![]() ![]() Your phone vibrates, the cars light up and slow down, and it gives the game a Mario Kart-esque allure. Other weapons might stall you on the track for a couple seconds, weaken your armor against further attacks, or show your momentum with machine gun fire. If you’re hit with a tractor beam, for example, you’ll slow down and the foe who zapped you will blast ahead. No, they’re not physical projectiles or attacks (I can dream), but rather virtual volleys that resonate within the app. Winning races and battles nets you upgrades for your weapons and cars. The latter point is important, since Anki Overdrive has a secret, unseen weapon: weapons. You’ll lightly steer the car by tilting your phone or tablet, so you can lean into turns or position yourself behind a rival. It’s so cool to see them whip around the course for the first time, but you’ve got a job to do. Anki’s little sprinters are impressively speedy as they auto-accelerate around the tracks, constantly scanning the infrared markings on the pieces to maintain position as they zip along. After connecting to the Anki Overdrive app on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device, they’ll do a slow lap or two around the course and learn the layout.Īnd then they’re off-quickly, too. You get two with the box, and they’ll need about 10 minutes on the included charging dock to be fully juiced up they run upwards of 20 minutes once charged. Unlike traditional slot cars, these very thin, plastic tracks aren’t electrified: it’s the cars themselves. The Anki OVERDRIVE is a combination of a video game with live racing action and that’s what makes this racing system so much fun.The magnetized track pieces snap together. Overall, we had a fantastic time with the Anki OVERDRIVE and once again I found myself once again facing off against family and friends for the chance to be the House Champion. The Anki OVERDRIVE Starter Kit and expansion packs are also available on Amazon. You can purchase the Anki OVERDRIVE and the expansion packs and vehicles through their online store. The Starter Kit normally retails for $150 but it’s currently discounted to $119. Each car has its own unique skills and upgrades and so you can make it your own as you earn special equipment to outfit your racer. The starter kit comes with two cars, and additional Anki vehicles can be added to your garage. From some of the pictures and videos we’ve seen, you can create some pretty epic track layouts. The track is fully expandable as Anki offers a variety of expansion packs which feature everything from high speed straights, banked corners, four-way intersections and even a jump kit. We set up the starter track in the default configuration on our dining room table and it stretches nearly 6.5 feet. The Anki OVERDRIVE allows four players to race simultaneously, or just one player versus the computer racer. We’ve got a Xbox One in the house and those controllers are expensive and if you only have two controllers but four friends over, two of you are only spectators. We really like the fact that the controllers are smart phone based which makes it easy for anyone to join the fun. There is also a lap counter which keeps track of the laps completed and your place. The controls include a throttle as well as access to two weapons. I found that I never fell off the track, but occasionally the computer driven cars would go flying off as activate a “boost mode”. You can use your phone as a steering wheel by rotating it which will make your car change lanes. Prior to each match, the cars map the track layout so they know exactly where they are on the track. The cars contain their own rechargeable power source and so the track can be set up just about anywhere.Ĭontrolling the cars is extremely easy. A far cry from those old slot cars, the Anki OVERDRIVE doesn’t require power to the track. Once the track is fully connected, you place the cars on the track and they will map the track’s layout before ending at the start/finish line. The track itself was extremely easy to set up as each end has magnetic tabs that lock the adjoining track section into place. Anki supplied us with their OVERDRIVE Starter kit and we went from unboxing to racing in about 20 minutes. We were surprised how much fun the Anki OVERDRIVE system was to play as well as how simplified the set up was. If you’ve ever played any racing games on consoles or your smart phone, you get that style of game play combined with the real life racing action on the track. Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve had the opportunity to play with the Anki OVERDRIVE racing system and it’s amazing how technology has advanced the concept of the simple slot car race track into smartphone-powered battle racers. I remember racing friends and family for hours! One of the really great gifts I got for Christmas as a kid was a slot car track. ![]()
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