The Force Trainer II: Hologram Experience

** A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review **

My kids explored what it is like to be a Jedi on May the Fourth as we had some Star Wars Day fun with Uncle Milton's THE FORCE TRAINER II: Hologram Experience. Who hasn't watched a Star Wars movie and dreamed of being able to move physical objects through the power of concentration? Utilizing a tablet, special Bluetooth headset, and a holographic display, The Force Trainer from Uncle Milton provides users the feeling of using the Force by allowing you to move holograms with the power of your mind. The Force Trainer II creates holographic images that are impressive to observe then enhances the fun to another level of awesomeness by allowing these holograms to be controlled through the power of your mind mimicking a Jedi's use of the force. This really is impressive, most impressive!

These holograms are created by downloading a free app that works with most current iPads (iPad 2 and newer)and Android tablets (Samsung Tablet 10.1 recommended)onto a device which is placed on top of an included theatrical display and projects images upon special panels to create a three dimensional illusion. My kids were really delighted by these holograms with my daughter yelling out in excitement when she saw her first image "it looks just like the pictures R2-D2 shows in Star Wars!"

While simply viewing these holograms is thrilling in itself, amazingly The Force Trainer also allows you to move them with your mind. Instructions from Master Yoda will guide you through a variety of Jedi Challenges ranging from constructing a light saber to knocking down battle droids. Both my son and daughter agreed that their favorite challenge was recreating the scene from Empire Strikes Back where you raise an X-wing space ship out of a Dagobah swamp.

The Force Trainer harnesses the power of your mind through the included headset which uses advanced dry neural sensor technology that monitors your brainwaves. As people concentrate they generate Beta brainwaves. The headset can detect these Beta brainwaves and send a measurement of their intensity via Bluetooth to the tablet which controls the holograms movement based upon your level of concentration. The higher the level of concentration the quicker you will complete a challenge. There are 10 levels to conquer to move up the Jedi ranks from Padawan to Master. Each level requires an escalating intensity of Beta brainwaves to complete challenges and continue moving on. Can you demonstrate to Yoda the concentration needed to obtain the rank of Jedi Master? Do or do not. There is no try!

The entertainment value of the Jedi Challenges combined with the educational insights that can be gained from its scientific elements earns THE FORCE TRAINER II: Hologram Experience a nod of approval from A Geek Daddy.  Incorporating music and sound effects from the Star Wars movies with real life holograms that look like they jumped right out of a sci-fi film is a great way to combine learning with having fun.  Parents can jump right in and compete with their children to see who can earn the rank of Jedi Master first making this a great experience for the whole family to enjoy together.  It also comes with a science learning poster to reinforce the educational aspects of this game. This really is worth checking out!



THE FORCE TRAINER II: Hologram Experience is recommend for ages 8+.  It does require a compatible iPad or Android tablet (not included), Internet access to download an app (though not needed to operate the app), and 1 AAA battery to power the neural sensor technology.  It is important to achieve a good fit with the adjustable headset because if the sensors don't maintain a good connection the game will be interrupted and paused because the game needs to be detecting Beta brainwaves for the challenge modes to function. The sensors must be flush against a person's skin on his or her forehead and behind each ear. Be aware it may take some adjustments and trial and error before a good connection is established but once you get it working the headset works very well when it comes to interacting with the holograms.  The Force was awakened in our house with this great product from Uncle Milton as my children really had a blast pretending to be Jedi and interacting with the Star Wars holograms.

CLICK HERE for more information about THE FORCE TRAINER II: Hologram Experience from Uncle Milton.

Lost Piece of Star Wars Heritage Rediscovered & Restored

Short films running before the feature presentation at movie theaters have been a marketing niche for Disney & Pixar films in recent years so it is an interesting tie-in that as Star Wars joins the Walt Disney Studios family that a short tied to that franchise which was though lost has just recently been found and restored.  While filming scenes for Empire Strikes Back in England, the movie's art director Roger Christian pitched a script he had written to George Lucas.  Lucas was impressed enough with the script that he provided a budget for Christian to produce a 25 minute short film called Black Angel and committed to have it play in select European movie theaters (including 400 theaters in the United Kingdom) in front of the Empire Strikes Back.  Black Angel accompanied the original release of Empire Strikes Back and then it disappeared not to be seen again for nearly 35 years when the original production audio and video were recently discovered in storage at Universal Studios and restored.  For years because the short was never seen in U.S. theaters or re-released many Star Wars fans though Black Angel was just a legend or hoax.

It's real though and here is Roger Christian telling the story about the short film followed by Black Angel in its entirety:



At the time it was created Black Angel received kudos from the movie making community with director John Boorman motivating the cast and crew of his 1981 movie Excalibur by having them watch Black Angel and people who saw the short in theaters keeping its memory alive over the years until it was rediscovered.  Roger Christian also notes that George Lucas after watching Black Angel modified the light saber duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader on Dagobah in Empire Strikes Back to be in slow motion because he was impressed by a similar style used during a fight scene in the short film.

Christian is now attempting to create a film based upon the full script he originally presented to George Lucas to review and has launched an Indiegogo campaign to get production off the ground which has already raised more than $100,000.  CLICK HERE if you are interested in contributing or for more information on the Black Angel feature film.