Nerf Zombie Driller Review

The Nerf Zombie Strike line has been dead for several years, without a whisper as to whether it would return to the land of the living. Now, however, Hasbro is (at least spiritually) bringing the undead flavor back! The Nerf Zombie line so far has a few blasters, with paint all over (somewhat like the Xshot Skins line, as well as the recent blaster reskins for Transformers and TMNT). The first blaster, the Driller, has the look of an exaggerated Electric Drill, but keeps the function of the Hammershot. It’s larger and more expensive, but is it still worth it? For most people, I’d say yes.

Just a Little Bit

Okay, the drill bit isn’t little. But it’s a Nerf blaster, so cartoonish proportions are expected.

The blaster features a somewhat plain shell compared to most Zombiestrike blasters. In place of the various mechanical “parts” molded into the shell is a paintjob with caution signs, graffiti, and other elements. The shell is quite busy in that regard, and that may not appeal to everyone. But that’s mainly a matter of aesthetic taste.

The blaster itself features a five shot cylinder, with two spaces at the bottom for reloading darts. Tactical rails sit above and below the body. The grip, trigger, and priming handle are clearly Hammershot-derived; however, one major difference is that the hammer itself is a separate, spring-loaded piece. Once you prime the blaster, the hammer will return to the default position. Below the handle is the “battery pack” of the drill, which serves as storage for four extra darts.

The blaster itself is easy to use one handed, while with two hands, you can quickly fan the hammer. In any case, comfortable priming with just your thumb never gets old.

If anything can be called bad, it’s that the blaster feels slightly off due to the extra length. It’s not front heavy, by any means. But the loss of compactness makes maneuvering a bit harder.

Performance

The Driller averaged 71fps in my testing, which is fine by Nerf Elite standards. Rate of fire topped out at two darts per second if I fanned the hammer. One dart per second is the best to expect with just one hand.

Of course, you could always double the rate of fire by dual-wielding these. Yippie ki yay!

Internals

The inside of the Driller is what I expected, aside from the hammer being its own piece. It presses on one side of the linkage between the “plunger rod” and the spring shaft, and moves back once used.

The cylinder is a new design, but there are already replacement cylinders available online, for those wanting to fire either more darts or different darts.

Final Thoughts

The Nerf Zombie Driller is a great return to form for Hasbro – it’s not quite Zombiestrike, but it has the same spirit. Time will tell whether blaster fans like this enough over their previous blasters to buy. But in my book, it’s worth a look, especially if you’re new and haven’t quite dived into the wide variety of blasters available out there. It’s easy to operate, reasonably priced, and possible to mod should you want more.