I got a sneak peek at some of Hasbro's newest Nerf blasters back in February at the 108th annual American International Toy Fair. But it wasn't until this month that I got to see how fun they are in action.
Hasbro is gearing up to launch its new Vortex line this September, and is setting up the release as "N-Strike Vs. Vertex" --a battle between Nerf's existing line and its new one.
The N-Strike line is probably familiar to many kids, parents, and immature childless adults: They're big plastic blasters that shoot finger-sized orange Nerf darts. In contrast, the new Vertex line shoots semi-rigid plastic disks, edged with foam to prevent injury; they're like mini Frisbees.
The new Vortex blasters won't be on the market until September 10, when they'll retail for between $9.99 and $39.99. But you don't have to wait until then for some foam-shooting fun: In August, Hasbro will release special "Gear Up" editions of three existing N-Strike blasters, the Barricade RV-10, Maverick Rev-6 and Raider CS-35, which have been redesigned and repainted in bright orange and black.
Hasbro sent a couple of these new Gear Up N-Strikes to the Forbes office. And I'm happy to report they were quickly put to work: I stalked and destroyed one of our managing editors with the huge and intimidating Raider CS-35; he armed himself with the handheld Maverick Rev-6, and before long one of our star reporters was skulking around with the motorized Barricade RV-10.
Eventually all three blasters were turned on the unsuspecting web producers and audience development team members who sit in unguarded, low-walled cubicles at the center of the New Newsroom.
Our favorite weapon among the three: The massive Raider CS-35, essentially a Nerf tommy gun with extendable stock that can rapidly-fire 35 darts from its detachable drum magazine.
You'll have to wait until September to try out the disc-launching Vortex line, but you can buy a Raider CS-35 now, or get the Gear Up version (as well as the redesigned Maverick and Barricade) on August 1st.
