Maxx Action Defender Review
November 6, 2019
The original version?
There are a series of designs that have cycled through various brands. As best as I can tell, the original creator in China was Feng Jia Toys, but these blaster have appeared under that brand, World Tech Toys, and various other labels. Now, for this holiday season, the Maxx Action line has a bunch of blasters available at Kohl’s, including one I haven’t seen in the US before. It’s called the Defender, and it’s a decent blaster – it just seems to have a higher price than I can justify for an “off-brand”. On sale, though, it might be worth a look.
Endwar 2020 Date Announced!
November 3, 2019Because it’s kinda important news for a lot of people, Endwar has officially announced the dates for next year’s game at Penn State University!
Quoting the Facebook post:
Good afternoon EndWarriors, while you can expect a formal event page to go up soon with the usual bells and whistles, for those of you scheduling international flights or planning routes otherwise, we are excited to give your calendars a little way-point.
While our staff is hard at work getting hotel deals and speaking with Penn State about possible on-site accommodations, we want you to be aware that we have locked into the long weekend of June 26th, 27th, and 28th for EndWar 2020.
We’ve got a lot of information to share in the coming months but we encourage you all to stay limber and warm as the weather chills and we quietly put together a game that’s truly…out of this world.
The Future of Dart Zone Pro
November 1, 2019The Dart Zone Pro had a successful launch, with a slow but steady march to 1000 units sold (plus a few unmarked ones from prototypes and Ragnarocktoberfest prizes). Magazines are now on preorder, with darts on the way. So what’s next for the line, and what needs done in the future? Just a few thoughts on my end, and some speculation.
Buzz Bee Air Warriors Powermech Review
October 30, 2019The Auto Tommy 20 is a venerable staple of early 2000s blasting; it served as many people’s first experience with a flywheel blaster. In spite of its flaws (inaccurate, limited range, goofy shape), it remained a beloved staple of childhood Nerf collections. Now, after making brief appearances at Toy Fairs and in Europe, its successor, the Powermech, is here. It doesn’t correct all the flaws of the original, but it does bring the blaster into the modern era – with room to upgrade.
Dart Zone Pro Mk-1 Review
October 27, 2019Earlier in the summer, Dart Zone opened up preorders for the Dart Zone Pro Mk-1; it was a new blaster designed around a proprietary dart type. They claimed 150fps performance, half and full length dart compatibility, and great range and accuracy. By any of those measures, the Mk-1 is a great success, and a fine entry blaster into the “superstock” realm of blasters. However, it does come with some limitations in compatibility and operation. It’s also, at least in its current form, limited in getting extra power – although a few people have made some progress,
In any case, now is as good a time for a review as any – the blasters may have sold out, but the compatible magazines are up for preorder, making it still relevant for now.
MAASF: Godfall, Dust to Dust Game Report
October 25, 2019Note: this was a game I couldn’t attend, due to all my remaining vacation time being devoted to Ragnarocktoberfest. However, many of my HvZ-playing friends were able to go, and were kind enough to do a report. Or in the case of Scotty, take pictures that have been subsequently stolen. Enjoy reading someone else’s report – with footnotes, even! A fitting report from what was sadly the last MAASF game.
Hey everyone,
Different Brian, similar HVZ spirit.
Three weekends ago, a group of Ohio HVZ players including myself, Team BrOhio, made a trek out to MAASF’s closing event, Godfall: Dust to Dust. Part of our attendance was due to urgency of this being their last event, but mostly we just heard it was balls to the wall awesome. On that point my comrades and I have formed a consensus that it was in fact balls to the wall awesome.
For some background, my group of people came from a largely HVZ background, having played at various HVZ games throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, and Detroit. Now we can add Massachusetts to our list. What we mean by this war resume is that we went into this game with HVZ expectations, which may have been somewhat a mistake on our end as this game was ultimately a LARP with HVZ mechanics (namely zombies and blasters).
Ragnarocktoberfest 2019 – King of the Hill 5v5
October 23, 2019Oh yeah, I should probably post about the last day of Ragfest! I got to play another competitive tournament with the Eh Team – albeit a different looking one this time around. And we made a good showing, to boot!
Photos courtesy of David Coleman, posted here at the Ragnarocktoberfest Facebook page!
