BOOMco Whipblast Review
July 24, 2014What’s the point of making a blaster that can be primed with one hand, only to then make it a muzzle-loader that requires a second hand to feed it? That’s the first thing we wondered about the BOOMco Whipblast, which is otherwise one of the more interesting pieces to come from Mattel’s new blaster brand. And if that glaring usability flaw is enough to turn you off from this intriguing design, we honestly wouldn’t blame you. Nonetheless, we set out to examine this intriguing blaster a little closer, to see if that one misstep alone would be its defining characteristic.
Nerf N-Strike Elite Mega Thunderbow Review
July 10, 2014Since the Nerf N-Strike Elite Mega Thunderbow was first announced ahead of Toy Fair earlier this year, we’ve been fairly vocal about our uncertainty regarding this blaster’s place in the Nerf line-up. In fact, we somewhat jokingly suggested 2014 might be “The Year of the Bow,” given how many products were being released to time with the rise of bow-touting pop culture protagonists from the likes of The Walking Dead, Disney’s Brave, The Hunger Games, and The Avengers. But time has passed, and we’ve had several opportunities for hands-on time with the Thunderbow, which has softened our position slightly. Still, we wondered if a “bow” that had more in common with typical Nerf blasters than anything relying on drawstring tension was worthy of the $39.99 price being asked.
Sizzlin’ Cool X2O Liquiforce Water Blaster Review
July 6, 2014On a recent trip through the aisles of our local Toys “R” Us, we spotted a line of water blasters under the Toy “R” Us-exclusive “Air Zone” (now “Sizzlin’ Cool”) brand, called “X2O.” This interesting looking series included no less than four blasters of varying sizes: the Hydromatic, Liquiforce, Aqualizer, and Drenchinator. They ranged in price from $9.99 to $24.99, respectively, and are now on-sale for a couple bucks less (depending on model). We wondered if a value-priced water blaster could possibly compete with the big name brands, so we picked-up the mid-priced Liquiforce and put it to the test!
BOOMco Twisted Spinner Review
July 4, 2014Along with the Farshot and Rapid Madness, the Twisted Spinner is one of the first in a new line of blasters to be introduced by Mattel under the BOOMco brand. We were impressed by the build quality and ingenuity of the Farshot with its then-new “Smart Stick” dart technology, and we were likewise awed by the insanely quick rate-of-fire produced by the intimidating-looking Rapid Madness. The Twisted Spinner, for its part, sits between these two products in terms of size and price. We were interested, therefore, to see if it could straddle the line between the two in terms of performance and value. What we found surprised even us.
Nerf Zombie Strike Slingfire Review
July 2, 2014Along with the newly released Nerf Elite Demolisher 2-in-1, the Nerf Zombie Strike Slingfire is undoubtedly one of this year’s most highly sought-after new blasters from Hasbro. Ever since we first laid eyes on the flipping, spinning lever-action reload, we just knew this one would be a crowd-pleaser. But now that the Slingfire is out in the wild, the reality of its design hits home. Can a cool-looking blaster with a unique reloading action cut-it when it comes to anything beyond just looking good? Is the flashy Slingfire built to be something more than a stylish flash in the pan?
Nerf N-Strike Elite Demolisher 2-in-1 Review
June 30, 2014Easily among the most anticipated blasters to have been announced this year, the Nerf Elite Demolisher 2-in-1 is finally available. After having played with it at Toy Fair and at the recent Nerf All Access Event, we had a pretty good idea of what to expect, but no formal measurements to back-up our first-hand experiences. Now we finally have a Demolisher in for testing, and we’re happy to report it mostly lives up to expectations, but not without a few caveats.
Exclusive: Mattel BOOMco Rapid Madness Review
June 29, 2014“There’s nothing new under the sun.” Or so it’s been said. But what truly qualifies as “new?” At what point is a product or idea sufficiently different from a pre-existing thought or object that it can be considered unique? These are a few of thoughts that ran through our head while considering the all-new BOOMco Rapid Madness from Mattel, which takes a lot of inspiration from the 10 year old Nerf Magstrike AS-10. That the all new BOOMco Rapid Madness borrows ideas from another generation of products isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but does it serve-up enough new ideas to be considered an original in its own right?
