star news: iloveRobots Mechatar Giveaway and Review

It has been a long, long time since I played with a robot, but being a geek, I welcomed the chance to review one for this blog, especially since my little guy and my hubby really wanted me to get one. We received a Mechatar robot, which is like 2 toys in one:?an interactive toy robot you can play with by remote control offline, and a free virtual online game that you?can?challenge others to battle online, with the goal of working?together to?defeat the evil Swarm.

We received the blue Mechatars robot, otherwise known as Kodar,?the Loyal Protector, who is described as??normally a fun-loving, outgoing and optimistic sort. Yet, when danger nears, Kodar is a brutal and fierce combatant whose natural armor advantage makes his enemies work overtime to inflict damage. Though it might be all fun and games off the battlefield, no one is more passionate about defending his friends and his turf when duty calls.? I had to laugh when I read the box and saw that his motto was ?When The Job Is Done It?s Time For Fun.?

We all had fun taking turns running the robot around the house, especially since the remote control was very easy to use. As you can imagine, that got a little old after 10-15 minutes, but we all had fun taking our turns with the robot. We started exploring all the options the robot had to offer, and we were surprised to find out this toy worked both off and online.

To be honest, I wasn?t open?to?allowing my son to plug in his Mechatar to our computer, load the software, then go online,?connect to the Mechaverse, register, download the Unity Web Player plug-in, and then start using?the robot virtually, not only because he doesn?t have any friends with a Mechatar robot, but also because one of our kids just got a virus from visiting some?online website, totally destroying our old computer and forcing us to buy a new one. I thought?the Mechatar?website would be?safe, but still,?I decided to do that part myself.

Along with our robot, we received a Mechra Code (valued at $5) that we could?redeem for game elements and weapons during our visit to the Mechaverse. While there, I personally liked that there weren?t any Flash graphics (which I can?t stand and always seem to crash my computer!), and that these robots can be used on both PC?s and Mac?s. (Not that we are fancy enough to have a Mac, lol!) I don?t like that the robots have?the option to get weapons as accessory options. Call me old fashioned, but I hate toys that have guns. My little guy liked that the Mechaverse is ?sorta like Pokemon? and?he enjoyed visiting the battle arena, ?so he could?grow his?robots?experience points and abilities to get him tough!?

As for my?honest opinion of this toy, I wasn?t thrilled with thes whole concept of a toy that is ?a blended reality,? but, then again, my boy is on the autism spectrum, so I am challenged to teach him simple things from his actual reality every day, without now trying to confuse him with a new blended reality. He has a hard time understanding that things cartoon and online characters say aren?t really real. (Which is also why I hate?toys that have weapons.) He certainly liked the robot, but I thought it was going to be one more thing he was going to be confused and distracted by, especially with the new school year just starting.?However, I think this could be a really fun toy for other boys and girls, which is why I am happy to offer one of my readers the chace to win one of these robots.?Mechatars is launching nationwide in Fall 2011 at stores like Target, Radio Shack, Amazon, Toys R?Us and iloveRobots.com and retails at?$39.99.

You can receive 10% off your purchase at iloverobots.com by using the code TECHMOM, which is valid until 11/30/11.

MECHATAR?GIVEAWAY ? 1 Lucky Winner Will Receive a Robot

RULES:

**Open to U.S. residents only.

**No P.O. boxes, please.

**Must include your email address in your comment ONLY IF YOU DID NOT sign in and leave a comment with an email you check daily.

**All comments must be separate to count as separate entries. For example, if you follow me on Facebook and Twitter, leave 2 separate comments, one telling me your Facebook name, and one telling me your Twitter name. If you posted about the giveaway on your own blog, leave 5 separate comments, all with a numbered link to your post.

**Please read the additional rules here.

HOW TO ENTER:

**Mandatory Entry: Go to?Mechatars.com and then click on the ?play now? and ?register? (No need to fill out any info) to see the Mechatar lineup, and tell me which Mechatar you?d like to have.

+1? MORE ENTRY: Like Mechatars?on Facebook.

+1? MORE ENTRY: Follow me on Facebook. Make sure to leave your Facebook name in your comment.

+1? MORE ENTRY: Follow me on Facebook and share a link on your wall with the following comment I entered The Girl from the Ghetto?s iloveRobots Mechatar Giveaway here http://bit.ly/nlP3FS. Make sure to leave a comment below with a link to your Facebook profile message, or at least with your Facebook name.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Follow @iloverobots on Twitter. Make sure to leave your @Twitter name in your comment.

+1? MORE ENTRY: Follow me on Twitter. Make sure to leave your @Twitter name in your comment.

+1? MORE ENTRY: Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following RT @NerdGirlBlogger to #Win a @iloverobots @Mechatars #CleverRobot?#Giveaway here?http://bit.ly/nlP3FS. You can tweet 4x a day (Once every 6 hours) for even more chances to win. Make sure to leave a link to your tweet in a comment below.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Subscribe to my blog via email or Feedburner.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Enter one of my other giveaways?and let me know which one?you entered by leaving a comment below.

+1? MORE ENTRY: Follow me on StumbleUpon. Make sure to leave your StumbleUpon name.

+1 MORE ENTRY: Comment here and tell me why you need to win this toy. Do you (or your child) love to play with robots, are you a geek, or do you just love to win free stuff?

+5 MORE ENTRIES: Write about this giveaway on your own blog. Make sure to post a link to http://thegirlfromtheghetto.wordpress.com, and leave me 5 copies of your link via comment here.

Contest ends Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at midnight. Good luck to you all!

I was selected to participate in this sponsored post series by Clever Girl Collective.