Thoughts on the Fusefire - Review

Warriors,

I stayed up way too late working on this review. I hope it makes sense and that you enjoy it. As always, please share it through G+, facebook or wherever else you care to! We love hearing your thoughts about the blasters also, so please feel free to comment. Meet the Zombie Strike Fusefire.

This blaster was impressive to me for a Vortex-type release. Still having a little trepidation in picking it up for $20, though.

Don't forget that we have big NERF news coming out in a couple of hours! ~Chris

Sighting Reports - Newest Zombie Strike on Store Shelves

Well, it took a while, but we finally see the Crossfire and Fusefire in stock at Walmarts in both Los Angeles and Colorado Springs. So, if you haven't seen these in you're area yet, they're probably close. We've been waiting to get our hands on both of these NERF Zombie Strike blasters. You're looking at about 20 bucks for each of these systems. Not too bad.

You may recall that the Fusefire is a Vortex inspired Zombie Strike Blaster. It incorporates firefly technology for glow-in-the-dark discs. This blaster also seems to have a similar loading mechanism to the NERF Vortex Proton. The extra storage space on the front can't hurt either. I am looking forward to trying this one out.

Now the Crossfire crossbow is a bit of an interesting one. NERF claimed that it was the first crossbow for NERF. Rebelle already came out with their crossbow, but Hasbro has separated NERF Rebelle from the rest of the NERF lines. They choose to market the lines uniquely, so they still feel that this can be called the first crossbow. I excited to throw on my favorite stock attachment to the back of this blaster and get to work. Maybe a little Van Helsing action to come? ~Chris

SledgeFire, Rapidstrike and Revonix in the House!

NERF was so kind as to send us most of their final releases of the 2013.  As you can see in the Vine post below, we now have the Vortex Revonix 360, N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike and the Zombie Stirke SledgeFire to check out! . . . I already broke the Revonix, so we'll see what to do about that one.



So we were able to do an unboxing of the NERF Zombie Strike SledgeFire. This has some potential in Humans versus Zombies. Some say they wish the grouping was a little more spread out on the blaster. As I've said before, it really depends on if you use an optional rule for what effect multiple darts have on a zombie in the game. Think about it for stopping power rather than for spread and perhaps it will appeal to you more. Or not :)

I'm still really looking forward to getting my hands on the Zombie Strike Hammershot as well, so we'll get a sighting report up on the new pistol as soon as we see it. August 1st is coming up in a couple of days, after all. ~Chris

NERF Shotgun? NERF 2013 Releases

Hey Warriors! We just got a heads up from NERF letting us know about their two latest blasters!
Figured it was time to stretch the blogging legs again. What better time than when the next of the NERF blasters have been announced? We'll lay out a full blog here with all of the latest blasters, but I wanted to get a place-holder up to show you the pics!!

Here is the official statement from the NERF facebook page latest two:

"Nerf Nation….are you ready for Multi-Shot Madness? We’re bringing you two new blasters in 2013 that allow you to fire TWO shots at once. Introducing the N-Strike Elite Rough Cut 2x4 blaster and the Vortex Diatron blaster. Each will fire two darts (Rough Cut 2x4 blaster) or discs (Diatron blaster) with every pull of the trigger, giving you twice the edge over the competition. Look for these blasters on shelves soon in 2013. (Please note: availability and timing will vary by country/state/city) Nation – let us know which multi-shot blaster you will be rockin’ in the new year!"

 I am very excited about the Roughcut 2x4. The Hornet was around before as a kind of NERF shotgun, but this looks awesome!! And of course, Click Click BAMF's first review was the Barrel Break. As Foam From Above says, this is like a Barrel Break on steroids with the 4 sets darts firing two at a time. More to come . . .

 

Anyone else seeing a Halo gun in this design? A co-worker of mine mentioned that while walking by. Looking forward to trying this with the Lightning Storm Stock.

