Giga Friends

R2D2, Yoda
Product Review

One of our young readers, a 5th grader going by Cyberkid, sent us a great product review of the Giga Friends pets. Cyberkid tested R2D2 and Yoda. We are posting the review below. A big thanks to Cyberkid for sharing this review with us!

Don't forget to also check out our Giga Friends Page and our Giga Pets Page.

Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 
From: CyberKid
To: Gary Polson 
Subject: Re: Virtual Pets

The R2-D2 and Yoda Star Wars Giga Friends operate very similar to Giga
Pets. The R2-D2 pet is cool. Instead of feeding, you have to recharge it
when its power level drops after doing the tasks you assign it to do. My
favorite function is the Input function. It lets you actually program the
Giga Friend to do specific tasks such as use its holographic projector, use
its computer link, and use his fire extinguisher. While he is doing those
tasks, he might run into a Stormtrooper, Princess Leia, a power port, or a
computer socket. If the program you gave him allows for him to use the
right tool, he will do so. To drive off a Stormtrooper, he must use his
welder. To make Princess Leia happy, he uses his holographic projector. To
get past a power port, he can use his power link, saving you a recharge,
and to get through a door, he plugs into the door's computer socket with
his computer link. If he does not have the right tool, he just passes it
and might get a restraining bolt (disipline). He another funtion is Repair.
If your R2 unit's repair level gets too low, you must tinker with him. You
can give him memory upgrades and oil baths also. To shut him down, just use
the power-down function (sleep.) The more memory upgrades you give your
unit, the more commands it can hold in the Input function.

The Yoda pet is quite interesting. For food, you can give him soup or food
sticks. Instead of you playing with him, he trains  you in the ways of the
Jedi. You can train in lifting things with your mind, using the Force to
guess, or train yourself in reflexes. To lift things, you must quickly
press the left and right buttons. The higher you get the rock, the happier
Yoda will be. For reflexes, you look at shapes in a sequence. As soon as
Yoda beeps, you must press enter. The faster you do so, the happier Yoda
will be. For the guessing game, you look at 2 shapes. 1 is hidden. You
scroll through the different shapes until you find the one you want to
guess. The hidden shape is uncovered. If it matches, Yoda will be happy. If
it does not, he is sad. To clean, you can sweep out his hut. You can also
choose the question function, and he will give you wise answers. You can
also put him to sleep. I would give the R2-D2 and Yoda Giga Friends a 10.

Yoda

R2D2

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