I was amazed by the amount of excitement my sons portrayed when they received their RC Terra-Sect remote controlled alien car, courtesy of Drone Force. What I wasn’t expecting was a truly unique and versatile vehicle that not only looked cool, but also controlled fairly well and provided a worthwhile escape from video gaming. While it might not be on the high-end of remote controlled vehicles, there is still plenty of fun to be had.
Terra-Sect can best be described as a relentless rolling reptile, meaning its main gimmick is that with the press of a button you can roll the vehicle into a ball. It’s only one button press and each time it will either roll up or extend straight. The neat thing is that while you’re accelerating the vehicle, you can roll it up into a ball at anytime and this will allow it to roll for a short period of time. Another great advantage is that the Terra-Sect rarely gets stuck on its back or side, as the curling motion will flip itself over. Timing your rolling with optimal speed will allow for a pretty cool rolling attack that made for some awesome stunts.
Three AAA Alkaline batteries needed in order for the Terra-Sect to run and ran for upwards of 30 minutes at a time before dying. There is a 2.4 GHZ remote control packaged that has an off and on switch, two thumbsticks with the left controlling the acceleration/deceleration and right controlling the turning, and a roll trigger button. While the lack of inputs led to leads confusion, the button layout never felt comfortable, especially the rolling trigger located on the top left. Luckily, my kids did not care and picked up on the control scheme rather quickly.
Speed-wise, the Terra-Sect was able to get up to 7 miles per hour, but that was on a smooth surface. It can run across light carpet and over uneven surfaces, but this was not meant to be an all terrain type of vehicle. It can run outside on concrete, but I found it was more fun driving through the house. There was no damage to report on, even after my kids had the bright idea to drive/roll it down the stairs and it still ran without a hitch. The range is also impressive, topping out at 150 feet on an adequate battery life.
My main positive was that the Terra-Sect just looked very cool and immediately appealing to a younger audience. The alien-like reptile aesthetic really made the design pop and I could see it selling on looks alone, especially when the eyes would light up red while speeding along. The wheels were sturdy and the overall design did not feel cheap, with an intuitive rolling motion never becoming hung up or breaking. I will say, it did run loud and made an annoying clipping sound when rolled or extended to end ranges.
Overall, the RC Terra-Sect is a cool remote controlled toy that will immediately appeal to the younger audience looking for something unique. This would be a great gift for anyone who loves remote controlled cars. It held up well, with simple controls that should work just fine for anyone 7 or older. While it remains to be seen how the rolling gimmick will keep my kids occupied longer, there is no doubt this is a quality remote controlled device.