The D-Dart Tempest was one of the most unique things on display at Toy Fair. A handheld gauntlet blaster that features full auto and 28 darts? Based purely on that, you’d expect a great blaster. The reality isn’t quite so great. It’s certainly not bad – far from it. But, given a few key issues, you may want to think about it before buying it (currently available at Target).
Hand Cannon
Four AAA batteries go into a tray at the front of the grip – simply loosen one screw and pop open the door.
Dart Issues
Of course, you could modify the blaster to fix this issue. But if you’re simply buying the blaster for you and your kids, not being able to use so many common darts is a major problem. At least (for the most part) Xshot blasters are able to accept most dart types, even if their darts are shorter. This blaster? Not so much.
Performance
The D-Dart Tempest has a decent rate of fire for only four AAA batteries. It shoots three darts per second (and as WalcomS7 notes, you can manually spin the cylinder for a silly burst of ammo). However, the blaster with its wide flywheel setting only manages 53fps average velocities. That’s significantly lower than lots of blasters. Certainly not bad, but for $30 I would hope for better.
Potential?
The biggest issue, however, will be redesigning that dart retention ridge. We simply need more room for regular darts.
Final Opinion
The D-Dart Tempest is a cool concept, and is executed well in terms of all the parts working together. The dart compatibility issue, however, is a major area of concern. The blaster is also underpowered, running off of just 4 AAA batteries. Keep those things in mind if you do decide to drop $30 on one.