Nerf Zombiestrike Crossfire Bow Review (4)

Explosive bolts not included.

I managed to snatch two of Nerf's hypothetical successors to the original Crossbow today along with a Fusefire. Considering these are seeing a very limited release right now, I picked them up on sight. Can this crossbow live up to the success and fame of it's predecessor? Lets find out.

Decked out with a Centerfire Scope, and a Praxis Stock.

The Crossfire is Nerf's fourth crossbow based blaster, the first being (Well duh!) the Crossbow, then the Double Crossbow, the Guardian, and now this. I love this blaster's aesthetics even if it's a repainted Elite blaster or not, it's very comfortable and if you slap a stock on it, it's got comfort that's hard to beat. As usual, the bow strings absolutely do nothing so if you so desire, you can cut them off and not have to worry about it. Only problem is, is that the bow arm's seem to be permanent, once you pop them on, they stay on but I've managed to remove mine with some brute strength involved, yet I prefer them on.

Size compared to an SM5k.

In reality though, this blaster is really just a Roughcut 2x4 with half of it's ammo capacity and no slamfire. It gets great performance with ranges of around 60 feet and it's fun for sending a few darts down range in quick succession but the 2x4 is a little more practical.

Internal shots courtesy of Bazookafied.

As you can tell, the internals are quite simple, with the only complexity coming from the mass of air restrictors in the front to regulate air flow from plunger to barrel. Unlike the 2x4, the priming mech is not gear driven so you can toss beefier springs into the blaster without the risk of stripping gears. 

Overall, the Crossfire is a fun and very cool looking blaster but it's not much different from the 2x4 performancewise. So it really only makes more sense to buy a 2x4 which has better ammo capacity and slam fire too. On it's own however, I give the Crossfire Bow a 4 because it's cool, it works great, but it's not very innovative and it's not really the Crossbow successor we're looking for.

The Verdict

Class- Crossbow

Range- Excellent, around 60+ feet.

Size- About the size of a 2x4 but with bow arms.

Reliability- It can't jam.

Ammo- 4 Elite Darts

Modding- Probably only really good for spring replacements or reshells.

Is It Better Than?

Crossbow- Depends, the Crossbow was a pretty poor blaster stock and would get outgunned by a Crossfire in any situation. However, the Crossbow has more modding potential and once modded, the Crossfire won't stand a bloody chance. Good luck finding one cheap though.

Guardian- No, both blasters are basically reshells and perform the same, but the Guardian has slightly more ammo and slam fire. Unless you absolutely love the look of this shell, this would be the better crossbow to get for the money.

Roughcut 2x4- No, the Roughcut is more compact and boasts better ammo capacity not to mention slam fire too. You should get this blaster instead over the Guardian and the Crossfire if you desire.