Steam Controller Review

Hoot hoot.

I just had to try this thing out. I mean really, how can you not love the Steam Controller's sheer goofiness? Well maybe until you pick it up, but it's a matter of taste and time. The real question is though, did Valve build the perfect PC controller? Or is the Steam Controller just as silly as it looks? Lets find out.

Jet Hawks Roto Rocket Mod Guide

How to build one of the most powerful modified blasters in the world.

Hi kids, do you like violence? Do you like sending foam darts through other people's eyelids? Actually no, don't copy me and do exactly as I did. This is a bad idea, and you probably know it is. Anyways building this thing is your call, and I'm not responsible if you do something stupid with it. So how do you turn a hokey spiraling rocket launcher into a high powered dart launcher that can go over 200 feet flat? Like this.

PlayStation 4 Review

Now you're playing with power.

After having owned the Xbox One for some time now I finally decided to pick up the fan favorite of this generation of consoles last Black Friday, the PlayStation 4. My plan was to use the system for a while and break it in before giving my final verdict on it, and well here it is. Let's get this thing rolling.

Nerf Stryfe Review (8/10)

We are everywhere.

Yeah I know I haven't posted in over a month, sorry about that. Life has been busy, and what better way to start making headway again by reviewing a gun we've already seen way too much of? What holds six shots, takes four AA batteries, and that reddit can never seem to shut up about? If you said Stryfe, you probably looked at the picture already, and that's fine. But really though, apart from the fact that I've already reviewed a bazillion blasters that are basically expensive re-shells of this thing, why do people love it so much? Let's find out shall we?

Forza Motorsport 6 Review

This is what we've been racing towards?

You guys might have known this for some time, I'm a big car enthusiast and I'm honestly quite surprised I haven't branched off down that road with this blog or another one for quite some time. Having grown up with racing games, I'm always chomping at the bit to get the latest of my favorite titles, whether it be Gran Turismo or Forza. I know it's been a bit over a month since this game launched but I'm going to give my honest opinion on it so far. Yes it's better than Forza Motorsport 5, thank goodness, but by how much exactly?

BOOMco. Colossal Blitz Review (9/10)

Just when you thought the Rhino-Fire was overkill enough.

Happy Halloween everyone! So, we all remember the Rhino-Fire right, that big, stupid impractical machine gun that was about as usable on the battlefield as strapping two tank cannons to an elephant? Well ladies and gentlemen, it shocks even myself to say this but the Rhino-Fire just got one upped in terms or ridiculousness. Today I went out of my way and bought what is probably the scariest dart blaster of all time the Colossal Blitz, and it sure as hell means business.

BOOMco. Halo UNSC M6 Magnum Review (6/10)

Actually more of a DMR than a pistol. At least the "real" one is.

Everybody remembers the Magnum, it's that one pistol that was known for being vastly overpowered for it's size and then had periods of being absolute garbage to slightly good, but none were as deadly as the original. As part of a licensing deal with Halo, Mattel is putting out all kinds of Halo themed BOOMco. gear, including the Magnum. But the question is, how good is it?

BOOMco. Halo Covenant Needler Review (8/10)

Nothing survives the pink mist.

New guns! About damn time you might say. Mattel has been going absolutely nuts with their BOOMco. line lately and thanks to a sweet licencing deal with Halo, we can have dart firing versions of everything from the Plasma Pistol to the SMG. Then of course the line wouldn't be complete without what is probably Halo's most infamous weapon, the Needler. No, it's rounds won't follow your target and make them violently explode when a dozen needles get stuck in their arse but it makes for a cool blaster, not a bad performing one at that.

Windows 10: Trial By Fire

Please like me. I'm better, I swear.

Windows 10 is here, and it's free, at least for now. It supposedly the best Windows yet and it essentially aims to bring what we enjoyed about Windows 7 and that massive hack job known as Windows 8 together into one package. So I decided to give Microsoft's new baby a chance and downloaded it onto my PC. Here's what I think so far of Windows 10.

