You know what? Fun toys are fun! As we rumble toward the holidays, I am reminded of this more and more. My daughter will be two soon and it is making for a house where I am not the only person who thinks quite a lot about toys. In years past, it has been far too easy for me to forget about any and all toys that are not action figures, and while those are my true love, sometimes there comes a toy that is just too much fun to pass up. Well, the new Cannon Commando, a part of the Vehicles of Mass Destruction line by Skyrocket, is one such toy, and let me tell you, I have been reliving my 8-year-old self ever since opening this baby. Trust me, you know someone that will jump with joy if they find this under the tree this year.
The concept is easy enough, and if you are like me, you will start salivating just thinking about it. In essence, the Cannon Commando is a cross between a remote control tank and a high powered NERF gun. Oh, you already want one? See how easy that was? As much fun as I am having with this thing already, I keep thinking back to when I was a kid and how I would use such power, such range, and such ammunition. Holy crap, can I see Skeletor riding this thing right to Castle Grayskull and bombing the entire fortress to rubble with rapid-fire awesomeness. He would not even have to get his bony hands dirty either because when you have rockets that can shoot up to 50 feet, you can stand back and enjoy your foam dart dominance.
Yeah, that’s right, I said 50 feet. And you know what? I meant it. Yeah, I did not really believe it either when I read that about this baby’s ability to do it, as boasted on the package. However, in an age of watered-down toys that can’t even damage a wet paper towel, this baby is the real deal. I mean, I remember back when He-Man’s Battle Ram could send projectiles sailing across the room and the Ninja Turtles’ Pizza Thrower would launch plastic pies all the way into the next yard, but by and large, most toys don’t shoot anything anymore and when they do, dandelions don’t even fear losing their seeds in a direct hit. So, needless to say, this is delightfully refreshing in an almost throwback kind of way.
The Cannon Commando is remote controlled and it moves with two directional sticks on the control itself. If you have played any video in the past several years that requires you to drive a car in-game, you will get the hang of the controls in no time flat with this. It is not built for speed, but the treads do make it nice and stable, so if there is rugged terrain between you and the Barbie Dream House you are going bring down, have no worries, this should be able to navigate the landscape with no issue. It is HEAVY so that actually helps to give it a low center of gravity to help it stay on course.
The darts are controlled from the remote as well. All you have to do is “arm” it by flipping the switch in the middle of the pad and then send out the darts rapid-fire with the trigger at the top of the remote. The darts launch Gatling-style with up to 16 shots in a row. That sounds like a lot, and it is, but they can go really fast if you want to go on a tear. It is a lot of fun, and while there is no chance of these darts hurting anyone, pets and small children make way because they know (by instinct, probably) what they are in for with this baby. I inadvertently took out an entire shelf of action figures in my toy room when I was testing this out for the first time — and I was in a different room. You better believe it, baby.
The cannon can also be adjusted to three positions so you can shoot straight-on for the best accuracy, mid-angle for longer distances, or full-on assault arc to send the darts to that 50-foot distance. The tips of the darts are slightly weighted so they stay on course remarkably well and still have knockdown power, even after being lofted through the air. I am seriously considering taking all of my action figures outside and sending everyone from Superman to Frodo back to the stone age with this thing. It really is a ton of fun.
There are three channels the RC function can operate in, so if you have a couple of friends, they can come over and play too. I can only imagine what a three-way war would be like this thing, but it is not possible for it to not be a complete blast. At any rate, I have grand designs to wake my wife up in the most rapid-fire dart shooting way possible on some Saturday morning — if I can ever get up before her. That is a joke, kids — don’t shoot the darts at other people. Even your parents and certainly not your four-legged friends.
My hat’s off to the Cannon Commando and all of its dart-shooting, remote-controlled goodness. I have been sold on getting a pair of these for a couple of little cousins this year, and I know they will have a blast. I strongly recommend it and you can pick it up at your local Toys R Us or at the Amazon link below. Thanks for checking this out!
*This sample was provided by Skyrocket
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