Three years later, Hasbro’s self-transforming, dancing, driving, speaking, and attacking Optimus Prime lastly has a villain to battle. Megatron, the chief of the Decepticons, is about to reach. For $1,200 — $899 via Might twenty fifth — its robotic companion Robosen has created what might be the most effective auto-converting Transformer but.
Simply to be sure to’re getting it: this bot robotically transforms itself right into a badass remote-control tank with a gigantic auto-extending cannon that may really fireplace projectiles — then stands up and speaks over 270 phrases from authentic Megatron voice actor Frank Welker whereas doing all types of tips.
Right here, bask within the glory of childhood creativeness turn into actual:
Did I point out it responds to a great deal of voice instructions, too?
I’ve been taking part in with Megatron for half a day now, and it’s largely superior. Not solely do its 36 servo motors and 118 microchips let the 21-inch tall bot carry out every kind of routines, but it surely’s additionally obtained extra participating play options than Optimus or the Dinobot Grimlock, because of a greater set of weapons, 112 shiny LEDs, and intriguing new joints for its servos to actuate.
Whenever you fireplace up the Fusion Cannon, completely hooked up to Megatron’s arm, it doesn’t simply swing a black plastic prop round: three joints let the cannon shake because it’s “charging,” giving it recoil, whereas the LEDs delightfully mild its innards.
The sunshine-up sword and new flail (sure, this bot can really swing a spiked rubber ball on a series!) have twist-off pommels, so you possibly can simply slide them into Megatron’s fingers and but safe them as nicely.
And when Megatron falls — and it will fall, I’m afraid — it’s lastly sensible sufficient to face up once more all by itself.
Robosen has even addressed one in all my greatest complaints about Optimus: it made Megatron’s leg servos stiff sufficient you could optionally depart the bot standing up on a shelf when it’s powered down. And I like how Megatron talks about Energon manufacturing and lights up a five-LED charging indicator while you plug within the USB-C cable.
The bot’s servos at the moment are virtually all hidden behind intelligent spring-loaded plastic flaps now, too — and one in all them even robotically rotates the Decepticon emblem as Megatron emerges from tank mode.
As cool as it’s, although, the toy may actually use extra work earlier than it ships in Q3, and primarily based on earlier launches, I’m not utterly assured it’ll get all that work accomplished.
That is the third Robosen bot I’ve tried with a complicated and barely buggy app that makes it actually arduous to do customized programming and creates all types of delays even in case you’re simply attempting to remote-control the tank round. It nonetheless doesn’t provide you with entry to each joint while you’re creating customized strikes and poses. And its voice command recognition system remains to be mediocre — greater than half the time, the bot wouldn’t correctly reply.
My check bot had some extra elementary points, too, like a bent to only… fall over and neglect a few of its settings after powering up once more or hold repeating the identical voice line in voice command mode with out me asking. The flail really fell aside after the primary 10 smacks or so, as one in all its chain-link pins was too unfastened. A few of these hopefully gained’t make it to full mass manufacturing, however I feel it’s value telling you.
And also you also needs to know that, like earlier bots, these are completely to be used on easy, arduous flooring: it’s consistently scraping components of itself on the ground to stroll, flip, remodel and arise, and most of it doesn’t work on carpet. Whilst you can drive its very noisy rubber treads up inclines or skinny carpet, I couldn’t activate smooth surfaces: I badly snagged one in all its rubber treads attempting to spin the tank round on a rug.
However like Optimus, which had its points, none of this killed my enthusiasm. This is likely one of the coolest strains of toys ever made; I simply need them to be even higher.