I want to get some game time with this blaster before coming up with a proper review, but right off the bat the Adventure Zone Enforcer belt-fed blaster from Dart Zone got AT LEAST 140′ right out of the box. That’s pretty impressive for a freshly opened blaster. That being said, reloading this beast would be a moderate pain since I don’t think there are plans to sell the ammo belts separately. And to head off another question, yes, this blaster is branded “Adventure Zone” but that’s to identify the Wal-Mart specific brand of action toys associated with this and other blasters undoubtedly coming out as Wal-Mart exclusives. It’s a Dart Zone blaster, same as the LegendFire and Magnum. It unloads its ammo payload pretty quickly, and should give any rushing team a reason to pause but the groupings are pretty wide the farther out you shoot. For $29.99 though you are getting good power, good ammo capacity, and a really satisfying shooting experience feeling the chains move and hearing the blaster chug through darts. Kids are gonna love the gatling feel of this blaster, and older users are going to like the power. And for $29.99, the price is just right compared to other blasters out there that shoot either less ammo or slightly shorter max ranges. I don’t say this often, but if you have to spend on any blaster, definitely give this a look. I’ll update this review with some gameplay thoughts once I actually field test it, but until then, color me impressed for now.
Here’s an unboxing while I get working on reviews. The Bug Attack Eliminator and I believe the XShot blasters are in stores already elsewhere, but they’ve been pretty spare in availability where I live. I am really just seeing them in larger quantities now, and even lost touch with Zuru until Toy Fair this year. If you’ve seen these already, great, I’m going to post a review later, and if you want to check it out, I hope to see you then!
VIDEO: Nerf Behind the Scenes – Mega Cycloneshock (ICYMI) Vas The Stampede
Nerf sent out a video for its Mega Cycloneshock, here’s the scoop from the design team themselves.
Some takeaways… car design? That’s something I want to look more into if/when the next chance I have to hang out with the design team (hopefully this summer).
Scorpion Gatling Blaster: Dart Zone/Prime Time Toys By: Vas The Stampede
Size Comparison: Scorpion vs. Nerf Barrel Break and Zing Legends Bow
My firing video:
Basic Info:
Price: $19.99 (Wal-Mart Exclusive) Range: Up to 70′ (angled) Includes: “Super Darts” x 20 20 Dart Ammo Belt x 1 Instructions Scorpion Gatling Blaster x 1
Prime Time Toys keeps the hits coming with one of their latest entries, the CovertOps Scorpion Gatling Blaster. A Wal-Mart Exclusive, this blaster is obviously inspired by some earlier similarly styled “gatling” blasters like the Punisherand Gatling Blaster. This fully automatic, 20 shot blaster proves itself a pretty good value for 20 bucks.
It requires 6 AA batteries, and that spins the barrel (purely cosmetic effect) and also powers the flywheels. There’s no accelerator trigger here, once you hit the “on” button the flywheels go and all you have to do is hold the trigger down. It’s pretty easy to shoot in bursts, or just empty the entire belt for maximum hilarity. The blaster is small, probably smaller than either of the earlier gatling blasters. This does make it a bit easier to carry and move quickly, although the chains do swing about, nothing new if you’ve ever run with a Nerf Vulcan. Unlike the Punisher, there is no ammo box, so there’s a loss in aesthetic as well. Oddly enough, while the line is called Covert Ops, once this blaster is on, there is nothing covert about it. If you didn’t like the noise level of a Barricade, you will definitely not like this blaster. As I suggest with any of those complaints, just wait until you’re about to shoot and flick the power switch then, don’t run around an entire game or scenario with your flywheels running (unless there’s a strategic reason for it, as I’ve done in the past).
The Covert Ops line is a green and orange mash of colors, crossing toy safety and a color scheme reminiscent of the movie, “Predator.” While this isn’t the total minigun that some folks may want, it does pretty well all the same. To me, the plastic and build feels pretty sturdy and that it might take a drop or 2. That is only descriptive of the blaster body, though. I can’t attest to the strength of the electronics and the motor if you dropped this blaster. Bottom line, it feels solid.
