Review: Matchbox Rocky The Robot Truck
Written on Oct 1, 2009 by Brian and filed under Matchbox, News, Reviews
When we saw Matchbox’s first interactive toy at Toy Fair this year, we knew they had a winner. Combining robotics with trucks is a no-brainer; but throw in dance moves, load dumping, cheeky commentary and voice activated responses and you have something even better. In this case, that’s Rocky the Robot Truck.
Rocky runs on four C batteries and is designed for kids 3 and up. To get started, swap out the demo batteries, put him in play mode and you’re set.
Right away, kids can push and pull Rocky, just like any other dump truck. But when then do, they’ll get lights and sounds that are action appropriate. Pushing Rocky for instance will get grumbling noises and commentary like “And we’re off.” Push him backward and you’ll hear the familiar backing up beeps large trucks make, along with statements like “Clear the rear.”
Of course since Rocky is a dump truck, kids will fill his bed with all sorts of things to transport. There’s a sensor in the bed that weighs the load and has Rocky give appropriate responses like “This is an easy one” or “Whoa, that’s heavy!” Kids can go old school and lift his bed to dump the load or pull back on the smokestack for an automated option. Rocky will then drop the load on his own, or sometimes he’ll ask the kids to make some noise to get him to drop the load. In this case kids have to shout to get Rocky going.
One of Rocky’s favorite activities is talking. By his own account he says “Zillions of things,” but our tally is closer to dozens. Either way, pushing the red button on his smokestack will get him started. In truck mode, the button cycles through his varying statements. When Rocky is upright the button presses get him dancing, sometimes asking kids to make some noise to get him motivated.
Rocky’s not a machine though, well he is, but at times the guy still needs a rest. If Rocky isn’t played with for several minutes he’ll go into sleep mode. Sometimes he goes quietly, but other times he’ll take a nap accompanied by snores, heavy breathing and the requisite robotic movements before shutting off. The only thing that got our test kids laughing more is when Rocky makes an occasional toot – not the horn though – more like a toot out of the tailpipe.
Rocky is well-built, something we often worry about with robotic devices, especially those targeted toward such a young age group. We had kids pound on Rocky pretty well and he’s no worse for the wear. Rocky is an indoor toy though, water, sand and dirt will foul his motors and put a premature end to his functionality.
Speaking of age group, Rocky is targeted to kids 3 and older. But that’s just a starting point. We were surprised to see kids much older enjoying Rocky, probably because of the personality. Matchbox did a very good job of making sure the statements and sounds were fun, and more important, not repetitive. Sure, his vocabulary is limited, but he does many different dances and has several options for when he’s pressed into action, like being pushed forward or dumping a load.
Rocky the Robot Truck runs $59.99 at retail and is available now. If you splurge on one higher-end kids toy for a birthday or Holiday present, we can’t help but to glowingly recommend Rocky. Top to bottom everything is well conceived, we’re pretty impressed given it’s a first effort. There’s no doubt Rocky will top many wish lists this year and parents should feel good about the purchase.
Editor’s Rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars – Editor’s Choice
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