![]() Now, two years later there is a good chance they will have some good deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. We were big fans of Anki’s Overdrive robot when it first came out. We can’t help but speculate about what will happen with the Anki Overdrive Black Friday & Cyber Monday deals of 2021. Since then it has grown into an expansive lineup of different versions and expansions that have won many awards. Now, that's no longer an issue - both can play together over Bluetooth.Anki, a company known for its consumer robotics releases, launched the original Starter Kit several years ago. Before, only iOS could play with iOS devices (and the same with Android) because Android didn't have Bluetooth LE capability for phone-to-phone communications - Android users had to play with each other over WiFi instead. Yes, that means both Android and iOS devices will finally be able to play together. What's perhaps the most welcome news, however, is that Anki will finally have cross device play. Oh, and don't worry if you already have older Anki cars they'll be compatible with Overdrive after a software update. Additional track pieces can be purchased separately for anywhere from $10 to $30 (£9.99 to £29.99) depending on the pack. Like we mentioned in February, the Overdrive Starter Kit will retail for $150 (£149.99) and also includes ten of the aforementioned modular track pieces. Skull and Groundshock are included in the Anki Overdrive Starter Kit, while the rest can be purchased for $50 (£49.99) each. There are also six new cars - Skull, Groundshock, Thermo, Nuke, Guardian and Big Bang - all of with unique weapons and characteristics. ![]() Time Trial is you racing to beat the clock, while King of the Hill encourages you to take down your opponents and see which one of you can be the leader once time runs out. Palatucci did say to me, however, that the final version of the app will incorporate vibration feedback to make it easier to feel your way through the controls, or at least get a better sense of when you've been hit or maimed.Īs for the new gameplay modes, well, they're pretty self-explanatory. Anki tells me that there is some audio feedback and players do get used to this over time, but I couldn't help but feel that physical controls would make it so much better. The problem, of course, is using a touch screen for the controls - I had to look at the app to make sure I was doing the right thing. I found it a little tricky trying to split my attention between the app and the race track, especially as I was waiting to make sure I was close enough to the rival vehicles before deploying my flame thrower weapon. That said, I didn't think the gameplay was perfect. Everyone in the room laughed, and despite myself I found myself having a pretty good time. At one point, I triggered a power boost as I was driving my little Thermo car around a corner, causing it spin out and jump off the track. I found myself thinking, "Oh no way am I letting this asshole AI beat me" as I raced against it. It all adds to excitement as I was playing the game - these were no longer just race cars they were living, breathing characters. Speeding up the cars will trigger the sound of an engine revving background music will get increasingly dramatic as the race ends and the AI Commanders actually yell and whoop at you as they pass you by. Also, as we mentioned, the app has been completely overhauled to mimic a video game experience. As the cars drive around the course, you can actually see the track being drawn on the app in real time. After you've assembled your custom race track from the modular pieces, you'll have to place the cars on the course in order for them to "learn" the circuit. There are a few distinct changes from the original Drive, however. Everything else is handled by the car's robotic smarts. ![]() The corresponding app essentially lets you controls its speed, a bit of the steering (whether it veers left or right) and the firing of weapons. As before, all you have to do to "drive" the cars is simply to put the Bluetooth-paired vehicles on the track and it'll drive on its own. In Tournament mode, the commanders get progressively difficult after each challenge, just like a regular video game.Īs for the game itself, well, much of the Overdrive gameplay is really unchanged from the original Anki Drive. Indeed, Palatucci tells me the company even hired voice actors for each of them, and they each have their own individual storylines. The characters all have different voices and personalities, which come through in the course of gameplay. You're then supposed to challenge and defeat them in order to progress through the game. It's why the company introduced the idea of AI Commanders last year, which are essentially in-game characters that you assign to an opposing vehicle.
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