My report on Miuchiz:
I bought the Miuchiz Pawz (Spike, the cat version)the day before yesterday and here is the good, the bad, and the ugly on it:
The Good:
1. It's in color (yay)
2. It can move from room to room and interact directly with the items in the rooms, like a small video game.
3. It can be hooked up with other Miuchiz, like the Tama Connection.
4. It can be hooked up to your computer online so you can play in a virtual 3D world and chat, play with other friends and meet new players.
5. Online play is free for up to the first 12 months
The Bad:
1. There are only 3 games to start with; Tic Tac Toe, Rock Paper, Scissors, and a Maze game. Besides the maze game, the other two are really lame and useless for making any real points to spend. (Tic Tac Toe? Puleez!
)
2. Sometimes the screen gets all pixelated. The first one I bought had scratches on the front and totally malfunctioned, so I returned it for an exchange. This one is fine, but the screen still pixelates once in a while.
3. Sometimes the direction button sticks and he doesnt' want to move and you have to press repeatedly to get him to respond.
The Ugly:
1. The online world is really mediocre at this point. The only thing you can do there is play a few different games, which ARE fun, BUT...you don't make any points from them...YET. They say that eventually, in the months ahead, you will be able to make points playing games there, but who knows how long "in the months ahead" can be? For little kids, a month can seem like an eternity! (Plus, I highly suspect that by the time the site becomes interesting, that's when you'll have to pay for a membership!
)
2. The buildings are empty (at least in Haven, the Pawz land)!! There are shops, but they're all empty!! Where's the fun in that??
3. At this point, the only thing there is to do is drive around in the rental cars, walk around, chat with other people and play the few arcade style games. There is a lazer tag game, but I didn't get to check it out in detail. I guess that's ok for free, but I wonder what it's going to cost when all the goodies are finally available? Hmmmm..
All in all, to sum it up, I'd say that I don't regret having it (it IS really cute
), but at 30 dollars (WalMart price) I would hesitate to let go of my hard earned allowance if I was a kid. Maybe wait a bit and see how things shape up in the online world before letting go of your money for one of these toys.
In the meantime, I'll keep you updated if things get interesting.
P.S. Edit: On the other hand, I'm 40 years old and my idea of fun and a younger kids idea of fun can be quite different. Maybe I'm just a grouchy old fogie
And perhaps in the future, more games will be available to be downloaded directly into the handheld game.