A while back Sophia and hubby built a robot dinosaur. It was a kit and Chompy, as she called it, could walk around as its jaws open and shut. That was basically all Chompy did and soon Sophia demoted him to her little toy box in her closet.
When she unboxed the Mechatar Wrexx, I could tell that he wouldn’t be stuck in her toy box. The toy was easy to remove from its packaging and I noticed that there was very little plastic involved. Instead of plastic tabs and twist ties, it was cardboard and twisted paper rope, kind of like raffia. The kids and hubby didn’t notice the eco-friendly packaging, but it shows that the company put thought into it.
Wrexx was ready to play with as soon as we took him out (batteries not included of course). The remote was very easy for Sophia to figure out. There’s a big blue button that says “Drive” and a red one that says “Turn.” Mechatar Wrexx travel acrossed our toy strewn carpet better than I expected. It only got stuck on the bigger toys but if we turned him just right, he got free.
Besides the regular remote control driving mode, there are two other modes. Mission mode directs the child to drive the Mechatar to accomplish a task. When the Mechatar is close to the target, it beeps faster and faster. It really doesn’t matter what direction the toy travels, I think it’s a set distance. The robot then directs the child to press the weapons buttons on the remote to capture the target. The third mode is Battle, where your Mechatar can “battle” other Mechatars.
After your child plays with her Mechatar, you can plug it into your computer. It learns from the missions and battles that your child puts it through. Now, your child can take her Mechatar play to the next level. I signed up Sophia for a Mechatar account and we played together.
Once online, we could battle other virtual Mechatars. It reminded me of hubby’s role playing games. Each Mechatar has several special elements and weapons that it uses to combat others. Using a chart, Sophia was able to figure out which element was stronger than another. When she won her first battle, she cheered, she was so proud of herself.
To play online, you don’t need to own a Mechatar, but I think it makes it more fun and tangible for Sophia. She lovingly calls him Wrexx and begs to play with him after school. At $39.99, the Mechatar is reasonably priced for a robot toy. I expected it to cost much more. Jaxson is very jealous of his sister’s robot, so I can see myself buying another in the future so the two can do batter together.
Ok, confession, both hubby and I enjoyed playing with the Mechatar, offline and online, as much as the kids. I may have logged in and battled a robot or two after the kids went to bed.
Mechatars are available at major toy stores. Visit iloverobots.com and save 10% using code MECHMOM. Get your holiday shopping done early because the code expires November 30, 2011.
You can also win your own Mechatar! I mean you can win one for your kids. To enter the giveaway, please do the following:
- Visit the Mechatars website. Click “Play Now” and then “Register” (no information needs to be submitted).
- Check out the Mechatar line up and leave a comment telling me which Mechatar your child would like the best.
I’ll draw a winner the evening of October 3 at 9PM Eastern. Winner will have 12 hours to respond to my email or I will choose another winner. iloveRobots will do their best to fulfill the winner’s request, however they may substitute a different model based on availability.
Congrats to Miscellaneous who won the giveaway!
Congrats to Miscellaneous who won the giveaway!
I was selected to participate in this sponsored post series by Clever Girls Collective.