Your Very Own Voice-Controlled R2-D2!
Written: Oct 14 '02 (Updated Oct 16 '02)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Very realistic and fun!
Cons: The price. His antenna and utility arm are cheaply made.
The Bottom Line: Lots of fun. Very lifelike! A must for any Star Wars lover.
|
|
|
| mizgnomer's Full Review: Hasbro R2-D2 Interactive Astromech Droid 84895 |
Our Experiences:
My husband and I both grew up with Star Wars. We both have quite a collection of old toys from our childhood -- toys that were played with rather hard and were well-loved. So it was a blast from my past to come home one day to find a little R2-D2 rolling around my kitchen!
This R2 is rather different than anything I had as a kid though. This R2-D2 is marketed as a "fully functional droid". He learns, he exhibits his own personality, he talks in beeps and whistles, and he can follow you around! He has speech recognition, sonar navigation, and location sensors! The old Star Wars fan (and little kid) in me has to admit it -- he's totally cool!
So, what exactly is he?
The R2-D2 Fully Operational Droid is a nifty new toy from Hasbro. They have made a darn good stab at a life-like, scaled down version of an R2-Unit for your home. He follows pre-programmed voice commands (more detail is available on the commands in the "product description" section below). In fact, it is almost eerie the way R2 can look at and follow your movements as you navigate around the room.
He even has a personality. He has both good and bad moods, and can refuse to obey your commands (he will shake his head "no" and refuse to budge). He can be stubborn, temperamental, mischievous, and playful -- just like the real R2 (well, not "real", you know what I mean...)
More low-down on how well he works:
He rolls well both on our carpet and wood floors, and can even make the transition from floor to carpet without getting stuck. R2 uses his sonar to keep himself from running into walls and furniture -- it is fun to watch him navigate. We have a 14-month-old son, so there are lots of toys scattered around the floor at any given time. R2's sonar cannot locate items that are too short to be "seen", such as my son's blocks or Little People figures -- so they accumulate under R2's body as he rolls through them. Don't put him at the top of stairs either -- he would fall right down.
R2 responds to verbal commands. His responses have seemed to improve with time -- that must be some of the "learning" they advertise. It was a bit frustrating in the beginning, but after you work with him for a while his responses get better and more accurate. R2 is better able to understand if there is no background noise -- we have a toddler and a dog, so our house is rarely quiet, and R2 gets confused frequently. R2 also prefers my husband's voice to mine -- I'm assuming it is easier for him to make sense of my husband's deeper pitch.
My only real complaints are the Utility Arm and the Telescoping Sensor Array -- both are rather cheap and could have been done better. The Utility Arm is a plastic arm that you can extend from R2's torso. The Utility Arm's purpose in life is holding beverages (it is just the right size for holding a 12-ounce beverage can). I guess some guys dream of having R2 deliver them a cold-one, so I can understand why this "feature" was included, but I can't help rolling my eyes at the absurdity of it. The telescoping arm that can be extended from the top of R2's head is completely useless. What would have made it cool is if there was some command or button to make it come up automatically, but it is not mechanized at all so it just seems like a waste. Both arms are made of flimsy plastic, and must be manually operated. The "real" R2 did indeed have utility arms and telescoping sensor arrays, so while I think the arms make him more realistic -- I just wish they were cooler or better-made.
Play-ability:
Well, he isn't a barrel of laughs or anything, but I think he ranks high on the cool-meter. Some of the games are a bit lame, but you can't help but be impressed watching R2 navigate obstacles or follow you as you walk around the room. You have to work with R2 to get him to follow your orders well, so there is an incentive to continue to play with him. There are also reports of "hidden" commands (the only ones we have discovered are "Follow Me" and "Come Here") that you can only find through experimentation (or looking around on the internet for commands that other people have found).
My toddler adores him. I think my son thinks of R2 as something similar to the dog. He walks up to R2 and "pets" him on the head (which sometimes puts R2 in a bad mood!). He loves R2's rendition of the Cantina Song, and will laugh and dance as it plays.
Product Description:
The R2-D2 Fully Operational Droid measures approximately 15 inches tall. He is a very accurate-looking, scaled-down reproduction of the R2-D2 from the movies. I'm not going to describe what he looks like -- I simply must assume that everyone has seen R2-D2 at some point in their lives. For those who don't care for Star Wars, R2 is the short, white, rounded-looking droid, not the tall golden one. R2's third/middle leg is extended on this toy, and cannot be retracted.
R2 has "navigation sensors" (located on either side of his "eye" and on the sides of his head), complete with sound-processing microphones and sonar, which help him to "see" and locate objects, as well as keep him from running into walls, furniture, people, etc.
