What ’s better than a set of lilliputian artificially level-headed carsthatdrive themselvesaround a trackwhile duking it out with optical maser and tractor beam ? Well , what if you could configure that rails however you require ? That ’s the name of the game with Anki Overdrive , coming this September from the geniuses at robotics startup Anki .
It ’s jolly round-eyed : if you go buy the original Anki Drive starter outfit for $ 150 today , you only get a exclusive track on a rubbery matte that you unroll every time you want to play . Additional trail be $ 70 each . No matter how much fun it might be to steer a mini race gondola with your telephone set , that ai n’t cheap ! Here ’s what it look like now :
But in September , that same $ 150 will corrupt you a set of modular piece that snap together to form any track you want . You get four consecutive pieces and six curves , each equipped with interlace tabs and strong magnets that the track practically forgather itself :
I helped Anki ’s founders build a track in about a minute categorical , just snapping the pieces into place . Oh , and because the caterpillar track is made of flexible high-pitched - wallop polystyrene , you could build up it justly on top of stuff to make a wild leek ! See the MacBook charger and teleconferencing gadget beneath this track ? Anki ’s midget cars sped across that open with no upshot whatsoever .
Because the man are modular , that imply you may build a whole lot more tracks from the get - go — eight to start — and the more extra pieces you buy , the bigger you may go .
But the best part may be that those pieces wo n’t just be curved shape and straight person , but other types of game - changing terrain as well . There ’s a leap outfit that can let up to three elevator car in reality jump out off a incline simultaneously . ( Yes , these tiny sovereign cars can jump off ! ) There ’s a $ 30 intersection that not only let a racetrack get over itself , but where cars can choose to turn to remain on the most efficient path . Perhaps the most interesting enlargement is the $ 20 U - turn kit , which comes with two dead death pieces that can be placed on either end of a loooong cut , and tells the cars to make a atomic number 92 - turn rather than run off the road !
There ’s enough more , including a new readiness of cars , a fresh user interface for the app , new AI opponents , and a Modern campaign mode designed to give the secret plan a fib and objectives of some form , but the modular track is definitely the star of the show . The approximation of not being confined to a individual track makes this feel like a high - tech toy I could actually weigh buying . disgrace there are so many months between September and now .
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