Back at New York Toy Fair, I Nerf Firevision gear, and it was pretty awesome. While not intended for play in ABSOLUTE darkness (yeah…. sure…. no one’ll try that…) being able to see the the various equipment (football, basketball, etc.) brightly illuminated up to 100′ is pretty neat.
Now while sports are the forte of this line, I had to wonder what kind of applications these lights and reflective surfaces had for other purposes. And if there’s something we love to do here at the House of Foam, it’s repurpose items for all kinds of stuff. (Not mod though, can’t do that. Hi Nerf!)
Quick rundown – (prices are approximate)
Hyperball set with either red or green frames – $9.99 Nerfoop set with either red or green frames – $14.99 Nerf football set with red or green frames – $19.99 Red or green frames sold separately – $5.99
And now, the video! We would use an objective-based game where zombies (we only had 3 red pairs of frames available, so the starting zombies got those) had to find the hyper ball after it was hidden by the humans. Game ended once the zombies got the “brain”. Humans just had to survive with the brain as long as they could.
Let’s go to the tape!
Personally, I’m a big fan about how vibrant the light is (the green illuminates a bit more visibly than the red) and it just shows up on camera so well. Definitely see what all the hoopla is about with Firevision, maybe you’ll find a game that works for it too 🙂
The Nerf brand’s been busy this year, releasing a whole bunch of things. The N-Strike line had a couple of repaint offerings, in the Gear Up and Whiteout series
along with additions to the transparent green Sonic Series (Barrel Break, Barricade, Longstrike, and Stampede)
Ultimately, if you know someone who HAS GOTTA catch’em all, then go nuts on the repaints. Performance-wise I didn’t notice much difference from the original releases so there’s nothing new feature-wise here. The real draw is following Nerf’s “it looks cool!” policy because I’ll admit, the neon green and whiteout paint jobs look pretty darn cool.
Main event: the new Nerf Vortex line as the centerpiece! Find prices and more on my previous post here: NERF VORTEX BREAKDOWN
“XLR” disc technology = increased ranges and a new clip system. The discs are made of a plastic disc with a foam rim. The discs fly pretty well, but they do carry in a high wind outside. Honestly, so do darts. How much of this is a problem for you is up to you.
Yes, this also means yet ANOTHER ammo type to start collecting in large quantities, but for what it’s worth the discs are not only soft, but they seem pretty durable. The guys at Adult Fans of Nerf did an informal “stomp test” at the release party, and the discs did not squish very badly at all. The clips with the Praxis and the tactical kit have a 10 round capacity, but the Nitron comes with a 20 shot clip (2 of them if you can find the special Wal-Mart only package.)
The increased ranges are pretty awesome considering previous Nerf offerings, albeit there have been reports of some user issues. Some key points to keep in mind are to not be a spaz when using the blasters. Make sure you perform a complete motion manipulating foregrips, triggers, slides, or other priming mechanisms when using the blasters. Moving too fast is what causes mechanisms to grind. It’s a new dimension to add to gameplay, and maybe worth your time this holiday season. Aesthetically and ergonomically speaking, I really enjoy using the Praxis. The stock is a little flimsy compared to the Raider’s, but the pump-action and general feel of the blaster is very comfy. The pump-action makes aiming a little more consistent than with bolt-action or pull-back blasters for me, so this works for my playing style. The only problem is what I have with N-Strike blasters, reloading the clips can slow down the action at a game when you run out. Little details like the thumb-release on the Proton and the Praxis are those indicators that Nerf did go the extra mile in designing the blaster’s exterior.
Questions? Comments? Let me know, otherwise see you next time for my overview of the N-Force line! Also find me on twitter: @vasthestampede!
“Rail Strike” (powered shot) – 8 shots, disables enemy in 4 hits, slower reload than other modes, slow RoF (Rate of Fire)
“Sonic Strike” (powered shots) – 6 shots – disables enemy in 3 hits – slower reload and RoF
Attachments:
Rapid Fire Striker – Significantly more shots than normal “Laser Strike” mode, and in full-auto so impossible to really count amount of shots – disables enemy in 8 hits, slow reload, HIGH RoF
Enemy Scanner –
Detects enemy strikers in the surrounding area, aesthetically functions like a sonar, beeping in the direction players on other teams can be found, also increases damage from built-in weapons
Thanks to the fine folks at Light Strike, they sent along the above items for me to take a look. All I can say is, “Impressive, most impressive.”
