Hyperscan Video Game Console System @ Amazon.com For $14.99 ($104.99)

[deelite]

It is not in stock but will be soon. Available on a first come first serve basis.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000IZZDAE/ref=ord_cart_shr/102-5481179-7510506?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

[ken9455]

Anyone bought this? Have any comments?

[theboyzmom]

my sons really wanted this for Christmas but I told them I wasn't buying another game system...especially an off brand for that price....this is a GREAT price...but I still don't know anyone who has actually bought or played it...I'd like to know the quality too

[tkm08]

If you go to the link and scroll down there have been some comments about how this system works.

[Kat07]

Amazon doesn't have any reviews. Here is a review I found on a different site. It is not a great review, but if your kids really wants this game...this is a great price to be nice and buy it and let him figure it out for himself.,

 

2006

This is the first guest review from Matthew Anders, a 9-year-old gaming fan in Burlingame, Calif. He takes on Mattel's new HyperScan game console

 

HYPERSCAN review

By Matthew Anders

 

If you’ve got any boys ages 8 to 12 in your life, you know that we love to play fighting games on our computers or videogame consoles. They’re fun! Playing these games makes us feel powerful. We can be aggressive without getting in trouble. We can pass time in single-player mode, or we can have a good time in two-player mode with a friend or sibling, mastering different levels together. Besides, it’s neat to see puny little things fall at your feet.

 

So I was excited when I heard that Mattel was coming out with a new videogame system called HyperScan, aimed at kids in my age group. (I’m about to turn 10.) It goes on sale in stores this fall. The basic system costs $59.99 at Target, and it plugs into your television. Game cards – which are scanned into the system and then activate specific characters – come in packs of 10 for an extra $24.99. The first few games being offered involve some of my favorite action characters, such as Marvel X-Men and Ben 10.

 

But after a very demanding weekend of testing HyperScan with my best friend, Cameron (also age 9), and my younger brother Peter (age 7), I have to say that it’s not so neat. The battle action in HyperScan X-Men is very limited. Also, it’s hard to scan the different characters into the game’s card-reader system. Worst of all, the game is too easy. We made it to the top of all 19 levels on our second day of play. On a really good game, it should take months to get that far.

 

Let’s start with the game setup. The console plugged into our television very easily. All the wires are color coded, so you know where they go. My dad helped set it up, but that was just so he could keep busy. We tested it in single-player mode, with only one controller. The controller was pretty standard – a lot like what kids are used to if they have a PlayStation 2 or an X-Box.

 

But getting the actual player cards scanned in was annoying. They had to be held in exactly the right position over a radio-frequency sensor on the game console. If the scan didn’t work after a few seconds, the console would make this annoying beep and we’d have to try again. We heard that beep constantly, all afternoon, almost every time we tried to switch players.

 

The game scenery was disappointing, too. The X-Men game offers lots of different battlefields, such as an alley, a church, and a frozen chunk of Antarctica. Those places all look cool. But the characters just move back and forth at the very front of each battlefield, along a single straight line. There isn’t any way for them to leap into interesting parts of the scenery and chase opponents into narrow traps or along the edge of a cliff, for example. It would be better if the background were truly three-dimensional, so those kinds of chases could be part of the game.

 

As for the battles themselves, the characters pointlessly kill each other. There’s no explanation for why Magneto, Iceman or others are fighting. They just jab and kick at each other. Fighting is exciting, but in most of my favorite games, each battle is part of a larger quest. Here there really isn’t any story. Although the characters all are allowed a “special move” and a “superspecial move,” a lot of their fighting styles seem so similar that they get boring after a while.

 

It also bothered me that there weren’t any minor characters or objects that could be introduced into the battles. I think it would be more fun if you could unleash a pack of hungry lizards at your opponent, for example. Or maybe if you were in an alley, Magneto could throw a lamp pole at you. In this game, it’s just the two characters constantly punching or kicking at each other, without any real strategy or deception.

