By EJ Afzelius
There are a bunch of things to be excited about in gaming lately. Bethesda just released a texture pack for Skyrim, making wooden tables that much more splintery and grassy fields a lot more… grassy. What can I say, these are the things I get excited about. How about this? Bioware’s super 
sweet galactic space opera is going to iOS! Screen shots for Mass Effect: Infiltrator are looking pretty sweet, but there’s a catch, ‘cause it’s just going to be one among many third person shooters already available. Hence, as awesome as this is, Infiltrator isn’t the iOS update of the week. That honor goes to Nerf. No, it’s not a lame third person Nerf tag game. If it were, then Bioware got this beat easy. Two words – augmented reality.
Remember Laser Tag? Well Nerf just brought it back in a big way. Forget little foam projectiles, how about loading your Nerf gun with an iPhone? Yep, an idevice is the only ammo you need with the Nerf Lazer Tag system. Just upload your phone with the Lazer Tag app, stick it in one of them cool Nerf guns and watch your head explode. Not possible you say? Well my brain’s been exploding a few times since I read about the awesomeness of tag evolution. From chasing each other with hands stretched out, to shooting each other with guns docked with little camera computers. (*scream of joy*)
Ahem, now that I’m over that, this is how it works. Once the app is loaded, your friends are presented as targets on your phone or iPod screen. Your power levels are also displayed and the trajectory of your shot as well. Unlike ordinary Laser tag, you can actually see if you shot your friend in the nuts like you intended. Personally I prefer right between the eyes, big western fan that I am. If there are no gullible meat bags around to pose as targets for your ineffable shooting skills, the app will create targets in your environment. I think this is to be expected though as a few AR 
shooters are already available, so the single player aspect was a must to begin with.
What’s also cool about Nerf’s Lazer Tag is that the more you play the more you can upgrade your weaponry. Not much has been said about this, but I imagine topping off at Death Star quality beams. I’m just wondering how the sound quality’s going to come off. Measly pew-pew noises coming from a meager phone speaker just won’t do the trick. I wonder if it would be possible to connect your phones to a home speaker system and really hear your battles boomed out in surround sound. If some kind of Lazer bomb were a possible upgrade as a secondary weapon, the explosion on a 5.1 or even a 7.1 system would be oh so satisfying. My trigger finger’s getting itchy just thinking of the possibilities. Maybe you could even load up your preferred sound effects from your favorite TV show! Bravestar backyard battles here I come!!
So yeah, excited is an understatement about how I feel for this whole system. Nerf just rocketed itself to my top 10 brands list. Now where to find a few hundred bucks for an iPhone and a pair of these sweet Nerf guns? Maybe I could rob this here saloon…
[Tukkolabs]
Nerfed Reality
By EJ Afzelius
There are a bunch of things to be excited about in gaming lately. Bethesda just released a texture pack for Skyrim, making wooden tables that much more splintery and grassy fields a lot more… grassy. What can I say, these are the things I get excited about. How about this? Bioware’s super
sweet galactic space opera is going to iOS! Screen shots for Mass Effect: Infiltrator are looking pretty sweet, but there’s a catch, ‘cause it’s just going to be one among many third person shooters already available. Hence, as awesome as this is, Infiltrator isn’t the iOS update of the week. That honor goes to Nerf. No, it’s not a lame third person Nerf tag game. If it were, then Bioware got this beat easy. Two words – augmented reality.
Remember Laser Tag? Well Nerf just brought it back in a big way. Forget little foam projectiles, how about loading your Nerf gun with an iPhone? Yep, an idevice is the only ammo you need with the Nerf Lazer Tag system. Just upload your phone with the Lazer Tag app, stick it in one of them cool Nerf guns and watch your head explode. Not possible you say? Well my brain’s been exploding a few times since I read about the awesomeness of tag evolution. From chasing each other with hands stretched out, to shooting each other with guns docked with little camera computers. (*scream of joy*)
Ahem, now that I’m over that, this is how it works. Once the app is loaded, your friends are presented as targets on your phone or iPod screen. Your power levels are also displayed and the trajectory of your shot as well. Unlike ordinary Laser tag, you can actually see if you shot your friend in the nuts like you intended. Personally I prefer right between the eyes, big western fan that I am. If there are no gullible meat bags around to pose as targets for your ineffable shooting skills, the app will create targets in your environment. I think this is to be expected though as a few AR
shooters are already available, so the single player aspect was a must to begin with.
What’s also cool about Nerf’s Lazer Tag is that the more you play the more you can upgrade your weaponry. Not much has been said about this, but I imagine topping off at Death Star quality beams. I’m just wondering how the sound quality’s going to come off. Measly pew-pew noises coming from a meager phone speaker just won’t do the trick. I wonder if it would be possible to connect your phones to a home speaker system and really hear your battles boomed out in surround sound. If some kind of Lazer bomb were a possible upgrade as a secondary weapon, the explosion on a 5.1 or even a 7.1 system would be oh so satisfying. My trigger finger’s getting itchy just thinking of the possibilities. Maybe you could even load up your preferred sound effects from your favorite TV show! Bravestar backyard battles here I come!!
So yeah, excited is an understatement about how I feel for this whole system. Nerf just rocketed itself to my top 10 brands list. Now where to find a few hundred bucks for an iPhone and a pair of these sweet Nerf guns? Maybe I could rob this here saloon…
[Tukkolabs]