A Product Review

I feel really really bad about this.

Back in July I received an email from this really nice lady representing Hasbro Toys. She had asked if I wanted to check out and review a kids interactive website and a new online game system for them. Being that was really should have stock in Hasbro with all the toys we have in this house, I said yes.

Then all hell broke loose in our personal life and decent thought out posts went out the window.

The product arrived and the box languished in a corner. I feel really bad about it.

So. The dust started to settle and Adam was needling me to open it. So I did. And so I can finally give you a little review here. Finally.

She had firstly asked me to check out the Monkeybar TV site. This site if chock full of games and videos related to the products that they sell. My son fainted when he saw all the Transformers stuff and my daughter flipped at the plethora of My Little Pony things there. However, the site is geared for kids a little older than my two and so the games were a bit difficult for them.

If you are okay with entertainment built around children’s merchandise then this site will be okay for you and your kids. If you don’t approve of entertainment designed to sell product, then don’t visit the site.

The mystery product that arrived in the cardboard box was called ‘Net Jet.’

We were a bit confused by the name.  Adam was expecting some sort of ‘plane.’    After (seriously) 30 minutes of trying to pry open the package that contained the hand held control without slicing open my fingers, we finally ripped it free.    This really put me off.  The packaging is ridiculous.

It is all very simple to figure out.   The control system plugs into the USB on your computer.  The games are contained on little ‘key’s that you slot into the controller.

The controller comes with a bunch of demo games and we also had Marble Blast and Paintball.  These games are geared for 6 and up, but Adam has no problem figuring them out.

I was mostly frustrated in the load time (slooooooooow) and the vagueness of some of the online instructions to just get a game started.

I am not game ‘savvy’ and so unless things are spelled out really simply (like the Wii), I get a tad frustrated.

So…..is it worth it?  Yes.   If your kids like games and you don’t own a Playstation or Nintendo type thing.  It is very affordable.  The controller is around $24.99 and the games are about $14.99 each.

If your kids knew other kids who used the system, then I am sure they would have fun sharing the games around.

My son managed to hog my computer for quite a while playing the paintball game and even Crunch Husband got hooked enough to work through the levels.  Even Caity at three really enjoyed the Marble Blast game – just rolling the balls around. And the controller is not complicated and similar to most console game controllers.

The graphics are pretty good.  Comparable to most games systems out there.

My kids will play again…when I don’t mind them hogging my computer!!

Again, a good system for a household not keen on shelling out for the pricier game systems out there.

Thanks Hasbro lady…..I am soooo sorry it took this long for this sad little review!