R2 also has "infrared location sensors" (around where his mouth would be), which he uses to detect and follow "lifeforms".
R2 also has a "voice recognition response module" (on his chest) which is how he "hears". This is where you want to direct your voice when giving him commands.
R2's head can rotate almost 360 degrees. On his head-dome he also has a "light beam" (a little scope that lights up) and a mood-indicator (when it's blue he's in a bad mood, when it is red and blue he's fairly happy).
He responds to over 40 voice commands (according to the instructions - we haven't officially counted them). He reportedly has special "secret" features as well -- hopefully we will discover more of those soon.
To get the best results from your spoken commands, the User's Manual recommends that you stand or sit directly in front of R2, anywhere from 2 to 6 feet away from him.
There is a large button on front of R2 to "lock" him into place (so he won't wander around). We've used this quite a bit when sitting with R2, working on his commands. There is also a master on/off switch, for when you are done playing. He has an automatic standby mode to conserve battery power, which kicks in if he can't find anyone to interact with for several minutes.
There is some minor assembly required. My husband put R2 together before I came home, so it was a quick and easy job.
R2-D2 requires 4 "AA" batteries and 4 "D" batteries, none of which are included. We've played with him pretty heavily for the past 3 weeks, and the batteries have held up well so far (but we are careful to turn him off when we aren't going to play with him for a while).
He's recommended for children 8yrs and up.
So how do you play with him?
R2 has 3 modes, a Companion Mode, Game Mode, and Command Mode.
Sample Companion Mode Commands:
~~ "Hey R2" - this alerts R2 that you are about to issue a command. Always say "Hey R2" first (although sometimes you can get away without saying it)
~~ "Light Beam" - the light beam at the front of his head will come on, and will go off if you repeat the command
~~ "Play Message" - R2 will play a bit of Princess Leia's message to Obi Wan Kenobi from the first Star Wars movie (Episode 4).
~~ "Go On Patrol" - R2 will roll about the room, looking for someone. He will stop and "stare" at them and beep when he finds them. His head will follow the person if they move. It's kinda spooky!
~~ "Do you remember..." - You can ask R2 if he remembers a variety of people. We get interesting responses for "Anakin", "Darth Vader", and "Princess Leia".
~~ "Reset System" - Sometimes R2 gets a bit confused. Usually saying "Reset System" will put him back in a happy and listening state. (Tapping R2 on the head will also reset him, but might also make him mad...)
Game Mode:
~~ Light Tag - R2's version of hide-and-seek. R2 will "beep" to a count of 10. You (and your friends) "hide" by sitting on the floor somewhere in the room. R2 will roll around until he finds someone -- beeping and flashing lights when you are found. This game is fun to play with the lights out.
~~ Room Sentry - R2 can act as a guard for a room (it might be fun for kids to set him up outside their bedrooms at night). Once he's in sentry mode, if anyone tries to sneak past him his lights will flash. If his motion sensors continue to sense the intruder, he will sound an alarm. Tap him on the head to stop the alarm.
~~ Dance Program (my son's favorite) - R2 can play a cute R2-sounds version of the Cantina music (from the first movie). If he's in a good mood he plays an upbeat version, if he's in a bad mood he plays a gloomier one (my husband prefers the unhappy one - he thinks it sounds cooler).
~~ Spin the Droid - up to 6 people can stand in a circle around R2 for this game. When you say "Spin the Droid" R2 will spin his head around from side to side, scanning the people. He will eventually select a person, flashing his lights and playing a song.
~~ Answer This - After giving the "Answer This" command you can ask R2 a Yes or No question. He will answer with either a happy-sound (meaning "yes") or shake his head make a negative-sound (meaning "no").
Command Mode:
We haven't played too much with this mode, although my husband did verify that the commands work. In this mode you can navigate R2 through obstacle courses. You give him a series of commands (such as "Turn around", "Go forward 3 units", "Go right 4 units", etc). The "units" can range from 1 to 5, and the distance traveled in a "unit" varies based on the floor-type. He can store and execute up to 20 consecutive commands.
A full list of the commands for all modes can be found at the toy's Official Site at the bottom of this review.
Final Thoughts:
Yes, R2 is a bit pricey, but he is also really cool. The techno-geek in me is really impressed with the technology, and the little kid in me loves having an R2-Unit of my very own! I think this toy is an absolute must for any Star Wars lover.
Official Site of the R2-D2 Fully Operational Droid:
http://www.r2droidfactory.com/
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 99.99
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: 9 Years or Older
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mizgnomer
|
 - Top 50 |
|
Location: Tennessee
Reviews written: 306
Trusted by: 202 members
About Me:
Don't meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you're crunchy and taste good with ketchup
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.