The amount of clearance to fit other brand darts through the Scorpion.
I repeat, the size proves deceptive as you might not expect the power you get out of this. I was able to hit almost 50′ flat and angled my shots hit about the advertised 70′ range. And this was with both the proprietary “super” darts and other leading brand darts. This blaster shot just about anything I put in the ammo belts. The accuracy did leave something to be desired, but with foam ammo that tends to just be the reality of the medium. And if you’re sending out about 20 shots at a time, maybe accuracy isn’t your main concern!
That being said, I can’t comment if chains from the earlier gatling blasters will work with the Scorpion, as I don’t have either. And if I had any real complaint about this blaster, it’s that additional chains aren’t available to use this as a proper defensive or offensive weapon. Extra chains and the fast reload (with some practice and preloaded chains) would make for a good time in a stock blaster game. As far as I know, separate chains are not sold anywhere so you have one 20 shot belt and that’s it with the Scorpion. Either check your fire or get ready to reload the same chain frequently. For $20 and only 6 AA batteries, I definitely think this blaster is worth the trip to a Wal-Mart (in the US) and adding to your inventory. It’s a great price for a 20 shot blaster that hits its range and fires pretty quickly.
Thanks so much to Prime Time Toys for the sample, and to you for reading! If there’s anything I missed feel free to use the contact form or make a comment below (comments are moderated, so they may not appear right away.
Don’t forget to check out “Foam From Above” on Facebook. and I am also on Twitter (@vasthestampede) & Instagram (@blasterbot1984)!
Thanks for putting this out there, Nerf Canterbury! (https://www.facebook.com/NerfCanterbury) they posted this promo video for Nerf Rebelle, and the girls have as much of a game face as the boys do! (Though admittedly, a little surprised at the lack of acrobatics that N-Strike Elite tends to have, I know for a fact there are a large number of girl parkour practitioners out there, Luci Romberg for instance).
In any event, to further contrast the Rebelle line, (although maybe Vortex doesn’t fall in this comparison) the girls are running through a wooded area, not the factory setting N-Strike Elite gets to use. Draw what comparisons you will *coughHungerGamescough* but here’s the video with a hint of things to come. All the same you have a break down of the upcoming line, the standard slo-mo shots and the continued promise of similar power. Naturally, we’ll only really know for sure once these hit shelves.
“TEK RECON: E3 BOUND AND BRINGING LIVE ACTION ONLINE GAMING TO LIFE!
FOLLOWINGA VERY EXCITING KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED NEWGAMES TO BE SAMPLED FOR THE FIRST TIME AT E3 JUNE 11-13 INLOS ANGELES
TORONTO, May 21, 2013 – TEK RECON, one of the most anticipated new product launches of 2013will be available for demonstration and sampling by fans and consumersfor the first time at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, California June 11-13, 2013.
E3 will immediately follow a crowd funding campaign hosted on Kickstarter that began May 9th. Theresponse to TEK RECON from gamers, tech enthusiasts, and blaster fanshas been exceptional as backers and players from all over the world havereached out to provide valuable feedback, insight and support. The campaign is currently more than 50% funded and tracking to exceed the kickstarter goal of $50,000.
Gamers, adventure seekers and fans of technology, get off the couch and into the game as we need your help to create a revolutionary new way to connect and play! TEK RECON Blasters feature a first of its kind design with real trigger action, authentic recoil and specially designed reusable “NRG Rounds”.
To optimize the battle and team experience TEK RECON developed a free “Live Action Online Gaming” app to enhance blaster battles. Simply connect your mobile device to the blaster to bring video game styled play to life through mobile and GPS technology. The free TEK RECON App will be available for iOS and Android devices, enhancing real battle experience through an interactive heads up display, live chat, vision modes, and more.
