Well, The Ex finally ponied up and bought the children their
Christmas gifts. Never mind that Christmas was more than 3 weeks
ago, but the lines at the discount stores finally went down and they
can see what's left on the shelves now. Apparently, there's
nothing left except toys that require batteries: today, my
11-year old son Nathaniel came home bearing his new WowWee Roboraptor: a Fusion of Technology and Personality.
Fun!
Let's get it out of the box and turn it on. But first!
Nathaniel had me cover my eyes while he prepared something mysterious
on the floor. And when I uncovered them -- surprise! There
was a....(what is that thing?) dinosaur? Plastic? At least
2 feet long? In black and white? Hmm, looks harmless enough
[grrrrrphmwwwaaaack!]. Uh, no. It moves. It snaps its
jaws. And undulates its tail most menacingly. And, it's
moving toward me....HEY! Is that thing going to jump on me?????!
This thing is freaking scary.
The
Roboraptor won all sorts of "best toy" awards in 2005 (The Ex is a year
behind) and is billed as having an "advanced artificial intelligence
personality, realistic biomorphic motions, direct control and
autonomous (free-roam) modes." And it comes in three
"moods": Hunter, Cautious, and Playful. Hmm. Sounds
suspiciously like a...kid. Or a pet? I read several reviews
of this thing on Amazon, where it is available, naturally, and was a little concerned by some of the comments there, but hey, at least it wasn't my
$99! Some people complained about low mobility on carpeted
surfaces, or that it just wasn't as "fun" as they had hoped (those
people were looking for actual artificial intelligence, maybe someone
to watch reruns of "Star Trek: The Very Very Very Last Incarnation"
with?), but others raved about how much their kids liked the
thing.
The manual did seem overly complicated and I don't think
that Nathaniel has had time yet to read much of it, but he seemed
pretty happy with it, so I'll give the thing my qualified approval,
with the understanding that I'll okay you having one as long as you
Never. Bring it to my House. Because seriously! That thing
is scary! Did you see the tail?