Tactical Tag Is Closing It's Doors

2011-2015

Not long after Nerf Mods & Reviews shuttered, one of my other go to Nerf blogs, Tactical Tag is closing up shop and I totally understand Zook for doing so. He say's that his main reason for closing wasn't because he was growing out of the hobby, but because the blog is slowly becoming less prevalent in the nerfing world in the light of YouTube, Reddit, and other social media outlets are becoming the forefront for shooting foam. He just don't see much of a point in trying to keep something alive with a shrinking viewership and I'm sure personal time is a part of it too. Running a blog is fairly time consuming and sometimes people just have to move on. Props to you Zook for running a kick ass blog for quite some time now and I bid you good luck on your future adventures.

Star Wars Force FX Kylo Ren Lightsaber Review

Who said a crossguard couldn't be cool?

I don't normally do prop reviews as many of you already know but I just had to do this one. In case you don't know, this is the somewhat controversial lightsaber that the new supposed villain; Kylo Ren uses in Episode VII. It's one of the more expensive things Hasbro puts out, costing two Ben Franklins; $200 and what you get is a pretty solid replica. You get the blade itself and a gravity stand which can also be used normally if you suck at physics. The hilt is quite detailed, and weighs quite a ton thanks to it's metal construction. Three AA batteries go into a tray that slides into the bottom of the hilt and the blade powers up with a flick of a switch. The effects are pretty solid and the sounds are good too.

Powering up.

The blade and the crossguard are plastic so they are less prone to breaking than glass like I originally though these were made of, as a result you can make contact with things and the lightsaber responds without risking busting your blade. I could say the the sound could be a bit louder and the motion detection be more sensitive but then again, I wouldn't complain that much as it's more of a display piece and not something like a LARP weapon that you go bashing over people's heads. I highly advise against that unless you want to be out $200 bucks. It's definitely a very nice display piece and it's definitely cool for pulling it out every now and then to play around with. If you're an avid Star Wars fan, I'd check this thing out if you can find it because it's pretty badass. A thumbs up in my book.

Hilt detail.

Nerf Mods & Reviews Is Dead

He's dead Jim.

I know the site stopped posting back in 2014 but it appears that the entire site has just shuttered. Upon clicking any links directing to the blog, you get greeted with a "404 Not Found" error. Now I have no idea if this is an issue on Google's part but I highly doubt it since I was successful able to access mine, and several other blogs without issue. My guess is whoever was left in control of the site decided it was time to break ties and close up shop for good this time. It's a bit of the shame since it was a pretty good archive of Nerf from a couple years ago before Elite and everything else we see today. But sometimes people have to move on, and it was a pretty good run at that. Cheers NM&R, you did well.

Star Wars First Order Stormtrooper Blaster Review (8/10)

As if this would help a Stormtrooper hit his target.

The second blaster of our trip through the galaxy is the Stormtrooper Blaster. This pistol is the smaller counterpart to the Stormtrooper Deluxe rifle I reviewed earlier. For a blaster of this size, it's not cheap but it's performance is really quite surprising. Let's take a closer look.

Star Wars First Order Stormtrooper Deluxe Blaster Review (7/10)

Famous for not being able to hit anything since 1977.

A ton of new Star Wars stuff has been hitting the shelves lately in anticipation of the much anticipated Episode VII The Force Awakens. I managed to get my hands on all of Nerf's Star Wars gear and we'll start off with my favorite of the bunch, the Stormtrooper rifle. It's a pretty cool piece of kit just by it's looks, but the real question is: does it work? Let's find out.

Your Gun is Overrated

This thread on reddit got my attention and it brought up some good points, along with the usual million long winded posts that I didn't even consider taking the time to read(Get to the point people). The main thing I see here is that some blasters actually have better alternatives, yet they still hold a strong following. Anyways, after a bit of thought, these are what I believe are to be some of the most overrated dart guns out there.

A Perfect Guide to Apple's "new" iPhone(And other crap) Reveal

Somewhat typical of the yearly Apple reveal.

