Mechatar Robot – Review and {Giveaway}

I’m not the type of grown-up to play with handheld toys, be interested in virtual reality, or think robots are cool. That’s not totally true. I’d think robots were cool if there was one that would come and do all of my cleaning for me. You’d think with the Jetsons introducing us to such incredible futuristic ideas we would be more advanced by now. So much for advances in technology. When I read about Mechatars, a new interactive robotic toy from iloveRobots, I was excited. For my son. They are set to be released this fall and are geared toward kids ages 6 and up. They combine the best of online gaming and RC robotic toys by connecting the physical world and online world through cloud computing. There are three Mechatars to choose from: Alpha, Wrexx, and Kodar. They each come with unique personalities, strengths and vulnerabilities, making for a variety of battles and missions while your child’s own robot is evolving into a powerful warrior as they complete challenges.

Mechatars – Two Worlds, One War – The unique online-offline play means you can level up your Mechatar by playing in either dimension.

I personally love that your child’s adventure can literally begin when their Mechatar is removed from the box because we all know there’s almost nothing worse than a zillion instructions and steps to follow before enjoying a new toy. Nick immediately turned on his robot and the remote that came with it to get acquainted with his new warrior. Almost instantly we heard the robot announce that it was searching for the remote control, then declared that it found it for the fun to begin. I’m pretty sure this would come in very handy since we all know remotes controls often having a way of getting lost. One of the frustrating things for Nick to get used to was that it was a bit challenging to control the robot on the carpet as it maneuvers a bit awkwardly, for a more authentic experience. It sometimes took abrupt turns when his intention was to go forward, but he got the hang of it and a nice feature is that when blocked into a corner the Mechatar can make a complete 360 degree turn with the push of a button on the remote control. This feature would come in quite handy when battling with another robot in, say, your living room. The interactivity is way cool. I often heard the robot ordering reminding Nick to connect to his computer (via the USB cable that comes with your Mechatar) to download critical mission data. Speaking of the online world, otherwise known as the Mechaverse, that’s where things can get really fun and exciting. One of the most important steps is to sync, which will give you access to weapons gained during physical challenges. The social feature is great as well because it allows you to connect with Mechatars that you know and see their stats and choose to do training battles with them – this would be really cool if several of Nick’s friends have Mechatars as well. Visiting the Mechaverse daily to play your three new “official” battles is important because they have the most impact on your points, badges, and abilities. The page is very user friendly with easy access to your weapons (equipment), upgrades, missions, and inventory. I’m looking forward to hearing more about the online aspect from Nick after he’s able to battle other Mechatars and work on building up his personal points and weapon inventory. This is something I love about Mechatars. There is still so much more adventure to be had and lots of time to spend both in the offline and online world. I’ll be honest, too, that I wondered how much Nick would enjoy it since he is twelve years old, on the higher end of the age recommendation, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that he’s really enjoying it and all the possibilities it can bring to him as a game player. I really like that there is problem solving and strategy involved so he has to really think while playing, rather than just pushing buttons nonstop on a video game controller. I’d really love to have another Mechatar in our household so they could battle each other – they can actually sense the presence of another Mechatar nearby. Cool, right? Did I mention where these little guys will be available for purchase? Retailers like Target and Radio Shack and online too, of course. At $39.99, I consider this an economical investment for your child that’s well worth the money, especially if they are on the younger end of the age range. They can really grow and learn while improving their skills through both online and offline missions. I’m happy to share a discount code with you that’s good until November 30, 2011. Simply enter MECHMOM at iloveRobots.com to recieve 10% off your purchase – great to use and get a jump on your holiday shopping!

Now for the super fun part! You can win your very own Mechatar!! Here’s what you need to do to enter: Go to the Mechatar website and pick your favorite Mechatar, the one you’d like to have for your child if you win. You’ll need to click on play now and register, but don’t worry, you don’t need to enter a username or password in order to view the different Mechatar choices. Simply take a look, pick your favorite, and come back and leave me a comment with your choice. Only one entry per household, please.

The giveaway will end on October 3, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EST and I will use a random number generator to pick a winner. The winner will have 24 hours to respond and accept the prize with their shipping information or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to U.S. entrants only.

Disclosure: I was selected to participate in this sponsored post series by Clever Girls Collective.