Behind the Zombie Strike Crosscut

So, warriors, the N-Strike Elite Dual-Strike was not the only Spring 2016 release we got the heads up about. You may have see the first peek at the Nerf Zombie Strike Crosscut on our youtube channel from a couple days ago. It's a single-shot blaster (two-barreled) that incorporated a rubber-foam blade that actually spins. The blaster will help us ring in the new year at $14.99.

The video is below again in case you are curious.

Tek Recon Update

Great news for the folks at Tek Recon; They've jumped to 38% funded on kickstarter. Looks like they've found one of their 5,000 dollar backers.

Wondering about the firing mechanism in the Tek Recon blasters? Tek Recon now has a third video update out to show you what's up. Remember to check out their kickstarter page!



The folks at Tek Recon also got back to us on a couple of our additional questions:

Q: Tek Recon. What made them choose that name? Is it meant to sound military -like Force Recon? 

A:WE LOVE THE IDEA OF "RECON" AS IN RECONNAISSANCE WHICH IS VERY NECESSARY WHEN PLAYING WITH FRIENDS (ESPECIALLY WITH CAPTURE THE FLAG).  ALLOWING BLASTERS SMARTPHONE ENHANCEMENTS WITH "TECH" FEATURES MAKES THE RECONNAISSANCE THAT MUCH BETTER AND MORE "VIDEO GAME-LIKE".  ITS ALL ABOUT THE GAMEPLAY.  FUN RECONNAISSANCE THAT WE ALL LOVE, IN REAL LIFE WITH VIDEO GAME-LIKE ENHANCEMENT.

Q:-Some readers/viewers are asking me about the company location. The kickstarter reads as from Canada. The shipping costs more anywhere outside the US. One particular viewer was excited about the design team being in his country, but curious about the shipping issue. Is this just due to where manufacturing will happen etc?

A:WE'RE A CANADIAN COMPANY WITH A US OFFICE.  WE'RE SHIPPING MOSTLY FROM THE US HOWEVER WE WILL HAVE SOME STOCK IN CANADA THAT WE CAN SHIP OUT (FOR THE COMMAND PACK FOR EXAMPLE).

Warriors, as promised, I am working on a new review for next week. A sudden business trip is throwing a kink in things. I'll try to do it from the road. Thanks for reading! ~Chris

Tek Recon Power-Ups: Foam/Rubber Drone Attack?

At last check, the Tek Recon kickstarter was funded up to around 27% - make that 28% and still has 25 days to go!

Tek Recon got back to us today regarding that hanging question about their apps. Doesn't sound like they are expecting contributors right now, but we did learn more about the power ups! Foam/rubber drone attack anyone? Not really, but on the screen! LOL!

Q: They talked about power-ups in the video. Will those be something you can program and print for scanning or that they want you to buy? Will they allow other developers to design and contribute scannable QR codes et cetera?

"A:POWERUPS WILL BE INCLUDED WITHIN OUR "ARMORY".  HERE YOU CAN SELECT WHICH BLASTER YOU'RE USING (WHICH ALTERS THE AMMO COUNTER), SCOPE, BLASTER SOUND EFFECT FOR FIRING, AND POWERUP.  YOU CAN USE 1 POWERUP PER GAME AND THERE WILL BE MANY POWERUPS AVAILABLE!  HERE'S Are A FEW…..BUT I CAN'T REVEAL THEM ALL :)

–Invisibility: Turn this on and you won’t show up on radar for 45 seconds

–Drone Attack: While an opponent shows up on radar, if you enable this powerup and click on their blip before it disappears it sends a drone attack and removes them from the game.  Click too late and the drone misses.

–Wire Tap: Enable this powerup and open up communication with the opposing team.  Can talk to them and hear their messages for 1 minute.

                   -Disable Flag: disables anyone from scanning your flag for 20 seconds"

A few people have already been asking if I think this will mimic COD: Black Ops perks. I don't think you'll be seeing things like "flak jacket" and "hardened" manifest in the game. "Ghost" (or Invisibility) is doable because you could just be taken off the HUD -in this case for 45 seconds.

Here is some of the earlier information we learned about the app. Be sure to visit the Tek Recon kickstarter to learn more and to contribute!

• Create your own Profile by selecting a Username and Avatar. 
• Armory to control and create game loadouts, including your blaster, scope, sound effect, and in-game powerups. 
• Familiar multiplayer game modes including Isolation (every man for himself), Team Supremacy (team battle), and Capture the Flag (with flags you scan when captured). 
• Radar which reveals teammates, as well as opponents.
• In game features such as live chat, on screen ammo counter, simple swipe vision modes (Classic, Night Vision, Heat Seeker, X Ray), quick tap zoom + many more. 

A couple of more new tidbits on the way today! Check in later. ~Chris