Apple unveiled their new iPhone's today! Yeah... don't expect me to give them any congratulations. I had a look through what they were offering up and apart from more stuff on the frankly terrible Apple Watch, none of it was really all that impressive. In fact a lot of it was stuff we already have on Android or even Windows platforms but much of it we never use because there isn't a good reason to, like I almost never use the S-Pen on my Note 4 and they go out of their way to charge $100 for a stylus to go along with the ginormous iPad Pro which seems to be about as useful as a Surface RT, being that it runs iOS and not OS X which you would expect on something marketed as a high end productivity device. Apple TV now gets apps as well as games, and if you remember the Ouya, smartphone gaming on big ass TVs "really" took off. Oh and we can't forget the iPhone, it's barely different. It's a bit more powerful and the camera finally moved out of 8 megapixel range, which it should have a couple years ago but remember, this is Apple, but other than that, your paying around $600 to $700 bucks on something barely different from your "old" 6. Sure it's got some new features but will you ever seriously use them? Honestly? Your 6 and even your 5S is still good to go, yet people still find the need to upgrade. I doubt I'll ever understand why. I could write a whole post on this and I was so tempted to, but I got some Forza Motorsport 6 to attend to. Anyways, here's the Deadspin post for people who want a (hopefully)unbiased, and fairly humorous albeit vulgar blow by blow of what aluminum clad brainwash devices Apple is putting out this year. Good day.

The Longshot is back... again

Did you miss me?

Yep, shes back, and in full form too. No more missing front gun, bipod, or 12 round mags, its the Longshot you've always known and loved complete with Elite garb. Which is also a shame because my complete original blue one probably isn't going to be worth anything significant for a couple more years. This has so far only been found on the UK Toys R Us site and I would not be surprised if it hits stateside, it would sell like hotcakes to the people who know what potential these have. No word on US pricing but for you Brits, it's about £50 pounds so I have a feeling it's not going to be cheap when it hits stateside. I have enough sniper type blasters in the house but I still really want one. Keep your eyes peeled.

Reviews Explained

UPDATED AS OF 2018

For blaster reviews the overall format of the reviews is going to stay the same but the rating system is going to be changed from a 1-5 scale to a 1-10 scale. I'm hoping this will eliminate some confusion with the decimals in the old scaling and broaden the amount of things the scale covers. This is a rough generalization because other factors can cause a rating to change and not all blasters perfectly fit these categories. For example, a Hornet AS-6 has the good performance of a 7 but the god awful reliability and ease of use issues of a 2. An oddity like this averages out to a 5 as a result. The Verdict section offers a generalization of the blaster's specifications.

1. Absolutely the lowest form of garbage anyone can produce. Either does not work at all or performs at extremely poor levels at less than 10 feet. Build quality is terrible, comfort is negligible. (i.e. Atomizer Slingshot, Expand-a-Blast)
2. Slightly above a 1 in terms of performance at 10 to 20 feet but still considered terrible. Build quality and reliability may be poor. Generally not be well suited for most users. (i.e. Venom Shot, Warthog)
3. Weak performance at 10 to 30 feet. Build quality and reliability may be decent but generally poor. May or may not be well suited for most users. (i.e. Deploy CS-6, Sawtooth)
4. Below average performance at 20 to 30 feet. Build quality and reliability varies between decent or poor. May or may not be well suited for most users. (i.e. Mad Hornet, Electric Eel)
5. Average performance of 20 to 40 feet. Build quality and reliability varies between average or poor. Comfort and ease of use also may vary between decent and poor. (i.e. Burstwave, Sharpfire)
6. Average performance of  30 to 40 feet. Build quality and reliability varies between decent or poor. Comfort and ease of use also may vary between good and poor. (i.e. Maverick REV-6, Recon CS-6)
7. Performs at a decent level of 30 to 50 feet, most good older blasters can fall under this category. Build quality is decent and may or may not be reliable. Decently suited for most users. (i.e. Lock n' Load, Blastfire DX-500)
8. Performs at a good level of around 40 to 50 feet. Build quality is good and holds up to use fairly well. Generally well suited for most users. (i.e. Longshot CS-6, Stryfe)
9. Performs at a very good level of around 50 to 60 feet with good accuracy. Build quality is notably good and holds up to to use well. Generally well suited for most users. (i.e. Pyragon, Apollo XV-700)
10. Performs at an excellent level of around 50 to 70+ feet with great accuracy. Build quality is strong and holds up very reliably. Is comfortable and easy to operate for all users. (i.e. Rapidstrike CS-18, Zeus MXV-1200)

