All right, folks. I'm bringing this up because of personal interest,
because this is a gaming list, not necessarily just computers, and
because I seriously think some folks would find this interesting.
When I was a kid, I loved playing Lazer Tag, that's with a z and it's
branded. My brothers and I had loads of fun shooting at each other,
and they didn't always win, either. My set was basically just a couple
of blasters that you velcroed onto your arm with a trigger and a
button, with which you had unlimited ammo, a huge blast you could only
use once, and a shield button that gave you a dinky five second
protection from damage and sounded somewhat like a washing machine on
overload. The health meter beeped at a certain rate to let you know
how banged up you were, and the whole thing was so simple that to call
it accessible is a joke, because it wasn't complicated enough to be
unaccessible.
A lot of my friends played Laser Challenge, which was nearly as
accessible, but it was incompatible with my gun, so we never really
played together, and why should a parent by another perfectly good
laser tag system.
Well, Lazer Tag with a z and Laser Challenge all kind of flopped away
like used fads, not for me but for average consumers. I've been
looking online for decent laser tag style stuff for years, now, with
little success, unless I wanted to pay out the nose on Ebay or Amazon.
However, in the space of just a month or so, I struck gold.
My mom actually pointed out the product while we were talking about
toys I might get for my kids, just as a neat little thought. She
didn't know how meaningful it was for me. She told me about Light
Strike laser tag, a new system from WowWee toys, a reputable company,
most recently, before Light Strike, known for Paper Jams products.
While researching this awesome system, I came across the Phoenix LTX,
now the Nerf Two-Player Laser Battle System, yet another relatively
new system based on an older, more expensive platform.
I'm going to give a very brief overview of what I found from both
systems, and what I want to know is do any people on this list care to
have me do a more extensive review, possibly in podcast or youtube
form, of the light Strike stuff, which I've actually handled and am in
the process of purchasing? I can add to the plethora of reviews out
there, but mine would add a few from the blind perspective. If you
like, let me know.
Anyway, I'll tell you about the Phoenix first, then I'll write on
Light Strike, then I'll compare and contrast.
The Phoenix LTX, which I'll shorten to LTX, is a roughly $70 U.S. set
of two pistol-style laser guns. They have a Nerf sort of look to them,
according to friends I've asked. They host switches and sliders to
control any functions for setting up a game, unusual in an age of
buttons and touchscreens. the LTX supports up to three different
teams, although the older, no longer produced, LTTO system adds
functionality and complexity. The guns feature a built-in recoil
simulating hammer that wiggles the weapon when fired, and reloading
feels more interactive, as you release a false clip and then smack it
back into the grip of the weapon. The only other control is the shield
trigger, located near the firing trigger, which allows you to burst
your limited shield throughout play. It may or may not, research is
inconclusive, come with a shotgun accessory for each gun and a scope
accessory for each gun by default.
the Light Strike guns come in two different sets, Strikers which are
like pistols, and Assault Strikers which are like carbines. the
pistols and carbines are also divided up into Orange, Yellow, and Red
sets, which are Human, Robot, and Alien respectively. These variances
affect the styling of the weapons, arrangement of buttons, and voice
of the weapon, but have no effect on function, besides comfort with a
particular style of grip and button arrangement. The Strikers, the
pistol form, are about $25 U.S., while the Assault Strikers, the
carbines, are about $35, with accessories running from $10 to $14, and
$25 for the targeting vests and automated turret, the I.T.S. which is
beyond the scope of this overview. The Light Strike weapons feature
several different fire modes, and the Assault Strikers have a reload
button which resembles a loaded clip of ammunition already in the gun.
The pistols are controlled by buttons to access different functions,
but the carbine Assault model features somewhat sensative touch-based
controls. I can personally use either with fair to good results. The
Assault Strikers can accept four different accessories, the scope
which is a sniper rifle augment, the Rapid Fire System, which is a
machinegun augment, the refractor launch system, which is a
shotgun/grenade launcher augment, and the enemy scanner, a radar and
damage booster augment. The Strikers and Assault Strikers come with
targets, although only those which come with the Assault Strikers make
sound.
The two systems are incompatible, but they have more similarities than
differences. Both use infrared light to transmit and receive
information, both feature the necessity to reload ammunition, both do
not resemble real-world guns, both require monitoring of ammo,
although the Light Strike Striker pistols are not reloaded, they
overheat if fired too quickly, which works like a reload. Both systems
offer accessories to enhance gameplay. Both systems use the guns as a
target.
Light Strike differs here, as the company also makes a target vest
which provides a larger target area in center of mass, gives more
health, and allows for pairing more than one gun with the vest for
duel carry. the LTX is more technically perfected with a longer range,
a less restricted fire rate, the recoil and ammo simulation, and a
bigger gun-based targeting area.
The Light Strike is more about roleplay and tactics. Which weapon to
select, which subtype of weapon, as the guns all have several weapon
types, augmented by accessories. According to a review by Urban
Tagger, a reliable source, and based upon my own conclusions, the
Light Strike are slightly more durable.
I'd like to add one more thing. Both systems are quite accessible, the
LTX winning out on that ground because it announces which team the
player is on, which the Light Strike system does not. However, both
are very easy to play.
If you guys want more than what I've given, I'll either do it myself
or point you to someone who already has. I've done plenty of research
on both.
Signed:
Dakotah Rickard
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