Hot Wheels seems to have learned a lesson after its unfortunately, if aptly, named T-Wrecks play set kept falling apart: Take the T. Rex off the track if you want to give kids a dino set worth keeping. That said, the T-Rex Rampage Play Set is basically a collection of individual Hot Wheels City pieces with a plastic dinosaur added -- and while the individual pieces aren't much sturdier than any Hot Wheels play set before them, they're at least built to fall apart this time, with various trigger points that the dino can hit, Godzilla-style, as it makes its way through the city. (The electronic sound effects, which include roars, explosions and general sounds of destruction, are a nice touch.)
My boys, ages 5 and 8, put it through the paces and haven't gotten bored yet (which is saying something), and the only mildly frustrating experience so far has come via the helicopter mounted atop the skyscraper, which loves to come undone regardless of whether the T. Rex is attacking it. Their little brother, age 2, is obsessed with the set (particularly the car launcher) despite being proof positive of why the age recommendation is 4 and up: He unwittingly causes more damage than the dino anytime he sits down to play.
Here's hoping that someday Hot Wheels, Matchbox and their ilk will design play sets that are as strong as the cars they're built to accommodate, but for now, this is one of the more reliable sets out there. Damage counter starts at $39.99 from Amazon.