Electronics and other miscellaneous reviews won't operate on a 1 to 10 scale and will instead be generalized on a "pros and cons" bullet list since there are too many factors to consider in many of these cases so it's far more easy on myself rather than trying to condense general item reviews on a 1 to 10 scale that I don't feel will work as well. The iPad for example:

• Support for one of the best styluses in the game.
• Cheaper than any iPad in Apple's whole lineup, and even some competitors.
• Signature Apple build quality.
• iOS is as butter smooth and simple to use as it's always been.
• The camera is decent, but falls short in low light.
• Higher spec'd models, including the Pencil can drive the price up.
• Feels like a very, very minor update, especially without the Pencil.
• If you already own an older model and don't plan on using the Pencil, it's not worth it.

Most reviews will receive an Is It Better Than? section that briefly compares the product with up to three similar contenders with a "Yes", "No", or "Depends" statement followed by an explanation.

Nerf Rival Zeus MXV-1200 Review (10/10)

This kind of thunder breaks walls and window panes.

My last post covered my trip to Toys R Us to look for these things and while I found the Apollo, I couldn't find the Zeus but as it turned out, they were tucked away on the bottom shelf behind me where all the Air Zone stuff was. This is the bigger of the two Rival blasters and much like the Apollo, it's performance is pretty outstanding.

Nerf Rival Apollo XV-700 Review (9/10)

Gods are among us... sorta...

My arrival at Toys R Us today was initially disappointing as there was seemingly nothing new on the shelves. I was moments from heading out until I noticed a package full of yellow objects hanging off one of the endcaps and instantly turned back to dig a little deeper. Hidden behind a Rotofury I finally came across the first actual Rival blasters I've seen in person. This is the Apollo, the smaller one of the two and as for a completely new direction for Nerf, I am highly impressed.

Nerf Doomlands 2169 Vagabond Review (8/10)

What a lovely day.

This is Doomlands 2169's other debut blaster, the Vagabond. It's a simple looking long barreled pump action revolver with some pretty killer looks but what lurks on the other side of that half clear shell is a little disappointing. Lets take a closer look.

Nerf Zombiestrike Doominator Review (7/10)

Overkill: excessive use, treatment, or action; too much of something, or in other words; a Doominator.

How do you take an already insane blaster called the Flipfury and make it even more ridiculous? Convert it to pump action, add two more cylinders and you have a complete monstrosity of a weapon, the Doominator. Lets see what this beast is all about.

Nerf Modulus Strike & Defend Upgrade Kit Review (7/10)

Stock? Pistol? Why don't we have both?

Ok, the Modulus. I really slandered that thing, even though it wasn't that bad of a blaster to begin with. It's just so chuck full of really expensive gimmicks that basically renders any cheaper flywheel blaster of a similar type a more viable option. But there are a few of those attachment kits that have a few nifty things. This is one of them, the Strike & Defend Kit, a rather interesting concept, and it actually does it's job quite well.

Nerf Doomlands 2169 Lawbringer Review (7/10)

For your post nuclear needs!

This one was found at Target recently and it's one of the more interesting of the late 2015 lineup, not to mention it's from a whole new series, Doomlands 2169, that we can expect whole new things from entirely. So without further ado lets see how the Lawbringer performs.

Nerf Modulus ECS-10 Review (7/10)

Each set sold separately.

After more and more information came out on the Modulus I was far more less inclined to buy it. It just feels like yet another recycle of Nerf's favorite semi auto flywheel system but this time with a bunch of gimmicky attachment kits for it. Yet it was the only other late 2015 blaster I found recently, and for $50 dollars, I was unwilling but here it is.

Nerf Mega RotoFury Review (9/10)

Built to solve big problems.

Hey folks look whose back in the game! I know I've been very stagnant in the Nerf world lately and that's mostly due to the fact I've been a bit busy with other things and that also no new blasters have really hit the shelves. Well no longer, because one stroll though Walmart and I came across this monster sitting among the same old stock I've seen for the past month or so. This the RotoFury, probably the most badass Mega blaster out there.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Review

Drop me in the toilet, I triple dog dare you.

