These Megatron self-converting Transformers are as powerful as they are expensive

After three years, Hasbro's self-transforming, dancing, driving, talking and attacking Optimus Prime finally has a villain to fight. Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, is about to arrive. For $1200 — $899 Until May 25 – Its robotics partner Robosen has created what could be the best automatic transformer yet.

Just to make sure you get it: this robot It turns on automatically In a badass remote control tank with A giant cannon that expands automatically and can fire projectiles – then He stands and speaks Over 270 phrases from original Megatron voice actor Frank Welker while doing all kinds of tricks.

Here, enjoy the glory of your childhood fantasy come true:

Did I mention that it responds to a lot of voice commands, too?

I've been playing with Megatron for half a day now, and that's mostly it amazing. Not only does its 36 servo motor and 118 microchips allow the 21-inch-tall robot to perform all kinds of chores, but it also has more engaging play features than Optimus or Dinobot Grimlock, thanks to a better selection of weapons, and 112 lights Bright LED, and interesting new joints to operate their servos.

When you fire the Fusion Cannon, which is permanently attached to Megatron's arm, he doesn't just move a black plastic brace around it: three joints make the cannon vibrate as it “charges,” giving it power. recoilwhile 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 while also securing them.

And when Megatron falls – and that will I'm afraid Autumn is finally smart enough to stand up on her own again.

Robosen has addressed one of my biggest complaints about Optimus: they've made Megatron's leg servos solid enough that you can optionally leave the robot standing on a rack when you turn it off. And I love how Megatron talks about producing Energon and the charging indicator lights up with five LEDs when the USB-C cable is plugged in.

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

While it's great, the game could use a little more work before it ships in Q3, and based on previous launches, I'm not entirely confident it'll get all that work done.

This is the third Robosen robot I've tried with a confusing app and a few bugs which makes it really hard to do custom programming and creates all sorts of lag even if you're just trying to remote control the tank you have lying around. It still doesn't give you access to every joint when you create custom moves and poses. The voice command recognition system is still mediocre; in more than half of the cases, the robot does not respond correctly.

My test bot had some basic issues as well, like a tendency to… fall over, forget some of its settings after turning it on again, or keep repeating the same voice line in voice command mode without me asking. The racket actually fell apart after the first 10 or so strokes, since one of its string pins was very loose. Hopefully some of these won't make it to full mass production, but I think it's worth telling you about.

You should also know that, like previous robots, these are intended exclusively for use on hard and soft floors: they are constantly scraping parts of themselves on the floor to walk, turn, turn and stand, and most of them do not work on them. rug. While you Can When I was driving its very noisy rubber treads up slopes or thin carpets, I couldn't turn on smooth surfaces: I got stuck badly on one of its rubber treads while trying to rotate the tank on a carpet.

But like Optimus, who had his problems, none of this killed my enthusiasm. This is one of the most amazing toy sets ever created; I just want them to be better.