I was recently sent an Animal Planet Remote Control Spider to use with Animal Planet’s new Real Scary Spiders augmented reality app. This creepy and cool addition to Animal Planet’s digital portfolio enables users to interact with a pet spider via an app to bring their spider to life through a unique augmented reality experience.

I thought it would only be fitting to have my nine year old son help me review this product combination. He was thrilled when the box with the giant tarantula in it arrived. It is pretty lifelike to say the least. I don’t know what’s worse, looking at the spider or waiting for my son to sneak up on me with it!

We downloaded the app online and the set up and game was fairly easy for him to figure out. He sailed through each level and when he got to Level 5, we were able to incorporate his remote control spider into the game. This is the level at which the spider owner can ‘handle’ their spiders in the real world by directing their device at a trigger object to bring the spider to life. He named his spider Ricky and we were able to have Ricky appear in the game and then in real life situations in our home through the augmented reality application. My son loved it and while we had a few hiccups along the way with getting the right kind of background for the reality application, we figured it out and it was smooth sailing from there. He was pretty self-sufficient throughout the play process and was able to figure everything else out on his own.

My son really enjoyed playing the game and said it was “pretty cool” and thought it was awesome that he could feed his spider and make it “come to life” and do tricks. You can see the company’s preview video here on how the creature can actually be introduced into your home or other setting of your choosing. We had ours crawling on a step from our patio into our living room and it was definitely very realistic to watch on the iPad screen. The spider is also just as fun to play with standalone too. The remote control is easy to use and the spider even has web/string that shoots out—our dog was NOT a fan of this feature for sure.

The app can be downloaded for free at realscaryspiders and is available for both iOS and Android platforms. The Animal Planet Web Blasting Tarantula is available exclusively at Toys“R”Us stores nationwide and is available for $24.99, which is a really good buy when you factor in the free application. What I also liked about this toy is that my son is learning about different kinds of spiders through the application. Any game that offers a bit of education and keeps my son interested, entertained and engaged is a win-win for me. Overall, my little 9 year old creature loved his little creature, Ricky and we loved seeing him have a good time exploring the world of creepy, crawly spiders

Disclaimer: Kristine has personally reviewed the product listed above. She has not received any monetary compensation for her review but did receive a free product to try out so she could evaluate and use it for her review. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ. Please read our official rules for giveaways before entering. Two Classy Chics is not responsible for shipment of this product.