Hey another electronics review! I mean really, I got nothing better to do so I might as well review the first new phone I've gotten my hands on in a couple of years now, the Galaxy S5. Why not the S6? Well you're about to find out why I prefer the slightly older phone over it's flashy successor. Let's see how good this thing really is.

Happy 4th of July

'MERICA

And that's about all I have to say really, happy 4th. Fire up the barbecue, watch some fireworks, or buy some fireworks of your own and "accidentally" set that newly planted bush in your neighbors lawn on fire. It's all in the name of freedom, right? If you're not from the US and you're reading this, have yourself a good day I suppose. Might as well make this into a quick news update while I'm at it. Some new Nerf blasters are hitting the shelves recently such as the Doominator and the highly overrated and overhyped Stryfe reshell also known as the Modulus. I'll be picking a few of these up as soon as I spot them. I also got a new phone finally, a Galaxy Note 4 in fact, but I may not end up reviewing it. I also ended up killing a Galaxy S5 in the process of reviewing that this week and I'll get something up on that mess in a bit. Anyways happy 4th. Don't go blowing yourself up tonight.

Air Zone Punisher Review (7/10)

It costs $400,000 dollars to fire this weapon for twelve seconds.

This review is pretty late but whatever. I got a thing for giant, impractical, guns that do more to harm you just carrying them around than anything terribly worth noting on the battlefield. Pretty much nearly every heavy machine gun I've used minus the Rhino-Fire boasts huge ammo capacities, massive sizes and weights, and they don't shoot anything more impressive than your average rifle. The Punisher fits that bill very well, but it sure as hell knows how to look cool while doing so.

Taking a breather for a moment

Sorry for the lack of progress lately guys. Nothing all that important has been happening in the Nerf world lately and I've decided to go take a break from that. Until some new blasters hit the shelves or I find something interesting on eBay, I'm not going to be very active in that neck of the woods. On a more interesting note, a lot of new games are coming out soon like Forza 6, Black Ops III, and most importantly, Fallout 4, and I'll be covering some of that eventually. I also reserved a free copy of Windows 10 recently and after all the hate I gave Windows 8, I can only hope for the better now that the OS is now more or less a fusion of all the good bits from 7 and 8 respectively, or that's what I hope. Since it's free, I got nothing to lose and I'll get a review up after I play around with a it for a day or two. I'll be active on Reddit and NM&R every now and then, but other than that, see you guys on the other side.

Max Force Terrornator 85 Review (7/10)

Graduate from foam? Um...

Well I never did think I'd end up buying one of these but they are becoming quite scarce due to the fact Jakks Pacific's Max Force line was sadly a flop, and promptly discontinued last year. Luckily I managed to snag this beast on eBay for $30 bucks brand new, and I'm quite impressed... all the way up until I had to clean up the trail of carnage this thing leaves behind.

Nerf RotoTrack Review (5/10)

The first gun in history capable of giving the user Carpal tunnel syndrome.

How to I start this... ermm... yeah I'm a bit lost. I suppose you can say I wasn't exactly thinking about what I was buying on eBay at that very moment and ended up caving in on an old RotoTrack, one of the first belt fed blaster's Nerf has put out. But to put it this way, being one of the first usually isn't a good thing.

Nerf Vortex Nitron Review (7/10)

Collecting dust on store shelves since 2012.

This is one of those reviews where I came very late to the party. Anyways this is the Nitron and this is my review and opinion on Vortex's only assault rifle.

Skullcandy PLYR1 Headset Review

Let's face it, we all hate cables.

Headsets have been a basket case for me. I can never seem to find one that is of good quality for a price that won't kill my wallet. My past headsets, namely the Afterglow series, while good, were still far from perfect. I did have an interest in Skullcandy's line of gaming headsets at the time, in particular their flagship model, the PLYR 1. And believe it or not, I couldn't be more happy with it.

NECA Motorized Sky-Hook Replica Review

Used for zip-lining... and ripping someone's head off. 

