It is time to awaken your inner Jedi with this new multiplayer mode on Star Wars: Jedi Challenges Augmented Reality game by Lenovo! This is the closest thing you can get to be a true Jedi!
Being the biggest Star Wars fan, I almost couldn’t contain my happiness last Friday, May 4th! I just wanted to scream out about this awesome Star Wars: Jedi Challenges AR gadget that will appeal to all Star Wars fans! We were super excited and will treasure the look on my son’s face when he first saw it!
But it is not all good news as we only have one compatible phone at the moment (only select Android and iOS devices, additional devices will be added soon)! It means we can only battle alone even though we have been given two sets! Not to worry! Happily, we are going to invite friends over soon!
Now, let talks about this gadget! It comes in a very well presented box! The first layer of the box contains the lightsaber controller! I love the lightsaber! It has authentic detail, is lightweight (important for battling) and has a high-quality finish. The soft silicon materials that wrap around the end of the lightsaber is a nice touch too. It needs to be charged before use. I didn’t really note how long does it takes to charge but I would presume it takes about an hour or so, or until the red light goes off. There is an on/off button on the base and it has two buttons: Activation Matrix and Use Power. The lightsaber itself does not have any sound but it does vibrate to feel the attack force feedback.
The bottom layer of the box contains the Lenovo Mirage AR headset, Tracking beacon, 3 different cables, 2 AA batteries, 5V/1A wall-charger & power cable and quick start guide.
Before I go into any great details on the headset, let me tell you about the tracking beacon. This small beacon ensures accurate tracking of your location while expanding and filling in the environment around you with an immersive augmented reality universe. It requires 2 AA batteries which are included in the set. On the base, there is a switch to turn it off and to select for one or two players.
There are three different cables included: Lightning to Micro-USB cable, USB-C to Micro-USB cable and Micro-USB to Micro-USB cable. This short cable is for you to connect your phone to the headset.
The next innovative gadget is the Lenovo Mirage AR headset which weighs about 477g. I can’t fault this stunning-looking headset at all! It is well made, comfortable and has three point straps for a secure fit and support. There are dual motion tracking cameras for accurate and it is ergonomically designed for maximum game immersion. The three buttons on the right side of the headset are for Select, Cancel and Menu. The left side of the headset contains the slot for the phone. The headset also needs to be charged before use. Again, I am not certain about the charging time but once the red light is off, it is fully charged.
We all (Mr K, Mr C and myself) had a go at this game and the adjustable headset fits us all comfortably. It is well padded on the forehead and cheek areas. I feel it is very secure and durable even in the heat of the action. The fiddliest part though is with our iPhone! During the first few times we played it, each time we somehow managed to hit the phone’s on/off button as we were slotting it into the headset. It was quite frustrating that we had to remove it again to cancel the action. Learning from our error, we now insert it more slowly and carefully and we’ve not had a problem since.
In our video, I am giving you the overview of the items, clips of Mr C playing and what we think about it.
So what’s our verdict? We would recommend it to all Star Wars fans. We all enjoy playing with this and it has longevity because it has been implemented really well. During play, it hasn’t given us any discomfort. We did get quite tired after just two short battles so it’s just as well the lightsaber is lightweight. There are so many battles to unlock in this game which should keep us going for a while!
We find it easier to play in a shaded or slightly dark room as it is easier to see the definition of the AR images. We tried to play in our conservatory but with the May bank holiday sunshine, it was difficult to see.
Also for a more immersive experience, I recommend you Bluetooth your phone to a speaker! It gives you the best quality battles!
If you are excited as we are, then get this gadget now and download the free app via Google Play or App Store. To find out more, please visit www.jedichallenges.com. You can buy it from John Lewis, Game, Argos, Curry & PC world and Amazon.
Disclosure: We received the samples for the purposes of writing this review, however, all thoughts and opinions remain our own.