolf

Mike Medic & Zombie Medic

There are three other sets in the Population 2-Pack Series.

I like the characters, except for one thing... their size. Their size is quite a bit smaller than Lego Minifigs. Here is Capt. Firebreak side by side to Abe Lincoln.

Another thing I find interesting is that the CityVille characters, also known as Kreons, only have one hole on the bottom of their feet, which can make for less stable and trickier placements on the blocks.

Marina Madness

After checking out the characters in the 2-Packs, it was time to delve into Marina Madness. At just over 200 pieces, it looks to be one of the medium CityVille Invasion builds. 

First part of the build are the characters. In this one, there are 5, plus one fun loving shark.

Lt. Mari Time, Dockhand Rusty, Sergeant Splash, Ray Manta, and Chuckie Chum

Sharktooth with Chuckie Cumn

And then there are two small vehicles, a Police Boat and a Transport Truck.

The we get to the build of the actual marina. One of the things that Kre-o is doing is Sonic Motion Technology.

Basically, a large brick (in this case the base to the marina building) is powered by batteries to produce sound and vibrate, allowing pieces on the Motion Bricks to move. I will admit that I was skeptical to try it, and when I went thru the trouble to find batteries and install them, I was let down. The premise seems good, but the execution doesn't work. Most of the time, the motion brick "bristles", for lack of a better term, got caught in the grooves of the stationary bricks. I attempted video, but none of it came out worth while.

The build itself was quite easy, like I was expecting. In no time, I had it done.

Overall, the CityVille Invasion Kre-o line is a little too small for me. The figures, the vehicles, etc... all as just too small. It feels like an entire build of Lego mini-builds. That being said, for the price I paid on clearance, it was worth it. I am not sure that the Sonic Motion Technology is quite there yet, but it is a different spin on block building. 

Would I buy more of this line? It is possible, but only if I found them on sale and they had a character I want. I say that because I will probably find a way to display the characters, but the build itself is going back in its' box. Not worth the space it takes up to keep it built. 

NOTE to self: remove the batteries.

Is there anything special that you want me to review (toys or otherwise)? Let me know and I just might do it. :)