Defending a town from a giant, destructive gorilla sounds like something out a blockbuster action movie, but this holiday season it can happen right in your living room. You don’t need special effects or movie stars, just one of the season’s hottest and most innovative toys.
Hasbro’s Kre-O CityVille Invasion Skyscraper Mayhem Construction Set brings the popular CityVille phone app to life and allows kids to take control and save a city from the evil Dr. Mayhem. First, they must follow clear instructions to use the 431 pieces to construct the cityscape, plus helicopter and other accessories, including an alien-hunting vehicle. The pieces are detailed and brightly colored and make for an enjoyable building process.
After the set is assembled, it’s time for your kids’ imaginations to soar. The set comes with eight CityVille characters, including a surprise player. The bonus character could be good or evil, so choice your package wisely! Kids can use the townspeople to defend against Dr. Mayhem’s team of evil cronies, or manipulate the characters however they please. The possibilities are endless!
What sets the CityVille Invasion game apart from other toys is its advanced technology—with just a few batteries, you can add sound and vibration to your city as you save it from evil forces. The added features make the whole thing seem more dire and believable and add to the dramatic feel of the toy. The set even comes with five special pieces—attach your characters to these and watch as they move themselves around the set. Kids can move and direct the pieces, but they tend to just rove around like a remote control car without a driver—it’s a little unpredictable, but it adds to the fun of the toy.
The construction set also connects with a free application, available for iOS and Android devices. Kids can play along with the both virtual and physical set to save the city again and again. Although the app itself is free, there are lots of opportunities to purchase bonus features, so parents should prepare themselves (and their kids) accordingly.
What I love most about the CityVille Invasion Skyscraper Mayhem set is that it can outlast the competition. Kids are done with most building sets after they build them once and play with them a few times. The added features of sound, motion, and the phone app make CityVille something that kids will want to play with again and again—they can really let their imagination go wild and have a different scenario each time they play. The theme of a giant banana-eating monkey is a little realistic and a little kooky, which definitely appeals to kids.
The pieces are great quality and have lots of fun details. The recommended age range is 7-14, which is quite a large range, but I’ve seen older and younger children enjoying it as well. It is an interactive toy and allows older kids of all ages a chance to play and work together to defend the city.
If you want to give your kids a chance to save the world, or at least a city, Kre-O CityVille Invasion Skyscraper Mayhem Construction Set is a great choice this holiday season!