droolicious : hot holiday toys

Bakugan Battle Brawlers Shaping Up As the Season's Hottest Boy Toy

Aaron Burgess — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:04:00 GMT

As late as October, Bakugan Battle Brawlers were flying off North American shelves at a rate of one every 2.5 seconds, so if your little one seems to have the anime-inspired, Pokemon-on-steroids line on the brain this season, it's not just coincidental.

Like Pokemon, Digimon and seemingly every other trading-card game originating in Japan, Bakugan emphasizes collecting, trading and battling, but the game's real hook for kids is the way it literally jumps off the playing surface. You roll the Bakugan marble toward a metal card, and the magnet inside the Bakugan causes it to open up, morphing your marble into a Bakugan warrior. That's the basic idea, at least: Kicking butt at Bakugan requires a bit more advanced strategy and spinning skills, as everything from the placement of your cards to the way you roll your morphing marble (hint: spin it like a top) affects the outcome of each battle.

Budget-minded parents (is there any other kind this year?) may also dig Bakugan, at least initially -- booster packs can run as low as $4.99, although since three Bakugan are required to have a game, your best bet is to hunt down the $12.99 starter pack (three marbles and three cards) pictured above.

Unfortunately, given the way the things are selling -- Amazon, Target.com, ToysRUs.com, and Wal-Mart.com, for instance, are fast running out of reasonably priced Bakugan -- your best bet is to hit stores in person or watch eBay to nab some of the better sets. Once your kids start hoarding, though, you can expect a bigger drain on your wallet -- or at least a lot of begging.

In the meantime, download the Bakugan rules (PDF) to brush up in time for the holidays, and you won't look quite so out of touch when the kids start dropping terms like "Gate cards," "G-Power" and "Field-Open!"

Spike, Barbie, TAG and Gazillion-Selling New Star Wars Game Top TRU's 2008 Hot List

Aaron Burgess — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:50:00 GMT

Toys"R"Us today rolled out its annual Hot Holiday Toys shopping guide, and though we're not sure of the exact scientific process the company used to nail down its picks for this season, the list is looking pretty much like we'd expect: Star Wars, Barbie, LeapFrog and robots of various stripes.

Fisher-Price's big honkin' animatronic beast Spike the Ultra Dinosaur ($139.99; pictured above) heads up this year's list, even if today he doesn't seem to be available online. Check back, though, because Toys"R"Us is throwing in a "buy two, get a third free" deal on all Imaginext (the series for which Spike is the alpha male) toys bought through its site.

Ditto on that deal for Barbie toys: Throw Princess Liana ($24.99) here into your online cart, add a friend, and you can pick up a third Barbie free.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed ($49.99), the Clone Wars-clobberin' new adventure that's already sold 1.5 million copies since its release Sept. 16, may not be aimed at the littler gamers in your family, but if you or your older kids haven't yet wielded your Force-lightning as Vader's Secret Apprentice, we guarantee you'll want a copy this season.

And finally, our old friend TAG ($49.99), the newly launched reading system (complete with accompanying book series) from LeapFrog that's like a virtual phonics teacher/video game in pen form, is kicking much behind in the learning-toy category. It's pictured above in a pink version, but if you're looking to go more gender-neutral, there's a green counterpart.

This, of course, is just the start of Toys"R"Us' list this season -- hit up Hot Holiday Toys for a look at everything your little ones will be demanding come December, and in the meantime, let's start talking: Drop us a note in the comments about your own picks for the best toys of '08.

5 Other Things to Do With an Optimus Prime Voice Changer Helmet

Aaron Burgess — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 20:02:00 GMT

If you've been scanning the "hot holiday toy" lists this season, you've no doubt seen many shots of Hasbro's Optimus Prime Voice Changer ($29.99), a big plastic helmet that lets your kids play as the Transformers hero and Autobots leader, complete with digitized robot voice. Of course, kids aren't the only ones who've taken to Optimus -- see these YouTube videos (some of the least unfunny, at least) of grown people geeking out over the thing.

This one's made the rounds (and is still the best):

Go, Malaysia!

Optimus doesn't need to show ID:

Optimus will pwn you:

I would've let him in free:

Squawkers McCaw Takes DigitalLife Best in Show; Holiday Domination Ensured

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 20:32:00 GMT

Only slightly less unnerving than Perfect Petzzz, Hasbro's FurReal line looks pretty much set to trounce the fuzzy, lifelike competition this holiday season, what with animatronic parrot Squawkers McCaw's snagging a "Best Gift for Kids" award at the recent DigitalLife Expo (see some of April's very entertaining coverage here, here and here).

In Squawkers' defense, he's got some nifty features: Besides the expected voice-mimicking, he can be taught to respond to specific commands, and he even coos and gives kisses when touched. (Set him to squawk at random when the kids go to bed, and it's like your own personal Theatre of the Absurd.) Plus, he won't start mutilating himself out of boredom or turn on you like a real captive parrot would, so points there.

Squawkers McCaw retails for $69.99 and is available at Amazon.com or anywhere random outbursts can be heard wafting from store aisles.