My kids and I had a blast playing with the Lenovo JEDI CHALLENGES augmented reality game as well as some toys based upon vehicles that are featured in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Igniting a virtual light saber and battling three dimensional holographic representations of Star Wars villains including Darth Vader and Kylo Ren in your living room is amazing! Lenovo even included Inquisitors from the Star Wars: Rebels cartoon series into the game. That show is a family favorite and it was nice to see it incorporated into Lenovo JEDI CHALLENGES.
Disney also sent us a Kessel Run Millenium Falcon toy from Hasbro based upon the way the ship looks in Solo: A Star Wars Story. It has some really cool lighting and sound effects. We also received a LEGO toy set based upon a landspeeder from the movie. It is a nice model to put together and comes with three mini-figures including a young Han Solo.
After having a few days to enjoy these toys and review the products, I had an opportunity to go on a local television station to do an interview for a Star Wars Day segment. Wow! Four minutes go by really fast when you are having fun! It was an exhilarating experience knowing that thousands of people would be watching you live talking to an interviewer you'd just met thirty seconds before going on the air. It was fun sharing my enjoyment of Star Wars while highlighting these products that my family really enjoyed playing with and getting a chance to talk a bit about ageekdaddy.com to the Fox 2 Detroit audience. Check out the segment:
LENOVO JEDI CHALLENGES
Lenovo which many of you may be familiar with as a manufacturer of computers, in fact the desktop pc I'm typing this post on is a Lenovo, has partnered with Disney to create a really impressive Star Wars themed augmented reality experience. Download an app, sync it to the JEDI CHALLENGES light saber and insert your smartphone into an advanced headset. You are ready to go! It is simple to set up and the game also has nice prompts and tutorials making it easy to understand how to play the game. As you progress through levels the difficulty factor increases to keep the game interesting and challenging.
My whole family has gotten into the action playing this game and we've really been having an awesome time with it. Activate your light saber and watch a virtual beam arise from its hilt. A remote targeting sensor that you place in the space where you are playing allows for some incredible connectivity between the light saber you are welding and the foes being battled. As you see blasters being shot at you from battle droids or stormtroopers, use your light saber to block them or bounce the laser bolts back at your opponents to knock them out. Those that are left can be slashed with your light saber. Once you've made it through the henchmen it is time to duel their leaders. Do you have what it takes to defeat the infamous Darth Vader in a light saber battle?!
While the light saber aspect is really cool there are some other interesting modes included in the game as well. Who hasn't seen the battle chess match between Chewbacca and R2 D2 in the original Star Wars movie and not wanted to have a chance to play that? In Holochess mode direct holographic creatures that each have different strengths and weaknesses as you battle for territory on virtual checkered game tables.
In strategic combat mode test your skills as a military strategist as you command armies of miniature holographic toy soldiers in recreations of epic Star Wars battles. Lead Luke Skywalker and other Star Wars heroes against the forces of the dark side in ground combat. As you win battles new units and troops will be unlocked, but beware the difficulty level also increases as you progress through the scenarios in this mode.
Another nice feature about JEDI CHALLENGES is that Lenovo is continuing to provide updates to the game. In conjunction with the home entertainment video release of THE LAST JEDI, Lenovo updated the game with elements from the movie including a chance to interact with Porgs, making Crait a battleground in strategic combat mode and adding elite Praetorian Guards as characters to battle against in light saber dueling mode. This expansion of the game is provided at no additional charge to the original purchase price. Wow! More great content and they aren't trying to charge more?! You have to appreciate that!
Our family has had a blast with Lenovo JEDI CHALLENGES! It has earned A Geek Daddy nod of approval for being a captivating experience that really is exciting to play. My kids can't get enough of playing the game and its special effects are impressive. You can pick up one for yourself at Best Buy.
HASBRO KESSEL RUN MILLENIUM FALCON
You heard about the Millennium Falcon's legendary Kessel Run in Star Wars: A New Hope and will see the event in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Now you can play out this iconic Star Wars moment with the new Kessel Run Millenium Falcon toy from Hasbro. It includes a detachable escape ship and 3.75" young Han Solo figure that each are Force Link 2.0 enabled for special sound effects.
The space ship itself also has some wonderful special effects. The Millenium Falcon is embedded with motion sensors so its makes sound effects based upon how it is picked up, lowered and moved around. How fun is that?!
The toy also has a hyper drive mode that includes special lighting, sound and rumbling effects that my kids think is really neat. There is also one other special effect mixed in to hyper drive mode that you'll have to discover for yourself because it is a potential movie spoiler. My son and daughter were really wowed by this hyper drive mode on the Hasbro Kessel Run Millenium Falcon. Ok, I'll admit it .. I was too. It is available at most major toy retailers or online at hasbrotoyshop.com
LEGO HAN SOLO LANDSPEEDER
Travel with Han Solo and Qi'ra in this super-fast LEGO Landspeeder. The hood opens up so the engine can be fixed up and there is a compartment that is a great space for stashing hidden cargo. It has wheels hidden with its base to allow it to easily slide across a floor or table like it is floating across the air. Small plastic missiles can be launched from the landspeeder imitating laser bolts being fired from weapons.
My kids love collecting and playing with LEGO mini-figures as much as they enjoy constructing buildings and vehicles from the plastic bricks. This LEGO play set includes three mini-figures that along with the landspeeder provide some nice value. Available wherever LEGO toys are sold including ShopDisney.com
