Things Get Scary this Holiday Season with Monster 500 – Review

Holiday shopping for little boys can be rough, even more so when you have a pair of them under the same roof. You see, we aren’t entirely big on toys and overindulgence. Surely we enjoy, both, giving and receiving gifts during the holidays especially where the good ol’ Mr. Claus is concerned but, really, there are only so many toys that a child can have. In our house, having two children close in age and with many of the same interests often means that any single item will be enjoyed doubly. Our younger child kind of grows into his big brother’s toys as time goes on and while it has made them appreciate new items that much more, it has actually made me a bit pickier when it comes to shopping. Toy shopping now, more so during the holiday season, has turned into a lengthy thought process as opposed to simply grabbing the hottest toy from the nearest store shelf. And, in all honesty, I am quite thankful for that. Now, of course, when the final decision ends up coinciding with the “it” toy of the season, it’s a win-win all around.

That toy, this year, is none other than Monster 500.

When I was first introduced to the Monster 500 product line, I will admit that my initial thought was certainly not winter holiday related. To me, “monster” goes hand-in-hand with Halloween. However, with that being said, the toys themselves quickly changed my mind.

Monster 500 is a unique line of highly collectible, wonderfully fiendish monster characters driving small and large vehicles, plus two fabulously freaky play sets. The characters marry a child’s love of cars with the ghoulish and gross – the perfect combo! Each vehicle aligns with the Monster 500 app, which allows fans to bring their favorite monster characters to life in an action-packed racing game.

In short, Monster 500 is an amazing mashup of my boys’ favorite things!

Toy cars – check!

Monsters – check!

Interactive play – check!

Unlimited fun – a BIG check!

My kids absolutely love just about anything that comes on a set of wheels. We actually have an entire party bucket full of diecast vehicles from, both, their own collections as well as that of Daddy’s hand-me-downs. While there are certainly a great number of fantastic and interesting cars and trucks among the bunch, none of them truly stand out from the crowd. A car is a car is a car and that’s about it. With Monster 500, however, it is a whole new game and quite literally so.

Just take a look!

Recently, I had the opportunity to try out some of the Monster 500 goodies first hand and I cannot even begin to tell you how much fun they are. This collection is so much more than just another toy car. Here is a quick rundown of the sampling that we got to play with:

• Monster 500 Toxic Terror Play Set
• Monster 500 Graveyard Gauntlet Track Set
• Monster 500 Small Vehicle – Lead Food and Drac Attack
• Monster 500 Large Vehicle – Zoom Zombie

 

For starters, how ridiculously and horrifically adorable are these characters?! Really! They’re quite the lookers, eh? Of the three, I think that Lead Food is probably my favorite from the bunch. He’s kind of like that ape that went bonkers and escaped from the zoo… only to subsequently steal a motorcycle and come barreling into your living room.

With a plethora of character option to choose from – fourteen to be exact – the amounts of play and fun that you can have is seemingly limitless. There are a total of ten different characters within the small vehicle lineup, four of which are also featured within the large vehicle collection. And – bonus! – the larger vehicles also come complete with fun sounds and lights! While the kids love the cars and characters themselves, I get a kick out of their names! What do you think?

1. Zoom Zombie
2. Lead Foot
3. Flattop Frank
4. Evil Clownevil
5. Crocpot
6. Drac Attack
7. Captain Heinous (from Uranus)
8. Jerkyl & Mr. Ride
9. Turbo Chainsaw Maverick
10. Werewolf Blitzer

 

Of course, with my own little ones, bigger always seems to be better so they were both ecstatic over the single large vehicle that we received. Thankfully, during the season of giving, our oldest (having claimed the large vehicle as his own) offered up the remaining two small vehicles to his brother. After all, one large character versus two smaller characters is an even trade off, right? I suppose we’ll just have to stock up on the full collection!

Once the characters and vehicles are divvied up, the kiddos will surely need a good place to play. With the pet in our house, toy vehicles flying across the floor is often followed by a dog… or a cat… or both. Nine times out of ten, it doesn’t end pretty. Thankfully, that is where the Monster 500 play sets come in.

Get your creepy hands on the ultimate way to race Monster 500 cars! Take on toxic thrills and spills with the Toxic Terror Trap and race into the ultimate test of skull with the Graveyard Gauntlet.

The team over at Monster 500 was kind enough to send along samples of both play sets and, to put it simply, we absolutely love them! They actually remind me of some sort of creepy carnival rollercoaster ride. And, of course, the kids picked up on that. The Toxic Terror Trap takes the cake in our house. Admit it, you know you want to play with this!

Each play set is amazingly awesome in its own right but, together, they are ghoulish greatness!

As if all of that weren’t enough fun, it gets even better! With many kids these days being so adamant about and accustomed to all things technology related, Monster 500 took notice of that and incorporated virtual play into their collection.

 

Each play set comes complete with one Monster 500 vehicle and every vehicle contains a coinciding trading card. Each of these trading cards houses a unique code that, when entered into the Monster 500 Racing App, will unlock a monster car within the game.

 

Join the battle for Monster 500 supremacy in this frighteningly fast racing app. Fight other monsters as you navigate the death-defying tracks to the finish. Pick up weapons, avoid toxic spills, and other creepy obstacles as you race.

Best of all, the Monster 500 Racing App is completely free! Let me say that again… it is FREE!

One thing that has always been an issue with the kids favorite toys in years passed has been the inability to take them places. As much fun as it would be to pack up all of the kids’ most loved toys and take them on the road every time we head out to a restaurant, for a long car trip, or even just to Grandmom’s house, it is not practical. With Monster 500, however, you can do exactly that. The play sets are perfect for your at-home play, the vehicles themselves can come and go when appropriate, and the app can truly go anywhere! What’s not to love?!

Monster 500 has seriously covered all of the bases and then some. Having been able to enjoy our very own piece of the collection for a short time now and seeing how much the kids really do enjoy all of the products, I am already planning on gifting it to many this holiday season. How many of you think that you will be doing the same?

Buy:
You can purchase Monster 500 toys, both, online and in-stores nationwide. The Small Vehicles are available in ten character choices and sold in, both, single and 3-pack options and priced at $4.99 and $14.99 respectively. The bigger Large Vehicles are available in four great character options and are also priced at $14.99. The Graveyard Gauntlet Track Set can be purchased for $19.99 and, last but not least, the Toxic Terror Trap Play Set rounds out the bunch at $34.99.

Not featured here but also available from Monster 500 are the Diecast Chaser Cars and the Electronic Cars. Learn more about each of these products on the Monster 500 website.

Connect:
Be sure to keep up with the Monster 500 brand by following along on social media via their Facebook and Twitter accounts. There, you can stay up to date on all of the latest news, new product releases, sale prices, special offers, and so much more!

Also, be sure to look into downloading the Monster 500 Racing App. This free app is available for iOS and Android devices.

My family and I absolutely love the crazy, ghoulish fun that is Monster 500 and I certainly hope that you, too, can join us in that fun this holiday season.

 

 

*Randi received the above products at no cost and monetary compensation in exchange for this post. All opinions stated here are hers alone.