There is not so much to say about the Elite version of the Rayven. This is just because it seems to keep the best of the still rather new Rayven and maybe add some distance to it. I'm not complaining.

Personally, I am rather stoked about the Stryfe which looks like a cross between a minimized Longstrike and a Barricade. It will have all the versatility available with rails on top and bottom. Coop got his hands on one of these thanks to our friend BasicNerf. You'll be seeing an unboxing in no time!

NERF Vortex, Part Trois

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nFk4qW2o1k

In their third Vortex video release, NERF has finally confirmed and officially released what the blasters are going to be called as part of the Vortex line. Getting an even better look at the blasters, I am personally twice as excited to try each of them out! The size of the blasters in the shot I picked above is obviously not proportional if you compare to the other two videos they've released.

We all were comparing the stock that comes with the Praxis to the Recon stock, but the new version looks loads more comfortable and sturdy. I, for one, am crossing my fingers that they release it in the N-Strike color scheme as well (not just the Gear Up version).

BTW . . . Vigilon? Weird name. Maybe it'll grow on me, but I think it's kind of weak.

~Chris Jacobs

NERF Reveals Their New Vortex Series

(Image from Nerf facebook.)

As we close out Spring break and look toward the Summer season, NERF continues to tease their new line of blasters they call; Vortex. Many of the NERF Nation were waiting this morning with baited breath for written info, video and pictures detailing what this elusive Vortex line is all about. Yet 9:30AM EST came and went with no release. The tension on the facebook page was epic. Finally, twenty minutes late, the details trickled out in video. See for yourself:

NERF Staffer Tests the Range of a Vortex Blaster. (Image from Nerf Youtube.)

Nerf Vortex First Look

There were a couple of theories out there as to the new release. I know I saw the idea of discs a couple of times for sure, so props to you if you thought so! From the First Look there, it seems that they've effectively married their successful clip system endeavors with the novelty or intrigue provided by the Lanard disc shooters. I, for one, am rather excited to get a few in my hands and try them out.

If the test video is any indication of the true stock performance, we've got a far-reaching beauty on the way. Yet questions are already being raised about the effectiveness of a foam disc as ammunition. One user on facebook said, " . . . won't the disc curve like crazy?" In fact, you can already see a 'disc>dart' and vice versa war starting on the page. The whole range versus accuracy idea reminds me of the old Koosh Vortex line that you can read a little about below.

HISTORY

The Koosh Vortex Tornado. (Image from Nerfer Wiki.)

NERF calls the Vortex line the next evolution in blasters, though they're using on old school name. Koosh released their Vortex line of blasters in the late 1990s. Those blasters fired rubber rings instead of foam darts. While infamous for their indoor ranges, many jokes have been made about their outdoor short-comings. They weren't the most infamous series, but notablex and common enough to still be available at original cost or less on-line.

The NERF Vortex football. (Image from Google products.)

And many of us slightly older NERF fans remember the Vortex Football that debuted in 1993 from the company Oddzon. It was a finned creation that let one throw the ball incredible distances with a lot less effort. A common nickname for the first release was the "Flying Lemon". Other versions like the "Pocket Vortex" and the screaming "Howler" also became fan favorites. Hasbro eventually acquired the rights to the toy -as they do with most successful such inventions. They of course branded it under NERF.

Lanard Fire Shot (Image from Nerf Blaster Wiki.)

Then there are the Lanard Fire Shot and Zip Shot disc shooters I mentioned above. They're still available in some markets today. I suppose that until September, they enjoy leadership in the foam disc shooting area.

Though the name and the concept have been around, it looks like NERF will do what they are famous for. They'll take the ideas to the next level of production and show toy and foam fans everywhere what quality is like. From the little we know about it, Vortex looks like it can run as a sister line to N-Strike rather than a replacement which would be great news of both sides. Now all we can do is wait until 9.10.11 to get these beauties in our hands!

By Chris Jacobs