“BringingTEK RECON to market is the most ambitious and exciting launch in our company history,” stated Brad Pedersen CEO of TEK RECON Inc. “Two years ago we set out on a mission to bring video games, online connectivityand social interactive play together through innovation and greatproduct design. The outcome, TEK RECON has come to life and created a phenomenal play experience that has exceeded our expectations.”
Thetime is now to be one of the first to experience Live Action Online Gaming and change the way you play. For more information on this product and the KICKSTARTER campaign please visit TekRecon.com.
Take a live look at the Tek Recon Blasters during the E3 2013 Show in Los Angeles, CA at Booth #5636 in the West Hall.”
And the buzz just keeps on going for Tek Recon! From Toy Fair now to E3… who knows what’s next?
Mega Bloks were awesome enough to send along a couple of samples from Toy Fair – Trigger Happy’s Blaster and Ignitor’s Flame Sword.
Trigger Happy’s Dart Blaster
Ignitor’s Flame Sword (size comparison to a Nerf Marauder)
What wonderful intellectual property are these devices for destruction from? The Skylanders Giants game, where a player uses a figure on a platform to connect to the video gaming device of their choice and play that character IN THE GAME.
Now, my past experience with licensed blasters is not very positive. At all. The Jango Fett blasters I have weren’t anything special, nor were the clone trooper dart blasters I picked up. On top of that, this is Mega Bloks’s first foray into making roleplay toys, so I was a little curious how these would stack up against past experience.
Thankfully, the stats spoke for themselves:
STATS:
Price: Approx. $14.99 depending on the store Range: Anywhere from 30′-40′ (with darts NOT the ones included. The darts it comes with decreased the range to about just under 30′) Ammo: Foam darts with a hard plastic, thin tip Ammo Capacity: 6 darts before reloading
Darts that come with the blaster
Versus Nerf Elite Streamlines and current Dart Tag darts
Shot of the chamber
Air restrictors inside (and no, the cylinder does not pop out to reload.)
Annnnd the video:
So how did I like it? Sure, it was similar to Nerf Maverick but in a case like this it’s the aesthetics that are important because of the licensing. Folks who love the game (or have kids who love the game) are going to like this, as well as anyone (like me) who likes a gold-colored blaster (I played A LOT of Goldeneye on the N64). The cylinder not popping out was a surprise, but the side divots are nice touch to get around that. As you can see in the video, the divots don’t line up with the chambers on the cylinder. It would be nice if the holes had lined up WITH The divots, instead of trying to load the darts in on an angle, but the blaster would look a little odd and a little less symmetrical. I get that. The lack of a trigger guard bothers the showman in me as I can’t spin the blaster on a finger. But, that’s a nitpick.
Unfortunately, the included darts don’t do the blaster any justice. They drop the range and the heads are unforgiving if they did hit their target. Granted, a toy like this isn’t INTENDED to be shot at others, but things happen and I would have liked to see suction cups or something softer at the heads of the darts, if anything so the blaster would hit the ranges it does with regular Nerf ammo.
And the ranges are THE most surprising thing about this blaster. Once I loaded proper darts it got comparable range and performance to any Maverick I had (Strongarm doesn’t count, it’s internals are ahead of the Maverick curve but I had to include it for argument’s sake.) I was pleasantly surprised to say the least!
After being burned so much with licensed blasters in the past, I would take this into any stock blaster game as a good sidearm confidently. Per the usual rules around here, I won’t be modding this so I won’t write about possibilities.
Ultimately, I think it works as a sidearm if you’re into stock blaster games and the golden aesthetics remind me of sneaking around in my video game days. It’s not exactly the Golden Gun, but it’s closest I’ve gotten 🙂 Skylanders fans might get a kick out of the blaster as well, as the license is HUGE and the game is really popular. Trigger Happy looks like a fun character to play as well (judging from the videos, maybe an actual Skylanders player can sound off on him) so if you’re hurting for a unique looking sidearm or want to live the adventure with Spyro and friends, pick this up.
These are only the beginning too, at Toy Fair there was plenty more on the way, as shown below:
’til next time, chummers! Got a question? Post below.
Foam From Above 