I'm going to keep this one nice and short since I almost never review stuff like this, ever. Being a fan of Bioshock and knowing how expensive these things usually are(Found at Hastings for $40) I snatched it up. First impressions, other than the fact it's absolutely massive, the build quality is pretty good. Its made of the same type of plastic you find high quality Halloween props made out of. Holding it is somewhat uncomfortable because it uses a knuckleduster for it's grip and the trigger pull to spin up the hooks is a little tough. I did also notice that the big gear on the left side of the Sky-Hook was a little loose but I might be able to tighten it's screw down to fix that. Much these little quirks can be overlooked as it is a video game weapon and no real living human was intended to ever use it in real life, but there are a few things like the loose gear and the tough trigger pull that could be a little bit better... electric motor maybe? It's a nice quality prop, there's just some touching up it could use here and there. It still looks absolutely badass on display.

Slow Motion Test Firing

Not to shabby for an experiment. This was done with my Nikon D3200 and Sony Vegas, and the results aren't high speed camera grade as you can expect but it's still pretty cool. I'm looking to get some more use out of this technique in the future when filming.

Nerf Mega BigShock Review (7/10)

You've seen enough of me already.

No I haven't vanished yet guys, I've just been sitting on this one for while now. No real need to explain or anything... I mean just look at it! What about this pistol makes it any different front the millions of Jolt variants that have flooded the market other than that it's twice as big? Oh it's painted red I guess, Nerf hasn't done that to a Jolt yet, but despite it being another iteration of the most mundane blaster on the planet, it's actually quite solid.

Nerf CrossBolt Review (9/10)

The string actually does something for a change.

I was on the way home from the bowling alley when I got a wild hair to stop at the Toys R Us down the street to see if they had anything new. Going down the aisles, the endcaps had absolutely nothing and when I got to the main Nerf aisle there was the usual stuff. However a quick glance at the top shelf next to a few Rhino-Fires were three CrossBolts, probably the most sought after blaster of 2015. Ok the price tag of $37.99 was pretty brutal but I could care less, I snatched one up on the spot and well, here it is.

Nerf Rival: Ball Blasters For the Modern Battlefield?

The Zeus MXV-1200.

This was totally uncalled for. Nerf has decided to ahead and launch a new line geared towards teens and adults. These new ball guns seem to fire a new type of ball ammunition that seems smaller than Ballistic Balls. No word on what they're made of but hey're probably dense foam like the Ballistics used. These blasters are capable of firing these little bastards at around 70 MPH apparently, which is about 102 FPS so you'll feel them alright. The above blaster is the Zeus MXV-1200, a 12 round flywheel assault rifle from the looks of it and no word on its it's full auto or semi auto. There is another blaster called the Apollo XV-700 which is like a large pullback pistol with a magazine in the grip, that's a first. Nerf also has a patent for this ball firing gatling gun out there so it's probably going to wind up here, going with the way these blasters are named after Greek Gods, I'm just going to take a wild guess and assume the gatling gun is going to be called "Ares". I'm really curious to see what these have in store, especially performance wise. The best ball gun I've used is the old Ballzooka MP150 and it had fairly good accuracy and range but it wasn't anything heart stopping. Lets see if Nerf can perfect ball technology here.

The patented gatling gun.

Nerf Mega CycloneShock Review (9/10)

When you need to shoot from your back yard to your front yard, through your house,

The Mega series had been somewhat of a letdown for the most part as it's flagship blaster the Centurion is a dart demolishing pillock and the only two decent blasters are the Magnus and the monsterous Thunderbow. Well, not anymore. Allow me to introduce you to the CycloneShock, a hand cannon like no other.

Nerf FlipFury Review (9/10)

When we thought the Strongarm couldn't get any better.

My second trip to Target was just as unfulfilling as the first, only this time instead of Sharpfires, I found FlipFurys and bagged one on the spot. After a few minutes of messing around with it, I think this beast is rightfully the best pistol Nerf has made.

Nerf Sharpfire Review (3/10)

Not what you think it is.

So I've been on the hunt for the new 2015 Nerf gear lately and Target is the most likely place int my town to find any of it. Unfortunately I only found price labels for the CycloneShock and BigShock. So after a few minutes of browsing I found this on an endcap and scowled. Yeah I found one but it turned out to be the worst of the bunch, the Sharpfire.