 

The special moves include things like a freeze ray (for Iceman) and metal blast (for Magneto.) The special moves are more powerful, but they drain your character’s energy, as shown by an energy bar above the character. So you can’t use them constantly; you have to wait for your character to recharge. There isn’t much difference between the special moves and the super-special moves. And there aren’t any combination moves, where you have to hit multiple keys in a clever sequence. In fact, my younger brother Peter tried punching the keys as fast as he could, randomly – and he was able to win most of his battles that way. We laughed about that for a little while, but it was kind of embarrassing.

 

Like most videogames, X-Men starts at a very easy level and then gets harder as you win each head-to-head battle against a single villain. Each mission here is basically the same. If you win all 19 missions, the game tells you “Good Work,” and then it restarts. My friend Cameron and I beat the game twice, in about two days of playing it. If you can beat a game that fast, it’s not good enough.

 

I don’t think this would be a game that we’d want to keep playing for months and months. It’s the same thing every time. There’s not enough variety in the attacks or characters. There aren’t enough surprises about what the scenery might involve. If people are looking for good fighting games to play on game consoles, I’d recommend Soul Calibur 3, Halo 2 and Tekken 4.

 

In fact, there are some free games on the Internet that compare pretty favorably against X-Men as well. Some of those include Heli Attack 3 and Bionicle for my brother.

 

I’m giving this just one star, because after two days of testing, we didn’t protest one bit when my dad boxed up the demo game and prepared to send it back. I hope the HyperScan people develop better games in the future, because the basic console is reasonably priced and easy to use. But X-Men didn’t really make a good impression. Toward the end of our testing period, my friend Cameron wanted to play computer-based fighting games instead. As for me, I was ready to go read a book.

[mom-99]

My ds really wanted this for Christmas but I thought he would be disappointed in it. When it went down to 29.99 I bought it. He tried it once, was frustrated because it is really hard to scan the cards and hasn't asked about it again. I wish I had only paid $14.99!

[stufine]

sure is some proper grammer for a 9 year old

[blssed2bme]

I bought this from Amazon.com before Christmas for $14.99 along with an extra controller and all of the games for my 6yr twins for next christmas. I hope they will like it.

[theboyzmom]

this is exactly what I wanted to know...it doesn't sound at all like a 9 yo wrote it, but it's about what I expected for a review...thanks for posting!

[shay_n_sc]

sure is some proper grammer for a 9 year old

I was thinking I can barely get my 16 year old to write a paragraph and this child wrote a book!

[Tyandmacsmom]

I do NOT think a 9 year old wrote that. Possibly his parents, but not even an older sibling. I bought the Hyperscan for my 5 year old for his birthday in March. I hope he likes it. He had a Vsmile, Vsmile pocket, Telestory Console, and a game boy...I wanted to add to his collection. I got a second controller for DH to play with him. Hopefully it is fun. I don't think it is supposed to be very challenging. That's kind of the point of the age range. Most kids in that age group are no video game whizzes.

[ckranger11]

sure is some proper grammer for a 9 year old

Proper grammar, even.

 

Don't mind me, I'm just being a jerk, but I really just wanted a spot to jump in the crowd that says there is no way a 9 year-old wrote that review.

 

It was probably just a parent that observed a child's reaction and wrote it for them. It's an odd way to go about leaving a negative review, though. When I first began reading it and saw the 9 year-old author claim, I expected it to praise the system to the heavens and then I could disregard it as fake viral marketing from the company. Now my world has been turned upside down. Thanks a lot, Matthew Anders!

[sappy]

That kid's a dork.

[mom-99]

Amazon is giving me a $15 credit! WHOO-hoo!

[theboyzmom]

what's the credit for??

[fairydustcrissy]

Why is it not possible a 9yo wrote that? We have our own little prodigy here on the forums too. MarkRaby is a teen, and is an accomplished writer for several websites, and I believe he was working on his own. He reviews electronics, and is damn good at it. I'd be willing to bet he could have written something like that at that age. Now for all I know, a 50yo wrote that. I'm just saying don't be so quick to judge! :)