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Customers value the quality and sturdy build of the Mass Effect: Andromeda Collector's Edition Remote Control Nomad ND1, as well as the ease of control through a smartphone app. The camera feature is also appreciated for adding extra fun. However, some customers have experienced issues with the control app, citing occasional disconnections and awkwardness.
I will start with saying that my opinion is going to be somewhat bias. I am a die-hard Mass Effect fan. I would probably buy a dirty toilet bowl if it came from the Bioware studio building and would love it as if it were my child. However, I can certainly say that the Nomad Remote Control vehicle is far better than a Bioware toilet, and the app is usable at the very least. I had no issues the very first time syncing the car up with the app (the Nomad puts out a wi-fi signal, and you connect your device to that wi-fi and then you open the app and push the "connect" button and TA-DA! The car is ready to be controlled, with extra features on the top of the screen (light controls, camera video/picture controls). The brake lights light up when the car is charging, and they turn off when they are done charging. This car has some good weight to it as well and is made out of some very durable, semi-glossy plastic, so it does not feel cheap or flimsy at all. The car is very clean and has enough detail to match up well to the in-game version of the Nomad. Not only do the front wheels turn for steering, but the 2nd rear axle (yes, there are two sets of rear axles) also turn the wheels in the opposite direction for much better steering support I will say that the vehicle does get around a little faster than I expected. It's also a little bit bigger than I expected too, but then again, I was comparing the 1:18 scale to model cars you can buy at a 1:18 scale, and the Nomad is certainly a larger vehicle than a typical car (even though I keep referring to the Nomad as a "car" in this review). The steel case is a plane-white on the entire outside cover, but if you open it, you will get a simple picture of the Nomad racing across what looks like a desert terrain. The box the entire items come in is very clean and certainly has an upper-end feel to it. On a side note, the reading material included with this item suggests that this item is not really meant for children; it points out that this vehicle is only intended for casual indoor use and it also suggests that you should avoid driving it through water, ice, dirt, sand, or mud and also does not recommend any jumps with the vehicle either. I feel that since the majority of buyers will be adults, these suggestions will probably be within your intended realm of usage anyway. Overall, I feel this is a beautiful addition to anyone's collection and also has a little fun built into it as well with the remote control features. I think the $200 price is a little steep, but then again, Gears of War 4 collector's edition was $250: sure, it came with the game disc, but it also came with a stationary statue that did nothing other than look good. So on the flip side, this Nomad not only looks GREAT, but also has some novel features.
Posted by Humanity
This thing is classy, as it should be for $200. But really, appearance-wise, it's an almost perfect replica of the basic Nomad in-game, it's well sized to go with the Pop figures, and it looks absolutely cool sitting on a shelf xD. RC wise, it's even more amazing! The battery has lasted long enough that I've played around with the car two different times for at least 20 or 30 minutes each and it still has a charge. The app works like a charm, with very little delay (there *is* a delay, but it's like half a second, literally). The app lets you go forward/backwards and left/right with two different circles, like a joystick but on your phone, and it gives you incredible control over the speed/direction it goes. The thing stops almost immediately, which makes some cool spinning maneuvers possible haha. It goes pretty fast for such a tiny car, and even though it warns against using it in rough terrain (or outside at all), I ran it through my front yard the day I got it (with the video on!) and it ran like a dream. No scratches on it, but a ton of pollen =/. The app lets you turn on the top lights and the headlights, separately, which is cool. When you turn the camera on, it shows what the car is seeing behind the movement controls, which is pretty cool. The camera is pretty low quality, but it produces good enough videos for viewing on a phone. It saves them to a weird place on my phone (I have to dig for the files), and transporting them to the computer is all but impossible unless you edit them on the phone and can change the file type somehow. I don't understand that, it might be my phone. The pictures save exactly where they should, and are of decent quality, maybe 480p(maybe), but really the camera option is just icing on the cake so idc if the pictures are terrible haha. The only teeny tiny issue I have with it is that the sound, like a lot of RC things out there, comes not from the car itself but from the app. Mind you, the app is pretty cool. It has Mass Effect background music, makes happy little noises when you flick on the headlights or turn off the camera or accelerate the Nomad, but it'd be cooler if it was coming from the car itself. Ah well, the sound is pretty amazing, guys xD. I pop the app up occasionally just for the music haha. Oh I almost forgot!! How it connects is pretty weird, but not terrible. You turn on the Nomad, it creates it's own WiFi, and then you connect to the WiFi. Meaning, you have to disconnect from whatever WiFi you are already connected to in order to control the car. Which can be a wee bit annoying if you rely heavily upon WiFi connection, but eh. I do have to also mention the box! Holy SAM the box is gorgeous. It's like a shiny outer box, then you pull another box out that is covered in a Tempest cardboard case that slides off, then you open another box ring-box style and there is the Nomad in all it's glory, surrounded by molded foam. Honestly, the box is just as pretty as the Nomad. And it came with a pretty cool steelbook thingy but I have the PC version so I just displayed it haha. All in all, I adore this thing. It's great for pictures and boring weekday afternoons xD.
Posted by Apples
This is a pretty fun RC car. The app gives you control over several of the cars different functions. I really like the camera feature. One of the best things is the built in rechargeable battery. No more runs to the store for batteries. Battery life and recharge times are as expected. It's a little pricey but it has a lot of cool things other RC cars don't generally have. i recommend picking it up.
Posted by a6russe