Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Soundwave

Ahh, Soundwave. In G1 many of his fans (AKA everyone who watched Transformers) loved him partly for his voice. That oddly musical electronic hum. It was soothing, and yet epically awesome. This, and his all around coolness, made him a fan favorite (As proof, he was chosen ina poll on Rooster Teeth.com as my first RotF review He won unanimously). And now he's in the new movie! WITH THE SAME VOICE ACTOR (Frank Welker) THAT HE HAD IN G1!

WOOOOOOO!

And, thus, we get a toy of him.

In G1 Soundwave was a mini-cassette tape recorder. Not a tape player like everyone thinks. M'kay? This has made him particularly hard to update. No one uses cassettes anymore. Plus, he went from a tiny alt mode to a big-ass robot through a process known as "Mass Shifting" (Megatron also used it, as he turned into a gun), which Hastak has been phasing out recently. However, the movie makers had a great idea. Let's make him a communications satellite! It has the same sort of communications based function as G1 Soundwave, and it references his ability (At least in the comics. I don't know if he used this in the cartoon) to read the minds of other Cybertronians. His satellite mode looks nice, and the various parts fit together well without many visible breaks where his body parts fit together. The translucent blue plastic is nicely distributed, and parts of those panel things on him look like solar cells.
BUT WAIT! There's more! Sort of.

You can rearrange bits of his alt mode (The panels on the back, side wings, and spiky things on the side) to make a spaceship "mode" that looks a hell of a lot like his satellite mode. This is somehow enough for Hasbro to call him a Triple Changer (Despite the movie makers not wanting to introduce Triple Changers until the next movie. It's always supposed to be Combiners THEN Triple Changers guy! Well, other than Animated...), but he's really more of a "Two-and-a-half Changer". So, yeah.

Converting him to robot mode is moderately easy. About what you would expect from a Deluxe. He has the typical movie details all over the place. His face is awesome. In G1 the Decepticon symbol was actually a stylized version of Soundwave's head (Some Transfans believe he was originally going to be the 'Con leader, while Prowl would have been the Autobot leader, as their symbol looked like him) and RotF Soundwave's face looks like the 'Con symbol. He's still got the visor eyes, crest, and pointy bits, but it's more angular and inhuman, like the other movie 'Cons. His paint is nice. Though he's mostly gray, he's got a bit of blue, evoking his G1 paint, and the translucent blue bits are still great.

He moves at the neck, shoulders, and hips (Balljoints), knees and double elbows (Hinges), and biceps, ankles, and toes (Swivels). His various flaps and stuff are also jointed, so you can pose them how you like. His elbows are odd though. Due to his transformation, when you put his arms down naturally, with his fists sideways, his elbows bend inward. He has bicep swivels so you can bend his arms normally, but wrist joints would have helped.

His only accessory is a missile. It's supposed to be shaped like Ravage's "Entry mode", and fires out of a launcher on his back. It's forgettable and I didn't even take a picture of it.

Overall, Soundwave is a very nice toy. Not my favorite, and he has a few small issues, but he's a serviceable update of an old favorite, and I heartily recomend him to any fan. There will also be a store exclusive repaint in his G1 colors, but that will only be available in a tow pack with the first movie Voyager Megatron. Not really worth it if you ask me.