These self-transforming Megatron transformers are as powerful as they are expensive

Three years later, Hasbro’s self-morphing, dancing, driving, talking, attacking Optimus Prime finally has a villain to fight. Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, is about to arrive. For $1200 – 899 dollars As of May 25 – His robotics partner RoboSen has created what might be the best automated Transformer ever.

To make sure you get it: this robot It turns on automatically In a solid remote control tank A giant cannon that automatically expands and can fire projectiles – Then He stands and speaks Over 270 lines from original Megatron voice actor Frank Welker as he performs all sorts of tricks.

Enjoy the splendor of your childhood dreams come true here:

Did I mention that it also responds to many voice commands?

I’ve been playing with Megatron for half a day now, and that’s mostly it toll Thanks to its 36-inch servo motor and 118 microchips, the 21-inch robot can not only complete all kinds of tasks, but also features more interesting gameplay than Optimus or Dinobot Grimlock thanks to a better selection of weapons and 112 lights. LEDs and interesting new joints for operating your servos.

When you fire the fusion cannon, which is firmly attached to Megatron’s arm, he doesn’t just move a black plastic clamp around it: the three joints cause the cannon to vibrate as it “loads”, thus receiving energy. RetreatWhile the LED lights pleasantly illuminate the interior.

The new lightsaber and flail (yes, this robot actually swings a spiked rubber ball on a string!) have twist-off handles so you can easily place them in Megatron’s hands and secure them at the same time.

And if Megatron falls – and that Will I’m afraid Autumn is finally smart enough to stand up for herself again.

Robosen solved one of my biggest complaints about Optimus: they made Megatron’s leg servos so robust that you can optionally stand on a stand when you turn the robot off. And I like how the Megatron talks about energy generation and the five LED charging indicator lights when the USB-C cable is plugged in.

Almost all droids are now hidden behind intelligent, spring-loaded plastic flaps – one even rotates the Decepticon logo automatically when Megatron exits tank mode.

While that’s great, the game could use a bit more work before it’s released in Q3, and based on previous releases, I’m not entirely sure that all the work will be done.

This is the third RoboSen robot I’ve tried, with a confusing app and a few bugs that make custom programming really hard and cause all sorts of delays even when you’re lying around the tank you’re trying to use. To control remotely. When creating custom moves and poses, you still don’t have access to every joint. The voice recognition system is still mediocre; In more than half of the cases the robot does not react correctly.

My test bot also had some basic issues, such as… a tendency to crash, forget some of its settings after restarting it, or repeat the same line of voice in voice command mode without asking me. After the first 10 or so hits the racket actually fell apart because one of its string pins was too loose. Hopefully some of this won’t make it into mass production, but I think it’s worth telling you.

You should also know that, like previous robots, they are designed exclusively for use on hard and soft floors: when they walk, twist, turn and stand, they constantly scrape parts of themselves across the floor, and most of them don’t. It works. carpet. when you to be able to When driving on slopes or thin carpets with very loud rubber treads, I was unable to turn on smooth surfaces: when I tried to turn the tank on a carpet, I got stuck on one of its rubber treads.

But like Optimus, who had his issues, none of that dampened my enthusiasm. This is one of the most amazing toy sets ever made; I just want them to be good.