Vehicle Reviews

Serves me right for buying a game on the day I first hear about it! As a long-time PSX owner, I had YET to become acquainted with BugRiders until recently, and it was via the hard way that I discovered why gamers hardly ever talk about this title: because either they have never heard of it or they refuse to admit that they have played---and liked---this highly aggravating (and pun-evoking) game. To begin with, the basic premise is so far-fetched that it makes the average soap opera believable. Basically, what you're SUPPOSED to be doing is racing bug-back against twelve other competitors---five from the Royal Family and seven other chosen champions from different walks of life (e.g., a priestess, a farmer, a gypsy, and even an undead murderer/court jester)---plus four unnamed "drone" racers in competition for the right to rule the land of Entymion and replace the dying Emperor Leptus. Instead, however, what you're really doing is smacking an oversized insect (or, in Xexyck's case, a mutated flying spider) into near-submission with a riding crop, driving the poor vermin head-first into upcoming terrain, having other racers literally exterminate you with such dramatically named weapons as the "Royal Thunder" and the "Inferno of the Gods," skirting besides the very portals that you're supposed to go THROUGH rather than AROUND, and ultimately ranking last in this tiring "race for the crown." Not only that, but with ugly and distorted graphics (bugs, riders, and scenery alike), sound effects that are more bothersome than the common housefly, and clumsy controls that are very difficult to become accustomed to, it's no wonder BugRiders is one of the least-discussed titles in PlayStation history. Oh, well...at least gamers can play the music (the only thing the game has going for it) straight off the CD, otherwise I would have "buzzed" back to the game store for a full refund.

If you're looking for a decent racing game for the Sony PSX, look elsewhere, because this little bloodsucker's only going to "bug" you.

If you like pain in your hands, this game is for you. It's kind of fun in two player. Your ride and crop a bug through a circuit race and use weapons on your opponents. (not a new idea) I bought it for fifteen bucks and was happy with it. I did end up trading it in though, so it couldn't be that great. All of the high stress whacking your bug for more speed ends up causing a fair amount of pain and i therefor couldn't play it long enough to get good at it.

Sometimes I wonder if toy designers are more concerned with how a toy appeals in the store than whether kids like it or not. My son received this as a gift at 9 months. He played with the ark for about a day and has not bothered with it much since. The blocks, which looked pretty interesting to me, were not any better. The corners are rounded so they don't stack well and are always falling down. The fish block looks neat but it is much heavier than the other blocks and throws off the balance of the ark. I put it away thinking that he might be more interested in it when he was older, but he is now 18 months and still not interested. The ark constantly falls over because the base is so narrow, which defeats the whole purpose of the rocking feature. I was pretty disappointed in the whole thing, blocks and all.

This toy does absolutely nothing! And as far as the "engaging mirror" on the top of the ark, anytime my son tries to look in it, he gets poked in the eye w/the purple bird thing on the top. The attachment thing on the top truly is a hazard in my opinion & the only good thing about this toy was the blocks. We will probably end up just getting rid of the ark & keeping the blocks. (the fish one really IS cool though)

Although the fisher price blocks in this series (and associated toys) have been a major hit with our 12 month old son, this toy has been the biggest disappointment in the series. As other reviewers have states, it tips over easily, is difficult to balance, and is just plain boring! Our son has never given it a moment of his time. In our opinion, this combination set is only worth it for the fish-in-water block, which is the most interesting one in the whole series and can't be bought in any other set! I would skip this set, and try one of the other ones (the truck set has been a hit in our household).

My son, (almost 3 and big) has a hard time using the toy although he was very excited about it. The arms are stiff and it is impossible for him to turn the crane and to drop the stuff elsewhere. His feet do not reach the ground and there is no other way to turn!!! I need to sit next him, put things in the grabber and then push him around.

The crane stopped working after two weeks. We use it in our sandbox. Apparently the crane cannot cope with the sand that crept inside. We can no longer grab things. Conclusion the design is not very good and the quality is very poor

This product is impossible for a child to use... The arm barely moves... It moves straight down and maybe has a three inch in and outward moving area... Not letf to right... Sure the product pivots, but what's the point of it pivoting if the child can't put his feet on the ground to pivot... It's durable because your child won't use it...

My grandson received this toy this year for Christmas. The day after Christmas (today) he came downstairs crying (he's two) and saying "Burn, Burn!". The handle of this trouble light was so hot it could not be held even by an adult! There must have been a problem with the on/off switch or something. My son took it apart and it had gotten so hot the batteries were melting inside and needed to be pried out. Battery acid was all over it. Even the outside seam of the plastic handle was turned a little brown.
We could even hear it crackling and sizzling. They will go to the store where they bought it tomorrow. But please if you have this toy be careful. Who knows if this is a fluke defect or a batch defect. My grandson's hand was burned which is bad enough but it could have been their home!

My son received this toy as a birthday present. It was broken before the guests left the party.

This item suffers from poor design - the arms that hold the yellow plastic "scoop" are EXTREMELY weak, and whenever any pressure is applied to the scoop, or if it is grabbed by the handle, it falls off (the clips that attach the scoop to the arm rails do not hold very well). The only way I see to remedy this would be to tape some metal rails on the inside of the arms to shore them up, and somehow permanently attach the scoop to the arms. My 3 year-old used the loader for all of 5 minutes at the beach, and was unable to move/scoop a small pile of sand. Very disappointing! I had originally looked for the Little Tikes model at our local TRU, but they do not appear to carry that item anymore (you can find it online at Amazon, however). Stick with Little Tikes, or the Brio Plasto model if you can find it.

Got one of these for my son's birthday and the Popper part didn't work. We returned it for another one and it had the same problem. We read and re-read the instructions thinking we couldn't possibly have gotten two bad Popper's in a row. But after many many many attempts to get it to work we gave up and returned it for something else. Not Worth A Poop Vehicle.