Spike the Ultra Dinosaur

Spike the
Ultra Dinosaur

The pre-historic world comes roaring to life with the Spike the Ultra Dinosaur, an Imaginext toy from Fisher-Price. Flashing lights, blinking eyes, and grunting dino speak make this big, green remote-control dinosaur a fun companion for adventurous play. Rugged and curious, Spike has a quirky personality that will draw children ages three through 10 into an exciting world of their own imagining.

This Brontosaurus styled dinosaur toy is controlled by a wireless remote. The dinosaur can walk forward, turn left and right, open its mouth, blink its eyes, stand up on its hind legs, and even throw a boulder.

The neck on the dinosaur will rotate around similar to the neck on the Mega T-Rex, and when the dinosaur stands up, spikes down its back will light up.

Dinosaur sound effects and motions bring life-like movement.

This awesome oversized, plastic dinosaur stands 27 inches tall, with textured green skin, a yellow underbelly, gnarly teeth, and plenty of serious spines--enough to make any young dino-enthusiast swoon.

As soon as you turn him on, spikes on this long-necked dinosaur's back and tail light up, and he starts blinking his eyes. Big, kid-friendly buttons on the durable remote control let you make Spike walk forward, turn left or right, and swing his neck around. At first he can be a little tricky to maneuver, but with just a few moments of practice, he becomes incredibly easy to control.

Holding down any one of the four middle buttons unleashes a new action. Pick between having him stand on his hind legs, swinging his neck around while unleashing a huge roar, or hanging his head low. Another button controls the motion of his jaw. Practice combining movements to snatch up the plastic boulders off the ground or toss them in the air (a skill we never perfected). There's even a mystery button that lets Spike pick any motion he wants to perform. Press it again and again to get a sense of his playful nature. Two modes let you pick between having continuous background music accompany play or just hearing occasional growls, snorts, and roars.

The well-crafted Spike was still going strong, even after our vigorous testing. We crashed him into table legs trying to make him crawl over obstacles that were just too high, and even though he might not have been happy about the way we dropped the remote control repeatedly, he kept right on doing all those dinosaur things that make him a fun addition to any family. While this ultra dinosaur held up well in the face of vigorous use, he could succumb to the rough reality of enthusiastic play and be damaged by children sitting on him or pulling apart his otherwise sturdy joints.

Spike's large size makes him a great outdoor playmate, but be sure to warn kids that, since he is battery-operated, he shouldn't play in streams or jump in puddles. Cooperative kids will love putting their heads together to think up new places for their friend dinosaur to explore. The height and length that make Spike so much fun may make it hard for smaller children to carry him around, especially if they are headed to a far off relative's house. While this dinosaur is recommended as a companion for children three through 10, even adults are likely to be charmed by Spike's fun-loving personality.