First up, your basic Striker. It’s a pistol, with four buttons on top and the power switch. Volume, shield, team select, and four weapon settings: Laser, stealth, pulse, and sonic. It’s missing the “Rail Strike” the Assault model has, but you don’t have to hit a reload button. Thematically, it’s as if the blaster “overheats” and needs to cool down. The Striker also has a flip-up sight which is a nice touch, a jack for headphones. It feels really good in-hand, the handles are a good size and fit both kids and adults (my 9 year old nephew had no trouble using it).
Next, there’s the Assault Striker, a rifle unit. In addition to to the same buttons the Striker has (but integrated into the body of the tagger, as opposed to the four buttons on top) It has the same weapon settings as the pistol, with the addition of the “Rail Strike” setting. There’s also an additional “fingerprint scanner” that players must use to activate the blaster before it can be fired and a semi-auto (three round burst) mode, and single shot mode. The bread and butter of the Assault model is it’s modular capability. You buy an attachment like the rapid fire system, refractor cannon, scope, or enemy scanner and it changes the functionality of the striker. So IN ADDITION to the settings it came with you now can expand your repertoire and play style depending on what attachments you’re using. Attachments, that ACTUALLY do something! And good range, reliability, and utility right out of the box.
The strikers themselves overall have a nice weight, easy trigger action and just holding the trigger sends out a constant stream of shots. And just because Wowwee makes “Paper Jamz” that doesn’t mean these strikers are paper. It’s a robust plastic! The strikers also come with an additional target that changes color based on your team selection, both for practice and if you want to add a layer of challenge to your traditional gametypes.
The strikers have their target on the front of the blaster. This positioning leaves it easy to take some liberties, through testing we found hiding the blaster behind your back makes it easy to hide the sensor. With the targeting vest this isn’t possible, as the sensors are out in the open, and maybe going prone is the only way to block the sensor after this. Also, with more than 2 players putting the blaster behind one’s back won’t work with proper tactics. One other thing is that when you play with just the blasters, a player can switch teams at any time. It would be easy to switch teams without the vest, either on accident or if you were trying to cheat. Also, respawning is done by just turning the striker on and off, so less scrupulous individuals might exploit this as well.
Now nevermind the strikers already get pretty much 50’ out of the box, but you’re also getting a multitude of different strikers in each unit, balanced out in power vs. rate of fire vs. reload time. Throw in the attachments, the vests, the added factors of the ITS (Intelligent Targeting System) and you’ve got the makings for some pretty intense games in an immersive experience not really shown by anything else out there yet. You heal, respawn, set timers, sentries, medic stations, and there are some serious pieces here for a grand game time puzzle. The trick is just getting through that initial investment of all the pieces being sold separately, plus batteries. Have no fear though, the attachments don’t require batteries. Just the strikers, ITS, vests, and targets. Each piece adds to the gameplay – vests make players able to heal each other, and the ITS has a number of different functions. If you’re willing to make the investment you really wouldn’t regret it, there is definitely some serious potential for you and your friends depending on what you devise. Light Strike provides the items, but the replayability and variety is definitely on the part of the play
A pretty serious oversight though has to be on the visibility of the lights on the strikers outdoors. IN bright light, it’s near impossible to read any of the light displays on the strikers. In the video below, you might be able to see what I’m talking to about. Bright sunlight just washes out the colors under the frosted plastic sections of the strikers.
Here’s how a little play went:
Pros:
No clean up
Big ranges out of the box – 50’+, under 100 w/Scope attachment
Different play styles – high RoF./quick reload vs. high-power
Easy to track hits
Easy to pick teams
Out of the box, ready to go.
Reloading at the press of a button
Expand game play w/ other purchases, ITS and chest, targets – initial expense can be a hit, but really adds to the gameplay
Customizable experience
Lights are fun and bright, exciting to watch and fun to hear
Accuracy seems pretty spot-on
Negative:
Expensive to get started, must remember you get multiple blasters with each toy.
Lights difficult to see in bright outdoor light
Easy to cheat
Respawning is too easy – easy to refill health and reset without anyone noticing
Easy to switch teams after a game has started
There is the chance this might add to gameplay as well (find the spy) but very easy to swap colors if players want to screw up a game type (this might happen on accident as well
Some weapons might be broken – the Scope outranges AND has a high RoF with the Stealth Shot. Might need regulation on the part of the players, or it might not be as bad with more players.
Foam From Above 